20th Century Boys: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 5

20th Century Boys Kanzenban #5

by Naoki Urasawa, Takashi Nagasaki (Contributor), Akemi Wegmüller (Translator)

A deluxe bind-up edition of Naoki Urasawa’s award-winning epic of doomsday cults, giant robots and a group of friends trying to save the world from destruction!

Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren’t for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a group of boys who try to save the world.

In 2014, Tokyo is under the complete control of the mysterious ruler known as the Friend. Kanna has chosen to step forward and confront the Friend in order to carry out the last wishes of her uncle Kenji, who has been missing since Bloody New Year’s Eve. As Kanna gathers a group of outcasts and misfits to face the Friend, her high school classmate Koizumi faces true horror in the brainwashing camp known as Friend Land. It is there that she sees something that no one was ever meant to see: the true identity of the Friend. Who will survive in this world where it is nearly impossible to distinguish friend from foe?

Genres: Manga, Comics, Graphic Novels, Seinen, Science Fiction, Comics Manga, Mystery

424 pages, Paperback

First published May 30, 2016

About the author

Urasawa Naoki (浦沢直樹) is a Japanese mangaka. He is perhaps best known for Monster (which drew praise from Junot Díaz, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) and 20th Century Boys.

Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.

Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing

Reviews

[nica · Rating 5 out of 5]

vorrei esplodere come una bomba nucleare… non ho capito nulla ma in realtà ho capito tutto… ho avuto i brividi, il sovrannaturale… i cucchiaini, due maschere, la faccia…

[Artemy · Rating 1 out of 5]

If I wasn’t getting these volumes for free from Edelweiss, I wouldn't be reading this manga at all by this point. But just like some junk food that's already in front of you, it's impossible to stop ingesting even if you fully realise how disgusting and unhealthy it is for you. In short, 20th Century Boys sucks balls. It's a hacky, incompetent story dependent entirely on its endless twists, reveals and fake-outs, and I have no idea how most people don't get desensitised to it all when they get this far into the story. This "perfect" edition gets us up to volume 10 of the 22-volume series, and the story is still built upon teasing the identity of the mysterious evil "friend". We get introduced to yet another creepy character who might just be the big villain in the most laughable and clichéd manner — we're talking actual thunderstorms, lightning bolts, evil laughter, obsession with kids' toys and talking-to-their-invisible-mother level of sinisterness here, all before predictably revealing that he was the good guy all along, actually. Kanna's adventures in ridiculousness are back in full swing, too, this time with even less sense and even more foreshadowing, twisting and copping out. God, I'm exhausted by this series. I must stop doing this to myself and quit reading it for good, Urasawa's fantastic artwork is not worth all the frustration that comes with reading the actual story. This is awful. This manga does not deserve to be considered such a classic.

[Whitney Jamimah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about childhood trauma!

This volume had a smidge of middle book syndrome. The plot did keep moving, we were never just talking in circles like Death Note but there weren’t any of those HUGELY explosive moments that we got in the previous 2 volumes. Urasawa has me hook, line and sinker though, that I can say for sure. There are so many moving parts right now it’s insane!

[Facundo Torres · Rating 5 out of 5]

No puede ser tan bueno esto lpm

[Chris Pinner · Rating 5 out of 5]

It keeps sprawling out and it's great.

[Oliver Bateman · Rating 5 out of 5]

volume 4 was fairly slow, but the pace quickened here as the plot shifted to storylines involving Kanna and Kyoko Koizumi. The Sadakiyo subplot was nicely done as well. If Urasawa maintains this level of quality, the final seven volumes should = a minor masterwork, as suspenseful potboilers go.

[Elisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 ⭐

[Taylor Rabbitt · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️

[Des Fox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. We get a huge fake out in this one that had me reeling. There are some fantastic turns in this one that really got me pumped building up to a series of small reveals. The cliffhanger at the end is brutal and a guarantee that anyone there will be picking up the next perfect edition. Kana's story is awesome, and the casino scene is one of my absolute favorites in recent manga memory. The art as always is incredible. I am incredibly fascinated by how Urasawa manages to capture so much character in each and every face in an industry notorious for its samey character designs.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

MY BOY, MY POOR POOR BOY. I ALMOST CRIED WHEN HE GOT THE PHOTO. MY POOR POOR SADA-KIYO. YOU DESERVED SO MUCH BETTER. MY POOR BOY. great teacher 👨‍🏫. 🥲

[Doc · Rating 5 out of 5]

No Guts, No Glory

Deep inside an immersive virtual reality simulator Koizumi is supposed to be brainwashed by the friends but due to interference before hand thanks to Yoshitsune and his crew she has a fighting chance and an opportunity to discover the truth about the man simply known as the Friend might be in hand as well. However things are not what they seem as Koizumi finds herself unable to shake suspicions that plague her after the wool was yanked away from her eyes which may lead her into even more danger and a familiar face from the virtual simulator comes into her life.

