20th Century Boys Chapter 1 Discussion

Ok first chapter, the time skips is kinda annoying tho

Confusing~

that was a actually very intriguing start. Mystery is already taking a huge part.



i kind of wonder if there's actual kind of magic in the story

I don't mind the different timelines,kinda contributes to the mystery vibe.



Interesting start.

The start's a bit confusing and there are a lot of characters, but I feel like I'm going to love this one.

very  mysterious, don't know what to think just yet

Hootja said:
I have some interesting ideas about the Friend's appearance in this chapter.  Don't click the spoiler unless you've pretty much read the entire manga.






I MEAN IT!  If you look at this post before reading the whole manga then you will get spoiled on two of the biggest twists in the entire story!!!!!!! DON'T CLICK!




Isn't it weird how this is one of the few times the Friend appears in public without a mask?  I was thinking that maybe Urasawa made this chapter before he decided on the Friend's identity being a long-term secret, but also knowing Urasawa it's hard to believe he didn't already have that planned out from the start.



I was thinking that maybe the Friend we see in this chapter is Katsumata instead of Fukubei.  I have two reasons for thinking this: One, the hair is not Fukubei's hairstyle.  Two, given how much Fukubei bullied Sadakiyo and the others in his childhood group (including Katsumata) it seems believable that Fukubei would have Katsumata running around doing these Friend cult meetings in his place.  Given that the Friend wears a mask all of the time later on, and that his face is a well-kept secret, nobody would know that he had someone else pose as him at these early cult meetings.



I also wonder if Katsumata already had the plastic surgery at this time.  The face doesn't quite look like Fukubei's, but it's covered in shadow so of course it's hard to make out what it looks like.  It'd be really interesting if Friend in this first chapter was Katsumata with his original face, unmasked.








It was pretty much confirmed that "Friend" was Sadakiyo.











It makes sense though. Fukubei might have been traveling around to brainwash people or gather sufficent power for his future plans, leaving Sadakiyo to temporarily mange things. The reaosn why Sadakiyo didn't wear a mask probably is because he thought it wasn't necessary at all. He was in front of mindless people who just worshipped him. As for Katsumata, Urasawa never showed us his face. Hell, even Fukubei doesn't know what he looks like.

Well definitely an interesting start so far with the characters and themes so far. Curious to see where this goes especially with that symbol.

kinda boring looks like itll get interesting soon though

Coming from Monster (anime adaptation not the manga) my hopes are high. Though im not worried as ive heard amazing things about the author along with all of his other works.



This was a nice first chapter, i personally really like the art style. Its nice and crisp.



Running a convenience store with a baby on your back must be hard work. But atleast he has his mother there to help him. I wonder what happened to his sister and the reason she left her baby with them. An entire family going missing is crazt news, its kinda funny how Kenji reacted worried more about the payment.



The flashback to the friend group when they were younger with there fort was nice and seeing the original creation of the symboy, that symbolizes a true friend being created was nice. Though its concerning that it was placed by that familys house who went missing.



I wonder who this Friend fellow is? He seems like someong people should be cautious around.

Okay, if I am not mistaken their are atleast 3 time frames covered, the floating and the cousin bit is the future (which will probably be the present in the end) then of course you have the current present and the past.



Anyways it might be good, didn't really get a feel for it either way this chapter.

I loved Monster and found someone who was selling their entire run of 20th Century Boys for pennies. SO here I go. A very promising first chapter with different timelines and a lot of mystery it seems.