History Manga / TwentiethCenturyBoys

* PowerWalk: Kenji and co. do one in a manner most badass when they head off to [[spoiler:take down Friend's mecha.]] In fact, the image of them [[spoiler: silhoutted against the robot's eyes]] is one of the most iconic ones in the series, leading to it being duplicated almost perfectly in the movie adaptation.

This manga has nothing to do with the song of the group T.Rex or the stand inspired by this song seen in Steel ball run

Adapted into a [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action film trilogy]] that is among the most expensive Japanese film projects in history. The films are very faithful to the manga (until the end, at least), which has inevitably led to criticism that they're impossible to follow if you haven't read it, due to time constraints forcing some important characters into smaller roles. Rather surprisingly, an AnimatedAdaptation of the series was never planned. The manga is licensed by Viz Media and is currently available in 2-in-1 "Perfect Edition" omnibuses.

Adapted into a [[LiveActionAdaptation live-action film trilogy]] that is among the most expensive Japanese film projects in history. The films are very faithful to the manga (until the end, at least), which has inevitably led to criticism that they're impossible to follow if you haven't read it, due to time constraints forcing some important characters into smaller roles. Rather surprisingly, an AnimatedAdaptation of the series was never planned.

* UnEntendre: A SugarWiki/{{Funny Moment|s}} involving [[spoiler:Yukiji talking about her drug-sniffing dog. "And then he stuffs his nose into my..."]]

->''"This symbol is a symbol of friendship."''
--> -- '''Otcho''' in the first chapter of ''20th Century Boys''

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/20thcenturyboys.JPG]]

''20th Century Boys'' is a manga series created by Creator/NaokiUrasawa, the mastermind behind ''Manga/{{Monster}}''. The manga was originally serialized from 1999 to 2006 in the {{seinen}} magazine ''Big Comic Spirits''; it was followed by a sequel, ''21st Century Boys'', which ran from January to July in 2007. The plot of the manga spans several decades, from the 1960s to the 21st century, and involves a large cast of characters and several plot twists along the way.

* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: To give you an idea how many, the movie trilogy is estimated to include a cast of ''three hundred'' named characters...and that's probably less than half the original cast.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The series's [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters "no name wasted" policy]] made the fact that [[spoiler: Maruo's son]] never came back from [[PutOnABus his bus ride]] quite bewildering...or sad...really sad.

* PantyShot: Kanna gives one in chapter 115.

* ApocalypticLog: Kanna finds [[spoiler: a note her mother wrote in an abandoned hospital, referring to her involvement in creating the virus: "I am Godzilla, I crushed 300,000 under my feet"]]

''20th Century Boys'' (or, for the final 16 chapters, ''21st Century Boys'') is a manga series created by Creator/NaokiUrasawa, the mastermind behind ''{{Anime/Monster}}''. The plot of the manga spans several decades, from the 1960s to the 21st century, and involves a large cast of characters and several plot twists along the way.

* RealityEnsues: The entire scene involving Shikishima and Friend's followers consisted mainly of the former explaining to the latter how the HumongousMecha seen in anime (when the group was arguing over building one in that style) could never possibly function in real life.

*** When [[spoiler:Kenji comes back]], he temporarily uses the nickname of [[Manga/AshitaNoJoe Yabuki Joe.]]

* AbandonedHospital: Kanna finds out some information about her mother in one. It isn't really a creepy one, though.

* DarkestHour: Chapter 169: [[spoiler: Friend is now hailed worldwide as a 'God', and has just released a new virus, killing several million people.]] It would be even more depressing were it not for the epic [[spoiler: HesBack]] moment in the next chapter.

* HowWeGotHere: The first chapter includes a scene during a UN summit in the 21st Century where several people are introduced as having saved humanity. Subverted in that [[spoiler:it happens twice during the course of the story, once about a third of the way through and once again towards the end.]] Also [[spoiler:since both times are similar it is hard to tell which one is the one being shown in the first chapter]].

* MundaneMadeAwesome: Moving a mouse 5 pixels to left and pushing the left button has never been as awesome as in the second live action film.

* PowerWalk: Kenji and co. do one in a manner most baddass when they head off to [[spoiler:take down Friend's mecha.]] In fact, the image of them [[spoiler: silhoutted against the robot's eyes]] is one of the most iconic ones in the series, leading to it being duplicated almost perfectly in the movie adaptation.

** Friend himself shows shades of this as well. Enacting a doomsday scenario dreamt up by grade schoolers [[spoiler: to show up one of the kids who ''made'' said doomsday scenario]] certainly doesn't help his case.

* RetCon: After Friend dons the iconic "eye-symbol" mask, the old "hattori" mask is replaced with the new mask in flashbacks.

* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler: The first two story arcs, in which Friend ultimately realizes his plans despite Kenji/Kanna and pals' best efforts to foil them.]]

* TitleDrop: [[spoiler:The second Friend drops it as a hint of his identity]].

*** Don't forget Kanna. [[spoiler:From taking her first steps to walking into the crossfire of a gang war.]]
** Otcho too. From salaryman to [[spoiler:freelance ninja]] in a couple of years.
* TokyoIsTheCenterOfTheUniverse: Young Kenji and his friends write a story about supervillains conquering the world. "So what's gonna get hit first?" "Tokyo?" "That's last. The important stuff has to happen in Japan, so if they start here, it'll be all over already." Much later, the story starts coming true.

* YourPrincessIsInAnotherCastle: It initially seems like the series is going to end when [[spoiler:the heroes try to stop Friend from destroying Tokyo on Bloody New Year's Eve with a giant robot]]. However, as you can probably tell from the chapter count, that it is most definitely ''not'' the end. It turns out that [[spoiler: Friend was just using the (fake) robot so that he could destroy it himself and play the part of the hero, whilst framing Kenji and his friends for all the chaos and destruction.]] Suddenly, [[spoiler:the story jumps forward 15 years and Friend is now head of an opressive Japan, and all our heroes are either scattered, in prison, or presumed dead.]] OhCrap.

Adapted into a [[LiveActionAdaptation live action film trilogy]] that is among the most expensive Japanese film projects in history. The films are very faithful to the manga (until the end, at least), which has inevitably led to criticism that they're impossible to follow if you haven't read it, due to time constraints forcing some important characters into smaller roles. Rather surprisingly, an AnimatedAdaptation of the series was never planned.

** [[spoiler:Sadakiyo]] of all people, pulls one of these right at the end by [[spoiler:putting a knife to Friend's throat and stopping him killing everyone at the expo grounds.]] [[spoiler:"I'm a good guy" indeed!]].

* TheBlank: Friend occasionally appears as this after the mask is taken off. Justified as it's only [[spoiler: in a virtual reality program.]]
** A reveal showed that [[spoiler:Fukube began to see himself as one from time to time when he was a child]].
* BokeAndTsukkomiRoutine: Two of Friend's followers are a manzai comedy duo [[spoiler:who spread Friend's blood-hemorrhaging biological weapon to Osaka.]]

* CallBack: ''Loads'' of them throughout the series. For one thing the sheer amount of characters who're shown early in the series and make appearances in the last arc is staggering: it's clear Creator/NaokiUrasawa is not the kind of guy who simply forgets about even the smallest of characters and events.

* CardCarryingVillain: Moroboshi's killer. There's even a scene of him comparing himself to various old anime villains. He looks like [[Manga/{{Monster}} Johann]] and [[spoiler:as a high schooler wanted to have a WorthyOpponent in Kenji, who was "a good guy". It turns out that killing Moroboshi was the only truly villainous thing he did, though, and all the other "evil deeds" he went on to do were just menial tasks Friend ordered him to carry out, leaving him feeling like he'd failed]].

* DarkestHour: Chapter 169: [[spoiler:Friend is now hailed worldwide as a 'God', and has just released a new virus, killing several million people.]] It would be even more depressing were it not for the epic [[spoiler:HesBack]] moment in the next chapter.

* DeathIsCheap: Friend[[spoiler:/Fukubei]] appears to die numerous times throughout the story, but keeps coming back. However, [[spoiler:one time it was real.]]

** Friend himself is a thorough deconstruction of the EvilOverlord character archetype. [[spoiler:Flashbacks reveal the first man behind the mask believed himself a special person since childhood and, once shown up by his schoolmates, decided to prove them ''dead'' wrong. He does so at first by exploiting other people's need for a savior/messiah to make himself one, then frames the real heroes for his nefarious plans - the plague-spreading mecha - to take over Japan; and finally frames ''himself'' as a hero by "coming back from the dead" and "saving" the Pope, thus assuming enough power to become President of the world. And none of it would have happened had he not also used his underlings' desires and wishes to keep them loyal to him almost to the bitter end.]]
* DefectorFromDecadence: [[spoiler:Many major supporters of the first Friend decide to betray the second one and help the protagonists. Not so much because they realized that they're wrong but because they truly believed in the ''real'' Friend and not an ''impostor''.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: At the very end of the series, we finally find out that the reason why [[spoiler:the impostor Friend]] was trying to destroy the world and it all started when [[spoiler:they were children, and Kenji stole a plastic toy badge from a local store and let him take the blame for it]].

** Arguably, Friend was also a victim of this. [[spoiler: To have the rest of the kids in his neighbourhood treat him like a dead man, to the point that they can't remember that he didn't actually die, over stealing a cheap plastic toy? That's cold.]]

