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[Jsisto]

This early 2000s anime based on the manga has been in a bit of a limbo and practically unavailable to view through legitimate means outside of Japan for years. I’ve seen it consistently listed as one of the greatest anime on many lists, and after finally seeing it through a (now deleted) YouTube upload several years ago, I saw why.

This is not your traditional anime. This is a modern crime drama/mystery. There are no special powers/transformations or any of the typical things people associate with anime. It is fully grounded in reality and could easily have been a big budget live action series in another timeline. Without going into too much detail… Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a brilliant Japanese neurosurgeon living in Germany. After defying his superiors, he chooses to save the life of one person over another. This person later turns out to be a dangerous sociopath and serial killer, and through an incredibly unusual set of circumstances, Dr. Tenma becomes the primary suspect. Having lost everything dear to him and on the run from the law, he goes on a journey to stop the continuing murders and prove his innocence, uncovering more than he ever imagined in the process.

Monster is a lot of things. It is horrifying, beautiful, depressing, hopeful. It is not only one of my favorite animes, but in my opinion one of the best stories ever put to screen with some truly amazing and believable characters. It is a bit long, 70+ episodes and slows down a bit halfway through, but its one hell of a story. If this at all sounds the least bit interesting to you, I hope you will watch it.

I will leave you with the wonderful credits song written for the series by the incredibly talented David Sylvian.

 

[ssringo]

Glad I happened to see this thread. Monster is one of my all time favorites. It's been quite a while since I last read/watched it so I'll almost certainly give this a watch. I remember the fan translations I saw were iffy in quality in the earlier parts (especially with names) so hope it's been tidied up considerably.

 

[Doom85]

Always want to go through all of Monster. Viz only ever released the first 15 episodes on DVD and stopped due to low sales, and I never got around to getting the recent manga omnibuses (hopefully the prices aren’t too high as some are probably OOP now). I don’t use unofficial ways to watch anime/read manga so this is excellent news for me.

Really would be nice if 20th Century Boys (another manga by Urasawa) would get a full anime adaptation. I know Japan made a live action movie trilogy, and I hear it’s good but obviously has to cut a lot out.

 

[Thaedolus]

I’ve always wanted to give this another shot as I don’t think I was really mature enough or ready for it at the time it came out, and I have kept hearing how good it is over the years.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

I saw it on YouTube. The first half was a masterpiece.

 

[iPaul93]

Fuck yeah

 

[ipukespiders]

You've sold me OP. Will give it a go.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

This early 2000s anime based on the manga has been in a bit of a limbo and practically unavailable to view through legitimate means outside of Japan for years. I’ve seen it consistently listed as one of the greatest anime on many lists, and after finally seeing it through a (now deleted) YouTube upload several years ago, I saw why.

This is not your traditional anime. This is a modern crime drama/mystery. There are no special powers/transformations or any of the typical things people associate with anime. It is fully grounded in reality and could easily have been a big budget live action series in another timeline. Without going into too much detail… Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a brilliant Japanese neurosurgeon living in Germany. After defying his superiors, he chooses to save the life of one person over another. This person later turns out to be a dangerous sociopath and serial killer, and through an incredibly unusual set of circumstances, Dr. Tenma becomes the primary suspect. Having lost everything dear to him and on the run from the law, he goes on a journey to stop the continuing murders and prove his innocence, uncovering more than he ever imagined in the process.

Monster is a lot of things. It is horrifying, beautiful, depressing, hopeful. It is not only one of my favorite animes, but in my opinion one of the best stories ever put to screen with some truly amazing and believable characters. It is a bit long, 70+ episodes and slows down a bit halfway through, but its one hell of a story. If this at all sounds the least bit interesting to you, I hope you will watch it.

I will leave you with the wonderful credits song written for the series by the incredibly talented David Sylvian.

Loved the manga and the anime is a fantastic adaptation

 

[AlteredForms]

This series was mentioned heavily in the anime thread I created a couple months ago. I assumed it was on CrunchyRoll and wanted to watch it due to the strong outpouring of recommendation, I'm pleased I now have the chance.

