Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a renowned Japanese brain surgeon working at a leading hospital in Germany. One
night, Dr. Tenma risks his reputation and career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy
over that of the town mayor who had been planning to support the hospital financially. A string of
mysterious murders begin to occur soon after the operation, and Dr. Tenma emerges as the primary
suspect despite no incriminating evidence.
A doctor is taught to believe that all life is equal; however, when another series of murders occur in
the surgeon's vicinity, Dr. Tenma's beliefs are shaken as his actions that night are shown to have
much broader consequences than he could have imagined. Leaving behind his life as a surgeon he embarks
on a journey across the country to unravel the mystery of the boy he saved.
Monster is a manga written by Naoki Urasawa and serialised in Big Comic Original from 1994 to 2001. In 2004, it was given a 74-episode anime adaptation by Studio Madhouse. The story centres around Dr Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese-born neurosurgeon working in Germany, who operates on a boy called Johan Liebert, a victim of a near-fatal shooting, who disappears under mysterious circumstances soon after the operation. Years later, Johan resurfaces as a grown adult – and a serial killer, who has developed a fascination with the man who saved his life, framing him for his crimes. Now Dr Tenma chases down Johan, with the intent of stopping him by any means necessary. Monster’s greatest strength is its cast of characters. They are one of the most complex and overall human I have seen in any anime. Characters like Dr Tenma, Johan, Inspector Lunge, Eva Heinemann, and Wolfgang Grimmer are among my favourites in any anime. Some of the characters are, frankly, awful people, which makes it all the more satisfying when they turn their lives around for the better. On the flipside, Dr Tenma is pretty much 100% good, kind, and well-intentioned, proving that a character like that can be very compelling. Johan is one of the most darkly fascinating villains I’ve ever seen and Grimmer – well, I’m not sure I can entirely explain the appeal of Grimmer in words. The show’s other big strength is its thematic density. The central theme of the show is forgiveness and redemption – How far is too far to turn back from? Is there a “too far?” The setting of this show handily facilitates that – Germany, only a few years after the fall of the Berlin wall. The atrocities committed by the nations of the Eastern Bloc loom large over the show, and this leads me into the show’s other big theme – the consequences of child abuse. I won’t go further for fear of entering into spoiler territory, but it is a respectful depiction of a serious subject that never veers into exploitation. Overall, Monster is pretty much universally beloved by everyone who watches it for good reason. Personally, I’d recommend reading the manga over watching the anime – it doesn’t really gain anything but pacing issues from being transferred into an animated format – but both ways of experiencing the story are good.
It's easy to neglect what story Monster is truly concerned with telling. At face value, it's the struggle of Tenma to prove his innocence, and yet it's driven home numerous times early on that that isn't Tenma's raison d'etre—so then what's really going on here? It's easy to detach from the central narrative and instead get swept up in its boundlessly deep characterizations. Every single recurrent character has some deeper implications, machinations, and essential strengths and weaknesses to explore, and the narrative seems hellbent on touching on each and every one. However, that still is not the central conceit of this tale; it always was and never ceased to be a story about a Monster. Pretty comical to think of, right? If you're not constantly wondering just what the hell Johan is, are you really even paying attention? Even as the series dangles an explanation, you're meant to meet such an explanation with skepticism, and yet this isn't made clear until the very end when frankly, you're quite tired of being skeptical at all and just want to have your cake and eat it. That there was my fatal falling with this series, and why I'm conflicted in propping it up as a classic as so many others do. On the one hand, I can see now the each and every character was meant to perform a specific function, and yet my cynicism and general expectations of this medium sort of demand such a construct be more easily discernible from the jump; and therein lies what must be ascertained from this musing in general. This series is a mystery. It's meant to be akin to a puzzle being constructed slowly and deliberately for that final, grand payoff at the end; sliding the final piece into place and stepping back to see what was built. Spoilers abound as we move forward. ~!The first piece to consider naturally will be Johan himself. On three separate occasions we (the audience) are provided an explanation of sorts for Johan's actions. This boy becomes a cold, calculated, mass murdering genius of unfathomable proportions. From whence does such a monster come? Why, he's a brainwashed super soldier birthed from a human experiment doused in cold war anxiety of course! The first leg of Tenma's trek to uncover Johan delves deeply into this, and the character of Dieter functions as the way to clue us into the invalidity of this reading from the jump. Dieter is subjected to more or less the same treatment which Johan experienced at 511 Kinderheim, and yet Dieter is nothing like Johan at all. I must confess that, despite such a brief glossing of this dichotomy, it's genuinely tough to remember very much of this arc as it was both months ago in my life as well as, frankly, my least favorite part of the series as a whole. I can recall Dieter being distinctly distant and cold towards most everybody, but the important nuance to observe is twofold in that Dieter both eventually sheds this callousness and develops attachment to Tenma and later to Nina, but also a complete lack of Johan's yearning for destruction and manipulation. Dieter, while sullen and depressing, is a normal enough kid, and he acts as a dramatic foil to the nihilism first characterized in Martin, the sickly boy who survived "the rooftop game," which is an essential motif to Johan's character in general. Martin himself is the first glimpse into the essential nihilism of Johan in that life's grandiose existence is reduced down to a game to play; the delicate balance of life or death to become a children's plaything. Martin fails to encapsulate this for much the same reason Dieter rejects the notion, and while this period seemed captivating at the moment, its true impact was lost on me at the time. It seemed only meant to build up Johan as even more of a Monster in demonstrating how he manipulates and abuses children, but its thematic importance runs much deeper than that. This is the core pattern of every character which crops up possessing some impression of Johan. They're all meant to clue us into the inner psychology of the monster and to see him for what he is. Grimmer, Roberto, and Christof are also all examples of these impressions of Johan given that they too are alumni of 511 Kinderheim. Yet each also fails to perfectly encapsulate the dissolution of human emotion which was the stated goal of the establishment in their own ways, although the timeline for these characters' finalizations also do not conveniently align with the timeline of Johan's uncovering. Thus the second explanation provided for Johan's being was Franz Bonaparta's experiments which similarly sought to dissolve human emotion out of people. While the core blueprint behind 511 Kinderheim, its focus strikes me as being far more precise and targeted specifically at ~~Johan~~ or Nina, as it turns out. Here is where I find my cynicism towards the series starting to bloom proper in that I find it a bit marked by incredulity or incongruence how both experiments coalesced perfectly around Johan both in how each concerned him in particular (with Nina's involvement being the only real caveat aiding this diabolus ex machina's credibility) and in how one seamlessly covers the other. Perhaps that's a fault in my perception of the mystery genre as well, but it does leave a certain unsatisfactory taste nonetheless. Nonetheless, Franz Bonaparta becomes the central fixture of Johan's plotting and insights the burning of the library, a scene whose symbolic power and significance are far more reaching than I'd realized at first confrontation. The library contained the key to Johan's past in Bonaparta's picture books which similarly represent Bonaparta himself; moreover, the library press conference was meant to be part of the Neo-Nazis' plot to install either Johan or Christof into a seat of political power. All of these are things which Johan would wish to destroy given his revelation of his Kinderheim-locked memories, ironically unveiled by the very place he sets ablaze. The act seems to come out of nowhere, and yet in retrospect it's perfectly in line with Johan's character: he obsessively erases any hints of his past so as to preserve his trajectory of life, he wishes to strike down Franz Bonaparta as revenge for his mother's and sister's suffering at his hand, and he no longer has any need to enable the new world order for which the Nazis want to plant him as a puppet figure for. All of this coalesces beautifully as a soft reset for the central conceit of the narrative: no longer is Johan seeking wanton destruction in order to replicate his own existence with no regard for anyone; now it's a targeted mission with a clear objective, albeit this objective is not revealed to us until much later on. And so the final layer is revealed here marrying these two aspects together, in effect. Johan still wishes to bring about some semblance of an apocalypse, but the central conceit in the end of the show is to prove whether or not he's meant to be alive at all. As we find out, the twins' mother willfully sacrificed one of her children to Bonaparta, and this perceived lack of empathy from her fractured Johan's childlike worldview, which would continue to be pressured and crushed underfoot first by Nina's mistreatment at the hands of Bonaparta imparted onto Johan upon her return, which transformed into his own state of being after 511 Kinderheim wiped away the majority of his memories, which then manifests in his later killing sprees and systematic destruction of any sense of his self. The scene of the massacre of the Red Rose Mansion echoes in both the Kinderheim and Ruhenheim massacres as well. Johan seems to want to perpetuate his suffering and spread it onto others, the ironic twist being that he wants only for people to understand his suffering—to be connected to someone. Moreover, the countless times he faces death and symbolically points to his forehead are times he's playing his rooftop game with life and death; Johan wants to confirm whether he's meant to live or not. The series ends with his confirmation being final as he slips away from his comatose hospital bed into the unknown. Despite only being a single piece of the puzzle, there is so much more to discuss on the topic of Johan that I'll leave for another time. This series certainly is fascinating to ruminate on and I'll simply have to revisit it in some way in the future. It's inevitable. Until then! !~
Being a doctor means having an oath to save someone's life because all lives are equal. To be a doctor means you have the skills and tools to go above and beyond to help and save peoples lives. Working in Germany during the 1980 Doctor Kenzo Tenma, a well renowned brain surgeon lives his life fulfilling his oath. Until, one day a boy with a serious brain injury and a famous politician also with a life threatening injury come in. Dr. Tenma has to make a decision between saving the boy or the politician. Little did he know that this decision would turn his world upside down and result in the murders of many innocent people. Most will be discouraged by the 74 episode listing, but if you’re reading this I assume you’re interested enough to see if it’s worth it.I will also add that I am currently in self quarantine because of COVID-19, so I have time to finish it. Thankfully the slow pacing is backed up by it’s grey astounding characters and suspenseful plot. If anyone has seen the show Game of Thrones, you would know how important the characters are. They have their issues that make them relate able and much more interesting. The same is done here. The array of characters from Dr. Tenma, Johan, Nina, Lunge, Grimmer and more creates a relationship between you and the characters. You root for Dr. Tenma to fix his life. You sympathize for Nina. You can’t help but be captivated by everything Johan does. Throughout the story there were characters I initially didn’t like or have strong feelings for (inspector Lunge cough* cough*), but by the end I appreciated them so much (He’s an actual genius). This is because through all those episodes you slowly get to know them. The plot on the other hand, oh my god the way it unfolds. By the Red Rose Mansion arc I’m in so much suspense. While the stories and mysteries unfold you also discover more and more about the antagonist. The reasons he does everything he does and how it all ties in together. The other thing about this anime is that it focuses on age old topics. Topics such as “is humanity meant for good or meant for bad?”. This has been done multiple times before, but Monster does it in such a unique way. Dr. Tenma is also an example of people’s ideal self. Someone who cares for others, and showcases all the good traits of mankind. However, he isn’t perfect; he is dealing with great pressure and mental turmoil. Johan is his coil resembling all that's bad in mankind. He showcases those haunting feelings we suppress and are afraid of. Yet you can’t help, but feel a sort of guilty pleasure when Johan appears. If you enjoy crime and mystery shows this anime is meant for you. I got more out of this anime than a good time. I learned to appreciate the different types of anime their are and the complexity of the stories they tell. Monster isn't like any "traditional anime" their aren't any ecchi scenes, fan service, stretched out shounen fights, love triangles , outrages characters, you know none of the things we can easily spot in most anime. Yet it does what I believe differentiates anime from any other type of animation. It leaves the viewers contemplating about the importance of what they just watched. Of course that's just my opinion haha, but thank you for taking the time to read this!
