This review contains spoilers.
Kenji is upset. He’s upset because the plans made by a club that he formed when he was a kid are now being used to destroy the world. Successfully.
The leader of the revolution is Tomodachi (“Friend”) and his political party called Yuumintou (“Friendship Democratic Party”). Step by step, his plans for world domination follow the crude drawings of Kenji and his friends. These illustrations depicted terrorists and the boys (and one girl) imagined themselves as a superhero team who could stop them.
The beginning of the end starts when Kenji starts seeing the symbol that they designed everywhere, particularly in connection with the death of his friend, Donkey. You probably know it by now as the hand/eye emblem used in all the advertising for these movies. It’s creepy and mysterious as Kenji enlists his former friends to find out who is behind this and also functions as a (brief) meditation on childhood memory.
It’s so creepy that it’s almost a disappointment when the giant robots show up in the end. Having said that, you have to have a certain amount of respect for a movie trilogy that has already destroyed most of the world by the end of the first part.
What really struck me is that, according to this movie, Japan hasn’t really changed much from the late sixties to the present day. The 1970s school might well have been filmed without making any changes. The only difference I noted throughout the film was the size and technology of the mobile phones. I have no idea if this is accurate, or if they were making a point as the world only really changes after Tomodachi achieves power. Due to the movie’s depiction of time, you watch as the characters change and grow up, only to be murdered or end up working in a convenience store. That left me feeling quite unsettled, although I doubt that was the point.
Worth mentioning is that (so far), you don’t need to have read the manga to be able to follow it all. The movie explains everything you need as you go. I’m looking forward to the next parts.
Twentieth Century Boys: The Beginning of the End // Nijusseiki Shounen: Owari no Hajimari and Twentieth Century Boys: Final Hope // Nijusseiki Shounen: Saigo no Kibou are available to rent on DVD in Japan. The third and final part (Twentieth Century Boys: Our Flag // Nijusseiki Shounen: Bokura no Hata) will get its cinematic release on 29th August.
The official site is here. If you thought my review was fun, check out my review of G.I. Joe.
