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ファイト／ステイナイト 
Unbelievable. This show was premiered back in April 2004 but it's not until now that I finally finished watching it. In the best possible scenario, I'd love to be able to finish this earlier but unfortunately there's always something else to do. I do love the story but it's really hard to find the motivation to watch it somehow. I know it's not a good excuse but that's the reality. Anyway, "unbelievable" is also applicable to the last 4 episodes of this series. It's hard to describe the different amount of emotions that I felt while watching them. All in all, it's a fantastic ending for a solid series. It's been a while since I last saw a series with satisfying ending like this one. I really makes me think that 2004-2006 were the years where many awesome series were produced. Ever since then though, I haven't seen a series which is as good or ends as well as this one and many others back then.
Since I can't seem to find that many summer season that I'd like to follow, I think I'll use the time to catch up with older series that I neglected. I admit I've been really lousy with some series. I started watching Monster 2 years ago and I still haven't finished the series. I do, however, promise that I'll finish it in the next 2 weeks. The thing is, I actually love the series while watching it. It's just that it takes quite a lot of effort to make me sit down and watch it. Anyway, these 5 episodes are just mind-blowing. I really like how the new arc takes place in a small isolated town. I think the arc is a good way to end a series about the monster that lurks in every human's heart. The author even manage to tie the storyline with the "Monster without a Name" storybook that is showcased as the end credit.
September 25, 2006 | 
23 Comments
Long before Death Note, Madhouse adapted an excellent drama series called Monster. This is why I'm confident that Madhouse will be able to make Death Note interesting even though the majority of the story only consists of dialogues. If anything, I think the animation adaptation could be a lot more interesting because Madhouse will be able to add in soundtrack to increase the tension of the story. Looking back at Monster, I realise that it's one of the best adaptation of a manga series I've ever seen. Although it's hard to get into in the first place, once you're caught up with the story, it is hard not to get addicted and want to watch the next episode. Unfortunately I'm a slowpoke when it comes to finishing a series and as a result I'm still 14 episodes down to the last one. Well, now I can at least scratch 5 episodes off my list.
I realised that it's been a while since I reviewed this series and I'm sorry that I've neglected it. It's always been on the back of my mind but due to the amount of new series that have arrived, sometimes it's hard to go back and finish off old series like this one. I am trying to do my best though because I know that my backlogs will just grow exponentially if I don't do something about it as soon as possible. I have tried and failed in the past to complete this series before a new season arrived. That has mostly to do with the fact that I only reviewed the episodes 2-3 episodes at a time. So right now I'm trying to up the episode numbers that I reviewed in one time in the hope that it'll get me closer to the completion. If I remember correctly, this is supposed to be 74 episodes series so that means I'm not too far from the end of the series.
September 10, 2005 | 2 Comments
As usual, I find that I have to be in the right mood in order to watch this series. It is a good thing that the series always manages to keep me hooked once I watch an episode in its entirety. The problem, however, comes when the episodes are not as exciting, as in the case with these three episodes. There are some genuine tensions in episode 54 but in general, the episodes are simply character development showcase for Eva and one of the side characters, Verderman. Eva, while an interesting character, has a very detestable personality. As a result, it is hard to sympathise with her even when the character is in danger. Meanwhile, as far as side characters go, I find Verderman to be the least interesting ones that the series has come up with so far. As a result, his revelation in episode 55 doesn't interest me as much as it probably would have if it had been from another character.
These episodes prove that one of the strength of this series is the inter-correlation between some of the characters in the series. I am surprised to see how the connection between the characters actually shed a light on many of the series' mysteries, such as why Johan knows so much about Karl and Schuwald. It is unfortunate that the pacing in these 3 episodes are so uneven. It was annoying to see one of the episode feels really slow and stretched out while the others are so tight and jam-packed with events and characters. I also think that some of the transitions between two different storylines are too abrupt. There was a point in episode 52 where I thought a flashback actually belongs to an established character when it turns out that it belongs to an entirely new character.
And the quest to complete the backlog begins. I have so many episodes and series to keep up that this is not fun anymore. But I better stop complaining and start getting the recaps properly done. Well, it's been a while since I watch this series but watching these 3 episodes immediately reminds me of the various story threads that have appeared thus far in the series. Out of those threads, there is one pattern that has consistently present right from the beginning: the cautionary tale about children and how they're brought up. In this regard, the series presents a message to adults to set good examples for children so that these children will eventually become kind and compassionate human being instead of cruel and malicious monsters.
Well, it's Golden Week here in Japan and that means holiday. I hope I can use some of the time to catch up with the backlog, which seems to be growing at exponential rate. Anyway, moving on to this series, I don't know what else to say but to state that this is probably the only series that has managed to remain consistently interesting throughout the course of 40+ episodes. Props have to go to Urasawa-Sensei for crafting such an intelligent and tense storyline and to Madhouse for ensuring that the animation remains consistent. I also have to say that I find it amazing how a simple scene such as a single hand showing up out of an open door can be quite frightening in this series.
