GR Anime Review: Monster 

Monster in a nutshell Criminal psych expert: The killer is Johan, here’s all the evidence pointing him as the killer. Lunge: So you’re saying it’s Tenma?

Johan is an S-tier antagonist. Every scene he's in, no matter how quick or trivial it may seem, the captivity of attention is there.

An anime that touched upon "Eugenics", "Split-personality", "Childhood Trauma", "Ethical Cherry Picking", "Mother Sacrificing one child to save another"........among other things with a dark and shocking storyline spanning over 70 above episodes. A perfect recipe for not going mainstream I would say.

Dieter gang ⚽💜

German girl here :D When I watched Monster, I was sooooo surprised how well he knew germany. The characters, places etc. All of them are so on point, but what impressed me the most were the newspapers. It was all written in german and it just blew my mind.... Fun fact Johan is the most common name in germany for old men. For example in my tiny village 4 men are called Johan, including my grandpa :D

Monster is the best psychological thriller I've ever seen. The plot, the character developments, the music everything is pretty lit. Johan Liebert is one of the most brilliant criminal masterminds I've ever seen

Just thinking about grimmer makes me smile he was honestly my favourite character in the show

This anime honestly deserves to be hailed as a classic, the sheer emotions it can get out of you from one scene alone is breathtaking, I only wish more people had the time to dedicated to watching it.

One of my favorite things in the show is Johan's voice. The way he spoke hypnotized me and scared immensely.

At one point, Guillermo Del Toro was trying to get a live action adaptation of this off the ground. Still waiting on that...

Let's be honest that smile of johan in front of the mirror is unforgettable.........

:: SPOILER alert :: SPOILER alert :: Monster is a masterpiece. Many people have a different understanding of it. I loved it a lot .. the details given to it; songs, children books, secondary characters with special depth .. all are so astonishing. I started hating Johan until the last 3 episodes where his life was unfolded and you get to see what was the problem since the start. It left me sad and upset because Johan was made evil because that's all he learnt to be. He started with no name, no identity, no gender and was made to wear and treated as if he was his sister [as if they were one] - to hide. He was then melting in her experiences as his mother chose her and not him to go through the experiment. Johan wouldn't survive had he go through all that first hand as he was already nobody. He also was left to spend his days locked in, in his sister's clothes, alone, with a book waiting for his sister to come back and tell him what she did. He then have his sister get hurt and he could notice that so as her extension or shadow - he needed to save her to save himself. Johan knew if Anna [it is weird that his sister who had no name was named after their mother which in my opinion gave her the control and power over him] happened to be damaged or broken, he will be lost too. He was her shadow and she lived for him to live. He couldn't trust his mother because she gave Anna this experience and he knew adults do horrible things to his sister which is why when they ran away, Johan was the protector and had to execute everyone [adult] to keep her safe like the old couples they encountered. Johan had no name and Anna had no name up until the time wolf picked them which makes me wonder if Johan himself gave her Anna as a name? The irony was big when Johan was then given the name of the ill prince in the storybook; the one who's alone consumed everyone and had a monster inside him. It surely didn't help him to go to Kindernhiem 511 as he was tortured there and his memory was messed up with. Johan plea to keep Anna's memory alive is out of his lack of self-identification. He had to remember Anna because that's his core value: he was her shadow. He did what he knew to do: kill. Johan doesn't believe in leaving anything alive because he certainly doesn't trust the others to live and let him live normally. His prospect is broken and wrong since he was born. He believed that what he should do: to kill others or encourage their death because as Johan: that's what his identity was - to kill others and consume them. When he faces his sister in the liebert house, he was facing his judgement. Johan noticed how angry she is and when he asked her to kill him for what he did; it was not a clever move as we thought but more of him asking her to kill him if he was bad - and she did! Tenma saving his life was a change in Johan's plan because he was chosen and for the first time for himself. That's why Johan showed himself to Tenma. Now Johan knew Tenma as the most righteous person he knew as he was saying lives are equal and all are worth living or choosing: yet he lived as a child not chosen by his mother to be the dominant one [the image they hide behind in public] and not for the experiments then also by Anna herself.] .. it is difficult to analyse things from Johan prospect but when you do, you realise he was born with a flawed formula and he continued to be delt bad cards and bad information since he first opened his eyes. Johan was never loved and he never was able to love anyone. His mother was broken because of all her experiences - losing her husband and going through everything until and after labour. She couldn't love the kids who took her husband, enslaved her for the experiment and she cast them as spells to curse Franz Bonaparta .. we can see why she was broken when Franz himself tell her to reclaim his name in his effort to declare his love and retract the damage but he was late: Anna was damaged .. she picked one of the kid and she actually made Johan into no one by dressing him in his sister's clothes. She also didn't help her kids because she gave them no name - she might keep the idea of the names but she never told them the names which in a way evil too. Back to Johan who lost all his memories but his memories of Anna and his sense of survival/identity was now glued subconsciously to the monster story: that's why Johan was doing what he is doing. He might have fragments of his memory going on with the "plan" as he targetted people he saw. Johan was also victimized by being idolized by the secret police, the underground powers and so on .. he killed them because they were there to paint a picture of control when his idea was never about controlling people for gaining power for himself or others but he wanted to be able to give everything to Anna and redeem himself to her. After all, he had the messed up memories, identity, logic. Seeing the book, unlocked the quest for Johan to find the devil behind it and kill him .. in the orphanage - Johan mostly was toying with the idea of people .. he says words that drive humans to their fear. He learnt that from the experiment himself and saw how effective it was. The orphanage massacre was partially Johan and mostly the adults who actually discovered his faulty prospect and decided to utilize it. Had he gone to a safe wholesome environment like Anna, he wouldn't be doing what he did .. or functioning in that way. Events go on and on .. all until Anna reveals her part in it. What upsets me is that Johan is left alone after all .. even his sister couldn't care much for him .. he is broken and Tenma saved him again .. but not because Anna felt the same, but because Tenma functioned based on his true nature. At the end, Tenma was the last one who managed to understand Johan .. which is why Johan asked him: which one my mom picked? did she pick the wrong twin? Why didn't she pick me .. did she want to protect me? Johan quest is fundamental in nature because it all returns to his mother's actions, the way he was treated by and nurtured as a child. it is sad.

