So it's 12:44 in the evening, I'm hungry, tired, and I really need to use the bathroom. But who cares? I just finished Monster and I'll be darned if I don't write a review on it before I go to bed. So without any context for how I feel about this anime (Spoiler: IT'S REALLY GOOD) let's start talking about it and the stuff about it and I can't think straight because it's so late.
So let's start with the positives. The story in Monster is extraordinarily crafted. There is so much symbolism and hidden plot points and ties between events and characters that are very well placed and I probably missed half of them (hopefully I'll pick up on them if I ever re-watch this series). The first and final few episodes of this anime are absolutely genius and contain some of the most exciting moments of any anime I've seen. I expected things to go in a very different direction than they did. At first I thought this was going to be a psychological thriller where the main character is slowly driven insane due to the difficulty of the moral choices he has to make as an aspiring doctor (that's actually not a bad idea for an anime Jeff write that down). What ACTUALLY happened was very different but still enjoyable. The animation is real smooth and the OP is pretty good. I absolutely LOVE the first ED. It is one of the few EDs that I actually sat through instead of skipping. It is so beautiful yet simultaneously haunting and mysterious that you can't not be disturbed or set off by it. The characters are all really well built. Dr. Tenma is one of my favorite characters of any anime by far and I'm having a mental crisis trying to figure out whether I like him, or Akari Kawamoto more. Kenzou is just everything I wanted out of an anime protagonist. He's got a strong moral code, he's rockin' the fugitive look, and he manages to be a total boss without ever letting himself get carried away by the situation. Johan is good too ig. Nina/Anna is a waifu and Grimmer is a really nice guy. The parts of this anime I enjoyed were REALLY enjoyable, to the point where I started talking out loud to nobody like a crazy person and yelling at the characters on screen.
As fantastic as Monster is though it has its downfalls. The ties and plot points can be very confusing and it requires a very big brain to understand a lot of the symbology and the philosophical nature of the show. The animation could be a lot better for madhouse. Maybe it's just because I watched it on gogoanime.io but the colors weren't all that great either. The soundtrack could have been a lot more memorable and I don't really like the second ED. Some of the characters are either annoying or not developed as well. There were a lot of patches of 5-8 episodes throughout my watch where I got super bored and wanted to look at Waluigi memes on my phone (I know I already made that joke in a previous review I'm too tired to be original okay?).
But come one, it's Monster. The 4th best manga and a Madhouse classic. How can you not love it? I was really struggling to choose between whether to give this one an 8 or a 9, but I think the amazing beginning and ending, alongside all the other good parts of the anime redeem the less-than-amazing parts and make it a very memorable anime that is absolutely worth watching. It deserves it's position as #37 best anime and Madhouse has my respect for a job well done.
Anyway time to get some shut-eye. See you around folks,
-Kallocarina
