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cygni's review against another edition
5.0
Hace 15 años, cuando leía mucho manga y veía mucho anime, me crucé con 20th Century Boys en mi tienda de cómics de confianza. Ya conocía al autor por Monster así que, aunque el estilo de dibujo no tenía nada que ver con lo que normalmente leía, me arriesgué y me compré el tomo uno. Un acierto total. Hoy, muchos años después de aquella primera lectura, estoy volviendo a leer la serie y sintiendo esa intriga que me enganchó entonces.
shirohige's review against another edition
4.0
Naoki Urasawa en un autor de dotes claramente superiores.
En solo diez números consigue plasmar la idea de un thriller donde un misterioso símbolo de infancia empieza a hacer aparición en diferentes y extraños contextos; desde asesinatos, supuestos suicidios a la posibilidad de una que una secta esté tramando algo mayor.
Es la segunda vez que leo esta historia (la primera la dejé inconclusa) y ciertamente todo tan sólo ha conseguido solidificarse. Me gusta que los flashbacks sean de niños con infancias comunes y corrientes a finales de los 60's, que sus juegos de infancia repercutan en el futuro y no de forma amable, si no con cierto matiz siniestro, espeso y peligroso. Todo es un misterio. ¿Quién es Amigo?
¿Donkey se suicidó? ¿Qué es el signo de la caja que enterraron en su escondite?.
Y pese a que esa densidad le da el tono a la historia son otros los matices que salen a la superficie también. El no convertirse en lo que soñamos de niños, el lidiar con vidas comunes y como todos tus seres queridos de una u otra forma se van encajando en sus vidas menos tú.
Todos aplauden "Monster" como LA OBRA que debes leer de Urasawa y creo que esta pasa algo colada siendo una absoluta maravilla.
En solo diez números consigue plasmar la idea de un thriller donde un misterioso símbolo de infancia empieza a hacer aparición en diferentes y extraños contextos; desde asesinatos, supuestos suicidios a la posibilidad de una que una secta esté tramando algo mayor.
Es la segunda vez que leo esta historia (la primera la dejé inconclusa) y ciertamente todo tan sólo ha conseguido solidificarse. Me gusta que los flashbacks sean de niños con infancias comunes y corrientes a finales de los 60's, que sus juegos de infancia repercutan en el futuro y no de forma amable, si no con cierto matiz siniestro, espeso y peligroso. Todo es un misterio. ¿Quién es Amigo?
¿Donkey se suicidó? ¿Qué es el signo de la caja que enterraron en su escondite?.
Y pese a que esa densidad le da el tono a la historia son otros los matices que salen a la superficie también. El no convertirse en lo que soñamos de niños, el lidiar con vidas comunes y como todos tus seres queridos de una u otra forma se van encajando en sus vidas menos tú.
Todos aplauden "Monster" como LA OBRA que debes leer de Urasawa y creo que esta pasa algo colada siendo una absoluta maravilla.
mrpoop5's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
keikoreadsmanga's review against another edition
5.0
Okay, nostalgia, mystery, tidbits of science fiction, and pure male friendship? Too precious! This is mine!!! Lol, I've been in search of a series like this for years now, after rediscovering Stephen King's The Body (which has always been a fave for me.) Pure male friendships just really do the right kick. And this is such an ending treat for the best century of all, so thank you Naoki Urasawa. New favorite!! I'm a proud 20th-century kid, and I freaking needed this.
And by the way, a kid like Donkey! Didn't we all have a friend like that once in our childhood? I did, I did!! Donkey's death though... It's like a Chris Chambers allover again.
And also this quote upon discovering the rock 'n roll genre is everything: At the time I first heard it, what was supposed to be so good about it? You talking to my soul, boy? Lol! So relatable! And reading bits of the children's antics is like me talking to my old self!!
And by the way, a kid like Donkey! Didn't we all have a friend like that once in our childhood? I did, I did!! Donkey's death though... It's like a Chris Chambers allover again.
And also this quote upon discovering the rock 'n roll genre is everything: At the time I first heard it, what was supposed to be so good about it? You talking to my soul, boy? Lol! So relatable! And reading bits of the children's antics is like me talking to my old self!!
croftave's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
graventy's review against another edition
5.0
Weaving together several stories over several timelines, volume 1 sets up an intriguing mystery. In the present-ish day, a strange cult has emerged, which seems to obey a lot of the rules a group of boys created when they were young kids playing games.
books17's review against another edition
5.0
This serves as a review of the 20th Century Boys series as a whole, volumes 1-22, and including the epilogue series 21st Century Boys.
