How can you write a story about a guy who has plans to take over the world and make it look believable and terrifying at the same time? Well, it seems that Urasawa knows the way to do it. 🔥🐐

Great video, not many people talk about the flaws of 20th Century Boys when reviewing it. It's one of my favorite manga but I'm glad we're able to discuss the negatives as well as the positives. Common Mugen W

This is genuinely one of the greatest manga I've read.

I think its even crazier when you find out the cult is actually based on a real Japanese cult that committed arguably the worst terrorist attack in Japan ever

Ok so I am completely down for discussing the negative aspects of 20th century boys. And find the video you created to be amazing. However just as you pointed out the flaws you found..I’ve gotta be honest. I simply don’t understand yours or anyones issues with all the friend stuff at the end. Like, the idea that the entire story began with Katsumata being treated as a non entity. Betrayed randomly and for no reason. Becoming even in his own mind a faceless creature…he hears kenji’s Record playing and realizes how unendingly important music is to him. After that after realizing how cruel and perfect Fukubei’s plan is, he follows it through to perfection after Fukubei dies as a child. He even has Yamane shoot him so he can resurrect himself as Katsumata and enact his own personal part of the plan…taking away the one thing Kenji has…his music. He sat with Kenji as a child and helped him write the song that would mean so much to him…and then used the fact that he co-wrote the song to phycologically guilt trip Kenji into admitting that he’s not a hero. 20th century boys is about the scorn of the forgotten. It’s about a young child who mentally became nothingness, and systematically did everything in his power to take kenji’s heroism away from him…and he wins. He does it. Kenji stating that he will not sing bob Lennon at the concert is Friends ultimate victory over Kenji. Like “oh you think your such a hero, but your favorite creation you made was co-written by a man you don’t even remember…” Not to mention he impregnated his sister and then essentially waited until she literally couldn’t be more mentally broken, then threw all kenji’s Sins at him and fully planned on killing kanna, because he knew that Kenji wouldn’t remember. He’s goading him, gloating because he knows that Kenji doesn’t remember what he did. That’s the entire point is that he views himself as nothingness so why would Kenji remember? Then Kenji reveals that he knows him and what he did… Katsumata freaks out when he realizes Kenji may actually not be the hypocrite he thought he was. Then all of Katsumatas mistakes (the childishness, the indoctrination, the neglect of SadaKiyo)…it all comes to a head and he is crushed under the weight of it. Blowing up the world is a bit random I do agree but it can probably just be chocked up to the fact that after breaking Kenji like he wanted, there was no use in the rest of the world even being there anymore. He broke the man and the group that turned him into collins. He proved that not only was he good enough to enact Fukubei’s plan, but he even resurrected like he couldnt. The big thing that he didn’t plan on was sadakiyo holding him in place. Ultimately what killed freind was the fact that he abused a forgotten child in the same way he was. And its the cause of his death. In the end, Kenji has had every part of his soul stripped, and Katsumata…a boy that tried to end his own life and was only stopped because he realized that the only thing worth living for is proving Kenji’s hypocrisy and breaking his freind group. It’s an absolutely brilliant, multi-layered backstory that I think about all the time and…I just don’t really get how you actively dislike it.

I waited patiently, and here you deliver. proud of you

I think the manga is the most peak mystery sci-fi thriller ever until the final arc, while it continues to have banger character moments and peak panels of the hero’s fighting friend I think the ending was kinda unsatisfying and rushed, I still loved my experience reading it though, I never thought I could experience a story get me to think like “there’s no way it goes deeper” AND THEN IT WENT DEEPER I just wish the ending wasn’t so rushed because god this manga is amazing

Thanks a lot for introducing this to me. I never knew I was missing out on such a great piece of work. Loved loved loved reading through it. Both you and Urasawa has gained a fan.

Awesome video and thanks for also talking about the manga flaws! I love 20th boys but I’m tired of people saying it’s flawless and friend is a perfect antagonist despite the many problems he has.

Woah this video had great editing. I really enjoyed this.

