Print Review: Monster volumes 1-12

Review Monster volumes 1-12Written by WarpshadowRating Excellent

Rarely have seen a manga series that is emotionally honest while being complex as Monster. Without reservation I would say that this is one of the classics of manga.

Kenzo Tenma was a Japanese doctor working in Germany as a neurosurgeon. One day he runs into a widow of a man who had died because Tenma performed surgery on a more prestigious patient. The incident weighed on his mind a few days later when he had two patients, a young boy and a politician. Tenma operates on the boy, a decision that practically ruins his career. A couple of days later some of the other doctors, the ones who squelched Tenma's career, wound up dead from poisoning. Although there is some suspicion there is not enough evidence to arrest him. A few years later he finds out who committed those murders. It was the boy he saved, Johan Liebert, who has grown up to be a charismatic sociopath.In almost any story the most important if not simply one of the major elements that makes the story good or not is the characters. To apply that idea to Monster would be to say that this manga is superior almost any other manga out there. This manga has an expansive cast that feels very real in both their mannerisms and history. Not only that the character designs reflect a wide spectrum of people a opposed to many, many that aim for something called generic cute. Not only does this manga have a good cast of characters they are put to good use as Monster has an unusual and complex plot. Although I could go on further I would simply be give this manga more praise; such that there should be no question of whether I would recommend this manga to you.