Monster ep.18-20

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.

Episode 18 begins with Nina being interviewed by the police in regards to her knowledge of the factory incident from the previous chapter. Nina pretends that she doesn't know about Tenma when the police question her and after a while is being set free. Much to Nina's surprise, an old acquaintance of her called Mr.Rosso is standing outside the lobby waiting for her. The two eventually go to nearby cafe where Mr.Rosso treats Nina to a hearty meal while he enjoys a cup of coffee. Nina notices that Mr.Rosso still pours 5 spoonfuls of sugars into his coffee and happily tells the man that it seems the man still hasn't change his coffee to sugar ratio preference. Anyway, the conversation eventually leads to a flashback where Nina first met Mr.Rosso. Apparently not too long ago, Nina applied for a waitressing job at a cafe that is owned by Mr.Rosso. Nina was immediately accepted and quickly became a valuable employer for Mr.Rosso.

Nina's intention of working there, however, is more than just to earn some money. She spent her free time teaching herself how to use a gun at a nearby shooting gallery. Back to the present, Mr.Rosso tells Nina that the truth is, he knows why Nina came to work at his restaurant back then. In return Nina admits that she knew that Mr.Rosso is a professional hit man and wanted him to teach her how to shoot. Upon hearing this, Mr.Rosso admit that he used to be a hit man. However, one day when he was about to shoot a man, he saw his target poured 5 spoonful of sugars into his coffee, thereby reminding him of himself. Ever since that day, he decided to quit his job as an assassin. Mr.Rosso, however, wonders why Nina never asked him to teach her back then. Nina answers it's because she doesn't want to involve him in her problem. After failing to convince Nina to abandon her plan to kill Johan, Mr.Rosso tells Nina that killing is easy. All she has to do is forget the taste of sugar.

In episode 19, the focus returns to Tenma who decides to visit a criminal psychologist who used to go to the university that Tenma also attended. The psychologist, Rudy, actually has some kind of a grudge on Tenma because when the two still at the university, Tenma caught him cheating at an examination. Ever since then, Rudy believes that Tenma has been looking down on him. Tenma, however, decides to ignore this and tells Rudy that he's there to ask for his help in deciphering Johan's messages to see if Johan has a multiple personality disorder. Rudy, however, snidely replies that murderers often use MPD as a way to escape from their responsibility. He, however, promises Tenma that he'll look into the notes. Unknown to Tenma, however, he alerts the police that Tenma has got in contact with him and works together with them to entrap him. Rudy then decides to focus his attention on his own work, which involves a multiple murder committed by a man named Jurgens.

There is, however, one anomaly in Jurgen's case. Almost all of his victims are young, sexually attractive female while his last murder involves an old lady. Jurgens asks Rudy if he believes that 'monster' actually exists. When Rudy says that he doesn't, Jurgens urges Rudy to check out the basement of his last victim. Upon arriving there, Rudy can't find anything but a scary looking doll sitting in a chair. However, he quickly realises that Jurgens once mentioned that his own mother used to lock him in a basement. In this basement, there's always a creepy-looking doll and a lot of framed photographs of his mother. Rudy immediately realises that the basement of the murder victim looks quite similar to the one in Jurgens description and wonders if Jurgens was the one who arranged it. But upon looking at the photograph of the old lady and the kid in the pictures, he realises that someone has actually pasted Jurgens' childhood picture on top of a picture of a blond kid. However, Rudy remembers that Ms.Kempf, the victim, had no children.

He, however, quickly remembers that Jurgens once said that someone had been sending him a sympathising mail. One day, the person sent a mail to Jurgens asking him to go to the basement of Ms.Kempf. Upon arriving there, Jurgens feel disoriented and realises that the place looks similar to the basement that his mother used to lock him in. This creates precedence where he ended up killing Ms.Kempf. Upon investigation, Rudy finds some letters directed to Ms.Kempf inside her bedroom. Rudy immediately realises that the letters are similar in composition and wording to the one that Tenma showed him the other day. He quickly realises that Johan indeed exists and Tenma didn't lie to him. Realising his mistake, he tries to get Tenma away from the police. Before parting, Tenma reveals to a surprised Rudy that back then, he didn't look down on him. He was simply amused to know that someone else also cheats on the exam like him.

Episode 20 starts by showing an older couple on a road trip together. On their way, however, they spot Tenma and Dieter trying to hitchhike a lift. Feeling sorry for the two, the wife asks the husband to stop and take the two with them. When Tenma gets to talk to them, it is immediately apparent that the couple can't speak German so Tenma ends up speaking in English with them. And yes, the truth is, they still speak Japanese :). The wife think that Tenma can help them a lot with many German words that they don't understand so the husband grudgingly agrees to take Tenma and Dieter. After Tenma and Dieter get in the car, however, the husband begins to grill Tenma about his identity and his relationship with Dieter. Tenma tries his best to lie and tell the husband that Dieter is his best friend's child. During the conversation, Tenma finds out that the husband used to be a policeman and this strikes a fear in Tenma and Dieter.

Tenma, however, tells Dieter to calm down and just go along with the couple for now. Anyway, in the middle of travel, the car runs out of petrol. So when a truck comes along, the couple urge Tenma and Dieter to go with the driver and send someone to them once he gets to a petrol station. Upon getting into the truck, however, Tenma finds out from the driver that the next petrol station is miles away. Meanwhile, the couple wonders if Tenma will send people to help them. The husband seems to doubt it but the wife believes that Tenma seems to be a nice guy so she doesn't think that he'll abandon them. Sure enough, a couple of hours later, Tenma and Dieter are seen walking back towards them with a can of petrol and a flashlight. Apparently he decides to get petrol from a nearby farm and walk all the way back to the couple. Thanks to Tenma, they can continue their journey to the city. In return for their kindness, the couple treats Tenma and Dieter to a dinner.

For some reason, once they're on the road again the couple decides to make a stop at a local police station. Thankfully their reason to come there doesn't seem to have anything to do with Tenma. The couple then decide to make a stop at a nearby castle to enjoy the view. Here, they reveal to Tenma that the truth is, they are on their way to visit their son in prison. Tenma is relieved with this explanation and ends up going together with the couple until they have to part ways. Once they part ways, however, the husband reveals to his wife that he knows that Tenma is a wanted man. The wife refuses to believe it because Tenma is such a nice guy. The husband says that at first he doubts it as well but now he knows for sure that Tenma is innocent. He tells his wife that he quit his job as a policeman because when their son, Robert, becomes a killer, he was caught off guard for not recognising the warning sign. The episode ends with the shot of the couple visiting what looks like a maximum-security prison.

Impression:

I'm not impressed with some of these episodes since I feel they are a bit boring sometimes. Episode 19 is probably the only exception to this. I think this episode is tightly written although at the end of the day, I wonder what's the point of this episode. I mean although Rudy claims that they can prove Johan's existence, in reality this will be rather difficult. Someone like Runge probably think that Tenma was the one who wrote those letter to Ms.Kempf. Having said that, it's a very interesting episode that manages to maintain my interest. I can't say the same about the other two though. Although I think episode 20 does have its highlight with its father and son theme. It's obvious that the relationship that Dieter has with Tenma is an ideal father and son relationship. Tenma obviously cares a lot for Dieter. And in return, the kid also cares about Tenma even though they are not related to one another. On the other hand, the couple shown in this episode seems to have a strained relationship with their son, Robert. Judging from other anime/manga titles, this seems to be a favourite and recurring theme amongst many manga/anime writers.

© memento 2003