Review of Monster

For the last four months, I've spent the majority of my free time, watching critically-acclaimed shows one after another, seeking to find a show that could top all other. My favourite, Steins;Gate, has characters and storytelling that I felt were unparalleled in the medium. Nonetheless, I decided to watch Monster, a cat-and-mouse psychological seinen (a combination of three of my favourite genres). After finally completing it last night after on-and-off viewing, I think I can safely say that Monster is the best anime, no, the best story that I have ever consumed. This show was released originally alongside Death Note, one of the most hyped showsfrom one of the biggest manga publishers in the industry, Shonen Jump. Similarly, Death Note is a cat and mouse story, but with much broader appeal and much faster pacing. Monster, on the other hand, uses every scene to meticulously flesh out every aspect of it's world. In my opinion, Monster should be as main stream in the west as Death Note or a show like Attack On Titan. It appeals perfectly to the western viewer in both premise and setting, and as I stated previously, is a masterclass in writing that I look up to as a writer.
Now to the show. Monster is a show that is not interested in wasting your time. No shot is nonsensical if you keep watching, and no dialogue is disposable. Everything serves the greater story, often in ways which you don't yet realize. As I'm scared of spoiling the show for anyone, I suggest reading the summary above. It knows from episode one the story it's trying to tell, and was able to hook me right off the bat. In the first two episodes, we see a successful man lose it all, then watch how his revenge takes form through the invisible force of the monster. The monster's actions are absolutely brilliant, each one serving to isolate and incriminate the protagonist from the lawfulness of the world. Their actions not only serve to gaslight and destroy Dr. Tenma (the protagonist). Tenma has but one person holding him in this awful position, and he has absolutely no chance of escaping their influence but to kill the monster himself. The monster is such a captivating character, as it's brilliant to see a character so detached and trapped in their own mind, yet so kind charismatic and passionate to everyone else. The mystery of the monsters past is one we are spoon fed to near completion, yet never given the full answer to. The show uses it's pacing to let the viewer fill in the blanks and reflect on the tension. One of my favourite characters is a detective investigating Dr. Tenma named Inspector Lunge. A brilliant man with a computer inside his head and an invisible keyboard in his hand, he uses himself to see through the eyes of the murderer, and his theories on the murder cases are strong enough to inspire their own stories. Nonetheless, his theories are disregarded as he grows closer to the answer and learns more from contact with Tenma. Lunge is a brilliant representation of authority, and simultaneously one of the most badass characters in the show. Two other excellent characters were Grimmer and Roberto, the most kind and the most heartless characters in the show respectively. Roberto is legitimately terrifying that I swore every time he showed up on screen. Grimmer, on the other hand, reminded me of Robin Williams, serving as a source of light for so many characters. These two characters are of course, harboring secrets of their own that you don't fully learn until near the end of the show, but each one is a masterclass example of writing. Hell, all of the characters, Reichwein, the Lawyer, Eva Heinemann, Franz Bonaparta, Schubert, every single character in the show (except for Carl) is an example of a brilliantly constructed character, where every line of their dialogue reeks of their past and their traumas. While the characters of Steins;Gate and Persona felt like my friends, the characters of Monster are flawed and captivating humans who we learn more about than any character in any other show. There is no escapist self-insert protagonist, there is no airhead with massive breasts, there is no best friend character that agrees with every decision the protagonist makes, and their is no mustache-twirling villain. The characters each captivate their own side stories, but the author, Naoki Urasawa, chooses not to monopolize on this because he is utilizing his creative mind to make excellent stories, not money. You can call the show "slow", but I really don't think it's a valid criticism. The first two episodes packed in so much material and served as the perfect hook to the show, where I decided I would mark the episode with a temporary 10 after episode 4 (a score I do not give lightly). Shows like Hunter Hunter, JoJo and Dragon Ball are all shows much more popular than this one that can use an entire 20-minute episode on half a fight scene. They have episodes that are not interested in the viewers time and are made to fill an episode quota. There is a reason monster is 74 episodes, and not a more standard number. It only needed 74 episodes. Adding a single other episode would simply sprinkle unnecessary padding throughout. This show keeps each episode focused on one group of characters, and makes it feel like I just lived a day observing them after every episode. The art is gritty, psychological, and the second most realistic show I've seen next to Ergo Proxy. I feel like, just by looking at a character in Monster, I can smell them, see them as humans, and it was able to immerse me like no other as a result. The landscapes are real places that seem so accurate and realized that I applaud the efforts of the animators. The music is subtle and carries the scenes perfectly. The show has one main theme, which upon first listens, is twisted. It lacks the core elements of music theory and accompanies the cloudy voices of a choir with a catchy drum beat. It's unnerving, but after a while, it becomes familiar. It goes from a source of uncertainty, perfectly reflective of Tenma's fidgety actions in the opening shots, to a source of comfort. Leitmotifs of the theme become more prevalent as the show goes on, especially in scenes where the characters feel safe. The music and sound serves to reflect the safety and mental tension of the characters in each scene, making it feel like we are in their heads.
As a show I went into knowing nothing other than it's genre, Monster surprised me and blew me away. It's characters are fascinating. Every scene and side character is essential to the greater plot. The music creates tension and comfort and the art makes it feel like I'm in post-cold war Germany. Monster is gritty, thrilling, exciting, and a show I feel every human alive should watch (or read, because the manga is equally excellent from what I hear) at some point in their life.