20th Century Boys, Volume 13

20th Century Boys [20世紀少年] #13

by Naoki Urasawa

The Friend is dead. As the news spreads around the world, the members of the Friends' executive committee are faced with a dilemma: Is it all over, or will the events predicted in the New Book of Prophecy still be carried out? Otcho insists that things are not over at all, and that is exactly what his old nemesis—Number 13—tells the fractious Friends' committee, where quite a few members are prepared to call it quits. Soon thereafter, certain members begin disappearing, one after another.

Also, Otcho relays to Kanna what he learned about her mother, Kiriko. In 2003, Kiriko appeared at Dr. Yamane's laboratory just as he was developing his deadliest virus yet. The two lab partners would work in tandem, with Yamane developing a new virus and Kiriko contributing a vaccine. But was Dr. Yamane simply being naive, or did he realize that he was helping to create the means for the Friends to annihilate 99 percent of the world's population in the year 2015?!

Genres: Manga, Comics, Science Fiction, Mystery, Seinen, Fiction, Graphic Novels

232 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2003

About the author

Urasawa Naoki (浦沢直樹) is a Japanese mangaka. He is perhaps best known for Monster (which drew praise from Junot Díaz, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) and 20th Century Boys.

Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.

Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing

Reviews

[Tawfek · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friend is dead may he burn in hell, or burn in general it doesn't matter!
As of this moment, i have no doubt that fukubei AKA hattori was friend.
But the organization didn't go down with him, even with the assassinations they are still working strong, he had already set the cornerstones of his plan to destroy the whole world.
Weird thing is why? You could argue that initially he wanted to be world president, over the 60 million left after the virus takes over the earth.
But now after he is dead, why did he leave behind a memo to continue his work?
Reason 1 : he is nuts and we know he is nuts, to try to do any of this in the first place!
reason 2 : and its a wild guess, since i saw future volumes covers where there is a new friend on them, maybe just maybe this is not even friend? Kenji and company know him as friend, as well as the friendship party know him as friend, but maybe someone else was pulling the strings of fukubei himself?!
Or will it be that just someone else will take the mantle of friend?
Seeing how weak Manjoume and the rest of the friendship party is, i have no idea who it could be
sadly, i am back to my slacking and not reading much and i really stretched this volume more than i should have...
Kakuta the mangaka is back with his friends.
Kenji's terrorists did not stop fighting.
The virus is taking over the world, and i have to say that these 100 pages were the fastest pace in all of 20th century boys, and i love fast pace but sadly it can't go on for long, since this is more of a drama/mystery manga really!
The frog guy is back i swear i can't remember his name, but now after thinking about it you could tell you know? all the characters were unique and strong, so why wouldn't he come back in spectacular fashion!
Kana and the gang plan to go back into the virtual reality to dig the mind of friend for information, but will they find anything ? isn't it supposed to be based on his mind as a child not his mind as an adult?
I love the little touching scenes of how all the people around the world are dealing with the virus are dealing with it.
And now that i am thinking about it, i actually planned to read 20th century boys last year before the covid virus epidemic, and now the manga is turning out to be all about the deadly virus outbreaks really its n insane coincidence...
But now that i think about it more even in 2019, i read two more manga's that were revolving around viruses (deadman wonderland- i am a hero) WTH?
Is it me or the Japanese Mangakas are only writing about virus outbreaks! lol

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apparently, I'm not allowed to review this volume because my revelation was way too powerful for the server to handle.

I KNOW WHO FRIEND IS. Muahahahaha.

Of course, this was the entire impetus of the entire first twelve volumes of this manga, after so many twisty twisty twisty-turnies over a span of fifty story years, but who's keeping track? We've still got a global conspiracy to overturn, billions of lives to save from a Stand-like massacre, and a small group of losers to accomplish it all.

First and foremost, this is a mystery. The science fiction elements are merely a backdrop of intense tension. The story lives and dies by its reveals, and my goodness, I can hear my heart pounding... or is it this story that I hear?

So what should I expect for the next half of the series? Can I rightly expect anything for sure? I mean, yes, I could predict a spunky teenage girl who can bend a spoon will lead a rag-tag army of gangsters and the homeless to overthrow the cultish government before it releases biotoxins across the world, but I fear I might be as wrong as any GRRM fanboy.

