Okay, I finished up Monster. And for those of you who were paying attention, yes that means that I watched 14 episodes in the past 24 hours. =P I really wanted to finish the show and I had the free time to do so. Now I’m going to talk about it a bit; I’ll try to spoiler tag parts that would give away too much. Oh and this will be long, you have been warned. =P
Anyway, the bottom line is that I enjoyed it quite a bit. Other than the ending, that is. I’ll explain the ending later but before that I’ll get into the show. Monster, if you’re not familiar with it, is a psychological drama. You can find a short synopsis here: Monster
The whole story pretty much resolves around a villain who is considered a monster. Personally I would classify him as a psychopath/sociopath, but that’s beside the point. Now what makes this story different is that instead of focusing on the main villain, it tells the story by moving out in an ever widening circle that encompasses a lot of the people affected by the chaos this Monster causes.
As a result the show is a full 74 episodes long. It will look like filler, and it could be consider as such, but by pulling out and exploring many of the connections between the deaths and people affected, it really paints a more complete picture of the true horror behind what the Monster really is. By the time you really see him in the series again, he’s creepy as hell with his stunning good looks and softly spoken voice. I found this rather amusing since evil, in a factual context seems black and white, but in reality, it hides behind a mask of normalcy.
I found this approach surprisingly refreshing since I’m used to stories skipping straight to the more dramatic parts, and yet that overlooks the true reality for this kind of story. I am so used to shows doing just that, skipping to certain parts or actually forcing them for the dramatic effect, that even I found myself feeling slightly disappointed. Once it was clear what they were doing, it then had the opposite effect and my respect for the series actually went up a notch.
Bottom line, this show doesn’t shock you with death; it shocks you with the uncomfortable realization that all of us have what could be considered a Monster inside of us. We all have the potential to do evil. The main villain of the show, in his own sick and twisted desire to be the last one standing at the end of the world, used those fears in others to bring out the Monster within them. He uses them to further his own personal goal while enjoying their suffering.
To make it even more compelling they drag in tales of secret military experiments conducted on promising children to mold their personalities. They cleverly toy with you in regards to what happened to him as a kid, making you wonder what twisted him in into the cold hearted killer that he is. Whether or not any of that is actually true is irrelevant, but the ideology of eugenics and pseudoscientific notions of racial purity and supremacy is all too real. Knowing that such abuses were prevalent during World War II only lends an air of credibility to the story.
This air of realism is only supported further by the more down to earth nature of the actual animation. Instead of being a weakness by having the characters be more realistic, it strengthens the story being told. It’s like it’s telling you that it’s real. No unrealistic beauty, no odd colored hair and even the villain is believable with his apparent beauty.
I did have a very uncomfortable moment when they got deeply into how others were seeing him as the devil/antichrist and it put a bad taste in my mouth since I would have been pissed if they ended the show like that. Fortunately they didn’t. It’s one thing for others to see that since they were being manipulated by him or terrified by him. But if they had ended it by making him that… it would have pretty much ruined the entire show, in my opinion.
Anyway, in conclusion, since I could easily get long winded explaining why this is anime is well done, if you like something that will make you think while horrifying you at the same time… then I definitely recommend watching this.
Now my only real disappointment for the show was how it was ended. I saw it coming, but I kind of hoped they wouldn’t do it. I’m not bothered so much by the fact that the main character Dr. Tenma couldn’t kill and still operated to save Johann’s life in the end. He simply couldn’t walk away; he was portrayed that way throughout the show so I expected it.
It was that damn dreamlike conversation with Johann at the end and the empty bed indicating he was lose in the world again that had me going… LAME. Yes I know it was rather symbolic in that evil or that Monster waiting inside everyone still lives, but it felt rather cheap that they did that. So it does fit and yet it doesn't fit and it’s the only part of the show that really irked me. =P
Anyway, if you actually read all of this… *hands you a cookie* Oh and it's safe to say that this has become one of my favorite shows of all times.
