Review of Monster

Well I was thinking to write a review on this anime from a very long time but I felt like I was not prepared for it. So now I am writing this! {Note: This review contains some spoilers.....but I am telling you....You will not be able to recall any of the spoilers....these spoilers will actually be helpful in reviewing this long series.} First of all,This is one of the most popular anime in "Psychological-Thriller" genre. And this genre is my most favorite genre. This is an epic story/plot.....how to join Many Coincidences with one incident.....This anime shows this thing. Well I started to watch this anime in May,2020 & finishedin June,2020.

It is one of my favorite anime....and it is a must watch.

• Story(9/10):

Well in starting,it seems to be an epic plot...And it is.... Think.....one of the best Neurosurgeon Saves a "kid" over a "Mere of the city" and then that kid becomes a Psycho Serial Killer. And then the Doctor who saved the kid goes in search of that kid....collecting information about him and his past story that how he became a Serial Mass Murderer.
And the last ten episodes were so epic that I couldn't resist myself to watch them continuously. I remember I watched episode 68-74 at a time and that was one of the most memorable experience from this anime.
And This is my JOINT MOST FAVORITE PHILOSOPHICAL ANIME along with PARASYTE THE MAXIM(I don't know whether you like it or hate it so don't judge Monster from My Parasyte reference).
It gave me a hard time to think about society and the MONSTER INSIDE ALL OF US. But I am giving you a clue....The story will give you a conflicting feeling always bcz you can't determine its final score so easily. You will have to watch it till the very end. And I must say that this is one of the most memorable anime I have ever watched.

- (Spoiler alert) I very disliked at some points when they started to show Nina's memory for countless times(Nina is the main female character in this series). They thought that this will make it look more psychological but that's not.
And also I disliked it very much when they shown story of all those characters in a whole episode who doesn't even have to do anything with the show....If you want to show story of some supporting characters,show it for very less minutes not for a whole episode.
For instance,There is an Corrupt organisation named "BABY" is shown which is known for Right Wing extremism. They showed whole of that organisations evils for some episodes and tried to stretch the story.
But here it can also be taken as a character development of Dr. Tenma but I really didn't like when they didn't show Tenma for more than 1 episodes or 2 and shown other side characters' story instead.

But what I like about the plot is that the author have a lot of knowledge about the places he used in this work.....Germany and Czechoslovakia are the two nations which are featured in this anime and there is nothing to do with Japan in this except Dr. Tenma.

The author really have deep knowledge about the history of these two nations and also about the climatic conditions+the places he used in this work along with the German and Czech names. I think this is one of the most difficult creations in anime history.
The NEO-NAZI thing is also explained very well and storytelling is superb.
(Well I can't continue telling only plot so I am continuing other aspects from here in short)

• Characters(9.5/10):

The main protagonist is my most fav character from this anime and is currently my second most fav character. His character development is most natural and one of the most struggling. I think anyone who sees his story......and his character development....will start to love him.
I must say that this anime had shown one of the best character development ever and they took reasonable time for this.
There are some masterpiece character writing like "Johan Liebert,Grimmer,Dr. Kenzō Tenma,Inspector Lunge,Nina Fortner,Tenma's friend-Rudy Gillen,the psychologist-Reichwein,small kid-Dieter & Richard Braun."
I think The above characters are better than many other characters of other fancy anime. These characters did a very great job that you will enjoy their presence very much.

- But wait this is not overall good in characters. The side characters are the biggest problem of the story. There are many characters who are used as fillers....lile when there is a mystery left in the last episode you watched then they have put a side character's story to stretch the storyline. I liked almost all the supporting characters and main characters of this superb anime but I hated and will hate all its side characters. The reason why this anime is not a 10/10 for me is this mainly because the story which can be explained in less than 70 episodes is explained in more than 70 episodes. And this happened bcz of these side characters. And don't think that only I am saying about this problem.....the people who gave 10/10 t monster also stated this problem and a lot of reviews on MAL also states that. And this problem can be very big for some people bcz it bores sometimes and people don't enjoy this series for some moments.

