Route 20

by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto

Route 20, a short Yoshiyuki Sadamoto manga. Route 20 is a sci-fi story set in a future where humanity lives in packed cities surrounded by domes to protect them from the over-polluted outside air. Our protagonist is Utsuo Akagi, a young boy who has never known "seasons" or "air temperature", things that only exist outside the sterility of the Dome. This is the story of youths trying to find excitement in a life of boredom, and one boy's quest to find meaning in his life.

Genres: Manga, Comics Manga

60 pages

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

Yoshiyuki Sadamoto (貞本義行) is a Japanese character designer, mangaka, and one of the founding members of the Gainax anime studio.

His notable works include Neon Genesis Evangelion character design and manga.
He is also the character designer for the .hack//Games and the Package designer for the .hack//GU games.
Also publishes with the doujinshi pen name 45yen.

Reviews

[Jake Jeffries · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this manga by Yoshiyuki Sadamoto. He is mostly known for another little project of his called Neon Genesis Evangelion. This is a post-apocalyptic story that focuses on a high school kid that lives in a city with a dome over it to protect from the outside world. The kid loves to ride his scooter around the city and is infatuated with a girl. That part is mostly your run of the mill story, but I felt it was well executed and the art style is great. There is a hilarious Sylvester Stallone reference. The kid is also a big fan of his grandfather who is already deceased when the story begins. The grandfather leaves the kid with a key and tells him that there is a gift waiting for him if he can make it to house where the grandfather used to live. The story takes a turn after a scene in a movie theater and the kid is finally able to find out what gift his grandfather left for him.

[Claragol · Rating 3 out of 5]

M'agrada molt l'estil de dibuix, de fet l'he començat a llegir per la portada lol
La història, en canvi, no m'ha aportat molt. Potser perquè és un one-shot i és difícil de desenvolupar els personatges en poques pàgines.

6/10

[Solim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This manga is the type I wish there was a series for. I would love to know what he discovers on his journey in the new(old) world.

[Jin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Starts out cool, but the ending was meh.