A monster of an anime by the genius Urusawa... I think this is his latest work... but his body of work also includes awesome stuff like Yawara and Master Keaton... in any case...

The story begins with Dr Tenma, a gifted neurosurgeon of Japanese origin working in Germany... his life seems to be all set... dating the hospital directors daughter... respected by his colleagues and next in line for promotion... and then... things start going terribly wrong...

One day Dr Tenma runs into the family of a patient who had died during surgery... Dr Tenma had been supposed to operate on this patient originally... but had been told to instead operate on a bigshot who had actually been brought in later... Tenma feels terribly guilty about this event and resolves never to let it happen again... soon afterwards... another similar situation arises... a boy is brought in with a gunshot wound to the head and sometime later... another bigshot is brought it... Tenma refuses to operate on the bigshot since the boy had been brought in first... he saves the boy... but the bigshot dies... instantly Tenma becomes a pariah... his fiance (directors daughter) leaves him... and the director gives his promotion to someone else... however, inspite of this... Tenma feels he had done the right thing... and then... we have the kicker... the boy who Tenma had operated on now becomes the subject of much public scrutiny... The director plans to use him to get the Hospital more publicity... but Tenma objects... given the nature of the boys condition... again Tenma is brushed aside... and then... the boy and his sister (who was simply in shock... but was still hospitalized) both disappear... and all of Tenmas superiors are found dead... having eaten poisoned candy... who is the killer? Why did he do it? Of course Tenma is the first to fall under suspicion... but is cleared soon afterwards due to lack of evidence...

Several years later Tenma discovers the terrible secret... the boy he had saved was the murderer... and he had grown to become a particularly prolific and ruthless killer... so begins Tenmas quest to find the boy and bring him to justice... since he feels responsible for saving his life and giving him the opportunity to become a killer...

LOVED IT!! ADORED IT!! WORSHIPED IT!!
The only 50+ episodes anime series with little to no filler content. And the depiction of Germany was so realistic that when I finished watching it I felt I knew more about the surroundings than my back yard (okay,maybe that's a bit exaggerated,but you get the point). A must watch!! 

Finally.... some company here.... thought I was the only one who had seen this..... a terrible thought... and very vain on my part I suppose.... but yeah.... Urusawa is probably the only mangaka who can depict a setting outside Japan with such finesse and in so much ACCURATE detail....

Yeah..too bad he hasn't written more of them (Urusawa I mean). I've seen bits of Master Keaton. It was interesting too but not in the same level as Monster.I know I've caused much controversy in the past with this statement,but I personally put Monster in front of Death Note as far as the mystery suspense genre goes. That's mainly because after you know who's death the series kinda goes downhill starting with the Yotsuba arc.

Oh yeah... I have actually never 'finished' Death Note if you want to be technical about it.... I skipped several chapters in the middle once the 'brats' showed up.... Monster on the other hand.... 2 sittings finished the entire manga... 4 sittings for the anime....

For more stuff by Urusawa.... read Yawara.... some group has just started scanslating it again... and there are some 50 odd epis available on subs.... its pretty old school... and I think its the only time Urusawa really goes into the Romance genre if memory serves... then there was Pluto I think.... and lets see.... gah... I forget... Pluto isnt bad either.... but Arrow and Ace didnt like it much....

Ithil(whoa! So he finally decided to join here! Now things are really gonna heat up with our threesome..lol!) has read a bit of Pluto as well apparently and gave me his vote of confidence sometimes back. We'll see how it turns out.Monster is one of those series that compels you to do a marathon. Only other series I can remember right now is probably code geass. Every episode ends on a cliffhanger and you are kept waiting with lingering questions in your mind. It's so frustrating to NOT know what's gonna happen next. Such is the genius of this series. 

Newest Member.... Ithil.... Yeah... whatever.... *Pauses*.... *Does a Double Take*.... *Theatrically spits a mouthful of coffee into neighbors face*

WHAAAT??!?!?!!??!??!??!?!?!?!?!!?

Whoa!! Awesome news there....

Yup Yup Yup.... fully agree on Monster....

Yeah I agree... it's like being hit by a stun gun,only more shocking!*Hey,who's coffee is this?? Dang! Some people have no manners....*I haven't read the manga,does the anime stay true to it or cuts and chops it down??

Its pretty much the same.... but they both have the same.... 'aura'.... as they say in the anime world.... they give you the same feeling at the end of each episode/chapter.... there are only small differences as far as I remember... and nothing which detracts from the plot.... but really.... its worth your time to do both... i.e. read the manga and watch the anime....

DIE HARD wrote:Ithil... has read a bit of Pluto as well apparently and gave me his vote of confidence sometimes back.

Have not! Did not! The only manga I've read are Berserk and parts of GetBackers. DH, you're truly hallucinating.

Monster's one of my favourite anime. The taut narration (so few fillers) and the way they manage to keep the suspense going all along - it's terrific. Has somebody already mentioned the ending theme, 'For the love of life'? Creepy....

I've read the manga. It's AWESOME! The story rocks...

Finally I'm watching this on DH kun's recommendation.I'm only at the beginning-but needless to say I'm already hooked to the plot.

Monster not only explores the world of complex human behavior but also portrays the moral dilemma of an honest man.
There is a monster slumbering within each one of us and this is the central theme of the anime.
Yes the ending song is indeed creepy but at the same time immensely intriguing.
Definitely one of those must-watch shows.Must-watch in CAPS.

Read manga. Found it absolutely amazing. My #2 manga after Death Note. :]

Fav chars - That inspector and that guy who keeps smiling

Bagpipes wrote:Read manga. Found it absolutely amazing.
Fav chars - That inspector and that guy who keeps smiling

*nods and agrees *

Smiling guy.... you must mean Grimmer... or... his alter ego... the Magnificent Steiner.

Only just started to watch Monster...and might I say I'm glad Kyo-kun and DH-chan forced me into it? It's like, after watching Death Note, I never thought I'd be happy again and then Monster came by -melodramatic moment- Anyhow, it's a BRILLIANT series....though the art was a slight turn-off at the beginning, I slowly managed to get over it.

Has somebody already mentioned the ending theme, 'For the love of life'? Creepy...

I always skip that...just fast forward through it to the part where they show what's on the next episode. The tune that plays there goes better with the mood of the anime. And I'm a fan of the opening, Grain, already....^^

Oh and did I mention I'm already a major Johan fan?? I do like Tenma a lot too....but Johan, well, he makes me look forward to each episode...and this time, it's not the looks...

Well... if you have any affection for Dr. Tenma... and since you have gotten used to the art... try watching Master Keaton next...

Yes yes yes! More converts! The world needs more monster-maniacs. I wish there was a second season. But I guess the series wrapped up on a correct note. And yes,Johan is a genius. The thing that strikes me most about this show is that,despite it's impressive length,there isn't any noticeable filler arcs. I mean,even DN had a filler arc!

Btw,I still think Monster is better than Death Note (ignores ominous glares from Ace and Shweta).

I'm still on episode 34. Slow moving but a brilliant series. The first quarter has Tenma running to every other place where Johan might be, only to find out that he left. What's shocking is that some of them say something on the lines of - Johan said you'd come here. And then comes the part where you actually get to see the guy in broad daylight. I'd say Monster beats DN any day. DN got boring when it slowed down after L died. I'm watching this series on and off since I can't watch too many episodes at a stretch for the moment. Don't worry DH, I'll most certainly finish it off soon enough ^_^