Monster: Perfect Edition, Vol. 9

Naoki Urasawa's Monster: Kanzenban #9

by Naoki Urasawa

Johan is a cold and calculating killer with a mysterious past, and brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Conspiracy and serial murder open the door to a compelling, intricately woven plot in this masterwork of suspense.

Once upon a time, a monster in disguise lived in a peaceful little town in a peaceful little valley. The monster cut all ties to evil and began helping the people of the town. But one day, some devilish messengers came to visit. The town was suddenly enveloped in a miasma of fear, and the people began to kill each other. The messengers had come to the town with one goal in mind: to capture the monster named Franz Bonaparta!

How can a real person become nothing more than fiction? By eliminating everyone who has ever known them, everyone who has ever known of their past—by becoming the only one in the world who knows of their existence.

One man attempted to do this, trying to commit the perfect suicide. But he failed to wipe out all traces of his former life, and in this failure, he became the nameless Monster.

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

470 pages, Paperback

First published August 29, 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

[Katie Colson · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Doctor Tenma, for you all lives are created equal, that's why I came back to life. But you've finally come to realize it now, haven't you? Only one thing is equal for all, and that is death."

I was screaming, crying, throwing up. Gasping, throwing the book across the room, scared to flip the page.

There was a character I haven't given a damn about until this volume and they almost had me in TEARS. I was willing to fight for their life. That came out of nowhere.

I love the resolutions for so many of the characters. It was realistic while also being optimistic.

Even though the ending was left to interpretation, I still really liked it. You can't have a black and white ending to a series this deep and vast. It wouldn't hit right. I appreciate what Urasawa did and how much depth he gave to each characters backstory and emotions and motivations. It all felt so real. I adore this series and can't recommend it enough.

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

4.5 Stars ⭐️ I thought I had something figured out!! I was like mind blown!! Now I want meet if I missed some things!



And that ending damn it!

Soooo They kept showing the twins as girls so I thought Jonah was a girl after all this time but I don’t know if his mom just dressed them as both girls! Someone tell me!!! And whyyyyy couldn’t we get to know the kids damn names when the mom was telling Tenma. I hated Grimmer died too

Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾

[leynes · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm still not over this. Like seriously, wow! That was fucking amazing and mind-blowing and wausaaaa, this is hands down the best manga series I've ever read. Yes, I think it's overall better than Death Note, which was honestly underwhelming ever since the death of L. Don't @ me.

Monster explores a lot of deep themes, which makes me want to classify it as a psychological thriller. The main question which threads itself throug the entire series is the equality of human lives: Are all lives created equal?

Doctor Tenma faces this question in the first volume in which his superior tricks him into operating on a popular opera singer instead of a Turkish man who was actually first in line for the operation. The opera singer lives, the Turkish man dies. Doctor Tenma feels guilty about this and when he faces a similar situation again (a highranking politican versus a little boy who was shot in the head), he disobeys his superior's orders and saves the little boy.

This little boy is Johan Liebert. Our psychopath. Our "monster". When I first started reading the series, I was convinced that Johan was pure evil and one of the greatest villains of all time. Now, 18 volumes later, I'm not so sure anymore. The last chapter of this epic run is entitled "The Real Monster". Yeah, good question, Urasawa. Who is the real monster here? Johan? The organization who did all of these horrific experiments on little kids like him? Johan and Nina's mother who gave up on one of her children to save the other?

We learn that Johan did all of these killing for the sole purpose to avenge his beloved sister Nina. What she had to go through in the Red Mansion (witnessing all of those killings), because her mother, when forced by Bonaparta to give up on one of her children, chose Nina to be part of the experiment. His behaviour can be explained by this deeply traumatic experience in his childhood. Up until that day, he knew that pure love didn't exist. Because if a mother was capable of that, what would other people be capable of? On top of that, Johan isn't even sure if their mother meant to give Nina up, since both twins were dressed in the same way and impossible to tell apart. Maybe his mother placed less worth in him, and just got the twin's mixed up. That's why Johan's character is so unsteady. His whole being, his whole existence is founded on an uncertainty.

