20th Century Boys

20th Century Boys
Cover of the first tankōbon volume
20世紀少年
(Nijū Seiki Shōnen)
Genre
Manga
Written byNaoki Urasawa
Published byShogakukan
English publisher
MagazineBig Comic Spirits
DemographicSeinen
Original runOctober 4, 1999April 24, 2006
Volumes22 (List of volumes)
Manga
21st Century Boys
Written byNaoki Urasawa
Published byShogakukan
English publisher
  • AUS: Madman Entertainment
  • NA: Viz Media
MagazineBig Comic Spirits
DemographicSeinen
Original runDecember 25, 2006July 14, 2007
Volumes2 (List of volumes)
Live-action film
20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End
Directed byYukihiko Tsutsumi
Written by
Music byRyomei Shirai
Licensed by
  • NA: Viz Pictures
  • UK: 4Digital Media
ReleasedAugust 30, 2008 (2008-08-30)
Runtime142 minutes
Live-action film
20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope
Directed byYukihiko Tsutsumi
Written by
  • Takashi Nagasaki
  • Yusuke Watanabe[3]
Music byRyomei Shirai
Licensed by
  • NA: Viz Pictures
  • UK: 4Digital Media
ReleasedJanuary 31, 2009 (2009-01-31)
Runtime139 minutes
Live-action film
20th Century Boys 3: Redemption
Directed byYukihiko Tsutsumi
Written by
  • Takashi Nagasaki
  • Naoki Urasawa[4]
Music byRyomei Shirai
Licensed by
  • NA: Viz Pictures
  • UK: 4Digital Media
ReleasedAugust 29, 2009 (2009-08-29)
Runtime155 minutes

20th Century Boys (Japanese: 20世紀少年, Hepburn: Nijusseiki Shōnen) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was originally serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1999 to 2006, with the 249 chapters published into 22 tankōbon volumes. A 16 chapter continuation, titled 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年, Nijūisseiki Shōnen), ran in the same magazine from 2006 to 2007 and was gathered into two tankōbon volumes. It tells the story of Kenji Endo and his friends, who notice that a cult-leader known only as "Friend" is out to destroy the world, and that his cult icon bears a striking resemblance to a symbol developed during their childhoods. The series makes many references to a number of manga and anime from the 1960s–1970s, as well as to classic rock music, its title being taken from T. Rex's song "20th Century Boy".

A trilogy of live-action film adaptations, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, were released in 2008 and 2009. The manga was licensed and released in English by Viz Media, and distributed in Australasia by Madman Entertainment. The films were also licensed by Viz in North America and by 4Digital Media in the United Kingdom.

20th Century Boys has received critical acclaim and has 36 million copies in circulation, making it one of the best-selling manga series of all time. It has won several awards, including the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Seiun Award.

  1. ^ a b c "Official Website for Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys". Viz Media. Archived from the original on April 13, 2020. Retrieved October 26, 2017.
  2. ^ "20世紀少年". Toho (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  3. ^ "20世紀少年<第2章> 最後の希望". Toho (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.
  4. ^ "20世紀少年 <最終章>ぼくらの旗". Toho (in Japanese). Archived from the original on October 6, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2021.