11 Jun / 20th Century Boys (vol. 08) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller
It’s 2014 and just-escaped-against-all-odds Otcho and his manga artist sidekick Kakuta are finally back in Tokyo … and Otcho’s got a totally different version of fin-de-siècle history to share from the revisionist textbooks being taught as the truth. What happened to Kenji on that fateful Bloody New Year’s Eve 1999 remains a mystery … except the only trace left of him is a cassette tape of some pretty awful singing that his niece Kanna can never let go.
Meanwhile, careless curiosity about said Bloody New Year’s Eve has gotten Kanna’s schoolmate, Koizumi Kyoko, a one-way ticket to Friend Land, where only the chosen few get to go … to be brainwashed or worse. But Koizumi is one smart, contradictory, spirited teenager and she’s not willing to play by the rules.
When she tries to break out, she’s befriended by the “Chief” – get ready for a delightfully surprising twist. He escorts her to the underground “secret headquarters” where she’s briefed on what she must do to help save the world. She goes from being almost the worst student to one of the top three … which then earns her the chance to get to the final level. Koizumi goes back to 1971, when Kenji and crew were just young kids, where she plays part in the ultimate adventure. The Chief must know what happens there … but will Koizumi survive to tell?
Another heart-thumping, too-quick read that will leave you wanting more, more, more!
To check out the other volumes of 20th Century Boys, click here.
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2010 (United States)
20 SEIKI SHONEN © Naoki Urasawa/Studio Nuts
Original Japanese edition published by Shogakukan Inc.