Tag Archives: 20世紀少年

20th Century Boys 3 – A Closure, Finally!

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It’s a no-brainer.  If you have already followed the Japanese movie adaption of the manga series, you wouldn’t wish to miss the last installment of the trilogy.  If you have not heard of “20th Century Boys”, I doubt if this 156 minutes film would make much sense to you.

I was struggling to like the first installment when it arrived in Singapore, 2008.  By the time I have watched the second installment (2009), the trilogy has grown to me.  Perhaps because I was beginning to recognize the characters.  The “20th Century Boys” casting is massive.  And I need a super memory to familiarize myself with who is who.

The last installment offers good closure to all the loose ends of the previous installments.  That is satisfying.  Although at times I wonder how far this child play would go, I can tolerate some elements of childishness in this last episode because like it or not, if you look deeper inside, men are in fact boys.  And since I too am born in the 20th century, I can relate that rock music should save the world.

PS. Someone should start creating a new manga series called “21st Century Girls”.

20th Century Boys 2 – This Trilogy Is Growing On Me

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20th Century Boys 2

October 2008, the Movie Review Squad has watched the first installment of this trilogy, of this perhaps the most expensive Japanese film ever made.  I wonder why there is a 6 months delay before part 2 arrives in [a tiny theater in] Singapore (compare to a 2 months gap for part 1).  And I look forward to a part 3 that will be released this August in Singapore.  So it says on the big screen at the end of the trailer, at the end of the 142 minutes movie.

142 minute?!

Part 2 is just as lengthy as part 1.  To recap, “20th Century Boys” is our friend TK’s baby.  He got us into this.  Friend!  And surprisingly, Cynthia loves the part 1 too.  I found the first part a bit lengthy, a bit confusing, and kind of lacking in the eye candy factor.  Men!  I know.

Comes part 2, titled “The Last Hope”.  Although it is still a bit lengthy, because the plot doesn’t go back and forth in time that often like part 1, it is much easier to follow.  The story is still as confusing as ever partly because I am – or we are – overwhelmed by the sheer number of key characters with names in Japanese (of course).  And honestly speaking, our recollection of the plot thus far was very minimal.  If you recall, part 1 is about this Book of Prophesy, whereby the future plays out exactly as what was ‘predicted’.  Part 2 is about this New Book of Prophesy, that is even more absurdly bizarre.  I said it many times, Japanese imagination knows no bound.  The entire story of “20th Century Boys” and the concept created is just, strange.  But I am liking it.

The year is 2015 and the heroine Kanna has grown up.  I am not 100% sure if the 24 years old actress Airi Taira can act that well.  But she is one eye candy for sure.  I love her hairstyle in the show (shallow I so am!).  Deep inside, I was – or we were – hoping that Kanna would play a much bigger role in the overall plot.  But I was mildly disappointed.  Perhaps part 2 has this mid episode syndrome and is sandwiched between two episodes with a scale of total world destruction, Kanna can only do what Kanna has done.

I have absolutely no idea how the part 3 is going to play out of course.  Maybe Kanna will save the world.  Maybe somebody else does (the title does imply that the heroes belong to the male species though).  Or maybe the world will be destroyed for good.  Personally I enjoy part 2 more than part 1.  The filmmakers have done a great job in delivering us a powerful ending for “The Last Hope”.  And I find myself cracking into laughter here and there amazed by the super dramatized acting and over the top production.  In preparing ourselves for the finale, I think the Movie Review Squad needs to spend some time and watch the first two installments again in order to get a better grasp on what the story is about.  I may even need to dig up some “20th Century Boys” manga online!

20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) – So It Was Movie Before Manga For Me

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Rarely our Movie Review Squad has such a long deliberation on which movie to watch.  And we settled for “Twentieth Century Boys” after a 3-way split between Rocknrolla, the Bunny, and this Japanese one last week.  I asked TK to give me an executive summary on what this show is about.  It’s originated from a manga, yes I know that.  I think TK didn’t have time get past the first few pages of the manga and Cynthia went in thinking that it is an animation.  I read that “20th Century Boy” is a close to 2 and a half hours show.  And I braced myself for a long part 1 of a trilogy.

I can see where does the money of this so-called most expensive Japanese film ever made have gone to.  Some of the effects are pretty good (a sci-fi movie after all).  The cast of 300 people is pretty intense.  I have a hard time trying to remember who is who.  TK seems to enjoy the film with the plot stepping forward and backward in time.  Surprisingly Cynthia loves it too and calls it a very creative movie (that doesn’t jerk tear thank God, she said).  As for me …

If you have already read the manga and love it, this action-mystery film is a must-watch.  Now that I am reading the manga, I admire the filmmaker’s effort in recreating each scene in exact detail as the manga.  The cast even matches with the look of the manga characters.  That is impressive.

Maybe because of the relatively slow pace especially when the plot goes back in time and dwells on the childhood stories, maybe there are missing gaps in between scenes due to film adaptation that confuse me, maybe there are just not enough eye candies to keep me interested (shallow I know!), I was not jumping out of my chair.

Nevertheless, the effort is commendable and looks like “20th Century Boys” is one movie that up the standard of the Japanese production.  Although I am not quite getting the idea of how a bunch kids’ role-playing game can turn into a disastrous future, I will be there when the 2nd installment arrives.  Meanwhile, the manga looks pretty good and it is filling up the gaps I have from watching the film.  Do check out the manga too when you have time.