"Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process, he does not become a monster. And when you look long into an abyss, the abyss also looks into you." -Nietzsche
Once Shakespeare asked, "What's in a name?" Everything. Our name is not just our identity, sometimes it's our whole existence. Interestingly, there are many rumours roam around the 'name' and the existence of Shakespeare himself. Some say a woman used it as a pen name to hide her identity. Some say he was actually Christopher Marlow, who changed his name to hide from authority. Others say Shakespeare was actually a businessman and hired ghost-writers and published their works by his name. Whoever or whatever he (or she) was, what exists between us is the work and the name connected with it. Imagine somehow you forget every bit of your past, and there is nobody to tell you who you are and your name! That's what happens in Naoki Urasawa's slow-paced, bone-chilling, jaw-dropping thriller anime 'Monster'…. but with a twist. What if somebody recreates you gives you a name and a personality, but you discover that is not what you were, and this is not what you are, and your whole existence becomes an unsolved question!
The rollercoaster rides of actions and gruesome game of cat and mouse in the Japanese thriller anime series 'Monster' begins with its Japanese protagonist, Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a brain surgeon, a philanthropist who is surrounded by political biases in the hospital he works. But everything changes when he decides to save a boy name Johan Liebert who got a gunshot in his head over the life of the Mayor, who dies later. But it proved as his great mistake. He loses his position in the hospital, Johan and his twin sister Anna run away, Director and other doctors are murdered mysteriously, and Dr. Tenma becomes suspects, and everything becomes chaotic. Nine years later, he again meets Johan, not the innocent child but the monster, and it becomes Kenzo's mission to end the life of Johan by his hands, which once saved the life of the monster. This intense game of hide and seek between Tenma and Johan is full of blood, murder, violence, vengeance. Simultaneously it balances ray of hope, love, and redemption.
Why should we watch this anime? It has an intriguing story with a multifaceted plot, sombre atmosphere, suspenseful and unsettling music, well-developed characters, and fantastic animation. The anime seems long and slow-paced, but it can keep you on the edge of your seat most of the time. The story is in bits with plenty of flashbacks, and by never revealing anything entirely, it keeps its mysteriousness intact till the end. Viewers have to be very attentive about even a small detail. It has a bleak atmosphere, which suits its cryptic tone and makes the story more gripping. Its outstanding music enhances the tale's suspense, especially opening and closing sequences perfectly reflect the series’ sense, and some background compositions rise quite unsettling sentiments.
But the series gets its more than half of the power from its well-developed characters. The most exciting part of our life's journey is that we meet different types of people. Every person is like a book, and we can only read a few pages or chapters. It makes us more human. At a different frequency, we influence each other, we change each other, either we try to stay together or move on the incomplete different direction without knowing whether we could meet again ever. That is the most exciting part of the series too. With two main leads (Dr. Tenma and Johan), we meet many secondary characters, and sometimes they are repeated only for a few episodes. Some of them have larger roles and leave a long-lasting impression on us, while others may seem insignificant, but they all help to push the story ahead.
We all have a different personalities inside us. A nameless someone who gets created by influenced, inspired, manipulated ideas and thoughts can be completed different from what we actually are in front of the world. It behaves freely inside us the way we want to act outside of us, but we control it, we tame it. But the day we lose control over it, it consumes us inside out. Some call it The Monster, some calls it The Magnificent Steiner, some don't even realize that they have been consumed by it. So many things to talk about the series, so less I could express myself. If you like to dwell in the world of anime and searching for a serious one with depth, stop it here for a while.
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