This is without a doubt the best manga I have ever read. More than that, it is one of the best pieces of fiction I've read in a very long time - a great (extremely extended) coming of age story.
20th Century Boys is the story of Kenji and his group of friends who, as children in the early 70's, had a secret club. They planned to save the world and be heroes - as such, they planned out what the evil organisation was going to do to destroy the world, so they could more properly prepare to save it.
Flash forward to 20 years later, and Kenji is running a convenience store and looking after his baby niece. Suddenly events start occurring which are strikingly similar to those which he and his friends chronicled in the Book of Prophecy as children. It's up to Kenji and his friends to save the Earth - for real.
I think my favourite part of 20th Century Boys is the narrative style. The story jumps back and forth haphazardly between 1970-71, the mid-late 90's, and even further on - in total, the series spans nearly 70 years, from 1960 all the way through to 2018. As Kenji and his friends remember different parts of the prophecy they made as children, the story flashes back to them as kids, coming up with all this stuff. It's a really unique way of telling it, and keeps you constantly engaged - whereas if there was simply a huge block of Kenji-and-crew-as-kids and then a huge block of grown-up-Kenji-and-crew, it would get dull.
It certainly isn't a series that is afraid of depth - dozens of things are set up far ahead of time, even things that are hinted at in Volume 1 and are only resolved in Volume 21 or 22. Plenty of red herrings - things that you think matter, but don't - and plenty of double-herrings (is that a thing? I don't care, that's what I'm calling it) - where you spot a red herring, which turns out to be hugely important.
The characters are all so fleshed out and incredibly well done - even the principal villains are hugely interesting and, to a point, sympathetic. Every character is so densely packed with motives and characterisation that, after a certain point, you start to question who's a good guy and who's a bad guy - who's going to live and who's going to die.
I fully intend to read this again, and probably very soon. I'm very interested to see what I pick up on with the knowledge of the end of the series.
100% recommended.
This is without a doubt the best manga I have ever read. More than that, it is one of the best pieces of fiction I've read in a very long time - a great (extremely extended) coming of age story.
20th Century Boys is the story of Kenji and his group of friends who, as children in the early 70's, had a secret club. They planned to save the world and be heroes - as such, they planned out what the evil organisation was going to do to destroy the world, so they could more properly prepare to save it.
Flash forward to 20 years later, and Kenji is running a convenience store and looking after his baby niece. Suddenly events start occurring which are strikingly similar to those which he and his friends chronicled in the Book of Prophecy as children. It's up to Kenji and his friends to save the Earth - for real.
I think my favourite part of 20th Century Boys is the narrative style. The story jumps back and forth haphazardly between 1970-71, the mid-late 90's, and even further on - in total, the series spans nearly 70 years, from 1960 all the way through to 2018. As Kenji and his friends remember different parts of the prophecy they made as children, the story flashes back to them as kids, coming up with all this stuff. It's a really unique way of telling it, and keeps you constantly engaged - whereas if there was simply a huge block of Kenji-and-crew-as-kids and then a huge block of grown-up-Kenji-and-crew, it would get dull.
It certainly isn't a series that is afraid of depth - dozens of things are set up far ahead of time, even things that are hinted at in Volume 1 and are only resolved in Volume 21 or 22. Plenty of red herrings - things that you think matter, but don't - and plenty of double-herrings (is that a thing? I don't care, that's what I'm calling it) - where you spot a red herring, which turns out to be hugely important.
The characters are all so fleshed out and incredibly well done - even the principal villains are hugely interesting and, to a point, sympathetic. Every character is so densely packed with motives and characterisation that, after a certain point, you start to question who's a good guy and who's a bad guy - who's going to live and who's going to die.
I fully intend to read this again, and probably very soon. I'm very interested to see what I pick up on with the knowledge of the end of the series.
100% recommended.
bravesirtoaster's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
osins's review against another edition
5.0
El primer manga de Urasawa que me leí y que al terminarlo pasó a ser una de mis lecturas favoritas.
La historia cada vez más interesante y con grandes enigmas que van entrelazándose a lo largo de la historia me hizo terminar todos los volúmenes de esta obra en un día.
Aunque el final no fue de los mejores puntos en la obra, el desarrollo y sus personajes me han enganchado para leerme más obras de este autor.
La historia cada vez más interesante y con grandes enigmas que van entrelazándose a lo largo de la historia me hizo terminar todos los volúmenes de esta obra en un día.
Aunque el final no fue de los mejores puntos en la obra, el desarrollo y sus personajes me han enganchado para leerme más obras de este autor.