"Sehen sie mich! Sehen sie mich!"
If I were to recommend one series to people who believe they can't like manga and anime to change their minds, it would not be what most of you probably think. It would not be Haibane-Renmei. It would not be Mushishi (that'd be my second choice). It would not be Stand Alone Complex. It would not be Princess Tutu. It would not be Mononoke.
No, it would be Urasawa Naoki's Monster.
Which I've been on a massive kick for recently. And I realized how negligent I've been in promoting it. That changes now.
Monster, for those of you who don't know, is the ultimate exercise in "no good deed goes unpunished." In 1986, in Dusseldorf, the brilliant young Japanese surgeon Tenma decides to defy hospital politics and be an ethical doctor, saving the life of a young boy named Johan who'd been shot. Big mistake. Soon, several of his superiors are mysteriously dead. Tenma is suspected, but there's no definitive evidence. Nine years later, the Iron Curtain is no more, and Tenma is happy in his job. But people are mysteriously dying all over Germany. And soon a patient of Tenma's ends up dead too. That's not so mysterious to Tenma. After all, Johan shot that patient right in front of him.
What ensues is an epic, somewhat Hitchcockian plot involving a doctor on the run and determined to stop a serial killer, the serial killer's twin sister who is also determined to stop him, a brilliant but misguided detective, a bitter drunken ex, a villain who will creep you out like no one else, the abuses performed by eastern European communist regimes, the social divisions in Germany, and so much more.
And if that alone isn't enough to sell you-
It's an incredible piece of writing. Urasawa is just amazing on both the small and large scale. Little side characters are drawn with full detail. The main characters are enthralling. And the plot, oh god the plot. There are little fully crafted stories, little fully crafted stories that also advance the overarching plot, and an astounding overarching plot. This is a series that demands to be reread at least once, so that you can notice all the little details leading up to things.
And on that note, the attention Urasawa pays to his setting makes one bow to him in appreciation. The divide between East and West Germany! The BKA! The status of Turkish immigrants! The former Czechoslovakian Secret Police! The gorgeously accurate buildings, from Munich to Prague! The correct German! The correct Czech! All sorts of lovely little details! The town in the final story arc is based on an actual little German town! These things make me so happy. ♥
Furthermore, the art. Look at these people. Yeah, that's all from the anime, but the anime is so wonderfully faithful. I know it might be a turnoff for some people, but I like seeing a cast of individualized and realistic characters, rather than the effect you often get in anime where you can only tell people apart by their hair. (The twins can look a lot alike, but they're twins, even if fraternal. It makes sense.) People have noses! People are fat! People have a wide age range! People have ethnicities!
It is, mind you, heavy stuff. It's focused on stopping the efforts of a serial killer who makes Hannibal Lecter look like an amateur. There is a high death toll. People you like will die. And it doesn't flinch from the very unpleasant logical implications of aspects of the plot. There's a scene that does for fingernails what Marathon Man does for teeth. There are a fair amount of characters who are very messed up in some way, not just Johan. Heck, one of the good guys has this nasty habit of savagely beating people to death with his bare hands when he's pushed too far. So yeah, it can be difficult. But that's part of what makes it so brilliant. You care about so many of the people, it is sad when they die. It deals fully with its subject matter. It's by far the most engrossing thriller I've ever encountered (yes, more than the Bourne movies). Of course, I'm not really a thriller fan. But then, it hooked me so completely in spite of the fact that I'm not usually inclined to this kind of series...
I believe that if it was handled right, a good dub of Monster could succeed on an American network in prime time, up against the crime shows, ect. It is that good.
And it's all up on Onemanga. (Though I naturally strongly encourage buying the official release, because Urasawa cannot be compensated enough.)
You can find a lot, maybe all, of the anime on Youtube, too. Just search for "Monster episode [number]." Here's the opening and first ending.
...And because I can...the opening in lego.
No, it would be Urasawa Naoki's Monster.
Which I've been on a massive kick for recently. And I realized how negligent I've been in promoting it. That changes now.
Monster, for those of you who don't know, is the ultimate exercise in "no good deed goes unpunished." In 1986, in Dusseldorf, the brilliant young Japanese surgeon Tenma decides to defy hospital politics and be an ethical doctor, saving the life of a young boy named Johan who'd been shot. Big mistake. Soon, several of his superiors are mysteriously dead. Tenma is suspected, but there's no definitive evidence. Nine years later, the Iron Curtain is no more, and Tenma is happy in his job. But people are mysteriously dying all over Germany. And soon a patient of Tenma's ends up dead too. That's not so mysterious to Tenma. After all, Johan shot that patient right in front of him.
What ensues is an epic, somewhat Hitchcockian plot involving a doctor on the run and determined to stop a serial killer, the serial killer's twin sister who is also determined to stop him, a brilliant but misguided detective, a bitter drunken ex, a villain who will creep you out like no one else, the abuses performed by eastern European communist regimes, the social divisions in Germany, and so much more.
And if that alone isn't enough to sell you-
It's an incredible piece of writing. Urasawa is just amazing on both the small and large scale. Little side characters are drawn with full detail. The main characters are enthralling. And the plot, oh god the plot. There are little fully crafted stories, little fully crafted stories that also advance the overarching plot, and an astounding overarching plot. This is a series that demands to be reread at least once, so that you can notice all the little details leading up to things.
And on that note, the attention Urasawa pays to his setting makes one bow to him in appreciation. The divide between East and West Germany! The BKA! The status of Turkish immigrants! The former Czechoslovakian Secret Police! The gorgeously accurate buildings, from Munich to Prague! The correct German! The correct Czech! All sorts of lovely little details! The town in the final story arc is based on an actual little German town! These things make me so happy. ♥
Furthermore, the art. Look at these people. Yeah, that's all from the anime, but the anime is so wonderfully faithful. I know it might be a turnoff for some people, but I like seeing a cast of individualized and realistic characters, rather than the effect you often get in anime where you can only tell people apart by their hair. (The twins can look a lot alike, but they're twins, even if fraternal. It makes sense.) People have noses! People are fat! People have a wide age range! People have ethnicities!
It is, mind you, heavy stuff. It's focused on stopping the efforts of a serial killer who makes Hannibal Lecter look like an amateur. There is a high death toll. People you like will die. And it doesn't flinch from the very unpleasant logical implications of aspects of the plot. There's a scene that does for fingernails what Marathon Man does for teeth. There are a fair amount of characters who are very messed up in some way, not just Johan. Heck, one of the good guys has this nasty habit of savagely beating people to death with his bare hands when he's pushed too far. So yeah, it can be difficult. But that's part of what makes it so brilliant. You care about so many of the people, it is sad when they die. It deals fully with its subject matter. It's by far the most engrossing thriller I've ever encountered (yes, more than the Bourne movies). Of course, I'm not really a thriller fan. But then, it hooked me so completely in spite of the fact that I'm not usually inclined to this kind of series...
I believe that if it was handled right, a good dub of Monster could succeed on an American network in prime time, up against the crime shows, ect. It is that good.
And it's all up on Onemanga. (Though I naturally strongly encourage buying the official release, because Urasawa cannot be compensated enough.)
You can find a lot, maybe all, of the anime on Youtube, too. Just search for "Monster episode [number]." Here's the opening and first ending.
...And because I can...the opening in lego.