20th Century Boys, Vol. 18

20th Century Boys, Vol. 18 mostly takes place in 2018, with a brief flashback to Year One of the Friendship Era.  There are two factions in the resistance.  The Genji Faction is led by Yoshitsune, and it mostly focuses on hiding political dissidents.  The Ice Queen Faction is led by Kanna herself, and they plan an armed revolution on August 20, Kenji's birthday.  Meanwhile on the northern border, a man with a guitar has broken through the fence.  Chono is being told that he's a space alien, and that his guitar is just a guitar-shaped weapon.  He's too young to be Kenji.  Perhaps he's the busker found by Koizumi in Vol. 17.  In both Tokyo and the northern city, a new version of one of Kenji's songs is being played on the radio.

For a series that has sold tens of millions of copies, 20th Century Boys does receive a fair amount of criticism.  Some have suggested that 24 tankoban volumes is a bit too long for the source material, leading to too many tangential stories.  By the time you get to Vol. 16 or Vol. 17, that's out the window, and it's a race to the finish.  Kenji might be alive.  Might he be the Friend?