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Reviewed by Ysabet Reinhardt MacFarlane Reading Monster after seeing the anime in its entirety is an interesting experience. The animated version was painstakingly faithful to the source material, so I’m not coming across any surprises in the manga--and that’s more than fine with me. It’s as satisfying the second time around as it was on the first go. The word “masterpiece” has been thrown around a lot with this title, and it’s entirely deserved: this is an incredibly complex story, without a single extraneous character or plot development. This volume opens with Dr. Tenma in police custody after his arrest in Prague. Tenma himself is silent as the police begin to interrogate him, but the rest of the world is not. Inspector Lunge continues his investigation into a mysterious author of children’s books, Tenma’s allies continue to gather evidence about his innocence and Johan’s existence, and Tenma’s former patients have banded together in an attempt to win his freedom. But the choices Tenma makes behind bars continue to affect their efforts, and ultimately his goals are not the same as theirs--his friends want his freedom, but Tenma’s own intent is still to bring Johan down, whatever the cost. With Tenma largely immobilized, this installment leaves a lot of the action in the hands of old and new supporting cast members; in his absence, they continue to connect with each other and compare their respective pieces of the puzzle Tenma has drawn them all into. There isn’t as much action as there has been in some recent volumes, but the tension doesn’t let up much. The clock is still running, in more ways than one. This far into the series--thirteen volumes out in English, five to go--it’s hard to find new things to say about the overall story and presentation, but Monster is a tense piece of work, as a psychological thriller should be. People aren’t always what they seem, and loyalties aren’t always what you’d expect. The artwork and the psychology are both realistic, making this a good starter series for readers whose preconceptions about manga’s stereotypical big eyes and bubbly stories may have put them off the medium. Recommended for readers who like realism, suspense, and an engaging, determined protagonist surrounded by a diverse array of people. Monster has won a ton of awards, and earned every one of them. Comment on this review of Monster v13 on the Manga Life Forums. |
6 October 2009
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