Monster

Dr. Kenzou Tenma, an elite neurosurgeon recently engaged to his hospital director's daughter, is well on his way to ascending the hospital hierarchy. That is until one night, a seemingly small event changes Dr. Tenma's life forever. While preparing to perform surgery on someone, he gets a call from the hospital director telling him to switch patients and instead perform life-saving brain surgery on a famous performer. His fellow doctors, fiancée, and the hospital director applaud his accomplishment; but because of the switch, a poor immigrant worker is dead, causing Dr. Tenma to have a crisis of conscience.

So when a similar situation arises, Dr. Tenma stands his ground and chooses to perform surgery on the young boy Johan Liebert instead of the town's mayor. Unfortunately, this choice leads to serious ramifications for Dr. Tenma—losing his social standing being one of them. However, with the mysterious death of the director and two other doctors, Dr. Tenma's position is restored. With no evidence to convict him, he is released and goes on to attain the position of hospital director.

Nine years later when Dr. Tenma saves the life of a criminal, his past comes back to haunt him—once again, he comes face to face with the monster he operated on. He must now embark on a quest of pursuit to make amends for the havoc spread by the one he saved.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Liebert, Johan Main

Sasaki, Nozomu Japanese

Tenma, Kenzou Main

Kiuchi, Hidenobu Japanese

Liebert, Anna Main

Noto, Mamiko Japanese

Grimmer, Wolfgang Supporting

Tanaka, Hideyuki Japanese

Lunge, Heinrich Supporting

Isobe, Tsutomu Japanese

Heinemann, Eva Supporting

Koyama, Mami Japanese

Dieter Supporting

Takeuchi, Junko Japanese

Reest, Martin Supporting

Ikeda, Shuuichi Japanese

Reichwein, Julius Supporting

Nagai, Ichiro Japanese

Roberto Supporting

Katsube, Nobuyuki Japanese

Maruyama, Masao Producer

Tamura, Manabu Producer

Nakamoto, Kenji Producer

Yoshimoto, Satoshi Producer

Reviews

Jul 10, 2025

Naufalalaziziyo

Recommended

Main Rating: 9.3/10
Status: Highly Recommended


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💬 English Version

Story: 9.4/10
Monster tells the chilling story of Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a brilliant neurosurgeon who chooses to save the life of a young boy instead of a powerful politician. That choice leads him into a moral labyrinth spanning years, countries, and identities. The story is hauntingly realistic, packed with philosophical undertones about justice, guilt, and the value of human life.
...
Plot: 9.2/10
The plot unravels slowly and methodically, much like a well-written crime novel. Each arc brings in new characters and dilemmas, and the tension builds with near-perfect pacing. There are no shortcuts here—just intelligent storytelling with consistent, creeping dread.

Characterization: 9.5/10
Dr. Tenma is one of the most morally nuanced characters in anime. But the true centerpiece is Johan Liebert—a terrifyingly calm antagonist whose presence dominates the series even when he’s offscreen. Supporting characters like Nina, Lunge, and Eva have depth and development that elevate the narrative.

Animation / Visuals: 8.8/10
The animation style may seem muted, but it serves the grounded tone of the show perfectly. Character designs are realistic, and the use of shadows, silence, and facial close-ups enhances the psychological tension. It’s not flashy—it’s mature and cinematic.

Sound / Music / Audio Direction: 9.1/10
The soundtrack is minimalist but effective, with eerie piano pieces and ambient tones that heighten suspense. Voice acting—especially Johan’s and Tenma’s—is chillingly good. Silence is used as a weapon just as much as sound.

Execution: 9.6/10
Monster doesn’t rush. It respects your intelligence and builds a masterpiece of psychological tension. The moral ambiguity, philosophical weight, and emotional payoff make it one of the most mature anime ever written.


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🧩 What Makes You Want to Watch This Anime

• The villain is calm... too calm.
Johan is one of the most terrifying characters in anime history—and he rarely raises his voice.

• No magic. No powers. Just humans.
This is psychological horror at its most grounded and plausible. That’s what makes it so disturbing.

• A thinking man’s thriller.
Every decision matters. Every clue is subtle. You don’t just watch—you investigate with Tenma.

• Morality is never black or white.
Even the "good" characters make questionable decisions. And the "bad" ones… aren’t always what they seem.

• It doesn’t hold your hand.
You’re not told what to feel. You're left to decide whether Tenma is a hero—or a man haunted by a mistake.


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🧠 Monster (2004)

Rating Utama: 9,3/10
Status: Sangat Direkomendasikan (Highly Recommended)


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💬 Versi Bahasa Indonesia

Cerita: 9.4/10
Monster menceritakan kisah dr. Kenzo Tenma, ahli bedah saraf jenius yang memutuskan menyelamatkan nyawa seorang anak laki-laki daripada seorang politisi penting. Keputusan itu menyeretnya ke dalam labirin moral yang rumit, penuh dilema dan perburuan panjang yang lintas negara. Ceritanya realistis dan menyentuh tema keadilan, rasa bersalah, serta nilai kehidupan manusia.

