Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Volume 7

Naoki Urasawa's Monster: Kanzenban #7

by Naoki Urasawa

Après avoir été arrêté à Prague, Tenma est transféré à Düsseldorf. Il découvre alors que l'un de ses avocats n'est autre que Robert, un fervent admirateur de Johann!! Ce dernier lui avoue son intention de tuer Eva. Pour pouvoir la sauver, Tenma doit s'évader. Dans ce but, il fait de faux aveux en reconnaissant être l'auteur des crimes pour lesquels il est soupçonné...

Genres: Manga, Monsters, Comics, Thriller, Mystery, Graphic Novels, Horror

410 pages, Paperback

First published June 30, 2008

About the author

Urasawa Naoki (浦沢直樹) is a Japanese mangaka. He is perhaps best known for Monster (which drew praise from Junot Díaz, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) and 20th Century Boys.

Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.

Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing

Reviews

[Melissa ♥ Dog/Wolf Lover ♥ Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 Stars ⭐️

I love these books!!

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[Katie Colson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, this one is a bit more of a filler and plot pusher. It didn't have as many astonishing moments in my opinion. But it's still damn good. I would normally give this one 4 stars but I physically can't. I'm not capable of giving any of these less than 5 stars.

[bee ⭑.ᐟ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I WANT TO SCREAM, everyone and everything is somehow connected together i have no idea where this is going and i’m scared for the outcome😭

[James DeSantis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster somehow slows down when all the shit gets wild.

The best part about this volume if the Doctor's downward spiral into chasing a monster he might never actually stop. The results are watching a man tittering on the edge of life trying to hold it all together. The other great part comes in the last 2-3 chapters when we see a bodyguard's life protecting someone important to the doctor but we know it'll all go south eventually.

The downside is Nina's storyline and the past feel a little slow paced. Like snails pace almost that the middle of the book had me kind of wondering where the fuck are we going and why is it taking so long to get there.

Saying that, even if this isn't perfect, it is Urasawa and it's still written real well with amazing art. So still a very easy 4 out of 5.

[alittlelifeofmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

From what I remember I just hit 50 books this year!!! Congrats to me for completing my reading challenge!

This series, once again, is amazing. I can see the puzzle pieces coming together but every volume adds so many puzzle pieces and I'm so eager to see how this wraps up.

[Céline Espirito · Rating 5 out of 5]

Y'a pas assez d'étoiles... Best manga ever

[Violeta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Terminado prácticamente en una sentada!

En este volumen se aclaran muchas cosas y todo empieza a tener un sentido mayor, qué onda con la mansión de la rosas rojas? quién es el tipo que rescató a Nina? cómo se conecta ésta mansión con los niños? qué pasó con Tenma luego de capturarlo y estar prácticamente en prisión!? y Eva? finalmente apoya a Tenma o de verdad lo quiere muerto? Johan y Anna de niños, qué pasó verdaderamente con sus padres Lieberts?

Todas estas respuestas y más en éste volumen, no puedo creer la genialidad de Naoki Urasawa

[Jenvile · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this one in one day and I miggghhtttt regret it a bit. Monster needs to be appreciated slowly and in bites, rather than binge reading it. Even so, this volume started of strong and slowly pattered up and down as with most of the volumes thus far I’m reading. We get *some* questions answered, but to be honest... I was left with even more questions after.

Only two more to go!! How will this story read the ending arcs?!

Ps* if there is no great big show down with Tenma and Johan I will riot.

[King Crusoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay. So the Imprisonment Arc. The first couple chapters of it at the end of Volume 6 are fantastic, and that trend continues for about...half of Volume 7. But to say that means the back half of Vol. 7 goes downhill isn't precisely correct in and of itself either.

Volume 7 is complicated.

The development and re-introductions of many past characters and plotlines in this volume is really great, especially as we get to see things hurdle towards these final arcs which are sure to be monumental. The problem is that there comes a point in the last handful of chapters of this arc (basically the last 4-6 chapters PRIOR TO the actual final 2 chapters of this volume) start to get so complexly structures between various POV and/or time-jumps so quickly that it quickly becomes easy to lose track of just what the fuck is going on. It takes a lot to process if read too quickly, as I did for the back half of the volume.

Additionally, the final 2 chapters of Vol. 7 are actually the start of a new arc, and you actually really tell this time. They are MAJOR whiplash following the handful of previous chapters, and also exacerbate in their own way the associated with the mysterious that surround the continuously jumping POVs and timelines.

It's not TOO complicated per se, but it was a whole lot all at once and I need time to process. Instead of being tempted to jump right into Volume 8, I'm planning to step back for a number of days while I continue to internalize everything that happened in Volume 7.

