Monster by Urasawa Naoki
For the past three days I've been reading this series non-stop. It's quite excellent in terms of plot, characters, and exececution. That said, I wanted to encourage those who haven't read it to to do so. It is available in english courtesy of Viz. However, for those who want to try it first, I have the first 3 volumes available for download.
Summary at ANN: When a doctor makes the highly controversial decision to save a boy's life over the mayor's, it leads to the loss of almost everything he holds dear. His fiance, his career, his social standing. The only thing he keeps is his own feeling of self worth, knowing that he did the right thing in saving the boy, who came in first. Yet even that is threatened when he begins to learn that nothing is as it originally appeared. A trail of bloodshed pointing to the seemingly innocent child leaves him questioning even his beliefs. Whether, in the end, all lives are ever truly equal.
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
While I really enjoyed this manga, the ending did unsettle me. It's not the events really, but more that the series ended on such an ambiguous note. Really, I felt that not all the questions were answered and I really wanted all the loose strings to be tied neatly into a bow. I can't help it, I'm that type of reader. I need conclusive endings or it irritates me. I think this is because in real life, there is no such thing as a tidy ending, so I like the fiction I read to have one to satisfy my need. Still, I still think this series is so excellent that it should be recced, regardless of my feelings on it's ending.
What I really would like is for someone to read this series and develop an understanding of the material enough to tell me what the hell went on during the whole set-up of the human experiments and during the formative years of the twins...I read it, but I think the events don't line up correctly in my head. I also think I got some of the characters mixed up with other characters as there is a huge cast of people involved in the creation of the "Monster." If this series english version gets popular enough, perhaps someone will start a website and I can get some answers...
Summary at ANN: When a doctor makes the highly controversial decision to save a boy's life over the mayor's, it leads to the loss of almost everything he holds dear. His fiance, his career, his social standing. The only thing he keeps is his own feeling of self worth, knowing that he did the right thing in saving the boy, who came in first. Yet even that is threatened when he begins to learn that nothing is as it originally appeared. A trail of bloodshed pointing to the seemingly innocent child leaves him questioning even his beliefs. Whether, in the end, all lives are ever truly equal.
Volume 1
Volume 2
Volume 3
While I really enjoyed this manga, the ending did unsettle me. It's not the events really, but more that the series ended on such an ambiguous note. Really, I felt that not all the questions were answered and I really wanted all the loose strings to be tied neatly into a bow. I can't help it, I'm that type of reader. I need conclusive endings or it irritates me. I think this is because in real life, there is no such thing as a tidy ending, so I like the fiction I read to have one to satisfy my need. Still, I still think this series is so excellent that it should be recced, regardless of my feelings on it's ending.
What I really would like is for someone to read this series and develop an understanding of the material enough to tell me what the hell went on during the whole set-up of the human experiments and during the formative years of the twins...I read it, but I think the events don't line up correctly in my head. I also think I got some of the characters mixed up with other characters as there is a huge cast of people involved in the creation of the "Monster." If this series english version gets popular enough, perhaps someone will start a website and I can get some answers...