Plot: 9.2/10
Alurnya lambat tapi konsisten—mirip novel kriminal yang ditulis dengan sangat rapi. Tiap arc membawa karakter dan dilema baru. Ketegangannya terus dibangun perlahan tanpa tergesa-gesa. Gak ada jalan pintas di sini, cuma cerita yang cerdas dan penuh tekanan psikologis.

Pengembangan Karakter: 9.5/10
Tenma adalah tokoh yang moralitasnya sangat kompleks. Tapi pusat utama cerita adalah Johan Liebert—antagonis yang kalem tapi menakutkan. Bahkan saat gak muncul di layar, auranya tetap terasa. Karakter pendukung seperti Nina, Lunge, dan Eva juga dikembangkan dengan sangat baik.

Visual / Animasi: 8.8/10
Gaya animasinya kalem dan realistis, pas banget dengan nuansa cerita yang gelap dan dewasa. Penggunaan bayangan, keheningan, dan ekspresi wajah sangat mendukung ketegangan psikologisnya. Tidak mencolok, tapi justru itu kekuatannya.

Musik / Audio: 9.1/10
Musiknya minim tapi efektif—penuh nada piano sendu dan suara latar yang membangun ketegangan. Akting suara (terutama Johan dan Tenma) sangat kuat. Kadang keheningan justru jadi senjata utama dalam membangun suasana.

Eksekusi: 9.6/10
Monster tidak buru-buru. Anime ini menghormati kecerdasan penonton dan membangun cerita dengan sabar. Ambiguitas moral dan muatan filosofisnya membuat Monster jadi salah satu anime paling dewasa dan matang yang pernah dibuat.


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🧩 Yang Menarik dari Anime Ini

• Villain-nya tenang banget.
Johan bukan penjahat biasa. Dia jarang marah, jarang bicara keras—tapi auranya mengerikan.

• Gak ada sihir. Gak ada kekuatan super.
Semua konflik di sini murni antar manusia. Justru itu yang bikin merinding.

• Ini thriller yang mikir.
Setiap keputusan penting. Kamu bukan cuma menonton, tapi ikut mikir dan nyari petunjuk bersama Tenma.

• Gak ada hitam putih.
Semua karakter punya sisi abu-abu. Yang baik bisa salah, dan yang jahat... belum tentu seburuk itu.

• Kamu gak diajak dituntun.
Gak ada narasi yang maksa. Kamu sendiri yang akan menilai: apakah Tenma pahlawan, atau cuma orang biasa yang dihantui masa lalu?

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Jun 24, 2025

ChiefGamer

Mixed Feelings

Too many side stories spoil what could have been a decent anime. This is not a overly complex anime at all. There are very few things you might be confused about (the last 5 mins maybe). It was hard for me to complete it. Many times I stopped and then picked it up again. If this was condnsed into a 36-48 episode anime it would have been better. Atleast a 7/10. The ending was satisfying I'll give it that.

Tenma unfortunately is not someone i came to like very much. In fact there isn't a single character that i particularly liked. The characters are very ... cliched or maybe I have just watched too many anime. No one was particularly unique or new expect maybe Johan but he appears very rarely. Even though he is the second most important character his actual screen presence is very small. Plus the author has made him deliberately mysterious to a stretch. So that's the characters.

Also the anime is set in Germany mainly. Part of it Czech. But most of the people behave like Japanese. Not talk which I can understand since it would be weird if they spoke in German. But the behavior of the side characters or mob characters is completely japanese. Only the main ones have proper characteristics for the most part.

I'll end this review by repeating that it was stretched too much unnecessarily. Otherwise it could have been a decent anime.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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May 23, 2025

mugens_sandals

Not Recommended

Funny

74 episodes. Holy fuck this show is overrated.

I kept getting reccomended this and finally decided to watch it. It took me nearly a year to watch this pretentious pseudo intellectual anime.

I really wanted to enjoy this show, the first episode and the premise really hook you immediately, and for 20ish episodes the progression is interesting enough. Unfortunately the longer it goes the more flat and useless every character and every subplot seem to get.

New interesting characters continually get introduced just to be thrown away for a small story arc which somewhat build/add to the world and tone, but more often than not they ... feel shoehorned and hollow. Occasionally there is a call back to some of these characters which I feel is supposed to be shocking or clever, but it just ends up feeling like a cheap trick to try and enhance the bland writing.

One of the best parts of this show is the setting and tone. Set primarily in Germany and the Czech Republic the attention to detail and feeling is genuinely unique and greatly enhance the show.

This shows antagonist is definitely in the same catagory as "Kira from Deathnote is based/a good guy, and Patrick Bateman from American Psycho is the coolest/a chad". I genuinely think this is the main reason any of these incel simpletons review bomb this as a "masterpiece".

This show also relies heavily on "sad/inhumane thing = good anime" I got very similar vibes to Speed Grapher which tries entirely to hold itself up by this sentiment, although that show has nothing redeemable about it.

The ending is dogshit, you could have told the same story but better in just 30 episodes. Anyone who I've seen try to engage in criticism of this show just gets responses like "you just don't understand it" when in reality it just not that deep bro.

6.5/10 not worth your time.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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