Anime: Monster 363u5

I've heard a lot about Monster, and it's antagonist is considered one of the top 10 of all time, so I was really looking forward to finally watch the show.

While I did enjoy the show a lot initially, the beginning was incredibly intersting and you didn't know what would happen next, I was later hit by boredome around the mid point.

It was an interesting story and characters were somewhat believable, but there was one too many twists that messed up the flow a bit, and some of the hints and clues felt like they were mostly added just for the sake of adding complexity, but they didn't necessarily feel impactful or needed.
It was still thrilling though from time to time, and definitely interesting.

I don't feel like complaining about the characters too much, they were meant to be designed as realistic, believable characters, but there's still a few stereotypes and so on, but what bothered me the most was their decision making. Sometimes they're like, "hey we should travel there and help X", few episodes later they're like "We should stay at home and not get involved", and so on.
And there was also the occasional characters popping up out of nowhere that had not been seen for like 15-20 episodes. Characters making dumb decisions were a bit of a turn off for me too to be honest, especially since the show is supposed to feel realistic.

Audio, video... I mean, it's an old show, and Urasawa Naoki has his own style which you recognize from his others works, like Pluto and Yawara. Nothing special, but it also didn't bother me. It's solid.

In the end, I still enjoyed the show, but it did not live up to my expectations and was too long, and instead turned out a lukewarm experience for me.

Overall score: 6.5/10

Monster is fundamentally flawed in its discussion of morality. It's so flawed that it pisses me off because if you actually applied the thought process of Monster, a whole lot of people would be dead.

The series focuses on the question of whether a person like Johan is a real monster and if so, whether or not they are deserving of death and whether or not someone like Tenma should kill them. The issue is that this question is asked in the context of an active serial killer who kills scores of people throughout the show and the main characters know he will continue to kill more people. In this scenario, the questions of whether or not Johan deserves to die for being evil or whether he is totally evil at all is superseded by the question of whether or not to kill or incapacitate Johan in order to prevent him from killing more people. The series ignores the latter question in its pursuit of the former, which is just straight up disregards one of the fundamental objectives of morality to begin with; to save human lives, in order to explore some abstract philosophical question, and this is pretty damning for the entire substance of the show. AFTER you've captured a killer, you can then entertain the question of judging him, but while he's at large, a cop should not hesitate to shoot him if necessary. So yeah, this series tries to talk about what the right thing to do is, while being blind to the obvious right thing to do, and it makes the whole series pointless. It also makes the series incredibly boring because I don't care about judging Johan or to know what his backstory is; I only care about stopping the pain and suffering he causes, but the characters aren't interested in doing.

It would be different if the series was questioning the morality of taking the law into your own hands in order to kill Johan, vs relying on the justice system to put a stop to him, but that's clearly not the question it asking. The major reason Johan's past is explored is to ask if he's a real monster or if even he deserves understanding and forgiveness. Tenma and Nina don't even entertain the option of nonlethally subduing him in order to save people's lives; nope, it's either killing him or letting him walk free. At several points throughout the show, most notably in the library in episode 37, Tenma or Nina have a clear shot to kill Johan and they don't simply because it's always wrong to kill people and that's the end of their thought process (right after Tenma doesn't take the shot, Johan sets fire to the library, nearly killing everyone there). Well it's clearly not always wrong to kill people, especially if it's in self defense. But guess what? The series STILL thinks it soils one's hands to kill people in self defense, hence why the character that Tenma shoots in self defense at point blank range turns out to be alive. Well what if a serial killer is holding an innocent child at gunpoint, threatening to kill him unless you shoot him? NOPE. It would still affect Tenma's moral purity if he shot, hence why the story cops out of him having to pull the trigger by having someone else do it.

It gets better. Right after Johan threatens the life of a kid, Nina tells Tenma to forgive Johan, despite Johan showing zero remorse for any of the things he did and showing no signs of changing his ways. Now tell me, why should you forgive someone who is not going to change and does not repent? Then, on top of that, Tenma, despite having no obligation to do so because he is not employed as a surgeon, saves Johan's life, despite not knowing if Johan would be convicted and locked up. Because the right thing to do is to always save a person's life, right? Even if that person would likely wake up and continue killing people just as he did for most of his life?

