Analyzing Evil: Johan Liebert From Monster 

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The creepiest thing about Johan Liebert is that, despite all of the horrible, pointless things he does: He doesn't even enjoy it. He's like that scorpion who stung the frog ferrying him across the creek, it was just weirdly inherent to him on a level mere psychopathy and sadism could never explain. The man needed a hobby.

I can’t believe Johan actually managed to get his own episode. He is one of my favorite villains ever.

It’s very powerful how Johan feels present in literally every moment of Monster, even though he doesn’t actually have a lot of screentime.

Johan's relationship with Tenma is fascinating, because he's trying to prove his nihilistic philosophy by breaking the soul of the kindest man he can think of. The one who saved him from death, not once, but twice. On top of that, he has fascinating parallels to Grimmer considering how they were both warped at a young age. But while Grimmer is an example of humanity persevering even when someone's mind is destroyed, Johan is the opposite. The key difference between them, is that Grimmer tried to be a kind person. Thank You for the 100th Episode!!!

A friend of mine said it best " I think Johan is probably the only villian that could scare Hannibal."

"I was born in a town straight out of a fairytale, many people died. My other half and I held hands and walked" I LOVED the writing in monster, idk why but i had a feeling the author spent many sleepless nights thinking about the plot and characters. Johan is easily in the top 5 manga/anime villains

johan wasn't crying because of the hardships ahead, he was crying because he was supposed to die but Tenma brought him back to life.

Vile Eye + Johan Liebert is the crossover I've been waiting for since day 1

my favorite detail in monster is how Johan is attached to children simply cause he sees them as empty and easy to manipulate while Tenma believes children have infinite potential and carry the bright future, that small detail between the two shows how contrasting they see the world and what makes both great antagonist and protagonist. also like to point out the ending so spoilers: Johan's downfall being that of a miscalculation, the love and fear of a father to protect his son from a monster which something Johan never experienced and understood.

Johan is the only manga/anime antagonist who has ever given me actual chills. He is absolutely terrifying.

The fact that the manga/anime where Johan Liebert appears is called "Monster" really serves to show what he truly is inside that seemingly normal appearence. And the fact that a Johan can be walking around among us makes this absolutely terrifying.

Johan is so scary because despite how smart and well connected he is, there's no real way of ever understanding him or why he does what he does. He's not just evil, he's blank.

I do appreciate how each year Monster gets more recognition. Been a fan since middle school

If he really does understand the darkness in others, then he does have some degree of empathy. What he lacks is compassion. And that’s the most terrifying thing. Like Thomas Harris wrote, the scariest type of person is one with a lot of empathy but no compassion.

Johan Liebert is without a doubt one of the most fascinating Villains in all of fiction. He almost doesn't feel like a character but like an actual real life person that you know has existed. And Monster is a whole is just such a masterpiece its actually disgusting how good that entire story is. Whoever hasn't checked it out yet is missing out so much.

FUCKING FINALLY. I sincerely hope you all enjoyed this as much as I did - as a horror geek, "Monster" and "Another Monster" are the gold standard as far as J-horror is concerned.

Johan HAD empathy. That’s why he was so in tune with everyone around him, enough to deconstruct their base values, tweak them in whatever way he seemed fit. He had empathy but could disregard it. He embodied the golden rule.

