Review of Monster

Monster is listed as a psychological anime, but it's more akin to a very well-written adventure show. It's not really much of an anime either. It's just a story. There's no kawaii characters or fan service or deus ex machina or exaggerated intense scenes where the characters are facing away from each other or a ton of exposition, there are no exaggerated "genius" characters but all of the main characters are very smart, there's no ecchi, there's no boob humor, or any of the things you'd usually expect in an anime, for better or for worse. There's not even a love interest until the veryend. The love-factor is probably the best illustration of how Monster is not really like an anime at all but more like a western show, where relationships only begin after a very long period of time, when the character's missions are completed. There's no love at first sight. And like western shows, it doesn't tell you what happens after the happily ever after.

Where Monster really excels is putting you in the shoes of Dr. Tenma, a fugitive trying to correct a past mistake and reconcile his own conflicted ideologies on human worth. It's all very philosophical. Anyways, like I said, it's really good at putting you in Dr. Tenma's shoes. Throughout the entire adventure you get a very clear picture of what Tenma thinks and feels, and how the people around him affect him, and alternatively, how he affects others. There is a sense of urgency that he brings to the show, as well as a very respectable sense of right and wrong. Tenma's only real flaw is that he's too much of a goody two-shoes. Despite his resolution to kill the few to save the many, time and time again, he loses sight of his primary goal for the sake of those around him. But one of the driving forces behind the show is the fact that Tenma is such a goody goody. And in that sense there's an element of descent into darkness to this show that really pulls the viewers in. And for that matter, this is a show that knows how to end an episode with a cliff hanger.

As for the other characters, Monster strays away from anime convention yet again - opting for a small but detailed cast rather than a large ensemble of superficial archetypes. You can tell that the writer really put a lot of love into his characters. From Grimmer to Tenma to Anna to Johann to the Inspector to Tenma's ex - all 5 of these main characters are very unique and develop throughout the story into even more complex people. Oh, and since I mentioned it earlier, there's another thing I wanted to address about the characters. There technically is a genius character - the main antagonist. But if you watch closely, the thing that draws evildoers to him isn't that he's a genius, but that he's so evil, essentially. This story takes place in Germany. After the fall of Hitler's regime. And what this evil genius character does for the sum of the antagonists is essentially fill the gap that Hitler left. And as for his genius. He is definitely a very smart character, but he's merely just a guy who learned from his past, not someone like L or Light who comes up with random ideas to attack each other. That's why I said there isn't an exaggerated genius. As a writer, I can tell you that Death Note was written backwards. The writer began with what ending he wanted and what type of psychological battles would take place, then worked backwards to create the rules of the Death Note. And moving chronologically, it makes the writer look like a genius when really the ends created the means (make sense?). But Monster is a story that is written forwards. That's why you have this very smart, but tedious adventure. The author of Monster is the real genius.

The pacing of the show is extremely slow. It doesn't run in circles like a sitcom, but what I mean is that it basically goes back to what I was talking about earlier - it puts you in Dr. Tenma shoes. Tenma spends several years of his life trying to accomplish his goal. And watching Monster can be just as tedious at times, but never unnecessary. Tracking someone down is tedious work, and to portray it as something else would not be true to the story. And like I already said, there are no deus ex machinas. There's no random special ability or traveling angel who comes into to save you when you're in trouble. Everything that happens in this story makes perfect sense. The plot in general is very logical.

Story: 10
Characters: 10
Animation: 6
Music: 7
Enjoyability: 8

Overall: 8.2
This is not a show for any random 12 year old looking for just another anime to watch. This is a show for smart young adults who love thrillers and detective shows.