Johan didn't want to rule the world. He wanted to die. To be forgotten. Forever. The perfect suicide, how he calls it. (The whole Ruhenheim debacle was crazy, btw.) Nina forgives him, because after all he did all this to avenge her. She understands him in a way no one else can. She, unwillingly, also made him into the monster he is today.

Doctor Tenma is faced with the question of the equality of lives once again, in this grand finale. First, when he is finally head to head with Johan and has the possibility to kill him (heck, Johan even tries to force him to kill him by threatening to kill a little boy if Tenma doesn't pull the trigger) and just like in the library before, again, Tenma is unable to shoot Johan.

The little boy's father, however, does that for him. He shoots Johan in his head to save his son. Once again, a bullet wound in Johan's head and only Tenma is there to save Johan's life. Why should he do it? Johan did horrible things, killed multiple people (granted most of them were idealists but he also killed some innocent people who knew too much), Johan made Tenma's life hell for the past ten years. So why should Tenma save him? Clear answer: because we are all equal. No matter how evil you are, your life is worth just as much as everyone else's. That is what Tenma believes in. What he believed in for his whole life. So once again, he saves Johan. It is his duty as a doctor to save Johan. Maybe also his duty as a civilian to prove that goodness exists.

Some time after the events at Ruhenheim, Karl informs Schuwald that Dr. Tenma has been cleared of all charges and is now working for Doctors without Borders. Eva Heinemann informs Dr. Reichwein that she is now working as an interior designer and has overcome her anger at Tenma and her grief over Martin and gives him a scrapbook of clippings on Dr. Tenma. Suk, Vardemann, and Lunge pay their respects at Grimmer's grave where Lunge tells them that he is now a professor at the police academy and leaves a cold beer at the graveside. Sure, it's cheesy... I still cried.

Lastly, let's discuss the ending. The ending took me completely by surprise. Johan and Tenma meet in the hospital. Johan is still being treated for his head wound. They talk, about Johan's mother, about what really happened that one evening when Anna decided to give up one of her twins. Tenma leaves Johan. We get a shot through the window of Tenma on the street outside of the hospital, then he's gone. The next picture shows Johan's bed... EXCEPT JOHAN IS NO LONGER IN IT. Like whaaaaat? I completely freaked out. So. Many. Possibilities.

Did Johan escape? And if he escaped, will he just lead a normal quiet life now, or is he turning evil again and will presume killing? Or did Urasawa play with a jump in time and Johan actually died of his bullet wound and that's why the bed is empty. Or did Johan commit suicide? Did he jump out of that open window because he couldn't take it anymore? Because after all, he is the Nameless Monster with no one to talk to, with no one to call him by his name? I haven't wrapped my head around this and I seriously don't know which theory I even want to believe in but woah, this manga series will be read over and over again throughout my life. I absolutely love it.

The only two things that could be improved upon in this last instalment is that I didn't get my much anticipated Tenma-Dieter reunion (I know it's hinted at in Dieter's talk with Otto that Dieter is actually living with Tenma now but I really really wanted an on-page reunion, I deserved it!) and everything wrapped up rather quickly in the last volume. It felt a tad bit rushed. I would have had nothing against 19 volumes. ;)

[Safwan Mahmood · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding... outstanding...outstanding

Monster isn’t just one of the finest manga or thrillers I’ve consumed; it’s one of the greatest stories I’ve ever experienced in my entire life. Honestly, I love it so much, and I have so many things to say about Monster that I can’t even figure out where to begin. So I’m sharing my thoughts on this manga in clear, concise points. And if anyone wants a detailed introduction to it in Bangla, they can read this review.

◾ First of all, Monster’s story may seem very basic and common at surface level. Also its basic plot is inspired by the 1960s American thriller TV show 'The Fugitive', and many of its story elements aren’t entirely exclusive either. So what makes Monster so Different?

What sets it apart is the perspective of its storytelling. Monster is not like the usual psycho thriller that depends only on mystery and suspense. Nor does it rely only on the classic cat-and-mouse chase. At its core, this story is a clash between two of humanity’s most opposing philosophy.

