20th Century Boys summaries v.18+

Fan Boy Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 4

hi, where do we first see konchi? i have completely forgotten, and dun hav time to reread the whole thing yet, even though i really want to Sad

Posted: Sat Jul 09, 2005 11:01 am

Konchi is a skinny boy with rather small eyes and an oblongated head. You can see him in the flashback scene in Chapter 5. Actually, I suspect that he is the mystery DJ in Volume 18.

Fan Boy Joined: 09 Jul 2005 Posts: 4

thx stephen, i've totally forgotten about him, dun think i ever saw that name b4 though,,, anyways, i remember stumbling across a site with only text translations of 20th century boys, does anyone know where i can find them for volume 19(rather than summaries) as i have the japanese version infront of me but my japanese is VERy limited Sad

edit: oh nm, it was ur site i was talking about, can't wait for vol 19 translations Wink

Fan Boy Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 37

The series will resume in the spirits end of december

Fan Boy Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 37

New chapter is out in Japan, and the new arc seems to be named "21st Century Boys".

Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2007 2:46 am

Indeed it is.

"Chapter 1" indeed. Though after tachiyomi-ing it last week, it looks like everything is back to "normal".

Fan Boy Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 2

Well I spent the past 4 days reading all 22 volumes of 20th CB, and I think my brain is about to explode from the sheer crazy-awesomeness I've been experiencing. A very addicting read; I failed a physics test and fallen further behind in my programming because of it, but it was worth it. Thanks mangascreener!

A question though: Is the 21st CB arc a short arc to wrap things up, and give it a more conclusive ending (tack on ending)? Or does this thing look like it will somehow continue on for a bit longer with more suspense and drama? Info is very scarce on 21st CB, and my google skills are shamefully poor.

Posted: Fri Mar 02, 2007 10:22 am

It's the former; basically just a period to wrap everything up. What happened was, Urasawa was physically unwell due to years of the same posture at his desk, and required significant physical therapy, so he made a rushed ending of sorts before taking about 8 months off. When he came back, he and the editors decided to give the resuming chapters a different title, and it seems to have confused some people into thinking it's a sequel. It's really just the conclusion, and I don't think it'll last long. Probably just 2 volumes at the current rate.

This was all somewhat explained in a TV show about people in different professions that happened to cover Urasawa in one episode. It sounded like to Urasawa, the conclusion between Kenji and Kanna WAS the ending, to him, but since he never wrapped up who the 2nd Friend was, he had to go back and flesh that out to give it a proper ending.

Fan Boy Joined: 02 Mar 2007 Posts: 2

stephen wrote:

What happened was, Urasawa was physically unwell due to years of the same posture at his desk, and required significant physical therapy, so he made a rushed ending of sorts before taking about 8 months off.

Heh, that's actually kinda funny (in a sick sort of way). The occupation of mangaka is a perilous one. Anyway thanks for clearing that up.

Fan Boy Joined: 08 Jul 2005 Posts: 37

I read the end of 20th/21st Century Boys thanks to your translations Stephen, many thanks for what you did throughout the years.

I found the ending disappointing, and I wonder why the series was extended so much if it was not to answer all that was left to wonder.

Do you think the plot, number of issues, etc. all belong to the mangaka or is it more likely the editor that takes decisions to keep the series running when successful? Also in the latest chapters, there were other people than Urasawa credited for the plot, I'm unsure if that was the case from the start. It's probably hard to guess, but what do you think is Urasawa contribution to the story?

Thanks in advance.