I am often WRONG about where the plot is going in this story, and my oh my I'm enjoying the challenge.

Brad K Horner's Blog

[yel ᰔ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars

[Noninuna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title of the first chapter, "An unremembered man" summed up my thought about who Friend is. Like Yoshitsune, I don't remember him at all..well, except what happened on the Bloody New Year's Eve which the author definitely throws us off the trail. Felt a little anti-climatic too, upon finishing this volume. We got the answer to the biggest mystery ever in the story, where is it going now?

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the end of the previous volume "Friend's Face" the status quo for the series shifted dramatically. Again. "Beginning of the End" starts off by giving us readers as well as the characters time to take in what these changes will mean. In the beginning we get a bit of hope. The totalitarianism of the future Japanese government seems to loosen a bit. But- as the title of the volume suggests- the situation doesn't stay that way for long.

Sudden changes in totalitarian societies rarely lead directly to democracy and freedom for the people. Soon the forces that have been ruling Japan with an iron fist are going global. People start dying all over the world in attacks of biowarfare just like they did in Tokyo in the earlier volumes of the series. Soon the more restful pacing is gone and we are again along for a ride full of dread and political implications.

Again I was reading this out of breath and impatient for my limited reading speed. I'm hooked, completely and totally. "20th Century Boys" is pure brilliance at work, ingenious and haunting in its power

[Rahul · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friend is dead and the collapse of human civilization by the deadly virus has begin.

[Andria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Forgot there was a global pandemic in this... :( :( :(

[Adam Spanos · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the revealing of the Friend in vol 12, this book continues to hit readers with shocks and twists.

I'll try to avoid spoilers as much as I can.

For the last few books we've had hints that something Very Bad would happen in 2015. Well now it's 2015 and the Very Bad Thing is here.

Urasawa continues to be the master of pacing and the reveal. Midway through the book we have some family drama, a father and son bickering. But slowly the horror of what's around them comes to light and then it hits us, this is it. The long-predicted end of civilization.

I can't wait to see where this goes.

[Estibaliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

One would think that, after the big revelation, things might quiet down a bit, or even get somehow boring. But, of course, that is not the case here.

Friend might be dead, but it is 2015 and the big plan is in motion. Cue for all the risky plotting and action coming...

I am particularly grateful for the fact Urasawa is not toying with the reader, and playing whodunit while dropping false clues. The Friend's identity has been indeed revealed, but this genius author still has plenty of surprises in store for us, readers.

Still enjoying to the full every single volume of this series...

[riley ♡ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everyone, I now know WHO FRIEND IS.
*said this in a serious voice note* *dramatic ending soundtrack starts playing* I gotta be more careful because I knew something I shouldn't have HAHAHA

All the characters are happy but there're 9 volumes left in the series... *side eyes* YAYYYY Mr. Frog is back in business!

[Derek Royal · Rating 4 out of 5]

The action picks up in this volume with inner turmoil within the FDP elites...and, of course, the new strain of the virus.

[Shubhankar Sharma · Rating 5 out of 5]

The carnage has begun!!

[Shenniferr · Rating 5 out of 5]

Urasawa lo hizo de nuevo: destruída en segundos con un sólo panel. Que manera de conectar todo, es un verdadero genio.

[ti☆ra · Rating 4 out of 5]

with friend’s identity being revealed, where will this story go from now? or is there more to “friend”? it must be. one thing that bothers me is that i feel like some of the characters that were introduced a few volumes back just disappears. how bout the mafias gang? that young detective? chouno could be the key of pope assassination case-solving but it just went by like nothing happened. i dont know if that case will be discussed again in the future. for now i’ll wait and keep moving

[নাজমুল হাসান · Rating 4 out of 5]

The plan must go on. And now the story starts to drag it a bit. Still I like how the fight between good and evil is panning out. We get introduced to some unlikely heroes and its setting up to be quite a thriller. A race against time and a worldwide organization. Can the small bundle of simple heroes stand up against the fanatic "Friend" party? Tune in to find out in the next volume.

[Yuri · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume we get to see a beginning of a pandemic...it was a little triggering. Despite that, somethings worked, like the “Friend plot” but I don’t know what to think about how this “pandemic plot” is going to.

[Kesa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a commentary. It has so much truth in it.

[Dani Wladdimiro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Este volumen quizá no hubiera tenido una repercusión tan fuerte en mí, sino fuera porque como humanidad hemos pasado una pandemia de un virus que afectó a todas y todos de alguna manera. Algunas personas nos dejaron, otras tuvieron consecuencias por su vacuna, otras les tomó mucho tiempo su recuperación físico o mental, y algunos pensaron que sería el fin de la humanidad. Por lo que teniendo la experiencia de haber vivido eso, y estar leyendo todo lo ocurrido con la madre de Kanna, Kiriko, tanto con la preparación de la cura como entender las consecuencias de la creación del virus es brutal.

El mundo ya está con pandemia, muchas partes del mundo tienen desperdigado el virus, por lo que el colapso mundial es inevitable. Distintas personas quieren seguir adelante con sus vidas, sentirse seguras, pero los gobiernos no saben que hace, y utilizar las armas para controlar a las personas es la primera solución. Eso indudablemente conlleva a violencia y muertes de inocentes con tal de conseguir una esperanza, la cual termina con el fin de sus vidas. Esto ocurrió, no sólo una vez, sino varias veces en la historia, tanto con la peste negra como con el Covid, por lo que se repite una y otra vez las epidemias, tratando de alguna u otra manera de sobrevivir la especie humana a este tipo de amenazas. Y se siente tan real todo esto, se siente tan posible, dado que muchas cosas las vimos, que da un escalofrío terrible, sintiendo un terror sobre la posibilidad una nueva epidemia.

Así es como se saca una de las historias que me quedará grabada en la retina es justamente de la pareja anciana que está en un pueblo en Alemania. Hace mucho tiempo ellos habían alojado a Kiriko, sin saber quién era, y sin saber si quiera cuál era las consecuencias de sus palabras, pero le dieron techo y comida, sin creer mucho en las palabras que emitió como la posible vacuna que les dio. Con el transcurso del tiempo, una epidemia arrasó la ciudad entera donde vivían, donde las últimas personas tratan de vivir como fuera, pero sabiendo que los días para muchas personas estaban contados. Así es como la pareja sabe que tiene sus días contados, las palabras de la chica eran reales, y si bien el viejo no tenía síntomas, la vieja estaba con una tos que anunciaba el punto final de su vida. Por lo que en un acto noble, deciden entre ambos que la vacuna se la darán a un chico conocido que el viejo volvió a encontrar en el supermercado, tratando de darle esperanza a las nuevas gerencias, porque ellos ya habían vivido lo suficiente. Brutal.

Pero no es la única historia de este estilo, también está la de un pequeño niño que sobrevivió a la pandemia, dado que decían que una doctora pagaba a las personas que querían ser conejillos de india para probar una cura. La familia del niño no tenía dinero, por lo que él aprovecho de ir a preguntarle a su padre si era posible, por lo que su padre sin ningún tipo de precauciones, encontró que era una buena forma de obtener dinero, por lo que le dije que fuera. Debido a esto, fue el único que sobrevivió, por lo que tuvo que enterrar a cada persona que estaba fallecida, tan sólo con una pala y mucho valor. Si bien la historia está presentando para darle valor a otro amigo de Kenji, el relato del niño es otro momento ficción y realidad de situaciones que pasaron. A raíz del Covid, hubo personas que vieron morir a sus familiares en sus casos, y debido a la contingencia no podían sacarlos de sus casas, por lo que debían tratar de enterrarlos de alguna forma u otra, e incluso en algunos casos ni siquiera se les podía visitar.

Y por si no fuera poco, este volumen tiene otro momento extraordinario, y es el asesinato de cada miembro del comité del partido de “Amigo”. De esta manera, no sólo se esta llevando una pandemia, sino también la toma del poder para lo que vendría a ser la nueva sociedad. Justamente esto es lo que más buscaba en 20th Century Boys, historias que abarquen el mundo, y no sólo algo personal. Si bien, es probable que vuelva a lo personal, más todavía considerando que la madre de Kanna está tomando cada vez más y más importancia, siento que cuando muestran las consecuencias de todo esto a nivel sociedad es cuando más crece la obra. Quedan muchos misterios por resolver, y todavía vamos a medio cambio de la obra, por lo que si bien a veces me sentía muy cansado, creo que se vendrá un gran relato de aquí en adelante.

