Review of Monster
A few weeks ago I finished this masterpiece of a show. I'm so passionate about it but I couldn't talk to anyone about it other than my mom. This show is like a hidden gem that not many people discover, and even if they do, they may not see the beauty of it. It's so underrated even though it is one of the greatest series out there. I'm not a professional reviewer, heck, this is my first review ever, but I hope this might entrigue people into watching Naoki Urasawa's masterpiece of a show. The plot is very interesting and quite simple to understand. There'sthe good and the evil, black and white, cat and mouse, you know the drill. But as the story unfolds, you understand that you don't really understand! There's so much more to the story and backstories and people aren't who they seem to be and it just branches out to so many directions.
Imagine a tree, the trunk, the branches, the leaves. All the elements of a tree alone, are useless. Yet, when they combine, they form a stunning piece of nature. That is how I see this show.
The characters are very realistic and human-like. Their motives are simple and aren't too ambitious like I dunno, "saving the world from all evil!" or something like that. All of their backstories are all relevant to the plot (you don't see that often...) and are very in-depth and just by seeing how each character is changed by the tragedy or event that happens in their life, how they deal with it, adds so much reality and analysis on the characters themselves. It's beautiful. No super-human-strength, no big-ass katana's, no personality trait that is solely based on them being horny. It's all just sheer HUMAN.
The art is like nothing I've ever seen. Though I do see how some people may be reluctant on starting the series by looking at the art style, DON'T!!!! All the characters' faces are unique and distinguished to one another and they all just look like real HUMANS. I do see that the animation could be stale at some parts since the faces always need to be full of detail, but honestly, it still looks stunning. The way hair moves in the wind, how long cotes move when someone is running, the movement of someone grabbing their gun, etc. I mean, there's not much action, to begin with, so there is no need for huge action scenes with flashy colours and explosions!!
The openings, endings and OST's are out of this world!! They're could all be pretty unsettling to an extent, but they could also be beautiful pieces of art. The opening is great, its awesome! It really hypes you up for the episode, and the visuals are also stunning too! All of them have some kind of meaning, even though you can't figure them all out in the beginning, you always get this feeling that this particular shot MUST have something to do with upcoming episodes! The two endings are also beautiful, yet unsettling. After watching one hell of an episode, and hearing the ending, it could sound calming and comfortable to one viewer, yet unsettling and weird to the other. (or maybe even both!) The OST's are beautiful too and are so memorable! A lot of them are really really scary and creepy, yet some of them are so soothing and graceful.
Since this was my first watch, there were parts that I didn't understand at all, heck, there are parts no one really understands! Everywhere I look I see different opinions and thoughts. But that's exactly what makes the show so great. A lot is left unexplained to the viewer so you yourself could think of an explanation. And everyone has a different point of view, sets of morals, so any explanation you come up with, is probably unique and the only one in the world!
As I said, I didn't understand some parts, but what I'm CERTAIN of is that this is one hell of a show that's one of the best I've ever seen, and will ever see.
This show is a must-see for viewers craving some phycological-thriller shows, and philosophical thoughts to think about when lying in bed, or taking a shower.