manga04_jpg login_tab_left_jpg
Username:   Password:    Forgot Password?
App
Try out our new iPhone application!
App
Manga Poll
How do you prefer your sound effects (sfx) in scanlations?
Left alone (not translated at all)
In a glossary (at the end of a chapter)
In the margins
Beside the original sfx
Overlaying the original sfx
Replacing the original sfx
 
See Old Polls

Manga is the Japanese equivalent of comics
with a unique style and following. Join the revolution! Read some manga today!

Coded in ConTEXT

Join #baka-updates @irc.irchighway.net

RSS Feed
 
center_left_tab Manga Info center_right_tab
 
ALL    A    B    C    D    E    F    G    H    I    J    K    L    M    N    O    P    Q    R    S    T    U    V    W    X    Y    Z   
20 Seiki Shounen  
Login to add items to your list, keep track of your progress, and rate series!
Description
Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

Won the Kodansha Manga Award in the category "Best General Manga" in 2001.

Type
Manga

Related Series
20 Seiki Shounen no Wakiyaku (Side Story)
20 Seiki Shounen Tanteidan (Spin-Off)
21 Seiki Shounen (Sequel)

Associated Names
20 Seiki Shōnen
20世紀少年
20th Century Boys
20thCB
Nijuu Seiki Shounen
Twentieth Century Boys

Groups Scanlating
Manga-Heaven
Mangascreener

Latest Release(s)
v.22 c.9-13 (end) by Manga-Heaven (3335d ago)
v.22 c.8 by Manga-Heaven (3403d ago)
v.22 c.7 by Manga-Heaven (3421d ago)
Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin
22 Volumes (Complete)

Completely Scanlated?
Yes

Anime Start/End Chapter
N/A

User Reviews
20th Century Boys by cryptic
20th Century Boys by Master_M2K

Forum
2 topics, 6 posts
Click here to view the forum

User Rating
Average: 8.9 / 10.0 (1365 votes)
Bayesian Average: 8.84 / 10.0
10
 41% (555 votes)
9+
 30% (412 votes)
8+
 18% (244 votes)
7+
 6% (79 votes)
6+
 2% (30 votes)
5+
 1% (7 votes)
4+
 0% (6 votes)
3+
 0% (3 votes)
2+
 0% (4 votes)
1+
 2% (25 votes)

Last Updated
August 13th 2016, 7:03pm PST

Image [Report Inappropriate Content]

Genre
Action  Drama  Mature  Mystery  Psychological  Sci-fi  Seinen 
Search for series of same genre(s)

Categories

Category Recommendations
Ginga Eiyuu Densetsu (FUJISAKI Ryu)
Chang Ge Xing
Akatsuki no Yona
F
Robot Keiji

Recommendations

Author(s)
URASAWA Naoki

Artist(s)
URASAWA Naoki

Year
1999

Original Publisher
Shogakukan

Serialized In (magazine)
Big Comic Spirits (Shogakukan)

Licensed (in English)
Yes

English Publisher
Viz (22 Volumes - Complete)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)
Weekly Pos #462 increased(+31)
Monthly Pos #579 decreased(-19)
3 Month Pos #584 increased(+15)
6 Month Pos #577 decreased(-23)

List Stats
On 799 reading lists
On 1262 wish lists
On 2741 completed lists
On 99 unfinished lists
On 397 custom lists

Note: You must be logged in to update information on this page.

Forum Posts
20th Century boys questions (spoiler) 973 days, 8 hours, 21 minutes ago
"20th Century Boys" Live Action 2590 days, 5 hours, 35 minutes ago

Click to view the forum

tickmark preloadxmark preloadxmark preload
User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]
 

You must login to comment for this series! Register an account.

avatar
 Great start, drags on later   
Rating: 6.0 / 10.0
by NazarethSTG
April 20th, 2016, 4:34am
This series starts brilliantly, with a great premise, great characters and an engaging story. Sadly, what the author starts unveiling is not as interesting as the mistery that precedes it. It starts to drag on and to keep the reader's interest Urasawa starts to machinegun his trademark forced, ridiculous plot twists, a cheap way to tell a story. Maybe the story was too ambitious for Urasawa to handle, or maybe it's just that he's better at building mistery than explaining those mysteries, something that seems to be common in his work.

