After reading Monster by Naoki Urasawa last year, I was blown away by his ability to hold the reader’s attention throughout a long and suspenseful series, without it ever feeling like a drag. The way he’s able to keep readers guessing constantly, and unravel shocking twists right up until the story’s conclusion is unfathomable. After Monster, I knew I had to read Naoki’s other acclaimed series, 20th Century Boys. Here is my review of volume 1.
About 20th Century Boys
Written and drawn by: Naoki Urasawa
Genres: Mystery, Science Fiction, Thriller
Publisher: Shogakukan
Magazine: Big Comic Spirits
Original Run: 1999 – 2006
Pages in Volume 1: 416
Premise
In 1969, young boys Kenji, Otcho, Yoshitsune and Maruo build an empty field hideout that comes to be their base. In their base, they begin to store manga, pornographic magazines, and a radio. To celebrate the creation of their base, Otcho draws a symbol for the base that will represent their friendship. When new friends Yukiji and Donkey join their group, they come up with a plot in which villains would destroy the world where they would need to stand up and fight to save humanity.
In 1997, when the boys are grown men with responsibilities, their symbol begins to resurface, and it becomes tied to multiple suspicious deaths. This begins a mystery as to who is orchestrating these events, and what they have planned for the upcoming new millennium.
My thoughts on 20th Century Boys
Naoki’s mangas always read like an incredible literary feat but in manga form. 20th Century Boys reminds me of Stephen Kings work, in the sense that every page, and every character interaction serves to develop the feeling of uncanny. No matter how innocent or light-hearted the scene is, we’re constantly being told that something isn’t right and that there’s something dark brewing in the background.
And this kind of storytelling splits your mind in two layers, one where you’re sucking in and enjoying the story unfold, and another where you’re working in overtime trying to figure out what’s really going on. And at the end of every chapter, these two layers of thought always link together as Naoki masterfully drops a new clue for us to decipher.
Put simply, 20th Century Boys is genius work for those who enjoy mystery and psychological thrillers. This series surprisingly has me more glued than Monster did previously and I cannot wait to continue reading it.
Verdict
Do not hesitate to read this series. Go and get it now!
