Mysterious cult of the "Friend" starts to show up in a very unexpected places and it seems to be more than ready to shutdown everyone who learns something about it. Kenji starts his journey down the memory lane while he tries to remember where did he see mysterious signs and names referenced in the message his friend sent him before committing suicide.

Twists and turns galore, as story progresses plot becomes more and more sinister and just glues you to the pages.

Art quality is just great, same as in volume one.

Highly recommended. ( )

And the mystery deepens! How is a childhood game played by Kenji and his friends related to this mysterious 'Friend' and his plans for the world? Why is Kenji the one person who can save humanity? Who is the 'Friend'? Could it be Otcho, the leader of the gang when they were kids, mysteriously missing for these 9 years? Why exactly does the 'Friend' world domination is the end all plan?

In the second volume of 20th Century Boys things begin to grow murkier as Kenji investigates further into his friend Donkey's 'suicide' and the mysterious symbol from his youth. I can easily understand why people can liken the narrative progression to that of the tv series Lost. The 'present', 1997, is used as the jumping up point. From there we jump back and forth between events of Kenji's childhood that directly relate to the current issues. Every so often events jump to December of 2000--when a disaster is about to change the world.

We learn more about Kiriko, Kanna's mother and Kenji's older sister, who raised Kenji and saved him more often then he thought from death. Through his memories we easily can see why he feels it is so important for him to take care of Kanna and no one else. We meet and learn more about Yukiji, a relentless tomboy from Kenji's youth who was one day 'saved' by Kenji from the neighborhood bullies. A homeless man who is called 'Kamisama' (God) by his fellows because he can see into the future on occasion dreams of the destruction to come and how to perhaps prevent it.

Once again Viz's presentation is wonderful and makes reading this series enjoyable. This is, in many ways, a hard manga to read for casual readers. There isn't a lot of 'action' or such, outside of the scifi elements and Friend plot, this is more about life and how life changes you. From Kenji's regrets that his sister was never able to do what she wanted because she was constantly caring for him to Yukiji's disappointment that Kenji couldn't stand up to the 'knight in shining armor' she remembered from her youth.

Volume 3 is due out in June, with volume 4 following in August, five following in October and 6 following in December. If Viz holds to schedule, you really only to wait every other month for the series, which is wonderful because this is a series you don't want to lose a grasp of the details on. ( )

Minet Library - last return date 22/11/2010

Still enjoying this! ( )

I'm still not sure if I want to invest the time in the entire series. I might read the rest on Hoopla, if available. The first two volumes were provided by a student. I do like how it plays with some of the tropes of comic book heroism. The slow burning conspiracy plot is engaging, although it maybe burns a bit too slow. ( )

Without spoilers, let's just say... The Plot Thickens! ( )