Monster Anime Series Review

Darren Pangan June 23, 2007

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The story of this anime and manga was written by Naoki Urasawa. The anime was originally aired from April 27, 2004 to September 28, 2005. I got myself a copy of the whole TV series simply out of curiosity. I hear the title get mentioned a lot whenever someone’s asking for some recommendations for an anime series that has great story in anime forums. I like good stories so I was intrigued as to what Monster was all about. And the title is also quite intriguing, isn’t it?

The Monster anime, which was derived from a manga which serialized starting from 1994 to late 2001, is a psychological drama and mystery consisting of 74 episodes. The story is continuous in nature yet most episodes have one stand-alone story that is still dependent with the whole plot. The locations in the story can be found in Germany and Czech Republic and the time it was supposed to happened was somewhat similar to the present time.

The main character in the story, Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a neurosurgeon who works for a prestigious hospital in Düsseldorf Germany. He used to have a very good status with the company because of his skill in medicine and surgery. But his life changed when a pair of twins, one boy and one girl, was rushed to the hospital after they’re parents were brutally murdered. The boy was shot to the head and the girl was in a state of shock. Dr. Tenma was first assigned to operate the boy but when the mayor was also rushed to the hospital, he was instructed by the Director to take charge of the Mayor’s operation. He refused to follow the orders and went on with the boy’s operation. Due to this incident, he was demoted and his girlfriend, Eva Heinemann who was the daughter of the Director broke up with him. Later on, the Director along with two other doctors were mysteriously murdered. This raised Dr. Tenma’s status in the hospital but eventually he became the prime suspect for this murder along with other murders that occurred in the city. His life was completely messed up and was on the run while an inspector from BKA became obsessed about his case and was out to capture him. Meanwhile, Dr. Tenma claims that he is innocent and that the murders were committed by his once patient who is now a grown-up kid by the name of Johan. Johan was one of the twins Dr. Tenma operated.

The opening theme is a musical while there are two ending themes that I heard from the whole series. For episodes 1 to 32, the ending theme is entitled “For the Love of Life” by David Sylvian and for episodes 33 to 74, the theme is entitled “Make it Home” by Fujiko Heming. Both sounded somewhat creepy but I thought they fit the series well.

I love this series. I was forced to finish it in two weeks and it kept me up until 2am in the morning for each night I watched it. It’s just that every time I finish an episode, I get a sudden urge and excitement to watch the next. Well, I must say it got me hooked pretty well. The story is indeed great as stated by the recommendations that I came across. The cast of characters is pretty good too. But one thing I hate about the series is whenever Dr. Tenma is pointing a gun to someone. Don’t get me wrong, though. I like the character of Dr. Tenma but whenever he’s pointing his gun to someone, he just couldn’t fire it. Imagine, he traveled all over Germany and Czech Republic in search of Johan who he’s out to kill but whenever his target is right in front of him, all he needed to do is pull the trigger but he couldn’t do it.

I give this anime series an A+ and would definitely recommend to anyone especially those who are into psychological stuff and great story.

Tags: anime, kenzo tenma, monster, review, series

Category: Series Reviews

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28 Responses to “Monster Anime Series Review”

zenical http://zenime.animeblogger.net/
June 23rd, 2007 at 9:49 pm

wow i dropped this anime series some months back. now I’m thinking, “damn why did i drop it” after reading your review. u’re making me hooked on this xD

nice review.. keep em coming!!
Darren Pangan http://anime2manga.com/
June 23rd, 2007 at 11:12 pm

O_o maybe it isn’t your kinda show. Well for me I couldn’t stop watching episode after episode and there’s no point in the series I could’ve dropped it. ^_^
zenical http://zenime.animeblogger.net/
June 24th, 2007 at 10:33 am

erm because i watched like 10 minutes and i gave up on it. lol i couldnt get what was going on tho >.>
xXMikotoNakadaiXx http://theotakuspot.blogspot.com
June 25th, 2007 at 10:17 am

I heard it gets pretty episodic later on (or is it another anime I’m thinking of?), is this true? Of course episodic series aren’t *bad*, I’m just curious.
Ali Alfayez
October 17th, 2007 at 1:46 am

When i watched the first eposid i couldn’t stand it, but i have my own rule in watching anime, which is “see the first 3 eposids then judge” and i was lucky in applying this rule with this anime.

Please all watch it. It’s GREAT.
Darren Pangan http://anime2manga.com/
October 17th, 2007 at 1:26 pm

Strange.. I really like the first episode.. I drop a lot of anime on first episodes but I couldn’t drop this one after seeing it.
finny
November 15th, 2007 at 5:09 pm

Ditto, I loved the first episode. The series was good, but there was a stretch where it was a little slow.
mandine
January 20th, 2008 at 3:12 pm

I watched the first couple episodes, and it was good but I stopped. Then I found the manga and COULD NOT stop reading it until the end. Maybe I’m a chicken, but I found the manga less scary >_
kzeek
March 14th, 2008 at 10:44 pm

the series is great! you cant wait to see the next episode, specially on the latter part.
Lilly
March 26th, 2008 at 5:41 am

I watched the whole serie in three days. Oh, my poor eyes o.O But it was worth it^-^ I loved the twists in this serie, with all the flashbacks and mysterious pasts. For some reasons, I also love Johan(n) and Tenma’s characters. To say it short: This serie is awesome…
John
June 9th, 2008 at 4:23 am

Fantasic Series keeps you wanting to see the next episode.
Aviva
June 26th, 2008 at 5:57 pm

I hate to sound like a highbrow snob, but this anime is not for everyone. There’s more than what meets the eye. It’s a great mystery story in that it does not explain everything; it leaves the audience to their own devices. It’s a gripping story. And I absolutely loved the end.
maui
July 18th, 2008 at 7:06 pm