On one side, we have the protagonist, Kenzo Tenma, who represents idealism—a man who always does what he believes is right, who values human life above everything, and who keeps the light of hope alive even in the darkest moments. And on the other side stands the antagonist, Johan Liebert, a nihilistic monster. His identity and actions revolve around destruction, bloodshed, and manipulation. Evil comes in many forms, and Johan embodies all of them. He leaves his mark on nearly every major character in Monster, while remaining a ghostly absence—an invisible force guiding everything from behind. He isn’t merely evil; he exists at the absolute bottom of the abyss, with nowhere left to fall.

Now, this might make it seem like Monster is a simple one-dimensional conflict between good and bad. But I would say it’s far from that. Through this conflict, the writer Naoki Urasawa shed light on the darker layers of human existence and, at times, presented remarkable themes of the complex human psyche. And the writer has accomplished this most powerfully through the supporting characters he created. Putting everything together, the writer ultimately raised one fundamental question—

What makes a human being a monster?

◾ Monster is a heavily character-driven story. Its countless characters allow the story to branch out, expand, and grow richer and more layered. Based on their importance, the characters can be divided into three groups. The first group includes the protagonist, antagonist, tritagonist, and the central figures through whom most of the story unfolds—those who appear throughout almost the entire manga. Besides Tenma and Johan, this group includes Anna Liebert, Inspector Lunge, Eva Heinemann, Grimmer, Roberto, Dieter, Dr. Reichwein, and Rudi Gillen. The second group consists of characters who are vital to the plot but whose presence and contributions remain confined to specific arcs. The third group features characters who appear almost like short-story segments—brief, seemingly minor roles that function almost like fillers. Yet these characters strengthen Monster’s world-building, themes, and emotional foundation, making the entire narrative feel deeper and more complete.

And I can say that, aside from a couple of minor exceptions, every character in these three groups is incredibly well-written. The development of the major characters, the beautifully crafted stories of the small characters within little space, and the way the characters' backstories and psychology strengthen the themes of the narrative beyond their initial roles… Naoki Urasawa executed all of it masterfully. Monster’s greatest strength is undeniably its characters. And honestly, ever since I watched the anime, not a single day has passed by when I haven’t thought about at least a single character of Monster. I like the writing of every important character, and that’s a big reason of why I love Monster so much. In particular, the chapters from 16-46 contain many different characters’ stories that are built like standalone episodic short-story and they are executed beautifully. These are some of my absolute favorites.

(Special note: this strength in storytelling also appears in Naoki Urasawa’s another remarkable work, Master Keaton. Despite being an episodic adventure manga, many of its chapters are beautifully written heart touching short stories. You’ll find that same storytelling depth and character mastery in Urasawa’s later, more refined works including Monster.)

◾ At this point, it might seem like Monster is made up only of heavy, philosophical elements, so where’s the thriller? I’d say it’s very much there. Monster is, at its core, a psychological thriller, and you’ve probably realized just how character-driven and powerful it is. But it’s also an exceptional suspense thriller, a conspiracy thriller, and even, a police procedural. All of these elements are woven into the narrative with great skill. With the central mystery, each arc is built with its own thriller setup and proper buildup. And Urasawa’s masterful use of classic cinematic suspense tropes—all of these make Monster genuinely thrilling. That’s why it stands as an enjoyable slow-burn thriller.

The story blends its thriller elements with the philosophical narratives and characters’ dilemmas remarkably well. For me, Monster is the perfect nexus of deep themes, character-driven drama, and thriller storytelling that I’ve seen so far.

◾ Monster’s plotting is undoubtedly brilliant. When I read the manga after watching the anime, I noticed many subtle details that I had completely missed before. A lot of these details are related to Johan Liebert—the antagonist, the most important character in Monster, yet the one with the least screen time. And exactly that makes him so unique. Even in Johan’s absence, Urasawa built the story around him brilliantly. His perfect plan and its accurate execution are portrayed with incredible subtlety. In particular, the way Johan uses ordinary people, even the most powerful figures like chess pieces—manipulating them one after another, and how his meticulous planning overwhelms law enforcement and every character involved… all of this became even clearer to me through reading the manga.

