Monster ep.36

January 11, 2005 | 3 Comments

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.

Anyway, continuing from the previous episode, this one begins with Tenma trying to avoid being detected by a security guard. While hiding himself, Tenma begins to remember the Johan-saving operation that lead him to this point in his life. Eventually, he ends up relieving his childhood memory where it seems he was often teased by his friends for being easily scared. His intention to prove that his friends were wrong, however, is ignored by those friends who chose to left him alone in the woods. Back to the present, Dr.Reichwen is seen outside Schuwald's mansion, demanding to talk to Schuwald. When he manages to get the permission to talk Schuwald, however, Dr.Reichwen is surprised to know that Schuwald himself has long suspected Johan. In fact, at one point in his life, Schuwald believes that he enjoys playing with power just like Johan seems to be doing right now. Schuwald also believes that in order to take a 'monster' like Johan down, a bigger 'monster' is needed.

The next day, Schuwald arrives at the library to give his speech. He, however, tells his son, Karl, that he forgot something at the house and asks him to fetch the item, despite Karl's hesitation. Meanwhile, Rudi tries to persuade Runge to continue his investigation on Johan. Runge tells Rudi not to worry because he believes that Johan does exist. Once Rudi left, however, Runge tells himself that Johan does exist in Tenma's mind. Runge then arrives at an interrogation room where the man who sold a sniper riffle to Tenma has now been detained by the police. Using his psychotic deduction skill, Runge quickly assumes that Tenma's next victim will be Schuwald. At the same time, Dr.Reichwen and Dieter find out from a newspaper that Schuwald will be delivering a speech at the Munich University Library. Meanwhile, Nina meets Lotte at a train station and is surprised when Lotte shows her the picture book that caused Johan to fall unconscious. Something in the book seems to remind Nina of something.

Impression:

It's nice to see the majority of the regular characters appearing together in this episode. It gives a sense that they're not just a mere bystanders but rather important players who are directly involved in this particular story. Anyway, a couple of characters seem stand out more in this episode due to the amount of character developments or mystery that they get here. For example, upon watching this episode I realised that I didn't know much about Tenma apart from the fact that he's a good doctor and a good-hearted man. Nothing much is known about his previous life before he became a doctor in Germany. In this episode, however, it's revealed that he didn't exactly have many friends when he was a kid. The friends that he had seem to be more keen on teasing him. This episode also seems to suggest that part of the reason why he's chasing Johan to begin with is to prove to himself that he is not the coward individual that his friends used to accuse him of.

Runge, on the other hand, annoys me to no end. How can anyone so bright be so blinded by his own conviction? How can he missed out on all of the clues that are laid out so clearly in front of him? It's amazing how Runge is so fixated on catching Tenma that he fails to think outside the box, something that detectives and police should be able to do in the first place. In contrast, Schuwald clearly knows more about Johan than the series lead me to believe. Despite his lack of sight, he can clearly sense that Johan has ulterior motive. I get the impression that he's been playing the 'grateful oldman' role in order to protect Karl from Johan's harm. When he told his son to get out of the library to fetch something in his office, it seems that there is nothing that he actually wanted Karl to fetch for him. He simply wants his son to be out of harm's way. Judging from his grim expression at the end of the episode, he seems to be afraid that Johan is planning something.

Assuming that at least Runge's deductive logic on what Johan is going to do next is correct, then Schuwald does indeed have something to fear about. If the real Johan as opposed to Tenma plans to kill Schuwald, then not only Schuwald is in danger, Tenma can end up being accused as his killer. The consequences aside, it's still not clear why Johan want to get rid of Schuwald nor why he wanted to get close to this guy to begin with. In addition to Johan's motive, there's a new mystery in the form of Nina's knowledge of the picture book. She seems to have a rather similar reaction to Johan upon reading the picture book that Lotte gave her. So far she hasn't been screaming at the top of her lungs nor passing out like Johan but it's clear that the picture book seems to remind her of something. The most interesting point presented by this episode, however, is a piece of statement that was said by Schuwald. The question is, do you need to become a bigger 'monster' to defeat a 'monster'?

© memento 2003