Review of Monster

Despite being an older animation Monster definitely holds its own as a classic to this day. The main reasons being the suspense timing, animation detail and characters. My only critique is that the pacing of the overall story is sometimes slow and occasionally repetitive. That aside though the attention to detail in the animation is second to none, the characters deep and complex and the way it jumps between stories and timelines is well done. One of my biggest praises though is something which was done a lot better in older anime and done to a mastery level here - the timing when building suspense. Toomany anime rush impactful moments delivering a cheap payoff, but Monster pauses just long enough and uses the right music and shots to generate really good suspense build up. It also draws out a full range of emotions really well with its delivery and storytelling.

Its also pretty unique (alongside Gintama) in having an older protagonist and very unique in being set outside of Japan (In Germany).

Overall a fascinating anime and one well worth a watch.