Apocalypse of childish fear and loathing
What They Say:
It is now 2017, and after the spread of the deadly virus in Tokyo, a wall was built around the city and people’s lives have been restricted. As World President, Friend tells everyone that on August 20th, aliens will destroy mankind and only those who believe in him will be saved.
Kanna and Yoshitsune both lead rebel groups in an attempt to fight against Friend. Maruo finally finds Kenji’s sister and Otcho makes his way back to Tokyo reuniting with Kanna. As a familiar song plays from the radio, is it proof that Kenji is still alive?
At the same time, outside the wall, one man was determined to go see Kanna. Everyone is ready to make their final stand and all mysteries are soon revealed.
The Review:
Audio:
Two Japanese language tracks are available. Dolby Digital 2.0 audio is encoded at 48 kHz at 224 Kbps, and Dolby Digital 5.1 encoded at 48kHz at 448 Kbps. Both mixes offer an active soundstage with several sequences where cinematic sound and special effects drive the film. Separation and balance have the potential to make or break some scenes, but the effects added in the original mix sometimes don’t work as expected. For example, the choice of limiting the dynamic range to mimic a public address sounds muddy when the character speaking is in the close foreground. I purposefully limited my direct comparisons of the two mixes to a sequence later in the film where there is a strong mixture of special effects and straight dialog. The 5.1 track seems to have more separation in the front channels and maybe slightly more bass. While the separation was not as clear in the 2.0 mix, it still fully supported the effects and created a dynamic soundstage.
Video:
As originally released in 1.78:1, the video is encoded for anamorphic playback. Playback is variable bitrate. While brighter scenes tended to be okay from a normal viewing distance, there is a huge amount of digital noise in darker scenes that I could notice from a standard distance. If you are trying to watch this on a computer monitor as close as you would normally sit to type, you can see the noise in brighter scenes.
Otherwise, the film offers some very fun special effects that really create an interesting textured world. As they are shown on the front cover of the package, flying saucers and a giant robot add a fun dimension to the video, and the effects blend well in the live action scenes.
Packaging:
The disc comes in a standard keepcase sized Eco-Box that does not have solid front and back covers. This allows the paper cover to become rumpled over time or with normal handling. The front cover has images of a masked Friend looking over a city and the resistance. The spine has the pointing eye symbol at the top and the title in bright yellow font. The back has several images from the film. A masked child about to pull away his Ultraman mask serves as the background for the summary font and the tiny font of the credits. Between the two text fields are five headshots of some of the main characters from this volume.
Menu:
The menu is dynamic and fun with animated flying saucers and a waving flag with the pointing eye symbol. The two masked Friends and the group from the front cover appear above the selection. The scene menu offers 22 selections which helps break up the 155 minute film.
Extras:
The disc includes trailers for all three films in the trilogy, a trailer for the 20th Century Boys manga, Japanese original trailers, and trailers of other Viz Pictures releases.
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
It is rare for me to call any contemporary Japanese entertainment “epic.” For me the term means a series has a broad scope of characters, the story takes place over a large stretch of time, and the actions affect nations or the entire planet. The 20th Century Boys trilogy is epic, and in part 3, the actions of a few affect the entire planet.
For those who have not seen the first 280 minutes of this trilogy, the story begins in 1969 when a child named Kenji writes a sci-fi story called “The Book of Prophecy.” It is a story of a leader who gains power in Japan in the wake of terrorist attacks on cities around the world. When in the late 1990s a religious cult, led by the masked Friend, uses the club symbol, the adult Kenji seeks out his friends to help defeat Friend’s organization. During the climactic ending, Kenji disappears.
Part 2 picked up 15 years later. Kenji’s niece, the daughter of Friend and Kenji’s sister, leads the life of a high school student and waitress. As she rebels against the false claims written about her uncle, she is sent to a reeducation camp where she experiences some of her uncle’s and Friend’s past the in 1960s. Secrets continue to be uncovered, and a “New Book of Prophecy” predicts an assassination. Kenji’s remaining friends try to protect Kanna and uncover the secret of who Friend was in their childhood.
Part 3 opens with Friend leading the world and promising humanity’s destruction in an alien invasion. Director Yukihiko Tsutsumi works within a CGI-heavy world where blimps with giant screens seem to both survey and repeat Friend’s messages to the city of Tokyo. While the previous entry presented a dystopian world being born, this version of Tokyo has become fully decayed with an underclass of rebel groups and children missing their parents. Something about it reflects the fears of illegal immigrants and their shanty towns. Kanna now leads a terrorist (or guerrilla) group who uses a pirate radio signal to call for an open attack on Friend’s forces. Otcho tries to stop Kanna from putting others in harm’s way. Other characters who were introduced in childhood, the 1990s, and in 2015 work in their own ways to combat the problems of Friend’s stranglehold.
Part 1 had a drama and mystery heavy vibe, but the second installment had a much more sci-fi and action vibe. While there are elements of the other genres, a big part of this installment brings back characters who may or may not be trusted. At its heart, the entire trilogy is a who-dunnit. We try to find out what child grew up to be Friend and we try to learn what caused Friend to shape world history based on Kenji’s story. This takes place in world where giant robots walk the street spraying chemicals that kill people in grotesque and bloody ways. People bow to a leader who remains faceless and call him a god. Childhood friends are the ones who dreamed up the dystopia and are the only ones who can fight for the hope that humanity will not be exterminated. It is hard for me to review this series because there are so many narrative threads running together, and there are too many side stories that have some importance to the overall effect of watching the movies. The three parts together fill up 437 minutes!
In Summary:
If you love sci-fi with dystopias, giant robots, and a super villain who always wears a mask, this series should fit the bill. While the mystery and character development of the first two parts make this a better than average trilogy, part 3 opens with a summary of what happened in the previous volumes, so a viewer who can’t find Parts 1 or 2 will at least have some background provided.
Yukihiko Tsutsumi has created a worthwhile story of childish actions and adult hubris converging in a world ready to believe whatever they see on stage and on TV. He creates a political leader who uses lies and malice to rise up to be a god, only to be held at the mercy of childhood imagination and disaffection. In much the same way shows like Macross included a song as a weapon to prevent world destruction, 20th Century Boys uses two songs, T-Rex’s “20th Century Boy” and one written by the character Kenji to deconstruct culture to a basic response to music and emotions. Somehow, I feel this is a good contemporary film for new J-Culture fans, and it really holds up for older viewers who have grown up with space operas, terrorism, and politicians more suited to comic books than public office.
Features:
Japanese 5.1 and 2.0 audio mixes, optional English subtitles
Content Grade: A
Audio Grade: A-
Video Grade: B-
Packaging Grade: B
Menu Grade: A-
Extras Grade: C
Released By: Viz Pictures
Release Date: June 1st, 2010
MSRP: $24.92
Running Time: 155 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Samsung KU6300 50” 4K UHD TV, Sony BDP-S3500 Blu-ray player connected via HDMI, Onkyo TX-SR444 Receiver with NHT SuperOne front channels and NHT SuperZero 2.1 rear channel speakers.