the reason for the delay was at the request of Urasawa, who felt there was a change in his art style over time. However, when asked about it being due to his request in 2012, Urasawa was surprised saying that he did not know about that and simply suggested Viz did not know which order to publish the two series. In 2017, Viz licensed the kanzenban editions of both 20th Century Boys and 21st Century Boys. The first volume of 20th Century Boys: The Perfect Edition was published on September 18, 2018, and the single volume 21st Century Boys: The Perfect Edition was published on June 15, 2021. Viz's initial release was distributed in Australasia by Madman Entertainment. Live-action films The trilogy of 20th Century Boys live-action films, directed by Yukihiko Tsutsumi, were first announced in 2006. In February 2008, the main cast was announced, as well as the trilogy's budget of 6 billion yen (approx. $60 million US) and that Urasawa will contribute to the script. Filming of the first two movies was planned from January 3 to the end of June, and of the third from mid-August to the end of October. English rock band T. Rex's "20th Century Boy", the song from which the series gets its name, was used as the theme song to the films. The first movie's premiere was held in Paris on August 19, 2008, at the Publicis Champs-Elysées cinema with a press conference at the Louvre Museum, which was attended by Toshiaki Karasawa (Kenji) and Takako Tokiwa (Yukiji). The first film was released on August 30, 2008, the second on January 31, 2009, and the third was released on August 29, 2009. The first movie covers volumes 1 to 5 of the manga, and the second covers volumes 6 to 15, but differs from the original story on some key points; important characters missing in the first movie were introduced in the second. The final film in the trilogy covers the remainder of the volumes, but with several changes to the main story. Cast Toshiaki Karasawa as Kenji Endo Etsushi Toyokawa as Otcho Takako Tokiwa as Yukiji Airi Taira as Kanna Teruyuki Kagawa as Yoshitsune Takashi Ukaji as Mon-chan Hiroyuki Miyasako as Keroyon Kuranosuke Sasaki as Fukubei Renji Ishibashi as Inshu Manjome Katsuo Nakamura as God Hitomi Kuroki as Kiriko Endo Naohito Fujiki as detective Chono Arata Furuta as Namio Haru Yoriko