Manga Division
Excellence Award
20th Century Boys
URASAWA Naoki
© Naoki Urasawa
Profile
URASAWA Naoki
Born in Tokyo, Japan in 1960. Awarded Shogakkan Comics Award, Grand Prize, in 1982. In 1985,Pineapple Army began to appear serially. In 1986, seriazlizedYawara! (35th Shogakkan Manga Award) and in 1988, serializedMaster Keaton. Thereafter, serializedHappy!,Monster (The First Media Arts Award of Excellence, 3rd Teduka Osamu Cultural Manga Award, 46th Shogakkan Manga Award). In 1999, the serialized20th Century Boy won the 25th Kodansha Manga Award.
Award Reason
"Friends" control Japan from behind the scenes. On "Bloody New Year's Eve" in 2000, Uncle Kenji lost his life after a deadly battle with a "friend". The story evolves around high school student Kanna, who follows after "friend" to fulfill the desire of her late Uncle Kenji. The story is set in the near future in 2014, in Neo-Tokyo. Even though many characters appear and have complicated relationships the reader is not confused, because the storyteller Gowan pulls us into the story very skillfully and we are captivated by the skills of the Urazawa world.