[Julie Hayes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yoshitsune thinks back to that fateful New Year’s Eve, and the man who snapped the picture of them as they faced down the Friend’s menace, none other than Fukube. Why doesn’t he have any childhood memories of Fukube as a boy? Where did he come from and when exactly did he become part of their group? As Yoshitsune and the others try to fathom this, all hell has broken out at the elementary school where rumor has it that Friend has been shot! Kanna recognizes Maruo at the scene, and he tells her he knows a secret way to get into the school, so they can find out what has happened. Meanwhile, Manjome is wakened from a fitful sleep with the news.

Kanna is amazed to find that so many people she believed to be dead are very much alive, working to rid the world of Friend. But not only is Friend dead, his identity has been revealed. Who would have thought it?

Friend’s group assemble, but they are one short – Yamane, who betrayed them. What are they going to do now? Will a successor to Friend be appointed? If so, who? Everyone accuses Manjome of wishing to take over, but he assures them he has no such aspirations. A new member arrives, whom they refer to as Number 13, claiming there is now room for him at the table, and counseling that they continue with Friend’s plans to end the world. Not everyone agrees with this course of action… and suddenly some of the high ranking members wind up dead!

While the others seem content to rest on their laurels now that Friend is dead, Otcho is far from convinced that the threat he represented is over. Kanna says she wants to go with him, since what is happening is her mother’s fault. But Otcho has a story to tell her, one that Yamane told him, about what happened in 2003.

Meanwhile, in 2015, people are starting to die…

Wow, now we know who Friend is… or was. Not at all what I expected. Him? Seriously? How the heck did he become Kanna’s father? What could Kenji’s sister ever see in him? There must be more to this story than we know.

Friend’s followers are divided on whether to continue with his plan or not, but there are fanatics among them, determined to set a dangerous course. I loved finding out the truth about Kanna’s mother, who has been a shadowy figure up until now but who has finally stepped into the spotlight. And in the far-off United States, a player long since forgotten has taken the stage once more.
So much going on, and so many threads to follow. I keep hoping at the end of one of them that Kenji will emerge. Guess we just have to wait and see. Great volume, looking forward to the next one!

[Michael Sorbello · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a review of the entire series.

Synopsis: Humanity, having faced extinction at the end of the 20th century, would not have entered the new millennium if it weren't for them. In 1969, during their youth, they created a symbol. In 1997, as the coming disaster slowly starts to unfold, that symbol returns. This is the story of a gang of boys who try to save the world. Failed rock musician Kenji's memories of his past come rushing back when one of his childhood friends mysteriously commits suicide. Could this new death be related to the rise of a bizarre new cult that's been implicated in several other murders and disappearances? Determined to dig deeper, Kenji reunites with some of his old buddies in the hope of learning the truth behind it all.

Review: This is basically the manga equivalent of a Stephen King novel, channeling themes and plot devices from the likes of It, Dreamcatcher, The Running Man and quite a few others. A young group of friends that make an innocent promise which ends up creating the most dangerous cult in the world, a 'friend' turned into the world's greatest evil, a strange suicide that reunites a group of adults to solve a mystery from their childhood which ended up leading to an apocalyptic police state, clever use of cultural references, rock songs and historical allegories to tell the full story, extremely small actions resulting in extremely massive consequences, an eerie threat lurking in the shadows that may or may not be of supernatural origins, kids overthrowing a totalitarian regime and rebelling against society while fighting against a sinister threat that no one else knows about; sound King enough for ya?

Though I don't think it's quite as good as Monster by the same author, it's definitely very close. It's a masterpiece of intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, deep character development and psychological complexity. The villain's presence is suffocating from the very beginning while remaining mysterious and terrifying until the final chapter. It's intense, it's relatable, it's horrifying and it's an emotional rollercoaster. Be careful who you call your friend and be careful of the promises you make. You might just end up causing the end of the world.

[Adam Stone · Rating 3 out of 5]

There was a point in Bill Willingham's Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile where he reached the intended/imagined climax for the original story, and it took him many issues to find his groove, which resulted in a lot of people bailing on the series because it seemed directionless.