In the mean time Kanna has her own fight to step up to as she gains more allies everyday after discovering the vile plans set forth by the friends organization to assassinate the Pope. Even though she is still young like her father she is blessed with psychic gifts which she will need to assemble not just allies but an army to take on the oppressive friend organization which has infiltrated so many organizations already. Almost half way through the series and it is time those that would be heroes take steps against those that need to be over thrown. The resistance is coming.

[Liam || Books 'n Beards · Rating 4 out of 5]

Every time I take a break from reading 20th Century Boys, when I come back I'm always amazed at how good it is. It blows my mind how characters can be talking about 'The Book of Prophecy' and about all these silly things, but the art and the characters carry it strongly like it's a very Big Deal.

Can't wait to get Volume 6.

[Nelliamoci · Rating 5 out of 5]

Io non riesco proprio a immaginarmi mentre leggo questa storia senza divorare un volume dietro l’altro.
In questo numero il ritmo della storia prende ancora più velocità, i destini si incrociano e finalmente si cominciano a conoscere più dettagli sull’Amico e su alcuni personaggi chiave.

[Víctor · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este tomo no me ha acabado de enamorar. Hay muchas bolas en el aire ahora mismo y creo que le faltaba algo para que fuera más catártico. Con todo, sigo interesado, aunque estoy flipando un poco porque acabo de ver que quedan 6 tomos más y esto parece que se acaba.

[Yone · Rating 5 out of 5]

Pfff... que mal rollo todo y que maravilla al mismo tiempo 😍😍😍

[Al Capwned · Rating 3 out of 5]

I find Kyoko to be really funny but I think we've reached a point where this series is starting to get too "impossible". I mean, OK, I get that the story is a bit farfetched from the beginning but now I feel that it overdid it.

[Coralie Tomi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Encore une masterclass

[Elijah Villegas · Rating 5 out of 5]

“No space aliens ever came down to rescue me…”

Favorite one so far (I realize I keep saying that). But the way seemingly insignificant side characters are effortlessly fleshed out is amazing.

[Minnie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know what else to say but I absolutely love this series

[Jennifer Hahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jag börjar bli liiite orolig att Urasawa inte kan knyta ihop allt på ett bra sätt. Jag är visserligen bara halvvägs in i serien men det är väldigt... mycket just nu.

Det har varit lite upp och ner ända sedan det stora tidshoppet för någon volym sedan. Men det går verkligen inte att sluta läsa. Det är tillräckligt intriguing för att jag ska känna att jag måste fortsätta. Dessutom är det värt att läsa serien bara för karaktärerna och Urasawas unika tecknarstil.

[image error]

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

This has been the first volume that I haven't enjoyed a lot. Overall the pacing is still fast and fun. The mysteries and fake-outs keep you guessing. The action is well choregraphed, and the art is great. But the issues I have with this volume have to do with a lack of character development, and with Kanna and Kyoko's storylines.

It's a pretty far-out manga, and I usually don't have a problem with suspending my disbelief - but this volume started to test the limits of what makes sense even in the flexible logic of this world. Kanna makes some pretty stupid decisions and somehow doesn't face any negative consequences, even though there would be some very obvious repercussions. On top of that, her personality of being edgy, holier-than-thou, angry, arrogant, and good at everything is starting to push her into annoying and unlikeable territory. She's just not that compelling of a character when she's basically a very good person (spends her last dollars helping homeless people) who is very good at everything (super intelligent, in great shape, has a special psychic power) and doesn't seem that conflicted about much.

Her plot line about gambling in order to create a truce between the Thai and Chinese mafias didn't really work for me. It felt like really stretching the limits of reality, even in this heightened world. On top of that it felt kind of contrived and forced. And then the prophecy being telegraphed so hard that "a savior will rise up and be assassinated" - when it was super obvious Kanna was not going to die - made all the build up feel a bit unearned and frustrating. Finally - the conclusion of that prophecy seemed weird - like the police officer is killed, because he was the savior? How does that make sense? And the assassin shot him at like the last second?