It's 2020 and Monster i's being talked about what a good day to be alive. Johan best girl tho.

I like all the world building in this show. Especially the episode where Tenma is given a lift by a lovely old couple which tragically turns out they're on a visit to see their son whose in prison for murder. There's loads of these kind of bittersweet scenes which makes the show most interesting especially on the backdrop of the cold war.

"Monster" is available on RU-vid... Both dubbed as well as subbed

21:18 i just want to add that, not only are there lots of actual historic events portrayed detailed in the show, but the locations are sometimes astonishingly accurate. As someone who lives close to munich (where part of the story is set, for those who haven't watched) i was able to recognize so many locations instantly, just because they were so accurate

2:27 "The decision that he makes influences (...) the lives of every single person now affected by his choice" God, I love a good script.

I remember Monster being famous for its villain back in the day, but it seems to be forgotten now. Thank you for covering it!

Explain monster in 5 words. A Surgeons morality saving demon.

"Underrated af" is an understatement when it comes to Monster.

Saw a lot of animes before this gem. I realised a lot of stuff when I finished this show. First thing is that this show is incomparable to any show. Second that this show has become the best anime ive ever seen and third is the potential of storytelling is soo much and i thought ive seen it all. This show is what is called a gem and a once in a life experience . Its just my opinion and im not saying to offend anyone. Thank u for reading.

Wow...you’ve just erupted a set of emotions I haven’t felt in a long time. Monster and Berserk were my first anime. I thought all anime were like this at the time. I was since looking for years. This anime is just beautiful from beginning to end. Thank you for reinvigorating my need to watch this for the 20th time. I’m so glad you’re uncovering this to many. This show doesn’t get praised enough. You’re the right person eloquent enough to put into words the beauty of this masterpiece. Now time to watch this for the 21st time.

One might just call this a “hidden gem”.

So, funny thing: When your spoiler arning came up, i stopped the video and went ahead and watched Monster. The entire thing. If i just waited half a minute longer i would have known that you only wanted me to watch 4 episodes, not 74 lol. I just finished an hour ago. But, i am glad i did. Monster was an experience. And most of all, it came at a right moment for me as i am currently pretty much in the mood for a "real story", and it can't get any realer than an anime that would work as live action project without any changes to the script. I am now gonna go ahead and watch a lot of analysis material and sleep a night to clear my head, so i can collect my thoughts, but i can already say safely that Monster will stay in my head for a long time. Thanks, for getting this show on my radar. It as worth the watch.

You absolutely nailed it in this review! I've been in love with Monster ever since I first saw it in college and I couldn't have done a better job describing the complexity, the nuance, and the deep characters than you did here (short of doing a 3 hour video, much of which would be filled with uncontrollable fanboy-rambling). This video will now be my go-to review for why people should watch Monster.

As someone who watched this anime only a couple of months ago, I can honestly say that I hadn't been on the edge of my seat watching an anime since I watched Death Note, which I watched during that phase where every anime is amazing haha. It was a brain bending experience that I wish I could experience for the first time all over again.