• Sound(9/10):

Well op theme is a masterpiece....I don't remember when I skipped it......almost never....ending theme is good for horror lovers. It is not likeable but actually it is not their fault....that ed theme was the most suitable for the Anime like this. And actually it made sense very lately. But I can't say I use to listen it.....it is a good theme music but it is not enjoyable.
Ost are also great for Creating psychological atmosphere but overall that's good but I can't say very best sounds ever made for an anime. So this score is well deserved.

• Art(10/10):

Creating a character's appearance is also one of the most difficult task. More character=More Appearances.....and NAOKI URASAWA nailed it. I don't need to tell about his art.....just see it by yourself. Well we all know that Madhouse always do a great job in art and I myself am a big fan of Madhouse anime bcz of their art style. And for this anime....I can say it suited it very much and The plot which is Set half in Germany and half in Czechoslovakia is awesome for this art style. It is very difficult for a japanese author to show the whole plot in some other country and make it in all the way like original. Like think.....it seemed like Old Germany in all the way. And the main art is when you get to see the last 8 to 5 episodes. That is the THEME ART OF MONSTER. And I am glad Madhouse adapted it.

•Enjoyment(8/10):

Well I always tried to like this show while I was watching. I always watch only 4 episodes A day of a long anime so that I can enjoy it for a long time and give it a proper time to show its greatness. And this show was exceptionally a great show but I told you above that those fillers and side stories of some characters ruined this show for me and ended up 9/10.
Actually TBH I liked episodes_1-20,30-40,then some of the episodes between 45-60 where one of the best characters of this anime_named "Grimmer" arrived. This is one of the slow paced anime but if you stick with it...you may love it. And don't need to worry...In every 10 episodes you will get some episodes(at least 4-5) which are enjoyable and at max....you will love all episodes.

•Overall(9/10):

This is my final and official score for this anime. I can't give a proper 10 bcz it doesn't excell in many aspects and also bcz I didn't like the whole story stretching of it. And if a show is not FLAWLESS.....then it is not 10/10....but score doesn't give a damn when it comes to loving the series.....I love it more than many other anime to which I gave a perfect 10/10.
Monster is a type of story which represents the evil side of HUMANS. WHO IS THE MONSTER? That is not anybody but you. Yes,the Monster is not referred to any character(like some people think Franz Bonaparta or Johan are the Monsters). It is referred to Human Beings. Give them Weapons and see what they do.
But sometimes I felt like it was becoming more of Adventure-Drama Genre but in every possible way it drove itself back to its main theme...."Crime Psychology" and thrilled by revealing many mysteries. The author of this story tried to give a lot of life lessons through his best ever Creation of all times. And also think can a long show be a non-supernatural. But you will be shocked to know that a 74 episodes Long anime is not even based on any Supernatural thing. The title is only supernatural thing in the whole anime. And I congrats Naoki Urasawa for this. And also for his art style....it was really good.
This show needs to be more popular. The anime like this are made once in a decade and it is one of the rare gems.

- I checked Monster Manga and I can say that the Anime is equally good as the Manga in this case. With thrilling ost and art style of Madhouse some moments really became so great to appreciate. I am saying this bcz Manga of Monster is so high rated on MAL but in actual Monster Anime needs to be placed on Top 10.

I can say that this show is worth watching and also worth appreciating. You will not regret after watching this. It is one of the most sensible shows ever created. It reflects our society & it is one of those shows which brings truth of this evil & cruel world infront of you. If I would have to recommend this show....I would recommend it to people who can stick with slow pace,love psycho-thrill combo shows & most important__those who love PHILOSOPHICAL SHOWS which tells you more about Social Values and Leaves a Deep impact on the viewer.
Some people compare it to Death Note.....well yeah Death Note is a 10/10 absolutely but I love MONSTER more than Death Note even when I am giving it a 9/10 bcz it is a complex,more dark,more philosophical and EPIC.
And a message for those who love shounen ....bcz it is utter psychological & high class philosophical story....I can say this anime is not for you. You may like it if you are not a kind of ROM-COM lover or You're don't only like fancy anime like TOKYO GHOUL which got so much hype before and after the release and even still have. Well don't get me wrong....I am not saying that it is absolute possibility....there might be many people who love Shounen-Supernatural and Psycho-Thriller shows at the same time.

Well it is very long now.
So That's the end,Thank you to those who read this review fully.