[Categories: OAVs, Movies and Full Series]
Monster (TV)
Always on the lookout for something a bit unusual, I was pleased to have been recommended the 74-episode animated adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s manga Monster. Admittedly it goes on for a lot longer than most other anime shows (I have never watched anything else that’s longer than 26 episodes) but taking the time to sit through this series is well worth it and quite frankly you’ll wonder where the time went. There are no filler episodes to speak of since every one of them adds a little to the meticulously written story: every cast member we see during its course has a tale to tell and something to contribute to the bigger picture.
The core of the story is that of a moral question: does anyone really deserve to die? Don’t expect any futuristic gunplay, giant robots or girls in skimpy outfits here though: Monster is a dark, intelligent and chillingly realistic piece of work. It begins with a Japanese doctor by the name of Kenzou Tenma who is working at a presitigious hospital in Germany. Tenma has it all: superb skills as a neurosurgeon, a promising career and is even engaged to the Director’s daughter. One night, a boy is brought into the hospital with gunshot wounds; shortly afterwards the town’s mayor is admitted. Both require surgery that only Tenma is qualified to carry out but he decides to operate on the boy first. The mayor dies, Tenma is shunned by his colleagues and his career is in tatters.
When the boy in question disappears and those who criticised Tenma die in mysterious circumstances, he is reinstated at the hospital but naturally becomes the prime suspect in the murder investigation that ensues. What follows is Tenma’s fight to clear his name and find the ‘monster’ that is responsible for the deaths: he soons realises that there is more to his former patient than meets the eye…
There are no supernatural or sci-fi elements in Monster: it is a very true-to-life psychological thriller that explores numerous moral issues and portrays the darkest side of human nature, but is nevertheless very creepy in places! As the series progresses, Tenma learns more about the origins of this serial-killing ‘monster’ and vows to destroy the life that he saved to prevent any more murders. It is interesting to see a character who is so at war with himself: Tenma has devoted himself to saving lives but believes that he has to end a life to undo the mistake that he made.
In terms of animation and suchlike, the fact that Studio Madhouse is responsible for the production should be enough to tell you that Monster looks fantastic. It’s vaguely reminiscent of their earlier efforts Paranoia Agent and Perfect Blue in terms of visuals and themes, and the music is superb (one of the ending themes, For the Love of Life, was written by David Sylvian specially for the show). There have been rumours of a live-action adaptation being in production, and I can easily see this taking place with minimal changes to the story. Yep, it’s that realistic!
So, if you are after something that is consistently compelling, gritty and tells a great story you can’t do much better than Monster. Here’s hoping it gets a UK licence and DVD release sometime soon.
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