Naoki Urasawa's 20th Century Boys, Vol. 21 (21)

Great!

It has been hinted that the Friend will try to kill humanity, but no one knew how.We have seen him gain control through fear by spreading the virus and killing people, but of course, the blame going against terrorism. But now, the Friend is causing mass hysteria when UFO's fly over the city and pretending they will be attacking civilization.Under the guise of sending people to Mars, mass hysteria breaks out as everyone who wants to survive is hoping to get on the list. But Kanna and Kenji's friends no better. This is a plot to annihilate humanity and the only way to save them is to get them to a safe point. But what massive structure can hold a lot of people and protect them from the UFO's?As Kenji's friends wonder about what is to take place, with the revelation that Kenji may be alive has inspired hope. And his friends remember the past and try to recollect their memories of when they defended their childhood headquarters.Meanwhile, Kenji makes his way towards Tokyo and the identity of the DJ is revealed!Suffice to say, so much is happening volume 21 and it is setting up the final volumes as we will more than likely see the building of the final clash between Kenji and the Friend.Naoki Urasawa's "20th CENTURY BOYS" just gets better and better and as we now are nearing the final stretch of the series, one can only wonder what Naoki Urasawa has planned. And I'm guessing that we are going to see a lot of deaths and possible demise of several main characters. So far, "20th Century Boys" has been edgy and hasn't pulled any punches so far. So, anything can happen right now in this manga series!Featuring wonderful illustration and awesome storytelling, which Naoki Ursawa is known for, "Naoki Urasawa's 20th CENTURY BOYS" Vol. 21 is another excellent volume for the series and an important storyline as it definitely sets things up for the final volumes of the series.As always, Naoki Urasawa knows how to grab the attention of the reader. His artwork and how he is able to capture the sense of action and emotion through the pages is magnificent and so far, this series has been engrossing and highly enjoyable thus far.If you have been following this series this long, you're probably as addicted as I am and with this latest volume, "Naoki Urasawa's 20th CENTURY BOYS" vol. 21 is a no-brainer, it's a must buy volume and quite simply, "20th CENTURY BOYS" is a must buy series!

It's a shame how disenchanged with this series I have become. It really should have ended 5 or 10 books ago. While the quality of Urasawa's art and storytelling is as strong as ever it can no longer conceal how padded and slow-moving this series has become.I suppose I should include a plot summary, in Volume 21 Kenji and his friends prepare for the final, final, final, ultimate battle with the Friend while the Friend prepares is final, final, ultimate, for real plan to destroy the world.Only one book left, then a 2 book 21st Century Boys. I guess I'll stick with it but only out of habit.

Naoki Urasawa, qui avant '20th Century Boys', a réalisé son chef d'oeuvre 'Monster Intégrale Luxe volume 1 (regroupant tomes 1 et 2)', et qui après '20th Century Boys', a fait l'admirable hommage à Tezuka qu'est 'Pluto, tome 1', nous promène sans doute trop longuement dans cette série qui doit en principe voir une bande de gamins japonais du début des années 1970 (les années glam rock du '20th Century Boy (Original 7" Version)' de T-Rex) parvenir à mettre à bas un tyran, "The Friend", qui, au cours de plus de 15 années à partir du 31 décembre 1999, a réalisé à la lettre près leurs délires de gosses-qui-ont-trop-de-temps-libre-le-mercredi en mettant en place à l'échelle mondiale catastrophe après catastrophe, jusqu'à, dans ce tome, engager la destruction finale de notre monde. Les survivants disséminés sur la Terre entière, parmi la bande en question des gamins qui ne sont pas liés à 'L'Ami", convergent vers un Tokyo entouré d'une muraille pour, en quelque sorte, la "Lutte Finale". Mais cela fait maintenant plusieurs volumes qu'il en est ainsi et que nous n'avançons vers le dénouement qu'à la vitesse d'un escargot cacochyme... Ici, parmi les dizaines de personnages introduits depuis le volume 1, on prend le temps d'apprendre qu'un jeune garçon livre des soupes japonaises au Pape, en cachette, car Sa Sainteté se méfie de qu'on lui propose au Vatican. Yes!Urasawa est un maître du manga qui abuse un peu de son talent (et de notre patience)...