"And what of the children? Surely they can't be blamed for our mistakes?" After finally finishing my Monster journey, I find myself coming back to these lyrics. I'd skip the ending theme every time, not realizing how important it is to fully grasp the idea this fantastic story tries to convey. And you know what is so curious about it? The meaning is so ambiguous that each viewer can have their own interpretation. Exactly this fact makes Monster so unique and extraordinary. This show doesn't shy away from exploring the existential themes of human existence, hence it can be overwhelming and confusing at times. Some shows are not for entertainment but for personal growth. Just like Monster is...thought-provoking, dark, terrifying, heartbreaking, regretful...hopeful, nurturing, promising. ----------------------‐---------------------- 🔹️"The only thing people are equal in...is death."🔹️ The main theme permeating the whole show is the idea of equality. It's exactly what starts off the story. Dr. Tenma, who believes in fairness, righteousness, and equality, makes a decision. A fateful decision. In general, the story offers us 3 viewpoints on equality. ▪︎ Eva: "people's lives aren't equal." ▪︎ Johan: "people are only equal in death." ▪︎ Tenma: "all lives are equal." Monster presents us with both the most radical idea of inequality and the purest idea of equality. The first one is implemented in the ultranationalistic idea of superiority, re: creating the perfect national leader, using eugenics experiments. The latter is realized in Tenma's choices. He is beyond the race, the social standing, and even the morality of his patients. Undoubtedly, both outlooks are extreme and carry grave consequences. 🔹️"At last, he'd found a name but there was no longer anyone to call him by it. Such a shame because Johan was such a wonderful name."🔹️ Another predominant theme is the idea of identity. And identity is closely intertwined with a person's name. Monster argues that a person without a name is not anyone. If the world doesn't know your name, you don't exist. You can be anybody and nobody at the same time. But your identity is lost, your unique personality is gone, and your morals and ideas are imaginary. 🔹️Monster is a vast plane of moral dilemmas, philosophical arguments, and existential themes. And I'd run out of space here if I decided to talk about all of them. The drug/alcohol/sex addiction (Eva, Richard, Martin's mother), Nihilism (Johan, Christof), the theme of self-destruction, obsessions (Lunge) etc. However, I have to mention the lingering theme of orphans in more detail. It snuck up on me every episode and left me with nagging pain in my soul. How detrimental it is to a child's development...the lack of loving parents or guardians. Some of them are scrambling their way through life, and others succumb to the darkness and despair. With no one to guide them, no one to support them, no one to love them. Devastating. ------------------------------- For me, the character work is what elevated Monster beyond every other show I've ever seen. Naoki Urasawa perfected the narration through the moving plot points, aka characters. As I mentioned in quite a few of my reviews, he doesn't waste a second of any given character's screentime. Their actions, the smallest details, the smiles and frowns tell the story, make them unique and unrepeatable. Through his meticulousness and strive for perfection, the greatest antagonist of all time was born. JOHAN "How weak the mind is when it wants to forget. Maybe you didn't forget. Maybe you're lying. Is it a lie you tell everyone around you, or perhaps a lie you tell yourself?" A victim of circumstance. A flawless experiment gone wrong. A human deprived of identity. A perfect monster born. He is someone who lost faith in the world itself. Someone who was forced to exist and in retaliation he became an ultimate soldier of chaos and anarchy. His existence was painful, so he erased himself from life. By "erasing" people who were aware of his existence. The evil manipulator, prying into the souls of his victims, looking for dark secrets and hidden insecurities. Driving them to suicide and ending their lives. Longing for "perfect suicide" himself. To be free from this unjust fate. But he wasn't the real monster, was he? The show throws the final curveball at the viewer by revealing that the mother was the true monster. We're made believe that Franz Bonaparta and Peter Capek are responsible for the creation of a monster. In fact, the mom broke Johan's sense of worth and deprived him of an identity since birth. She created the monster. A child betrayed by his parents, his guardians, by the whole world. "You are me and I am you." GRIMMER An orphan stripped of his identity, of his emotions and feelings. But a complete opposite of Johan. The first time you meet Grimmer, you're introduced to a smiling, kind man, always ready to lend a helping hand. You could never imagine the darkness and emptiness of his soul. A Herculean feat to continue living after suffering this harrowing fate. What a formidable show of willpower and strength. Truly a brilliant character, crafted so perfectly that my eyes well up every time I think about him. TENMA A fantastic protagonist presented with an impossible choice - to doom many people by letting the monster live or save people by becoming a monster himself. Excruciating moral dilemma. Someone could write a whole thesis on the body of characters and the character work of this show. How could I possibly mention every character in detail here?? Monster is a masterpiece of an unattainable magnitude, a narrative perfection, a study of human nature, a prominent work of art that will never be forgotten, even through the test of time. Utter brilliance. "For the love of life We'll defeat this They may tear us down But we'll go down fighting. " Favorite characters: 1. Grimmer 2. Johan 3. Tenma 4. Dieter 5. Dr. Reichwein 6. Lunge 7. Anna/Nina 8. Martin 9. Rudi Gillen 10. Richard Sorry, no favorite episodes, I can't even fathom how to choose any 😩 Thanks to those who recommended this show, I don't remember everyone, so please forgive if I forgot to mention you:) @jaygatsby @shaww @BraedenLlama @zoopli @Thepromise @Badasshonk @FranOnFlames @Themastermind7 @Sanchez_films @D3VR1SH1 @Dexty @Afyst @Dylan595 @Alex_Sol @CEPB @Stevz