Johan isn't even a good vessel for exploring questions of monsters, evil, nature vs nurture, or what have you, because his backstory is so vague and contrived. One of the guy's major influences is that he read a PICTURE BOOK about a monster and thus decided to be a monster. Another is that his sister told him about horrible experiences she had, and he IMAGINED that he was the one experiencing them. Johan has abandonment trauma from his mother giving up his twin sister, NOT HIM. Defenders say that it was the decision to give up one of them at all that affected him, but it is unclear at best whether he knew that his mother was forced to give up one of them either way. If he knew, then he would have no reason to feel abandoned. Like I said, vague. So then Johan, from these experiences, somehow develops an entire nihilistic philosophy as a kid and deems that not all lives are equal and that human life has no value. Huh? How did he arrive at that conclusion? How did he go from this conclusion to "I want to kill people?" Anyway, he becomes a killer, but then at some point he loses memory of these events and is still a killer for an entirely different set of reasons. Oh right, and all of this is shown in brief flashbacks. I can't even make sense of Johan's arc and whether or not it's realistic, much less use it to explore questions of good and evil and human nature and whatever.

Urasawa's writing is nauseatingly and insultingly sanctimonious and yet his entire intellectual framework when writing this story is so monumentally naive, misplaced, unaware, out of touch with reality, and altogether moronic. And I use such harsh language because his brand of pacificism will literally get people killed. Next time a serial killer is threatening you and the people around you, to sit there and allow him to do whatever he wants and even save his life if he gets shot, while you contemplate whether or not he's a real monster.

1. Story (9/10)
Monster has one of the best stories ever. It has romance, violence, war, drama, betrayal. The plot really dragged me into marathoning this anime.

2. Art (5/10)
The art work is not the best, aside from the main characters, everyone else seems to look the same which does not matter to me at all.

3. Sound (7/10)
I usually don't pay much attention to soundtrack unless it is really good or really off. In this case, I didn't notice anything that was off. I also quite like the OP.

4. Character (1/10)
I feel this category is very important in creating a good anime, in the case of Monster, this category ruined the entire anime for me. To receive a good rating for this section from me, the characters need to be practical, show development, and have proper non-retarded dialogue.

The way the characters acted in this anime were far from practical, it was actually so retarded. More than half the things that came out of Johans mouth made no sense at all, if I heard someone speaking like Johan IRL, I would think that person has some kind of mental illness. Aside from Johan, every damn character talked like they were retarded with the conversations being very long and repetitive. Here’s some examples,

Character A: *while looking at the TV* “its, its... its.... its ...”
character B: *while starring at Character A“ its who? You gottta tell me, who is it? I need to know!!".
A: its, its , its... its HIM.
B: WHO? its WHO?? You have to TELL ME!!! Who is it?
A: its, its its its.. 3 second pause. The man who saved my life. if it was not for this man.... .... ... It is, its is ....
B: it IS WHO???.
A: it's DOCTOR TENMA!!.
B: *finally turns to the TV* "its him. it really is. It really is him. Its doctor teenma. It REALLY IS! DR TEENMA SAVED ME TOO.
ARE YOU FKING KIDDING ME.

Example of how this convo. would go IRL: Character A: shit its DR. Tenma.

There is absolutely no development in this anime. Although all the characters cling to their past, what I want to get at is how the same shit happens over and over again and the results are always the same AND they take forever to get there. Dieter must have been told 6 or 7 times to stay behind because he is too young for this type of life, yet every damn time, he back talks into tagging along. What i'm saying is, why is there so much screen time placed into these damn scenes (each time is like 3 minutes). There are many other ways to show his stubbornness.. Little things like this take up more than half of the 74 episode screen time. (totally irrelevant).

Another example, Tenmas most spoken phrases:
1:“only me, only I can do it, no, I must do it, I have to do it. Because I was the one. The one who saved ……a monster... I must kill him to prevent more deaths."
2: "NO I CANT DO IT, I JUST CANT, I cant shoot him"
3. ANNA, You mustn’t kill him!. Because I have to do it.
4. Repeat. (Anna does the exact same thing too. In the end, after all that screen time of retarded indecisiveness, nothing happened).

