everybody says it's just like rock n' roll
And now, another installment of "things Orly should have posted about months ago."
Today's episode- 20th Century Boys and 21st Century Boys (the latter is really just the last two volumes of the former) by Urasawa Naoki!
...Have I mentioned I love Urasawa? I love Urasawa.
The setup of 20th Century Boys is that, when they were kids, a group of friends made up a story about how an evil group was going to do terrible things and take over the world, and how they were going to stop the evil group. This is the kind of thing kids do. Thirty years later, these friends have kind of drifted apart and are doing very normal things- one inherited his family's convenience store, one is an office worker, one is in airport security, ect. Then those things that the evil group in their story were supposed to do? Start happening. It seems to tie back to a strange cult lead by someone known only as "Friend." Our heroes know that "Friend" must be someone they knew in their childhood. But that was thirty years ago. They don't remember everything. And some of what they do remember might not even be accurate. Be that as it may, it seems it's up to them to save the world.
20th Century Boys achieves this wonderful balance in its narrative between perfectly pulling off inspiring moments which would normally be corny and completely subverting what you think is going to be a corny inspiring thing by either bringing it down to the real world or using it in a way that is completely opposite what you'd expect, between parts of the plot you see coming and twists which leave you wanting to shout "did that just happen?" The plot has many layers, with events in several timelines all impacting each other. But while it's complex, it's certainly not impossible to follow, the timelines are all juggled well, and Urasawa's pacing is, of course, excellent.
And it is gorgeous. The backgrounds are marvelously detailed and evocative, and the characters are such wonderful, expressive individuals. It's particularly worth noting how the characters change as they grow older, but in recognizable and realistic ways. They are distinctly themselves at each stage of life.
In spite of its epic scope, this is at heart almost an entirely character-driven story. So it's a good thing it has amazing characters. This series has a ton of things going for it, but what really makes it is the cast. I love the cast. I love them so much I am planning on another post in which I shall fangirl about them. They're wonderful people. They can be dorky, oblivious, temperamental, or meek. They're humans. They make human mistakes. Which makes it all the better when they find it in themselves to do these epically heroic things. You seriously want to stand up and cheer when they pull ahead, and their setbacks are heartbreaking. Urasawa makes the villains human as well, which is impressive given how evil some of the stuff they do is. Ultimately, you feel for a lot of the villains too. ...Just not as much as for the heroes.
It seems like a very personal work, in a lot of ways. The protagonists are Urasawa's age, and he loves throwing in all sorts of references to the things he grew up with. Urasawa put a lot of care into this series. He even wrote and performed the Deeply Significant Song.
I do think it ends up overreaching itself as it goes on. There are plot elements (especially the supernatural bits) and characters who do not need to be there. There are plot points which are never properly explained or explored, and a few parts where I felt there wasn't proper closure. I feel that the events of the last four volumes or so could have been stronger if they were condensed or cut down a bit. And, frankly, there are cases where the inspiring moments strain credibility a bit too much. It doesn't have the same level of grounding or narrative focus as Monster or Pluto.
Have those weaknesses kept me from drawing this on pretty much any available chalkboard or desk? Heck no.
Many people consider 20th Century Boys to be Urasawa's best work. I don't, I think that's Monster. But I completely understand the people who feel that way. While after reading it I can step back and go "that was a bit weak, and I'd like this explained," the truth is that reading it completely engages me in a way that precious little can.
Definitely recommended.
Today's episode- 20th Century Boys and 21st Century Boys (the latter is really just the last two volumes of the former) by Urasawa Naoki!
...Have I mentioned I love Urasawa? I love Urasawa.
The setup of 20th Century Boys is that, when they were kids, a group of friends made up a story about how an evil group was going to do terrible things and take over the world, and how they were going to stop the evil group. This is the kind of thing kids do. Thirty years later, these friends have kind of drifted apart and are doing very normal things- one inherited his family's convenience store, one is an office worker, one is in airport security, ect. Then those things that the evil group in their story were supposed to do? Start happening. It seems to tie back to a strange cult lead by someone known only as "Friend." Our heroes know that "Friend" must be someone they knew in their childhood. But that was thirty years ago. They don't remember everything. And some of what they do remember might not even be accurate. Be that as it may, it seems it's up to them to save the world.
20th Century Boys achieves this wonderful balance in its narrative between perfectly pulling off inspiring moments which would normally be corny and completely subverting what you think is going to be a corny inspiring thing by either bringing it down to the real world or using it in a way that is completely opposite what you'd expect, between parts of the plot you see coming and twists which leave you wanting to shout "did that just happen?" The plot has many layers, with events in several timelines all impacting each other. But while it's complex, it's certainly not impossible to follow, the timelines are all juggled well, and Urasawa's pacing is, of course, excellent.
And it is gorgeous. The backgrounds are marvelously detailed and evocative, and the characters are such wonderful, expressive individuals. It's particularly worth noting how the characters change as they grow older, but in recognizable and realistic ways. They are distinctly themselves at each stage of life.
In spite of its epic scope, this is at heart almost an entirely character-driven story. So it's a good thing it has amazing characters. This series has a ton of things going for it, but what really makes it is the cast. I love the cast. I love them so much I am planning on another post in which I shall fangirl about them. They're wonderful people. They can be dorky, oblivious, temperamental, or meek. They're humans. They make human mistakes. Which makes it all the better when they find it in themselves to do these epically heroic things. You seriously want to stand up and cheer when they pull ahead, and their setbacks are heartbreaking. Urasawa makes the villains human as well, which is impressive given how evil some of the stuff they do is. Ultimately, you feel for a lot of the villains too. ...Just not as much as for the heroes.
It seems like a very personal work, in a lot of ways. The protagonists are Urasawa's age, and he loves throwing in all sorts of references to the things he grew up with. Urasawa put a lot of care into this series. He even wrote and performed the Deeply Significant Song.
I do think it ends up overreaching itself as it goes on. There are plot elements (especially the supernatural bits) and characters who do not need to be there. There are plot points which are never properly explained or explored, and a few parts where I felt there wasn't proper closure. I feel that the events of the last four volumes or so could have been stronger if they were condensed or cut down a bit. And, frankly, there are cases where the inspiring moments strain credibility a bit too much. It doesn't have the same level of grounding or narrative focus as Monster or Pluto.
Have those weaknesses kept me from drawing this on pretty much any available chalkboard or desk? Heck no.
Many people consider 20th Century Boys to be Urasawa's best work. I don't, I think that's Monster. But I completely understand the people who feel that way. While after reading it I can step back and go "that was a bit weak, and I'd like this explained," the truth is that reading it completely engages me in a way that precious little can.
Definitely recommended.