This is one of the animes I recommend to people who don't watch anime. When people have asked me about this show in the past I tell them that it's a psychological thriller, but animated. A damn good series, but not necessarily easy to binge watch due to it's length and many bleak themes throughout. I still want an anime adaption of Naoki Urasawa's Pluto, as it's the best (and darkest) Astro Boy story ever written. I still think it's crazy that the guy that wrote Monster is the same guy that wrote Yawara!.

My Mom and I watched Monster to completion just recently, so nice timing with this video!! The entire experience of watching it blind with her was a glorious rollercoaster! She swears that Tenma looks like Keanu Reeves lol.

Find me a person who has finished this show and doesn’t love it, you can’t.

Christ, I never thought you would finally get around reviewing this gem due to your previous comments on its lack of accessibility. Now we just have to peer pressure Gigguk into finally watching FMAB

My heart absolutely leapt with joy when I saw this notification. And it's 30 minutes long, no less! Wonderful! I saw Monster in 2012 on Netflix and then (somehow) took a 9-month-long break, until seeing physical DVDs of Monster at a near-ish library spurred me into joyfully finishing the series, and even after such a long break the events and characters were so memorable I hardly needed a recap. The best thing about my experience is that my grandmother watched the entire show with me, and we both absolutely loved it. After each episode we would discuss our thoughts and observations before proceeding to the next one. Seeing it with my grandmother made everything all the more special. Johan is my favorite antagonist of all time, and we both cried when Grimmer died (another fantastic and favorite character.) I would never have discovered David Slyvian's songs if not for this show, either, and he's now one of my most cherished artists. I later shared Monster with my brother, and he loved it, too; the show is even more special because I briefly considered using David Sylvian's ED for my dear brother's memorial service because the song had been one of our favorites (he committed suicide). Even though we ultimately decided not to use the song because of the line "it's all as it should be"--that's understandably not suitable for a suicide memorial service. I recommend this show to every person I see who enjoys stories. I even sent my grandmother a card with pictures of Tenma, Johan, and Grimmer on it which she still has taped the inside of her front door. We had a memorable marathon of episodes together when my family's house had to be flea-bombed, briefly rendering it unlivable. To this day, my grandma and I reminisce about this wonderful show. We even thought the story about the monster was based on a real fairy tale for a short while (before looking it up, lol.) We talk about re-watching it again a lot. It reminds me of my brother in a good way. And of course, all these years later, I love the soundtrack, and to this very day I am unable to look at nail-clippers the same way again. I am going to show or email this review to my grandma so she can watch it, too. Thank you so much, Arkada!

Monster is the old system of 50 to 100 episodes before the 24 ep standard then the 12 ep that are common today. AKA they had time to really build and creep and develop other storylines. Monster's biggest attraction for me is the psychology and the development of each character to a complete story from Nina, to the little boy Dieter, to a person like Eva or Grimmer who really add depth. Especially at the end.

Monster is so underrated. A lot of the time, I run into people who fangirl (even if they're male) over Light Yagami from Death Note, saying he's the greatest anime villain ever. When I mention Monster, either they never heard of it or they dismiss it because of their love for Death Note. When they ask me how much better of a killer Johan is to Light, I tell them: "Johann doesn't need a magic book or anything supernatural to kill hundreds of people. He only needs his words." Most laughed, but some came back to me to tell me I was right.

I coincidentally just finished watching monster a few days ago

"His choice affected not only his own life but now every single person affected by his choice." This was *very* awkwardly written. Not complaining or bitching, but just wanted to point it out so you can continue to improve. Love your work, Arkada! Been watching since your Baccano! review, keep up the great work!

When the Monster intro played at the beginning of your review, I got chills. Took me right back to when I first watched this show more than a decade and a half ago. Seems like I need to do a rewatch.

FINALLY ARKADA I’VE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS REVIEW FOR LIKE 7 YEARS

Monster probably is the most incredible story in anime history Because the story feels real No demons no magic no robots Just human nature

I’m 6 episodes in and I’m hooked. It’s very refreshing to watch an anime with good story telling.

I watched this series years ago and I agree with you. Always has this eerie vibe every episode especially the No Name Monster story. Can't wait for them to release another Naoki series, Pluto.

This anime is fantastic. I loved how you only hear second hand accounts of Johan Liebert, just like any investigator would. It made him far more mysterious and scary.

I have been waiting and voting for this review for so long. IT IS TIME.

Rewatched this recently with my family this time around. Its a show so full of darkness and the greatest fears of humanity, and yet it is also full of some of the most beautiful characters and small interactions. "Tomorrow is going to be a good day."