... Last updated on April 20th, 2016, 4:37am
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Good   
Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
by kiriee
November 11th, 2015, 10:34am
For the first half, Everything laid out perfectly but the last half not so great with so many new character being introduced and how the author trying to make it like they are supposed to be there or maybe a twist to me it was just after thought to make the series last longer than it should.

A lot of manga suffer a from this kind of thing, I guess this is kind of thing that you have to deal with popular manga, kinda a shame to see perfectly great manga turn into an good manga near the end. Well still worth reading.

... Last updated on November 11th, 2015, 10:35am
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Must-read   
Rating: N/A
by Dr. Love
May 21st, 2014, 6:46pm
A classic. Anyone who reads manga knows this manga. And even people who don't read manga know what 20th Century boys is! As usual Urakawa develops a world with loads of interesting and diverse characters yet manages to tie all their plot lines up neatly.

Personally I thought 21st Century Boys was unnecessary (or should've been added to 20th Century Boys).
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 A good read, but it drags on and loses momentum.   
Rating: 7.0 / 10.0
by Neofit
April 25th, 2014, 5:25am
A great series, to be sure, but it wastes a lot of time on trivial things that do not add anything relevant to the main story. The second half is thus not as good as the first - too many characters are being introduced almost regularly and then quickly set aside, old characters fade into the background, plot elements that looked as if they would play a major part in the story later on are mostly forgotten or set aside as if the author just decided to drop it, and the whole story gets quite silly and loses the original detective thriller/mystery feel; a lot of implausible things get hand-waved just to set up a particular setting for the last part, which ultimately drags on the most without being particularly satisfying and does not even wrap up in the main series.
Ultimately, it is a very good read, it manages to entice and deliver on its suspense (most of the time), and I would gladly recommend it to anyone interested in conspiracy thrillers, but the second half is not quite as satisfying and interesting as the first.
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Loved it.   
Rating: 10.0 / 10.0
by Serendipity_
November 5th, 2013, 3:13pm
I'm officially in love with Urasawa Naokis work. His characters, stories, art, everything. This manga didn't disappoint, none of his Manga does really.

The thing with Urasawas manga is that it takes a certain type of audience to get his work. A rather mature audience. I'm not saying that some people here are immature, but if you haven't read many seinen manga or don't like this kinda theme at all, then you would have a hard time getting what Urasawa's trying to do. Personally I'm glad I waited this long before reading any of his work, because I know if I had read them earlier I wouldn't share the same opinion I have now.

Strongly recommended.

... Last updated on November 5th, 2013, 3:17pm
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Huh? Is that a movie?   
Rating: 8.5 / 10.0
by Fantasier
October 5th, 2013, 12:45am
With just only two reads of his manga, I notice that the talent of Urasawa Naoki's is the ability to give a manga feeling of a movie.

20th Century Boys is probably the most famous piece of the author, at least the very first one I heard of Naoki's. The graphic style is just fine. I neither like it or dislike it. I started reading his piece, and what first strikes me is the 'mangatography'. Naokish angles and 'camera' positions in each panel of the manga give me excitements.

The story is what people praise a lot on how it is so engaging, thrilling and suspenseful. I however don't really think so. Sure, it is engaging and makes me want more and more until the secret is revealed. Still, it is not that unpredictable for me; say, I could guess who is 'Friend' very early. I'm not saying I'm clever or anything, but the job can better be done by distracting readers from some facts even more.

Also, this series contains a lot of 'cut's from the current scenes, which are usually good, but sometimes there are just so many of them that I'm irritated rather than excited. The cuts usually lead to Naokish time skips, which seem to be his signature. These time skips are cleverly used, but then again, there are sometimes too many of them, making it unpleasant rather than intriguing.

Those flaws said, I enjoyed it very much. 20th Century Boys deserves its fame.
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 I don't get it   
Rating: N/A
by Kamugin
January 11th, 2013, 8:51am
I'm reading this up to vol. 9 now and I'm still waiting something good to happen, besides any of the protagonists haven't got my affection yet, not even Kenji or Kanna. Also the "Friend" guy isn't fearsome, not for me. A villain is good when you want to see him/her dead. I want to see him dead, not because he is a very bad guy, but because he is tedious. These "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" like plots are a bit tiresome for me. I started reading this manga because the author is "a big star", the one who wrote Yawara and Monster, this is the first one I'm reading, also one of his most acclaimed works, but I have yet to see what is so good about it. A good manga should get the reader interested since the beggining or at least not after the first three or four volumes. Since the beginning the author is promising to the reader that something good, really interesting is about to happen and until vol. 9 he haven't fulfilled that promise. When I finish this, I'll come to change my comment, for the better I hope. At least there are "only" 22 volumes to read.

