
Monster
a review by Goodie1857
3 years ago·Jun 11, 2022

a review by Goodie1857
3 years ago·Jun 11, 2022
If I'm completely honest, there's a lot of Monster which I am confused about, and I guess writing about it will help me organise my thoughts.
Firstly, we still don't know about why Johan is the way he is, the only explanation I can think of is that he has a few screws loose in the first place as a child and that made him do what he did despite never being in the Red Rose Mansion.
The tension between Eva and Kenzou Tenma is never resolved, instead their last interaction is simply Tenma saying he ruined her life. I don't understand this at all, if anything, she ruined his by being a gold digger. I don't see any way Tenma has to be apologetic.
Dr. Gillen's role is also kind of confusing, I have no idea how he contributes to the end of the story other than serving as a witness to police.
I also didn't like the fact that the right-wing people were mentioned so much but didn't really contribute much. They are mentioned because they are looking for Johan, but there is little to no interaction with Johan.
I understanding the recurring imagery of the storybook, but I felt 'having no name' wasn't fleshed out all that well. I don't see how having no name would cause a person to choose to reach a doomsday scenario where they are the only ones left.
There are more issues than I have listed, but I can't really think of them right now; what I would like to say is that this story has been very interesting.
We see how people can change, Franz Bonaparta goes from a killing machine to a 'kind' man, understanding of the damage he caused to all those children. Eva transforms her life by changing to a kitchen designer, something which requires communication. Nina forgives her brother, just to stop him or to rewrite her past for the future, either way she changes her mindset.
But we also see the side of people that cannot change; Tenma never kills a person, no matter how far Johan pushes him. And even when he could leave a patient like Johan to die, he cannot do so, he does his best once again, repeating what happened years ago, reviving a monster. Grimmer was always on a path to expose the truth about Kinderheim 511, and more so himself as a human; is he human or not. Can he feel like a normal person? Can he have the same experiences?
The nuances in the characters exposes a basic human characteristic; we are defined by ourselves and the environment. Allowing one to take precedence can change your reality, sometimes for the better, sometimes for worse.
The story also begs the question, 'Is all life really equal?'
Johan said: "For you, all lives are created equal. That's why i came back to life. But you've finally come to realize it now, haven't you? Only one thing is equal for all, and that is death."
For a nameless person, a person with no identity, how could you possibly place any value on human life. For a doctor, every life is equal to you, even if it may cause harm. The story never truly answers this question, instead it encourages us to think: Is life meaningless, or is there meaning behind every face, value in every breath?
There are many issues touched upon, but I feel these are the most valuable to discuss. Overall, I found it to be a compelling experience, as answers were never given right out to the reader, instead we felt like we had to work for it, just as Tenma and Lunge did.
I would love there to be another manga just like this, a combination of life, mystery and a good sprinkle of fun.
I feel like there were many things I missed and if I read it again I might enjoy it more. There was simply too much to process. I definitely think I'll think about it again once I reread it.
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