Writing a review for the Monster TV anime is a little difficult to do because it does a lot with it's 74 episode runtime. On the surface it's an intriguing thriller and mystery show with big plot twists and revelations. But it's also a character study of some very admirable and very broken people, dealing with issues such as trauma, abuse and parental love. Yet it also manages to be a rather intriguing political and historical piece as well. And it's all wrapped up in a dreary and ominous atmosphere full of slow building tension and anxiety. In my personal opinion, Monster is a show that is best experienced blind, but this is a review and we need to contextualise some things. I'll try not to talk about specifics from early in the show since they are very foundational to the rest of the show and are very intriguing on their own. The story revolves around Dr. Kenzo Tenma who is a talented neurosurgeon who seems to have everything one would like to have in their life: A successful career that you're good at, a beautiful fiance who is also the daughter of the hospital director, and a bright future ahead of him. But his ideals are challenged when he is confronted by a Turkish woman whose husband didn't receive a surgery even though he came in before an important figure. Dr. Tenma goes through some introspection and questions the hospital politics that led to that situation, finally arriving at the conclusion that he will treat all lives equally. This culminates in him ignoring the orders of his superiors to treat an important donor to the hospital and instead perform surgery on a child who was shot in the head. It is after this operation that strange events start to occur and the scope of the story expands. One thing to say about the story of Monster is that the first few episodes are a good representation of the story as a whole, just scaled down to the social sphere of a hospital. And it's also here that we can see the strengths and weaknesses of the show. To start off positive, the story is very efficient in the way it characterises everyone. You get a very clear picture of people's personality through their rather strong character designs, the way they interact with each other and their opinions on certain events. The other strength is that characters bounce off of each other in a way that is dynamic: if one thing happens in to one character, it causes a reaction else where, which causes another character to do something and on and on. The last strength of it story wise is the attention to detail. And this attention to detail is in it's setting. An important aspect to monster is its historical context, with it being set in late 20th Century Germany. You don't need to have too much knowledge of the time since the show explains itself quite well, but if you do happen to have that knowledge or want to seek it out, then Monster opens itself up quite a bit because it gives a greater understanding of what some characters went through as well as the possible political implications of the happenings of the show. As for the major weakness of the show, it's that it's slow to start and even slower to get the story to really move. It takes about 4 episodes to get to the story proper, and while I do understand that it is a 74 episode show, it is the case that not everyone will have the patience for it. I'll say this though, its slow with a purpose: a lot of care is put into the characters, their stories and the ensuing details of the mystery. By the end of it, you'll care about every (and I mean every) character in the show, and you might feel as if the show went by too fast because of how intriguing the mystery is. As for visuals and design, we have quite a solid package. Again the character designs are excellent giving us a strong impression of each character and their personalities. This is especially important because the show is grounded firmly in reality and there are a lot of characters in the show as well. Naoki Urasawa's designs stand out a lot to me because of how many different and distinct faces that he was able to draw, keeping them stylised and appealing for manga/anime but also having this subtle realism to them, as if they are artistic caricatures of real people. I can assure you some of the faces you will see in the show will resemble people you've seen in your real life. Animation quality itself is also remarkably consistent, staying sleek and detailed throughout it's runtime. Extra care has been put into the small gestures that people make such as the way they carry themselves running, postures as they lay down and so on. It's something that isn't too noticeable (which only goes to show how effective it is) but if you think of the sorts of expressions two of your favourite characters make, then you will see how much the show actually does this. All of this attention to character makes it feel all the more real. The environments are also very nicely realised. Every location feels very distinct, but there's enough consistency to get the feeling that this is indeed Germany. To keep the series feeling grounded, colours have low saturation and a lot of browns and greys are used. This choice also aids the sound design and direction of the series to create an oppressive and tense atmosphere. Monster really hits hardest when these three aspects are all running at full speed. Monster overall is a slow show, but its slowness is there to create its tone, to let itself explore its ideas and characters and to present its mind bending mystery. It does juggle a lot, but it's given itself adequate time to do that in. If you are in the mood to invest in something meaty and long, by all means watch Monster. But it's going to want you to be patient with it. If you can give it the time and let it go at its own pace, it will carry you to some exciting and thrilling places.
The story begins with Kenzou Tenma, a very successful neurosurgeon who had to operate on a Turkish construction worker but was pulled out of the surgery last minute because he had to operate on an opera singer instead. Since that happened, the Turkish construction worker obviously dies while the opera singer survives because apparently, other doctors in the hospital that Tenma works at is just unreliable. So we see in the first episode how the wife of the construction worker was furious at Tenma for not saving her husband. For me this scene wasn't very realistic because in the whole hospital, i don't know why they only relied on Tenma for such operations, either way, its one of the things that Tenma had to battle because of his morals. A few days later a similar situation occurs with a young boy coming into the ER with a bullet wound to the head at the same time that an important mayor needs an operation. Tenma decides to follow his morals this time and operates on the boy that came in first. and because of that, the mayor dies and Tenma has to be berated by his scummy boss for operating on the boy instead- and this is where everything starts. After saving that boy, Tenma gets shit on by his own boss, gets told by his own girlfriend that not all lives are equal and cries to the boy he operated on while asleep, wishing that all of the people who didn't side with him should die. And everything goes down hill after that. Probably one of the best Psychological Thriller anime series out there. Started off in such a slow pace but as you keep watching, the more intense it gets. I think what i loved the most about this anime is the creepy atmosphere it radiates whenever Johan is involved in a certain scene. You will either love or hate new characters in certain episodes or hate them at first but eventually learn to love them (*cough* Lunge *cough). It was interesting to watch Tenma's character progression and i just love how there were literally 0 filler episodes at all and the stories will always be connected. But one of the frustrating things about this anime is that : Nina keeps passing out when she remembers something from her past, Tenma CANNOT shoot Johan at all ( i know its in his good nature to save lives, and not take them but it was just funny to see him talk about "ending" things when he can't even fire a gun at someone). From the moment the first episode started and we have the religious text come up I knew I was in for something special and this became more apparent when I saw just how much was set up without having to be said. Monster is one of those series that grips you and never let's go. I'll forever remember this anime and i might re watch it someday even.
I've finally done it. I watched Monster. But my feelings are mixed, leaning more toward the negative side over the positive. Hear me out before you start bashing, getting angrily drawn to the dislike button. I can see where Monster is getting all its fame and prestige. However, are we going to ignore the inconsistencies and other glaring issues it has? I am not about to sugarcoat my feelings whatsoever. If you can't handle any criticism. Then, turn away at once before getting all negative for merely sharing my true opinion and wasting both of our time and mental capacity on unnecessaries. Where do I even begin? Everyone has probably heard that Monster is known for being criminally slow-paced. They were not lying, even for someone like me who can binge show easily. Monster was the first time I felt exhausted at times and honestly even bored. This was not a smooth sailing watch. I barely enjoyed parts of it but was mostly bored out of my mind. Why did I still watch it? I guess I got lost in the hype shared by many in the community. I decided to read manga alongside the anime. It went by much faster, but I still felt like I mostly wasted my time here. Monster usually has a slow part where it introduces characters. This can go on for a few episodes after that comes to the climax with the juicy and explosive bits. But for me, it didn't feel evenly lined and came off as inconsistent. When an exciting and climactic moment is about to go down, suddenly we cut to a new arc, character, or a completely new situation. It just doesn't work for me and makes me lose my grasp of things. Author is jumping all over the place, trying to take pieces of the puzzle here and there, forcefully making them connect roundabout manner without being clear about the direction. It can come off as sloppy and not satisfying if you don't understand Uraswa's intention. This is not about having a high IQ. It's simple to put it into words. Moster is honestly messy. Whenever they are talking about some topics. It just starts out of nowhere and ends somewhere else. When it comes to character interactions, they meet and hit off like friends when this was their first conversation. But this is not the case all the time but enough to be a problem for me. Monster's biggest issue thus is the pacing in the form of character and story. It's not flawless, the closure was janky, made no sense, and most of the story was rehashed and repeated the same formula. Tenma runs away after being suspected of being involved in a murder. Comes across people he knows, fight starts, Tenma comes to a gunpoint against someone after his life. Tenma decides to be the good and merciful one, does not shoot, and runs away. And then we repeat that formula till we are at the last stages of Monster. This where the story picks up its pace and tries to conclude the jumbled mess it already is. I don't like it one bit. All things considered, what is Monster? It's a psychological mystery horror-thriller about a serial killer who is charismatic enough to make others around him kill for him or even commit suicide. Johan's words are like poison that, like a virus, festers into your mind slowly over time. By uses of sweet-talking, Johan manipulates the victim's past or uses a significant weakness of theirs. He speaks to them in a way that instills negativity as they slowly drown in the darkness of the abyss. By doing so, Johan can now make the victim do all of his biddings - anything really. Johan is literally the embodiment of a monster. A manifestation of all the bitterness, darkness, all other disgusting shit that slowly plays around with the victim for his own benefit. Before, he ultimately devours them piece by piece to the point their name or identity gets stolen from them. Johan might use them in his game or perhaps become the victim and spread his venom and influence further. This convoluted story is about many characters and their own issues, insecurities, and stories to tell, dissect, and assess. But nothing is easy with Monster. It's left up to the viewers to interpret whatever the hell is happening on the screen or as a whole. Monster won't feed you the answers, but it will give you an idea of what it's trying to do. The rest is up to you to decipher as you see fit. This is why there are many ways to explain Monster's story and values, as there is no pure and right way. Dr. Tenma is a world-known and one of the best surgeons in the world and a victim who gets thrown into Johan's game. All killings done by the real culprit are blamed on the doctor. Now he embarks on a journey to kill the frightening thing he saved as his good nature of doctor willed him to do. On the journey, he learns about humanity, the good and bad, what it means to have an identity, and much more. Monster tackles many themes, others such as racism and perseverance to do what must be done, the equality of human life, and how everyone weights the same regardless of the nation and ethnicity, and so forth. But Dr. Tenma could not know the nature of the person he saved would cause multiple tragedies in the future. Nina is the sister of Johan. She is also thrown into the looming carnage and tragedy that Johan creates and spreads. Nina has to deal with her own dark past as she tries to stop her brother by unveiling the grim, terrifying past hidden in multiple layers of thick cloth. Monster tells you that human beings are fickle lifeforms that are easy to manipulate if you know which buttons to press. Someone who has only known carnage and blood, grief only needs this and that push. Or anyone who is an empty husk without identity. They don't know what's right or wrong since they didn't have the pleasure of being brought forth by their parents or good guardians. So inside the emptiness, you can fill it with your toxic waste and tell them the wrong things are right and so forth. To the point, they break and fall into total darkness. But those who did get brought up by their parents and have a solid guard protecting their mind from all the dark and nasty. And are only filled with good and had more or less a joyous life filled with love, and even during times of darkness, you had someone to lean on and get comforted by. These are the ones whose guard will be much tougher to pierce. Since they have a foundation for their identity, which will not be easy to devour and steal. No. You will need a much darker and drastic measure to crack them open and manipulate them to your own will. I have to say it Dr. Tenma is such a dull lead who changed way too fast. We didn't get to see the process. He just became obsessed chasing after Johan after their first meeting for whatever reason. It felt wonky. I know he feels responsible since, as a doctor, if he hadn't saved him. None of the tragedy would be set in motion, but it just doesn't feel natural for me. As such as sad as it may be, I just don't like Dr. Tenma. He was so boring. The execution of his character needed more practical fleshing out. Johan got potential, but he's barely in the story. We only see him whenever the writer feels it's convenient to give him screentime. It felt like he was used as bait to keep the audience in check and to make them avoid dropping this tedious and torturous tale. One ridiculous way to describe Monster is that it was jumpy, never stayed in one place. It was glitchy, like it skipped over vital information or events to drive you into mad confusion before delicately explaining things by connecting them to breadcrumbs, which were hidden in plain sight but were always there. You just didn't realize it before the author - Urasawa wanted you to. Regardless, I felt the execution on that point didn't deliver either. Before the reveal, it was so tedious and dull. Take Higurashi as an example. It did a solid job of leaving hints for a bigger and grander picture. Monster didn't feel like that at all. When it comes to Monster's production, despite being from the very early 2000s, it looks good. The animation and art-style are decent and conveys emotions and facial expressions well. It didn't feel cheap. Madhouse invested their time well and clearly was passionate. The way the facial expressions depict certain emotions is worthy of praise and very realistic. This is the first time I felt I was watching a live-action show instead of a pure anime. Monster shine is the stunning voice acting and the soundtrack, which complements the eerie, mystery, disturbing atmosphere of the show. After having read and watched Monster, can I recommend it? Honestly, there are far better stories out there that really nail their themes. Monster's anti-climatic and nonsensical conclusion felt so silly that I had to pause the episode for a moment. I was pondering, it's this how it ends? I was so disappointed. If you want to check out Monster, then go ahead, but I would recommend the manga, despite anime having good production for its time. Well, the anime was choring tho, and the pacing is incredibly slow either way, but the manga goes by faster. If you want me to be real with you, I don't recommend Monster at all.