There was also an overwhelming sense of - why are they letting Kanna get away with this? They somewhat address this at the very end of the volume with the principal hinting that they all know Kanna is the daughter of the Friend and therefore has special privileges. I'm surprised the Friend wouldn't want her brainwashed or just close to him so he can keep an eye on her - but I suppose he may have his reasons. Again it's a bit nit-picky, but I think they just stretched my belief a bit too far with Kanna.

In addition the whole fake-out with Sadakiyo didn't quite land for me. I think ultimately the whole arc of him getting a photo from his old teacher is heart-warming and sweet, but getting there felt a bit strange. And his character motivation is super strange. He became a teacher and he works for the friends and now suddenly of all times he's decided to betray his friend? Just seems again kind of odd and convenient timing.

I didn't particularly love this volume, the constant fake-outs and twists are getting maybe a tad bit tiring. The lack of character diversity didn't help as Kanna and Kyoto are pretty one-dimensional. But I'm hoping that Kanna's conflict with her father being the friend will bring some depth, along with moving forward with other characters.

[Carlos J. Eguren · Rating 5 out of 5]

¡Aaaaaaaaaah! Grito épico al máximo de decibelios y riff de guitarra para hablar del manga más épico que he leído hasta la fecha: 20th Century Boys es una maldita joya. Y sí, sé que mucha gente me está alertando de su tramo final, pero no me importa, lo estoy disfrutando como un condenado y, al igual que me pasa con Stephen King o Junji Ito, soy de los que se lo pasa mejor con el viaje que con los propios finales (Apocalipsis me gustó demasiado como para quedarme solo con "la Mano de Dios"... WTF?... y Uzumaki se pierde un poco, aunque adoro cómo abraza el horror cósmico de Lovecraft; solo por poner un ejemplo de ambos).

No importa. Twentieth Century Boys sigue mezclando líneas temporales, a medida que avanza sobre el enigma de quién es Amigo, el ser cuya organización ha tomado el poder gracias a hábiles movimientos inspirados en los juegos del pasado de unos críos. Solo he visto historias tan colosales en series de televisión y alguna que otra novela y me resulta impresionante saber que solo lo hizo Urasawa con ayuda de Takashi Nagasaki.

La trama principal es la de Kanna, la sobrina de uno de los niños originales (Kenji), que es la última esperanza para librar al mundo de esta amenaza autoritaria surgida de unos juegos infantiles. Deberá unir a una serie de personajes dispares para enfrentarse a esta amenaza (bendita trama del casino y la mafia), al mismo tiempo que hacen acto de presencia antiguos amigos de su tío, personajes siniestros que lavan el cerebro a los que no sucumben ante Amigo y una compañera del instituto que ha ido descubriendo varios misterios que implican a Kanna y Amigo.

Hay momentos excelentes a lo largo de toda la obra. Siempre hay alguna historia que deseo compartir con alguien que no lo ha leído o que se queda en mi mente durante un largo tiempo. Disfruto mucho con la trama de los críos, adoro a Kanna y me maravilla todo lo que rodea al homenaje que hace Urasawa a los mechas y la ciencia ficción.

Sé que mucha gente se queja del enorme número de subtramas que van convergiendo o no a lo largo de la historia (la trama de la mafia, el autor de manga, el parque temático de Amigo, el pasado de los críos...), pero es una historia tan inmensa, tan entretenida, tan poderosa... que Naoki Urasawa me convence en cada número y eso no hay quien lo cambie. Ya soy uno de los 20th Century Boys.

Más críticas con gritos y riffs de guitarra en link: mi blog

[Denny B. · Rating 5 out of 5]

Il quarto volume si era concluso con le palpitazioni mentre il quinto va subito dritto al sodo: Koizumi vede il volto dell’Amico e ne rimane sconvolta. Dice che è stato terribile, così spaventoso da non essere umano.
Per fortuna non bisogna aspettare un intero volume per scoprire cos’ha visto perché andando avanti si scopre la verità su Sadakiyo: è stato il migliore amico dell’Amico, ma quella non era vera amicizia, ma una sorta di schiavitù, che lo ha legato fino ad adesso. Ma quando la corda viene tirata troppo, alla fine si spezza, e così è per Sadakiyo, che decide di mettersi contro di lui.

Kanna intanto riesce a portare dalla sua parte alleati potenti come la mafia cinese e thailandese, che coopereranno affinché il Papa non venga assassinato dall’Amico. Però, la domanda resta sempre quella: qual è il vero volto dell’Amico? Koizumi ha visto una fotografia di quando era bambino.

