20th Century Boys

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For the song , see 20th Century Boy.

20th Century Boys

20世紀少年 (Nijusseiki Shōnen)
Genre	Sci-fi, Mystery
Manga
Authored by	Naoki Urasawa
Publisher	Shogakukan _{Other publishers:} JD Comics TongLi Comics VIZ Media Planeta DeAgostini
Serialized in	Big Comic Spirits
Original run	1999 – 2007
No. of volumes	22 (unfinished)

20th Century Boys (20世紀少年, Nijusseiki Shōnen^?) is a science fiction mystery manga created by Naoki Urasawa. It won the 2001 Kodansha Manga Award in the General category.

Urasawa wrote 20th Century Boys along with another popular title, Monster for 2 years (Monster ended in 2001). It was licensed by VIZ Media in 2005; however, at Urasawa's request, it has been rescheduled for release after Monster finishes its English serialization due to a change in art style over time^[1].

20th Century Boys seems to have been inspired in parts of the story by the works of Stephen King, containing allusions to It and The Stand. However, the story draws allusions mostly from rock and roll, with its title based on T. Rex's famous song, "20th Century Boy".

A live action movie adaption is planned to be released in 2008.

1 Synopsis
2 Timeline
3 Characters
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Synopsis

Growing older is pretty rough and Kenji is finding out just how hard it can be as life starts wearing down on him. On top of trying to make ends meet running a convenience store he has to care for the niece that his missing sister left in his care. Memories of youth make it easier, until those memories come back to haunt him.

Kenji and his old friends are slowly being drawn into a mysterious conspiracy that could threaten the world. Who is the mysterious "Friend" and how does he tie into Kenji's youth? Why are there disappearances and deaths tied into Ochanomizu University? Their memories hold the keys to the puzzle, but time and age have clouded their minds.

The strange occurrences and the reach of the "Friend" conspiracy grow by the day. It will all culminate on New Year's Eve 2000. Will Kenji and the others be able to put together the puzzle and save the world?

[edit] Timeline

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The story of 20th Century Boys is told in four different time arcs: the '60s and '70s, the late '90s, the year 2014, and 3FE, or the Third Year of the Friend Era.

[edit] '60s to '70s

The tale truly begins during Kenji's childhood years, in the late '60s to early '70s. The events that occur here are mostly seen through flashbacks, but several times it has been visited to expand on certain points in the current storyline. At one point even, several characters visit this point in time through the use of Friend's virtual reality program.

[edit] Late '90s

The beginning of the series takes place during the late 1990s, where Kenji is a convenience store owner, finding solace in his childhood adventures. He has to take care of his niece, Kanna, who his older sister left with him some time ago. He also has to take care of his old mother, who constantly nags him of what he had done to their family liquor store.

He has no knowledge of the dark conspiracy around him, until he learns that Donkey, an old friend of his, recently committed suicide. He begins to delve deep to figure out Donkey's sudden death, when he learns of a large cult organization, under a mysterious man only known as "Friend". As well, he learns that this cult seeks to destroy the world on New Year's Eve of 2000. Realizing that this madman is drawing his plan from a story he and his old friends came up, he decides to round them all up and figure out this mess. Kenji realizes that his only hope is to find the "Book of Prophecy", where he wrote scenarios in which he and his friends would save the day.

However, he is already under the watchful eye of Friend, Kenji having shown himself to Friend during the cult's meeting. It becomes evident later that Friend is also interested in Kanna, who possesses latent powers. He sends several members to kidnap her, but are unsuccessful, as Kenji returns to the store, with an old notebook in his hand... Kenji's family must now live in secrecy in order to escape Friend's grasp.

It is now the year 2000. Otcho, another old friend, becomes the main focus for some time. Living in Bangkok, he is being hunted down by a local drug lord, when he receives a call from Kenji, who has not spoken to in years. When he first explains of his plan to save the world, Otcho is at first skeptical, but later agrees to return to Japan.

When Otcho returns, he finds out that Kenji is a wanted terrorist. He leads Otcho to an unused subway station, where he and his supporters have been staying for some time. They begin to formulate a plan to stop the end of the world. Based on the Book of Prophecy, they learn that an unnamed building must explode to herald the beginning of the end. Before Otcho can find it on time, the Japanese National Diet Building explodes...

On December 31st, 2000, as Tokyo begins to sleep, a giant robot appears and begins rampaging across the city, spreading the lethal virus which has been plaguing the world over the past few years. Kenji and his crew take off and head to the machine, unsure of whether they'll be able to stop it, but knowing full well they are the world's last hope...

[edit] 2014

Enter the year 2014. Mankind has overcome its greatest obstacle. Kanna is now 17, is living in Tokyo. As the story progresses, the past is revealed: Friend is alive and well. Keeping up with Kenji's mission, Kanna decides to take the stand and take down Friend. Kenji's old friends begin reappearing to aid her in her quest. But when they begin their plan, they find that Friend might still have a card up his sleeve. With the revelation of the New Book of Prophecy, Kanna must now stop the inevitable before it is too late...

[edit] 3FE (3rd Year of the Friend Era)

The series jumps even further into the future, where Friend is now the President of the World, after resurrecting himself from the dead, and halting the assassination of the Pope. Sanae and Katsuo, two children who has been sheltering Otcho, must now search for Kanna, AKA The Ice Queen, and warn her of an impending danger. All the while, in the northern frontier, a biker stops in front of a checkpoint, with a guitar on his back, and a familiar face...

[edit] Characters

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Endō Kenji (遠藤健児, Endō Kenji^?)

The central protagonist of the first half of the story, which revolves around his childhood in the '60s to the present day. He is generally laid-back, and appears to be heavily interested in Rock 'n' Roll. He, his relatives, and friends play crucial roles as the plot unfolds. He disappears after the events of the "Bloody New Year's Eve", but is rumored to still be alive. A man with a striking resemblance to Kenji, singing his songs on an old guitar has recently appeared in later volumes. In volume 19, the man reveals himself to be Kenji.

Endō Kanna (遠藤カンナ, Endō Kanna^?)

Kenji's niece, she serves as the protagonist for the events in the aftermath of the "Bloody New Year's Eve". She seems to possess supernatural abilities from which the source is unknown, coupled with her charisma she makes an able leader. She leads a rebel faction against "Friend" under the moniker, "Ice Queen". It is later revealed that her father is Friend, from whom she has also received her special powers.

Otcho (オッチョ, Otcho^?)

Kenji's childhood friend and benefactor, he typically is referred to as "Shōgun". He is in prime physical shape, and has escaped certain death many times. Originally believed to be Friend, it has been revealed that he was simply living in Asia's seedy underground after his son died. Later in the story he serves as a protector for Kanna and her mission. His real name is Chōji Ochiai.

Friend (ともだち, Tomodachi^?)

An enigmatic character who draws on the childhood ideas of Kenji and his friends to commit acts of terrorism to gain power. Friend pretended in the New Year's Eve of 2000 to have saved the world from a pandemic of hemorrhagic fever (similar to Ebola). That, adding to his unique charisma, made him the political leader of Japan with his "Friendship Party", and a great moral figure of the 21st century. He remodeled Japan in a retro style, presumably to evoke nostalgia of the main characters' childhoods. His motives remain unclear, but it is known that he is somehow involved with Kanna and her mother Kiriko.