Information
Type: TV
Episodes: 74
Status: Finished Airing
Aired: Apr 7, 2004 to Sep 28, 2005
Duration:
24 min. per episode Rating:
R - 17+ (violence & profanity)
L represents licensing company
StatisticsScore: 8.851 (scored by 4308 users)
Ranked: #92
Popularity: #115
Members: 10,104
Favorites: 724 1 indicates a weighted score
My Info
Popular Tags
drama horror mystery psychological thriller |
SynopsisKenzou Tenma, a brilliant Japanese brain surgeon working in Germany, saves the life of a small boy who has been shot in the head. Little does he know that doing so would destroy his entire career at the hospital and that his fiancé would leave him. When the hospital director and doctors of the hospital staff are suddenly murdered, he gets a second chance but also renders him as the main suspect to the murders. Life goes on for Tenma as he saves people at the hospital, and he goes back to the joy of being a surgeon again.
Years later, an injured thief gets brought to the hospital. After Tenma saves his life, he finds out that the thief is involved with the rising count of serial murders happening in Germany. Suddenly Tenma is involved in it all when the little boy, who is now a young man, turns up and kills the thief in cold blood right in front of Tenma. Now Tenma must clear his name, find out more about the boy he saved in the past, and reevaluate what the value of life is. |
Related AnimeAdaptation: Monster
Side story: Monster Extra
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Recommendations
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Monster and Death Note are unique in many ways. In both cases the issue of morality in its truest form, that is the frontier between good and evil, is explored via highly tense psychological thrillers. Monster is highly realistic and portrays a very believable world while Death Note has a supernatural element to it; in both the viewer is forced to think and make choices toward deciding who the real villains are and just what it is that makes one individual evil.
Both have plots that don't focus on action, instead they focus on the minds and personalities of the characters and how they interact with eachother. Both also have that kind of battle of 2 characters through non-direct attacks.
Both question the concept of the themes each embodies - psychological war games and identity anonymity. Both do have differences, though:
Monster is slow but aptly paced while Death Note is pulse-racing right to the end.
Monster is apparently longer than Death Note.
Death Note uses a lot of plot devices while Monster uses minimal.
Either way, I still recommend both. Plus, for the imaginative viewers, a crossover between the characters in both series will make you grin like a little boy on Boxing Day C:
Both feature main characters who are being chased by detectives. While Monster may be more mature, Death Note is just as good but more supernatural
Both are high ranking thriller that will have you at the edge of your seat screaming for more. The mysteries and plot twists will leave your head spinning off its shoulders. I give it 10/10! A true Masterpiece!
Both top tier anime for the Mystery genre. Very entertaining and very well done. If nothing else binds these two anime together, than their flawlessness would do just that. Regardless of whether or not you are fans of this genre, it is still highly likely that you will come to love and enjoy both of these vastly entertaining titles.
They both deal with 'monsters' in people. By this, both shows are portraying the 'good' that each person thinks is 'right'.
I think people who like Death Note would like Monster since it's also quite dark and unique, and AMAZING~<3
Both animes revolve around gone-berserk (i think) guys. Each of their stories are somewhat mature, too-- both practically deal about...... murder!(a.k.a. death)
=]]]
Both are psychological thriller and suspense. The only difference is that Death Note is more supernatural while Monster is more dramatic. If you like Monster, then surely you'll like Death Note, vice-versa.
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Both come form mangas penned by Naoki Urasawa, and both are of similar quality. Master Keaton is a bit more episodic in nature than Monster, but both are fantastic.
Their original mangas are made by the same author. They have kinda the same type of main character and the atmosphere of the stories are the same, with suspense and adventures.
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Reviews
| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
9 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
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Nov 18, 200774 episodes 107 of 129 people found this review helpful Monster is an anime that I used to scoff at every time I saw high ratings for it. I was never really into long plot driven anime and I couldn't understand how so many people loved it, but seeing the ratings, I couldn't help but be interested. I downloaded this anime over a year ago and burned it on to 3 DVDs, never really intending to watch it. Maybe I did it because of the hype, decided that a highly acclaimed series like this was something every anime fan needed in his/her collection. Or maybe... I just did it so I would have something to watch on a rainy day. I don't even remember.
