Review of Monster

This is my first time writing on a review on any anime, but I felt this was necessary because of how truly amazed I was by this piece of media. This review will probably also contain mild spoilers, but I'll try and keep it as safe as possible. Firstly, the story was truly incredible, it is very rare when an anime is able to retrieve audible reactions to the twists and turns happening on screen. I'm the kind of person to sit and watch anime in complete silence. The only other anime that was able to make me feel similar to this was Haikyuu!!. Monster hadme captivated constantly, uncovering new clues and surprises which, at times would confuse the shit out of me, but leave me wanting more, I needed to get to the bottom of this, but the thing is once it came time for the climax of the series, and I could feel that some things were going to be left unexplained, which didn't sit right with me at first, but once the climax had come to an end, and I was onto the final episode.
I wasn't actually upset that some things were left unexplained, I was content, I felt like I had closure over the incredible journey that had just taken place, some things are better left unexplained and in the past, which is a theme that is touched upon here and there in this anime. Overall the story left me with an unexplainable feeling, usually, after an anime that blows my mind as much as this one, I would feel empty inside. but this anime created a feeling of closure, and made me feel like this anime is definitely something i can look back on for many years to come.

When it comes to the art, the visual techniques used, and how i felt looking at this anime, i felt good, i felt like obviously the animation isn't something you would see today like in Boku No Hero, but the animation, i personally thought what fantastic for something made in 2005. Not only the animation but they ways the characters were drawn made them easily recognisable, and the way Tenma's hair slowly grows out throughout the story helps keep a good sense of time throughout the anime. Something i also thought was interesting enough to mention, was that during the climax, most of what was happening was essentially in black and white, but the content was so captivating that i didn't even notice the lack of colour.

The sound in this anime is done fantastically, one thing i have to mention is that the opening manages to be absolutely incredible despite having no vocals apart from a choir singing, no words or lyrics are spoken but not once did i feel the need to skip the opening. The voice actors fit their roles perfectly and i wouldn't swap them out for anything.

Now onto the characters holy SHIT the characters blew me away, every character that was introduced was incredibly memorable and allowed you to get attached to them super quickly, some characters were introduced and let you create an attachment to them, with their motives and character arcs, and they would soon be ripped away from you before you knew it. As well as some characters being equally as appealing and staying for the long run, i never knew what was going to happen with any individual character, which i fucking LOVE. Overall the characters are some of the most appealing things in this entire series and i would honestly watch the whole series again just to see them.

My enjoyment in this series is up there with very few anime, i enjoy anime a lot but there are some anime such as this one that truly leave me feeling content. When i really enjoy an anime, i often try and find something similar to it that i can sink my teeth into. But this anime leaves me feeling like it is that unique and beautiful, that I'm happy with what I've watched and i don't need any more. Like filling a glass to the point where the water level perfectly sits at the brim.

Overall, its a fucking 10, and if you're reading this to get a gauge on whether to watch it or not, fucking go for it.