20th Century Boys Trilogy (2008-2009)

About this episode

The hosts discuss Toho's live action adaptation of the manga 20th Century Boys, exploring its themes, challenges of adaptation, and cultural influences.

Byrd, Kevin and Lux discuss Toho's live action adaptation of 20th Century Boys, the beloved manga by Naoki Urasawa (Monster, Pluto). It tells a story over several decades of a group of childhood friends that reunite when they realize a doomsday cult led by a masked leader named Friend is using elements from a story they wrote as children to carry out mass murder and position himself as a false savior of humanity. Throughout the trilogy, as Friend gains power and influence in the world, our heroes try to learn his true identity and stop him from world domination. There's giant robots, airborne viruses, underground freedom fighters, plenty of kaiju and tokusatsu references, and more! We'll talk about how the trilogy compares to the manga, the challenges of adapting such a sprawling story into film, and some of the real life events and cultural shifts that influenced the story. But first we discuss the recent passings of author Koji Suzuki, actor Kenji Ohba, and director/effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura. Relax and enjoy the show!

People in this episode

Hosts: Byrd, Kevin, Lux

Topics covered

• film adaptation
• manga
• doomsday cult
• friendship
• kaiju
• tokusatsu

Keywords

• 20th Century Boys
• Naoki Urasawa
• Toho
• film adaptation
• doomsday cult
• kaiju
• tokusatsu
• manga

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Toho

Books & works: 20th Century Boys, Monster, Pluto

More episodes of The Kaiju Transmissions Podcast

• Monarch: Legacy of Monsters- Season 2 (2026) · May 15, 2026 · 1h 29m
• More Kongversation: Author Ray Morton Returns! · April 17, 2026 · 1h 20m
• Troll 2 (2025) · February 10, 2026 · 1h 37m
• Sadako vs. Kayako (2016) · November 24, 2025 · 1h 10m
• Ju-On (the Grudge): The First Four Films · November 10, 2025 · 2h 44m
• Mad Monster Party? (1967) · October 31, 2025 · 1h 15m