I have been waiting for this for a long time

Holy shit I've been recommending Johan for months, now its finally here and it just so happens to be the 100th episode, this is amazing!! One of the most complex anime villains that most people misunderstand entirely believing all his actions and killings were out of nihilistic philosophy when everyone killing was his own twisted way of protecting his twin sister. Anna was set up from the beginning to become The “Monster” given she was the one who actually endured the experiments. Her tendencies are shown in glimmers throughout the show. The heartbreaking twist to it though... is that the only reason why she DID not become the beast, was because SHE ( unlike Johan ) HAD KNOWN REAL UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. -Johan’s love and sacrifice is what kept her safe from the darkness he knew very well. He got his hands dirty to shield her. He chose to leave her behind in the care of her foster parents, knowing she would forget him, in order to heal. He chose her than himself over and over; becoming her shadow; choosing to lose his only attachment to his already weakened identity in order for her to heal. His love for her is why she never became a monster...and tragically, why Johan had. Which reflects exactly what Mikhail Petrov (whose real name is Reinhart Biermann) said about his "PROFOUND DISCOVERY" concerning his current experiment on the children he had in his home; he said the children did not become animals because he gave them LOVE. The adults in their lives thus far would betray them, torture them, hurt them, throw them away- and forcefully separate them. In his severely abused mental state, any adult figure was a potential threat to his and Anna’s safety. So he’d kill in order to runaway from "the monster" and protect Anna. Then when Anna found out about the blood on his hands that fateful night the Monster paid them a visit, he realized that now he had become someone Anna feared - a different kind of Monster but all the similar to the one they were running from. So he rationalized that now he needed to die. In that moment, I think we should focus on his body language and expressions. Johan faced the ground. hardly picking up his eyes. His shoulders were sunken and he did not have that menacing little smile he usually had. Johan has killed in secret various times with Anna and back at Kinderheim. So why was he so messy with the Lieberts? Because he did not want to kill them - he said HE HAD TO. It was not a calculated murder, because he was not truly calm and collected; He was afraid. Lets not forget who Johan was up until that moment: the infamous little boy who provoked an entire riot and massacre by simply opening his mouth. With mere words he was able to sway the adults and children into doing what he wanted. BUT IN THAT MOMENT when Anna caught him red handed, he could not, or rather, would not - try and manipulate Anna. there's more in this reddit post: www.reddit.com/r/MonsterAnime/comments/ttihlh/everything_johan_did_was_for_anna_a_monster/

Monster holds such a special place in my heart. No other peace of media has shown me how deprived the human condition can be. But there’s also just such heart warming moments that makes me love humanity. I know it’s all cartoons made by 1 man to many, but it’s so much more to me. Tbh I feel like it’s about the only anime that would transition to live action REALLY well. Cmon Del Toro!

I have waited long for this video from you. Grabbing the popcorn

Johann's penultimate goal is to conclude the nameless monster story - to be devoured by another monster of his own creation, one who would under no other circumstance ever commit an evil act. He fixates on Tenma for this purpose. Tenma is different from the other people Johan manipulates, who are either evil or are complicated characters with some underlying darkness in their hearts already.

28:03 This is a small detail that the anime got a bit wrong. The last panel of the manga is up to interpretation, implying that Johan either escaped, that he committed suicide, or that he is still there in a coma and Tenma imagined the whole conversation. However, it can also be interpreted as you said that he is only an allegory about the nature of the Monster itself and that Johan as a person doesn't exist. The anime makes it more straightforward: it shows the window open and the breeze entering. In the manga, you only see this final frame of the empty bed. Even the sequel novel, Another Monster, is incredibly vague about Johan's whereabouts. While I love the anime adaptation, I think the ambiguity of that last shot is what makes it scarier: you don't know if the Monster is still out there or not.

8 minutes into this video and I feel so much sympathy for Johan and Anna... they were tortured since the day he was born.

i dont really think you can say he has "no empathy". id say he has no empathy for everybody except for his sister, he cares deeply for her and he even made her own experiences and traumas his own, thats like next level empathy

Johan is the kind of person that would scare Hannibal Lector into hiding

First watching the show years ago, I couldn’t imagine how evil Johan would become but it gradually made sense the further you watched. Such an amazing and thrilling antagonist.

It had to happen sooner or later, and quite appropriate that such terrifying villain (that many of us requested multiple times) was the subject of a milestone episode. Regarding the final actions of Johan towards Dr. Tenma, I do not think that he actually wanted to be stopped. The way I have always interpreted, is that he wanted to force Tenma to kill him and thus abandon his principles in the process: by doing so, Johan would have proved his point of absolute nihilism by having such a good man to ultimately give up on his beliefs in good actions and the sanctity of life. So ultimately he would be even less in touch with humanity than how interpreted in this video.

A guy who can easily convince me to give in to my depression and vices just so he can watch me jump off a bridge is truly a monster. One of the most compelling villains ive seen in fiction

Along with Morgoth, Darth Sidious and and Amon Goeth, Johan is one of the most evil and twisted characters to be featured into this channel. Behind every action he does there is no empathy, no understanding, no single altruistic desire to better anything; just the single-minded intention to unmake humanity and everything it represents.

What, in my opinion, makes Johan one of the best villains would be that he isn't some demon, he doesn't have supernatural or otherworldly powers, he doesn't use magical items or weapons, he can't summon mythical beasts... instead, he is a master manipulator with high intelligence and creativity. He is one of the more realistic villains; he could easily be a cult leader or politician in our world.

Finally you did this, Johan is my favorite villain in all of fiction and literally is the definition of pure evil. Keep up the videos man!