Retarded dialogue.. literally every chance the script writer had, he did the following:
A: It is ….it is…. HIM
B: WHO???
A: the man who… Who… he is… He is… he is… none other than…. A MONSTER (TERROR)
IRL (A): "He is Johan."
IRL (B): "OH" *shocked*

5. Enjoyment (2/10)
I honestly really enjoyed the first 20 episodes. Then I got fed up with how ridiculous the dialogue was and how extremely long this anime was. I don’t appreciate how the creators put in so much repeats and recaps when there were 74 fucking episodes (it's like how i use write my middle school essays). Every detective repeated the entire case every damn time they got a chance to and the story book was read from beginning to end like 5 TIMES. This anime would've been so much better with 24 episodes.

6. Overall (4/10)
Like all media, the negative always has a heavier impact than the positive. A great story just doesn’t cut it for me if the characters are not practical. I do not recommend this anime, I actually skimmed threw episodes 64-74 but really had no idea what went on since all i could read was Johan's retarded riddle-like words, repeated scenes and the words HIM and MONSTER

Monster is one of the most famous psychological thrillers ever made into anime, and for many it is the best as well. It is the story of a surgeon, constantly looking around the world for a genius mastermind that has the charisma to manipulate peoples’ dark desires, turning them to ruthless serial killers if he so wishes it. The hunt is a long one (well, it is a 74 episode show) and every place these two by, corpses fill the streets.

The hook of the anime is its unsettling atmosphere, the result of Johan’s menacing aura. He IS the story since everything moves according to his plan. The good production values, the rather realistic depiction of the setting, the constant mystery of what is going on, the large number of characters, as well as the dementia many exhibit from time to time, contribute in making Monster the… monster of anime it ended up being.

On the negative side, the anime tends to be monotone and goes on forever. There just aren’t many things happening in every episode despite the story being complex once you see it as a whole. The pacing is ridiculously slow, something that can keep grip you for giving you the time to immerse and frolic yourself in it, but can just as easily bore you with its simple plot structure. Many parts can feel boring or unnecessary and if it was to be made today it would surely be half as long or even less.

What can’t be denied is how effective it is as a psychological thriller. Unlike your run of the mil hyperactive and overexpressive anime characters, the cast of Monster behaves almost like real people, and can very well be a live action series without puns and slapstick ruining the immersion. Even the most evil characters in the show behave like average people that can even make you root for them once you see how they feel and the issues they are going through.

The exact same thing can be seen as a negative, since most casual anime watchers will not appreciate the attempt at realism. If they wanted realistic characters, they would be watching a live action series in the likes of Twin Peaks. For most, anime are not meant to be realistic and are expected to be about hyperactive and overexpressive characters in colorful cartoony worlds. To them, the show can very easily fall victim of the uncanny valley effect, the same way the Chainsawman anime was completely ruined by trying to be cinematic instead of zany.

Another issue can be the supernatural powers of the main bad guy, which don’t really have any explanation or are excused well on screen. The way Johan turns people to evil or manages to escape every time is essentially magic. That tends to dilute the realistic side of the show and makes it feel schlocky at times.

With that said, Johan is a super cool guy you love to hate, and dr. Tenma is a sympathetic fellow. You can easily ignore the hocus pocus part of the story, focus on the dramatic side of their lives, and you will be in for a ride.

Just be warned that the ending is a wet fart. After so much build up over so many episodes, you would think the ending would be amazing, but it only makes you think ‘What, that’s it?’ Yes, it’s that anti-climactic. Like the ending of this review.

Please rate me.
Welcome to my Monster review. It is nice to see so many reviews of monster here, dating 2005 and 2006, from when I, too, had watched Monster for the first time; yet none of them really satisfied me. So here I am writing my own.

I must say that watching the anime a second time has changed my thoughts about it A LOT. That is because the curiosity and surprise effects are lost the second time. You know all the memories of the twins, you know what will happen, who will shoot, who will not (if you know what i mean)... Then you start to look at the animation more critically, you better evaluate the holes and patches in the story, then you start to realise that Monster was not "the best anime ever". So you revoke your previous vote (10) and revote it (8)... Here is why:


Animation (6/10, Mediocre)

Animation is the much-disputed thing about this anime. Hear what I have to say -if there is anyone there still interested in this stuff anyways.

