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I read a lot of good reviews before watching this, so I expected to enjoy it. I was surprised by how much I actually did.
This is a BL anime, but it doesn't have a lot of the typical BL tropes, characters and situations. In fact, I think the situations in it are quite realistic.
This anime is a beautiful story about first love. It is calm and sweet. There is not a lot of drama. After watching shows like Junjou Romantica or Seikaiichi Hatsukoi, this was a welcome change of pace for me.
The characters are awkward and likeable high school students. The art is a ... bit non-typical, but it is nice and somehow suits the awkwardness of the characters.
The music is beautiful and calming. The pace is just right. I felt very content after the ending.
I definitely recommend watching this if you want to watch something with BL, but are tired of the drama. Or if you just want a bit of romance.

It is important to know before starting Monster that this is a manga for mature readers. There are no chibi characters, no comic relief moments when things get too serious. The art is very realistic.
I read the manga after I had already watched the anime. Even though I knew most of the stories and the ending, I can say that Monster is a truly remarkable manga. It is one of the greatest psychological thrillers for more mature readers. It keeps you on your toes often. It is interesting and spooky and almost supernatural at times. The stories of many characters are developed very well ... (some even too well, considering some characters are not very important to the story).
The only reason I am not giving it a 10, is that the ending is a bit anti-climactic, compared to the big buildup towards the end.