# The majority of this __opinion piece__ (not a review!) will comprise of me attempting to explain why I don't believe Monster is the 10/10 masterpiece many others do. There are plenty of other reviews that will talk about the excellent animation, background art, writing and voice acting. I believe all those things to be true, but here is why I think Monster falls short of perfection... ~~~~~~ In short, I believe my expectations were set too high by many people who call this an unequivocal masterpiece. That isn't to say those people are wrong, merely that I disagree, it's all opinions! The main thing that makes me more critical of Monster than I would be of many other shows is where it has placed itself. That is to say, this isn't a show with anime bells and whistles, it is a grounded, detective drama/psychological thriller. It being animated doesn't necessarily serve to benefit the show; it is grounded in realism and that opens itself up to a broader range of comparisons. After all, there are countless, fantastic live-action detective dramas and psychological thrillers. From The Wire, to Gone Girl, to Mindhunter. I think it's only fair to consider Monster among those, doing anything less would be doing the show a disservice. For me, there were many logical inconsistencies and bits of confusion throughout Monster. Parts in which I was baffled by the decisions of characters or how they accomplished things. Spoilers for ep. 4 (I think) - ~!how was Johan able to poison the bag of candy and send it to the hospital, whilst in there? The convenience of the only three he wanted dead actually eating it too...!~ There's probably some sort of explanation for some of these, others are just plot conveniences that I understand have to be in there. But nevertheless occasionally feel cheap and pile on top of the unexplained aspects to frustrate the viewing experience of some episodes. Many MANY episodes avoid these though, so don't get me wrong, there's a ton of fantastic plot, writing and particularly characters to dig into. One thing I will give Monster over any other show (even live-action), is the way it shifts focus between a massive cast throughout its 74 episodes. Some play bigger roles than others, but they all feel fleshed out and once I accepted this was the way the show wanted to go, rather than focusing on Tenma and his friends, I came to enjoy these vignettes. Some were definitely better than others. My biggest problems come in the overall pacing of the show; many parts drag on far longer than they need to and end up indulging so much in these characters that by the time the plot gets moving again, the payoff doesn't hit in the way it should. The overall mystery of Monster is one that would be far more compelling if it was told more concisely in my opinion, things ended up coming together after I had already lost interest. Another dilemma of having such a realistic show with realistic designs is that it's pretty easy to mix up one overweight white guy with another, and when a character is reintroduced, it's not immediately the "ah-ha!" moment it should be. By the time we reached the end of the show, what everything had been building towards felt as though it got very little payoff. I liked where it ended up in the last segment, but it didn't feel as though the entire story had actually been building towards it, which furthers the feeling that we could've got there faster. Character motivations, especially those of Johan, are so vague, they cease to be terrifying. I could go through some insane list of minor complaints I had whilst watching half of Monster, but many of them I can't remember and would have to rewatch the whole thing again (also it wouldn't be fun). You may think that means they don't mean anything, but they definitely impacted the way I felt about the show, they're frustrations I just don't find in the shows and films I consider masterpieces. Definitely not ones I expected to find here, after all the hype. If you enjoyed Monster then I urge you to watch more outside of anime; there are a ton of excellent dramas out there and I admit that anime could do with more of them like Monster. Less high school angst, more real adult drama. Monster has a lot of what I want to see more of in anime, but unfortunately it didn't quite stick the landing, though I still consider it a great show. It just doesn't have the edge of your seat drama of Breaking Bad, or the truly terrifying psychological aspects of something like Black Swan. Not to suggest that the themes it tackles aren't frightening, just that they didn't impact me in the way I hoped. I think that was due to my lack of investment in many of the characters. Apart from Grimmer, Grimmer was the best. I wouldn't compare a show like Hunter x Hunter or JoJo's to those works, but when you situate yourself in reality, you accept being compared to such things in my opinion. Which brings with it less suspension for disbelief and probably harsher criticism. Perhaps if it utilised the medium of animation to a greater degree then I would've sung its praises more. If you're someone who has seen a ton of live-action drama as well, and still believes Monster is a total masterpiece, I really want to hear what you believe puts it on that level. I know I basically just shat on a beloved series for far too many paragraphs, but this is still well worth checking out, because there's a high chance you like it more than me. __And even I still liked it a whole bunch; check out that 8/10!__ I just felt I had to get out my criticisms because I've seen nothing but blanket praise for this show and I didn't expect to have as many problems as I did. I know I may have not specifically gone through those problems, but I felt it was interesting to talk about why they were there in the first place. I also don't see much about anime compared to other live-action shows, which is fair for the most part, as many shows could not be done justice in live-action. __But here is a pretty unique case, and that's what Monster is. Especially in anime, Monster does stand out as a strong drama, with stronger dialogue and deeper themes than the majority of anime and should be praised for it. I wanted to love it so badly. Sadly, not everything is perfect.__
Monster, a highly acclaimed anime by the people that have watched it. Does it deserve it? Well, overall, I think that mean score should be around 0.2-0.3 lower. Also, minor spoiler warning. We see the main character, Tenma, go on a gruelling journey as he attempts to end the life of someone he saved in a surgical operation years ago, due to the huge numbers of people they had killed and possibly will kill. I found this burden on him quite sympathetic: this burden that every time someone is killed by him, Tenma indirectly counts himself responsible. However, for the rest of this journey we see him stay his usual gloomy, depressed self as he meets people and saves their life after he slightly helps in endangering it in the first place. I really wished that he were more of a compelling character, being the main character and all that, or if any of the slight developments ,through the various people he meets, that happen to him actually stick. The next thing is the various people that he meets. This takes up a huuuuuge part of the story, and I did quite enjoy their subplots and their slight impact on the story, but by slight I mean very, very so, because their impact on the story, while existent, could have been made through other shorter ways and could have been maybe even been compressed into the actual main characters. The premise of Monster was alright. There were some interesting themes and philosophical concepts that were introduced at first. However, I sort of felt that these slowly started to slip away as the story progresses. One was the concept of everyone’s life being equal and we don’t really see that play a role until it is mentioned in the last few episodes once or twice. Now that I have angered enough people that believe this to be a masterpiece, let’s get on to why I didn’t rate this any lower. The mysteries in Monster are quite well set up. The small bits of information that you get from all those characters might help you to build up a conclusion in your head, but that might fall apart with the next piece of info! This does happen over quite a long time and the pacing is another one of my lesser liked aspects of Monster, so this was not a complete positive in my opinion. The music wasn’t very loud, so not very noticeable but I remember hearing some small, eerie parts. I even went back to listen to their full versions on Youtube and they are quite good and suiting for Monster. The art isn’t exactly your typical bling-bling pwetty UwU thing that was even more popular at the time and that is really for the better, seeing as this is a very mature and psychological show. To top it off, there’s Johan, that guy Tenma’s trying to kill. Not really a spoiler, don’t worry. This was clearly established around the 5th episode. Johan is one of the scariest characters I have ever seen in any fictional media. His personality, backstory, all that is interesting but what really strikes me was that very fact: his ability to inspire fear in me so easily. Not through jump scares or sheer shock factor but mostly with his presence and dialogue. I am not even completely sure how the author managed to make it this way, but hey, it’s pretty cool. That around sums up everything that I really want to say about this show. I didn’t think the plot was all that deep or interesting as some say and the characters aren’t that well written, but it had its fair share of positives. I, however, do sort of regret watching this one 74 episode anime when I could have 3-6 other anime that I could have maybe enjoyed more. P.S: If there are any points on which you’d like to correct me or advise me, I’ll happily listen to them as I didn’t completely understand Monster myself and to be honest, there are a few moments here that I was just using fancy vocab for the purpose of the review without really understanding what I’m trying to even say.
The most surface-level notion to have about Monster is that it's distinct. From art-style to the location where the story takes place, it's unlike most series. Diving deeper than even that, the series approaches telling a story in a unique way as well. Usually the focus is cast on creating a compelling narrative or set of characters and themes are left between the lines. Monster does the opposite, using characters and the narrative to further its messages and ideas. Neither approach is inherently bad, but Monster's is certainly riskier. Due to it's immense acclaim, it appears to be a success, but while I agree with many of the general sentiments people have on it, I don't think that it's flawless in any sense and I gotta say... it's a bit... o-over—! ***BEWARE OF SPOILERS FROM HERE ON!*** Themes. Well, in line with what I already stated, the first segment of this review focuses on the themes. So, they're center of the story, but what does that genuinely mean? What are they? Now, as the topic is almost as subjective as it gets, I should likely mention that it's my interpretation. Since they're so integral and highlighted though, I don't think that I'm that far off, they're the premise after all... The first major theme is a question the show poses throughout and asks almost directly at the very last scene. Did Johan become a monster because it was his nature or was it the outcome of his experience? Many characters ponder on Johan's motivations. What is his goal? What is he trying to accomplish? I'd say that what we're lead to believe at the start is that he was simply born as a monster as we learn he was one already before Kinderheim. Johan does awful things, he seems to possess no remorse or conscience and has seemingly always been that way. The OST and presentation only affirm it. But the Czech arc caves into his backstory and although the conclusion isn't just a one-or-the-other sort of an answer, we see the catalyst, a single decision by his mother. Johan asking what was the truth behind it is a confirmation, at least in my mind, and the implication is that if the decision was the opposite, everything would've played out entirely different. So, the point appears to be that one minute millisecond decision can snowball and engulf the world. The idea is interesting and can be thought-provoking, but when I look past the concept, the set up of it isn't compelling or logical. The effects of the decision aren't proportional at all. Now, maybe I'm misconstruing something, but exactly how did it impact Johan in the way it seems to have? I can't really call it a sacrifice of logic for the sake of themes, because there are simple ways of asking this question as eloquently and also retaining a level of sensibility. Also, the arc that explores this is roughly thirty episodes and for its length, it achieves very little. I just don't think that it's satisfyingly executed. Granted, there's a lot of side development for Grimmer and Lunge (both of whom are great characters with their own set of themes - childhood trauma, purpose in life), as well as side themes with Bonaparta. I won't really give more thoughts on it though, I feel I'd need a rewatch to have confident opinions. The second theme is the conflict Tenma faces as a doctor and a person. This is integrated into his journey and culminates in the moments where he finds himself in front of a choice: either to kill a person in order to save lives but to go against his principles and whom he is as an individual or to save a life and allow a monster to have a chance of stealing others's. Monster is an episodic series and the episodic episodes that take a detour from the plot and show the world are my favourites. They do it well and are grounded in a sense of reality. Anyway, Tenma sees people who try to help others and save them and people who have suffered because of violence or who have used violence and caused suffering, now regretting their past, etc. Some of them are emotionally resonant. Truthfully, I don't have a big issue with Tenma remaining true to himself as a doctor and not pulling the trigger. While I might disagree with him, it's a part of his character and is established well. But, oh wait. Anna is also on a similar quest to him. How does that one end? She too avoids falling into the grip of violence? But... why two arcs that share the exact same result, I mean, literally, in the same scene. This is an example of themes being a detriment, because to me it seems that the message is: violence should be avoided. Well, yes. But I don't get it, a parallel between two of the main characters opting for different routes would hold a lot of potential and could develop this idea. Maybe he's precious about his characters and can't allow them to be too morally ambiguous? I'm honestly not sure even. Anyway, Urasawa doesn't imply that a monster can't be subdued, but violence should be avoided, well, that's agreeable, but he doesn't really offer any solution to the problem that a monster is in the freedom. The show ends with the monster being missing, potentially still causing harm. The theme of violence not being a solution is taken to a point that it's detached from sense. In the previous paragraph I mentioned the side-stories being realistic and I do think that, but when it comes to the main plot of Tenma, Anna and Johan, that same thing doesn't apply, frankly. The scene where both Tenma and Anna have Johan at gun point but fail to shoot him, it's frankly asinine in my opinion. It's just ridiculous to have two characters who're so ideological that they can't act reasonably in that situation. There's a serial-killer in direct action in front of them and yet they're trying to convince each other not to shoot. It's just... it's not believable. They could restrain him at least, or they could've even taken the responsibility of shooting Johan, instead of shouting to the other that they wouldn't. And perhaps the biggest gripe... Johan. He is this looming figure shrouded in mystery and terror, the aura is done well, the sound-design playing a key role in that. But still, his actual manipulations, we don't really see them and the small amount that we do, like him making Richard commit suicide, those aren't well written. Rudely poking at someone's failures and making them feel about themselves won't make the them just commit suicide in front of the person. A more likely response would be getting angry. That might be a difference in how I and Urasawa see the world though. Well, I've been quite negative in this review. Since Monster is so acclaimed, I do think it's better to bring these thoughts up, because I haven't really seen many people talk about them. But I love Monster, the characters and the eerie chill is there, it's lying outside of the main trio. Lunge, Eva Grimmer, Richard, Rudy, Martin and Reichwein, they're all excellent in their roles and are really well established and presented. I'm not bashing Monster, because it's without a doubt a very good series, but well, it's not a 10/10 masterpiece, in my honest opinion, and well, that's why I wrote this review
