It all begins in 1969 when a young boy named Kenji and his friends get together in their secret fort in a vacant lot and write “The Book of Prophecy.” In their book they write about a future where they fight against an evil organization trying to takeover the world and bring about doomsday. Years later in 1997 Kenji is the manager of a convenience store who has given up his dream of becoming a rock star and leads a simple life as he raises his sisters baby girl Kanna after his sister suddenly disappears. Then one day his boring life is turned upside down when his old classmate Donkey dies mysteriously and then an entire family in his neighborhood disappears.At the same time a mysterious cult being lead by a man only known as “Friend” emerges and begins to gain strong influence over society. A series of catastrophic events begin to occur mirroring the prophecies made up by the young Kenji and the greatest fear is the climax of The Book becoming a reality December 31st 2000 a terrifying giant virus-spreading robot will attack the entire city of Tokyo leading to the end of mankind.

20-seiki shônen: Honkaku kagaku bôken eiga (2008)
  • Rating: (1,274 votes)
  • Runtime:142 minutes
  • Director: Yukihiko Tsutsumi
  • Country:Japan
  • Actors:
    Kenji Endô
    Toshiaki Karasawa
    Otcho
    Etsushi Toyokawa
    Yukiji
    Takako Tokiwa
    Yoshitsune
    Teruyuki Kagawa
    Maruo
    Hidehiko Ishizuka
    Mon-chan
    Takashi Ukaji
    Keroyon
    Hiroyuki Miyasako
    Donkey
    Katsuhisa Namase
    Yamane
    Fumiyo Kohinata
    Fukubê
    Kuranosuke Sasaki
  • Genres:Adventure, Fantasy, Mystery, Sci-Fi
  • Producers:
    Morio Amagi
    producer  
    Xaypani Baccam
    producer  
    Ryûji Ichiyama
    producer  
    Nobuyuki Iinuma
    producer  
    Kiyoshi Inoue
    line producer  
    Futoshi Ohira
    co-producer  
    Seiji Okuda
    executive producer  
20-seiki shônen: Honkaku kagaku bôken eiga
  • User's comment:20th Century Boys! by helmutty

    First of all-I have not read the manga but I have heard the title before. I will base my review with nothing to do with my knowledge of the manga. Making live-action movies based on manga and comics seems to be a trend in japan. Blockbuster live-action movies like Death Note are good. So hopefully, there will be more good adaptation of manga. I say that 20th Century Boys shall be one of the good adaptation and Japanese movie. This live-action movie broke death note box office in japan. That made me more interested of how this movie will fare. I must say it is worth the hype. It is pretty intense and epic to my sayings.

    The story: It revolves around Kenji and his pals. They built a hideout and shared stories and stuffs. They made a story. When they grow up, the story they made up becomes true. A mysterious cult-leader called friend enters the world and wants to destroy the world. Kenji and his pal save the world. Not so easy. From there, dark secrets are spilled and they search their brains of what had happened when they were kids-their childhood. The plot is quite intense. I do not know whether it is a good apdataion but as a view of a Japanese movie, it is good.

    Overall: As the plot is interesting and intense, it makes me want to read the manga which I will sooner. If it interest you, do go and watch it. Stay for the cast and credit to finish and there will be the preview of the second part. I will wait for the second part with anticipation.


  • Also known as: Twentieth Century Boys (International - English title), Twentieth Century Boys (Japan - English title), 20-seiki shônen dai 1 shô: Owari no hajimari (Japan - DVD title), 20th Century Boys (International - alternative spelling, English title), 20th Century Boys 1: Beginning of the End (USA), Twentieth Century Boys: Chapter One (International - English title),

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