Review of Monster
Where do all the lonely people come from? The Beatles asked this question four dozen years ago - yet the answer remains deficient. Suffice it to say that MONSTER is not the type of series that will deliver us - the viewers - an easy answer. To first understand WHY we're lonely, we must explore the true nature of us humans. Dr. Tenma is a gifted (yet naive) Japanese neurosurgeon working in Düsseldorf during the mid '80th. The politically-unstable era saw the sparkle of unity among German youth, though Dr. Tenma does not get to witness this rising tide; He's about to get married to sought-afterdaughter of his hospital director, with the position of Head-Surgeon right beneath his feet. Away from his homeland, the illusion of wealth blinds the conversant Doctor.
It only takes a few gunshots - Fired many miles away from the Hospital - to change his false perception of reality.
In a way, Johan Liebert did Dr. Tenma a favor. By having his position, fiancé and respect taken away from him, Dr. Tenma starts to see the world as it truly is. The journey which he embarks upon years later (while hiding from the police) forces him to deal with his inner demons.
Though that's not the case for Anna, a cheerful and a good-hearted college student whose loving environment is taken away from her as her gruesome past begins to resurface. These two lonely souls must change their inner beliefs in order to subsist.
Johan Liebert's part in the series resembles that of a Vole operating underground; we mostly get to hear about him as a legend rather than witness him in action. The scariest monsters are the ones we cannot see, and little by little Johan establishes himself as the scariest motherfucker in any room. Neither before nor after watching MONSTER have I encountered a ghastlier nemesis. By the time he was 18, Johan's name became a fearsome legend spread faster than that of DEATH NOTE's "KIRA".
Similarly to THE FUGITIVE (1993), MONSTER pit two characters with superior intelligences against one another. While on the run, inspector Heinrich Lunge takes a nearly obsessive agenda to capture Dr. Tenma. In a Hitchcock-esque way, we're not easily able to choose sides. The Inspector's character is too compelling for us to hate, making their cat-and-mouse game intriguing not any less than Johan's manhunt.
While not the best looking anime of its era, MONSTER excels at adapting 99.9% of Naoki Urusawa's original manga, to the point of preserving frames as well as the art style. Germany's (and later the Czech Republic's) big cities and countrysides are well detailed and umbrageous - keeping the shady mood of revolution constantly in the background.
Not many thriller anime series can be proud of getting some closure, yet MONSTER will give the middling viewer a satisfying conclusion by its endpoint. More peevish viewers will be glad to hear about the series half point which is as intense as a season finale.
MONSTER is Urusawa's magnum opus: The 74-episodes journey manages to balance the right amount of suspense and drama. All of the main characters overgrow their inner problems during the course of the series, while having their lives at risk (and keeping every viewer on the edge of his seat).
I can proudly announce it as one of my top 3 anime series of all time, not wrecked by the wheel of time. It may not give us the answer to The Beatles' song, merely a speculation, yet MONSTER explores the nature of humanity enough for us to ask the right question: What can individuals do to never be lonely again?