Review of Monster

Monster is a series which gets almost universal praise. And for a good reason - it is a very good show and I enjoyed thoroughly almost every episode of it. But unfortunately it is sort of a failed masterpiece - and as such it may ultimately be not as rewarding as its ratings suggest or even worse, may leave the viewer with a (very) strong sense of disappointment. And because watching it is potentially disappointing, all the more the series is 74 episodes long - three times the normal show's length, mind you - please treat this review as a warning (as non-spoiler-ishas possible).

The show around the middle seems almost perfect. It has a great premise which constantly evolves when a protagonist uncovers new layers of what he is destined to confront. The series evolves simultaneously by expanding its cast of characters and by narrating its story through different conventions - Monster starts as a kind of fugitive on the run crime revenge story, but in its run it touches many different (though related) genres - there are elements (or even entire arcs) of road movie, detective story, horror, conspiracy drama, psychological thriller, medical drama, soap opera and film-noir. This variety of means of story narrating (and variety of spotlight's characters) keeps attention of the viewer and make her overlook quite a few clichéd events. The ensemble cast is also a very strong point of the show - obviously some of them are walking archetypes, but some of them are very much not and even when they are, they're designed in an interesting way.

What is worth noting, Monster is almost entirely non-animesque both in characters' design, in its setting and also in its choice of themes and plot devices. There are almost no distinctively Japanese tropes present - the show much more resembles the HBO live-action series that its anime counterparts. Art style and soundtrack fit the show very well and emphasize its grim atmosphere - from the opening to the end credits. Bleak colors and ominous sounds serve the show very well. The world of Monster is stylishly sketched and sound-tracked in a way which helps the viewer to immerse in it. Designs of the streets, buildings, "the city out of fairy tale" and a certain unique children book cannot be easily forgotten.

Until the very last arc there are minor flaws here and there - several, though very rare, bland individual episodes, maybe one arc not on the par with the others. But for so long a series it's hard to find anything to sincerely criticize. Yes, the anime relies too heavily on suspense - even while doing it masterfully (and it really does it masterfully), the constant cuts of the scene in the heat of the moment could grow old on the impatient after 50+ episodes. The constant use of cuts in most thrilling moments also prevents the anime from showing most of the action sequences it could have had. I wouldn't mind this in the shorter series, but in the longer one, even more variety than it already has would be welcome. And sometimes there is a little too much melodrama, and one or two cheap tricks too many.

But it is all forgivable. My only real gripe through series run was a growing uneasy feeling that there is a significant inconsistency between individual characters' actions, the way story treats them and the show's dark setting - on the one hand the unfolding events are rather creepy and disturbing, on the other some characters tend to behave like pre-modern Disney movie heroes. The show during many episodes lands surprisingly often in territory of a very clear-cut version of black and white morality. What's more, it tends to resolve conflicts in favor of the white side by plot conveniences. It contrasts starkly with the overall grim mood. This tonal dissonance fluctuates - it is not always prominent, sometimes it is abandoned for good.

Up to the last part the series weaves skillfully its premise and subsequent multiple parallel threads, interconnecting and twisting them. It's worth repeating that individually most of them are stellar. But as they unravel they don't conclude the main story and leave much of the mystery concealed to the very end. The build-up is so enormous that it promises the viewer not only a satisfactory ending, but rather catharsis in its most refined form. The problem is the series fails to deliver on that promise. The conclusion comes and it's not cathartic. It isn't even satisfactory. It isn't bad, by any stretch of imagination, and it isn't one of the usual anime endings which doesn't resolve anything. Still by the series own standards it isn't satisfactory enough - all of these threads don't connect neatly, some of them are left hanging in the air, few are connected in an unconvincing way and quite a few plot-holes are created.

And it happens apparently not only because creators wrote themselves into corner by sheer complexity of their story and by setting the viewers' expectations unbelievably high. Their story not only seems to rush last arc, not only doesn't fully connect its multiple threads, but ultimately it doesn't wholly abandon the aforementioned tonal dissonance. It refuses to draw serious consequences from itself. It's unbelievably infuriating because almost all the pieces needed to make a better ending are there, yet the creators choose the unsatisfactory way. I understand the reasons for that, they have much to do with the ethical message the writer tries to convey and a little with cultural differences between Japan and West in terms of a certain public morality issue (I don't want to spoil here exactly what issue). Yet I find such reasons and such a way of concluding story fundamentally outdated. And hypocritical.

For some it won't be a problem at all. Some may even like the ending - I repeat, it's not bad, it's only dishearteningly inadequate. So bear in mind that you might be heavily disappointed by it - if you are the person who could live with a 74 episodes long fascinating journey which doesn't necessarily lead anywhere you definitely should watch this. If you are not, seriously reconsider committing yourself to such a long anime, it may be not worth it.