Monster

Jan 24, 2009

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

BorisSoad (All reviews)

411 people found this review helpful

I rarely give tens to mangas. But this one just deserves it! Why? I'm going to tell you:

Monster isn't a tradional manga. It isn't about fighting. I even dare to say it is a 'Love it or hate it'-manga. If you are the type of Naruto and Bleach and looking for that kind of manga, this isn't the manga for you. If you are looking for an intense, well-written manga, I would recommend this certainly for you.

The story is complex and long. Altough it's long, there isn't one single filler. It is all part of the same story. The story is about several characters, whom read more

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Mar 22, 2012

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 9

kurosaki_kabuto (All reviews)

162 people found this review helpful

"Look at me! Look at me! The monster inside of me has grown this big!".

Is the righteous path always the right path to take? Is it possible to regret doing the right thing and standing for justice? Is a righteous choice with a bad effect a good choice or a bad choice? How far is anyone prepared to go to correct what wasn't wrong in the first place? In these questions we find the basic premise of Monster.

Monster is a brilliant piece. A thriller with a story so unified, steady, complex and without plot holes that puts 99% of all thrillers (be them books, movies or TV shows) to shame easily. It is very well thought out by its creator and manages to keep you interested even in its most calm scenes. I do have to say I haven't watched the anime, so I won't be making any comparisons, nor will I tell you which one you should watch. I decided to review this after seeing that it had just a few reviews, which surprised me since it ranks 4th.

[Story] - 10 - The best thing of this manga, in my opinion. First of all let's talk about the style of the narration and story-telling in general. For those familiar with Naoki Urasawa, you are probably aware of his particular style of story-telling, which isn't anything short of amazing. He moves the story along at his own pace, slowly introducing more and more characters, more plot points, which answer some previous questions by providing additional questions and mysteries. He also makes a great use of the manipulation of time, adding a lot of flashbacks and time leaps all the way through the story. Those flashbacks are like small puzzle pieces that slowly build a bigger picture that enable you to understand certain situations and certain actions of the main antagonist. This author’s style meets its peak in Monster, in my opinion. The flashbacks complement each other wonderfully in a way that leaves nothing unexplained. A lot of complex stories fail when they try to set up more mysteries than what they can handle, thus not giving a satisfying solution to some or even most of those mysteries, that is highly frustrating. But Monster doesn't have any of that. Even though it feels like the story takes epic proportions with more and more stuff being thrown together, slowly but surely everything comes to make sense. The perfect metaphor for Monster is definitely a puzzle. A very complex puzzle with a big number pieces to use. In the beginning you can't really tell anything of the picture, you merely see the outlines and get a general idea of it by looking at the scattered pieces. But slowly, as you piece one upon the other, everything seems to fall into place. There are no pieces missing and in the end you look over the picture as a whole and see that you have an extremely concise, completed puzzle. But I have to say there are a few extra pieces. Monster has some arcs that aren't completely vital to the main storyline and end up being used merely to build up the characters and their experiences. That is good and bad. It's good because it makes for a more complete and filled story, but bad since it takes a bit of a toll on the overall pace of the series.
Another thing that is very good about the story is the way the author managed to wonderfully present the story in several different angles. Even though Tenma is the main character, we don't always see things through his point of view. This helps us envision the situation as a whole by understanding the several sides and forces colliding here. Some of the most interesting scenes for me were the scenes with Lunge as he pursues Tenma. Those really gave us an overlook of Tenma's situation in a whole different perspective.
To sum it up, the story is great and manages to be complex without plot holes, also presenting us several characters’ points of view which only build up the reach of the story itself.

[Art] - 8 - The art is good. It's not amazing, but still good. Not much to say here. It portrayed the emotions of the characters in a subtle but clear enough way which was nice. Also, the characters actually aged and changed throughout the years, which was a nice touch.

[Characters] - 9 - Like I said before, the story isn't limited to Tenma's POV, but actually shows several other characters' too. This actually helped the character development of those characters significantly. The characters change a bit throughout the story and their goals and actions are constantly changing with the new information they're uncovering. Johan, the main antagonist, is a very interesting and quite intriguing character. In fact he's one of the best villains I've seen, managing not to fall in any of the villain stereotypes, creating a unique character that expresses so much. As we get to know him better our idea of him slightly changes, but it also becomes more and more intriguing and by the end I think that out of five different people you'd get five different descriptions of him. That just goes to show how complex he is and how well he was developed throughout the story.

