Review of Monster

Monster - An anime with an intriguing premise and big setup that, apart from a few saving graces- completely falls flat and disappoints. This is an overrated anime. This is my first review on this site, and I feel compelled to make one seeing as how, maybe for the first time here so far; my opinion is completely different the majority's. Perhaps what went wrong with this anime for me was my expectations going in, which were formed by what I'd read about it from the reviews here and how it had presented itself. Needless to say I found it to be disappointing through andthrough, with it almost being a chore to get through the last 20-odd episodes.

Monster presents itself as being a psychological thriller/horror about a mastermind psychopath serial killer named Johan and an innocent doctor who'd saved him, not knowing who or what he was. Upon realizing what he'd saved and the consequences that followed from that action; the anime poses the main question to it's audience:
Should all life be saved/is all life equal?

The premise right away sounded intriguing to me, I saw one user here describe it as a "cat & mouse chase", another "chilling". Indeed it had all the ingredients for a very psychological and philosophical show. So where did it go wrong? Well... The story, and it's main antagonist Johan (the thing it needs to rely on the most, being named after him). I won't argue that the show is very philosophical- but the "psychological" part and it's overall presentation of main ideas completely falls flat. And the "horror" bit is just non-existent.

This show likes to take you on these long and very drawn out journeys that really have little to do with the main arc, but instead are there to flesh out it's main philosophical profile and the ideas it wants to put forth. This sounds good until you realize just how very drawn out and boring they get, and what little material they actually provide in-terms of both plot and character development. I found myself for the first time watching an anime that could send me to sleep. These long detours the show takes could be shortened drastically, some even skipped with little lost.

But bad story pacing aside, the main issue with this anime was indeed it's main antagonist Johan. I could accept long, drawn-out ""mini""-arcs if at least the antagonist it teases provides suitable pay-off. And boy does it not. Johan's purpose here is to display Nihilism and pose the age-old questions to the audience- "what exactly is humanity, and how would you lose it?"
And in that regard I guess he succeeds. This show DOES make good philosophical arguments and points- but as previously stated the way it goes about presenting them is nearly always poor; and at the detriment of the story and characters. Johan as both a character and a villain is weak. His motivations for certain actions are left completely mysterious- and not in the up-to-interpretation way- and his displays of power and intelligence are always an ass-pull that requires way too much suspension of disbelief from the viewer.

This show wants to present itself as gritty and realistic, but yet at the same time let it's antagonist do supernatural and impossible-like feats, with no explanation or reason. I'm fine with either but these two really do not meld well when put together in this show. While watching it I kept having to stop myself questioning just how a certain sequence of events could or would happen; or how Johan's ability to predict the seemingly unpredictable works (showcased mostly in the last few episodes). It is my philosophy that a good villain is one that manages to be believable. Johan as a character- and his actions throughout- is/are not at all believable, nor is the reasoning for why it took so long (for lack of a better term) to beat him.

In-fact I feel like both the antagonist; Johan, and protagonist; Dr. Tenma, suffer as characters for the same reason. They're both there to showcase an idea/argument, and as a result aren't believable as characters or as people. Dr. Tenma's journey is meant to be touching, even sad; with his guilt and torment at seeing the irrefutable consequences from one of his actions. But rarely do I feel anything from watching him. This could be because he's bland as a character, with there being little distinguishable about him and his personality, but I think the biggest reason is because there is little to no character development for him outside of finding the answer to the aforementioned-one question at the end. The Dr. Tenma of episode 20 is little different from the Dr. Tenma of episode 70, apart from slightly longer hair and a more grouchy expression. You could argue he becomes more "determined" to catch Johan but I don't see it at all. Certainly not at the climax.

As a result of the awful pacing this show has, it's bland protagonist and it's weak main antagonist, the enjoyment from this show is awful. I can't believe how or why one could go about binging it. This is the first show of this size that has taken me many months to complete.
...Anyway, with my main complaints out of the way, what were it's "saving graces"?

Firstly, the soundtrack. At times I felt like the soundtrack was adding more than what was even really there in the first place. And perhaps that's why I love it so much. It was brilliant, and went a long way in breathing life and atmosphere to the otherwise rather dull art/world of Monster. It added a bit of tension to where there otherwise weren't any, and did a near perfect job of conveying the emotion and tone of a moment.

Next, the characters. This might seem backwards considering I just went on about how weak Johan and Tenma are as antagonist and protagonist, but thankfully they were for the most part an exception (albeit rather large and important ones...). The side characters are what made Monster finish-able for me, and what got me through many of the detours of the show. I mentioned earlier this show wanting to be realistic, and indeed this may be the most realistic part of it. Nearly all the side-characters felt human. Their emotions and actions completely believable, and at times I felt they were even propping up the bland and unmoving protagonist that is Dr. Tenma. I feel like apart from Nina, all the emotion from this show is mostly gotten from these characters. Certainly not Dr. Tenma or Johan.
And to add a bit here at the end; how it makes you understand and almost like a certain annoying character is masterful to say the least.

To wrap up, with my biggest gripes and likes out of the way I'll conclude with this: Do I think Monster is a terrible show? No. Do I think it's a great show? No. I think this show is overrated and rather mediocre in one too many important areas. Sadly it's superb soundtrack and touching, well written side-characters aren't enough to save it from a weak overall story and weak set of main characters.