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raxor's review against another edition
3.0
3.75 stars
feels weirdly nostalgic despite my inability to relate to much of the specifically Japanese references. a solid start introducing memorable, unique characters right off the bat. excited to see if it will come anywhere as close to Monster but I have high hopes!!
feels weirdly nostalgic despite my inability to relate to much of the specifically Japanese references. a solid start introducing memorable, unique characters right off the bat. excited to see if it will come anywhere as close to Monster but I have high hopes!!
austintexas_09's review against another edition
4.0
reading another Urasawa work. it has a cool premise.
emeraldreverie's review against another edition
3.0
A good hook of a story. Looking forward to reading on!
jonbrammer's review against another edition
3.0
Vol. 1 is mainly exposition. I might update this after vol. 2.
frasersimons's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-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? No
4.0
Of the manga I’ve been trying lately, this is the best written and well drawn, by far. Think kids-on-bikes with a mystery component that brings the kids together in the future, when they’re grown up and their lives aren’t what they expected. The alternating timeline is well done, the first few pages have another mystery component on top of that, but isn’t returned to in this volume, and all the characters and dialogue are clearly well thought out, mapped, and executed methodically,
This comes at the price of a very granular plot, however. With the story being a very slow burn, which seems to be normal for manga. There is, of course, lots of vacillating tones, from very serious to the hyper expressions and “freaking out” faces for comedic effect. This kind of humour never works for me, but especially in something so serious, it feels particularly odd.
Still, more than enough to keep me reading. So far, the most promising of the lists of best manga I’ve sampled.
This comes at the price of a very granular plot, however. With the story being a very slow burn, which seems to be normal for manga. There is, of course, lots of vacillating tones, from very serious to the hyper expressions and “freaking out” faces for comedic effect. This kind of humour never works for me, but especially in something so serious, it feels particularly odd.
Still, more than enough to keep me reading. So far, the most promising of the lists of best manga I’ve sampled.
takeruoji's review against another edition
5.0
Ich hätte es nie für möglich gehalten einmal eine definitive Meinung zu finden, aber 20th Century Boys ist in meinem persönlichem Ranking der beste Manga den ich je gelesen habe.
Das hat diverse Gründe, die alle zusammen ein exzellentes Gesamtmonument bilden. Als erstes die Story: Die ist einerseits hochinteressant (wenn auch in ihren Grundzügen nicht besonders innovativ), was das Ganze aber auf eine besondere Stufe hebt ist die Erzählweise, die ständig zwischen den zahlreichen Zeitebenen switcht und in Rückblenden immer wieder neue Details ans Licht bringt (plus: hervorragende Referenzen an detailliert ausgearbeitete historische Ereignisse wie die Weltaustellung 1970 in Ōsaka und zahlreichen Referenzen an frühere Manga).
Die Figuren scheinen zu Beginn nur zweckmäßig, entwickeln sich aber im Laufe der Handlung doch auf eine recht unvorhersehbare Art und Weise (zumindest für mich). Durch die Zeitebenen ist auch eine Entwicklung über mehrere Lebensabschnitte gegeben, was zusätzlich zur Identifikation beiträgt.
Das Setting mit seinen Sci-Fiction-Elememten, der Kultgeschichte und zahlreichen Parallelen zu tatsächlichen Entwicklungen wie Terrorismus (wenn auch natürlich alles rein fiktional betrachtet werden muss) sind spannend, gut aufbereitet und regen zum Nachdenken über gewisse alltägliche Entwicklungen an.
Der Zeichenstil ist sauber und zweckmäßig, aber nichts was in Erinnerung bleibt.
Durch die zahlreichen popkulturellen Referenzen, der spannenden Geschichte, dem tollen Setting und den herausragend ausgearbeiteten Figuren definitiv die verdientesten fünf Sterne die ich je vergeben habe.
Das hat diverse Gründe, die alle zusammen ein exzellentes Gesamtmonument bilden. Als erstes die Story: Die ist einerseits hochinteressant (wenn auch in ihren Grundzügen nicht besonders innovativ), was das Ganze aber auf eine besondere Stufe hebt ist die Erzählweise, die ständig zwischen den zahlreichen Zeitebenen switcht und in Rückblenden immer wieder neue Details ans Licht bringt (plus: hervorragende Referenzen an detailliert ausgearbeitete historische Ereignisse wie die Weltaustellung 1970 in Ōsaka und zahlreichen Referenzen an frühere Manga).
Die Figuren scheinen zu Beginn nur zweckmäßig, entwickeln sich aber im Laufe der Handlung doch auf eine recht unvorhersehbare Art und Weise (zumindest für mich). Durch die Zeitebenen ist auch eine Entwicklung über mehrere Lebensabschnitte gegeben, was zusätzlich zur Identifikation beiträgt.
