20th Century Boys Scans
Member Opinions
Just so we're all clear and the manga warlords don't slit my throat for being honest, the manga is ABOVE EXCELLENCE. It receives a 10 (and higher) across all boards. Specifically, this is my rating for the live-action trilogy of films. The manga should have been adapted into a television series, not a film (or a trilogy), live-action or otherwise. The story lends itself to that medium, considering its large cast of characters, A Stories, B Stories, C Stories, etc. and the sheer amount of worldbuilding in a near future/pandemic era Japan (which eerily reflects our current times more accurately than when the manga was first published in 1999; it's weird typing that out because truth be told, I was only five then). Despite all the flaws presented here (such as the fact that the story feels rushed - you attempt to squish down 22 volumes of story, plus two volumes of the sequel into six, nine hours, it's inevitable - characters are vastly underdeveloped and... I don't know what it is about big budget Japanese productions, but for 2008, early 2010s, it looks very cheap, like it was shot in the '90s or early 2000s), there are some good qualities. The casting directors, for instance (in a similar vein to Netflix's Dark), dabbled in some sort of witchcraft: all the actors fit their parts exceptionally well... meaning, they look just like their manga characters in the flesh. There is never a mistake of who is supposed to be who. The kids for the younger versions of the cast are all amazing (they are arguably the most enjoyable and wholesome thing about the first film, drawing callbacks to the Losers' Club of IT). Also, the badass soundtrack, guys. Like YUS, that non-diegetic musical transition into the T. Rex song as Older Kenji rides on his motorbike like a boss bitch! Also, Kenji slamming into the stage got a laugh from me, not to mention that F@#$%^& ENDING with "Kenji's Song" on the school rooftop. Yes, it's corny as SHEEYUT, but seriously, I was invested in the characters for 24 manga volumes and three films, OKAY??!!