Monster ep.15-16

August 3, 2004 | 0 Comments

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, given the fact that the lead character is non-caucasian guy placed in a real world setting. Admittedly, this storyline was kind of hinted at in episode 1, with the hospital giving preferrential treatment to a wealthy opera singer while ignoring a poor Turkish man who needs more help. However, at that point the story focused more on those characters' social status instead of their race. At any rate, I'm even more impressed with this series after watching these two episodes. The series started out as a simple ethical story that turns into a murder mystery. But lately the story has evolved into a bigger plot involving mysterious organisation and characters.

Episode 15 begins by showing Nina coming in to a bar called "Candy" and tells the bar owner that she'll keep coming to the bar until the guy introduce her to a man named 'Baby'. The episode then shows Dieter playing soccer with Heckel, the small time thief that Tenma encountered back in episode 10. It looks like Tenma had asked Dieter to temporarily stay with Heckel so he can safely investigate something in the mean time. True enough, Tenma is seen inside Frankfurt central station tailing Messner, the shoddy detective who attempted to take him and Nina back to the police station in episode 7. Tenma tells Messner that he knows Messner hasn't been a detective for 6 months now because he was discharged with a possession of narcotics. Tenma then forces Messner to let him know who actually hired him that night. Messner, however, claims that he doesn't know who hired him since his partner was the one who sealed the deal.

Messner, however, lets Tenma know that not too long ago, Nina also came to him and asked about Johan's whereabouts as well. Under her gun point, Messner ended up telling Nina that she should see a guy called 'Baby' if she wants to see Johan. What Nina didn't realise back then, however, is the fact that Messner had been paid by 'Baby' to send her to him so that he can use Nina as a bait. Back to Nina herself, she finally is introduced to 'Baby', who turns out to look a lot like that dwarf from the famous series Twin Peaks. He even came out of a red curtain just like the dwarf. Anyway, 'Baby' asks what Nina wants to do once she gets to see Johan. In reply, Nina simply tells him that when she meets him, she's going to kill Johan and produces a gun out of her purse. Meanwhile, Tenma is seen about to enter "Candy" but before he can manage to do so, a Turkish woman pulls him aside.

She lets Tenma know that if an Asian guy like him come inside, he may get killed because the place is the meeting place for extreme right-wingers. In reply, Tenma wonders why the woman, whom he guessed correctly as a prostitute, doing a business in such a dangerous area. The woman lets him know that the fact is she's not there to conduct business but to help a friend of her who has been captured by those people. Tenma also finds out that Nina has been taken away by 'Baby' inside a red car. Before he can find out the whereaobuts of the car, however, he got hit by a car in the middle of the street. Seeing the horrific act perpetrated to Tenma, the Turkish woman flees in fear. Meanwhile, 'Baby' comes out of the car and kick Tenma on the face and is suprised when he finds that Tenma is still alive. Elsewhere inside a mansion, Nina is escorted to meet a man called Professor Goderich.

Goderich then produces a picture of Johan when he was a kid posing with General Wolf. He explains that he, Wolf and two other people form a syndicate which intends to create the second coming of Hitler. He thinks that Johan has the same charisma as Hitler to accomplish what the syndicate has in plan for him. Nina looks horrified to hear this but she never the less tells Goderich outright that she nas no intention of leaving until she sees Johan. Meanwhile, Tenma is seen inside a basement being tortured and questioned by 'Baby', who reveals that he knows about all about Tenma. 'Baby' also reveals himself as a racist and tells a defiant Tenma about his plan to burn down the Turkish district tonight. Back inside the mansion, Nina overhears a woman asking for a help from inside the water pipe. Apparently she's been held against her wish because she knows the same thing that Tenma now knows.

Episode 16 continues from where the previous episode left off with Nina trying to figure out a way to help the woman who's been held captive by the right wingers. Meanwhile, Dieter decided to part ways with Heckel because he doesn't like Heckel's manipulative ways. Unfortunately, however, this means Dieter is left on his own without any food. Thankfully for him, he encounters the prostitute that Tenma encountered in the last episode and is given some food at her house. From the woman, Dieter finds out that Tenma has been hit by a car and decide to search Tenma's whereabouts. Meanwhile Tenma defiantly tries to tell 'Baby' that Johan won't follow his stupid plan because unlike them, Johan is not the sort of person who racially discriminate others. Johan simply despises the entire human species. Meanwhile, Nina is seen inside the mansion conversing with the captive woman through the water pipe. Unfortunately, she's in shock when all of a sudden, the captive woman goes quiet on the other side.

Nina deduces that the woman is probably killed by the right wingers and decide to go and warn the people in the town. At the same time, General Wolf's henchmen appeared in the basement where Tenma's been held captive and brings Dieter with them. Tenma asks them to release Dieter but 'Baby' wants to kill Dieter. Before 'Baby' henchman can execute the plan, however, General Wolf's henchmen shoot the guy dead and take both Tenma and Dieter away from 'Baby'. Meanwhile inside the mansion, Nina realises that all of the right wingers inside the mansion have been killed as well. It doesn't take a genius to figure out who took them out. At the same time, Tenma and Dieter are seen inside a car that supposed to take them to see General Wolf. Dieter, however, tells Tenma of the right-wingers plan to burn down the Turkish district. Because of this, Tenma tells Dieter to go back to the city on his own to warn the people while he meets General Wolf.

Tenma eventually is taken to see General Wolf but he is surprised when Wolf tells him that unlike the others in the syndicate, he has no plan to make Johan the second Hitler because he thinks it's a silly plan. Furthermore, Johan killed his wife and family so he has more important thing on his mind. He then shows Tenma a message that's been written by Johan on the wall for Nina and asks Tenma to kill Johan. Elsewhere in the city, Dieter tries to warn Heckel that the right wingers are going to burn the Turkish district but their conversation is heard by a bunch of skinheads. At the same time, Tenma is about to leave the mansion but decides to asks Wolf's henchmen if there is a Turkish woman found inside the mansion. They inform Tenma that they found her body but she was the only one that Johan didn't kill. She was already killed by Goderich's henchman. Meanwhile, Nina has arrived at the place that Johan mentioned in his message. She, however, looks surprised when she sees something in the place.

Impression:

These are such well-written episodes that I wish I have the manga right in front of me now. It's interesting to see the comparison between the different 'monsters' in these episodes. The series seems to suggest that Johan became the person that he is now because he's seen the very thing that 'monsters' like the right-wingers do in their 'human' form. Thus, his hatred for humanity and his desire to play the species like a tool. At the same time, Johan is not exactly an anti-hero. While he killed the right-wingers who planned to use his sister as a bait, he's not going to march into the city and warn the townsfolk about the impending danger planned by the right-wingers. That brings me to General Wolf, who turns out to be quite an interesting and complex character. It is hard to believe, however, that he joined the syndicate and has no desire to follow the other members' intentions. I don't believe for a second that he honestly thinks that Tenma has a better chance to kill Johan or that he wants Johan to die, for that matter.

© memento 2003