Si pensava che la buffa maschera indossata dall’Amico fosse quella di Sadakiyo, ma in realtà quest’ultimo ne indossava un’altra mentre era sul tetto della scuola per cercare di mettersi in contatto con gli extraterrestri. Inoltre nei flashback precedenti Kenji & Co. sono convinti che l’Amico indossasse proprio la maschera buffa… considerando l’invisibilità di Sadakiyo ai tempi della scuola, forse si capisce perché lo ricordino in maniera errata. Spero e mi auguro che Urasawa non si incasini con questa storia delle maschere.

[Camilo Guerra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vueleve Kanna y nos recuerda que es un personaje que es lo MEJOR DE LO MEJOR,y se metera con la Iglesia, con las mafias Chinas y Tailandesas mientras una profecía quiere verla muerta, además, Keyko siente que ¨Amigo¨viene por ella...

LO BUENO: Kanna y Keyko son los mejores personajes de la serie, de lejos, las ves hacer cosas, lo quieran o no, te preocupas por ellas, les haces fuerza, te hacen reír, les gritas...son geniales, y adelantan la historia, además, el tomo tiene varios Cliffhangers ben manejados, y la ultima parte, s una película de drama-terror psicológico, dibujada de un maravilloso que acojona.

LO MALO: que termine y nos deje con esa ansiedad de un cliffhanger que duele.

[Alfonso Rivadeneyra · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPOILERS
Possible the best volume since the first one. Making Kyoko Koitsumi one of the main characters was a great decision, since the story had lost a bit of its punch; it was necessary to have a relatable hero. Also, the moment where Sadakiyo gets the old picture was so well done that I can only praise Urasawa.

Even though, this series continues to lean on coincidences to move forward. The pay off of those coincidence is great, but the device is used SO MUCH in this manga that it gets very old, very quickly.

[Lina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dios mío, que volumen tan brutal. Me lloré la vida con Sadakiyo, pobre niño tan maltratado que solo quería un amigo (y el que consiguió era una basura).

Ya puedo confirmar mis hipótesis de quién es Amigo, que casualidad que se le olvidó comentarle a Kenji ciertas partes de su interacción con Sadakiyo en la base secreta... Por eso yo decía ¿que hace él con la ropa de Amigo?, y de paso le echó toda la culpa a Sadakiyo. Ya confirmé que es él, solo falta que el manga lo confirme.

El chico sin -con- rostro como lloré. El mejor volumen hasta ahora.

[mau · Rating 5 out of 5]

still v good ! sadakiyos side story was so beautiful and embarrassingly made me tear up a microscopic bit in the bus ??? i think that’s what i enjoy the most about naoki, the way he’s able to write main or even side characters like sadakiyo and make them so human but also it’s PAINFUL: regardless, looking forward to the rest

[sundayreading · Rating 5 out of 5]

best one so far

[Vishanth · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Bro I straight up shed tears when I read this volume😭 wow

There are two primary perspectives in this book that overlap however I'll discuss each one separately

Kanna's storyline took a direction I did not expect but loved either way. It's starts with a mini gambling arc which was so up my alley. I LOVE gambling stories. Maybe because I'm a huge poker fan. Either way it's super intriguing to see Kanna's talents be mythologised in a way but still not seeming supernatural it's a fine line to walk but executed well. It all leads to her making peace and forming an alliance with the triads which has been building up for a while. Seeing the formations and the sparks for rebellion in this dystopian world done in such a fun epic and nuanced fashion is so cool to see. It also has one of the most fist pumping moments that made me so hyped. SHOGUN IS HIM! what kinda loses me is the last minute introduction of the new book of prophecies. The original was plausible for a child of that age. However a sequel that descriptive and convenient feels out of the realm of possibility for a 10 year old to write and borders on fantasy.

