16 August 2008: This Monster review has grown so big (Part Two)
See no evil. Hear no evil.
In order to discuss Monster in a spoiler-free fashion, I have to avoid discussing the plot almost entirely, and may only speak of the characters in general terms. These restrictions are probably why I have not mentioned Monster much on these pages before, despite it being one of the few shows that I heartily recommend.
This scene sort of reminds me of an unrelated scene from Kaze no Yojimbo.
I don't recommend very many shows, but I do recommend Monster. Usually I don't broadly recommend shows because so much of what makes a show good or not depends on personal tastes and opinions. This is not to say that my reputation for being unusually tolerant of really shitty shows is at all warranted—merely that I acknowledge the shows I enjoy may be different than the shows y'all enjoy. Monster, on the other hand, is simply too good not to recommend.
George and Miyuki are a bit happier than Kenzo and Nina, supra.
I suppose I have to talk about the plot at least a little bit. Concisely put, Monster is anime's answer to the old The Fugitive television series. I presume only a small percentage of today's anime fans have ever seen an episode of The Fugitive, so maybe I need to discuss the plot of Monster just a little bit more.
Nina and Dr. Tenma.
Doctor Kenzou Tenma is a Japanese physician living in Germany. He makes an ethical decision that proves politically unpopular. Dr. Tenma soon learns no good dead goes unpunished. His good deed continues to haunt him a decade later, eventually forcing him to run from the law while he in turn pursues his nemesis. Unlike Dr. Richard Kimble from The Fugitive, Dr. Tenma's prey is far more dangerous and murderous than "the one-armed man."
This is about all I can say about the plot without giving away clues that I wouldn't have wanted to know when I was watching Monster the first time. Now what?