Atmosphere: (9/10, Captivating) Let's start with the feeling and overall concept. This is a detective story, with (arguably) no supernatural stuff, that aspires to spy/detective novels; so it is not surprising for the animators to prefer a realist perspective and dispense with the conventional super-naturally beautiful anime characters. There is also a thriller feeling to the story, especially with the introduction of the 511 Kinderheim: Hence you get the eerie undertone throughout the animation.

There is even some variation wisely applied; bright colors are used to depict peace and happiness to contrast the general grayish color palette of the Central European cities.

On the flipside, it does not feel very creative and even too repetitive at times, as if a simple formula was overused.

Consistency: (2/10, Smurfs) I haven't really seen such horrid inconsistency since the infamous Smurfs. People change size and shape from one scene to the other, so do objects: Dieter's football is triple his head!

CGI: (None)Not much CGI, that's for sure. But whereever it is used, it is like a photoshop effect which looks completely amateurish. See, for example, the opening, the silly red stain effect...

Details: (4/10, Inattentive) Details? What details? A general attention to detail is lacking throughout the anime. There was one instance towards the end of the anime where the door numbers were missing altogether from the hotel rooms. This is so for cars, labels, clothing, scenery, etc. People look the same, so do cars and buildings. At least characters do age, that is a plus.


Sound (6/10, Mediocre)

OPs and EPs (6/10, Don't Buy): There is only one opening theme, which is too few for an anime that goes for 74 episodes. Even if the OP was likable, it becomes completely irritating after thirty episodes. On the other hand, both OPs and EPs fitted well with the general theme, and contributed to the eerie, thriller kinda feeling that governs the anime.

Background music (4/10, Irritating): Background music is sometimes unnoticable, blending well, becoming invisible... but whenever you hear it, it is so repetitive, so out-of-sync with the animation that it made me wanna turn it off.

Sound effects (6/10, Uncreative): When you move your gun around, it rattles or makes clink-clank sounds -depends on the brand. I don't know why, it just does.

Sound acting: (8/10, Fine) The characters sound like they should, going well with the overall atmosphere. Especially Johan is fabulous at that. On the flipside, it lacks some variation: characters sound too flat at times, even too repetitive now and then - but dialogues are to blame for that, not the sound actors. (Doctaa Tenma, Doctaa Tenma, Doctaa Tenma...)


Story (9/10, Leaves you gaping, yet could be even better)

Backdrop: (10/10, Fabulous) The backdrop is and Czechoslovakia of the 90s, after the Berlin wall falls down. The story fits fabulously well with the events and feeling of the times and happens within an incredibly political climate, amid racism, corruption and totalitarianism.

Stance: Against that backdrop, its political stance is a responsible, proper one, adopting the conventional humanist position. Yet it is not so naive: it engages almost-completely with the dilemmas and paradoxes that arise from that slightly-impossible position.

Plot (7/10, Not completely satisfying) When we move to the plot, however, we see the story is not as well-told as it deserves. Especially the first time I watched it, I was gaping at the screen muttering "omg" occasionally, so I will not say that it is a disaster. But it has its weak points, and some are not forgivable -you can better identify those the second time.

Indeed, there are a lot of holes in the plot; some scenes, it seems, deserve better attention to make them more realistic and believable. Among those, there are some very-very-badly-narrated scenes: especially where a large crowd is involved, the narrative botches. It focuses too narrowly to the protagonists and forgets the time and context completely. This is a pity, because you feel that it could have been told so well!




Characters (10/10, Very strong)

Main Characters: (10/10, Impressive) Dr. Tenma, Johan, Anna, Lunge, Grimmer, Eva, Dieter, even Roberto are not side, but very main characters. They all have unique features, unique ways of talking and behaving. Some are lacking background, but not depth: as far as their inclusion to the story is concerned, they are nice and detailed. And the storyteller makes this explicit when Tenma's family is concerned, for instance; we do not really need to know about that, because it is the story that matters, not the characters. This is an important statement since most of the anime or TV shows depend on characters, and fill in a lot of unrelated character background. This show depends on characters to some degree, that is for sure, but the story is more important.