... Last updated on January 11th, 2013, 8:53am
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Captivating   
Rating: N/A
by Choreboy
October 1st, 2012, 1:12pm
I've read many series with time skips, but never one who applied it so creatively. It is one of the most essential components of this series, if not the most, and is used masterfully. That said, this was a very compelling series about childhood friendships that constantly made you ponder and theorize who the true culprit was IMO. Looking back, I honestly can't believe I didn't catch on, but I'm glad the mysteries kept me fooled for some time. It's not like I scrutinized every every aspect of every character, either. I would recommend this series for anyone who enjoys seinen with mystery or a classic (I've never read another manga quite like it). It's not like most of the manga today, centered around repulsively unreal awkward & cliche romance, giant breasts on what's essentially a child (with way too much fanservice), over-the-top super powers, and blushing for no reason (I hate it because most of the time nobody would actually do so is most situations). Quite the breath of fresh air to me. **FOR THOSE WHO'VE READ THE SERIES IN IT'S ENTIRETY ONLY. THIS WILL RUIN YOUR READING EXPERIENCE IF READ BEYOND THIS POINT.**
Spoiler (mouse over to view)
I will add that some aspects were a bit too convenient because too many of the main characters that were thought to be dead were actually alive until the end. This made the ending a bit boring and I wouldn't have tagged this as a tragedy because of that fact. Still, it was a great manga and completely worth the time put in to reading it.


... Last updated on October 1st, 2012, 1:12pm
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Good...   
Rating: 8.0 / 10.0
by nail80
June 5th, 2012, 6:46am
But not great.
Having read a number of Urasawa's works it's clear to see that the story telling is there, the art is as good as ever and the intricate plot devices still continue to exist.
But at the same time all of his works pale in comparison with the masterpiece that was Monster.
Like Monster it has an epic plot, but in trying to make a bigger, more intricate plot he loses track of the flow of the story. It's understandable but a pity. One timeskip was interesting, although not quite to my tastes, and the second timeskip was completely unnecessary. The tendency to develop several subplots at the same time was also kind of misused, it confused me at times instead of shedding light into the plot.
The characters were fairly interesting showing great development. This of course applies to the protagonists, not the endless flow of secondary characters. These were in and out and in again, no clear decision on their part. The flashbacks were very interesting and a good plot device. I loved to see parts of the mystery delivered slowly and the various misconceptions that derived from there. I was very interested in knowing who was the mastermind.
20th Century Boys is a very good manga, very good indeed.
But it's not as great as Monster
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
avatar
 Another Great Work by Urasawa Naoki   
Rating: 9.0 / 10.0
by bull3thole
May 6th, 2012, 10:25am
The creativity for his works is so amazing. The plot draws you in just like his other mangas. There are a mass of characters mentioned in this manga that may cause confusion, but by finishing this in a couple of days, it helped me. There are many flashbacks in this manga to help reminisce the childhood of the characters and how they were when they were young so

The things that made me think that Naoki's other work "Monster" is better is because at times it seems like the plot drags on. Another is the massive amount of characters mention including the flashbacks for some characters can be very confusing for some people.

Overall, its a great manga that people should definitely read. I also recommend that you should read his Naoki' other great work called "Monster".

... Last updated on August 8th, 2014, 11:01am
Was this comment useful?  Yes tickmark  No xmark    
  Pages (6) [ 1 2 3 4 ... Last ] Next Page
Show  entries per page 

You must login to comment for this series! Register an account.
Manga Search
 
MANGA Fu
News
What's New!
Series Stats
Forums
Chat
Releases
Scanlators
Series Info
Mangaka
Publishers
Reviews
Genres
Categories
FAQ
Affiliates
Members
BU Forum
Baka-Updates
MEMBERS
Sign Up
TEAM-BU
Admin CP
About Us

footer