[Enjoyment] - 9 - Before I started reading I honestly thought it'd be a boring manga. You know the type. Those mangas that are very well done, they have lots of details, but all in all, you just can't have fun reading them, they're just not alluring enough. Well thankfully Monster isn't one of those. As I read in a review before I started, Monster's a real page-turner. As the mysteries start getting deeper and the plot develops and gets larger and larger, you can't help but get sucked into the story. You have to keep reading because you have to understand what's going on, what lead to this situation and what's going to happen next. Though there are some parts where the pace tones down a bit, most of the manga is a great ride that'll make you want to keep reading all the way until the end.

[Overall] - 9 - Overall it's a great read that I can safely recommend to anyone. It's a bit long, but trust me it's worth your time and after a couple of volumes you'll stop worrying about how long it is since you'll start getting into the story for real.

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Mar 26, 2015

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

Trojan_Invasion (All reviews)

122 people found this review helpful

What makes a great psychological thriller? An intelligent plot? Unpredictable plot twists? Memorable, deep characters? Or is it the overall atmosphere of the series? If you're looking for a manga that can give you all of the above, Naoki Urasawa's got your back. Chances are that you have probably heard of Monster before and was wondering if it's as good as some people make it out to be, and to be quite honest, it deserves every bit of praise it gets and lives up to the hype surrounding it. Securing a position at the top of almost every manga ranking site, Monster is a critically acclaimed manga that is often regarded as the manga that came closest to being flawless, whether you want to believe that or not is up to you, but one thing is for sure, it's a gem that shouldn't be missed and a must-read for mystery enthusiasts.

Monster's story is the aspect that it excels the most in. it features a long, intellectual and complex story with zero plot holes despite its lengh, and somehow manages to be relatively slow paced yet engaging and captivating. Set in Germany, it's centered around Kenzo Tenma, a brilliant brain surgeon, who -out of his own sense of justice- saves a mysterious kid from certain death, not realizing he had just revived a monster, which leads to a series of events that will forever change his life. He then sets out on a journey to fix the mistake he made and restore his normal life that he lost.
The story delves into the characteristics of human nature and explores the origins of evil. The story is told from the point of view of several characters, which helps providing a more in-depth view on the occurring events. The pacing of the story is simply amazing, a slow burn which suits the manga's theme perfectly. Of course, with the pacing being slow and all, this manga isn't really for everyone, but the fact that it can keep you interested all the way is something I can guarantee. There are no real "fillers", most of the backgrounds of the side characters are either related to the story one way or another, or help explain the actions of those characters in an effort to flesh out the characters, they were enjoyable as well and didn't derail the main plot.
Plot twists are around every corner, the mysteries are solved in a way that builds the suspense and tension towards the climax. It's like a jigsaw puzzle in the sense that it starts out slow and obscure and in time you start to see the big picture.
The end poses lots of questions, most of the answers are there for you to find if you put enough thought into it.
Urasawa has demonstrated his solid writing capabilities in other occasions, but for me Monster is his best work. In short, one of the best stories you'll ever find in a manga.

It was the complaint of some critics that Monster has a wide cast of characters, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Unlike what we're used to see, the side characters of Monster aren't just there to push the plot forward. Each of them has a role to play in the main plot, with their own stories and motives, stories that reinforce the message this manga delivers, humans are the real monsters.
Most of the characters are fleshed out well-developed too, which is something most manga fail at. I don't think there was a single character that was bland and uninteresting. Urasawa pulling that off with that many characters is an accomplishment on its own.
The main character, Tenma, is your good-hearted person who believes all humans are equal and cares deeply for his friends. Although he's a very good character, Tenma is outshined by the rest of the main cast.
Johan, the main villain (And my personal pick for the greatest anime/manga villain), is a genius, cold-blooded serial killer and a master manipulator, he's the embodiment of pure evil and the kind of villain who would make Hannibal Lecter look like a little girl in comparison. Johan doesn't need a death note or an eye that can control people, all what he has is his wits and charisma, and his innocent features and calm nature make him even more terrifying.
Lunge is a character I liked throughout the series. A smart and very successful detective who's in charge of solving the serial killings case, dedicating himself to that to the point of obsession. One of his most memorable habits is how he taps his finger to memorize all what he hears.

