Review of Monster

An intriguing story, a mystery that unites the psychological theme with the horror one in a style that is very reminiscent of Fyodor Dostoyevsky. The characters have such a realistic psychology that they are almost human and this is one of the most interesting aspects of the anime. I am not speaking only of the protagonist who, I would like to comment, has a brilliantly written and not forced evolution; I also speak of Johan Liebert. The antagonist of the story is a dark, evil character, whose vision of human suffering and death coincides with an exploration of the void that very much resembles theidea of Nietzsche's Beyond-Man. The very idea of "inner monster" could, in my opinion, recall some texts of psychoanalysis written by Deveroux where a devouring personality destroys itself and everything that comes close to it.
The "inner monster" of Johan could also be a reference to some ancient cultures like the Babylonian one (in the dualism Gilgamesh / Enkidu) but I am digressing a little bit.

The main theme of the anime is in my opinion the importance of human life and the choices of each individual. We have two characters, two characters that exist in a dichotomy of saving and destroying. Tenma, the protagonist, is a very good surgeon and he represents the one who wants to preserve life, in fact he doesn't want to kill anyone. Johan, on the other hand, is a murderer whose purpose seems to be to stop all human suffering by killing anyone, creating chaos. Tenma is an explorer of human life, in fact he experiences different characters and interacts with each of them trying to understand them; Johan is an explorer of suffering, of death and he wants to bring out the worst in people.

The music is crazy. Sometimes it offers calm and quiet melodies and at other times it makes you shudder with horror film sounds, especially in Johan's scenes. The music during his murders remembers, in fact, the music of a monster, of an evil being that only wants to hurt.
I must also compliment the style with which the characters were drawn and the animations that are slow but natural. I realize that this is not an anime for everyone because it is long enough and for some it might be boring. But I can guarantee that it is a masterpiece that deserves to be looked at.