I'll start with the characters. As you would expect of a show that runs for 74 episodes, the number of faces you'll become familiar with is significant. That said, no long-running show I can think of develops seemingly inconsequential characters like Monster. My favorite supporting characters include Rosso, Braun, Reichwein, Martin, Gillen, Müller, and the best character the show has to offer, Wolfgang Grimmer. My favorite characters tend to be the main protagonist or antagonist, Lelouch from Code Geass, Light from Death Note, Edward Elric from Fullmetal Alchemist, but here I think Grimmer shined brighter than Dr. Tenma and Johan. I wish I could say that had everything to do with his appeal, but it was also a symptom of my disappointment with both of the primary characters.
I felt bad for Dr. Tenma, and wanted him to regain his freedom, but almost more on an intellectual level than an emotional one. This is a problem I had throughout the show. I got where characters were coming from, but the emotional attachment wasn't there. Most every character familiar with Johan described him as a 'monster', as 'pure evil', and there were even some expecting that he'd be the next Adolf Hitler. Psychopaths realized what he was at first glance. He had an uncanny ability to bend anyone to his will. His power and greatness were unquestioned. This was the case from the start, but I can't say I ever truly bought into it. Again, on an intellectual level, I can look at his resume and realize he's a threat to humanity that must be erased, but I never really felt it. And, given that the show revolves entirely around his life, my overall enjoyment of the show was handicapped by my relative apathy regarding it's title character. While he did have some of the most impressive lines, I found myself hating Lunge, the Baby, Roberto, and Eva more than 'the devil himself'.
Another inexpiable fault is the inability of certain characters with supposedly strong resolve to accomplish what they claim is their greatest goal. If you have a problem with individuals pointing guns at people whom they claim to want dead, letting at least 30 seconds go by, and ultimately not doing anything, then there are a few scenes you'll almost certainly take umbrage with. There is a point about midway into the show where the only logical ending would effectively end the show. Perhaps for that reason, that conclusion is dodged artlessly and everyone re-enters their respective roles.
It's a big story to have to tell, but around 40 episodes in I found myself dreading the time I'd have to spend to get to 74. And while that time is used to develop some characters rather nicely, the story moves at a pace that is gradual to a fault. For a supposed thriller, I only found a handful of moments that brought me anywhere near the edge of my seat, and they were too mild, scarce, and late into the show's run to tip the scale much in either direction. Real intrigue was drowned in minutia and storytelling that read more like a book report than a gripping tale. The oft attributed horror component was non-existent, as far as I could tell. I can't remembering feeling legitimate fear once during the show.
There were also some hypothesis and claims offered up, and dealt with in ways that left me wanting legitimate answers. Without spoiling anything, the question of split personalities, Nina's significant one-on-one with Gillen, and Johan's true plan and it's relation to Sievernich were all glossed over or dealt with poorly.
Regarding the art, Monster's animation quality is serviceable, when you take it's age into account. That said, the character designs always bugged me a bit. The way Naoki Urasawa draws faces, specifically noses and eyes, differs greatly from my preferred style. I don't believe any element of the art inhibited my enjoyment of the show in a significant way, but nonetheless I did find it to be burdensome.
The acting is fine (I watched the dub, for the record). I do feel that there were a few lines here and there that were underperformed, but I think Silverstein (Johan), Strassman (Nina), Seitz (Reichwein), and Platt (Eva) particularly did a fine job. The SFX were of a similar quality, a few questionable foley decisions, but generally solid. The music did it's job, as one would expect, not exceptionally impressive or poor.
Ultimately, I found myself wanting to see how everything ended up, but not needing to see the next episode like I would with Death Note, or Black Lagoon, for example. Within the last ten episodes the concept of urgency is introduced, far too late to make much of a difference. Some fantastic characters meet fitting conclusions, there's a level of redemption, and finality peeks it's head around the corner, but the way the ending is handled is tantamount to a cop-out. When a show is so wrapped up in finding answers, it's finale should provide more than Monster's did, especially considering the severity of what's left up in the air. Conceivably, the show could've gone on for another 70 episodes, or been wrapped up neatly. Ambiguity like that in a long-running mystery series seems to defeat the point entirely.
For the first 20 episodes or so my overall grade hovered around a 6.3, which dipped to a 5.5 a little over halfway in, then, with the ending, to a 4. I'm glad I watched Monster, if only because doing so eliminated all of the curiosity I had regarding it's purported quality. While Naoki Urasawa's opus had it's well-crafted moments, it's ambition outweighed it's intelligence, an unforgivable sin for a psychological thriller.
