Review of Monster

This anime is a true work of art. The animation style is a bit old but the direction takes care of that. The entire setting is centred in and around Germany and old Czechoslovakia. The architecture style and culture depicted in the background reflects the reality and is quite detailed. The shows folllows real world history and is amazingly accurate in depicting it.The soundtrack is nothing special but is used in such a way that it gives you shivers at times. Every episode is full of twists and turns. Agreed, that the story does get predictable at times, and is insanely slow paced (more soin the middle) and the show is very long at 74 episodes but that is where Monster shows it's hidden beauty--the storytelling.

I have not seen a better character development anywhere. There are dozens of characters each with his/her own intense back story but the way Monster has succeded in presenting them makes it very hard to call anyone a “side character”. 74 episodes meant that there was a lot of time for small characters and side-arcs —each a separate piece in a giant, complex puzzle. The mystery and tension exist until the very last second. Part of the reason for the pace is that Madhouse did a frame by frame animation of the manga, trying to stick as close to it as possible.

The general tone is very dark and realism in scenes is extraordinary. The story is set in 1986 after the fall of Berlin Wall in Germany. But at times, it goes back even to the 60s. The story follows a young and talented altruistic Japanese neurosurgeon working in Germany, Kenzou Tenma, who saves the life of a child --risking his career by doing so. Ten years later, he crosses paths with the titular Monster. What follows, is an epic chase connecting many people, places, and stories. The ending is among the very best-- take my word for it. And the villain, the true gem of this show, is better than the most famous mainstream villains, namely Joker and Hannibal.

The show can be described as a scholarly article on philosophy and psychology. It tackles some of the most important moral and philosophical questions of our age. Urasawa’s work in a simple way is like what Nolan’s movies are- mind bending visual spectacles always leaving you with something to ponder about. The way human nature is shown as the conflicting thinking of characters along with an omnipotent dark-horroresque atmosphere and the villain, is second to none.

The OP is suitably dark without any vocals. “For the love of Life” by David Sylvian again, is among the very best of EDs. The second ending song is wierdly okayish. The rest of the OSTs are good enough.
In short, this anime is not made for everyone.

Or more importantly, not everyone is made for this anime.