I have to say that it's really hard to write this introductory paragraph without revealing anything about the story. But it looks like the slow burning plot of the past few episodes will finally end. I can't wait to see what's in store for some of the characters, especially Suk. For a Detective, he sure is quite slow in figuring things out. On top of this, he turns out to be even more naive than Tenma during his specialist surgeon days. At least Tenma quickly wises up to the world around him and takes an appropriate action so that he is not being used by other people. Anyway, I assume most people already seen this episode so I decided to make a rather short summary this time around.
This episode marks the addition of another supporting characters for the series. This time around the character is a rather innocent detective called Suk. I have to say that it's been a while since the series shows an adult with this kind of innocence. Tenma started out this way but it doesn't take long before he wises up and becomes a darker character. It will be interesting to see how Suk turns out in the next couple of episodes. That is, of course, assuming that he doesn't die in the next episode. Unfortunately, judging from the way the body counts start to pile up again, there is a likelihood that someone as innocent as Suk may not be able to survive in this series.
Monster continues to impress me with the quality of its storyline and its characters. Not many series can make me sympathise with its secondary or tertiary characters but this series always managed to do this easily. One thing that has also impressed me so far is the quality of its animation. It's rare to see a drop in the quality of the animation within this series even though there have been 42 episodes ever since the series started. It'll be interesting to see if the animators can maintain the quality of the series in the remaining 36 episodes. I'm also interested to know where the writer is going with this particular arc involving Grimmer. The thing that I like the most about this series is its ability to connect the secondary characters to the main story with a lot of credibility. I'm hoping that Grimmer won't be an exception to this quality.
I'm sorry for the lack of update in the past few days. I just got a bit lazy since real life has been kind of hectic lately. Anyway, much to my surprise, episode 40 is the start of a new arc for this series. I certainly didn't expect this since I've been kind of attached to the Munich arc's characters. Plus, the change from the tense situation within that arc to this new one feels a bit abrupt. Having said that, I understand that the writer needs to change the setting since there isn't much story left in that arc. Besides, the majority of the main characters such as Tenma, Johan, Nina and Dieter have left Munich to begin with. At any rate, it's a relief to know that the series still maintain the quality of its story regardless of the change in its arc. The characters and mysteries presented in this new arc seem to be as interesting as the Munich arc's characters and mysteries.
February 18, 2005 | 1 Comments
There seems to be a lot of exciting episodes coming up this week. There's the continuation of the Reo arc in Gakuen Alice and the shocking new development in Mai Hime. Then there is this particular episode of Monster, which serves as a nice epilogue to all of the events that have happened in the last 10+ episodes of the series. While the majority of the mysteries are not solved yet at the moment, more and more people are now aware of Johan's existence. That in itself is progress in my opinion, especially since Johan has tried his best to ensure that not many people know about his existence. It makes me wonder how many of them will survive at the end of this series.
Please be aware that reading this recap prior to watching the episode will ruin your enjoyment of the story
OMG!! This is the best Monster episode thus far. In fact, I better stop with the excitement there otherwise I'll sound like an incoherent idiot who has just watched anime for the first time. Having said that, the climax to this arc has to be one of the best things I've had the pleasure to watch. I can't believe that for a moment I forgot that this is an animated show. Anyway, I don't think I can say anything else about the episode without spoiling the story. I also have decided not to show the images on the index page again so that it won't spoil anyone unless they deliberately click on the 'Read the Rest' link. If you really desperate to know about it, then I'd actually recommend that you watch this episode first even if you haven't seen the first 37 episodes.
January 24, 2005 | 13 Comments
Please be aware that reading this recap prior to watching the episode will ruin your enjoyment of the story
Once upon a time, there lived a nameless monster.
The monster was dying to have a name so badly.
So the monster decided to set out on a journey to find itself a name.
But the world was such a large place.
So the monster split into two and went on to two seperate journeys.
One went to the East and the other went to the west.
The monster that went to the east found a village.
Wow! I still can't believe how tense this entire episode turned out to be. And this seems to be just the precursor to the actual climax. I think I need to see more soon or else I'll be tempted to read the manga. At a time like this, I'm also glad that I blog the entire series from its beginning. It makes it easier to cross-referenced a particular event, character, or line from previous episodes. For example, remember this line? "Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?". That line is rephrased by Schuwald in this episode and it practically sent chills down my spine because I remembered it being similar to the passage from the Book of Revelation that was quoted at the start of the first episode. This kind of constant reference to previous events, characters, and lines is one of the things that I love about the show. By doing this, the series basically rewards the viewers who are patient enough to stick around for the long haul.