* DrugsAreBad: During her HeroicBSOD, Kanna is offered some "Love and Peace", only for flashback!Kenji for remind her that he didn't need drugs to be a great musician.
* EarWorm: Kenji's song, Bob Lennon. It plays a very important role in the plot as the story goes on, [[spoiler:especially the 'Gutalala Sudalala' version, which even the characters comment on as being an ear worm]].
* EarnYourHappyEnding: And how! So much bad stuff happens not just to main characters in this, but to pretty much [[spoiler:the ''entire world'']] which makes [[spoiler:the final defeat of Friend all the more awesome.]]

* EnemyCivilWar: [[spoiler: After Friend is replaced, Manjoume starts planning a coup. After Friend publicly admits his atrocities, most of his army up and rebels.]]

* HopeSpot: The first two arcs are really two long Hope Spots.

* HumongousMecha: Subverted in chapter 41. In the slightly exaggerated words of one hostage robotics expert: "Robots do not work that way!"

* KilledOffForReal: Plenty of people, including [[spoiler:Friend himself. [[DiscOneFinalBoss Halfway through the series]].]]

* LaResistance: Kenji and his friends, later called the Kenji Faction.

* LukeIAmYourFather: [[spoiler: Friend is one of Kenji's classmates]], and also [[spoiler:Kanna is Friend's daughter]].
* MasqueradingAsTheUnseen: This is what allows [[spoiler:the Second Friend]] to get away with his impersonation.
* MaybeEverAfter: In the grand finale, [[spoiler:Kanna and Chou are seen traveling together in Africa, but there is absolutely zero indication of their relationship beyond good friends. Kenji and Yukiji, at least, get more hinting, with Kenji saying to her he'll 'propose properly this time,' but leaves it at that.]]

* OlderAndWiser: Due to the large timeskips in the series, most of the original protagonists become this eventually. Otcho and a few others become this after the first timeskip, and the rest, ''especially'' [[spoiler:Kenji]] become this after the second. This usually comes hand in hand with them [[TookALevelInBadass taking a level in badass]].

* OptOut: [[spoiler:Keroyon]] doesn't show up at all for the Bloody New Years' Eve. Years later, he regrets this fact and Jumps at the Call when he stumbles onto leads to Kiriko.
* OurHeroIsDead: [[spoiler:Throughout the entire middle part of the series]].

* RefugeInAudacity: Friend basically uses this trope to take over the world.

* TheReveal: Friend's identity, [[spoiler:the second Friend's identity]], what Donkey saw in the lab room, and plenty more.

* ShutUpHannibal: [[spoiler:Kenji]] does an epic one of these to [[spoiler:Moroboshi's killer]] late in the story, where he calmly makes him completely breakdown when he exposes his CardCarryingVillain persona as being merely a facade. What makes it more epic is the fact that he's facing down the barrel of a gun the whole time he does it.
* SquareCubeLaw: Specifically mentioned by Shikishima as the reason Friend's HumongousMecha can't work the way he desires it to. [[spoiler:Then ignored as Shikishima went on to actually create a working version of the robot years later.]]

* TakingTheBullet: [[spoiler:Friend does this to save the Pope, making his "resurrection" all the more dramatic.]]
* TakingYouWithMe: [[spoiler:Maruo comes very, very close to doing this with Friend and a bomb. But remembering Kenji's words about not hurting innocents convinces him not go through at the very last minute.]]

* WhamEpisode: There are quite a few throughout the series. Most notably is when [[spoiler:Friend is both killed and unmasked, halfway through the series]]. The chapters surrounding [[spoiler:the 2015 World Expo]] and [[spoiler:Kenji's return]] also qualify.

** Also doubles as a CrowningMomentOfAwesome.

* UnEntendre: A CrowningMomentOfFunny involving [[spoiler:Yukiji talking about her drug-sniffing dog. "And then he stuffs his nose into my..."]]

--> -- '''MarcBolan''', ''[[TitledAfterTheSong 20th Century Boys]]''

** When Chouno and [[spoiler:Kenji]] meet Ichi The Spade, Ichi gives Chouno a disguise so he won't be recognizable: [[GalaxyExpress999 a ankle-length poncho]] [[Anime/CaptainHarlock and a wide-rimmed hat.]] [[spoiler:Kenji]] even lampshades it, saying "It's Three Nines."

* HesBack: [[spoiler: Kenji, and with about ten levels in {{Badass}} too.]]

--> -- '''MarcBolan''', ''[[Titled After the Song 20th Century Boys]]''

--> -- '''MarcBolan''', ''20th Century Boys''

** The title itself! "20th Century Boy" is a song by [[Music/MarcBolan T. Rex]], which has been covered by [[Music/XJapan at least one very iconic Japanese rock band]].

--> -- '''MarcBolan''',''20th Century Boys''