As for the art, there isn't much for me to say. It was very good, not the best you could find but still great for a 90s manga. Urasawa's art style is unique, he dishes out simple, yet great, character designs, and his talent at drawing facial expressions is pretty evident.
The backgrounds were so beautiful and detailed it feels like the characters were just cropped in there, in a good way.

I was surprised at how well-written this manga is, it maintained a constant level of quality throughout the 18 volumes. Whenever I read it I just couldn't stop. Monster's atmosphere and cliff hangers left me at the edge of my seat every time, always leaving me waiting for more, that's how a thriller is supposed to be.

All in all, Monster is one of the best psychological dramas in manga history, it sets the standards to all other manga of the same genre. If you haven't read it yet, do give it a shot, it's certainly a worthwhile read.

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Jun 8, 2015

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

crystaldawwn (All reviews)

122 people found this review helpful

I loved this Manga, one of my favourites, and the first Naoki Urasawa manga that i've read, and this has definitely made me want to read more of his work!

SPOILER FREE

STORY:
I've spoken with friends who are big fans of 20th century boys (which i've started to read) and i've been told a couple times that the story is a little hard to get into. I do see what they're saying, it starts off a little slow but after the short first chapters of set up the reader is thrown into an adventure and chase that never seems to have a dull moment. read more

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Dec 21, 2010

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 4

Foolness (All reviews)

112 people found this review helpful

Not an overrated masterpiece but clearly a hollow one.

I have to admit I couldn't remove my bias even before I completed the first arc/chapter/plot event. (The way the story is told is via one huge epic. This could just have easily been a Resident Evil type of game, a film directed by Kubrick or a crime thriller novel and thus normal manga reviewing aren't as relevant to grasping the quality of this series)

In that initial bias, I so wanted to shout "overrated" and how this was another fake Hollywood made serial killer story. Monster's plots are more unrealistic, unlikely and forget forced - the characters read more

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Dec 25, 2007

112 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 9

InformationGeek (All reviews)

56 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

The Viz Signature collections features some of my most favorite mangas of all time, The Drifting Classroom, Uzumaki, and Black & White. However, there was always one story that just caught my attention right away after the Signature series started and that was Monster.

Story:

The story is completely different then any other series I have ever read and leaves me wondering what will happen next to our hero. After every volume, I feel I learned something new, but I'm still no closer to the mystery behind the villian.

Art:

This artist has some great skills. Every character and every location is amazingly detailed and drawn read more

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Dec 14, 2010

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

DynamicDylan (All reviews)

33 people found this review helpful

Let me start off by saying, that this is my favorite manga of all time. I know I give it a perfect score, and there are many reasons for this. Lets start with the story.

This manga takes place in Germany and follows the main character, Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a brilliant brain surgeon. His fiance' is the director of the hospital's daughter. Tenma is torn between following orders from his boss and doing what he thinks is right. Basically he is told to opperate on the mayor of the town, but because a little boy came in first, he decides to read more

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Sep 4, 2009

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 6

keasty (All reviews)

32 people found this review helpful

This manga is, in my opinion, overrated. The only reason I’m writing this review is because I didn't think monster was worth a 9 or a 10 and if I don't surely other people out there won't either.