I'm glad you covered Johann Liebert, because, as much as he's one of the best villains ever, he raises so many questions on what a monster is. I feel one of the most interesting moments is when he says to that woman (name I forgot) that she was a worse person than him. Like, no matter the atrocity Johann commits, there's always be someone to one-up him, either intentionally or not.

I just want to say how great the diversity of media you cover is. I was excited when you covered Better Call Saul, my favourite show. Then your last video on Baby Jane which is one of my girlfriends favourite films, and now one of the best written anime of all time.

16:49 To be honest, Johan ain't the type to be arrogant, at least from what I've seen, because he lacks an ego and a sense of identity. He is a lot of things, but i don't see him as the prideful type.

i think it's also interesting to note that severe stress before and/or during pregnancy has been noted to cause psychological issues in children including personality disorders eg aspd. I wonder if Johan took on the brunt of Viera's hatred and suffering.

Wow the hundredth episode has finally arrived. You came a long way Mr vile, keep up the good work!🥳

Griffith and Johan man. Have to be some of the most incredible villains across any medium. Both hugely responsible for my love of manga/anime.

I want to see this guy, Anton Chirguh, The Joker and Hannibel Lector having a discussion trying to break one another The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse

One of the most evil evils in media. Happy that you're finally covering him

Well done on making it to 100 episodes!! Not every channel can say they put this amount of work into their craft while maintaining being intriguing in every video like you do

I just finished reading the series last week, this really helped clear up some stuff I didn't fully understand. You're videos are fantastic!

Johan Libert is, in a literal and metaphorical way, a complete monster and one of the most heinous villains ever made in anime/manga

You were the first author I thought of to make such video after I've seen Monster the first time 2 years ago. Finally this day has come, THANK YOU !

So nice to see Johan make his debut on this channel! For your 101th villain, I'd love to see you talk about Cruella De Vil from the 101 dalmatians movies, which I think would be a fitting pick

A+ video man. This is THE video I've been waiting to see since I subscribed and you nailed it. The one thing I loved about this manga was the dichotomy between Dr. Tenma and Johan. Tenma could do no wrong, while Johan could only burn down everything that surrounded him. Each gained allies to their side through this manner with Tenma using his medicine while Johan used coercion or manipulation. Even at the end Johan had an army of nameless/faceless men out there armed to the teeth willing to fight to the death for him. Who were they? Former police, manipulated innocents, neo nazis? All were just tools to be used by Johan at anytime with but a whisper.

Been enjoying this channel and this series for a while now. No one does a better job breaking down and exploring these characters. The Tony Soprano one killed it. Keeping a Vile Eye out for whatever comes next dude.

Simply the greatest villain in manga and anime, he did what Griffith wasn't capable, transcending his impact on being a memorable villain beyond the niche and format of japanese comic book art style and writting, Johan is simply one of the greatest villains in fiction And a fun fact, the Japanese voice actor of Johan is the same of Tetsuo from Akira, the dude voices 2 iconic villains in anime(with one being considered one of the greatest villains of cinema) GODDAMN!

You should definitely cover Judge Holden from Blood Meridian. One of the best villains in all of literature. He’s a renaissance man, a philosopher, an adept marksman, a master diplomat, huge, pale, hairless and has a childlike appearance to him. He revels in war and treats it almost like his own religion with him as the harbinger. My favorite quote from him, and also my favorite quote from the book goes like this: “It makes no difference what men think of war. War endures. As well ask men what they think of stone. War was always here. Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade awaiting its ultimate practitioner. That is the way it was and will be that way and not some other way.” I really really hope you cover him because he’s an enigma and one of the most terrifying antagonists of all time. Here’s a clip of the passage I referenced above if you’d like a taste: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-etOkZ6YBAZY.html

Personally, more than his final confrontation with Tenma... I found his reaction to Nina forgiving him and what he said right before he was shot in the head again very striking since he, in that one moment across all of the story, acknowledged that he really shouldn't be forgiven. That some things just shouldn't be forgiven. That look on his face as he said that was just plain heart breaking.

Omg i have been waiting this for sooo long, thank you so much!!!

Congrats on 100 V.E. honored to be apart of the journey 🙏. This is some of the most insightful knowledge I've learned this year and what a video for episode 100. I'll have to check out both the manga and anime

This is literally in my top 3 manga, to see it being covered by you is surreal. Great work Eye!!