~~~img(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EXXHsOdUMAA9kiy.png)~~~ >“But these words people threw around - humans, monsters, heroes, villains - to Victor it was all just a matter of semantics. Someone could call themselves a hero and still walk around killing dozens. Someone else could be labeled a villain for trying to stop them. Plenty of humans were monstrous, and plenty of monsters knew how to play at being human.”― V.E. Schwab, Vicious __Metaphysical Brilliance.__ Naoki Urasawa’s _Monster_ is antediluvian, regardless of its story taking place in a modernized society. The crux of its sublime themes are heavily influenced by old-fashioned ideas and beliefs encompassing two different ideologies about human nature. Contradicting philosophies between Tenma and Johan, where one believes in the dignity of humanity while the other has no inkling of faith for it whatsoever, seem to date back to older classical literature, which may leave criticism in its lack of creativity or singularity. Though, the way these themes are being addressed are tremendously solitary and eccentric. Monster's narrative emerges deep into character study as evidence of its messages via intricately depicting the hidden immorality within man, no matter the individual’s position on the moral spectrum. As an adaptation in the crime/thriller premise, multiple episodes showcase ranging character identities that all hold substantial importance in making things work towards Monster’s favor. These characters all have meaningful montages of self-reflection through constant questioning of his or her identities, but more so towards the existence of Johan Liebert. As an insignia of nihilism, Johan’s philosophy concerning the value of human life is an expressive, yet nefarious method of innumerable components. Methods of what being a monster is truly like. Of the truthful motivation of “wanting to prove a point” to the people who completely oppose his beliefs. Of staying committed to his ideals until the end. Character identities are handled with care where each of their philosophies, ideologies, and perspectives are all under the same subscription, resulting in equalized, balanced character writing, distinctive personality traits, and avoidance in overshadowing character archetypes over one another. That’s why characters like Wolfgang Grimmer and Inspector Lunge become much more appealing than a cast-away side character. Even Eva Heinemann becomes a candidate of redemption and development, despite how she’s written to be, that of her unlikability from her initial introduction. While Monster is undoubtedly persistent in its constant display of reality-driven conceptualizations in humanity’s shortcomings similar to corruption and “evilness”, which may end in cheesy outcomes, the characters and groundwork easily add nuance and essence to these concepts, creating colorized opportunities for dramatization and effective psychological horror for the viewer to reflect upon. The experiments of 511 Kinderheim, the symbolic tale of a Nameless Monster, and the mysteries of the “Red Rose Mansion” are avant-garde in Monster’s success. The sociological examinations connecting to human nature itself are thoroughly handled, not only that, but the in-depth psychological character study within Monster’s themes are both deceptively complexive and simplistic in telling a normal tale about society. The reason why Monster’s way of tackling human identity is brilliantly fascinating is mostly due to mixing in present-day society problems with historical events that have caused an unsolved dividend within humanity itself that still manages to stay popularized within politics and philosophy through the 21st century. Monster’s rational overarching narrative isn’t bound by two or more themes, rather a vast composition of motifs in the embodiment of character archetypes. Johan represents nihilism. Tenma champions over morality. Eva takes the journey of redemption. Wolfgang Grimmer characterizes the human spirit. Lunge brings out the luminosity of curiosity, obsession, and genuine strength to unrealized standards. Nina embodies a struggle for acceptance with past dilemmas. In other words, Monster seems to be a complex research on human psychology, which is true, but if you manage to look under its compounded narrative, it’s a tale about humanizing. In general, the production isn’t overly ambitious in exploring a thematic view, but stays unwaveringly congruous all throughout. I would be lying if I said Monster doesn’t suffer from pacing issues and minor confusions in context and logic as there are noticeable plot convenience as nanoscopic it may be, but if the viewer can appreciate and squeeze just a tad more dedication in Monster’s analytic scheming and stoical approach to mystery, then the outcomes will be colossally rewarding. Production wise, it takes advantage of everything it’s privileged with. In the opening, the sequence follows a sinister key-signature that accompanies a mystifying opera, signaling the start of an ominous atmosphere before the episode begins. The in-tempo drums create a rhythmic, yet dramatic beat as a way of adding a catchy-feel to create intensity and engagement. The entire orchestration itself feels believably dramatic, yet poignantly melancholic, which is such an effective way of transitioning. Madhouse’s ghastly color palette with darkened shades, dull tinges, and boldless tones vastly contribute to the show’s menacing mood, but can quietly shift into warm, bright colors when the time is appropriate. Facial expressions are given immense priority. Quality detailing in presenting how characters react and respond is a subtle, yet another effective, indispensable weapon. The adaptation excels both cinematically and in overall directing. Monster isn’t driven by pretentious drama nor is it influenced by over-the-top action scenarios. Instead, it patiently lays out a methodical puzzle for the viewer to participate in which by the end of its mind-bending analysis, where once every piece is attached, is when its symbolisms, characterizing, philosophies, and universal themes firmly cement their value. Ultimately, Monster depends on toning and atmosphere to keep things engaging. Sure, there aren't any signs of the requested “satisfying” closure many were hoping for, but was Monster’s humanized story meant to have one from the beginning? Personally, the final episode is evidence of a validated testimony staying truthfully consistent to its themes until the inevitable end, that of the grim, yet humanistic tale that Monster is. Unsurprisingly, the elegant correspondence between Tenma and Johan is what makes Monster thrive in its narrative. A neurosurgeon continuously falls into unavoidable conflict, each segment vigorously testing the weight in his moralistic ideals prompted by an antagonist striving to make his chosen ideals evidently candid to humanity by demolishing another adversary. Each decision and action comes with a consequence. And with each newborn consequence, comes a change in self-identity. Physical appearances, names, social status, and many more become part of Monster’s themes as a way of conveying the nature of human identity. And because of this, society tends to discriminate and assort people by value and worth. Monster demonstrates the unfathomable importance of identity, because of society’s constant desire for gaining individuality and growth. But since most of society influences fair-minded impartiality and egalitarianism upon itself, things become hypocritical because of how identities are recognized as. And at this point, is when Johan becomes arguably the pinnacle of antagonistic writing through his philosophy, “the only thing humans are equal in is death.” Discrimination is not only a sign of society’s shortcomings, but Monster proves a point that the concept itself is unfortunately fated to prevail, fundamentally an unfortunate, unpreventable destination. But since Naoki Urasawa’s acclaimed work isn’t entirely a tale with depressive, dark themes, the adaptation powerfully declares that humanity’s imperfections aren't made for the worse of life itself. Since Monster isn’t entirely about a psychological battle of philosophies between two distinct characters, the tale manages to tie up loose ends brilliantly, fully presenting the unexpected beauty of life through them, as affirmation of their value, both in independence and contribution to story direction. Monster implies that identities are simply fascinating. It manages to bring out the ‘Monster’ within, even among the brightest saints and glorified souls. It causes the unexpected to occur. It floods human life with diversity. It’s how we distinguish ourselves, both individually and collectively. It displays corruption and morality unlike any other. But altogether... it's a proclamation on how valuable life is.
Monster is one of these classic titles that everyone who has been into anime for a while has
definitely heard about. I, too, learned of Monster as a must-watch series at the young age of 14.
While I could understand the appeal of the series, at the time I did not have the patience to sit
through the slow pace and appreciate the themes of this series. Now, a decade and a depression later,
I managed to enjoy this series with new insight.
# __STORYTELLING: 7/10__
Starting out, Monster quickly shows that it is one of the few anime that ‘get’ the idea of suspense
horror. Johan is a consistent threat and has connections in all sorts of places so it becomes
impossible to tell who of the characters can be trusted. This makes for a story that will leave you
constantly on the edge of your seat and makes it easy to become engaged and sympathize with the main
character, doctor Tenma.
Monster tackles ambitious themes such as the human condition, depression, and the value of life. The
view of the author on these themes bears a close resemblance to my own, and discussion of these themes
on that level is very rare to see in anime. For example, deaths are treated as serious things that
have an impact on the characters and have consequences for the story.
The only big weak point in the storytelling is the ending, which ended up being rather rushed and
underwhelming after all the build-up. On paper, the ending is great: it fits well within the story it
is trying to tell, but the way in which the events happen feels unpolished and like they lack weight.
Which is strange, because the very first episodes that set up the operation of Johan and how Tenma
hits rock bottom do feel a lot more emotionally important. I missed that feeling in the finale. As a
result, some of the story and the themes addressed in it feel weirdly incomplete, and that’s a shame.
# __CHARACTERS: 9/10__
Where Monster truly shines is in its characters. It is one of the few anime that I can think of that
has complex characters that also undergo complex development. Characters like Eva and Tenma start out
a certain way and realistically develop over the course of the show into something different. All is
very well executed; the way the emotions of characters are portrayed and how the show deals with
mental health is very realistic. When Grimmer described emotional dissociation, it felt very real and
like Naoki Urasawa knows what he is talking about.
Another point that I really appreciate is that the characters are all very diverse: we see different
characters from different social statuses and ethnic backgrounds, and these aspects of a character
inform who they are and the way they act.
There are, however, a few awkward interactions here and there that stop me from rating the characters
a 10/10. Certain situations, such as the scene with Dieter’s guardian, feel unnatural and strained to
the point it broke my suspension of disbelief.
# __VISUALS: 8/10__
As expected from a series that is based on Urasawa’s art style, the character designs are very diverse
and fun to look at. We even get to see the character design for doctor Tenma evolve in a way that
directly reflects the growing despair inside of him. The muted color palette in the series perfectly
helps set the depressing tone, and the way character expressions are sometimes exaggerated add to the
creepy mood. There’s not a lot of sakuga going on, but that’s not really necessary as mystery and
character drama are more central to the story than the action scenes.
# __SOUND: 8/10__
The opening and ending themes of Monster are iconic and easily recognizable. Ominous and looming, they
fit the mood of the story well. The voice acting is stellar, down to earth yet has a very impactful
emotional delivery when it counts. Mami Koyama is one of my favorite voice actresses, and she proved
once again why with her portrayal of Eva. The OST and sound design are okay, though there was nothing
on that part that blew my mind.
# __HISTORIC VALUE: 4/5__
Monster has rightfully eternalized itself as a must-watch classic. Although to my knowledge there are
no series of note that have been directly inspired by Monster, it nevertheless is a series that is
noteworthy on its own. Even in 2021, anime veterans still recommend watching Monster to newer anime
enthusiasts. As the series is more down-to-earth and has a European setting, it is a perfect
entry-tier series for (European) watchers who are interested in seinen anime.
# __THE VERDICT A.K.A. TL;DR:__
Despite its underwhelming ending, Monster is a must-watch classic for anyone who likes thrillers and
suspense. With complex characters and themes, there is a lot to be enjoyed for the anime critic and
casual watcher alike.
Monster. Hearing the title you may think like this is a story about a fictional Monster or something like that. Well, it is not. This is a story, a gem in the genre of Psychological Crime Thriller, Mystery and Drama which is frighteningly realistic. Have you ever wondered, are all human lives equal? Can People become anything like monsters? This is a series pondering over these questions. Actually, people can become anything they want. It is our hatred, greed, anger, jealousy and all other negative aspects which makes us Monsters in real life. On the other hand, it is our love, care, gratefulness and morality that allows us to become more human. It all depends on our choice. ‘Monster’ has portrayed these thoughts so beautifully and perfectly. A True masterpiece. Story(10/10): The Story revolves around an elite neurosurgeon, Dr. Kenzou Tenma. It is set in Germany in the 80s and 90s. It is a story about the journey of Dr. Tenma, pursuing a real life monster whose life he had saved believing in his own morals as a doctor, as a human. This may sound weird and predictable. But, believe me, this is a story full with morals, thrills and realism. Not a single aspect of this series is unrealistic or unrelatable with our life. Each and every episode teaches different aspects of morality, philosophy and nature of human beings. Character(10/10): The Greatest aspect this show had, I would say were the characters. So well written, and so well detailed. The character development of each of the characters had me in awestruck. Dr. Kenzou Tenma, Johan Liebart, Nina, Dieter, Grimmer, Lunge actually all of the characters were really mesmerizing to witness. They were so realistic which took the greatness of the story to a completely different level. Art and Sound(9.5/10): Although this was produced around 2004, the art and sound were ahead of its time. Perfectly fitted the vibes of the story. Really wonderful.. The only shortcoming this show had, I would say that it is painfully slow in the middle. If you don't have that level of patience, you won't be able to watch. A really hard show to binge. Even I thought of dropping it in the middle. But I am really glad I finished it. Now, I really don't mind the slowness in the middle. Really glad to witness such a Great Series.. From its brilliant characters to well paced story and realistic aspect, ‘Monster’ will have you at the edge of your seat. It is just too perfect. If you are interested in watching it, I would suggest to just be a little patient in the middle because after you finish it, you will obviously term it as a masterpiece. Also, I would suggest to have a little idea about the Fall of Berlin Wall, Post World War II and Post Cold War effects on Germany and Eastern Europe. It would help you understand the story better. Finally, a big appreciation for Naoki Urasawa, the writer and illustrator of Monster. He is a True Genius...