Lovability: (10/10, Johan rulaz!) Yes, they are! Except Roberto.

Side characters: (4/10, Cookie cutter) All foster parents, all detectives, all Vietnamese little girls, all Turkish men look the same. You cannot really understand which one is who. Both character-wise (they are all nice and loving) and animation-wise this is true and irritating.


Value (8/10, Recommend it)

One thing indisputable about this anime is its value. Let's break down it a little.

First time enjoyment: (10/10, See it, love it) This is a "See it, love it" anime, especially because of the engaging story, thrilling atmosphere and very strong, lovable characters. The animation, sound and narrative are the weak aspects, but once you are captured by the story, you do not notice that really.

Rewatch value: (7/10, possibly Entertaining) This one is difficult. Because of the above-mentioned problems with the plot and animation it may become annoying the second time. So let us break it down a little more: Rewatch to understand further detail? Yes, maybe. Even though there are enough flashbacks and explanations for a child to understand the story, some moments do really escape the attention. Yet do not hope to discover wonders; detailing is not one of the good aspects of this anime, ? Rewatch to enjoy? I do not really think so, because speed is rather slow. Though there are almost no exclusively filler episodes, there are a lot of filler scenes, flashbacks here and there. Especially mid-season (around episodes 30-40) gets really slow and boring. So you'd better leave some time (months? years?) before rewatching this one.

Recommendation: (10/10, Is there anyone left who has not watched this one?) That's also the conclusion: Yes, yes, of course!

Note: Overall scores are not averages. That wouldn't make sense.
And please rate.

Story

Monster is a true gem and a rare anime masterpiece.

Despite its daunting length, an exceedingly high standard of quality is consistently maintained in all 74 episodes. And because the writer does not get sidetracked with filler episodes or arcs, a single, coherent storyline runs through. This gives the impression of watching a an excellent graphic novel. Though the story itself is impossibly intricate, a web of intrigue and conflicting motives to tantalize the viewer, Monster manages to conclude dramatically, memorably and without the use of such cheap and overused plot devices as deus ex machina.

Urasawa Naoki clearly left nothing to chance or improvisation in the creation of Monster. His meticulously conceived and astoundingly immersive plot is certainly the result of countless hours of historical, geographical and cultural research. Monster is set against the backdrop of a reeling from its internal division by the Berlin Wall, all the while struggling to cope with the conflicting ideals of democracy and authoritarianism within the same country. This dichotomy between the East and West German governments, along with the long-term consequences for the citizens on each side of the Wall are subtly referenced throughout the plot. Realism on this level is something that no author can fake. The actual plot idea behind Monster is one we have all heard before. A doctor is under suspicion for murder and flees the authorities to find the villain and clear his name. But with Monster, it is not so much the originality of the plot, as it is the masterful storytelling which puts Monster in a category of its own.

Urasawa's style is one of sublime efficiency - not a single scene is wasted and every piece of information revealed to the audience is ultimately significant. A single glance, a dark shadow, the sound of a footstep - these are the precise and parsimonious tools Urasawa uses to tell the story of Monster. His narration is immersive and gripping, but never once does it feels heavy-handed. The flow from scene to scene always feels completely natural, and deftfully avoids any appearance that the writer is forcing the plot in order to create drama or suspense.

If anything, it is just the opposite: the main story is advanced through the exposition of tangential subplots. As a result, the hero is constantly hot on the trail of the antagonist, but only ever able to gain information from indirect witnesses, friends of friends, people only remotely related to the search at hand. Consequently, the antagonist's screen time is so rare that each appearance might even be considered a cameo. And yet, Urasawa's villain is easily the best characterised and most memorable in all the anime I have seen to date. I stand in awe of Monster, for this is storytelling at its finest.

I extend my sincere congratulations to Madhouse, the studio which produced Monster, for not letting commercial interest ruin this wonderful work of art and for keeping a strict vigil over the quality of the series during the 18 months it aired. The result speaks for itself: one would find it extremely challenging to find another anime of this length which tells its story in such compelling fashion, and with such style, ingenuity and dignity.


