21st Century Boys - Recommendations

Alt title: 21 Seiki Shounen

21st Century Boys

If you're looking for manga similar to 21st Century Boys, you might like these titles.

Ode to Kirihito

Ode to Kirihito

Kirihito Osanai is a talented doctor with a successful career and a beautiful fiancée. However, once he's sent to a remote village to investigate a rare disease known as Monmow, his life quickly changes forever. After spending time with the infected patient, Kirihito begins to show the symptoms of the deadly disease - his body physically changes to a dog-like form and he begins to crave raw meat; what awaits him is a slow and painful death. Thus begins Kirihito's nightmarish journey into the unknown. He's kidnapped, forced to perform as a circus freak and branded a deviant by everyone he comes across, while back home in Japan his ex-colleagues and fiancée search for what happened to him and uncover a conspiracy that shakes them to the core. Meanwhile, the search for the cause of the Monmow disease continues...

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Reasons you might like Ode to Kirihito...

sothis sothis says...

Ode to Kirihito and 20th (21st being the conclusion) aren't similar in plot, but I definitely felt similar after reading them (NOTE: 20th/21st are FAR better and way more epic than Ode, but Ode is also good). Call it a gut feeling, but I think you'll appreciate the similar storytelling style.

MW

MW

Fifteen years ago, Garai was part of a group of delinquents who kidnapped Yuki, the young brother of a famous kabuki actor, on a remote island which housed a secret military base. Garai couldn't control his lust for the young boy's girlish looks and took advantage of him in a cave, followed by a grim discovery: everyone on the base was dead from an apparent leak of MW, a powerful neurotoxin. In the present, Yuki is alive, but exposure to the MW destroyed his conscience; he now lives a double life as both an attractive bank employee and a sadistic, brutal killer who kidnaps, rapes and destroys others for his own whims. Garai, plagued with guilt, has become a priest and tries desperately to save Yuki's soul, though often ending up in bed with him instead. Yuki's ultimate goal is to find MW once more to destroy the world; can Garai stop him in time?

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Reasons you might like MW...

sothis sothis says...

Not really anything compares to 20th Century Boys (21st Century Boys being the conclusion of it), but MW is close. Both are gripping tales of terrorism, drama, and more - and are told in a very VERY similar way. Unsurprising as Urasawa seems to greatly respect Tezuka (re: Pluto). If you liked one definitely try out the other, though MW is only a fraction of 20th's awesomeness.

Nishina Tesura wa Mitsukaranai

Nishina Tesura wa Mitsukaranai

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Ultrabaroque Deprogrammer

Ultrabaroque Deprogrammer

Brainwashing is now a popular activity in corporate circles. Contracted by large companies, professional Washers hack into the brains of new employees and instil loyalty and drive. This surge of brainwashing soon gives rise to Deprogrammers: elite Washers who are capable of not only undoing brainwashing but also breaking down the human mind. But as the Washers begin to fear the Deprogrammers and seek to control them, a fierce struggle breaks out...

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Kokkoku: Moment by Moment

Kokkoku: Moment by Moment

In order to save her brother and nephew who have been kidnapped by a mysterious religious group known as the Genuine Love Society, Juri and her family cast a spell using a stone hidden by her grandfather to enter the world of stopped time known as Stasis. However, when they infiltrate the kidnapper's base, they're met by other people who can also move about freely. With grotesque creatures lurking about, will they be able to escape the parallel world and return to their normal lives?!

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Rainman

Rainman

Amamiya Taki, an employee - albeit a reluctant one - of the Parapsychology Research Institute, is suddenly notified of the suicide of a twin brother he never even knew existed. This event sets into motion a shocking chain of occurrences, the first of which is the discovery that Taki has no brain.

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The Watchman

The Watchman

In a dystopian world, a silent watchman follows and evaluates a gifted young woman.

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Genesis Code

Genesis Code

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Steins;Gate: Aishin Meizu no Babel

Steins;Gate: Aishin Meizu no Babel

A manga adaptation of the drama CD, Steins;Gate: Aishin Meizu no Babel, told from Kurisu's perspective.

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Heads

Heads

The shy Jun Naruse is a rather average guy who works for a electronic company and loves to draw. He falls in love with Megumi whom he met at a shop selling drawing materials and an intimate relationship develops. A few days later the office gets attacked and when the criminal tries to shoot a little girl he saves her by jumping in front of her. A month passes until he wakes up again and is told that half his brain got destroyed and he only survived because someone donated half a brain. Everything seems to be fine, he quickly recovers and is happy, however he begins to change... is the donated brain the reason for that? Or is it just a side effect of the medicine?

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