 

[Elbereth]

Top 5 of all time.

 

[The Cockatrice]

Great anime. Loved it.

 

[poppabk]

Netflix? Pass, probably be some woke bullshit.
/s

 

[Mistake]

I loved monster and 20th century boys, but Urasawa can’t write endings at all. Talked to a few of my japanese friends and they agree. One said “you think that’s bad? I was reading on release!”

 

[DeafTourette]

Appreciate the info! I needed a good animé to watch in the new year!

 

[Werewolf Jones]

I'd watch it but the anime is a panel by panel adaptation. If I want the manga I'll just read it.

 

[kunonabi]

Not interested if doesn't have the original score.

 

[pel1300]

I remember watching this for the first time shortly before I was gonna be visiting Germany and Czech Republic for the first time on a backpacking trip. It got me a lot more hyped up about my trip because most of the show takes place in those countries.

 

[dave_d]

So wait, I'm one of the few that's saw it when it was on SyFy? Yes I saw, yes it's pretty much one of my favorite animes of all times. Definitely watch it if you can.

 

[01011001]

I remember watching this for the first time shortly before I was gonna be visiting Germany and Czech Republic for the first time on a backpacking trip. It got me a lot more hyped up about my trip because most of the show takes place in those countries.

it's also pretty well researched to make it feel authentic, which is surprising.

 

[Billbofet]

Thanks for the heads up on this. Sounds great!

 

[thefool]

I'm honestly (positively) surprised no streaming adapted 20th century boys yet. That manga has pretty much everything that people seem to enjoy on television: huge cast, coming of age story, whodunnit, suspense, cliffhangers every other chapter, twists, weird ass shit and a 20+ volume mystery.
Monster is great too.

 

[pel1300]

I'm honestly (positively) surprised no streaming adapted 20th century boys yet. That manga has pretty much everything that people seem to enjoy on television: huge cast, coming of age story, whodunnit, suspense, cliffhangers every other chapter, twists, weird ass shit and a 20+ volume mystery.
Monster is great too.

Based on what I've read about it - sounds like the BBC miniseries Utopia mixed with Stephen King's IT.

 

[Valonquar]

See how far you can get before shouting at the screen "SHOOT HIM TENMA! FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF"

 

[thefool]

Based on what I've read about it - sounds like the BBC miniseries Utopia mixed with Stephen King's IT.

That’s a pretty decent description.

 

[SF Kosmo]

A friend of mine was hired to write a screenplay for a movie adaptation of this which was supposed to be directed by Park Chan Wook (director of Old Boy), but disagreements between the involved studios sank the project. I'm not over it.

 

[Fbh]

Netflix? Pass, probably be some woke bullshit.
/s

Well hey, technically it's about a minority man hunting down a straight blonde white man.
Netflix executives were probably reading the summary like:

I'm honestly (positively) surprised no streaming adapted 20th century boys yet. That manga has pretty much everything that people seem to enjoy on television: huge cast, coming of age story, whodunnit, suspense, cliffhangers every other chapter, twists, weird ass shit and a 20+ volume mystery.
Monster is great too.

Yeah 20th century boys is amazing, probably my favorite one from Urasawa. Shame it never got an adaptation.
Honestly it's weird no one ever picked up some of his work for a live action adaptation. His stories are usually a bit more grounded and his character designs are fairly realistic, a lot of them can be adapted without an exorbitant budget and have pretty universally appealing themes of mystery and intrigue.

But nah let's make One Piece, because that's totally not going to suck,

 

[Ansphn]

I’ve always wanted to give this another shot as I don’t think I was really mature enough or ready for it at the time it came out, and I have kept hearing how good it is over the years.

I also fall into this category. I heard great things but when I read the manga, I don't think I was mature enough to understand the greatest. I'm ready to experience this again. Hopefully the budget is good.