>And I saw a beast rising out of the sea having ten horns and seven heads; And on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. They worshipped the dragon, for he had given authority to the beast, And they worshipped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, And who can fight against it?” Revelations 13: 1-4 NRSV The culmination of Naoki Urasawa’s genius; the groundbreaking Monster. Written by the legendary mangaka himself. Naoki Urasawa was known for his wholesome shoujo manga, Yawara! which was released in 1986. But in 1995, he decided to write a completely new manga, by going into uncharted territories. This manga was adapted into an anime format by the studio Madhouse in 2004. Little did he know, that this anime, would come to be his best. Urasawa seamlessly perfects the art of persuasion; pathos, logos and ethos. It is unlike any of his works, as it questions every aspect of the human ethos. By showcasing empathetic characters, it evokes pathos from the audience. It explores profound concepts and often nihilistic ideologies, which lead way to numerous diverse logos. The conundrums are so philosophical, that you tend to forget your own habituated mentality. The elusiveness depicted in each question, is due to the abundance of philosophy, mainly evident in the cynical part of the show. What makes it a legendary medium redefining anime is the sheer surrealism portrayed in each and every sequence, which consequently leads to an unexpected conclusion. Its depiction of the human mind, soul and body is so close to reality, that it often comes off as horrifying. Naoki Urasawa has a way of portraying mere humans as inhumane creatures, without using excessive and unnecessary blood, gore and horror. He achieves this by delving into the psychological aspect of the human emotions. The emotions that are constantly reinvigorated are fear, terror, agony, trepidation and hopelessness. Monster showcases numerous characters throughout its long duration. Each character has some sort of significance and adds a layer of nuance to the overall message. The side characters are portrayed tragically, even those who appear periodically, which always have a deep underlying message. The stories which pivot around these characters showcase a moral lesson, a few examples being "I will stop smoking" and "I will stop drinking". From an outer perspective, these may seem trivial, superficial and generic, but they definitively show the flaws of these characters, and how they try to better themselves, but eventually succumb to their inner 'Monster'. The story is definitely the best aspect of the show. It easily achieves a strong infrastructure in just a few episodes. It does so by constantly creating grueling and unexpected scenarios, which often lead to an unforeseeable result. The methodic aspect of the story is unimaginable - in a way that makes it completely original and creative. To grossly simplify, the story is about a heavily acclaimed Japanese neurosurgeon named Tenma Kenzo. He goes from Japan to Germany to find a suitable job. After being lost in a foreign country and not being able to find a job, Dr. Heinemann, the director of a highly influential hospital, takes him in after seeing his exceptional aptitude. He instantly makes a connection with the daughter of the said director, Eva Heinemann. He places his complete trust in both of them, and always reiterates being indebted to them. The story takes an unexpected turn when the term ‘morality’ comes into play. Occupations are often portrayed as a leeway to an adult world, and to some extent, they are. But not in a good sense. No matter how much passion you have for a specific occupation, you'll eventually realize the inevitable grim side, which in Monster's case revolves around medicine. The world of medicine is riddled with politics. The life of an individual is measured by their stature. Going on this disconcerting statement, a man with a higher position will be treated undeservingly better. Naoki Urasawa squares in on this concept with the perspective of a renowned Neurosurgeon undergoing a mental deconstruction, who seemingly creates an infinite time paradox of stress. This paradox is the result of a version of the trolley problem. Two people come into the hospital. One is an influential Mayor whose death could result in the downfall of the entire hospital, and the other is a young boy on the verge of death, who came before the Mayor. A classic ethical dilemma. The decision may seem obvious, but the surrounding environment urges Tenma to go with the Mayor. Eventually, Tenma makes his decision and opts to perform on the boy, which results in the worst-case scenario. Naoki Urasawa uses every single one of his forte residing in his repertoire which creates an amalgam of perfection, complemented by his signature art style, which Madhouse exceptionally replicates. This, in turn, leads way to a prodigious score, where each soundtrack aggregates into a sanguine symphony, equally melancholic and cathartic. The casting is done adequately, and the voice actors truly fit the characters, bringing them to life. Monster is criticized for its inconsistent pacing, which I conform with to some extent, however, I find works like these with a dry episodic tone more appealing. Any other criticism is often subjective, undiscussable, baseless or downright idiotic. The overall message of Monster is an inexplicable one, which can be defined in many ways. Monster diminishes the importance of a name, by showing its insignificance and how easily an identity can be manipulated. It ends with showing Johan in a hospital bed, but in the next frame, the bed is empty, signifying that the Monster with No Name ceases to exist. Monster continues to retain its ambiguity till' the final sequence, where the ending manages to be portrayed in such an inoffensive way, resembling the aforementioned rhetorical triangle. The view which I highly agree with is that the 'Monster' resides within everyone. Grimmer’s violence, Tenma’s altruism that makes him save criminals, Lunge’s indifference towards his family, doctors’ choice of saving wealthier patients, Bonaparta’s experiments, Roberto’s lust and murders. Anyone can become a Monster, even you.
Monster is the story about Doctor Tenma. He risks his career and reputation to save a small boy rather than an official. Which leads to Tenma losing his promotion amongst other things. Afterwards a string of murders occur benefiting Tenma so he ends up as the primary suspect. So now he goes on a journey to clear his name and put a stop to the person making these murders. I don't know how the author makes something with a premise this badass boring, but he did it. It has a very good and nice premise but by far one of the worst executions i have ever seen. It is a series that stumbles on the very first step. Its fucking boring. It isn't just a slow series. It makes the first half of clannad look like fucking sonic. I understand the appeal of a laid back slow paced series. But this shit is beyond excessive. It is like if one piece was all about Luffy using the boat and finding the one piece. Without any of the action, any of the banter, likability, and general entertainment. It literally is a walking simulator without any of the interesting parts. It established the premise and expected that to carry for the rest of the series. I don't understand why they author thought that was a good idea. The main villain is this [redacted] dumbass who's entire thing is pointing its finger at its forehead. Thats pretty much all it does. It is insane and stupid. It is also really odd that this was the thing that the author decided to pick as a villain. There is the main lackey who is literally more charming that the main villain. But thats not really an achievement considering the absolute flat characters most of the cast already is. Un-entertaining and uninteresting should be the description of this series. It is ridicolous how the author made a 6 episode mini series and decided to strech it to 74 fucking episodes. Really the only interesting part about the series is who the main villain convinces one of the characters to kill him and i think that is the only murder the main villian did on screen (kind of). The OST was also good but so incredibly wasted here is an entire episode where the Tenma gets gas. The series is so blatant of wasting your time. The author could've have made a medicore 6 episode series instead he opted for making the most boring anime of all time. The series also has this philosophical nonsense like its the first thing to do that but it does so by sacrificing every single thing an entertaining is supposed to be. How am i supposed to question the characters view points when you made them the most flat and 1 dimensional as possible? Just cuz you make them say interesting things doesn't mean the characters themselves became interesting. Lack of varitey. Entertainment. Enjoyablility. All these parts were missing in this series. This is a boring series and a bad series. However the author decides that he's actually biggest asshole on the planet and gives the audience a huge middle finger by giving the most bullshit open ended nonsense he could give. Its like the author decided to put spikes under you finger nails when he's already forcing you to sit on spikes. TLDR: This is bad series and the ending isn't giving it any favours. This is what people should watch when you want to know how to not make an anime. This is the 101 on making a bad and boring anime. I was actually gonna give it a 2/10 originally but typing it all out. Wow this is a horribly written series.
# Summary _This review may contain spoilers._ The anime is about a man who wants to kill the psychopath whose life he saved and falls into a rabbit hole of secret organizations, social experiments and childhood traumas to find the man he is looking for and why that man does what he does. The anime shows the viewer that pure evil may be right in front of you and you would not know it. The characters are interesting and their design is realistic. The animation is okay and effort is put in making their world look realistic. The sound is okay. # Story __Like__ There are episodes which introduce you to new characters, which end up proving a moral point related to the main characters their quest or do things which aid one of the main characters in their quest. The ending leaves room for speculation, because it's not outright mentioned why Johan did what he did. Did Johan kill people because he felt unwanted by his mother? Did he kill because of Frans Bonaparta's experiments or due to the experiments which were done on him while in the Kinderheim orphanage? The twins their real names are also never revealed and we don't know what he does after running away from the hospital in the end. Will he do it all over again or will he leave is past behind and try to live a good life? It is nice to see in the last episode what the main characters are doing now that everything is over. The same goes for the major side characters. It is interesting that the story is set in Europe in the year 1986 and that historical events and old ideologies influenced the story. It's not often that you see a story which is influenced by communist secret police, neo-nazi in the city's underworld, people who once were part of those ideologies. The side characters return throughout the anime at different times. A character might show up at episode 20 and show back up in episode 50. This happens for example with "the baby". __Dislike__ There are many flashbacks, which makes it hard sometimes to know what happened in which order. # Characters __Like__ Tenma keeps to his values and beliefs even after all that happened. The same goes for Nina, who also did not kill anyone despite comming very close to it at times. Johan appears as a decent young, handsome, intelligent, well spoken, kind man, despite being a monster. If you were to meet him on the street, you would never imagine that he has killed so many people. He really is a wolf in sheep's clothing. __Dislike__ None # Animation __Like__ The art style looks old, but not it is not bad. The art style makes characters look more realistic, which is nice and fits the type of story. I did not notice any CGI. There is even an episode where Tenma meets his old classmate who is a criminal psychologist and they talk at a bus stop where there are many people. While they are talking, the people in the background do not move. [Zankyou no Terror](https://anilist.co/anime/20661/Zankyou-no-Terror/) had a similar situation where characters were talking in a park and there were CGI people moving in the background, which took attention away from the characters which were talking. __Dislike__ None # Sound __Like__ None __Dislike__ None # Other __Like__ None __Dislike__ None
SPOILER ALERT: The following review contains major spoilers for the entirety of the Monster series. When hearing the premise of Monster, I immediately was engulfed by the setting. A story about a neurosurgeon who disobeys his corrupt superiors and saves a child's life, only to find out that said child grows up to be a serial killer. Little did I know that from a certain point onward, the story would become a muddled mess filled with disappointment, implausibility and irrationality. The by far biggest problem of Monster are the illogical resolutions of story arcs for plot convenience reasons. When Eva got shot by Roberto in the forest, Roberto had the opportunity to kill everyone. Eva, Dieter, Tenma - he could have ended all their lives. But no, although they were basically defenceless, Roberto fled because "he was afraid of reinforcements". When Tenma arrived in Munich, he encountered Johan there. For multiple weeks, Tenma could have killed Johan every day. When he first saw him out of Reichwein's car, in the forest when he was observing Johan, it doesn't matter. He just had to pull the trigger and shoot him. That's it. Johan would be dead. The killing would have come to an end. But no, instead of killing him at the over 50 instances he had, he decides to kill him at the book donation ceremony of Schuwald, because of... plot convenience reasons. In the library itself, when Tenma was aiming at Johan, he just had to pull the trigger. Just one small movement with his finger, and everything would be over. Instead of doing that, he got beaten by Roberto, and Johan put the library on fire. In the fire, Tenma and Anna both had the opportunity to kill him again, but they didn't do it. Before the Ruhenheim massacre, Anna again had the opportunity to kill Johan, but again she didn't pull the trigger. And even in the showdown of the entire series, when Tenma and Johan had an eye to eye confrontation, the entire build up of over 70 episodes got thrown out the window when Tenma again couldn't simply shoot Johan. Instead, Anna comforts Johan and forgives him. Why does she do that? Am I now supposed to feel sorry for a murderer who killed so many people? No, I don't. And even now, at the very end, the one who finally defeated the Monster was not Tenma, was not Anna, but was a random alcoholic with a gun who shot Johan in the head. Seeing that was the most anticlimactic moment in a series I have ever experienced. An outsider accomplishes what for over 70 episodes nobody could accomplish - simply pulling the trigger. But of course, after discovering Johan is still, still somehow not dead, but quickly needs a neurosurgeon to survive (for plot convenience reasons), the police forces let a presumable serial killer, Tenma, perform surgery on Johan. Tenma, who saved Johan 11 years ago and brought this Monster back to life, the biggest mistake in his life, does the exact same mistake 11 years later and saves Johan's life again. What an awesome conclusion. As you already have realised, a lot in Monster happens for plot convenience reasons. While in the beginning you are impressed by the many revelations in the series, after a certain while you simply don't believe the improbability of what happens. Of course Margot Langer is the friend of Johan's and Anna's mother. Of course Jaromír Lipský just happens to be the son of Klaus Poppe. Of course Roberto was a child in Kinderheim 511, the bodyguard of detective Müller, met Eva, was a client of Reichwein, survived two shots from Tenma and a fall into the fire of the library, was the legal partner of Tenma's lawyer and appeared again at the massacre of Ruhenheim. Because of all of this, Roberto is by far the most annoying character in the series. He's always there, takes any role, and just cannot die. The illogicality in Monster is just inexcusable. Last but not least, there is also the most unnecessary character in the series - Heinrich Lunge. Until the very end, Lunge contributes absolutely nothing to the story. Although being the best inspector of the BKA, having resolved every case in his career, he suspects Tenma for way, way too long while bringing up the irrational explanation:"Tenma has two personalities". At the latest in Munich he should have noticed, that Johan indeed exists and Tenma is innocent. The evidence was clear. But still, he kept chasing Tenma. Monster's premise gave hope to a thrilling, interesting storyline. But because of the many inaccuracies, which kept stacking up, the whole experience evolved into an unbearable, irrational mess which was hard to endure. With an ending that shattered the previous 70 episodes of build up, it's safe to say that Monster is the most disappointing series I've ever seen.