I want MONSTER!!!!!
I still want to watch it… Its very addicting…
I’ve finished watching it and I still want the anime series keep on going…
blocko
August 26th, 2008 at 8:18 am

how this anime got by me is hard to explain,it was by pure accident i stumbled across a review of it on imdb. the rating it was given was higher than all the well known animes.the 1st few episodes i liked the visuals but was not sure if the story was enough for me to download 74 episodes.i continued watching thinking this is good but i’m not sure if i’ll stick with this. for me it was around episode 19 where i totally committed myself to this anime …..best anime i’ve ever seen.
BK-201
January 21st, 2009 at 6:28 am

The reason why Doc did not shoot anyone is kinda the whole point of his character, he cannot kill.. period. there are many times when various characters who know he is a suspect will identify his character as innocent and incapable of killing
krizsz
February 5th, 2009 at 6:06 am

cud someone give info because i heard they are gonna make a film out of it
Moonbooty
March 31st, 2009 at 5:28 am

I just finished watching this series, and it was definitely one of the best I have ever seen. The first bit is rather slow. I initially gave up on the series after the first couple episodes a while back, however, I gave it another go. I have to agree with the above poster, Blocko, that it takes a chunk of episodes to get going and get you hooked, but once it happens, you’re addicted. It was very hard not to watch another episode after finishing one. I think it might be easier to take in if you watch the entire thing in a short period of time. Personally, I watched the series over a spread of about 3-4 weeks and I found myself forgetting a few details and previous plot points here and there. Overall though, great story, great characters, great plot twists, and great ending. It’s one to take time to watch for sure.
akiliase
April 6th, 2009 at 4:38 am

my favorite part in this series is when johan does crazy stuff like dresses as his sister and ect..i still didnt finish watching.episode 60
Juiceboxed
April 14th, 2009 at 3:57 am

I adore this series. It’s one of those things that you just don’t forget about. It’s brilliant. And I find it funny that it doesn’t matter how malicious Johan is, no one ever ends up ever hating him - I know I don’t. Or maybe it’s just me?
gggggg
June 12th, 2009 at 4:12 pm

the best anime ever
Sukai
July 13th, 2009 at 2:28 am

This is definitely one of the best anime I’ve watched for a long time since Ghost in a Shell. Compared to animes like Naruto and Bleach, those are kiddies stuff and no where close to this anime’s storyline. I would strongly recommend this anime to anyone who is interested in psychology thriller, close to reality, slice of life and a storyline which is worth being called masterpiece.

There are not many anime series that can relate to this series, so, if you’re not those type of anime fans that enjoy watching reality takes place.. Then, I would kindly ask you to look for something more “comical” like FMA.

Thank you.
Brian J Furious
July 30th, 2009 at 11:07 pm

Oh my god, this series is epic. After i finished watching Death Note for like the 3rd time, my friend suggested I watch this. At first I was a little skeptical about it, but about halfway into the first episode, I was hooked, and could NOT stop watching. I finished the series in about 5 days, and I suggest it to anyone who loves anime
Mello-chan
August 6th, 2009 at 1:58 am

I…..ABSOLUTELY LOVE THIS SERIES! And i thought your review was great! More people need to see this anime, and your review has the right air about it to achieve that goal. Regrettably, i haven’t seen the whole series yet, because i have only come across it recently, but i am currently watching episode after episode. I am completely hooked. This anime is fantastic. Also, i love the opening! It may be a bit odd saying this, but…DON’T YOU FEEL IT’S REALLY ADDICTING! The beat i mean… It…It stays in your head! I love it…Please don’t judge me LMAO. (jk)
The very begininng part of the opening, where the choir comes in before the beat, and the logo of “monster” creeps up, reminds me very much of some parts of music in the anime “death note”. And, of course, death note and monster are both delivered as an anime by the company “madhouse” sooo…. Cos i absolutely loved death note, i thought “hmmm… this should be good”…And it is! …Even though madhouse didn’t create either story lines….hmmm… Mah! All credit goes to authors of each individual manga. I’m blabbing and am not making much sense now, so i’ll shut it. lol. I hope you understand what i mean…type thing. ;3 Keep up the good reviews! =) And watch Monster, people who are trying to find a good anime! Bai bai x
MysterySword
August 11th, 2009 at 10:04 am

Well, the thing with Dr Tenma not being able to shoot people lies with his morals and ideals. He’s a doctor, and his philosophy is to save all life and not take it away, so to shoot someone would be to betray his own ideals in a way.

Monster has become my favourite anime
sushanta http://kolkata,india
August 16th, 2009 at 1:41 am

this monster series was spellbounding…….i missed my semister exam becoz of it………are there any more series as interestin as it?????pls let me know…..
Aaron Thyne
September 5th, 2009 at 11:19 am

This anime starts off slowly, but picks up as it progresses. The characters and story mesh so well.
Great story (and arc), well developed characters and completely unpredictable.
I would say this is a mature version of Death Note. However, unlike Death Note, you can not tell how it will end. Not only that, but the whole story ties together nicely in the last 10 minutes.
Aboone
October 3rd, 2009 at 11:25 pm

Monster is fantastic. It is sooo addictive that i cannot stop watching it! It is a great psychological thriller. Wonderful.
automusk
December 22nd, 2009 at 7:33 am

Monster is probably my favorite of anime of all time, or at least close. Monster might be unmatched plot wise in the way the story strings everything together even though at first a lot of them seem unrelated. (but quickly develop into something) The opening is also amazing, and matches the series perfectly. As the series goes on more and more the opening makes sense. It’s one of the only openings I watched through every episode that got me excited to see what was coming next. I recommend this anime to anyone who is looking for a series with a great plot and insightful story.