Monster Review

Monster is a suspense-filled anime which contains deep and dark themes about unsolved serial murders. After watching several episodes, I've begun to realise that things aren't always the way they seem.

At the beginning, Dr. Tenma was portrayed as the hero, but as time passed, the story shifted its focus to other characters. And the more revelations there were, the more I started to wonder if the monster could spread like a disease. I even wondered if the monster was passed on to every one of the characters.

In addition, when I first saw the ending theme, I thought that it was a collage of lame drawings of the monster mixed with some horrible music. But as episodes passed, I noticed that the pictures were actually crucial pieces of the story of the monster's past. The music is still horrible, anyway. XD

This anime just keeps you guessing and that's what's great about it.

My favourite characters so far are Nina (a.k.a. Anna Liebert), Dieter (what a weird name!), Richard Braun, Dr. Reichwein, Dr. Gillen, Grimmer, Detective Jan Suk & Mr. Lipski.

My thoughts as the plot unfolded and more characters got too deeply involved:

Oh man... Johan kills people by gaining their trust. I hate him, though it's so funny to see him going to the extent of going undercover as Nina (a.k.a. Anna, who looks really freaky as a kid, by the way) just to gain information. I can't imagine him producing a girly voice or wearing high heels. I guess that goes to show that even the villain needs intel.

But the most despicable thing is that he framed lots of people for his murders. Is he such a coward that he can't even admit to committing those crimes? And if Johan is supposedly so powerful, why is he afraid of getting caught? Whatever it is, Johan doesn't even regret his actions and therefore is completely evil.

Both Richard & Martin died sorry deaths because they knew too much. It's sad because they could have survived if they weren't involved.

R.I.P. Richard Braun & Martin.

Argh. Not Grimmer too. He's one of the best characters on Monster.

R.I.P. Grimmer, The Magnificent Steiner.

Lunge is probably... a psycho for strongly believing that Dr. Tenma is the murderer, even though there were so many people who claimed it was Johan. And that typing action he always does is a dead giveaway of his mental condition. At least now he believes in Johan's existence and is turning his attention to finding out everything about Johan. I respect him now for apologising to Tenma.

I think Mr. Lipski... loves Nina/Anna. Him creating a puppet of Nina and touching its hair seemed a little creepy, as though he's obsessed with her or something. When Lunge visited him, he was so happy because he thought Nina returned to him. That part pretty obviously shown my point.

I'm glad Dr. Gillen is starting to piece the information together, but I fear that Johan might kill him.

Episode 73: The Landscape Of The End

I can't believe history is repeating itself. Just when Johan finally gets shot, Tenma has to save him once more. I have a bad feeling that a whole new massacre awaits...

Episode 74: The Real Monster (Finale)

It's great to see that the survivors are making a fresh start. I can't believe that the twin's mother actually thought of getting rid of one of them. Sadly, Johan's still alive and now on the loose. The ending still leaves a chill on my spine.

Final verdict: The character drawings are a little odd, but if you're after a gruesome serial murder mystery wild goose chase with some Germany & Prague history involved, then this is for you. Don't expect fairytales, especially when the tales there come from the Grimm brothers. However, the character personalities are so complex and well-crafted that you'd have to dig deep into their background to figure out why each one behaves in the way he/she does. Some can be so unpredictable that you won't know which way the plot will swing.