 

[-Minsc-]

Own the manga.

Back when I used to buy DVD collections, Monster was on my list to get. That phase fizzled out. Just got the TV set up in the living room and my wife has a Netflix account. Sounds like a great opportunity.

 

[Jsisto]

A little disappointed the English dub isn’t an option, it was really good.

 

[Dirk Benedict]

Read the premise. This could hit the spot after all the BS of New Years Eve. This and my favorite thc vape and I'm in.

 

[kunonabi]

Japanese version is intact with the original score so that's all I need.

 

[Danteyke223]

I liked it, and then the ending felt like a massive copout.

 

[Susurrus]

Netflix only has 30 episodes, Wikipedia lists 74. Wonder if we'll get the rest, or if Netflix will do like Netflix does and never release future episodes of anime they licensed.

 

[-Minsc-]

Netflix only has 30 episodes, Wikipedia lists 74. Wonder if we'll get the rest, or if Netflix will do like Netflix does and never release future episodes of anime they licensed.

Orly?

Watched the first episode yesterday. I'd better stop if they don't have the full show.

 

[Thaedolus]

I was just gonna watch the first two eps last night and ended up watching 4 and almost starting 5…pretty good stuff

 

[dave_d]

Netflix only has 30 episodes, Wikipedia lists 74. Wonder if we'll get the rest, or if Netflix will do like Netflix does and never release future episodes of anime they licensed.

Damn, serious? And they don't have the dub? What do they have against it? It's one of the best anime's I've ever seen.(I didn't realize how lucky I was to see it in the first place.)

 

[Jsisto]

It really was a very high quality dub. I'll definately struggle to get used to some of the Japanese voices. In particular inspector Lunge and Johan were standouts.

 

[FullMetalx117]

Low key, this is one of the best shows (not just anime) of all time. I recommend the dub, very well made. This will be one of the best crime dramas you’ll see in years. And one of the best settings/atmosphere you’ll ever see in an anime.

 

[Jsisto]

For you older folks, it's basically The Fugitive but in Germany and with doctors.

 

[Valonquar]

I believe HBO considered doing a live action version of this a while back, but it never happened.

 

[Lunarorbit]

Don't get your hopes up everyone; Netflix just announced they are canceling a second season of Monster.

 

[Jsisto]

Don't get your hopes up everyone; Netflix just announced they are canceling a second season of Monster.

I don’t think youre being serious, but please provide proof if you are.

 

[Kataploom]

Oh my! Finally!

 

[Nostalgic Nightmare]

So far so good, but the subs are absolutely terrible. Maybe it's because everything in the damn hospital is white, or the colors in general lean towards a lighter hue, but the text does not stand out well and makes it a bit of a chore.

 

[Razvedka]

Don't get your hopes up everyone; Netflix just announced they are canceling a second season of Monster.

?

 

[Thaedolus]

I don’t think youre being serious, but please provide proof if you are.

?

It’s a joke about how Netflix always cancels shows. Don’t think they’ll be cancelling a 20 year old show.

 

[Dynomite]

I am so down. I have actually been meaning to watch this, and thought I would have to go with Youtube.

 

[TaylorSwiftFan]

I couldn’t get into it. Something unbelievable happens in the first episode itself and I couldn’t suspend my disbelief in all the incredulous things that happened in the subsequent episodes.

 

[BaneIsPain]

I like it, and I read the manga years ago. Although, the overall tone I prefer the 20th Century boys over Monster.

 

[TheInfamousKira]

Thanks for the recommendation, OP. Saw this thread and gave the first four episodes a go. It's funny in that it's a slow burn, but being used to more live action western stuff that's usually 45m in length or more, it seems like things are happening at a break neck pace at the same time.

Pretty gripping stuff just over an hour into it, lots of neat little questions presented to the audience, are all lives truly equal? If so, then is saving someone's life who goes on to cause the end of other people's lives, coincidentally or not, a sin? Really meaty stuff to chew on, very well written.