[Fereshte · Rating 5 out of 5]

what can i say? this series truly leaves me speechless.

[leynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm really enjoying the more action packed nature of these last few instalments. The series is picking up pace again and we are finally headed for our big showdown. Tenma has now adopted an "I don't have a single fuck left to give"-attitude and I am all here for it. Tenma in rage mode is my favorite Tenma. :D

After hearing Roberto's threat against Eva, Tenma decides to confess to all charges against him so he can be placed in the same transport van to a Federal Penetentary with the prisoner Gunther Milch who is planning an escape. On hearing the news of Tenma's confession, Eva reflects on the time she had with Tenma and how she treated him badly, she then decides to testify on his behalf. Gunther Milch's escape plan almost goes wrong when the prison van hits and almost kills his younger brother Gustav. However, Tenma manages to grab a gun and order the guards to release them.

Tenma heads towards the Red Rose Mansion in Prague, while Vardemann and Dr. Reichwein also make their way there. Meanwhile in Prague, Anna follows her memories and she finds the Red Rose Mansion with Dieter. When Nina enters the hidden room, a painful memory is triggered involving a room full of bodies and she faints. Later Nina and Dieter find themselves in the care of Jaromir Lipski, a struggling puppeteer. Lipsky shows Nina his large collection of children's picture books, including those by Jakub Farobek, Emil Scherbe, and Klaus Poppe and reveals that he was a student at the Red Rose Mansion.

Lipsky is a very endearing character but just like Grimmer, I don't feel like I can really trust him. He creeps me out more than anything else. Urasawa did a great job with painting all of the broken souls that were subjucated of Bonaparta's crazy ideologies and who were brainwashed and abandoned as children in such a vivid way, that they really stand out among all other characters.

Meanwhile, Johan enters the Red Rose Mansion and sets it on fire. (Classy.) Tenma being imprisoned and all those people trying to help him from the outside was actually heartwarming. I also really liked how Eva was re-introduced into the story and how her relationship with Martin started to happen. I'm here for it. :)

[Bella Azam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will never get tired of reading this series. I will probably reread it again and again just to get euphoria from seeing these characters. Also its a dark psychological horror story yet i was fond of it for how the characters were developed and the plot reveals every twist and turns. Im in love as always. I need this book when im literally down with a physical illness and its what gave me strength in some sort.

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

These past four volumes have been ramping up the psychological suspense and connecting everything together while simultaneously introducing new twists that have me practically screaming for answers. It's just so good and I am completely obsessed with the story because it's impossible to know what is coming.

[Jay · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Devi colpirmi alla testa. Dopo, tu fuggirai in modo che il mostro non ti prenda. Non preoccuparti, anche se io muoio tu sei me e io sono te..."

I BRIVIDI. OGNI VOLUME È DA BRIVIDI. Bellissimo, nonostante abbia trovato la prima metà più lenta del normale, nella seconda ecco di nuovo il frenetico movimento degli eventi, ogni pedina si muove sulla scacchiera, il passato riaffiora tra le fiamme e tra le confessioni ultime. Ecco un tassello in più nella genesi del mostro senza nome, mentre gli altri attori si avvicinano a tentoni verso il diabolico scopo di Johan.

[erigibbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

[4.5]

[spalanai ⛤ · Rating 5 out of 5]

love the way tenma holds a gun.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

No one in this story is safe from suddenly discovering that their father is somehow connected to everything that's happening in the story. Dickensian manga at its finest.

[Casper Paaske · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very interesting and as fascinating as ever. Unfortunately it feels a little like the air has left the balloon and the memento and tension has left and now we are moving slowly toward the finale, which also feels a little preemptive.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dr Tenma has been jailed.

And that’s the first thing that happens in the seventh volume where a lot happens, such as the surprising return of certain characters, an escape involving a handful of newly supporting players, and we learn more about the mysterious backstory of the Liebert twins through the numerous visits of the Red Rose Mansion and reading other dark children’s picture books.

Like I said, a lot happens and most of which is continuing proof that Naoki Urasawa is a master of dramatic storytelling where even the most incidental character can have an emotional touchstone. There may be only one sequence where Johan is present, it still reminds that his presence is felt, whilst there are flashbacks of his and Anna’s childhood.

Where this volume somewhat falters is the expansion of gears constantly moving with characters quickly stepping in and out of the story that it almost feels like filler, such as a subplot at the very end about Tenma’s ex-fiancé Eva and her newly-appointed bodyguard.