"And slowly you come to realize Its all as it should be you can only do so much..."

YESSS , HE finally did a review on it. Monster is one of my favourite anime ever. It's great psychological mystery series it's so well written, and grabs your attention. Wow thanks fo the likes, I'm just a big fan 😁.

The DVD situation has haunted me for years.

This is, without a doubt, one of the best shows of all time. I recommend it to everyone that is into TV shows because it transcends its medium to deliver one of the most amazing journeys I've ever taken. Thank you for bringing more exposure to this masterpiece!

it has been 4 years since i watched this show back in tenth grade, and my conclusion after watching still hasn't changed... i never needed a name to have fun

The monster whole series and events in it take years to complete. Dr Tenma and other characters meet many people daily, it's not just shown in Anime. So in those whole years of search he met some people who knows about some events. It's not like right after he met one guy with some knowledge and met another consecutively. There are so many gap of time between each events. So the coincidence you mentioned in the video didn't affect me much. Also as someone said , When you really want something the whole universe will help you and bring people together who are moving on the same path. Anyway I enjoyed the video , expecting great content in future too.

Monster, huh? you mean that favorite anime of mine? Yeah, never heard of it.

2 episodes in and I've never been happier to watch some "doctors" die.

7:13 It's so unnerving that the facial expression Kenzo shows towards a life that's been saved, is so similar to Johan's in the face of death

This is my personal #1 anime of all time. I've wached hundreds of show, and very very very very few have come to this level of quality.

This aired on the Syfy channel a few years back. That’s how I ended up watching it.

21:57 Not only does he look like Michael J Anderson, there’s even a red curtain behind him evoking the imagery of the Red Room That’s such a top-tier tribute

You basically read my mind when it came to this series. I watched this show and fell in love with the entire story. The opening makes more and more sense as you watch it and you start to piece it all together. Its so hard to skip the opening because of the clues it gives, but the song is so dam good it sets the tone and mood of the anime. overall a great anime telling a dam good story.

The psychological genre is perhaps my favorite genre in anime. It’d be pretty amazing if you could review Texhnolyze as that is not only my favorite psychological anime but just favorite anime of all time.

I have watched Monster and Legend of the Galactic Heroes. I will take my metal now. Both S tier

Monster is a 10/10 for me...I have already watched the anime, and I am reading the manga...and the art of the manga is just mind blowing.

Monster is easily one of my favorite animes. I'm one that gets bored of series easily, but this anime kept me immersed through and through. Also because it combines two huge parts of my other favorite shows. (Medical Drama and Crime).

Since you brought it up, how about... GR Anime Review: Legend of the Galactic Heroes I'm one of the people who did watch it till the end (on third attempt) and would love to see more people watching it as well.

I must confess that I feel like MONSTER!

My favorite part of the show is that the characters are mostly adults, no teen protagonists, and the one child character is only around when appropriate I'm getting to the point where I'm getting worn out on younger heroes doing great things leagues above everyone else. I get it, it's good to give kids hope and symbols to look up to. But I ain't no kid no more, I wanna see anime that reflects that

Saw you uploaded and got so excited! You’re one of my favorite anime youtubers and you definitely sold me on the series!

Monster has the greatest anime villain of all time. He just creeps me out. A masterpiece.

no way...i saw this show a long time ago. looking forward to watching this!

yessssssssssss I love Monster! happy to see a recent video talking about it!!!! Its just so surreal how animes and great stories affect, inspire and take us on journeys no matter who and where we are in the world through this medium of art. I practically live in the other side of the world and here I am commenting about one of my fav animes. thank you Arkada for always top tier content 😄

this my absolute favorite anime and one of my favorite works of media . I am so happy to see you review it! I really think even people who like western shows like mad men or the sopranos would also really love this show too.

Incredible, amazing analysis and treatment of this astounding story. I wish more anime and stories in general followed this depth of psychology, artistry, and human nature

Horror anime is a passion of mine, and when I watch ‘Monster’, I get shades of all my favorite thrillers; ‘Manhunter’, ‘Twin Peaks’, ‘Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer’. It’s brilliant and I love it.

The sound that came out of my mouth when I saw this in my subscription tab was inhumane. I've been waiting literal YEARS for you to post a review of Monster and I'm kinda crying now that you have.

Was waiting for you to make a video on Monster... You did a great job... Really loved the video

This is an excellent review. Thankyou for highlighting old anime in an era when everyone is just talking about seasonal anime

God damn, I’ve been waiting for you to review this for years. There aren’t enough words to describe how captivating the characters and their stories are, it hardly even feels like an anime just due to how realistically everything is portrayed. What’s even better is that Johan Liebert can easily be thought of as the protagonist, it just falls upon opening your eyes to a different perspective..

