Monster tells the story of an innocent doctor who is trying to find the person who ruined his life, while at the same time, being chased by an obsessed detective. The beliefs of certain characters in this anime are very deranged, and show how ugly humans can be. The anime does a very good job at portraying this, mainly through the use of facial expressions.
The style in which the story is carried out is certainly effective in gaining the attention of the viewers. The story starts off at a fairly slow pace. As you continue to watch, however, you'll find yourself being drawn in by it. Monster is the kind of series where you just have to know what happens next. There are 74 episodes, but as I am nearly finished, there really hasn't been a boring moment yet. It just keeps getting better and better. You will see many different characters, and at first, their connection to the story may be unknown. Then, out of nowhere, they might run into one of the main characters. There are also times when the main focus will switch between the main characters, allowing you to get a glimpse as to what the others have been up to.
All of the characters are well developed, and you really learn a lot about them, even the ones who only appear for a short period of time. The background of a few characters, including the villain, are mostly unknown. This is another way in which Monster grabs your attention. You are learning at practically same pace as the main characters, and whenever they discover something, you share the same expression as they do.
Despite the number of episodes, none of them are filler; in fact, this anime is one of the few in which every scene is taken directly from the manga. The music fits the anime very well, but it isn't all that memorable for the most part. The ending is pretty creepy, but that's a good thing considering the nature of the anime. I like the opening a lot, especially the choir part at the beginning, mostly because it reminds me of Death Note. (In fact, if I could make a comparison between this and another anime, I would say it is like Death Note without the supernatural powers.) The animation isn't anything special, and the character design may take some time getting used to it, but the story is where this anime truly shines. Monster has already taken its place as one of my favorite anime.
