i believe what is captivating about this anime is the plot line which entices the viewers in its complexity of intersecting story lines converging into the truth behind who or what constitutes the "monster." that being said, for the overall length of 74 episodes allocated to portraying the entirety of naoki urasawa's graphic novel, it was prolonged which took away from enjoying the show. in fact, some plot devices are intentionally avoided in order to prolong the story to the point of annoyance while others go on to serve as an extension to the thrill and anticipation.
8/10 for deduction of the tangential, unnecessary filler episodes and scenes which by far took away from the climax of some situations; climax also suffered because of the abuse of plot devices
art:
the art is very unique in that the proportions of the people are much more realistic unlike what is normally seen. however, that does not excuse the moments (especially when characters feel primal fear) where the art is grotesque. while this might be intentional to accentuate their feelings, it becomes very generic and overplayed.
7/10
sound: 8/10
the soundtrack is beautiful. the only issue is there are bursts of loud noises for no intent at all except to scare the viewer in inappropriate places. for the most part, the sound adds to the suspense or to the joy of the characters. but there are careless times where these effects become melodramatic or arbitrarily placed in scenes
8/10
character: 10/10
the star of the show is the characters. in particular, the main character, kenzo tenma, is very easy to sympathize with and you find yourself wrenched
with his decision of retribution or maintaining his philosophy. you also get to meet other key characters whom contribute to Monster's plot like the seemingly antagonistic johan and his twin sister, ana. while the characters can be unbearable, the anime truly probes the scope of the human condition as they react to situations unexpected to them
enjoyment: 8/10
i very much enjoyed the anime with exception to a few minor setbacks like the constant pleading of characters which continued throughout the entire anime. also, i was deterred by some side-stories which i felt were out of place or not worth the time/undeveloped for the sake of fluffing it up
while it is apparent Nina and John suffer great tragedy in their past, Nina's psychological anguish is abused to the point of annoyance.
that being said, the interactions that the characters make with other individuals and the changes that, particularly tenma, makes for them is very touching.
overall: 8/10