Animation

The visual quality in Monster is both superb and unique. Through the creative use of cinematic techniques, Monster is made to feel very much like a movie, because the "camera" viewpoint is often used to focus in on significant moments or details or even facial expressions. In this fashion, the audience's attention is skillfully drawn towards such ominous things as shadows, dark corners and footsteps in order to intensify the atmosphere.

The artwork in Monster carries strong influences from film noir. Even from the first few episodes, the use of darker hues and greyed out tones give the anime a bleak and foreboding feeling. As the story progresses, the anime becomes a showcase for the animator's sublime mastery over the use of shadow and lighting.

Detail levels are quite decent, although exterior scenery is rare, given the dark nature of the story. The few scenic moments I do in the anime were well-drawn. I know the following will seem odd for a mystery and suspense thriller, but the food shown in Monster is extremely appetizing; I distinctly recall feeling hungry several times while watching the characters eat. Prior to viewing Monster, I had never craved German food, but I must it that the anime actually convinced me to seek out a place where I could eat some the things I saw.


Sound

Obviously, in a suspense/thriller anime, you would not expect to find highly memorable or catchy tunes. This is the case with Monster, the anime relying more heavily on silence, foreboding sounds, and the occasional eerie music to set the mood. And since sustaining mood is of paramount importance in this genre, the sound selection was appropriate and well-considered. The audio track always complemented the scenes of the anime, and never detracted from the tension of the moment.

Despite being 74 episodes long, Monster had only one opening and two ending themes. From a vocal standpoint, both singers featured in the ending music are quite mediocre. However, the suitability of these two pieces for the overall atmosphere of Monster is ideal. Both pieces are only very lightly orchestrated, with contrasting emphasis on echo and proximity of voice to the microphone, resulting in an altogether unsettling and haunting feeling which is completely appropriate for the series.

It is the voice acting, though, which gives Monster its unforgettable immersiveness. The seiyuu cast succeeds brilliantly in adding to the overall atmosphere. Though the anime involves a wide spectrum of emotion, the seiyuu convincingly convey each emotion to perfection. Sasaki Nozomu in particular deserves special commendation for so vividly bringing to life the role of the main antagonist. It is no easy task to credibly portray the voice of a person who commits brutal murder without a trace of emotion, and yet possesses the gentle charm and seductive charisma to beguile and manipulate countless others.


Character

Urasawa Naoki's indirect storytelling style has a very apparent benefit: it allows him to richly develop the entire cast of characters, including those with secondary roles. I would be hard-pressed to name a single character in Monster with whom I did not feel intimately acquainted and whose motivations I did not understand by the end of the series. Considering that each episode almost certainly introduces at least one new character, it is mind-blowing that Urasawa manages to achieve this level of familiarity among the audience with all of his numerous and colourful characters.

Urasawa pushes the envelope with the characterisation of his main cast and manages to completely blur the lines between fictional character and real person. He recognises that people do not only change as a result of momentous plot events - sometimes, people also gradually change over time. The timeline of Monster spans over forty years, so this slow self-evolution of the characters' motivations, aspirations and values provides a much deeper level of authenticity that I would love to see in other anime.

I also ire the fact that Monster's characters are shown to have a life outside their role within plot. This is a dimension which adds a great deal to the believability of the characters. Often it takes no more than only the subtlest of details, like a family picture in the background, or a quick "in-ing" reference during dialogue, but such are the minutiae which distinguish excellence from mediocrity.


Overall

Monster possesses a polish shared by too few other anime. It is truly a finished product, completed and produced with pride. As a viewer, I distinctly felt that every scene was contemplated with care, every detail meticulously reviewed. One would be hard-pressed to find an inconsistency in the story, let alone an unexplained or forgotten plotline. Monster is a lengthy 74-episode anime with no fillers. This alone should speak volumes as to the quality of this anime.

For the lack of a better place to mention this, the ending sequence is well worth the time to watch, in detail, after every episode. The graphical content for the outro is almost never identical, though often the changes from episode to episode are almost imperceptible. Yet, those who have the patience to sort through these small differences are richly rewarded with an additional dose of ingenious foreshadowing and symbolism.

Without a doubt, because of its all-around excellence, and its superb attention to quality and detail, Monster has become the definitive benchmark by which I have judged all other anime. To all lovers of quality anime, if you have yet to see Monster, then you are most assuredly missing out on one of the very best.