Been waiting for you to make this video for *literally* years

I've waited so many years for you to make this video, and now I just want to thank you. Excellent video 💯

SPOILER FREE COMMENT First, this is one of my favourite animes of all time, so take that into account if you want. Monster is a masterpiece, but not because it's a great anime but because it's just great. What I mean with this is that Monster has NONE of the common anime tropes, neither narratively nor visually. In fact, there's no reason for Monster to be an anime, it could have been a movie with real actors without a problem. So, should you watch Monster? Definitely. Because do you like anime? No, because you like a good story. The original material is a manga but the anime is a faithful reproduction of it, with shots mimicking the boxes. Besides, the music is fantastic and adds to the grim and ominous atmosphere. So yes, WATCH IT. But do more than that and recommended it to people who DO NOT LIKE anime, because it doesn't matter, they will enjoy it a lot. In fact, it can serve as a gateway to more seinen animes.

I'm glad that someone with your quality and notoriety reviewed this anime. Only one of my friends had ever seen monster and he was the same one that told me about it. It's hard for some people to enjoy, but it's easily one of the best anime I have ever seen.

I waited this review for so long. Nice work as always Tristan.

Thank you very much for this, it was great to hear someone talking about this. As a thank you I will give you an insight into my personal experience to one of your key issues. The cliffhanger trop with the gun firings. I watched the show over course of a couple years. That time span ended up breaking the series down for me into 3 parts. I guess those gaps in between gave me the time to not notice some of those tropes and reinforced my hunger to get more and continue the journey. Also taking so long for me to get to the end made it so much more gratifying. Thank you for the journey.

One of my favorite, if not my favorite anime of all time.

I remembered a few years ago that there were talks of doing a live action series that Guillermo de la Toro would be writing n directing it, and was excited about it too. But haven't seen any updates for quite awhile, but due to the current pandemic i feel it's unlikely...

I'm unbelievably happy to see you doing a full review of an anime, especially one that is older, and not a first impressions video.

First review I've watched of yours in about 5 years mate. Waited forever for you to do a review on this anime. The best anime

Legend of the Galactic Heroes review when Mr Armada 👀👀 In all seriousness, this might be the best review for recommending Monster to someone that I've ever seen. You covered nearly everything I think makes the story great without going into any spoilers, keep up the great work!

If I had to pick one anime out of all anime to have a live action, I'd pick Monster. It has immense potential as a series.

Reviews like these remind me why I've been subscribed to you all these years. Great video Tristan!

I was thinking only last week that I hadn't seen you upload a full series Anime review in a while. Nice to have them back. I remember watching monster a few years ago, never really was for me but I always remember enjoying the scenes with Johan, he was honestly one more chilling antagonists I've seen from an Anime.

This is one of my favorite anime of all time. It is thought provoking and the characters are so well crafted!

Monster is a masterpiece, I too, recommend this greatly. It is so well written. The manga and anime are both enjoyable and memorable even after so many years.

Fantastic Video as always Tristan! This was an excellent watch! Also, Happy Canada day Brother Cheers!

Very very underrated channel. You can bring up so much feelings by the way you are talking about certain things or scenes in anime, that's crazy.

First: Really great review! I enjoyed it. About the Opening: I totally agree with you, but i think it's also more than just hints of the future. What i love about the Opening is that it gives us a Tenma which is so different than the initial impression that you just ask yourself - how? And then with time as the journey progresses, the Tenma in the series becomes more and more like the one in the Opening! And in the last episode, he looks like in the beginning again, which closes his journey and the circle! Also, I was really sad when they changed the music in the ending - the first was perfect imo, the second one just jarring.

Also I love Monster. Back around 2006-2007, I used to listen to the OP on my high school schoolbus using my fancy ipod lol.

Great review as always

I just finished watching this a couple weeks ago. Your timing is perfect.... Amazing anime, amazing characters, it went into a lot of areas I did not expect.

This Anime/Manga is a freaking Masterpiece. Everybody should watch and read it. 😣

This is one of my favorite anime ever made. I always recommend this to people who find anime to be cliche or too ureal. Thanks for the review, and I feel you gave this show the attention it deserves.

I also appreciated the amount of research that must have went into it, like the trains in (at that time) Czechoslovakia being really the trains that were in use at that time, including interiors, or how first thing that happened to Tenma in Prague was some gypsy trying to swindle him.

Fantastic review. You really nailed it on the head. I feel so lucky that I was able to find a copy of the box set before it sold it.