Naoki Urasawa might be a familiar name for the veteran manga readers. If not, how about the 1994 psychological thriller manga Monster? Never heard of it? Fine, how about the 90s famous manga 20th Century Boys? It does bring back memories. Didn’t it? Now that you know about the renowned mangaka, Naoki Urasawa, and his thought-provoking works, the news about his latest anime might overwhelm you.
As a chain-reaction, here is everything you need to know about Naoki Urasawa’s latest anime adaptation.
The art of Naoki Urasawa
Naoki Urasawa is a craftsman, famous for his intriguing stories and flawed character designs that often leave people in awe. In most of his work, readers find themselves in the manga character’s shoes, and it becomes dense for them to decide who is right, who is wrong, and who should be blamed for all the mishappenings.
In Monster, the characters are the center of everything that happens in the story. The little kid, who was saved by the polite doctor, ends up as a mass murder machine that tramples everything in his way, and the doctor cannot kill the murderer because he once saved his life.
Logically, the characters in the manga won’t make much sense. However, if you enter into the Naoki Urasawa stories, the characters become relatable with every chapter, and the more you know about them, the more they grow on you. That is the beauty of Naoki Urasawa and his stories.
The Monster’s story is flawed, and the characters don’t make much sense. The character choices depict an actual flawed human being, which is especially true in Johan’s case. He considered himself the chosen one, destined to kill humans to unravel the Monster lurking inside him.
And in 20th Century Boys, Urasawa exceeded manga readers’ expectations with an insane story that outshined his other work and made us think about our actions and their repercussions.
The manga has some interesting set of characters like Kenji, Otcho, Yoshitsune, and Maruo, who makes a pack in an abandoned field and writes the infamous Book of Prophecy. Plus, the past conflict with the present throughout the story makes it harder for readers to keep up with the plot.
After several years, new characters join the plot, indicating the existence of more than one protagonist and antagonist in the manga. In the more recent volumes, the story gets more complicated. The plot stretches out to three different timelines, dedicated from 1971 to 1997, 2000 to 2014, and 2014 to 3FE(3rd Year of the Friend Era).
Conclusion
In Urasawa’s works, the plot has always been about characters and their flaws, which are the central plot devices used throughout Naoki Urasawa mangas. Although Naoki Urasawa is yet to reveal the title of the anime adaptation, we can conclude that 2003’s hit manga Pluto might be the best option for an anime adaptation.
Earlier, Monster received an anime adaption, and 20th Century Boys received three live-action films. While the most significant work of Naoki Urasawa is considered as 20th Century Boys, Monster, and Pluto, it would make sense that the possibility of Pluto getting an anime adaptation is high. Still, we can’t skip out the possibility of other Naoki Urasawa manga, which are highly underrated and deserve anime adaptations.