I feared that was happening in this volume, as the core mystery had been solved and resolved in the twelfth volume, and, sure, there was another apocalypse on the horizon, but wouldn't it just be basically retreading volumes 6-12?

Well, it was for a couple of chapters but then Urasawa reached back and reminded you that he'd pushed several storylines to the side ages ago, and decided that now was the time to pick them back up and return them to the complicated fold of the overarching story.

It worked for me. I am once again intrigued to see where the story is going, and I'm glad that the Who Is The Friend storyline is over, because it was never going to be satisfying (it wasn't) or actually important to the story, even though it was The Primary Storyline for twelve volumes. I'm excited about the various people trying to fill the vacuum of power left behind by The Friend, and reintroducing even more characters from the 1960s/70s storyline into the 2015 storyline.

I don't know if it will work, and I'm not sure how I'd be satisfied by the story going forward, but I'm going to be optimistic as I dive into volume 14.

[Lucas Yahiko Madley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Real rating ★★★★½, volume on its base for was great but highs were on masterpiece especially with a few chapters (136 and 140). We are seeing the aftermath of Friends death (Fukubei) and seeing the friendship party motives after such unraveling events. Seeing Yukiji former boss who was in the friendship party get in a car wreck after saying to put the party's ways behind them since friend died and ultimately dies possibly because of such. We just know it's by accident, but knowing the friendship party history they could've had a hand in it. See another similar disease outbreak begin similar to the bloody new years massacre and Kenjis group of friends theories were proven right that the friendship party would probably still continue their ways even after friends death. Very great volume I'm not going to lie.

[Villain E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spoilers for the previous volume.

The Friend is dead. The opening of this volume takes the time to confirm that the Friend is indeed Fukube and that he is indeed dead. So what happens next?

The Friendship Party is still going forward with the plan to kill most of the world's population. Through the stories of others, we get a picture of Endo Kiriko trying to create a vaccine, but where is she now? We find out why Haru Namio is loyal to Kenji's group. We see a bit of Keroyan in America. And Koizumi Kyoko gets pulled back in.

As always the art and storytelling is fantastic.

[Zare · Rating 5 out of 5]

After the shocking end of last issue everything is in turmoil. But also everyone is questioning will this actually stop the Friend's party from executing a terrible blow against humanity.

Story gets complicated and we witness how everybody tries to figure out what is happening. Story is now in slow mode, but I think it will soon find back its own pace. I gotta say I am interested to see how this proceeds.

Art as always is beautiful.

Highly recommended.

[Zita Azlina · Rating 5 out of 5]

Friend's identity revelation is quite disappointing. And his death is a major what the fuck to me. EVERYTHING IS honestly a major what the fuck to me. I WILL NEVER KNOW WHERE THE STORY IS GOING. Naoki Urasawa's outline is probably jumbled up like a kid's diary. And you could never guess which person is dead and which one is 'Evil'. Quite literally the most unpredictable book in existence. Not in a way that's nonsensical too at that. Also Keroyon is backkk??? (woah)

[YugTheProPirate · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume was great but it took me a longer time than other volumes.All the other volumes,I have been finishing in one sittings while this took a large break because I got bored in between.Is the series still great?OBVIOUSLY!Is there still lots of plot twists,new characters,good pacing and also drama?Yes.Yes,there is.

[Emiliano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Can’t even chill out from the aftermath of the last volume god damn

Thought it’d slow down after the reveal of a certain someone BUT NOPE!!!! A NEW VIRUS IS OUT TO THE WORLD! It’s causing chaos across the globe and we get to see it affecting everyday people and wow like we’re soooo fucked. The series doesn’t plan to slow down yet and I’m pumped.

[Celia Burn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has always been a stupendous, intricately woven tale, but ever more relevant alongside our modern pandemic with virus transmission and the masses rebelling against vaccines. Always worth a re-read especially now.

[Anthony Wendel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well the Friend has been defeated. Pack it up and head on home. I mean its not like there is another plan entirely waiting around the corner and the entire world will be changed because of it. The battle has just begun and not every will survive it in the end.

[Valush T. · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not ready to go back to the virtual world because we are gonna be in the mind of friend and maybe we are gonna see Kenji as a kid and that hurts, I'm also excited because Kero is back and looking for redention