CLIP FROM FIRST 20th CENTURY BOYS FILM

As some of you probably know, the manga 20th Century Boys by Naoki Urasawa (Monster, Pluto) is getting the film treatment too. Three films, in fact. The first of a movie trilogy adapting Urasawa's epic story (including the final chapter of the story, released as 21st Century Boys) will be coming out in Japan on August 30.



As Viz folks have hinted at on a few occasions, the plan is to release 20th Century Boy in English after the release of Monster has concluded. Urasawa specifically requested that they wait to serialize any new titles (including Pluto, the "Watchmen of manga" according to Carl Horn) until the current series is completed. By my count, that could theoretically mean us getting the series by mid-2009? Maybe?

I've only read the first volume (in Japanese) so far, but it's utterly fascinating, dense and exciting. I can't really do it justice, but it's a mix of SF, political thriller, coming of age story and post-apocalyptic futurism. Terrorist sects, weird interweaving plots and childhood memories, a giant robot and deadly viruses. A dude on some message board called the later sections of the series, "Pop culture reimagined as a totalitarian nightmare."

More production and cast details can be found on the 20th Century Boys official site. Enjoy this 4-minute clip, via our good friends at Twitch (the best film blog on the entire internet):