The story for monster is what lets it down. The story basically follows a fugitive doctor that is chasing a serial killer. While this is happening the doctor is being chased by the police, who think he has committed the murders. Along the way the doctor meets a lot of families/individuals, makes friends and teaches people. He is helping them to grow and mature in their own right, simultaneously proving his own innocence. This occurs in a similar way that Ash helps people in pokemon but on a much more mature scale. The good doctor helps to eradicate racism, violence etc.
So far I haven't really given any reason for why the storyline is so bad. This is the thing, the story goes on for way too long in the same manner (the Ash - pokemon manner), it is extremely predictable and there is a huge anticlimax at the end. If I hear that a manga is a 10/10 or 9/10 I expect the end to stay in my mind for a good week at least, I expect it to be somewhat epic in how it captivates and causes me to constantly think back to it, each time thinking to myself 'wow' that manga was sweet. Monster severely let me down in this department the anticlimax left me constantly thinking back to the manga 'how could the artist leave it in such a shit way'.
The art for this manga starts off pretty poorly and at times the reader isn't too sure what’s going on, it quickly improves into a well drawn, well spaced manga. At times I found myself simply looking at the buildings or the scenes thinking 'how did the artist draw this, it would've taken him weeks'. The art is at times top notch but then a lot of the german characters look identical/generic and only the main characters seem to differ in appearance. One thing I really liked about the manga is that the female characters were drawn very well, even provocative and sexy, at times.
The characters. Ok the characters kind of made this manga. While the doctor heads all around the countryside helping people you, as the reader, meet numerous characters that have feeling, that carry emotions, that you can relate to real people and real mannerisms! This is a bonus. Without giving too much of the storyline away I would like to say that the doctor kind of adopts a child along the way and this is where you really start to feel the characters. I kept wondering 'what's going to happen to little *****' or 'how can they do that to children'. You really feel and relate to the characters, so in that way this manga is tops.
The enjoyment? Meh. For a lot of this manga I was honestly thinking 'why are people on myanimelist so in love with manga?' This manga was the first manga I’ve read off reviews from this site. All the other mangas I’ve read have been because of a friends review or a forum review. I trudged through this manga constantly hoping it would get better. So in that way the enjoyment was seriously lacking. It's really not an enjoyable manga to read, reading it seemed like a chore for a long time.
Overall if you have a long holiday break coming up and you want to read a generic storyline with a pokemon-like 'I’m going to aid people along the way’ feel to it, go nuts. This manga is for you, be warned though, there is an anti-climax at the end, you'll think to yourself more than once 'this main character needs to take a concrete pill harden the fuck up and kill the bastard' and you'll probably think at the end of it 'where did all the time go, I’ve gained nothing from this'.

To the folks that monitor the reviews I apologise in advance if this contains too much spoiler info and for mentioning the other reviews but in my defence the other reviews were my reason for reading it and in the context of my review I felt they needed to be mentioned

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Jan 18, 2020

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 2

ohooh (All reviews)

15 people found this review helpful

Monster - the Midwit Masterpiece

There are few mangas/animes that I regret reading/watching, but Monster is definitely one of them. It is an absolute bore with zero payoff, an incredibly unsatisfying ending that renders a majority of the plot meaningless, as well as unrealistic and uninteresting characters.

Ultimately it boils down to a mostly episodic series where the main character Tenma roams around Europe helping everyone in his path. There are a lot of sappy exchanges, but I really couldn't find myself caring about any of these random people. The evil characters are over-the-top and sinister, something I noticed right away, and that never stops. Since the read more

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Aug 30, 2016

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 5

butekkusu (All reviews)

20 people found this review helpful

It kind of offends me that this manga is so praised.
If you are considering taking this up let me tell you one very important thing. It's a spoiler for sure, but it's a fair one because without knowing this you can end up accusing the manga of false advertising:
you will not learn here how a monster is created

As I am sure you know, the story is about a surgeon on a road trip looking for a kid he saved on the operating table, a kid that turns out is pure evil, a monster, something like a murdering psychopath/genius tactician/politician/businessman and also, oh man was this read more

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Apr 15, 2021

95 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 4

Totalphantasma (All reviews)

8 people found this review helpful

Preliminary

Monster fails in most of its attempts to be interesting.
The story is completely predictable. Up to the point where i dropped it, there was not a single plot point which i did not guess. I could probably accurately guess which chapter a character will die in.
Many people call this a suspense and i think it does this very very poorly for several reasons.
First, the characters are not interesting and i do not care about any of them. They are one note and flat. For a story which is about the darkness within people and how everyone can have a monster inside of them for every read more

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Apr 26, 2012

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 9

rokkugoh (All reviews)

18 people found this review helpful

REALLY fascinating manga.

