My Thoughts on Naoki Urasawa's Monster

Naoki Urasawa's Monster is a classic anime. But having only been actively into anime for a few years now, it wasn't one I had watched before--as until recently it wasn't really available on any streaming platforms in my location.

That changed recently when Netflix finally added it to their collection. At the recommendation of a friend, I decided to watch it. Most websites label Monster as a "crime thriller"--and while it certainly has many aspects of that genre, I do think that's underselling it. Yes, it is about chasing after an elusive criminal. But not just any criminal: He is Johan Liebert--the most evil and vile human being in any anime.

As of right now, my most viewed article on this website is one where I list all the ways Dio Brando/DIO from JoJo's Bizarre Adventure is the most despicable villain. In many ways, I wish that wasn't my most popular article for a couple of reasons: One, it isn't one of my best written. And two, when I wrote it, I had not seen Monster. And...As evil as Dio is, I don't think he's the scariest villain in anime. If anything, I often find him hilarious just because of how extra he is.

I don't feel that way about Johan. It isn't often that seeing a certain character on the screen strikes fear and anxiety into me, but that's what Johan did. Even when he wasn't actively doing anything evil, just his presence was enough to make me want to hide. The series is aware that he drives these kinds of emotions in the viewers, and they take advantage of that. Even though we know his name and his face, there are still many instances of him being likened to a monster in the shadows: He goes unseen, but his deeds leave a (often literal) trail of blood.

Before I get ahead of myself, let me give a quick spoiler free summary:

It begins with Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a very prodigious Japanese neurosurgeon located in West Germany in the mid-80s. He has an amazing reputation, a beautiful fiancee, and loves his job and finds his ability to heal others very fulfilling. After performing surgery on a famous opera singer, he is accosted by a poor Turkish woman who berates him for saving the opera singer--who arrived after her husband, who died in the hospital. This leaves Dr. Tenma wondering if he could have saved the woman's husband if he had operated based on chronology, instead of hospital politics which told him the opera singer was more important.

This sticks with him for days. His fiancee is dismissive of his guilt by simply telling him "Lives aren't equal." This also sticks with him and angers him. He is soon called in to perform emergency surgery on a young boy with a bullet wound in his head. Just as he is about to begin, the hospital administrator--his future father-in-law--calls him away to instead perform surgery on the mayor who just arrived. Despite Dr. Tenma's pleas to let him first operate on the young boy, the administrator is adamant that the mayor's life is more important.

Tenma, this time, decides to stick to his principles that all lives are created equal, and chooses to operate on the boy instead. The boy survives. The mayor, however, does not. This sends Dr. Tenma on another spiral, as he is stabbed in the back by his colleagues and superiors, and broken up with by his fiancee. But he takes peace in knowing that his principle of "all lives are equal" at least saved a young boy.

Fast forward about nine years, and a string of serial murders of middle-aged couples is happening across Germany with no suspect in mind. After treating a criminal patient, Dr. Tenma becomes close with him and imparts the wisdom he learned from his experience nine years ago onto him. In the middle of the night, the patient escapes to turn himself--and the man who paid him to commit his crimes--in to the police. Dr. Tenma finds the man who is being held at gunpoint by his overseer. The overseer is Johan Liebert--the child whose life he saved nearly a decade ago, and the perpetrator of the serial murders. Now, Dr. Tenma has to go on a quest to stop the monster he saved from killing again.

The show raises all kinds of questions about morality: Are lives equal? If they are, is killing someone justified even if they are cold-blooded and vicious? Is following your principles worth it if it could potentially put others in danger? Do people deserve second chances, even if they've done abominable things? Is evil born, or is it created?

It also raises a lot of philosophical questions, mostly pertaining to names and identity. See, Johan and his twin sister, were born in Czechoslovakia when it was still part of the Soviet Union. Early in their childhoods, their mother was taken away, leaving them to their own devices. They didn't remember the names they were given, and through their childhoods in orphanages and foster homes, they were constantly given new names--to the point where Johan came to the conclusion that because he didn't have a name that he could claim as his own (Johan just being a temporary one given to him by temporary foster parents)--he didn't really exist. Truly a solipsistic nihilist. There's several points in the show where characters will say things akin to "Say my name, so I know I'm still real."

Names are things we don't really think that deeply about in our day to day life, but it definitely makes you think. Would you be the same person if you had a different name? If you had no name, would you also be a monster? If you had no name for people to call you by, to confirm your standing in the world, would you simply cease to exist?

So philosophy and morality aside, is the show worth watching for all the other narrative elements? I say yes, absolutely. Though, this show forces you to think a lot, so definitely don't try watching it in the background because I don't think you will fully appreciate it that way.

First, the pacing is great. It's a 74 episode anime, which is a lot of episodes--but there's still somehow never episodes that feel like "filler." Everything becomes important to the plot somehow, and it always keeps you on the edge of your seat. It's one of the most suspenseful shows I've watched in a long time. I was constantly text bombing my friend who'd recommended it to me with my comments and reactions. There were also a lot of shocking twists that made me literally shout as I watched them.

The character writing is outstanding. There were characters I hated initially, like Eva and Inspector Lunge. But as the series began to near its end, I found myself sympathizing for them a lot more. Dr. Tenma is a very sympathetic protagonist. Even though he carries a gloomy demeanor throughout most of the show, he's also the story's main source of light. If you haven't gathered already, this show can be pretty depressing. But there is light in the darkness if you know where to look for it. Most of those moments are provided by Dr. Tenma who still holds fast to his principle of "all lives are created equal"...even though one life he saved ended up being a monster. He is a truly selfless person who helps everyone he comes across who needs it. (Which is why it's so heartbreaking to see how much he has to suffer from his own conscience.) He tells us that the world gets dark and gloomy sometimes, but we have to keep going. No matter how bleak life gets, there's always something to live for and look forward to.

And then there's, of course, Johan Liebert, who is an extremely well-written character himself. He tests the limits of the audience's compassion: He's a mass murderer, he makes people commit or attempt suicide (including a literal child) just through gaslighting alone, he kills children (both directly and indirectly)--which is a line not a lot of villains will cross, and one of the many things that makes him so terrifying. But, we can also acknowledge that what he went through in his childhood must have been traumatizing and contributed to his lack of empathy. (Not that it excuses it, mind you.) With a background like his, it's hard not to feel at least the slightest twinge of sympathy...and then immediately question your own morality for commiserating for him.

I would give Monster a 9/10, overall. It was a roller coaster of psychological thrills, existential angst, and nail-biting suspense throughout. It constantly went places I did not think it was going to go. A big piece of the story's horror-factor is disturbing things happening to children and other innocent people--both seen and implied. So I would say definitely proceed with caution. But if you can stomach it, it's well worth your time.