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS FOR A LONG TIME! THANK YOU!

loved this, thanks man you are my favorite channel on this platform

Really good! Can't wait to see Vile place Johan in the updated tier list of villains. Also, congratulations reaching 100th Analyzing Evil video!

Incredible work, you touched on so many aspects I never thought during my first watching of this anime, but you seem to have missed one of the ingredients that I noted the most after finalizing Monster, that is the mother's choice when she was subjected to choose between Nina or Johan. Here is my theory that could add to the explanation of Johans character. Mother choose Nina over Johan, but she didn't know they had swapt their clothes and appearances, thinking she was choosing daughter when in reality she stayed with Johan. When I tried to imagine that happening to me, I came to this results that probably went through Johans mind. "I (Johan) was rejected by my mother, but I stayed with her, I maintained being as a creature, but I was rejected as my identity, and instead my mother accepted me under the false person. The fact that this made the closest person on earth to me, to reject who I am, accepting whoever I might become except me, then this world does not exist (like that desert) since I as identity don't live here, the world were I know that mother's love is gone, and rather, I'm a being able to simulate others identities, something that might have saved at least my sister's identity when I played her identity, and surely false identity saved my life. So what's the point of my previous identity if it was useless ? Everything I might do now doesn't matter, as this won't be related to my destroyed identity to who I was, so I'm dead person in a living world that is dead. I doubt I need to reach the desert, I'm just showing that I'm already in that desert (this thought might have been created during that desert moment). So what can I do as no one? Maybe take everything from those who have the identity that are responsible for taking my, and making my mother reject me? Well, I can, after all, my sister suffered from them." Well, from here even darker path might be made in his thoughts after suffering journey he had. I'm telling this because when I saw that episode with mother's choice, I was very shocked because somehow I managed to feel and see Johans picture with emotions - it was like abyss. The feeling that now I can't remember that well, but one can only imagine how hard this might be for a child, so this without a doubt traumatized Johan to greate extend. What I felt there really made me understand that Johan really saw the horror of being rejected by the one who you loved, thus I consider this moment a critical in his development to a monster he become. "After all, what am I if my mother rejects me ? Maybe a monster she doesn't want to see, a good reason to such action, so I'll be the one she identified me." Added: "I'll be the monster. My mother considered me as a monster, yet I stayed with her (in reality under the Nina persona), she allowed to stay with her, so that's what she wants, she wants me be a monster, so this way she doesn't reject me ?" (This might expaling why Johan never tried to find to kill his mother to what she had done) When Tenma saved Johan, why didn't he kill Tenma like those elders that tried even adopt Johan and Nina? My guess is this: "Tenma saved me. He doesn't know me, so he saved me as no-one, he saved me, a monster. Even more, he choose no-one above the powerful authority, the authority who he knew by what was his status. I must thank him, he gained my respect (for choosing no-one over authority). Just like my mother, he choose me not knowing who I really am" then Johan killed those in the power who tried to wreck Tenma by choosing a child. Now, I think that in some point, Johan started to want and testified Tenma whether Tenma would try to save someone for who Johan really is "I'll murder, even the children, will you then still try to save me? Will you accept to help a monster now that you know I am such? Or wouldn't you save the child back there if you would know that that child was a monster?". My thought here is that Tenma by trying all that time trying to save Johan until their last encounter, made occure next thing: Tenma in the end saved Johan from being monster, maybe even killed the monster created by Anna, as Tenma proved to Johan with his actions, that he wanted to save Johan from what he was, as Tenma probably understood that Johan was a victim who need to be saved from what he became. Tenma didn't want to kill Johan, he wanted to stop him, to stop the monster, and I presume that it's something deep within Johan himself that wanted for someone to save him, hoping that Tenma would endure Johans horrors as Tenma proved to be trustful after choosing over authority, proving to be a man considering that life is something above authority or names. And Tenma did that the second time. First time Tenma saved no-one, second time Tenma saved Johan under monster disguise. The only thing I have no ideia, is, how bullet-damaged brain affected Johans thoughts or actions (that damage 100% affected him, I dunno how).

This was great been waiting to see a Johan episode from you nice job man

Fantastic video Vile! Great analysis and very interesting breakdown of Johan’s motivations and philosophy

IT'S HERE FINALLY From your content, you don't seem like you watch a lot of anime or read a lot of manga. I'm impressed that you watched/read such a long series just to cover the villain. Adding this to watch later rn.

