20th Century Boys Is Just like Rock n Roll

Hey, remember the turn of the century? New Years Eve, 2000. I was only 11 at the time and I remember being glued to the TV, waiting anxiously for the clock to strike midnight at the first place in the world. Waiting to see if the Y2K bug – which was probably some kind of computer problem but could just have easily been an enormous rampaging alien bug – would bring about the end of the world. Or if the bug didn’t show, maybe a giant robot would destroy us all instead… hey, it was a new millennium. Anything could’ve happened.

So what if it had? Who could have fought to save humanity?

How about Kenji Endou, a man who can’t give a speech to save his life but who dreamt in his childhood of saving the world. Except now he’s grown up and spends all his time working in his family’s mini-mart and taking care of his sister’s baby whom she left with him before running off. It’s a typically dull life until strange events begin to occur around him. People disappearing or murdered, the emergence of a familiar symbol, a cult and its leader who calls himself “Friend”… and somehow all of this is connected to Kenji and his friends’ childhood memories.

This is how Naoki Urasawa’s 20th Century Boys, one of the finest manga I’ve ever had the pleasure of reading, begins. I say “begins” because it’s a story that spans over 30 years… possibly a lot more than 30 but I wouldn’t know yet as I’ve only read through volume 6 of 22 and will be talking strictly about the first five in this post.

Kenji’s adult years take place in the late 90s leading up to 2000, in the same town he and his childhood friends grew up in. Most of them are still living there too, leading lives as fathers and salarymen. Yet there’s frequent flashbacks (that for once don’t make me tear my hair out and scream “not another damn flashback!”) to the 70s when the boys and their imaginations ran wild. It’s like The Little Rascals with a 70s twist: Kenji and his buddies idolize rock and roll, watch Neil Armstrong land on the moon on snowy TV sets and sit in their secret fort dreaming of saving the world. 

These flashbacks always add something to the present story whether by furthering the plot or adding insight into the characters. For instance seeing the adult Kenji compared to the childhood one adds layers of depth. Although he’s not necessarily unhappy with his life as is, there’s a subtle regret that lurks just below the surface. Regret at giving up on his dreams of playing his guitar in a band or of no longer being the person he once was… the kind of kid who would jump to defend a friend from local bullies. Watching Kenji and the other characters reconcile with their former selves is infinitely satisfying and interesting.

20th Century Boys is a lot of things. It’s a mystery that had me burning through entire volumes as if I was trying to win a speed reading competition. It’s brilliantly well written and intricately plotted in a way that outdoes just about every other manga I’ve read. It can be funny but never beats you over the head with a joke and most of all it’s highly suspenseful, even scary. There were times when a couple panels would send a delightful shiver up my back and I’d check over my shoulder just to be sure Friend wasn’t behind me smiling evilly and levitating. Or putting his creepy symbol up on my wall.

Symbols can be powerful things. This one is everywhere.

There’s big things in store for Kenji and his friends but they’re no longer the kids they used to be. Nor are they spiky haired teenagers, they’re nearly middle aged… hell in manga years that means they’re practically dead. Even the music they like is old (“20th Century Boy” is from a song by T. Rex, an English rock band popular in the 70s). I really love stories about old guys forced back into the spotlight for one last stand and I think this manga is enough to make just about anyone a fan of that kind of story. It’s really that good.

Viz is releasing volume 1 in English in just a few days, on the 17th. Do yourself a favor and go pick this one up. It’s the approach of a new millennium all over again in 20th Century Boys and this time it’s going to be a lot more exciting. I can’t wait.