Mix up crime fiction with the not-exceedingly-boisterous 90's setting, and add a few characters that would seem to possess supernatural powers at the first glance, and you'll get Monster.
If there's one thing about a crime fiction I absolutely adore, it's how the perpetrator is exposed in the end, and all mysteries are brought to light in just mere moments. Monster, however, doesn't follow that trend.
The anime begins in the lively Dusseldorf, home to the protagonist, a happy-go-lucky surgeon working in one of the hospitals in the area, going by the name of Kenzo Tenma. Life seems to be going well; a brag-worthy status as a surgeon, blessed with a ridiculous amount of experience at a young age, and a fiancé whose almost head over heels for him. Then, one day, our doctor nonchalantly decides to abandon a major operation in order to save a child's life.
That's where everything goes utterly wrong. The doctor finds himself entangle into a serious of crimes, being labelled as the prime suspect by the police. He goes around almost everywhere, trying to avoid the resilient and misguided forces of law, and in order to vanquish something he himself started, and, to bring light to all the crimes that have been going around.
That's the gist of it. In a sense, this isn't really a crime fiction.
The culprit's not hard to guess at all. Heck, it's as if the anime is literally screaming at you to accept the culprit, and watch as their past is revealed, and as they carry on their mindless, unbound slaughter. The anime's story doesn't really offer too much "mystery" pertaining to the crimes, so to speak. It's just a depiction of a gruesome environment painted red by the hands of a single person, and the other person, in his brisk endeavours to prove that, comes to know a dangerously large amount of people, and gets mixed up in their affairs, at well.
Doesn't sound like a crime fiction at all, eh? It was probably a mistake labelling it as such. In a nutshell, this is how it goes:
Fame-Deserting-Rebellion-Acquaintance-Mutual co-operation-Distrust-Deceptions-The finale.
That's it. All the 74 episodes can be depicted just through those 8 words. Of course, this isn't going to paint a clear picture of the plot in your mind. Let's ditch the plot discussion and move in to the other aspects for now, shall we?
As far as the animation style goes, if you're a connoisseur of the 90's anime art style, you're most likely to love this one. It isn't rabidly colourful as the current anime industry's art, neither hellishly detailed as the 90's( although it deviates a bit towards that side) ; a good spot among the spiral of mediocrity. It perfectly paints the gloomy and dark ambiance the anime intends to present. Perfectly fine in my books.
Next, for the OST. Alright I can't say that it's really non-existent, but the constant repetitions of a few tracks the entire anime is kind of unsettling. They could have decide to add a few more tracks to dramatize the situations further. Also, the "creepy" BGMs don't do an especially good job at making the spectator move to tears or fear( at the sudden jump scares) quite well. If there's going to be one down point about the anime, it's the music.
Next, as I'm sure every anime fanatic is aware of, you call the anime that manage to retain a solid plot even with extensive episodes, and a ridiculously large number of then at that, "amazing", right? Monster's one of those anime that tends to maintain a steady balance at all times; deviating a LOT from the presently delirious circumstances, but not at all shifting the story towards another direction COMPLETELY. The moment you think it's gotten boring, brave yourselves, for that will be the moment the truly unexpected events will rear their heads. Though yes, it'll be a pain to bear with the starting episodes a bit, as they're only thrilling to 1/8th of the anime, and immediately, the anime deviates slightly. That is enough to unnerve you to leave the show altogether, and I'll be honest, I even decided once to do that. But if you can bear with it for 6-7 episodes, you'll eventually get hooked up. So it's not a no-no.
The story is okay in the start, gets slow midway, picks up a sudden pace to move, and by the end, the conclusion will shock you. Or it's supposed to.
In the end, Monster isn't really an excellent anime, but far superior to a LOT of them out there. It's great, if not excellent, and if you're a fan of the old anime, this is sure to intrigue you. The characters are quite likeable, though some of the cast might out you off for their interference with the main cast, and their sudden blow-outs out of the story.
My verdict will be 8/10.
Pros:
-Interesting storyline( a bit slow though).
-A good cast of characters.
-No unnecessary amount of fan service or anything of the sort.
-Good art direction.
Cons:
-The OST could've used a bit of refinement.