While nothing much happens in this episode, this is still the usual solid drama that unfortunately is not watched by many people. Admittedly, when I started blogging this, I wasn't sure if I want to keep watching to the end since 70+ episodes are quite a commitment to make. But after watching plot after plot unravels, I have to say that this series definitely ranks as one of my favourite anime series which I intend to follow to its end. It's rare to see an anime series that doesn't rely so much on the flashy animation (although the animation and character design are still miles better than some junks that have been released this winter season) but on its intelligent story and plot. And now that the series is halfway through its completion, I think the pace will improve considerably.
December 27, 2004 | 6 Comments
After previous episode's creepy tone, this one seems kind of tame in comparison. True enough, the series can't always maintain the tension episode after episode. Having said that, the two stories presented in this episode are a bit predictable and to make things worse, they don't tell anything new. I basically am keen to find out why Johan passed out when he read the storybook but this episode never deals with the question at hand. In general, however, I'm really happy with how the series progresses and hope that this question will be addressed eventually. BTW, I just found out that the DVD are on sale in Japan now. Damn, the box looks really beautiful. It's unfortunate that the price tag is a killer and even if I buy it now, I've missed out on the first press offer. My only hope now is that Pioneer will license this and includes a rather similar box.
December 16, 2004 | 3 Comments
This is definitely one of the best episodes from this series. It's creepy and brilliant at the same time. Most of this is attributed to the fact that the new 'monsters' in this episode is none other than children. Speaking of 'monster', I've noted that the ending sequence has changed again now. It now shows a shoemaker and a guard turning into the green monster. Judging from the previous ending sequences, I get the impression that the wood cutter 'eats' the monster because he wants to become strong. If that's the case, then I think the story is an allegory for how humans sometimes turn into a 'monster' when they try to be the best at their job. I mentioned before how the pressure of one's profession can often lead a person to become heartless jerks to other people. Figuratively, those people have turned into a green monster.
December 11, 2004 | 2 Comments
Once again the anime tries to combine two different stories into one episode. Unlike the previous attempt, however, the combination doesn't work that well this time around. The story feels fragmented here and if it wasn't for the fact that Monster always has an ensemble casts instead of focusing on one character, this wouldn't have worked at all for me. I'm also quite disappointed with the first half of the episode. It seems the writers have missed the opportunity to use Nina and Lotte's interaction properly, especially in regards to Johan's whereabouts. The second half of the episode is actually much better than the first one, especially in its emphasis on the fact that Tenma is first and foremost, a doctor. He is in the business of saving lives and not taking them. Therefore, one has to wonder if he'll ever be able to do his 'mission'.
December 11, 2004 | 1 Comments
What is wrong with this episode's animation? The character design and the animation are all over the place here. One minute Dieter looks like his normal self, the next minute, he looks like a scary-looking teenager. At first I thought he's meant to look older now but then a couple of minutes later, they showed Dieter with his usual character design. The same thing can be said about Johan. The animators can't seem to decide if they'd go with the white ghost look or the suave psycho persona. Oh well, at least the storyline is still solid despite its attempt to combine two different stories. And since both stories are still focused on both Tenma and Johan, the transition between the two seems to be rather smooth.
November 24, 2004 | 1 Comments
I didn't realise that this episode was already out a long time ago. There are just too many anime to keep up lately and I haven't got the time to see them all. Anyway, I'll advise everyone to watch this episode themselves before reading this review. I think it's better if you watch this episode unspoiled because the last few minutes in this episode is pure thriller that must be experienced first-hand, without prior knowledge of the story. So, if you do decide to read the rest of the paragraph, please be aware that you're going to spoil some of the best moments in this series for yourself.
November 15, 2004 | 6 Comments
Monster is definitely on a roll at this point in time. It's been enjoyable trying to guess this series' future direction, especially now that more and more people start to know about Johan's existence. Normally in a fugitive series like this one, the series tends to focus on one person's attempt to prove his innocence to the world. Therefore, it is surprising to see other characters in this series actually finding out about Johan's existence without much of a help from the main character. I am actually starting to wonder now if some of the seemingly useless one-off characters will also contribute to the story later on in the series. If not, at the very least I hope that the series will revisit Karl's story again. I want to see this because the last time I remember, he seems to be quite shocked when Johan interferes with his life and yet the series never gets to show how he feels about it.
If you haven't seen this series, I'll recommend that you do so now while the episode count is still low. Now that I've seen this episode, I can safely say that this is one of the neatly written thrillers I've had the pleasure to see. Everything that has happened in the past 27 episodes finally start to come together in this episode. I really didn't expect this since I thought this arc is a side-story that has little to do with the main story but I couldn't be more wrong about it. I am also impressed with the way the animators manage to ratchet up the tension in this episode, especially when Richard starts having one of his episodic nightmares featuring the killer and his creepy smile. When this happens, for some reason I keep thinking that this time the killer will turn out to be real instead of Richard's imagination. After a while, this ends up being quite disturbing and tense to the point that I feel like looking away.
