The final showdown
One of the most awaited movies of the year - 20th Century Boys Chapter 3 - is coming to cinemas next week, bringing to a close the battle between Kenji and the troops of 'Friend'. The popular trilogy comes to an end.
The movie is based on Naoki Urasawa's best-selling manga series, 20th Century Boys, which has been published in 13 countries and sold 28 million copies. The trilogy film version is one of Japanese cinema's biggest productions, with a budget of about ?6 billion (HK$518 million) and a cast of more than 300.
Chapter 1 opened in August last year, grossing ?4 billion domestically and attracting 3 million moviegoers, while Chapter 2 opened in January this year to even greater success. Now the final chapter is here, providing the answers to all the mysteries.
The story continues in the Third Year of Friend, or 2017 on the old calendar. The world is governed by Friend, who has become the president after a prophecy about a deadly plague came true. Self-proclaimed world saviour Friend makes another prophecy: 'At noon on August 20, mankind will be terminated by aliens. Only those who believe me shall survive.'
Yoshitsune, an old-time buddy of Kenji - the hero of the tale - leads a resistance group, while Kenji's niece Kanna forms a more militant group in preparation for an armed rebellion.
Maruo, Kiriko, Keroyon and Otcho are allies of Yoshitsune and Kenji - who is presumed dead - and they are concerned about Kanna's reckless plan to hunt down Friend. But hope arises as a man tries with a guitar breaks through the maximum security border patrol station at the wall dividing Tokyo from the outside world. He calls himself Yabuki Joe and claims to be going to Kanna - could it be he is really Kenji? The trademark guitar suggests it is.
20th Century Boys Chapter 3 opens on November 26
win! win! win!