The second major storyline was in Koizumis perspective. Already in two books and Koizumi is a new favourite. Seeing how her arc was resolved from the previous volume was something I was excited to read. Seeing Yoshi having to make decisions of a leader was a nice tie in for his arc and I'm so Glad Koizumis story doesn't end there. I did not expect her story to be so intimately involved in the reveal of the friends identity however I'm not complaining. Koizumi is officially an enemy of the state for knowing information, valuable information that could change everything. I love the whole fugitive running from the law angle here and Koizumi is such a quirky fun fish out of water it makes you feel sorry but also entertained by her misfortune. What really sold me on this storyline and made me so frickin emotional was the introduction of Sakakiyo. This character has been built up for volumes as a pivotal player and to finally see his side of the story was such an unexpected but heartbreaking twist that I absolutely loved. Urasawa has this amazing ability to really dig at the readers own insecurity or personal childhood trauma that makes it so relatable. Sakakiyo a child who no matter what could never be noticed by anyone despite being kind at heart. Not even the camera notices him. The fact that he had absolutely zero pictures of himself to the point that a totalitarian government couldn't even find an accurate enough data to model a younger face of his for the simulation is so painfully heartbreaking. When he visited his old teacher who without introduction recognised him and gives him the one and only picture of him as a child. That s**t broke me. There is something so universally relatable about feeling so invisible against you best efforts. There's just something unexplainable about you that people even ones you consider close just do not notice or remember you about. Seeing Sakakiyo meet the one person who remembered him after 40 years was so beautiful and in only one volume I want nothing but happiness for this poor sweet man. The way Urasawa makes you so quickly endeared to a new character is unlike any other writer out there.

If only the new book of prophecies storyline were to convince me of its existence then I'd easily give this another 5 stars just for my boy Sakakiyo

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Voilà un tome que je sentais un peu plus lent et auquel je ne pensais mettre que quatre étoiles pendant la première moitié, mais qui a rapidement inversé la tendance dans sa deuxième moitié pour devenir un de mes préférés.

On retrouve tout d’abord Kyôko, toujours dans l’attraction virtuelle, qui ne parvient finalement pas à voir qui se cache derrière le teruteru bozu, avant de se faire emmener par Yoshitsune enfant sur le toit de l’école, où elle fait face à Ami enfant, accompagné de Sadakiyo. Mais qu’a-t-elle bien pu voir en regardant le visage d’Ami pour hurler ainsi avant d’être brutalement sortie de l’attraction virtuelle ?

On suit ensuite Kanna pendant une bonne partie du tome, la partie dans le casino reste sympathique, d’autant plus qu’elle semble s’y faire un nouvel allié… Après avoir usé de ses pouvoirs de divination pour amasser une énorme somme d’argent, elle tente de convaincre les personnes présentes de se joindre à son combat…

C’est quand même la partie que j’ai le moins aimé, avec celle qui suit, durant laquelle Kanna, en accord avec le nouveau cahier de prédictions dont on vient d’apprendre l’existence en même temps que la mort de Mon-Chan quelque part entre 2000 et 2014, organise un rassemblement à l’église de Shinjuku avec les membres des mafias thaïe et chinoise. L’entrée d’Otcho reste quand même badass et ses retrouvailles avec Kanna et Yukiji, bien que brèves, sont bienvenues.

Retour auprès de Kyôko; obsédée par ce qu’elle a vu dans l’attraction virtuelle, elle ne parvient pourtant pas à s’en souvenir et elle doit rapidement demander l’aide de Yoshitsune lorsque la dreamnavigator Takasu la prévient qu’elle va être renvoyée à Ami-world… Les choses changent lorsqu’arrive dans son lycée le nouveau professeur d’anglais qu’elle semble reconnaître immédiatement.

Cette dernière partie mérite à elle seule les cinq étoiles, puisque le professeur n’est autre que Sadakiyo, sur lequel le doute planait quant à sa mort ou son identité en tant qu’Ami. J’ai su que c’était lui à l’instant où il s’est mis à pleurer en demandant au garçon qui venait de se faire tabasser si tout allait bien, et j’étais certain également qu’il jouait la comédie et cherchait à protéger Kyôko au moment où il a dit à la proviseure, au téléphone, qu’il ignorait où elle était.

Sa décision, par la suite, de trahir Ami et de protéger Kyôko, puis le récit de son histoire alors qu’ils s’enfuient en voiture, m’ont beaucoup touché, et il est rapidement devenu un de mes personnages préférés. Un garçon brisé qui ne cherchait rien d’autre que des amis et qui a été manipulé et endoctriné par la seule personne qui a accepté d’être son « ami ». C’était dur de le voir affirmer tristement qu’il était « le garçon qui n’existait pas ». Le voir pleurer en regardant la seule photo de lui enfant qu’il ait vu m’a mis les larmes aux yeux, c’est dire.

En somme, encore un excellent tome, plus lent au départ, mais qui repart sur les chapeaux de roue et continue d’apporter des réponses tout en soulevant de nouvelles questions. Je suis déjà en train de lire le tome 6, impossible de résister à l’achat du prochain tome dès que j’en finis un, c’est dire à quel point cette série est exceptionnelle.