Anyhow, curiosity and boredom got the better of me one day and I plopped it into my dvd drive to check it out. The story was promising: A brilliant neurosurgeon with everything to gain, loses it all for doing the right thing. I was entranced by the complexity of the story and the moral debate presented by it: are lives equal? It was interesting, but I began to lose interest as my life got busy. This probably (based on my experience) isn't a series you'll want to watch in one go, especially if your new to this type of mystery / thriller genre in anime. It's a good series I recommend for watching a few episodes here and there in the beginning, and eventually, you'll fall for it. It'll work its magic and you'll be lost in the unravelling plot of Dr.Tenma and his journey.
Story: Monster is focused on telling a story, a story that presents many, many themes to its viewers, insights into the world and the way people work. It takes a good look at the human condition, particularly on the subject of the Monster that every individual carries within. It strongly portrays through Tenma and other characters, human nature to be consumed by hate and resorting to succumbing our savage brutalities, or inner Monsters, only to end up committing horrific acts that we can't take back, acts and emotions that often consume us. It presents to us, the need for identity, and the need for love, trust and equality. These themes are all woven together into a complex story that kept me on the edge of my seat as I progressed through the series, and unlike most long series, Monster didn't get too repetitive. It managed to continue strong through its 74 episodes and finally hand us an ending that - will disappoint some and make others love the series even more. Another thing I would like to take note of, was the children's stories found in the anime, the stories written by the character Franz Bonaparta. I don't know if they are real or not, but they geniusly (is that a word?) complimented the story. They were masterpieces in themselves, and conveyed moods of unease through the almost disturbing feel of the way the such dark and mature themes were represented in children's books for the use of brainwashing. Its things like this that makes Monster great. Its plot is deep, complex, interesting and to some, a masterpiece.
Characters: The characters were developed very, very well, and this is one of Monster's strongest points. A change occurs in every character you'll see in this anime, every major character overcomes some sort of trial in their lives and adapts. I could give examples, but like I said, I would be listing every character, from Eva who starts off as a selfish, idiotic *#$%@ to someone a little more proper by the end of the series, and Nina and Dieter who overcome their dark pasts. Tenma's change throughout the series is also quite interesting; its difficult to say whether or not he really changed. We know for certain that he stayed true to his morals and managed to suppress the monster within, but he does have difficulty with accepting his decision at the beginning of the series, and goes so far as to call it his sin. He goes from a happy individual into a depressing one, bent on tracking down Johan and attempting to kill him as his single goal in life. Johan too, was an interesting character, with a troubled and complicated past, it was difficult to judge him as a villain. It's this complexity that's found in every main character of Monster that makes this series such a success; the characters are real, and they change.
Art / Animation: I found the art quite unique; it was one of the things that drew my attention to this anime. The faces aren't your typical anime faces with the huge eyes and characters with multicoloured eyes. Instead, the characters are quite realistically drawn, which adds to the seriousness of this anime. They also did a good job with the backgrounds, the cities and scenery generally looked very good. In terms of animation, it wasn't something I can really comment on, there are few scenes involving rapid action, explosions and the like, and most of the time the characters are simply walking and talking. But the animation is quite nicely done in the few gun fights seen in the anime, and I never really came across choppy panning or anything really badly animated. The art and animations is consistently well done throughout the anime.
Sound: I really enjoyed the first opening; it set the mood for this anime beautifully. The endings aren't really songs you would like to listen to, but they fit the anime well, the lyrics represented major themes and the storyline of Monster. BG music wasn't too notable at times, but they had a few tracks that complimented the mood very well. Voice acting was also done very well, a lot of the crying sounded very realistic, and the voices matched the characters well, especially Johan's kind of quiet but calm, smooth and charismatic voice.