Basically about the genius neurosurgeon Tenma who choose duty over hospital politics and decides to save a young child shot in the head over the famous celebrity. Tenma loses his job because of this and worse... the boy he saves grows up to be a crazed serial killer! WHAT.

Lots of twists and turns and increeeedibly addictive. Read all of it in about 2 days. Ending leaves a lot to interpretation, which was a nice touch for a manga that was so morally ambiguous throughout. Writing is very tight; sometimes some threads of the story seem read more

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Apr 20, 2020

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

TheWildBeanz (All reviews)

10 people found this review helpful

Do we all in humanity contain a "Monster" inside of us? Can even the brightest of souls purge to darkness when led to?

These are some of the thematic questions that Monster is based on. Throughout reading this manga, you both follow the development of a seemingly righteous protagonist and misguided antagonist, but follow an initially convoluted story that continues to surprise while reading, leading to the grand climax at the end. While it may primarily sound similar to any other mystery, what separates Monster from other anime/manga is the well-executed philosophical take on society, and how some of the characters shift their ideals after experiences, and how others remained true to their beliefs.

[Story] - 9.8/10

Reading the synopsis, it will likely be difficult to understand the direction of the story, and the reason is without spoilers the direction is meant to be complex, as the story is directly based on the interactions between characters leading to large scale consequences. Seemingly unrelated interactions to the main characters all piece together the story up until the climax, helping to aid the readers understanding of the motives and backstories of all relevant characters and truly appreciate the events that occur. As a result, there may be parts in which you feel the story drags on, but after reaching the end of Monster, you will likely realize all of those events were essential to the central plot.

[Art] - 8.3/10

The art is the weakest section for the manga, as there is not an immense focus on the details of the art, but the art accurately encapsulates the mood throughout the story. The facial expressions drawn on the characters accurately portray their appropriate emotions and personalities, and I found minute details such as when a character smiles or frowns to display the development of either characters or their situation. Some panels, especially at the end, are truly stunning and completely do the scenes justice. However, do not expect the art to continually be breathtaking, while it is in no means poor.

[Characters] - 9.2/10

Monster has a very large character cast, and sometimes it may seem difficult to remember reappearing characters and their personalities (MAL's character database helped me with this), but a large amount of the characters reach individual attention and development, and all relate to the central protagonist and antagonist. Speaking of which, what makes the characters so intriguing is the relationship between the main character and 'villain,' and the brilliant dialogue used by both. The antagonist is truly one of the best I have ever watched/read, and every interaction with him is bound to be enjoyable. During the beginning of the manga, I found there to be a large number of characters who I felt distaste for, but as their character and intentions fully mold throughout the story, I was able to end Monster with a strong appreciation for each character, and admittingly getting largely attached to many of them.

[Enjoyment] - 10/10

From start to finish, Monster never fails to satisfy, constantly pushing me to read further in the night, with many chapters ending in a development I would not have been able to predict. From the dialogue, actions, and thematic idealism throughout the manga, Monster truly was and is a masterpiece. I recommend it for anyone interested in a reasonably lengthy mystery and thriller which pays homage to the characters while following an intricate plot leading to a breathtaking conclusion. After reaching the end of the final chapter of Monster, I hope the questions I brought up at the beginning of my review now fascinate you as much as it does for me.

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Oct 3, 2021

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

Fguyretftgu7 (All reviews)

6 people found this review helpful

Despite most people believing that thrillers are only good on the first read, somehow my appreciation for Monster skyrocketed after rereading it recently. I once babbled nonsense about how overrated Monster was, how it isn't worthy of being so revered, how it's a slow painful read that ends off in such a underwhelming way, I apologise to Urasawa-sensei for making these foolish claims. I knew nothing back then, but now I do, and Monster is indeed the greatest thriller manga of all time.

Monster is a tale of a doctor, Kenzou Tenma, tracking down his ex-patient turned murderer, Johan Liebert. However, while that is indeed the main overarching plot, Monster is also many things; it is a tale filled with conspiracies and mysteries that are slowly unveiled the more you dig deeper into the series, it is a tale of a man robbed of his identity and his humanity, and the one who brought him back from the dead, most importantly, it's a tale about the many different facets of humanity.

