Jul 19, 2015
Never in a million years did I think I would enjoy a series in terms of it being about a doctor on a journey to solve a mystery, I thought for me I would of been bored within the first two episodes. How wrong I was, 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.
Story
The story of Monster follows
...
Dr Tenma who is working in German for a very high regarded hospital and once he learns about the corrupt dealings he chooses to save the life of a young boy over the mayor and as soon as the mayor dies he is shunned by the people in charge, but when those people die he is flung right back to the top but is labelled the prime suspect in the murders. Years later and Dr Tenma finds out who the killer is and it's a discovery he wish he had never found out. Now Tenma must go on the run and find out more about the monster who is causing German to turn into a country of chaos and who is turning into the next Hitler.
To say more about the story of Monster would ruin it, it is a series that has to be seen to believe. At 74 episodes it may seem a bit long and a bit boring to some people but overall this series is meant to reflect a very realistic style of story telling and there are times in life where it is boring and long winded but that makes all the more exciting moments more exciting and when action happens it gives you a sense of rush that when the slow moments come in again after that rush it feels like it fits as you will need at times to take a break from all of the intense moments that happen in the story. So for me I felt that the slower moments were needed in order to keep the audience from getting an over rushed feel of emotion and it helps for the audience to let these emotions sink in.
Overall when it comes to story, this story is complex always moving, always having the right balance of exciting action but slowly and quiet moments and just allowing the audience to see the characters as characters and allow the audience to grow an attachment to them.
10/10.
Characters
When it comes to characters, again never have I had more attachment to a cast of characters like the cast of Monster, what I find most exciting is that every character is used in just the right amount, not too little and not too much and there are times in the narrative where certain main characters (Tenma included) will disappear from the story but this also gives us a chance to catch up with other major players and see the role that they are playing in the mystery, this I feel is a smart move as it gives the story as sense of an ensemble world and makes the audience excited for seeing these characters again rather then overexposing them. What really makes this cast so wonderful is all there different personalities and interactions with everyone and how everything ties back into the main theme of the story of what is the monster.
Speaking of which the most amazing thing for me is that every character in the story that we see is influence by the two main characters those Being Tenma and Johan and how everything and everybody always comes back to these two characters and makes everyone connected however remote which helps make the story that much more grand and epic in own way. Even though some characters don't appear till later in the story they still come in a feel like they belong and their characters help to drive the story to it's final epic climax. All the characters really get their chances to shine and even the minor characters allow themselves to be memorable thanks to them being written well and having larger then life personalities.
However to talk about each and every character in great detail would take me as long as a dissertation at university which is a shame as I would of loved to have done a dissertation "which in a sense is a book" on this fantastic series. So I will be brief in talking about the six main players of this story, those being Tenma, Johan, Nina, Lunge, Eva and Dieter. I'll start with Dieter.
Dieter starts off as a young man who is being treated in a similar way to many of the children of the past and when Tenma sees this he helps him escape this hell in his in. Afterwards he becomes a companion and a sidekick to Tenma, even though Tenma wants him not to follow him and for a large portion he doesn't follow Tenma but it's this companionship that helps Dieter help other children who were like him to see Tenma's view and without Dieter I think Tenma would be a completely different person.
Eva starts off as engaged to Tenma however when her father is killed and she blames Tenma for it she drops of the wagon and becomes a hateful woman who can't see anything good in the world and just drinks herself to death. Once she realizes Tenma's innocence she starts to pull her act together and seeing how some people will help her regardless of what she thinks of them really helps her to turn her life around and become a much better person. When I started watching Monster she was my least favorite character mostly because she just wined and moaned about everything yet thanks to the story and how she changed over the course of the series she became a much better character and one that I didn't end up hating in the end.
Lunge is an inspector for the Bka and the man who becomes a rival to Tenma thinking that he is responsible for the murders that are happening in Germany and how he created Johan through a split personality. Lunge is cold and calculating and can accurately pin point information and details into his brain or hard drive as he calls it. He lives for his work so much that eh doesn't even care when his family leaves him. He works like a computer to the point that he tries to convince himself his word is final and no matter what, even if the truth is starring him in the face he will never accept that his word is wrong. However when it becomes apparent of who is really behind the chaos in Germany he is force to accept for the first time in properly his career that he is wrong and sets about to bring about an end to the chaos in his own way.
Nina Foritner is Johan Libert's twin sister and is one of the main protagonists after Tenma, I won't say why they have different names as that will spoil one of the major plot points of the series. Nina starts off as an average girl living with her parents, however when memories of her past start to catch up with her she along with Tenma go to try and solve the mystery of her past and what happened and through her interaction with Tenma becomes a more stronger person and through her interaction with Dieter is able to stay grounded in who she truly is. She eventually with Tenma's help is able to confront her brother about their past, again what makes it so amazing is how the story can take these characters and through them in certain situations and how they change and Nina is no different, seeing the horrors of what her brother does is what truly inspires her to dig into her past and find her brother so that she can put an end to his reign of terror. Nina is probably my second favorite female protagonist and probably in my top three characters in Monster. Now we get to talk about my two favorite characters. Tenma and Johan.
