Review of Monster

Monster is everything an Anime should strive for: a deep, complex story, interesting characters, extensive lore and rich moments all entangled into one highly valuable experience. Not to mention great character moments and satisfying arcs for both the story and the characters. But to row back a bit, Monster is about Dr. Tenma who longs for a more righteous future for himself as he's unsatisfied with his shortcomings imposed on him by his superiors at work. When he finally musters his courage to defy the orders given to him, his whole life turns upside down for the next 11 years. During which he chases the serialkiller he revived from dead via surgery.
But there is far more than the eye would suggest from such a simple premise.

As Tenma encroaches on his goal he willingly shifts away from the person he longed for himself to be. All for a seemingly righteous but ultimately selfish goal. Especially when more and more untrustworthy cells become more clear by the day, he reduces himself as a lone wolf. In his crusade, however, he acquires more and more allies to aid him in his endeavor.
And all these characters receive all their own arcs and plot lines. And as the story progresses more and more episodes even live without a scene of the main character as the supporting cast is interesting as well. This goes even further when episodes introduce a complete new cast which mostly is focused on for a single arc. And while some of the characters stay in the supporting group a large fraction slips with all intent and purpose back into the background. The Munich cast is largely affected by it.

While on the topic on cities and locations. Monster takes full advantage of everything the plot offers. It makes perfect sense to take place in Germany during the Fall of the Wall. Every single detail within the story couldn't live without this and can't be replaced by something similar. This is something many Anime and Manga lack. Surely this certain period of German history comes already with a lot of baggage attached, but even without an extensive knowledge about that period, Monster educates passively in that regard by intrigue alone.

However, there is one major point where Monster suffers simply by its format. And that is the final arc and how it played out.
The background cast for the final arc seems extremely susceptible in contrast to the main cast. They almost seem to have an iron will against pure evil. Similarly the Kinderheim incident isn't well explored either.
My personal guess would be that Humans can be easily put into a frenzy if given the opportunity, but honestly I think it is meant to be open for speculation. Furthermore, it probably should detach the viewer from the background cast, as they easily could fill a role in that event. And by not showing the thoughts and acts of the background cast, the event can be observed without leaving the shoes of the main cast. And while I agree that this topic is extremely heavy, Monster made sure to be safe in regard of copycats.

Over the run of the Anime, Monster proves itself to be simply excellent in terms of pacing and thriller. Especially the mid-arc episodes are full of twists and turns which make the viewer crave more. And I gleefully gave in to these desires.

Monster cannot be describe by anything other than being a Masterpiece. Everything of it fits perfectly in this complex machine of characters, lore and plot. The outstanding and persistent quality of sound and art support it in every way to a tee. Additionally the Anime made sure to adapt it's material after it finished its runtime. It is without a doubt one of the best works this medium has seen.