The plot hooks you in at the start, with the first few chapters laying down the foundations and posing one of the overarching themes of the story: Are human lives equal? From then on, it kicks things into full gear, as Tenma travels around Germany and its neighboring countries in an attempt to catch and understand the man that is Johan. Along the way, Tenma meets a great deal of characters, each one of them having their own respective inner demons and issues along the way. While the plot may be relatively slow, it still introduces enough twists and turns to keep you invested, and I finished my reread in 2 days, which goes to show how gripping it can be. The ending, while quite underwhelming at first, is still a good ending, due to the open booked nature of Johan's fate that makes it very interesting to theorise and how everything is wrapped up in a satisfying manner.

The characters are very well done. Tenma is a great protagonist, and his contrasting ideology with Johan ties back to the themes of the series. He is also really likable and easy to root for. Other highlights include Grimmer, Detective Lunge and Eva, who are all fantastic characters with the right amount of screentime given for them to flesh out. And then of course, we have Johan. Johan is one of the greatest villains of all time, not because of his ideology or understandable motivations. In fact, I would argue that his nihilistic ideology is rather weak, and I cannot wrap my head around people who find him relatable or "badass". In fact, from a character standpoint, Johan is quite weak. And that's the beauty of Johan. He is so removed from humanity, that he truly is, the Monster of the story. Robbed of his humanity, his feelings, his identity, this man is a shell of what humanity is. He does evil things, not because it's fun or any deep reason, he just does it. And that's what makes him such a terrifying villain.

The art of Monster does set the right mood, and the character designs do portray their personalities well. However, it is rather dull and not much to comment about.

Overall, Monster is an extremely enjoyable and memorable read, and definitely deserves to be #3 on mal.

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Sep 14, 2021

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

FRIEND_YT (All reviews)

6 people found this review helpful

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the deepest and best seinen manga you will ever see in your life
Story 10/10: The writer has given each character their right and their story, and the story is a wonderful embodiment of what we are experiencing today....Excellent
It's hard to say what makes this manga beautiful and great because everything in it is great
Characters 10/10: Each character has its own role and personal story, and each character makes the story develop and connects the other characters, and from here we know that the writer is very smart.
Events 10/10: It is difficult to predict the events in this manga or say read more

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Dec 28, 2013

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

N201_ASYLUM (All reviews)

16 people found this review helpful

Look at me, look at me! The monster inside me has grown this large!
- The Nameless Monster (Obluda, Která Nemá Své Jméno)

What does a man have to do to become fictitious? How does one make his existence merely fiction? It's dubbed as the "perfect suicide". Kill everyone who has had memories of you, and finally, kill yourself.

Somewhat long summary, or rather, plot introduction:

The plot of Monster revolves around Dr. Tenma, a surgeon with a bright future in his field of work, and engaged to the beautiful and glamorous daughter of one of the medical world's most influential players, his hospital's director, Udo Heinemann.

One day, he read more

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Oct 22, 2008

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 9

Dong_Bong_Wong (All reviews)

16 people found this review helpful

Oh, MONSTER does many, many things right. An American creator would surely be jealous of things that Urasawa succeeds at seemingly effortlessly. The cast is large but each character’s motivation is clearly defined. Many of the secondary characters steal their scenes (none moreso than the icy “computer-brained” police investigator chasing the lead character). Urasawa seamlessly integrates effective single-episode stories into his larger arcs, adding extra depth to the proceedings. While my initial impression was that the characterization was still far too thin, by the end Urasawa had convinced me (at least with the main character) that he’d pulled off a satisfying character arc over the book’s plot. There seem to be themes of self-destruction throughout the work (the story is a sort of journey through hell in order to reaffirm the value of life kind of thing, I think), but it rarely wallows in any self-glorifying “darkness” (or at least rarely gratingly so).

