If you remember, one of our recommendations from the Turning Japanese Holiday Guide was the 20^th Century Boys films. And at the time I don’t remember finding an official release date for film #2, but we now have word from VIZ Pictures of one!

For those of you unfamiliar with the series, the creator is Naoki Urusawa who is responsible for the MONSTER series and the YALSA list mention PLUTO. The 20^th Century Boys films are based on the 24 volume manga series that are highly popular in Japan, having sold over 20 million copies. The film is directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, who has made commercials and music videos for Nihon Television and is also director of Happily Ever After (available from VIZ).

Still not sure? OK, I’ll let you know the storyline:

The story began in 1969 when a young boy named Kenji and his friends write “The Book of Prophecy” in which they write about a future where they fight against an evil organization trying to takeover the world and bring about doomsday. Years later in 1997, a mysterious cult being led by a man only known as “Friend” emerges and begins to gain strong influence over society. A series of catastrophic events begin to occur mirroring the prophecies made up by the young Kenji and the greatest fear is the climax of “The Book” becoming a reality; December 31st, 2000, a terrifying giant virus-spreading robot will attack the entire city of Tokyo leading to the end of mankind. The only people who know about “The Book” are Kenji and his childhood friends. Who is “Friend”? Will Kenji and his friends be able to save mankind and live to see the 21st Century?

In 20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE it is 2015, and “Friend” rules a disturbing new world. Kenji has been missing since the Bloody New Year’s Eve of 2000, and his niece Kanna is now in high school. Her history textbook contains a fabricated story about Kenji and his friends being the terrorists behind the horrific events of 2000. Kanna, knowing the truth, openly resents this, and as a result she is marked as a problem child by her teacher and sent to the Friend Land program because of her anti-Friend behavior. Friend Land is a facility where people with rebellious behavior are re-educated. As the program begins, Kanna and her classmate Kyoko Koizumi achieve high marks and are sent to the advanced program called the Bonus Stage, where they find themselves in a virtual reconstruction of 1971, when Kenji and his friends were kids. There, each of the girls learns crucial secrets about “Friend.”

The surviving secret base members have been separated since Bloody New Year’s Eve but each has spent the last 15 years in various activities opposing Friend and his regime. As Kenji’s friends all try to find out the truth about Friend, they discover the shocking existence of The New Book of Prophecy, the sequel to The Book of Prophecy. The New Book describes an event: In 2015, at a church in Shinjuku, a savior will rise to uphold justice but will be assassinated. Who is the savior? Once again, Doomsday looms near…

VIZ Pictures are in a celebratory mood and are holding a special screening FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY at their San Francisco complex on February 9^th at 7:30pm. The tickets will cost $25, but this also includes a copy of the film, a poster and a pin. Make sure you get there early as they are going to run a raffle to win a 20th Century Boys T-shirt beforehand! You can buy tickets at the box office or online at www.vizcinema.com.

For those of us who can’t make it to San Francisco, the DVD for “20TH CENTURY BOYS 2: THE LAST HOPE” will be released on February 16^th and will cost $24.92US or $35.99CAN.