Monster

Alternate Titles: None

Original Japanese Release Date: April 6th, 2004

Episode Length/Run-time: 74

Summary:

Dr. Kenzou Tenma, one of world’s most skilled surgeons works for a very prestigious hospital in Germany.  Fed up with hosptial politics, Dr. Tenma chooses to save the life of a young boy who was shot in the head over saving the mayor.  Shortly afterward his life goes to hell as his rank in the hosptial is reduced and his soon to be wife leaves him for another man.  Following this, the hospital director and several other doctors are suddenly found dead, catapalting Tenma to his highest rank in the hospital yet.  Having gained the most from their deaths, he is under the scrutiny by police as they investigate the murders.  Little did Tenma know that saving that little boys life will turn his own upside down as he seeks to get to the bottom of the murders and take down the monster that he himself helped to create.

Review:

Where to even start with this anime review.  Monster, already one of the worlds best manga, has been made into an anime.  This anime is very much driven by it’s story.  The plotline is massive and just to give an example has 100+ characters that appear throughout the shows three seasons.

If you were to try to get your dad hooked on anime, this would be the series with which to do it.  This of course is for a couple different reasosn.  First, the way that the characters are drawn seem very mature.  The facial features of each character are quite unique and you’ll see a variety of different bone structures, nose sizes, mouths, etc…  Also, the coloration is done in a way that makes the show seem like its aimed more towards an adult audience.  Darker colors and an overall lack of shoujo/shounen influence are evidence of this.  This show isn’t intended for children, thus the shows dark subject matter.  It is this audience and subject matter that would make this show, in my opinion, would make a fantastic television series on ABC or any of our other prime time television stations.  It’s just that good.

The plotline of this anime will lead you into such a gripping web that you’ll be hooked for the first few episodes.  Watching Tenma try to unravel the mystery that brings him to several different European countries and leads him to uncover some secrets that were not meant to be discovered.  The air of suspense hangs over this show like a cloud  and is a definate consistency throughout which can make things very tense at moments, creating an “edge of your seat” type of experience.

The characters in this show are great as well.  Though too many in number to discuss here, Dr. Tenma sees several transformations as a character throughout the show.  He goes from a surgeon, saving lives and protecting life, to going out on his own to receive military training and learn how to use a gun so that he can pursue the monster that he has helped create.  Even still, despite this, Tenma continues to cherish life as he carries a bag of medical suppliers with him through a great deal of the storys progression.  This is just one example of the virtues that Tenma carries as a character.

Enjoy this one, the story may drag a bit towards its middle but overall this anime and manga will stand for decades as an unforgettable classic that though geared certainly towards more mature audiences, is one of anime’s best.

[starrater]