Action scenes are superb and perfectly paced, and the cliffhangers are as ever relentless and exciting – I am just plain enthralled by Urasawa’s skills as an entertainer. In these days of hearing fans complain about “decompression,” a reading of MONSTER makes it clear how few of them really are aware of what a considerable pleasure it can be in the right hands: in MONSTER, Urasawa can spend chapters allowing an atmosphere of evil to slowly accumulate. Nail-biting cliffhangers can arise from the suggestion of evil instead of evil leaping out frothing onto the page screaming naked. Tension can accumulate. A page can be spent with a character outside of a murder scene, a page spent on nothing more than slowly regarding the doorknob that leads to some horrifying scene or another. I appreciate the “decompression” backlash – MONSTER came out over seven years, probably twice a month (if my math is right), while American comics come out more rarely – once a month if you’re LUCKY—and are far more expensive. American comics do not have either the business model or, perhaps, dedicated enough creators to allow for the pleasures that I feel “decompression” has to offer. And American style pacing of the kind fans long for has its own pleasure which can be considerable. But let’s at least acknowledge the loss.

After those thousands of well-timed pages, I’d like to say MONSTER was a success. But, I’m sorry, no: a mess. The book chases after a bad guy so miraculously evil, so much in the shadows that we hardly ever get to know him on-page. Urasawa’s early attempts at writing for an ensemble are occasionally exciting, as the book zig-zags into unexpected character introductions and disappearances, but the end result is that the lead characters all go missing for significant chunks of time without adequate cause. And ultimately by the end, I wasn’t sure if it all added up to anything worth the pages – the ending is exciting but after the thousands of pages building to it, hopelessly anti-climactic (Urasawa seems to realize this and intercuts a ridiculously sentimental lottery subplot that I can’t imagine any reader could possibly caring about with his grande’ finale).

Page-turners are fun, but after a few thousand pages of comics, its simply too hard not to expect more. And I must admit, after those thousands of pages, I felt lost as to what I had read, in seeing the big picture of what had happened. MONSTER is crazy pleasurable in the moment, action-packed, constantly engaging and bringing all the energy comics can bring into a slick piece of entertainment… but for me, I found it ultimately empty – not an experience I regret, in that I imagine I’d feel that way about any suspense thriller. Suspense thrillers are not really my genre.

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Sep 18, 2020

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

HotDadEren (All reviews)

7 people found this review helpful

Frighteningly addictive.
"Monster" is a deep and meaningful psychological thriller one should at least watch/read once in his life.

In this one, Urasawa allows us to explore the most classic theme in all medias: the duality of good and evil. The darkness and light that co-exist in each human being.

As we follow the journey of Dr Tenma, mistakingly convincted for murder, and devoured by his own guilt for saving a kid ,Johan, who turned into the most deranged and manipulative psychopath, we get to know a plethora of characters along the way: each one getting a different backstory, and serving a different purpose, giving a most humane read more

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Jan 9, 2013

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 9

Hikkykun (All reviews)

14 people found this review helpful

Finally read Monster after countless years, and it's an amazingly good manga,free from most traps that make especially seinen manga a dreadful cornucopia of blandness, and managing to claw its way to classic status.

Story : 9/10
Easily Monster's strong suit, the storyline is extremely, be it plot , dialogue, and even the translated text holds some literary value in parts. Naoki Urasawa here, as he does with Pluto later, sets his story mostly in Germany , something unusual for a manga but I reckon even more close to the affections and experiences of most Western readers. He masterfully weaves long, seemingly totally disconnected threads , of different characters in different cities , countries, and decades, and then proceeds to masterfully weave them into an ever more closely knit patchwork of vastly different expressions of the human condition. Maybe the best part of the story is the multitude of well thought-out characters with all sort of different motives , backgrounds and modus operandi starting to arrive to the same place through totally different leads, although this starts to wear itself thin by the last 4 volumes . As for the characters , surely some of them exhibit different tropes and stereotypes, but they're for the most part some of the most multi-faceted I've come across in this medium. Another element that sees strong use here is the non-linearity ,both in storytelling and character presentation, done in such a matter that different tidbits of action or reflection from mostly unaware characters , and flashbacks and retellings of the same encounters or memories from many different angles , serve to masterfully reduce and delineate a seemingly chaotic plot into a lucid raconte.

Art : 8/10
The art plays second fiddle in this work, and while it is certainly way above average, its most striking characteristic is how accurately it manages to portray a different setting from what we're used to in manga, the very realistic and grotesque in their humanity characters, and the alteration of light and shadow that fits the story's frantic bursts of action and long reflections and searches, as well as the overall work's gritty feel.