God damn, this is your best video yet fam. This is insane. Please make more long form videos

really liked this style of vid. even tho it was a long one pacing and editing were just right. glad u got to read 21st century boys n hope to see more w content from u soon

20CB Was The Only piece of Fiction till Now .which I lived through..I don't know why but while reading It .I felt like I was also the part of the world ..Cause it was so Real...Kenji from being a Dreamer to a Deemer ..and All of the Friend Group From being all lively to living their Basic Lives ..Damn that got me Worried about myself 😅,The musical touch 😭 is Unexplainable ,Thank U bro For this video This Masterpiece is so underrated

The release of the climax battle was changed to a timeskip because it was scheduled to release right after 911 happened so put of courtesy he changed it, or so ive read

Got the first volume of this lined up after I finish Pluto. CanNOT wait!!

I don't often comment on youtube videos but this was such a masterfully created video and you deserve more recognition. Keep up the amazing content!!!

This is an excellent video essay, I watched it because I just finished reading 20CB, I wish this had more views so more people could understand how great it is

Jesus man this video is so good

You reviewed this extremely well and I agree with everything you said. I felt the same exact way that the 3rd part left me confused and kind of made it tough to finish but overall I still loved the Manga

Loved this! I like to think that Friend is like politicians and 20th Century Boys is a critique to politics. Here in Latin America we have politicians that talk to talking birds that are incarnations of dead politicians, and politicians that openly consume hallucinogens among other stuff. Oh, and religious parties that go way beyond the Republican party in the US.

my favourite manga! Just reading it again now

I subscribed, you make a GREAT video essay! Now, next year, talk 21st Century Boys?

This video better blow the _hell_ up. It _has_ to. PLEASE KZfaq ALGORITHM I AM LITERALLY _B E G G I N G_ YOU 😭😭😭😭😭😭

as someone who stopped reading this manga after the first time skip because suddenly all the characters i liked of the first part were gone and supposedly dead it is nice seeing that the story still kept getting weirder and complicated but still had the heart of the first protagonists, and as a fan of urosawa’s pluto, his storytelling feats are great!!

I have read this manga and I have to say, it needs commitment BIG TIME I read the manga with several breaks through out the span of a year because at times the story feels completly diffrent and doesnt feel like its the same manga as it was in the beginning. This caused me to be quite confused as I forgot some details and was confused about charecters quite a lot (which is definetly my fault but the manga is to blame here as well). I felt as if many things went unexplained and ending wasnt that satisfactory but overall this manga is a great read nevertheless, just dont make the same mistake I did and read it all in one go when you have the time for it. P.S. monster is definetly more consistent and imo urusawa's best work

Uh oh imma bout to be watching this for a couple of days 😂

That FFX Seymour theme 🔥

I really thought this would be the best after watching monster. I don't feel the same after I finished monster, maybe an anime of this one could change my mind but monster is a whole different thing.

Subscribed!

I feel like putting in Katsumata as a second friend wasn't implemented well, it could have been if Katsumata was friend all along but the story makes it clear that Fukubei was the first friend, due to the reactions of Manjome and Kanna's reaction to meeting Katsumata friend and knowing he is different. I know there's an interpretation that Fukubei died in his hanging stunt and Katsumata imitated Fukubei since, but the story isn't written that way. You can have only Fukubei or Katsumata friend but you can't have both.

Very well produced video! But... where is the complete Alita battle angel and Alita last order review/essay? I’m waiting since the first Berserk video

Even though it’s hard to avoid the flaws of 20CB. I still think this is the greatest piece of fiction ever made.