There's another interesting development here as Johan's plan for Karl is finally revealed. I'm also surprised to see some background information given to Richard, a side-character that was seemingly unimportant when he was first introduced. In this episode, however, Richard is efficiently used as another example of a person dealing with 'the monster within'. Speaking of 'monster', I just realised that the ending theme for the series has been changing ever since the first episode. I've put together a side-by-side comparison out of interest, and the result looks like some sort of a tale involving a monster. From what I can see, there seems to be a monster that splits into two monsters then each one goes its own separate ways. I don't really understand what happens after that with the farmer turning into a monster himself. But it reminds me of the ways normal people can turn into 'monsters' as depicted by this series.
This turns out to be quite interesting mainly because this is the first time the series allows the viewers to see Johan for more than five seconds glimpse here and there. It's good to be able to see his mannerism, his speech pattern, as well as his way of thinking, regardless whether it is real or fake. I also like the fact that the series manages to get its focus away from both Tenma or Nina and yet still ensure that the story is still quite interesting. Having said that, I do often wonder if animation is actually the best medium to tell this story. I like what I've seen so far but most of the time, the animation doesn't seem to add or enhance the series. The only thing about the animation which looks consistently impressive is the finer details which are used to ensure that every character looks different from each other.
If I never said it before, let me say it now: this show is brilliant! And creepy to boot as well. Halfway through episode 25 I realised that I've been clutching the edge of my seat tightly because the tension got to me. And what an ending that episode has! The author clearly enjoys playing with people's knowledge of the current story and their expectation of what will happen in the future. Anyway, remember how I said Azuma of Yakitate!! Japan sounds like Naruto? Well I just found out that the VA for Naruto, Takeuchi Junko, also voices Dieter. I can't believe that I didn't notice it before but I guess the VA hides it quite well since Dieter's voice is a bit calmer than Naruto's. Having said that, now that I know about it, I've started to notice that on occassion the VA bursts into Naruto's usual "datte ba" expression.
September 19, 2004 | 3 Comments
The series finally returns to good form with these two episodes. The story and characters have become quite complex now that I can't help but wonder where to go from here. The series also decides take a rather new direction in regards to Runge involvement in the story. I originally thought that his character is similar to the detective character in The Fugitive but episode 22 seems to suggest that this may not be true after all. Episode 23, on the other hand, shows a rather interesting revelation, which does a good job of not only integrating Eva into the current storyline but also in further emphasising her selfishness. This episode also sees the return of Roberto in a way that is quite unexpected.
September 13, 2004 | 3 Comments
I have to admit that I was a bit weary of this series after the previous episode's lackluster storyline. Thankfully, this time around the story is not being stretched longer than necessary despite its slow pacing. On top of things, the episode actually progresses the plot a little bit, gives background information of a minor character, and introduces a new mysterious character. The combination makes the episode feels like a mysterious side story that serves as a foundation for future storyline. This episode also shows how to creatively do a recap of previous events without having to resort to a recap episode or five minutes recap scenes at the start of every episode. I really hope that this is a sign that the writers are not interesting in doing a full-blown recap episode like other anime series. I really like how so far the recaps are simply featured briefly and blended together with the new storylines.
September 6, 2004 | 5 Comments
I decided to combine these three episodes into one entry since they are kind of filler-ish. Well, episode 19 actually advances the plot a little bit but overall, I feel that it was created simply to show that Tenma is actually a decent and honest man. I am actually wondering at the moment how these stories appear in the manga. I mean take episode 20, for example. As an anime episode, this already feels unnecessarily stretched. So I can't imagine this story being told in more than one chapter of the manga. But if that's the case, I think the fact that the anime is planned to be 70+ episodes long suggests that there are a lot of materials which can be trimmed down and compacted into one episode. Maybe I'm just impatient but sometimes I feel that the filler episodes are quite disruptive to the general tension of the story.
There aren't many revelations shown in this episode. But the series makes up for it by providing some interesting action scenes. There is also a minor hint given at the end of the episode as the series finally shed some light on Johan's behaviour. In general, however, the episode focuses on the sub-story of the main characters' attempt to prevent the right-wingers from executing their plan to burn down the city district. The animation in this episode seems to be more fluid in comparison to the other episodes. There are definitely more movement than still shots, which is good because with the amount of action that happens inside the episode, the episode won't look as interesting without several multi-angle shots and tracking movement.
It looks like the metaphorical 'monsters' keep making their way to this show and this time, it's the extreme right-wingers' turn. In fact, I was kind of surprised to see the author waiting this long to introduce a racial vilification story,
