Review of Monster

The best anime of all time. A must-watch. The story is probably one of the best historically driven anime/manga stories ever with a wonderful depiction of Germany and Czechoslovakia. My father lived in each country for about 10 years from 1980-1999 and he absolutely loved the depiction of Europe at the time. The art style is wonderfully drawn, adapted from the manga and animated and is a truly unique aspect of this anime. Characters are drawn uniquely and accurately, as to aid viewers with their perception of these characters. The scenery, the understated music, and the wonderful adaptations of sequences and events from the mangamake this a quintessential psychological thriller experience.

The characters are some of the best ever written in manga/anime with Johan Liebert being the best villain you could possibly find. He haunts you with chilling nihilism and is a fantastic representation of human evil and its roots. Tenma is an underrated character, as despite being almost too perfect, he represents the power of self-belief, kindness, and morality, the best humanity could be.

Of course, as said in some negative reviews here, the story is not perfect, no story ever is. If you look deep enough, there will always be plotholes or things that were too convenient, were not 100% logical, or were not explained properly. But these do not diminish the quality of Monster, it actually propels Monster into a league of its own as overall, if you actually follow the story and try to understand the beauty of the multi-facted storytelling that takes place here, you will see that overall the story's grip and tension is astounding, and definitely sufficient for an enjoyable once-in-a-lifetime experience.