Urasawa is a genius, 20th century boys is my favorite manga ever great great great great

Love this video but one small side note, the ending of 21st century boys which had katsumata as the friend all along only happens in the perfect edition of the manga, not the original

Finally someone willing to highlight the flaws of this series. It’s not bad by any stretch, but I do think the masterpiece label gets thrown around a little too loosely these days. Aside from the issues you mentioned, I think one of the biggest problems is the pacing and incessant need to have several chapters end with the same cliffhanger. There’s almost too much mystery in this series, to the point where it drags and feels fatiguing. Many of the reveals also feel very flat. Like why spend so many issues trying to make a big deal about the identity of a character, only to reveal its some random guy we see in a panel of issue 3 that had no bearing on the plot or meaningful interaction with the main cast? Why should the audience care about that? 21st Century Boys retcon really convolutes things too. I think it would have made for a nice coda if they had just focused on Kenjis confrontation with his past, and done away with the anti-proton bomb plot.

Wasn't very fond of the last 20 chapters or so but the manga is one of the best i have ever read and in my top five for sure

Love this manga!

My Favorite Urusawa Manga

this is my childhood reading

Urasawa is the best mangaka objectively

I haven't read it but now i will sure give it a try

48min vid,based

Any connections between this and the Aum Shinrikyo cult that conducted the failed nerve gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1997? It feels like the first act was similar to the build up of that cult under Shoko Asahara, AKA Fat Anime Jesus…

Would love to read this ,but there isn't a digital version available to bye 😭

I think Netflix can adapt this into cartoon version Btw the Live action version from 2000 is good thou

The only thing that the movie trilogy improves over the manga is making you aware of Katsumata and his motivations like the justice badge from the very beggining. The first time ive read the manga i thought that katsumata just took over Fukubei place after his death, and is only after watching the movies and rereading the manga that i noticed that he was acting along with Fukubei from the very start of the cult. Also the difference between the original ending with 2 Friends and the perfect edition ending with Katsumata as the only friend from the start almost ruins the series for me, i stick to the og

Common mugen w

20th Century Boys is a special manga for me. Is it flawless? No (no story is). Does it kinda fumble its ending? Yes, but those flaws aren't enough to make me love it less tbh. It's an incredibly ambitious story with one of the most likeable cast of characters I've ever seen and story that literally wouldn't let me stop reading. I also find the entire concept of ''Friend'' just fascinating. Is he a good ''character''? Maybe not. Is he an amazing Antagonist? For me he absolutely is. That being said, i think overall i still prefer "Monster'' in terms of writing but i definitely had a bigger emotional reaction to 20CB. A must read imo. Can't wait to check out Pluto and Billy Bat.

Very interesting story.

Jack Jack Jack. My evil is law!

"The best manga you've never read" Talks about one of the most one of the most popular manga by one of the most critically acclaimed mangaka (jesting aside, great review. Speaks to my own experience reading it quite well)

Where I can read the perfect edition for free? Pls reply😢

Isn't this manga in the top 10 of MANY people's lists?

When you realize at the end the boys are likely in their 70s

Gutalala sudalala🎵🎶🎶

its an 8/10. want some real peak jus read usogui

👆

Friend is the best manga villain ever made.💯🔥

I gotta disagree. read this whole shebang out of another recommendation and the only parts I liked was during the prison and friend land (in addition to couple minor ones). everything else felt way too slow and every time the characters think they found friend it turns out to be "someone else". this wouldn't have bothered me so much if they didn't pull this same trope like 5 times. and to top it all off, despite this manga being so long, the ending felt super rushed and left me unsatisfied. there was so much potential but it just kept me waiting for the payoffs which never came

Spoiler Fukube is friend

I'm on the 5th perfect edition and this story really teeters back and forth between being pretty good vs being as boring as watching paint dry. They are REALLY dragging this thing out and i'm not even half way through. thats absurd. If the friend is some really dumb twist i'm going to feel like I wasted my time.

I never realized how much Incredibles ripped off of 20th Century Boys!

if only there's a good adaptation of the series. the old one was...a bit..off.

i think its mid

Mid

The story would be 100 times better if they completely cut out Yukichi and Kanna. They didn't really do anything, they didn't teally have a personality and they were there just for political reasons.

I really loved this video and it brought me sone good memories Also i was just scrolling yt shorts where I encountered something which I can't just ignore kzfaq.info6JofRsCXoe8?feature=share I think this is dumb but what are ur takes?