Excellent video. Big fan of your work, man. I’ve always been more of a villain than a hero guy as I find them much more interesting. I’d love to see an analysis of Andrew Detmer from Chronicle. Keep up the good work!

i finished watching Monster last week. Nice!! Looking forward to this video!

WOOOOOOOOO ive been waiting for this since i found your channel and boy am i stoked!

YES! My favourite villain and arguably the best in all of anime. Great job, Vile. Congrats on 100 episodes. Keep up the good work. Looking forward to 100 more.

To me one of the greatest villains in TV history. This series is so incredibly good

Good video, I always struggled with The Nameless Monster tale and a few other factors regardless of how much I watched or read, but you really did a great job at explaining things!

I have been waiting for this for years THANKSSSS

Finally the character analysis we've all been waiting for! Please do Zolf Kimblee from Fullmetal Alchemist next!

Congratulations on reaching your 100th episode this is why I subscribed to your channel. This video analysis on this iconic/terrifying villain is long long overdue. You should do a review Michio Yuki from MW a villain similar to Johan.

Finally I've been waiting and asking for a long time. Thank you

Happy 100th!! You make some of the most interesting original content on this platform thank you!

I've just realised this show is guetting more popular these last years, one of the best anime ever and Johan is definitly the best antagonist

It's been a long time coming. Just like Dr. Tenmas journey. Johan is such a perfect villain. Great video as always.

Been waiting a long time for you to cover this one 😻😻😻

i have been waiting on this for SO long johan is my favorite villain EVER i’m sooo happy you did i vid on him

It is proven with HL joker and Johan liebhart, the ultimate test to check if a villain is terrifying is they can cross dress and still give chills.

I will never get tired of watching videos analyzing Johan, such a fantastic villain.

Let's go I've been wanting you to do this snice I found out about your channel. Keep up the great work.

Monster will always have a very special place in my heart. Hearing people talk about it makes me very happy. Johan is one of those unapologetically evil characters that is very rare sight in manga. Not over the top where it verges on edge lord territory, but not so underwhelming where he's forgettable. Johan is a threat. And you feel that, even when he is off screen. And on screen your anxiety skyrockets in his presence.

Yessss! I love Monster. Johan is one of the most fascinating and frightening characters in all of fiction. You did an excellent analysis and breakdown of his character here.

This is that OG Vile Eye material! Congratulations on EP 100!! 🙌❤

Happy 100th episode! You rock, keep this up my dude!!

Yall dont know how long ive been wanting this video. THANK YOU

Ever since I watch Monster I became very fascinated and sad by Johan character. I develop a huge sense of empathy for Johan to the point I could not see him as horrifying monster that he proclaim himself to be. Instead, I see him as a truly broken man that wanted to die and bring death to those that are responsible for making him the way he is.

I'm so happy to finally see Johan on this amazing series. Monster as a show is truly one of the most fascinating and gripping stories I've ever seen, asks so many interesting questions and is a masterclass in interesting side characters.

FINALLY!! Thank you SO VERY MUCH for making this video.

Congratulations on 100 videos. You’re one of my favorite channels and I stop and drop everything when you release a new video. To 100 more!

One of the most terrifying anime/manga villains because he's just a human but also a monster within

No idea who this is and never heard of this show but I'm so happy for you reaching 100 episodes that I'm gonna watch it anyway. Congratulations, man!

Good shit man and congrats on 100 videos. Each episode has been a banger! It would be cool to see an episode about anyone from The Wire.

Thank you for making this video, I’ve been seeing pictures of this character but never knew what show this was from, just found this channel

That choir harmony at the beginning of Monster opening is 😚👌

In one of the episodes Lunge said that if a person leaves no evidence of their existence then he/she is a monster But In the end we can clearly see evidence of him laying down on that bed which means he is no longer a monster

*_I'VE BEEN WAITING SO LONG FOR YOU TO COVER THIS_*

Love your videos, very constructive and gives some clarity behind these villains

Ive read the manga three times and seen the anime twice. The second time i watched it with my brother we went through it all in just 3 days. It's so interesting how Johan has become a symbol of evil in media while barely appearing in the show. Johan is the closest depiction of a anti-crhist figure in media i can think of.

If you ask me, Monster is perhaps the closest thing to a Japanese adaption of The Mentalist. If Kenzo is Patrick, then Johan is Red John.

I actually love the fact you have done one of my favourite anime villians ever made thank you so much

this is now one of my most favorite videos on RU-vid. thnx vile