Tenma is the main character and in my opinion the greatest anime character of all time. The reason being is that he is confronted with ideals and beliefs that are out of his element yet he still always tries to do the right thing yet even then he is still human and never lets the fact that certain people do horrible things keep him from making them suffer a little yet despite that he will try and help them as best he can. Throughout the series he always has the mandate that all life is equal and no one no matter how bad they have become deserve to die as he always believes that it's never to late to start over and make a fresh start and this mandate of his is what truly made me excited about following him and seeing him grow because he does see the corruptions around him and he is forced to do things that in the past he wouldn't of done but that's what makes him truly a hero the fact that he still holds on to his believe that no one deserves to die but he does have to do things that go against that sometimes and he isn't a perfect person but he is never the less still a person and a good person who will try to pull through impossible odds and when he is being told he is going to be arrested or told that nobody wants his help he still helps them and tries his best to save people and always show them a different way of life and throughout the story I always felt he made the right choice and even after seeing Johan do unspeakable things he still treats Johan like a person and chooses to save him yet again because he can't bring himself to end another person's life no matter what and that is inspirational to me that fact that he becomes a hero starting off as a simple man and to give me that belief that everyone shouldn't be treated any differently even if they are considered evil. But above all I feel his greatest strength comes in his desire to simple never give up on anyone. I love Tenma because of how he holds on to his humanity through the story and how he shows me the true value of sticking to what you believe in even though others around you are telling you otherwise and how you can't just give up on someone.
And now we get to talk about the main villain and the reason why this manga/anime is here Johan Libert. If you want to talk terrifying complex and damaged characters look no further. Johan really is a true psychopath in every sense of the word and this comes down to the fact that he is so harmless on the surface but that is all a disguise for a heart that is as black as a black hole in space and a mind which is even sharper then Guts's sword from Berserk. Johan makes people trust him and then kills them in certain ways depending on how he is feeling, Johan's overall goal is to kill as many people as possible to become the last person at the end of the world and see the world unfold into a rave of chaos and destruction. He tries to get Tenma and others to shot him so that the monster in him will turn to them and they will become monsters themselves. Johan simply can be considered the one character that you would never suspect of doing anything wrong which makes it all the more shocking when things are damaged by his hands. Johan kills for himself and nothing more and sees it as just a part of his life and let's face it when people are calling you the monster, the devil and the next Hitler all at the same time, you know you are not to be messed with under any circumstances. Johan is one truly terrifying character and that fact that even at the end we still don't know much about him makes it even more scary. Plus because he hardly appears in the story makes it even more shocking when he does pop up and the way people talk about him and how every murder is orchestrated by him and the longer he is around the more people die makes him a psychopath on a grand scale. Tenma sees life as equal, Johan sees life as nothing, perfect definition of two sides of the the same coin and really makes for a battle of the minds and every time he appeared in the story or even when a event was brought up because of him I got a sense of dread and despair which I have never felt before. Johan is truly the greatest anime villain and possibly the best villain of all time from his actions and shadowy presence throughout the story.
With a rich cast that will have at least one character anybody will fall in love with Monster makes great use of an ensemble a rich complex cast that is of epic nature.
10/10.
Now when it comes to sound, the music fits really well with the intense moments and the nice quieter moments and that's all I can say, plus the opening song is one of the best ever. My personal favorite tracks are the one used in the final episode for when the articles about Tenma are being read for it's triumphant nature and Johan's theme for reason I don't need to example. The music fits well with a lot of stand out tracks that give the series a very real sense of the situations that go on. When it comes to voice acting I feel that Monster's dub gives a much better listen then the Japanese version. I know many people might think differently but I feel this dub falls with Cowboy bebop and Full metal Alchemist. Primarily because of the main cast, Lunge sounds more robotic in the English which is true of the character and Johan in the dub sounds much more colder and sinister then the Japaneses voice actor, plus at the end of the series I feel like the voice for Tenma really feels like he has gone on this long epic journey. The Japanese cast is great don't get me wrong and the sub is a fantastic listen I just feel the dub captures the impact of the manga much more.
So sound wise the music and voice acting once again is top notch.
10/10.
Now we come to the last parts, the arts style really gives off some memorable moments and makes great use of it's setting. Being set in Germany it allows for the use of a lot of great areas to explore ranging from the hospital at the beginning of the series to the vast open landscape. Each setting allows the artwork to expand and become a character itself, when we enter a new setting it is drawn differently and gives off it's over unique feel which allows the audience to not be bulked down on repeated usage of scenery and allows us to connect to each of the location and give a sense that this a huge story. Also when it comes to the characters the art style allows them to act as normal people and be expressed like normal people which helps with the realistic nature of the story.
With some memorable locations that are capture on a drawing and very realistic characters the artwork is a treat for the eyes and never let's your eyes see two locations that are drawn the same.
10/10
When it comes to enjoyment of the series for me personally as you've probably figured out, Monster is my favorite anime/manga/any tv show ever. My reason I have already explained and every time I watch it I get this sense that I have always been on a experience to a place with a vast landscape and it makes me want to visit that place and travel around it and being set in the real world I can do that. Monster helps me to see the best in humanity as well as the worst and makes me satisfied when i do see the best in humanity win the day without the use of violence all the time.
Overall Monster is a series that just gets me filled with so many emotions. I maybe a little long winded for some people but I am not one of those people and it allows me to feel like I am there sharing these experience with the characters as they are going through the experience too. With powerful characters an epic storyline and a great enjoyable experience. Monster is my favorite all time series period. Nothing has and nothing will again grip me like this epic series did.
10/10 for a masterpiece in animation and anime history.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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