Subtitle Challenge: Day 3

20-Seiki Shonen:
Honkaku Kagaku Boken Eiga
20th Century Boys: Chapter 1
(Yukihiko Tsutsumi, 2008)

3.5 Stars

Friends say it’s fine, friends say it’s good… And for the most part, it is. Larger than life sci-fi manga epic 20th Century Boys is, as the first in a trilogy a petty high energy and intriguing introduction into the world of accidental hero Kenji Endo and his unlikely comrades as they attempt to rid the world of a terror of their own creation.

In a story that executes itself like a Stephen King saga, 20th Century Boys tells the tale of a young group of children who spend their summer creating a comic book, known as “The Book of Prophecies” which foretells the end of the world at the hands of an evil company led by the mysterious “Friend”. Twenty years later, however, a spate of strange occurrences across the globe are hauntingly similar to those that Kenji and his friends had created, and the group soon find themselves mankind’s only hope against Friend’s reign of terror.

The story itself is pretty solid, though certainly at times rather convoluted, but is a great set up for what I am sure is a good couple of sequels. Judging by the high octane climax, there’s certainly more delights to come, and with this being one of Japan’s most costly cinematic ventures of all time, I’m pretty certain they will deliver.

The cast, admittedly (as you can probably guess from the title) is a bit of a sausage fest, but each of the main players has their own unique charm, with Toshiaki Karasawa leading with an innocent force as erstwhile rock star and cartoonist Kenji. Etsushi Toyokawa as the mysterious anti-hero Otcha is delightfully intriguing, and Teruyuki Kagawa provides some great comic relief as the token chubster of the group. I’m sure had Stephen King penned it, he would’ve been called Ben… I seem to recall his resident portly child was usually a Ben.

There are many questions left unanswered at the end of this first instalment. Indeed, I think every question is left unanswered, and at almost three hours long, it’s a pretty lengthy introduction to the sage. However, if the rest of the series lives up to this standard, I’m sure it’ll all be worth it in the end.

And quite frankly, any Japanese movie that kicks off with some Marc Bolan has already won me over.