Character : 9/10
The main characters make a very interesting cast , with the extremely smart do-gooder who presses ahead regardless of difficutlies, and the twins , given an extra tinge of ambiguity by their frequent change of roles, the different approaches they chose to follow after being exposed to a traumatic experience, and the way their past is uncovered to each of them through themselves or others help give the story its edge. The supporting cast is very well chosen from across a spectrum of society , given varying roles, and seeing the various things inside man that can turn everyman into a monster.

Overall , this is the best slice of life shoujo manga I've ever read. Be it desensetized violence, edgy and improbable plot twists, a misunderstood and enigmatic prodigy, brutally cruel or heart-rendingly humane , played out in different portions and themes across the cast, dark pseudo-slavic, communist exploitation , and truly insane bishies, this manga is a perfect match for the teen getting bored with the industrial scale repetition of standardized tropes. Nah, just kidding, it's awesome, one of the best I've read in a long time.

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Aug 3, 2021

162 of 162 chapters read

Overall Rating: 10

WazEvergarden (All reviews)

5 people found this review helpful

warning: spoilers

monster is probably one of the best mystery/thriller mangas to ever exist even though it starts slow the pay off is worth it. thats one of the reasons why the manga can be better than the anime. the story follow kenzo tenma the protagonist of monster a neuro surgeon or sum. so this tenma dude has two lives in his hands. a little boy who got shot in da head and sum mayor guy. well ofc they told em to save the little kid. only to know that kid became a handsome as fuck antagonist mass murderer called johan liebert. Knowing this was tenmas fault he must track johan and kill him.. this is where the story of monster starts

Why Johan Liebert Is The Best Antagonist

Most people agree with me on this, i also agree with myself on this.The more the story continues the more we learn about johan and his personality, why he kills. how he kills and his past self. they also gives us clues from the picture book "the nameless monster". i mean even da fucking nazis wanted him. there is also this special trait of him of making people kill themselves through johans psychological torture with just his words. very well written character if i do say so myself.the story of monster revolves more on johan than tenma. i mean tenma was aight but dang.. he planned everything all the murder and shit. mans a fucking monster.

i forgot to mention his twin sister anna which also plays a big part in the story from johans past and why he got shot in da head.theres also roberto which is an ass and lunge which i started to approve of when i was about to finish monster. . naoki urusaw makes amazing villians like johan or friend from 20th century boys. one of my favourite quotes from monster was "the only thing all humans are equal in is death". johan says this straight to tenmas face in the final part of monster. and we all know that hes a neuro surgeon. his job is saving lives as best as he can for him every life is equal. the question is if the life he saved seeks to wreak harm(joahn) . the question arises of how all life is truly deserved to be saved or not

For You, All Lives Are Created Equal. That's Why I Came Back To Life. But You've Finally Come To Realize It Now, Haven't You? Only One Thing Is Equal For All, And That Is Death.

The Ending Of Monster

tbh i thought the ending was rushed so my weak ass brain decided to watch analysis vids to understand how great the ending of monster was. and yes it was pretty much incredible. yes, the massacre at 511 kinderhelm. johan planned all the murder everything.. even his own death. HE WAS PLAYING THE FATE GAME its the game mentioned in the earlier chapters to see if hes truly chosen by fate. grimmer died. lunge died,roberto died.. etc hes going to see if everything goes according to plan like it always has and some miracle made him alive somehow or he would die its a W for both tbh since he wanted to suicide. he says the quote i mentioned right when tenma was gonna kill himand does the forehead pointing thingie. he only does that when hes sure hes gonna die iirc. but then mfing nina comes out to stop tenma from shooting so he actually had to threaten to shoot the kid so he could die. and the father of the kid took out his gun and shot the man W johan died or did he.. yea tenma saved him lol cuz he sticked with his beliefs that every life is equal.

theres also a continuation in light novel called another monster which tells us he is living a peaceful life now i think

the philosophy of monster and the question of life and death truly makes it a masterpiece still read/watched by people till this day..

story: 10/10
art: 8/10
suspense: 10/10
characters: 9/10
enjoyment: 9/10 cuz it hard to understand at first had to reread it

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