Overall: I don't think Monster is a series for everyone, but for those who try it, don't toss it away if the first few episodes failed to please you. The pacing may seem somewhat slow at times, but I can truly say that this anime isn't overrated as I first thought. It's a realistic series with an excellent plot, complimented by its unique art and soundtracks. There is a Monster within us all. I urge you to learn about it - before you are consumed by it. (Lame I know I was trying to think of a witty way to end this long review =p) read more
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| Overall |
10 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
8 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
9 |
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Jul 22, 200874 of 74 episodes seen 34 of 46 people found this review helpful Monster was the kind of anime I would often disregard simply due to the amount of episodes it had. Watching 74 episodes of an anime is far from a small task, and I can safely say that I was somewhat traumatized by simply seeing such a large amount of episodes in one anime. After reading the basic synopsis of the story though, it sounded interesting enough, but I was wondering if such a story could really be done in 74 episodes without feeling like it was simply dragging on just for the heck of i...t. Seeing its excellent reception however, I couldn’t help but watch the first few episodes anyway, and boy, am I glad I did. Monster is not just one of the greatest things I have ever watched in anime, but actually in my life.
Story
Monster has one of the best stories I have ever seen in anime. It’s captivating, clever, intriguing and very well written. A young neurosurgeon by the name of Kenzo Tenma gives up everything he has to do what he believes is morally right, only to have it turn out to be the worst decision he ever made. Monster is an anime that tries to show the viewer how everyone has a “monster” within them, often causing them to do something they regret. It’s a story that will definitely affect you emotionally; yet won’t lose any of its charm.
The story does have a good number of plot twists in wait, however sadly, I often found some of them to be somewhat predictable. Thankfully though, the plot twists don‘t go so far as to make the story seem badly written. They’re realistic and believable, yet definitely add to the enjoyment of Monster.
74 episodes may make you question just how great the story really is (I’m sure questions like “does it get boring half way through?” are rushing through your head when you look at the number of episodes this thing has), but I can safely say that there are almost no boring parts in Monster. Also, despite the series length, filler episodes are basically none existent. Almost every episode affects the plot (or characters) in some way. Even if you do bump into what looks to be a filler episode whilst watching Monster though, you probably shouldn't avoid it, as it‘s usually enjoyable anyway.
Art/Animation
Monster is a dark, serious and gritty anime that is generally aimed at a more mature audience. Because of this the art style in Monster is different compared to the majority of anime in that it goes for a more realistic approach. In fact, it is realistic to the point that you could easily see this as a live action drama on TV. Oh, and yes, that means no typical huge eyed moe characters will be seen whatsoever whilst watching Monster. If you're a big fan of such things, then you should probably avoid Monster like the plague. On the other hand, if you hate moe, you'll probably love Monster's art style.
As for the actual animation itself, it was fairly consistent overall. I do remember a few parts that looked somewhat oddly animated, but they really weren't that big of a deal at all and were hardly noticeable.
Sound
I have to say, I enjoyed Monster’s OP quite a lot. It wasn’t some catchy tune that you would be whistling or singing along to for weeks to come, no, but it set the atmosphere of Monster extremely well. The first ED was also nice, and again, fit the atmosphere of Monster well. The second ED on the other hand, oh god… what an absolute joke. I would always burst into laughter when I heard it. It really was that bad. Outside of the OP and EDs, Monster did have some other music, which again, is used to set the atmosphere, and like the OP and EDs (okay, first ED…), the music sets the atmosphere really well. The music is dramatic; yet not too dramatic as to make it look like the anime is desperately trying to grab the viewers attention.
The voice acting in Monster was also great. I honestly had no problems with it. All the voices were spot on, really.
Character
Monster has some of the most realistic characters in anime to date. Their interactions with other characters are all believable, and they develop A LOT through out the show. Even characters that only receive one or two episodes of screen time receive excessive development.
We’ve got the main character, Dr. Tenma, a brain surgeon who is considered a genius and a miracle worker when it comes to surgery by one and all. He’s nice; possibly a bit too nice, but you can‘t help but like him no matter what he does. After saving Johan, a young boy from death and realizing that the boy he had saved was actually a “monster”, he makes it his duty to kill the monster he believes he created, almost losing everything in the process. Despite going through such hardships, he remains strong throughout the show, and that’s what I especially like about him. I find Tenma is a character you can relate to fairly well, though he does come across as somewhat of an idealist at certain points in the story.