I'm going to start by saying that I probably won't make any new points in this. After finishing the anime I went to see other reviews and (taking out the extremes 100/100 and 10/100) I can agree with the majority. ++++ Summarized thoughts: An incredibly intense anime, that builds its suspense around a single character so expertly, that it did indeed give me chills a couple times... It is also quite dumb at times. ++++ The way Johan behaves and carries himself does set him out to be the devil itself. Not exactly a Monster, it's not that vulgar. The dialogue and scene framing does an amazing job as establishing him to be a menace, but a latent one. He never says anything truly gruesome or very obviously manipulates others by "direct statements". The few times we saw him do that, he barely needs to sat anything, he knows how to implant an idea organically. He is also never violent, not physically at least. We saw him kill, but with a gun and he was very calm This distinction is even more evident because the show shows us "monsters" in a violent way, like Roberto. He wanted violence and a person to supply it, to give it meaning, so he sided with Johan. The comparison between him and Johan is so stark, it serves perfectly to install unease into the watchers head. I truly cannot explain the suspense, the build up, everything about this anime that has any relation to Johan. Absolutely masterfully made, a lesson in story-writting, and how to convey such a character in a serialized format. Most of the other characters are also quite good, at least the ones that stuck around untill the end of the story. They have a decent level of connection to the watcher, I did feel sympathy for most, cared for them, even if they frequently made bad decisions. Now for the bad parts: The show started to irritate me very early on with its "coincidences". A certain important/plot relevant person showing up at the right time, or a dumb decision that's made for the sake of justifying the way the plot advances... ~!So, Mr.Grimmer finally found the info he needed to pursue his story, went to Prague at the same time as Dr.Tenma?? Or Dr.Tenma finding that the town is ruhenheim after knowing it's a "small town in South Germany surrounded my mountains", surely there must be more than one?? Or the famous ending, how was Wim's father's screaming not heard, and how did he manage to hit Johan in the head while being dead-drunk??!~ All of those and other small ones that I may not remember... for a thriller, conveniences are its downfall, not to mention (major) unexplained events. I actually don't mind the ending, it has a philosophical mood to it which is fine, but I recognise it's not good. However the timeline of events for the twins got a bit junbeled towards the end: ~!entire situation with 511Kinderheim, when did Johan get there exactly? in that time, where was Nina? when did their mother die, before or after Nina escaped after the wine incident? When did they reunite again, because we see Johan (somehow) kill that old farmer couple, and they look very young.!~ all of these might've been my fault and not the anime, sorry if that's the case. But I stand by the "fortunate coincidences" argument: they're there and they do kill the seriousness of the story. To end this all, this is how I feel: The character Johan (and Nina too) was created to the minute detail, pretty much perfected. but a character needs a story, so one was made to fit around what was intended to be Johan's story arch, and that's where it went a bit wrong. Overall, definitely worth watching, very good experience, just not the best thing ever made. Giving it a good score for how entertaining, griping and even endearing it was at times.
# ~~~__MONSTER__~~~ To begin, I just want to say this is a **SPOILER REVIEW** and it spoils the entire series if you haven't seen it, so if you haven't watched it, either turn back now and just add it to your Plan To Watch list, or scroll to the bottom and read the number so you can know what I think about it. ~~~img220(https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/monster_44.png)~~~ Overall, I liked this series a lot, and while it has its shortcomings I think it will stick with me for a long time and I’m still thinking about it days after finishing it, rather than moving on straight away (this also means I have a lot to write about and I think this is going to be very long). I have a feeling that I’ll still remember it a long way down the line and I might rewatch/read it some day. It has also made me interested in other Urasawa works that I might read eventually and I’m sure I’ll enjoy them. All I knew about the anime before I started it was the name of the killer, the fact that he escapes at the end, and that it’s very good. While I think it would have been better not to know that Johan was the killer going in, it was still done really well in the setup so knowing that didn’t spoil my enjoyment much at all. Knowing the ending was a bit annoying, but in the last few episodes I was very interested to see how it got to that point, and it ended up being perfect and led into a perfect ending. For the majority of this review/write-up thing I’ll separate it into positives and negatives for the same sections and aspects. These aspects will be: **Plot**, **Characters**, **Visuals**, **Audio** and how the **Impactful and Emotional moments** are handled. I want to start with positive so this is what I think was good about the **Plot:** It’s an amazing plot, first of all. I was always interested in what would happen next and there was never an extended period of time in which I was uninterested in what was going on, which often happens in longer anime like this (this is actually the second longest anime I’ve ever watched after Attack on Titan). There was never a period of episodes in which I felt that nothing was happening, the plot was always moving forward in one way or another, whether by a climactic Johan encounter, a completely separate mini-arc giving a certain character some development, or some information about the past of Johan and Nina. I like the story books written by Klaus Poppe a lot because they have a unique weirdness to them, something uneasy. They’re also strangely dark and I like how they tie into the story in different ways. ~~~img220(http://pm1.narvii.com/6191/adcee7f4837c28dbb2060c8bb837f13132394676_00.jpg)~~~ I felt that every new arc introduced key points, key characters, and new concepts. They never felt like a rehash of an earlier arc and were all very distinguished from each other. I consider the main story arcs to be The Beginnings Arc, The Baby Arc, The Munich Arc, The Grimmer Arc, Capture/Escape Arc, Martin Arc, Čapek Arc, and Ruhenheim Arc. I would personally rank them as follows, but they’re all good: Ruhenheim > Grimmer > Beginnings > Munich > Martin > Čapek > The Baby > Capture/Escape These all contributed significantly to the plot in different ways and naturally built up the story as it went on, creating a natural feeling of progression throughout the series and explored different parts of Germany and Czechoslovakia (at least I think it was Czechoslovakia at the time but I’m not sure when the Republic was formed), such as the Red Light districts, the rich and wealthy parts, and the police and how they worked. I also appreciated a lot that everything was connected. EVERYTHING LEADS BACK TO JOHAN. That’s what I thought often while watching this, and it really was true. Almost every last thing has at least a small connection to Johan, whether directly or through someone else like Klaus Poppe. All the other arcs slowly built up to the climax in Ruhenheim, which I thought was perfect in every way. It went from a large scale chase across countries to everything and everyone being contained in a small town. I thought this was an odd choice at first but in the second episode in the town I was completely sold on it and loved all of the different conflicts happening such as the bullying, the lottery, and Grimmer and Lunge interacting. Eventually the other main characters started pouring in and the true climax of the anime began, and it was perfect. We got 3 of the best episodes of the series in a row, starting with Grimmer’s death episode and then Lunge vs Roberto and then Tenma finally going up against Johan. I was trying to keep to 1 episode a day but I just couldn’t towards the end because I was on the edge of my seat and I couldn’t stop watching. ~~~img220(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BZmVkMzdkZTYtZjc3Yy00NjIyLWE5YjQtYTlkOTdhYTM1OWVkXkEyXkFqcGdeQXVyMjM0NTM5MTA@._V1_.jpg)~~~ The fact that I knew that Johan escaped in the end meant nothing anymore because I had absolutely no idea what was going to happen next. If anything, that made me enjoy it more because I was trying to figure out how it would get to that point. I think the ending of Tenma saving Johan again was a bold choice but for me it paid off entirely and I think it was perfect. It expertly closed Tenma’s character arc and ended right back where we started, but it didn’t make everything feel like a waste because the entire thing was about testing Tenma’s strength and his resolve not to kill, even when his and other people’s lives were in danger, and rather finding other ways to save people. All of the characters’ arcs came to a satisfying close in the end and they didn’t miss out anything I wanted to see. Earlier in the anime, someone said that even if the world was burning Johan would stay standing, and that is exactly what the ending was. On one hand, Grimmer has shown that it is possible to get your emotions back after Kinderheim, and Johan has been shown forgiveness from Nina and was saved by Tenma. However, Johan’s evil runs much deeper than just Kinderheim. If he stayed evil, then the story is back where it began, but the characters have all undergone a character arc and have all changed a lot in the amount of time this series took place over. As it was said earlier, even if the world was burning, Johan would stay standing, but we don’t know what happens if he is forgiven and shown care. If he became good, then it shows that even the biggest monster the world has ever seen, with seven heads and the world playing into the palm of his hand, can become a human. Maybe after getting his real name back, he left Johan behind and carries on his life as a new person. The ending elevated the story from a to a 9.5/10 because I’m a big fan of cyclical stories that end the same way they started. Now onto the good things about the **Characters:** To start, I’ll say that this anime has some of the best characters I’ve ever seen in anime. All of them are brilliantly written and have very satisfying character arcs. Starting with Tenma, I think he’s a great protagonist. He struggles with picking between two ideals: every person is equal, or he should try to save as many people as he can. He saves Johan because he does not believe that he should choose one person’s life over another’s because of their status. He also isn’t a judge, he’s a doctor. He can’t save people based on whether he thinks they’re a good person or not, he must save whatever life lies before him, which is the message that the ending conveys. Even if less people would die if he shoots Johan, it’s not the job of a doctor to decide the value of another person’s life. ~~~img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/86/1d/d0/861dd0f2bc9969096d4697217db0529c.png)~~~ Johan is regarded as one of the best antagonists in anime, and I think it is deserved. The way that the first 20 or so episodes paint a picture of a ruthless and violent monster, his in-person appearance contrasts that entirely. He is a cool and calm monster that inflicts a deadly poison on those he wishes. Because of this, Johan always has a strong presence on screen and he makes every scene he appears in tense. Though it isn’t shown in the ending, maybe even Johan received his letter full of emotions a few years late and maybe even he could become human. Or maybe he stayed the way he is. We’ll never know. ~~~img220(https://w.wallha.com/ws/3/h5Ymzy1A.jpg)~~~ Grimmer is my favourite character in the anime. From the moment he is introduced to his final moments, he is likeable and tragic. He shows the smile he worked so hard for as a trophy and looks for justice for the humanity that was stolen from him. The conclusion of his arc was completely perfect and I almost cried. He got his humanity back and finally felt sad for the death of his son. ~~~img220(https://myanimeshelf.com//upload/dynamic/2012-06/25/%D0%BA%D1%832.jpg)~~~ I never found Lunge annoying like I know some people do. I found him a really interesting character and worked well as a secondary antagonist that pushed Tenma forwards on his journey. His apology to Tenma was one of the best moments, and I wish he got to drink that beer with Grimmer. He was so involved in Tenma’s case that it captured him and made him lose everything, so the case was all he has left and it held him captive, but after his vacation he learned that not everything can be solved objectively and he brought himself to believe in an impossible person that he thinks must be a fictional character. It takes a lot to admit you’re wrong, especially if you’ve been so sure that you’re right for 12 years, so I respect Lunge a lot. ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/WgADv.jpg)~~~ I don’t have much to say about Nina but she’s very likeable and I like that once she knew the whole story by getting her memories back, she forgives Johan, which is a big part of why Tenma saved him. ~~~img220(https://anteikuanimereviews.files.wordpress.com/2021/04/nina-pretty-monster.jpg)~~~ The last character I want to focus on specifically is Eva. She starts as a spoilt alcoholic who relies on her father and Tenma for almost everything. When she loses both of them, she descends further into alcoholism and searches for easy “happiness” by going through many different partners and constantly drinking alcohol, all while trying to bring Tenma down. Eventually, by the help of people like Reichwein and Martin she switches to Tenma’s side and leaves her old life behind to live as a better person. Her development is one of the best examples of how a character can turn around completely over the anime’s runtime, while feeling completely natural and justified, so in my opinion she has one of the best redemption arcs in anime. ~~~img220(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/8c/b6/a0/8cb6a0bddd326c8a400b070350715f6a.jpg)~~~ The other side characters like Reichwein, Richard, Dr Gillen, and even characters that only appear in a few episodes like Martin are very well-written and it’s great how they can make you sympathise for someone so quickly. I think the characters are a 10/10 aspect of Monster. **Visuals:** Yeah the visuals are alright. I like the realistic anime art-style and it fits the series very well. I can’t imagine it looking any different. A little bit annoying that it’s only in 480p though. An upscaled version would look great. 8/10 for visuals. **Audio:** The soundtrack is good. I like the pieces played on strings, especially the one with the big rich chords, but I wish there were some more intense songs for the climactic scenes. 