Das Setting mit seinen Sci-Fiction-Elememten, der Kultgeschichte und zahlreichen Parallelen zu tatsächlichen Entwicklungen wie Terrorismus (wenn auch natürlich alles rein fiktional betrachtet werden muss) sind spannend, gut aufbereitet und regen zum Nachdenken über gewisse alltägliche Entwicklungen an.
Der Zeichenstil ist sauber und zweckmäßig, aber nichts was in Erinnerung bleibt.
Durch die zahlreichen popkulturellen Referenzen, der spannenden Geschichte, dem tollen Setting und den herausragend ausgearbeiteten Figuren definitiv die verdientesten fünf Sterne die ich je vergeben habe.
porcepot's review against another edition
4.0
Kind of has a squid game vibe? But if the story was really long and a hot mess ... so addictive though. The ending is the weirdest thing. I dig it
crookedtreehouse's review against another edition
4.0
This first volume of Urasawa's mysterious maybe sci-fi manga focuses on a group of childhood friends who've grown up, kept somewhat in touch, but have their own separate lives and maybe a bit of animosity between them. When one of the childhood friends ends up killing themselves, a particular symbol starts to show up wherever the protagonist, Kenji, looks. He's convinced they need to discover what the symbol is for, and unite his friends to solve the mystery.
It's not too dissimilar a conceit to [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]'s [b:It|830502|It|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334416842l/830502._SY75_.jpg|150259], but similarities end there.
The story jumps around from childhood adventures in the late 60s, to their college years in the late 70s, and their lives in the late 90s. While the 1997 storyline appears to be going chronologically, the late 60s storyline jumps around, and there is only one scene so far set in the 1970s, and so far, it seems to be the least relevant part of the story.
As the 1997 storyline advances, we realize the group of friends that we've focused on, initially three men, extended to six, are just part of a "secret society" of friends that grew up together. It appears one of them is the leader of some sort of cult that plans to bring about an apocalypse and take down other relgiious groups. To what ends, we don't know.
At some point in the 2010s someone recommended [b:Monster: Perfect Edition, Vol. 1|18775119|Monster Perfect Edition, Vol. 1|Naoki Urasawa|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670519515l/18775119._SX50_.jpg|13882777] to me, and I couldn't find all the volumes, so I decided to pick this up without having anyidea what the story was. Several volumes sat on my manga shelves for years, as I was missing volume two. It arrived in the mail last week, so I've decided the time had come to see if this was woth the read through. I'm happy to say that I do Really Enjoy this so far. The mystery portion and the reliance on flashbacks has me a little worried, as this came out during the split narrative boom of the late 90s, between Pulp Fiction and Lost, and many of the split narrative stories began with promise before petering out.
If you're looking for an Entry Level manga, this might be a good one. For some reason, I see the split narrative as being a Very American storytelling device (this may be incorrect), and I find the characters' dialog and motivations to be extremely relatable. I'm picking up volume two to read as soon as I post this entry.
It's not too dissimilar a conceit to [a:Stephen King|3389|Stephen King|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg]'s [b:It|830502|It|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334416842l/830502._SY75_.jpg|150259], but similarities end there.
The story jumps around from childhood adventures in the late 60s, to their college years in the late 70s, and their lives in the late 90s. While the 1997 storyline appears to be going chronologically, the late 60s storyline jumps around, and there is only one scene so far set in the 1970s, and so far, it seems to be the least relevant part of the story.
As the 1997 storyline advances, we realize the group of friends that we've focused on, initially three men, extended to six, are just part of a "secret society" of friends that grew up together. It appears one of them is the leader of some sort of cult that plans to bring about an apocalypse and take down other relgiious groups. To what ends, we don't know.
At some point in the 2010s someone recommended [b:Monster: Perfect Edition, Vol. 1|18775119|Monster Perfect Edition, Vol. 1|Naoki Urasawa|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670519515l/18775119._SX50_.jpg|13882777] to me, and I couldn't find all the volumes, so I decided to pick this up without having anyidea what the story was. Several volumes sat on my manga shelves for years, as I was missing volume two. It arrived in the mail last week, so I've decided the time had come to see if this was woth the read through. I'm happy to say that I do Really Enjoy this so far. The mystery portion and the reliance on flashbacks has me a little worried, as this came out during the split narrative boom of the late 90s, between Pulp Fiction and Lost, and many of the split narrative stories began with promise before petering out.
If you're looking for an Entry Level manga, this might be a good one. For some reason, I see the split narrative as being a Very American storytelling device (this may be incorrect), and I find the characters' dialog and motivations to be extremely relatable. I'm picking up volume two to read as soon as I post this entry.
imizabel's review against another edition
4.0
Un super 1er tome ! C'est introductif mais en même temps on rentre bien en immersion dans l'histoire. C'est très prometteur pour la suite car j'arrive à m'attacher aux personnages et j'ai envie de savoir ce qui va se passer après.