31 Dec / 20th Century Boys (vol. 12) by Naoki Urasawa, with the cooperation of Takashi Nagasaki, English adaptation by Akemi Wegmüller
It’s New Year’s Eve 2014 … do you know where the 20th Century Boys are …?
Out on Friendship Plaza, thousands have gathered to commemorate the 14th anniversary of Bloody New Year’s Eve, the fateful final night of the 20th century; they’ve come to pray “that the world will never again see such terrifying, tragic events.” In the revisionist history since propagated by the all-controlling Friends, the massive attack is now attributed to the “terrorist group ‘Kenji Faction'”; although Kenji died that night, his childhood friends have gone underground and scattered, hard at work at trying to stay alive … and save the world!
While Kanna wanders the old neighborhood looking for clues about the mother she never knew, she starts to recall long-suppressed memories of her father. Missing since Bloody New Year’s Eve, Maruo resurfaces as the chief bodyguard to Haru Namio, the national (singing) treasure; both know more than they appear and Maruo is doing all he possibly can to stop evil, but has to draw the line at taking innocent lives in his personal battle of redemption.
Meanwhile, Yoshitsune and Yukiji are insisting yet again on a bit more information from schoolgirl Koizumi who is going stir-crazy while trapped in hiding. Otcho and his manga artist sidekick Kakuta are out searching for mysterious Dr. Yamane who apparently created the deadly viruses; the elusive doc’s trail leads the pair back to the boys’ elementary school, as they work throughout the eerie night rifling through all the library books in search of certain secret messages.
Every one of these characters is ultimately on the same hunt … to finally learn the true identity of The Friend!
Heart thumping yet? Apparently, we’ve got another 10 volumes to go! And yet, the boys have very little time left to save the world … as 2015 dawns, the Friend is planning to cull the world’s population to a mere three million true friends. What now …? Ack! We’ll have to wait until February to find out, egads!
To check out the previous volumes of 20th Century Boys, be sure to click here.
Readers: Young Adult, Adult
Published: 2010 (United States)
20 SEIKI SHONEN © Naoki Urasawa/Studio Nuts
Original Japanese edition published by Shogakukan Inc.