Probably the most interesting of the characters would have to be Johan Libheart, the monster of the story, who, like Tenma is also considered a genius. Overall, Johan makes for a great antagonist; definitely one of the better in anime. He’s not over the top and he’s often unpredictable, plus with his soft voice, intelligence and good looks, he has no trouble in mesmerizing and tricking people into doing his bidding. Despite being human, he actually is surprisingly fearful. I find it clever how he has such a soft spoken voice, yet he has a definite evil aura about him. Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen a more evil and villainous character in any anime.
I have to say that the main character I disliked in Monster, at least to begin with, was Lunge (also often called Runge). The fact he believes Tenma was the one behind all the murders even when all the evidence pointed towards Johan was, well… frustrating. I almost wanted to jump into my computer monitor and knock some sense into him. Yes, there is Eva who is annoying in a bitchy kind of way, but Lunge was just plain stupid. Thankfully, my opinion of him changed dramatically later on in the anime, and he actually became my favorite of the cast. Eva also becomes much more likable later on.
Enjoyment
The entertainment value for Monster was high. Monster is slow paced, yet strangely compelling. You watch one episode, then you’ll want to watch the next episode, until eventually you’ve realize you’ve just wasted a whole day watching episodes of Monster. To some, this anime may be somewhat too slow paced, but to me the show’s pace is almost perfect. Only a certain amount happens per episode, yet Monster manages to do this in such a way that you’re left on the edge of your seat wanting more no matter what happens.
Overall
Overall, Monster is simply put, superb, and an anime I feel everyone should at least watch once. If dark, complicated and suspenseful natured anime aren’t your thing, don‘t ignore Monster, for Monster could be that anime that finally engrosses you into the psychological genre. The first few episodes of Monster are pretty slow, so if they don’t grab your interest much, don’t drop Monster, as it gets much more suspenseful and interesting later on (though is still fairly slow). If slow-paced anime in general aren‘t to your liking then possibly Monster isn’t for you. However, you should still give it a try, as Monster is definitely an anime that shouldn't be missed. read more
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| Overall |
9 |
| Story |
10 |
| Animation |
9 |
| Sound |
9 |
| Character |
10 |
| Enjoyment |
8 |
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Jan 17, 200874 of 74 episodes seen 46 of 65 people found this review helpful Monster is a compelling Psychological, Mystery, Drama that is heavily driven by its thrilling story. Some who watch this may not be able to get into it but the rest will enjoy the experience.
Video Alternative ^_^
Set in Germany, the story is about a very promising surgeon Dr. Tenma who ends up being betrayed, just for doing what he believed was right. However what he thought that h...e did was right ended up coming back to him later, for the better and worse. In the first couple episodes the series keeps on alternating from slowly developing its story to going into a time skip. However the story soon finds itself as it develops at a steady pace. At this point though you wouldn’t know where the story is heading or what to expect next, so you’re just forced sit tight and experience whatever the story gives.
The characters are what make this story. With numerous anime series out there revolving around kids and young adolescence; it is refreshing to see one that revolves around a variety of characters from adults to children. Dr. Tenma is very interesting himself as he is realistically portrayed, in the way that he acts and interacts and what’s more is that he goes through major developments throughout the story. Also a lot of the other characters are portrayed incredibly well, including the ones that only appear for 1 or 2 episodes.
Monster truly deserves credit for its animation because at the time it initially aired, it would be one of the best looking dramas. Superb environments with German aesthetics, plus everything has completely fluid movements and the characters even have Naoki Urasawa’s design. The music also suits the eerily, dramatic, atmosphere of this series well and if it wasn’t for the numerous silent moments I would have thought the music was perfect.
Overall Monster isn’t just an anime series; it is something to be experienced, for its intriguing and suspenseful premise. The way, in which the mood can quickly change, from slow paced character building to sheer horror, using various devices is an amazing feat in itself. Some people who watch this may not be able to get into it, due to the lack of excitement but for those who are patient will certainly enjoy this anime for its dark theme and compelling story.
^_^ read more
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Opening Theme"Grain" by Kuniaki Haishima
Ending Theme#1: "For The Love of Life" by David Sylvian (eps 1-32)
#2: "Make It Home" by Fujiko Heming (eps 33-74)
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