Monster (manga)
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Monster is a seinen manga by Naoki Urasawa, serialized in Big Comic Original, published by Shogakukan, between 1994 and 2001, and reprinted in 18 tankōbon. A 74 episode anime tv adaptation by Madhouse aired on NTV from April 07, 2004 to September 28, 2005.
The manga is licensed in English by Viz Communications, with the release of the first volume scheduled for Februrary 2006. New Line Cinema has also recently acquired rights to create an English language film version.
Story
The series follows Dr. Kenzo Tenma (天馬賢三) as he pursues a young psychopath known as Johan, whose life Tenma once saved. The story rapidly progresses through a number of locations: it starts in Düsseldorf, Germany, passes through Berlin, Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, Polish cities, Budapest, cities in the Czech Republic such as Prague and other cities or villages.
Template:Spoiler The text on the cover of the first volume reads as follows:
"Dusseldorf, West-Germany in 1986. One day, Dr. Kenzo Tenma ignored his boss's order and executed humanitarian rescue of a man's child. That's how this horrible story begins!!"
Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a young Japanese doctor working in Düsseldorf in the 80s. A highly accomplished surgeon, he appears to have everything on his plate - a promotion in the offing and the favor of the director of the hospital, Heinemann, and his daughter Eva as his fiancée. However, Tenma grows increasingly dissatisfied with the political bias of the hospital for treating patients, and seizes his chance to change things after a strange massacre brings the twins Johan and Anna Liebert into his hospital. Johan has a gunshot wound to the head and Anna keeps muttering about killing, and Tenma decides to operate on Johan instead of a prominent politician. Johan is saved, but the politician dies. Tenma loses all his social standing and Eva as a consequence. However, Heinemann and other doctors in Tenma's way are mysteriously murdered, and both children disappear from the hospital soon after. The police suspect Tenma, as he benefits greatly from this turn of events, but have no evidence, and so can do no more than question him.
At this point, the story advances to nine years later. Tenma is still successful. However, he is about to come face to face with a sociopath - a sociopath that he helped create.
A known criminal is found on the street, hit by a car. He comes under the care of Dr. Tenma, who observes him muttering about a "Monster". Then one evening when Dr. Tenma comes back with a gift for the criminal, he finds the guard in front of the criminal's room dead, and the criminal himself gone.
Following his trail to an abandoned building near the hospital, he finds the man. The man, who has developed a sort of doctor-patient friendship with Dr. Tenma, warns him against coming closer, and pleads with him to run away. Tenma refuses, however, and the identity of the man holding a gun pointed at the criminal in the abandoned parking garage is revealed to be the boy whose life Tenma had saved nine years ago, Johan. Despite Dr. Tenma's attempt to reason with him, Johan shoots the criminal, tells Tenma that he could never kill the man who had saved his life, then walks off into the night while Tenma is still too shocked to stop him. After this incident, Tenma is again suspected by the police, particularly Inspector Lunge, and he tries to find more information about this 'Johan'. He soon discovers that the boy's sister, Nina, happily living the life of an adopted daughter to two caring parents, the only trace of her terrible past a few dreams she's had. He discovers her on her birthday, and manages to prevent her from meeting her brother, but comes too late to prevent Johan from murdering her foster parents. As the show progresses, the scope of the atrocities this 'Monster' has committed become evident to Tenma, and he vows to fix the mistake he made when he saved Johan's life.
While Tenma is the main character of Monster, the story also focuses heavily on those surrounding his search for Johan, such as Inspector Lunge (who is investigating Johan's various murders but pins them all on Tenma) and Nina Fortner (a young woman with a horrifying forgotten past), and a host of other characters, minor and major, whose lives have been shaped by the deeds of the monster named 'Johan'.
Character List (unfinished/spoilers)
| Dr. Kenzo Tenma - A genius Japanese surgeon. Dr. Tenma chose to save a young boy's life (Johan) rather than the mayor of Düsseldorf in 1986. He was haunted by this decision since then, starting when the boy disappeared from the hospital. Nine years later, he finds out the same boy has turned into a very disturbed young man, capable of murdering without mercy. Tenma then sets out to stop Johan, with the guilt of being the one who saved the monster always on the back of his head. | |
| Johan Liebert - Is he really a monster? Or, someone with two distinct personalities? The past of the boy who received a shot in the head that Dr. Tenma saved is a mystery that slowly unfolds throughout the manga. Twin brother of Anna Liebert. | |
| Nina Fortner / Anna Liebert - Johan's twin sister and the only unharmed survivor of the night both her parents and her brother were shot. At first she showed signs of autism from the trauma the incident had generated. After she and her brother disappears, she appears to have been adopted by the Fortner family as their own. She doesn't remember anything about her childhood, including Johan, so, much like her twin brother, her past is unknown. |
Possible connection?
Some aspects of Monster's story bear striking similarities to the BTK case.
Especially these excerpts from the BTK killer's letters to the police:
In a letter written by BTK to police:
"It hard to control myself. You probably call me 'psychotic with sexual perversion hang-up.' When this monster enter my brain I will never know. But, it here to stay."
"I can't stop it so the monster goes on, and hurt me as well as society. Society can be thankful that there are ways for people like me to relieve myself at time by day dreams of some victims being torture and being mine. It a big complicated game my friend of the monster play putting victims number down, follow them, checking up on them, waiting in the dark, waiting, waiting.... the pressure is great and sometimes he run the game to his liking. Maybe you can stop him. I can't. He has already chosen his next victim or victims. I don't know who they are yet. The next day after I read the paper, I will know, but it to late. Good luck hunting."
External links
- A blog on Monster, as series of episode guide (contains spoilers)
- An illustrated episode guide (contains spoilers)
- A complete review of Monster (contains spoilers)