Who originally wrote 20th Century Boys?

Naoki Urasawa is the writer and illustrator of the 20th Century Boys.

For more than two decades in the manga business, Naoki Urasawa has firmly established his position as one of Japan's happening manga masters. 20th Century Boys by Urasawa is one of the best-selling manga series ever, with 36 million copies in print and high critical praise. Its 249 chapters were initially released in 22 tankōbon volumes and serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Spirits from 1999 to 2006.

Urasawa’s Life & Career

Naoki Urasawa is a Japanese musician and manga artist. Since he was four years old, he has been drawing manga, and over most of his professional career, he has created two series at once. He is among the best-selling authors of all time with approximately 140 million copies of his various works in circulation worldwide by December 2021. When he was young, Urasawa was especially fond of Osamu Tezuka, especially his manga series, Phoenix. When he was four or five years old, Tezuka's Astro Boy "The Greatest Robot on Earth" and "The Artificial Sun" arcs were his introduction to manga. At that age, he began drawing manga and finished his first full-length story at eight.

Urasawa could see immediately the differences between his work and that of a "real manga artist." He added that he could tell which manga was "commercialised" and created purely for financial gain, something he did not want to carry out. Therefore, he never considered going into professional manga art and earned an economics degree from Meisei University. With Return, he debuted as a professional manga artist in 1981. An anime version of three of his series has been made: Monster (1994–2001), Master Keaton (1988–1994), and Yawara! A Fashionable Judo Girl (1986–1993). The three-part film series based on his best-known novel, 20th Century Boys (2000–2006), was released in 2008 and 2009. He taught manga classes at Nagoya Zokei University while serving as a guest lecturer in 2008.

Inspired by folk rock singer-songwriters Takuro Yoshida and Bob Dylan, Urasawa took up guitar in junior high school. In 2008, he dropped his debut single Tsuki ga Tottemo..., and in 2009, he published his debut album Half Century Man. Urasawa's second self-written and produced album, Mannon, was released in 2016. Urasawa once said,"A lot of artists really struggled to decide whether to become manga artists or rock musicians, so the two are intertwined, they're synonymous!"

Urasawa’s Works

Here is a list of notable works by Naoki Urasawa:

Serials

• Pineapple Army (ARMY, 1985–1988) - written by Kazuya Kudo.

• Yawara! (Yawara, 1986–1993)

• Master Keaton (Masutā Kīton, 1988–1994) - written with Hokusei Katsushika and Takashi Nagasaki

• Happy! (1993–1999)

• Monster (Monsutā, 1994–2001)

• 20th Century Boys (1999–2006)

• 21st Century Boys (2007)

• Pluto (Purūtō, 2003–2009) - written with Takashi Nagasaki, based on a work by Osamu Tezuka

• Billy Bat (Birī Batto, 2008–2016) - written with Takashi Nagasaki

• Master Keaton Remaster (Masutā Kīton Rimasutā, 2012–2014) - written with Takashi Nagasaki

• Mujirushi: The Sign of Dreams (MUJIRUSHI, 2017–2018)

• Asadora! (Renzoku Manga Shōsetsu Asadora!, "Serial Manga Novel Asadora!", 2018–present)

Television, Film, and Radio

• 20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008) - co-writer of the film's screenplay.

• 20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009) - supervisor of the film's screenplay.

• 20th Century Boys 3: Redemption (2009) - co-writer of the film's screenplay.

• The Tibetan Dog (2011) - initial character designs

• Urasawa Naoki no Manben ("Naoki Urasawa's Manga Exertions", 2014–2017) - host of the TV show.

• Junji and Naoki (2017–present) - co-host of the radio show.

• Nonfiction W Urasawa Naoki ~Tensai Mangaka no Owaranai Tabi~ (2018) - as himself.

• Seitan 90 Shūnen Kinen Tokuban ~Tezuka Osamu no Dengon~ (2018) - co-host of the radio special.

• ZK/Zunō Keisatsu 50 Mirai e no Kodō (2020) - as himself.

• Urasawa Naoki no Manben Neo (2020–present) - host of the TV show.

• "Boy" (2021) - directed and illustrated the Kazuyoshi Saito music video.

• The Flower in the Sky (2022) - as Haruo Satō.

• Mr. Moonlight ~1966 The Beatles Budōkan Kōen Min'na de Mita Yume~ (2023) - as himself, drew a film poster.

Other Manga

• "Swimmers" (1979) - Unpublished until the May 13, 2003, issue of Evening.

• "Return" (1981)

• "Beta!!" (1983) - published in a special issue of Golgo 13

• Dancing Policeman (Odoru Keikan, 1984)

• N・A・S・A (1988)

• Jigoro! (1994) - includes the titular series, "Genroku Yarō" and "A Bat & 2 Balls"

• Early Urasawa (Shoki no Urasawa, 2000)

• "Throw Toward the Moon!" (Tsuki ni Mukatte Nagero!, 2006) - written with Takashi Nagasaki

• "Kaiju Kingdom" (Kaijū Ōkoku, 2013)

• "Damiyan!" (2016)

• "It's a Beautiful Day" (2018) - original draft by musician Kenji Endo

• Sneeze: Naoki Urasawa Story Collection (Kushami Urasawa Naoki Tanpenshū, 2019)

• "Dr. Toguro Dokuro no Saigo" (2021)

Other Works

• Another Monster (2002) - novel written with Takashi Nagasaki.

• Pleasure! (2003) - album cover for Domino88.

• Wakui Sings Dylan (Diran o Utau, 2007) - album cover for Koji Wakui.

• Talkin' About Bob Dylan (Diran o Katarō, 2007) - book written with Koji Wakui, includes the manga "Bob Dylan's Great Adventure" Bobu Diran no Dai Bōken).

• Manben (2008) - art book

• Tensai ka Jinsai ka: Izumiya Shigeru All Time Best (2010) - album cover for Shigeru Izumiya

• Gohan: Manzai Complete (2011) - DVD cover for Waraimeshi.

• Pan: Warai no Shin Kyōchi (2011) - DVD cover for Waraimeshi.

• Red Oni Cries (2011) - picture book of a Kosuke Hamada story, produced by Takashi Nagasaki.

• Kyon 30: Nantettatte 30 Nen! (2012) - one of the song selectors for Kyoko Koizumi.

• Hinshi no Soroku Tonya (2012) - kanzenban edition book cover for Kiyoshiro Imawano.

• "Be Hero" (2014) - single cover for Fudanjuku.

• Urasawa Naoki Egaite Egaite Kaki Makuru (2016) - guidebook

• Yano Pia (2016) - book cover for Akiko Yano.

• "Boy" (2021) - single cover for Kazuyoshi Saito.

Awards

Urasawa has received multiple awards, including the Kodansha Manga Award once, the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize twice, and the Shogakukan Manga Award three times. He has been hailed as one of the artists that transformed the history of manga.

Here is a list of all awards Urasawa has gained over the years: