People traditionally associate Japanese animes with the likes of Pokemon and Dragonball Z and it is often very difficult to convince non-anime fans that there's more to them. I'm no exception! Luckily, Monster was the third serial anime I was introduced to after Death Note and Fruits Basket (odd combos, I know). And to be honest, I was not expecting this.
The series starts off ordinarily with the traditional story of a doctor forced to prioritize between patients and his career. The story of two traumatized children is introduced along the way and things start becoming rather interesting. By the time I got to this point, I had completely forgotten I was watching an anime. See, in traditional Japanese animes (and no disrespect to the fans), the writers have no idea how to develop the dialogue and make it work with the story. The height of a character's shock will be repeating somebody's name in a low, gaspy/raspy voice. Among the millions of other queer things, I never got why anime writers felt that was a good emotional expression. I simply dismissed it as another odd Japanese behavior.
As a pleasant surprise, Monster does almost everything to stray from that. At so many points during the story, I wondered how brilliant this would've been as a non-animated series. The character development is interesting and not muggled up or confusing, the songs/music make sense for a change, there are no irritating characters trying to be funny and the plot keeps thickening ... although slowly, and that might be a flaw. But to be honest, the gradual development is what keeps you so attached to it.
So in conclusion, if you're a japanime fan and want to introduce the haters to the club, I highly recommend you make them watch this as their first ever anime. All in all, a 9.5/10 score. Definitely worth the watch!
