Being a 74 episode show, the plot of this show is bound to get complicated, and it most definitely is. Never "confusing", but it is a somewhat deep story as far as just how much is involved in it. If you enjoy mystery, this will most DEFINITELY be your cup of tea, it most definitely was mine. However, I've heard many people call the story "slow paced", and it really, REALLY is. This isn't just a slow burn, this is a sloooooooooooww burn, and I'd be lying if I said that it didn't drag at times. There is some semblance of filler in this anime as well, with I'd say about 30% of the episodes focussing on side stories and characters. These fillers are definitely enjoyable, and build on the world and atmosphere nicely, but if you're someone who just likes to "get to the point", this may irritate you at times. Of course the story has many twists and turns and is very good at keeping you guessing, which is of course the point of a mystery. Because of how well the story is written, it even managed to make me overlook some of the leaps in logic it took occasionally.
The art in Monster is somewhat unique, in that it goes out of it's way to avoid every anime art cliche. No huge eyes, bright colours, or chibi here. The colour palette is gritty, lots of greys and browns and dark blues, fitting the gritty tone, and the animation is solid throughout. The character designs are more realistic than conventional anime, and translate very well to real life. You can imagine how these characters would look like in real life, and as a result makes them easier to care about and root for.
As far as music goes, it's dark and atmospheric. Dark strings, sombre opera singing, even hard edged guitars all keep the atmosphere and tone consistent throughout the show, it always works. Nothing is outright catchy, but both the opening and ending are quite beautiful and captivating. Just an overall very well done soundtrack that fits the show like a glove.
If there were one area where Monster suffers slightly, it is in the characters. First off, Monster is VERY good at making you like and care about it's characters. I found myself becoming attached to one-off, episodic characters because they were just written so well. It is in part thanks to the slow pace, that we spend so much time with these characters, and begin to really care about them. Same goes for the show's villain, who is written incredibly well, he's terrifying, and yet whenever he's on screen you cannot take your eyes off of him. However, the issue comes in this show's main character, Dr Kenzo Tenma. He has one issue and one issue only, he's too PERFECT. He starts out as the perfect, ethical, all around good guy, and stays that way throughout the WHOLE series, never growing or changing in any significant way. This is a huge issue, as the protagonist is the most important character, and if they are written poorly, it effects the show much more negatively than if some random side character was written poorly. Still, Tenma is very likeable and easy to root for, which still means something, and keeps him from being a straight up bad protagonist.
Overall, I enjoyed this series a hell of a lot. I'd go through stages where I lost interest for a while, but I always found myself coming back to find out what the hell was actually going on! The ending is definitely polarizing, I'll let you come to your own conclusions on that though.