8.5/10 for audio. **Emotional and Impactful moments:** This series has a very strong emotional core behind all of the story. The powerful moments all hit very hard, like Martin’s death, Wolf’s death, Grimmer’s death, and important encounters between characters, such as Lunge’s apology to Tenma. ~~~img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/wm1B8rbnjHA/maxresdefault.jpg)~~~ This is another 10/10 aspect. #~~~**Now onto the things I didn’t like**~~~ **Story:** Some parts of the story felt a little repetitive and got frustrating after a while. For example, Tenma or Nina not shooting Johan happened so many times over the anime that I got a bit tired of Johan being able to just walk away so many times even though their entire goal was to kill Johan. Another thing that happened often was Tenma leaving the people he was travelling with. This happens with Nina early on, Reichwein and Gillen after the Munich arc, and Eva when the guy told him where Johan was. It’s frustrating because characters like Eva would definitely shoot Johan and Reichwein could definitely help Tenma, and going alone just draws out the journey a bit more. I also think there are too many flashbacks and recaps. First of all, the recaps are unnecessary and often there was a scene of recap for 2 minutes and then the OP for 2 minutes, which leads to the episode starting 4 minutes into the runtime. Next, the flashbacks are fine and are done well at points like Nina’s memories coming back in fragments, but some of the same flashbacks were shown several times such as the “Tadaima, Okaeri” flashback which must have been shown at least 5 different times. Secondly, I think the time Tenma was captured and then escaped wasn’t that great but it wasn’t bad by any means either since it allowed for some of Eva’s development to happen. Sometimes the intense moments at the end of arcs felt slow, which isn’t something that you want, but this was never too bad, it’s just a bit drawn out sometimes, for example the fire at the end of the Munich arc which lasted for 3 whole episodes. I also don’t think Roberto should have come back. He should have either stayed dead or never been “killed”, especially since he survived being shot in a burning building and escaped with no real explanation at all. This leads into the next thing. The only thing I dislike about the **Characters** is Roberto. I found him a bit annoying and not that interesting, but I was sold on him a bit more when it was revealed that he was Grimmer’s old friend from Kinderheim 511 who lost his way and took a different path to Grimmer, but I feel like he was just a pawn for Johan who didn’t feel that interesting most of the time, until the last few episodes. ~~~img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/e8hlEfjnq3o/maxresdefault.jpg)~~~ I already mentioned my problems with the **Visuals** and **Audio**, which aren’t really a big deal. One more thing that doesn’t really fit into any of the categories is the fact that sometimes when a big reveal happens, there’s a dramatic thud and it zooms in on Tenma’s (or another character’s) face, which happened so often that it got a bit repetitive by the end. ~~~img220(https://i.ytimg.com/vi/8NSUL0BY-yM/hqdefault.jpg)~~~ Overall, I thought Monster was a very good series with some of the best characters in anime and a brilliant plot that handles the characters’ respective arcs very well. I think the climax in the final arc elevates the entire series to even higher heights and I completely respect the risky decision Urasawa made at the end, and it worked perfectly in my opinion, but I can definitely see why someone might dislike it. I will recommend Monster to people from now on because even though it is fairly slow paced it has a very good plot and very good characters. To close off my thoughts on this anime, my top 5 episodes were: Episode 71 (The Magnificent Steiner’s Rage) Episode 73 (The Landscape of the End) Episode 29 (Execution) Episode 49 (The Cruelest Thing) Episode 2 (Downfall) I think Monster is a 9/10. It’s not a 10/10 in my opinion but it’s very good and does a lot more right than wrong. It is my 9th favourite anime series now out of 28 completed series. ~~~img220(https://i.imgur.com/0nZbULc.gif?1)~~~
Monster is a series who's viewers fascinate me just as much as the series itself does. Part of the reason I started this is because of a notorious 1/10 review by a particular MAL user. I wanted to have faith and defend Monster against it so here I am though that review was trash, to be frank, and I'll say why later. What's usually seen is either someone really adores Monster or really hates it, but no one ever really says why. I can tell a lot of the people who bash Monster have either seen just 1 episode most of the time if not just a few, but act as if they have seen everything despite their hollow, simplistic, and one sentence "critiques." Even the people who claim it is a masterpiece just say they enjoyed it but don't say much besides that. The bad ones talking bad about it are really easy to detect because when it comes down to it they have no real legitimate criticism of this. They are also usually the type to watch high paced, action type anime, and under that context, of course Monster would seem "slow paced" and "boring" to them because people are often hostile to that which is different. Of course, what everyone wants to know is if this is a "masterpiece." Watch it for yourself. Only you have your opinion so go out there and form one for yourself. First, I'll start with the bad since that's what everyone wants to know. Yes, the anime could have been better if it cut itself short 12-13 episodes. This is the particular case for Nina's arcs. Her flashbacks slowly begin to unveil what she went through as a child. However, this felt like it dragged a bit. Monster also has a lot of episodes that people claim are too much "filler." I don't mind episodes that throw the plot out the window as long as they are well done and the overall story is paced and wraps up nicely by the end. In Monster's case, plenty of these stand alone episodes are very good and depict the type of troubled and unsettling characters that exist in this type of world well. Tragically, some are complete misses and were better off not being there such as the man that likes to look at the birds in the forest and the kids that try to get Dieter to commit bad acts. To defend Monster against this certain review I mentioned, the biggest issue presented is that Johan is a terribly written character. I would agree that he doesn't feel as relevant as you would think at first. Many times the viewers say, "Where is Johan?" "What's taking so long?" What I'd say is that the author intended this to be this way since Johan is part of an underground network and has loyal comrades that carry out his dirty work for him because of his charismatic, manipulative, and intelligent leadership skills. Of course, there are times Johan himself will go in and get his hands dirty. The issue is that this review unnecessarily rambled on for too long about his motivation being terribly written. He's an experiment that was meant to lead the wrong people and become the second rise of Hitler. He was mentally deranged and turned into a weapon at a young age because of skills he has that I mentioned earlier. His motivation was to die, but he was forced to stay alive and become an agent of chaos as a result, still with the plan to go, but this time taking everyone down with him. Apparently, this wasn't deep enough for that individual. Besides the occasional knit picking, that was it for the most part. What disappoints me about what this person said about Monster is what they didn't say about Monster. There is so much that makes Monster great, yet 90% of the review is complaining about Johan without even exploring what he was doing or trying to do. The review is hardly worth addressing or acknowledging, but it amused me. Johan, realizing the Monster has been growing inside him, realizes that he has become a chosen prodigy, and he rejects it. That's why from the start, he tells Nina to shoot him in the head. That would have been the end if it weren't for Dr. Tenma, a neurosurgeon with great skill and an unshakable sense of morality. Tenma is caught in the politics of his hospital. Tenma sees all lives as equal, but as Eva reminds him, all lives are not, and Tenma would come to learn this about his own superiors as they use him as a pawn. Tenma sees that he is maneuvered to perform surgeries on people based on their status. This leads to him being led around and having his surgeries changed suddenly. He was confused and not aware of what was really going on at first. As a result, a poor family lost their father figure. The wife would yell at Tenma, and he sees clearly now what has happened and decides to stay true to himself, losing everything in the process. Unfortunately, once he rebels and decides to perform surgery on a patient of low status over one of high status, it happens to be Johan, who he then saved after he was shot in the head by Nina. Johan survives, and begins to erase the memories of the wicked orphanage he was conditioned in by trying to kill everyone involved that knows about it or him, and then finding a particular person before committing what was called "the perfect suicide." People then start getting murdered all over Europe with links to him, and Tenma eventually finds out its the child he saved several years later. Filled with guilt, Tenma sees it as his duty to kill Johan since it was because of him that this is all happening. But this conflicts Tenma because he was just doing his job as a doctor. He believes that all lives are equal, but he thinks to himself and to others: how is he supposed to know if his patient is a good or bad person? He later meets a lawyer who is in a similar situation who tells Tenma that as a criminal defense lawyer who is out to prove the guilty who are really innocent innocent, that he too does not know whether his clients are good or bad, but he has faith. And Tenma eventually comes to the realization that he wants to have faith in Johan, despite Johan's wickedness. This review will now go into spoilers. Thus, Tenma cannot "take the shot" to the frustration of the viewers that feel he has too, and is taking too long. But it was never about the shot in the first place. That's what the author was trying to write. Johan's calculations where to climax in the final step in a confrontation between him and Johan. He'd tell Tenma that yes, Tenma might think all lives are equal, but they really only are in death. He was trying to break Tenma. If Tenma takes the shot, he would successfully mind break Tenma into making him break the one rule he fought so hard trying not to. And Tenma almost cracked if it weren't for the drunk. In not taking the shot, Tenma saved himself in a way and became the one person Johan could not crack, and to his luck, the drunk shooting Johan caused a familiar scenario where the authorities, despite preparing to arrest him again, used him to operate and to save Johan once again. Many viewers groaned and moaned that this is ridiculous. Surely Johan would go out and do the same again. But Tenma has faith; he wasn't done yet. After the fact, the surviving characters meet fortunate ends, but Tenma is still looking for Johan's mom. Once he meets her, he learns what he needs to and tells Johan who is in his hospital bed that yes, you do have a name, and that his mom did love him. As Johan would tell a poor child much earlier that no one ever wanted that child, this is how Johan also felt about himself, and this had to have given him some sort of peace of mind. In the end, Johan goes missing, but it's up to the viewers to think about the plot and what this means as there are many theories about what might have happened next. As a mystery, Monster definitely excels. I really appreciate how instead of spoon-feeding the audience and telling them everything, they story is set up that hints and tips are subtly revealed here and there. Many times the viewers come to shocking realizations because of this if they decided to put some thinking in this series; something that people don't like to do anymore. Further, Johan cross dressing as Nina in one of the most shocking twists I've ever seen in anime. As a horror anime, Monster nails it. There are many times that the viewers will feel uneasy, disturbed, and unsettling feelings as the story and reveals unfold, right before getting to the creepy outro. The suspense really builds, especially with characters like Roberto, one of the most sinister of Monster, as he tries to hunt down and kill the cast and other other characters. The viewers are left to hope that nothing bad happens as the unsettling music plays, the uncertainty of the victims eats them away, and as shadows appear near them. As in the case of Richard, there was this eerie feeling that someone was following him and trying to kill him for trying to investigate something too dangerous to investigate. As in the case of all those helpless victims, many were mentally broken by Johan's manipulative ways, and some often killed themselves. The style of the art is very creepy as seen in those puppets, or in Johan's wicked grins, as well as others Like Roberto and Eva. Similar to others like Ghost Hound, this anime managed to successfully scare me at times as planned. As for characters, there are two more I want to focus on, the first is Wolfgang Grimmer. He too was an experiment from the orphanage like Johan, who ran away and tried to follow his own path. However, Grimmer was broken there as a child and never learned proper human emotions. He only really learned to smile, and that was hard for him. As a result, he doesn't know how to react to situations. Because of this, he lost his son and couldn't cry, and lost his wife because she felt his lack of emotion was a lack of love and affection. In the series this is why he only smiles, and why he didn't seem bothered about being scammed at the train station when he was introduced; he didn't know how to react to it. What impressed me so much about Grimmer besides being a just and friendly man, is his amazing development. One in case, he saves a kid who lost his family long ago that Johan nearly manipulated into killing himself and gives him words of encouragement that give the young boy the strength to live. As he would do several times, he would ask Tenma how he should react to certain situations. He does so here, and Tenma tells him he should cry. Grimmer starts crying as he hugs this poor child, but because he never learned this emotion, he doesn't know if he is crying and asks Tenma what reaction is he showing, and Tenma tells him he is crying. The second time is at the end where he finally feels the pain of losing his son. He thinks about his memories and feels the sad emotions and the happy ones for the first time. He feels his emotions weren't taken away, but lost somewhere in them, as they had finally awakened. Though he was experimented on and given the "Magnificent Steiner" persona, in the end, he managed to become human again, and no longer needed it. Truly, a character of remarkable character development. The second is inspector Lunge. He is known to many as the detective that always solves his cases, and gets put in Tenma's case after Johan's slaying gets Tenma posted as the main suspect. Lunge would then chase Tenma; a chase that Lunge finds fun and exhilarating. But this feeling Lunge felt gave him a bias as other evidence began to appear of Tenma's possibly innocence. Gillen would confront him eventually and tell Lunge that though Lunge uses his hand movements as a way to mentally collect and record information, it's still subject to Lunge's own bias. Gillard takes out his own tape recorded and says that his method is objective since it's the actual voice of the people the interrogates. He feels Lunge wants to hear only what he wants to; and even gives Lunge a large pile of documents showing why Tenma should be innocent. Of course, Lunge pretends to acknowledge it and stays focused on Tenma. As a great detective, he would comes to learn there is a Monster out there named Johan. This was hard for Lunge to accept because he came to the fact he was wrong the whole time. This comes full circle when he eventually runs into Tenma in the end, swallows his pride, and says, "I'm sorry." Not only that, he becomes the main person to testify and prove Tenma's innocence. Amazing writing. Other than that his fight against Roberto had that very epic moment where he crushed Roberto's gun wound with his own hand while being choked and overtook him, putting his gun in Roberto's mouth. Truly an incredible, intelligent, and cunning man despite his flaws such as putting work over family. This is what makes Monster great. If only it would have been a bit shorter. At least now I understand that this is a very misunderstood series as it's writing is very complex.
THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS AND I SUGGEST YOU READ IT AFTER COMPLETING MONSTER. The tl;dr section at the end of my review is spoiler-free. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Naoki Urasawa's Monster is undoubtedly one of the greatest and most famous Japanese works of fiction ever created. Its captivating premise, along with the amazing directing done by Madhouse, make it one of the most interesting and addictive series to watch; loved and respected by most anime and non-anime enthusiasts. 74 episodes are usually hard to finish without getting bored at times, but when it comes to Monster, it is the kind of story that will make you sit on your desk for hours, hypnotized, always excited to figure out what follows up. Today I decided to write this review to analyze both the pros and cons of the show, and trust me, there's a lot to be mentioned about what's exceptional, passable, or badly written. ~~~img(https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/anime/10/18793.jpg)~~~ The story begins at a hospital in Düsseldorf, with our protagonist Dr. Kenzo Tenma as Head of Neurosurgery. It all starts with a dilemma, which plays an important role throughout the series; the hospital director asks him to operate on a famous opera singer instead of a Turkish man who came earlier. He saves the singer, but the Turkish man dies. Then Tenma asks himself; are all lives equal? Should there be priority in choosing who is saved first – who lives and who dies? Monster introduces a world of corruption, egoism, and racial discrimination. Tenma decides to refrain from this mindset and chooses to save a child’s life instead of the mayor’s, who came later at the hospital. At that time, he was judged unfairly and his life changed dramatically. Nine years later, he sees the kid from that day, shooting his patient, Adolf Junkers, in front of his eyes. After this thrilling start, knowing that the kid is now a serial killer and responsible for many murder cases, Tenma decides to leave on a journey to save people’s lives. Not by surgery, but by killing him; Johan, the “monster”. ~~~img(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/obluda/images/e/e2/Night_of_the_Execution.png)~~~ The journey lasts long, and it is like a new life to Dr. Tenma. Moving from town to town, he meets various people under different circumstances, interacting and developing short relationships with them, and that’s one of the most beautiful things this show has to offer. Tenma meets an army veteran, a thief, kids, detectives, lawyers, doctors... Everyone has their story and, in my opinion, Urasawa’s strongest skill is making the audience feel for them, like them and understand how their personalities were built. At the same time, Tenma makes friends, builds his own personality and moves on with his life. Some of his friends follow him on his journey and he has good company and people who support him - but the first thing he always thinks about, is his plan to assassinate Johan. ~~~img(https://i.kinja-img.com/gawker-media/image/upload/t_original/rozqxgrzjofllvwp7tpc.jpg)~~~ Besides Tenma, there is also Anna/Nina, Johan’s twin sister who – long story short – has been brainwashed and had lost her childhood memories after “that” certain incident. Anna also pursues Johan, and she is the third main character. Tenma and Anna not only meet people in their journeys, but they also face criminals of the underworld, political leaders, mafias, and corrupt people in general. That’s another big positive characteristic Monster has; it is full of terrifying yet realistic stories about the 20th century, like the German Neo-Nazis, the Czechoslovakian secret police, illegal experiments done in certain facilities, and people who’d do anything to gain fame and power. ~~~img(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/obluda/images/f/f1/Tenma%2C_beaten_up_by_Baby.png)~~~ Before proceeding into some things that bothered me, I want to give credits to some of the supporting cast which, like I said before, I found amazing. To me, Eva Heinemann is one of the best-written female characters I’ve seen in an anime series. Regretting her actions and unable to face the harsh reality – Kenzo’s rejection – she loses hope and becomes an alcoholic, almost psychotic woman. She tries to find a husband like Kenzo but fails, leading her to get divorced thrice and never trust a man again. Even if she says she wants him to suffer because he ruined her life, deep inside she wishes him the best and she desperately wants to get close to him again. Her actions might make her hateable, but her character is not to be hated. ~~~img(https://i.pinimg.com/originals/25/0e/f3/250ef34b1bd2ad14171ef34826d6a19d.jpg)~~~ Wolfgang Grimmer is an adorable character as well; that’s a quite popular opinion so I will not say much about him. The supporting character that personally moved me more than it was expected was Dr. Schumann, who, even if his arc lasted for a few episodes, had a touching story and great character development. Of course, other characters like Reichwein, Lunge, Rosso, Dieter, Martin Reest and Maurer were written with care and I enjoyed watching them in action. ~~~img(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/obluda/images/9/97/Lungegrimmer01.jpg)~~~ As far as all these things I’ve mentioned above are concerned, Monster can already be considered a successful anime, since most of its short stories/arcs are more than good, the supporting cast is rich and it depicts reality from many different aspects. However, Monster’s format is not episodic and it is clear – at least to me – that the center of attention is Tenma’s and the twins’ story and character development. Which means that a main story exists, and it is more important than the side ones. Unfortunately, there are some people like me who can’t be fully satisfied by works of fiction that leave question marks or use plot conveniences for the story to proceed. This is the main reason Monster cannot become one of my favourite anime no matter how much I enjoyed watching it. ~~~img(https://64.media.tumblr.com/21839336b37d66b07d84e8bf41221d0b/be8a204f69bdbd2e-5b/s640x960/e7db32cd6c328b0b703a260b0e017f234236dc43.png)~~~ If you haven’t yet understood what I am talking about, you’re going to find out in the next paragraphs. Firstly, let’s start from Johan’s character/personality and the events that led to its creation. Johan was a twin whose sister was forced to endure a dreadful human experiment, the “Eugenics Experiment”, set up by members of the Czechoslovakian secret police. When his sister returned home after the experiment was complete, she was in a shock and told Johan multiple times what she went through. Feeling guilt and compassion towards his sister, kid Johan felt as if he was the one who went through all this, and he had a false memory that he was the victim until he grew up. After they become orphans, Johan is separated from his sister and is placed in 511 Kinderheim, an experimental orphanage in East Germany whose purpose was to create soldiers without emotions. By that time, Johan had already started creating his nihilistic personality and was supposedly “too good” for the experiments. Eventually, he got bored and using their power of hatred he decided to make all the members of the orphanage kill each other, children and instructors included. He was just sitting on a chair, watching them all kill each other, and it was never explained how he managed to do something like this. Am I the only one that needs further explanations? There are much more unexplained things to be mentioned. ~~~img(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/obluda/images/2/25/Kinderheim01.png)~~~ When Johan killed the people from the hospital, it is implied that he poisoned the candies with deadly chemicals. Okay, let’s say 10-year-old ingenious Johan did this and that it was just a hyperbole. But what about what comes after that? He lured Junkers, the lockpicker, to an abandoned building along with Tenma, the first time he was seen as an adult. He killed many people throughout the series with candies / whisky bonbons and planned everything perfectly. How he did it remains unknown. At the age of 15, he became well-known in the German underworld and by the age of 19 he was able to use almost any criminal under his command. German Neo-Nazis even wanted him to become the second Hitler. Still, we never saw how he acted in front of high-ranked people of the underworld, or how he made all these people see he is so ridiculously charismatic. It’s a super rare and special occasion, yet we know nothing about how he achieved such high status and power. It is shown in an episode how Johan inspired criminals to kill certain people just by writing their names in a park, and it almost seemed funny. On the other hand, we have random events occurring like him wanting to get his sister when she turned 20. Many events like this one are happening just because the kids have grown up, their minds are more mature and skillful and it is “time” for some action. That’s not so important, though. ~~~img(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/obluda/images/d/d5/Red_Rose.png)~~~ What really is important is Anna’s character writing and how she is used as a plot device. The fact that after “that” incident, she got amnesia as a defensive mechanism is logical and possible to happen after such a large shock. On the other hand, Urasawa decided to keep using her character to move the plot forward, just by making her remember things. Normally, there wouldn’t be a problem with this, if only the things she remembered were… let’s say, less convenient. I love the concept of writing a story and letting the story itself tell you where it “wants” to go, like Urasawa has said before, but in this case he is not doing it well. Since the early arcs and since Urasawa hadn’t mentioned the Red Rose Mansion, Franz Bonaparta or some incidents revealed later in the story, Anna would be able only to remember things that help that current arc’s story proceed and she remembered nothing about other incidents. The reason is simple, and it’s because he was not sure what would happen next. Later, in the Czech arc for example, she remembers everything we need to learn about her past and the Czech arc, and so on. ~~~img(https://cdn.myanimelist.net/images/characters/11/286916.jpg)~~~ Talking about plot devices, the fact that everyone gathers in the same place so often is worth mentioning. There are so many towns and cities in the world, yet just for the story to go on, it is not rare in Monster for characters to meet each other randomly at a certain place. Tenma, Johan and Anna happened to be in Prague at the same time, with Lunge being there for “vacations” too. Or in Ruhenheim, everyone decided to go there via different clues, at the same day… Unbelievable, isn’t it? It’s something that won’t turn off most watchers, including me, but it is not the best thing in terms of writing. Well, at least we get to see many different cities and cultural references, which is respectable, but maybe there could be another way to move from city to city. ~~~img(https://www.wanderingcrystal.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/charles-bridge-in-prague-night.jpg)~~~ Another point to be made is that there are multiple times in the series when massacre happens as if it’s nothing. The incidents in 511 Kinderheim, the Red Rose Mansion, Ruhenheim. The Red Rose incident made more sense, since people were poisoned at the same time, but the others were too unrealistic to be true. Thinking about Ruhenheim arc, I found it very underwhelming for a finale. There were a lot of things to be explained and we were finally about to discover more about Johan’s personality and past, but the only thing that happened in the end was a massacre and Johan plotting his death. There were many metaphors, Tenma’s arc ended perfectly, Grimmer’s end was beautiful too. But what about Roberto and Lunge’s fight and how Roberto killed Bonaparta afterwards in a zombie form? Some parts in this arc are questionable. ~~~img(https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/obluda/images/f/ff/Lungrob-epicbattle.jpg)~~~ When it comes to Roberto, a huge plot convenience was his survival after getting shot twice by Tenma. But there’s a good reason this happened and it was really important for Tenma’s amazing character development. He believed he had killed Roberto, so he accepted he was now a criminal and lost faith in himself as a doctor and as an ethical person. In prison, when he saw him as his lawyer he was terrified, but at the same time relieved that he had not killed anyone. That’s when Tenma was filled with hope again and that was a good way to show that his soul is and will always be kind, innocent and good-willed. Of course, this was totally confirmed when he decided to operate on Johan for a second time, after all this time he was pursuing him, after all these sacrifices he had made just to kill him. A person’s soul will most likely remain the same no matter what. ~~~img(https://m.media-amazon.com/images/M/MV5BMTQ1ODM3NDAyNV5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTgwNjk4MzU1MjE@._V1_.jpg)~~~ Lastly, I want to write about Johan. In the end, Johan’s character was apparently fully nihilistic, he lacked emotion to a great extent and did not find meaning in life. He liked playing with luck and let it decide whether he would live or die, he toyed with people’s lives and he felt nothing when others died. To me, Johan’s mental disorder, his way of living and the lack of explanation concerning how he managed to achieve so many in his life, make him far from a great villain, but an interesting character nonetheless. ~~~img(http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/30200000/Johan-Liebert-anime-30231590-640-480.jpg)~~~ Before closing the review, I must praise Madhouse for the artistic approach of Monster, once again; directing, art, animation, soundtrack, voice acting – all of them were good. I disagree with most people who complain about the pacing because I found it great. I loved the aesthetics, the inserted soundtrack, the opening and ending songs. They all created a breathtaking atmosphere. Hidenobu Kiuchi, Isobe Tsutomu and Koyama Mami and more performed amazingly too, as voice actors. ~~~img(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EZVDbgBUEAEUH9Z.jpg)~~~ To sum up, Monster deserves to be highly rated like it is, though it is far from a perfect work of fiction in my point of view. The themes it tackles, the atmosphere it creates, the realistic approaches, the character development, the side characters, the mini arcs, the mystery; all of them make Monster a must-watch for every anime fan. It is an enjoyable experience, it makes you think and even teaches you things, but the flaws are there as well and unfortunately, they affect the main story. ~~~img(https://www.grimoireofhorror.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Naoki-Urasawas-Monster-Anime-Manga.jpg)~~~ To the heroes who made it here, thank you for reading. I appreciate it! TL;DR Story – 22/40: Even if it was intriguing for the most part and there was suspense and realism, the main story had plot devices, exaggerations and minor plot holes. This is the reason Monster’s plot and the series overall is not 80/100 to me, as it could have been. Art – 9/10 : As simplistic as it might have been, it was beautiful and fit the themes perfectly. Sound – 7.5/10: Most soundtracks were a great fit to the atmosphere. Character – Main characters: 11/20 (Tenma 6/7, Johan 4/7, Anna 1/6) | Side characters: 9/10 Enjoyment – 7.5/10: Although it was 9/10 for the most part, the last episodes had a negative effect. Overall – 66/100: The plot always plays the most important role to me, and if some things were different and given more detail towards the end, like I said, I could give Monster a 80/100
~~~
*general disclaimer*
all of my reviews are rated 100 because I think a numeric score is redundant for my individual reviews
in many ways and also because I think numeric scoring has never been of interest to me I think its
effective for having the average score most people give a show also I'd rather people read between the
lines and guess for themselves if the show is for them I think a score can sometimes generalize a much
more in-depth statement also I'd rather you disagree with my individual takes on the show rather than
what it collectively amounts too
