Monster

Monster is an incredibly satisfying watch and rewards paying attention to smaller details. The story is intricately woven to make even the smallest advancements seem well worth it. The characters are all very well written and they all have a very distinct role in the story. Tension is built perfectly and the realm of safety doesn't apply to any of the characters. Monster successfully crafts one of the most engaging stories of all time and is one of my favorite anime of all time.

I've watched a lot of anime, I've read a lot of manga, but Monster has managed to blow all of my former "favorites" out of the water. It manages to combine everything that's great about thrillers, mysteries, character studies, and psychological dramas all at once. The writing is superior, the direction is fantastic, and the way the story builds is slow but undoubtedly engaging. If Alfred Hitchcock had ever endeavored to create a serial work, it would be something like this.

The characters are all lovingly and soulfully rendered, and the show never seems to fall into the traps that even the best anime do - that is: needless fanservice, forced comedy, or ludicrous violence.

In addition, get ready for a history lesson. This story deals more with the social and political annals of 20th century Eastern Europe - ACCURATELY - than most classes on the subject.

A dark, suspenseful and extremely entertaining anime that boldly answers back to the skeptics who think that all anime must be as brain-dead and child-oriented as the majority of prime-time viewing. (Which is, quite frankly, usually embarrassing to watch in the presence of others.) The plot of Monster is without a doubt the best part, dark but not without cheerful scenes, and centered around the story of a Dr. Tenma, a talented Nero-surgeon, who's upright morals soon send him on a rarely chosen path to correct the wrong he'd unwittingly committed in the name of justice. Unlike other anime, most of which seem to focus on super-powers, fantasy, or sci-fi horror, this one's true chillingness is in the fact that despite being animated, it is portrayed in an all-too-real manner. In reality, the most truly terrifying people are generally people who you wouldn't think out of the ordinary in a crowd, not some supernatural monster who relies on brute force or the inability of the entire world he fights to stop him. The animation isn't the best, but the story more then makes up for it, and even watching it on a 42" TV, I was far to engrossed with the story to make more then the occasional observation that perhaps the movement wasn't quite as smooth in some places as it might be. The same applies to the sound, which doesn't quite keep pace with the story either. Nonetheless, it is one of the best shows I've seen, period.

This series held surprises into the very last episode.

I'm not really going to include any major spoilers for the series in my review. The closest that I'll come will cover what you've probably heard about from any general discussion concerning the TV series, or the books that the story comes from, or the opening TV credits for the very first episode. That means that some key elements from the first 4 episodes, which covers the first 5% of the 74 episode series, will be mentioned. But it's hard to even say what the series is about without going that far, and you're likely to get more spoilers in any major review of the latest Hollywood mega-release anyways.

In life, there are two types of monsters. The first is the type that most of us have probably thought of in our childhood, the type that we feared under the bed or in the closet, the type who our parents or guardians told us didn't exist. The second type, however, is what the title of this series refers to. This is the type which adults do fear, the type that does exist. This monster can plan human deaths with the same nonchalance that others have when they decide the details of getting their next coffee.

Naoki Urasawa's story is one that covers such a monster, but this monster isn't the main character. Instead, the main character is the highly skilled Japanese neurosurgeon Kenzou Tenma, working in Germany shortly after its reunification. Tenma believes that all life is of equal high worth, and that the value of life isn't changed with wealth, fame, nor with celebrity status. But he discovers that the hospital itself doesn't share that belief. The life that he saved, the life which more desperately needed his skills, looked so much like another anonymous life that was about to get wiped out by the hospital's lack of ethics. But Tenma unknowingly gave life back to a monster. And for the first time ever, Tenma regrets the life that he saved; so much so that he finds himself forced to correct that mistake.

From this point, if you saw the opening credits which cover the first 90 seconds of the very first episode, you can guess the general direction of the series. Picture the TV series 'The Fugitive', but with a single storyline which went from the first episode to the last. Now throw in a detective (Inspector Runge) who is as calm, confident, and calculating as the devil himself, pursuing Tenma. There are also other characters in the series, who are crucial to how the story builds, and who are rather difficult to introduce clearly without spoiling some of the many subplots which build through the series. These characters include Tenma's ex-fiancée Eva, as well as a retired detective, a reclusive billionaire, two criminal psychiatrists, members of organized crime, ones involved in possible illegal dealings with the Czech police, a crusading defense attorney, and others.

There will be a few times where the main storyline seems to be put on hold, and a new storyline with new characters will be introduced. And you'd likely be wondering why things have taken a detour, or when they'll get back to the actual story. But the overall plot is much more complex and detailed than you may have seen on other serial thrillers such as 'Alias', '24', or 'Lost'. The seemingly disjointed story lines in 'Monster' slowly build to be a critical part in the overall plot, and the series overall doesn't have any wasted scenes or episodes (filler), nor the jumps and jolts which betray signs of last minute rewrites.

If you're hoping that the upcoming Hollywood movie based on the series will be as good, you might want to reconsider. For starters, it'll mean rewriting a story which takes 37 broadcast hours to tell, and re-conveying that over a time slot of 90 to 100 minutes. Also, it'll be coming from the same talent pool which took the highly rated Japanese movies 'Ringu', 'Ju-On', and 'Shall We Dance', and turned them into the mediocre Hollywood productions 'The Ring', 'The Grudge', and 'Shall We Dance'. (From 94-64-79 to 72-40-49, according to RottenTomatoes.com.) While Hollywood can make a good original movie occasionally, their record at remaking movies leaves a lot to be desired.

In short, this is one of the better suspense stories out there. The writing is solid, the characters are believable (even when their character changes), and the story always makes sense. In some story arcs, just when you think they're getting ready to wrap things up, they find a way to ratchet up the tension again. But it never seems forced, or cheap, like what is by far more common in most thrillers I've seen. 'Monster' is definitely a series which requires your full attention when watching it, due to the pace which events happen and the number of details which all come together as the story progresses. And if you don't mind a long story with a lot of twists and turns, this is definitely one worth following.

Once I started reading this manga, I really couldn't stop. It's probably one of the most fascinating, complex and suspenseful stories I've ever read. The artist's grasp of facial expression is amazing. When I compare Monster to other manga I've read...well, for the most part, there is no comparison. Like another commenter said, there is no fanservice, no glorification of violence, pointless gags, characters with cutesy personality quirks, etc...everything seems genuine and real. There were moments that horrified me speechless and scenes that brought tears to my eyes, too. Monster is very moving, but also very disturbing...a powerful commentary on human nature.