Review of Monster

Monster is a modern epic. The anime is an instant classic. Not only was the art exceptionally well-done, the story was very true to its source material. Few anime achieve it with such concision and grace. That said, it was an anime that was hard to watch for two reasons: the pace and the content. This story has some of the most harrowing content of any seinen I have read or watched. Why? Because it was so brutally realistic. There are certainly anime and manga that go to extreme lengths to convey pain or terror, but rarely are they realistic enough to convey such deepfeelings and to such great effect. The mastery of Monster is that it feels like it could be a true story. That is where the pacing comes into play. Because it feels so real, little was done to make Monster the thrill-fest that many other seinen attempt. While there were moments of great thrill and action throughout the series, the majority of the plot was a slow-burn. To make it feel real, it had to act real, which it did, but ultimately, the series could have likely been condensed by about 12 episodes to the same (or greater) effect. Of course, every piece mattered, there wasn't an unnecessary beat, however, if the effect remained and the story were slightly shorter, I doubt much would need to be redacted that overall impacts the story to such a length as to diminish the final product.

Beyond that, this is by far one of the best anime of all-time, for many reasons, but perhaps the biggest was its impact. Anime have great philosophies and stories, but to evoke such intense emotion and sentiment is something accomplished few and far between by anime. The story itself is one for the ages, but the delivery is something to be spoken to on its own. The artistry and acting of this anime are in a league of their own. Not one scene felt unaccomplished or lacking in either animation, sound design, or acting. It really felt as though each branch truly realized exactly how impressive the art they were working on was and came together to deliver such a masterful end-product.

All-in-all, I'm pressed not to score this a ten, but, the qualm about the pacing, finding myself at times slightly uninterested in the happenings at its slower parts, keeps me on the very edge. If MAL allowed for .5s, surely that's where my score would land. As such, I'll conclude this modestly brief review with a 9.5/10.