It's fair to say that every volume of Monster I’ve reviewed, I have praised Urasawa’s artwork for exactly the same reasons, usually it is him knowing how to draw the most expressive faces. You still get that here, with the addition of a dark fairy tale, drawn similarly to the sketches of Tim Burton.

I may not have been in-depth here compared to my reviews of the previous volumes, but much like reading Saga by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples, this ongoing story has been consistently good that it’s hard to find new ways of praising the same thing. Seven down, two more to go!

[Tar Buendía · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

El principio ha sido un pelín lento para mi gusto, especialmente porque el final del anterior era impresionante. Sin embargo de nuevo en los últimos tramos del tomo la historia ha cogido carrerilla.

Así que una vez más un tomo genial.

[Dani Wladdimiro · Rating 4 out of 5]

Siento que la fatiga de tanta lectura me ha pasado la cuenta, porque si bien este volumen lo encontré interesante, me ha terminado agotando bastante. Siento que el problema que erradica aquí es añadir otros nuevos personajes, de hecho tres: El Abogado, El Marionetista, y El Guardaspalda. Cada uno tiene un rol importante, porque al fin de cuentas están para avanzar la trama, el primero avanzando el arresto de Tenma, el segundo avanzando el trauma de Nina, y el tercero avanzando el viaje de Eva. Todo esto hace que la obra vaya tomando mayor complejidad, porque debemos seguir distintos hilos argumentales, mientras se van resolviendo algunos y se siguen presentando nuevos, por lo que como digo, hace que genere un cansancio por tratar de ordenar todas las ideas. Esto hace que termine leyendo por leer, lo cual tampoco me molesta, pero siento que no termino disfrutando tanto la obra, hubiera sido muy gratificante leer mes a mes cada capítulo e ir teorizando. Leer la obra de corrido, tratando de ver en qué termina, se hace contraproducente, en especial, en esos pequeños detallitos que nos quiere dejar, aun así, ya nos dejan con otro misterio, para saber que desean decirle a Tenma.

[Herdis Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

With Tenma in jail, Dr. Reichweinn, and several of Tenma's former patients, rally to find him a good lawyer. However, the only person who can give concrete testimony that Johan exists is none other than Eva Heinemann, and she still hates Tenma with a fiery passion. Can they get her to testify on Tenma's behalf?

And who is the mysterious Franz Bonaparta? What happened at "Red Rose Mansion"? Was the Monster born there? And how?



This volume was very action packed, and included some really cool plot development where Tenma is concerned.

On the other hand, I have to admit I really don't like Eva, so it was annoying she was featured so much. She's just such an awful character, and I feel it's odd that everything she's been through has altered her basic, selfish personality so little.

Also, I was a tad disappointed that Roberto was still alive. Honestly, I was expecting it, but I do really want Tenma to finish the job.

On to volume 8! Only two more volumes to go, and I'm excited to finally get some answers, but I'm also sad that the story will soon be over.

[Ostrava · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not quite as good as other volumes in the series. Maybe because the expectations of the previous volume are still a bit in the air at the moment and what's left is... more of the same. On the line of quality that Monster that's amazing, but also, more of the same. I dare not to give however, less than the five stars it deserves.

Also, Tenma is a criminal now. There's no going back 😞

[Riza Hawkeye · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series is great! I like how this series introduces characters that are all involved in some way. They all have a meaningful part even if they are seemingly not relevant at first. It’s running 100 miles in a direction I do not know but I’m enjoying the ride! Very curious to see where this story will end.

[Rogerio Lopes · Rating 4 out of 5]

Num volume que se atém a uma das personagens mais difíceis de simpatizar no mangá, os acontecimentos continuam se encaminhando para uma conclusão, ao mesmo tempo que tudo se torna mais complexo Aqui somos apresentados a parte dos acontecidos na mansão das rosas e as intrigantes sessões de leitura realizadas ali. E o autor ao invés de esclarecer acrescenta fatos à trama.

[Madeleine · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Tenma told me... If you don't have any happy memories, you can make them. He said it's never too late to start."

I enjoyed this volume as much as 5 and 6, it was full of action and we are so close to finding out the truth about "the monster"! I love how the story is getting darker and darker. I can't wait to read the last two volumes.

[Goober Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s so much shit going on in this story, like it’s still really good but holy shit there’s so many characters, in depth backgrounds, and plot threads. Read the entire volume in one sitting. Good shit

[Comics Alternative · Rating 5 out of 5]

http://comicsalternative.com/manga-fi...

[E. G.]

--Monster, Volume 7

Sound Effects Glossary

[Colin · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's really coming together now.