Review of Monster
Monster. I once made my goal to watch the top 100 animes of myanimelist because I figured “Wow, the first three are so gud”. However: one single anime made me realize that not all top 100 animes are equal; some are more equal than the others. This is the one who made me realize that some anime’s on top 100 are just pure trash. Characters: Kenzo Tenma is way too good, and I mean that in the evil/good sense. The biggest thing going about him is his supposed vengeance upon the main bad guy that makes you think would be the trigger for him to turn bad himself.There really is no development of his character which you desperately want to see in a psychological anime. He is just a good guy who does good for the sake of it. He also has no visibly personality except his outstanding manners which are a trademark of the Japanese people. He is probably one of those people that if it weren’t for the fact they had this one good skill (he is a really good surgeon) they would simply be going through life without anything special happening.
Anna Liebert: Mary Sue
Inspector Lunge: He is an ok character, but his memorization technique looks really out of place and not needed. I liked his theorizing about Tenma’s state of mind. Doesn’t do anything in the end despite being the most vigilant of all characters.
Dieter: I literally can’t find a reason why he would be in the series. He is really annoying and made me skip almost all of the scenes where he was doing something (usually nothing).
Werner Weber: Same with Lunge, his special power is just so weird. His overemphasized empathy is also annoying. He’s like if Dieter and Lunge had a son.
Other characters: Trash. They are the likes that you would expect to come from the immense knowledge an average manga artist has. Most of their characterization is made up by some forced up quality like that evil blonde girl being an alcoholic or that evil nazi guy being a dwarf.
Johan Liebeter: Honestly, he is the only good character in the anime (and I mean that in the sense of good & bad). He is mostly reserved but constantly does something in part of his keikaku. He is a good force of nature villain that moves the mostly stagnant plot. His monologues are mildly interesting but do sometimes sound like Jaden Smith wrote them. His biggest flaw has to do with the fact that his psychological manipulation doesn’t really make sense and seems forced. His motivations remain unclear and is mostly speculations but has some development by the end. He might be considered an “ubermensch” because he doesn’t’ really care about other people opinion and just does what he wants. Tbh, he is the only good thing in the show, but that’s like, an apple in a load of shit if you ask me.
Plot:
It’s kinda stupid and misleading. Let me elaborate. From the very first episode, one would deduce that perhaps the anime is about one becoming a monster (namely Kenzo Tenma). It does lead that way in the very first 30 episodes.
But, later one, it becomes clear that this isn’t about Kenzo Tenma becoming the monster because the constant killing/suffering/injustice going unpunished turns him into it (which would be interesting). Instead, we get this huge circlejerk of evil characters vs good ones and the constant and constant and constant delaying of the final confrontation between Tenma and Johan Liebert (the one who is closest to being a “monster”). Which lead me to the biggest and worst flaw in this entire anime.
THE PLOT PACING IS REALLY REALLY BAD AND I MEAN LIKE REALLY BAD (THE WORST I HAVE EVER SEEN IN ANY KIND OF MEDIA). I HAD TO WATCH THIS ANIME IN 2X SPEED BECAUSE IT JUST KEPT HAVING CONVERSATIONS ABOUT THINGS WE ALREADY KNEW AND HAD FILLER SCENES. THE REAL MONSTER IS NOT SOME BLONDE GUY BUT THE PLOT PACING.
As I said, the plot is mostly about good (the average German citizen) vs evil (literal psychos) characters in interconnected places that are being visited by our main character. He travels from place to place in order to find clues about the aryan main villain guy. He is like an RPG character but also has to constantly prove that he isn't tainted by evil, and trust me, the show SURE MAKES SURE THAT YOU DON'T EVER THINK THAT TENMA IS EVEN A LITTLE BIT EVIL. And as we move from place to place we realize that perhaps it isn't about finding the monster, but making friends along the way.
Now I will spoil the twist of the title. It’s kinda needlessly wholesome and out of place. The real monster is actually the mother of Johan Liebert and Anna Liebert who did the “grave” sin of choosing one over the other. That moment alone is possibly the reason why Johan became what he became. It was the final meh to the grave.
Sound: The opening is Gucci but it becomes boring after you listen to it for the 50th time… oh yeah, the opening is the same for all the 74 episodes… The rest of the soundtrack is not something you would listen to in your free time.
Art: It makes me depressed which would be expected from eastern Europe so i think it is good.
Conclusion: Please don’t watch this show. It’s a huge waste of time. If you ask anybody on /a/ they will tell you the same thing: It’s an overrated show that elitist like to brag about having watched it. And this is not like one of those “so bad it is good”. It’s just bad and boring. If you want real psychological stuff go read novels smh.