20世紀少年 [Nijūseiki Shōnen / 20th Century Boys]

Naoki Urasawa’s sprawling 22-issue epic for Shogakukan, co-plotted with Takashi Nagasaki, follows a group of friends haunted by a childhood game that seems to have become a blueprint for a real-world apocalyptic cult. Spanning the late 1990s into the early 2000s, the series masterfully weaves a global conspiracy thriller with the bittersweet ache of lost youth. Urasawa’s clean, expressive linework grounds the escalating paranoia in deeply human faces and moments, making every twist feel earned. It’s a landmark of mature seinen storytelling, celebrated for its intricate, suspenseful plotting and its poignant meditation on memory, friendship, and the weight of our childhood dreams.