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 show tries to portray itself as a serious drama this is a major problem.
All the while the author scatters little overarching plot hints to keep you hooked and excited to learn more. By the end most of these things are left unexplained or in some cases contradicted. As I said earlier, it is incredibly unsatisfying.
I really feel that this series is a street cred series, one you say you enjoyed to show your good taste. But it ultimately fails to do what manga or anime should do, and that's entertain. It's a bore, a slog with no payoff.
