Urasawa Naoki is one of the greatest authors of all time.
Summary
- Monster – the best detective manga.
- 20th Century Boys – manga that reflects Japan.
- Why is Urasawa Naoki a legend?
Pluto is an 8-episode anime released on the streaming platform Netflix. The original manga that served as the basis for the anime is an adaptation of the cult anime Astro Boy by the great Urasawa Naoki. But what makes this author so significant to the industry?
Monster
Probably the best manga in the detective genre. But Monster is not just a story about a brilliant detective who collates hundreds of clues and unravels the cunning plans of villains, it is quite the opposite. Urasawa Naoki uses the detective element as the basis for a dramatic, complex and philosophical story. The plot twists and investigation itself is not in the first place here; it’s an epochal work, which no less than Dostoevsky uses the technique of psychology, discusses the value of life, the meaning of existence, universal human principles and the ambiguity of morality. This story changed the detective genre and made something big out of it. Not a single detective manga or anime since has been without Monster's influence.
20th Century Boys
20th Century Boys (20 Seiki Shounen) is an extremely important work not only for the manga world, but for Japan as a whole. Although the story is fantastical in many moments, it perfectly reflects and comments on many problems of Japanese society through the prism of children's perception. A story about true heroism and saving the world, which is essentially a motivational message for people who want to change the world for the better, but are afraid of it. A manga that is not often talked about, but which has left an imprint on both the history of a particular art form and the history of a country.
Urasawa Naoki is a legend
This is an author who was able to capture the face of an entire country in his work. A man who changed a seemingly banal genre and brought it to a new level. Pluto is also an example of the author's skill in making a dystopian science fiction story out of an Astro Boy. His ideas and concepts appear in anime and manga everywhere, because the influence of his work is huge. He is not remembered as often as Kentaro Miura, Masashi Kishimoto, or Eiichiro Oda, but his contributions to the industry are just as significant.