At the same time, Monster’s brilliance in plotting is also reflected in its realistic historical backdrop. The depiction of post–Cold War Central Europe, the suffering that took place inside the Soviet regime during the Cold War, and the later conspiracies shaped by the ghosts of that era—all of it are presented with remarkable authenticity. It’s evident how much research Urasawa invested to portray this backdrop so convincingly. Also the character Peter Jürgens's appearance and personality bear a striking resemblance to the real-life American serial killer Edmund Kemper, and such real-life references further strengthen the story.

The story relies on topics like MK-Ultra, mind control, and brainwashing. But these are not presented merely as cheap conspiracy theories. Urasawa carefully explored their psychological causes and effects, which in turn reflect the core themes of the story. In particular, he has masterfully illustrated how children’s thoughts, perspectives, and worldview are shaped and sometimes distorted by the experiences, guidance, and influences from their surrounding environment, ultimately determining what kind of person they will become in the future.

◾ In a story of such vast range, with countless characters and scattered plot elements like Monster, what becomes most important is a well-executed climax and satisfying ending. In particular, with Naoki Urasawa’s other two manga series 20th Century Boys and Pluto, I felt that while the thematic ideas for the endings were excellent, the author ultimately struggled to execute them properly. But in the case of Monster, nothing like that happened. In fact, to bring this vast, scattered story to an end, the author chose the perfect setting — the Ruhenheim arc. This is the true climax of Monster. Ruhenheim is an incredible setting that has brought out the darkest and most horrifying side of the entire story. And the way it has brought the main themes of Monster, united all the major characters and plotlines in one place, and ultimately led to its conclusion — everything is absolutely perfect.

Some people are disappointed with Monster’s ending. But in my opinion, it is perfect. Staying true to his own philosophy, Naoki Urasawa has brought the battle between light and darkness to a profound end. And as for the ending, I'd say it is actually deep symbolism, not a typical open ending at all.

◾ The artwork of Monster can be summed up in one word: perfect. From the outside, Monster’s artwork may seem quite simple. But for Urasawa’s style of storytelling, it is absolutely perfect. Let me talk about a few specific strengths of the artwork.

First, as the story is grounded and highly realistic, the visual presentation of its setting (90s Germany and the Czech Republic) is captured with remarkable authenticity.
Second, Monster features a massive cast of characters, which makes character design an essential factor. And Urasawa truly excels here. The story includes people from multiple nationalities, each crafted with distinct facial structures and unique visual identities.

There’s one thing in particular that Urasawa is a master of: showing characters' facial expressions. In black-and-white artwork, he brings every character’s emotions vividly to life. Especially during the climax, the way he illustrated Johan’s complex, layered gaze is nothing short of outstanding. The anime adaptation of Monster is perfect in nearly every way, but even there, the animators could not fully capture the depth of Johan’s eye expressions the way Urasawa did in the manga.

---

Before I end, I want to say this, Monster is a true masterpiece, something people will remember for years. I watched the anime about two years ago, and now I’ve finally read the manga. And I have to admit, the storm Monster has stirred in my thoughts, in my taste for stories, thrillers, and fiction, there are barely words to describe it. I wanted to write something short and concise in points, but it turned into this long piece anyway. Yet even this isn’t enough to express the greatness of Monster—because no matter how much I say about Monster, it will never be enough. And If you still haven’t checked it out, I strongly recommend reading the manga, or at least watch the anime adaptation. Trust me, this is going to be one of the best experiences of your life.

📚 Name of The Book: Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol. 9

📚 Author & Illustrator: Naoki Urasawa

📚 Books Genres: Manga, Psychological Thriller, Crime Thriller, Suspense Thriller, Graphic Novel

📚 Personal Rating: 5/5

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Naoki Urasawa me ha conquistado con su maestría a la hora de hilar una trama llena de misterio, mucho suspenso y grandes dosis de acción muy justificadas.

Es una historia plagada por personajes inolvidables, que van desde los principales hasta los secundarios. Sabe contar tan bien y transmitir al lector de una manera que me tiene ansioso de seguir leyendo otras cosas de su autoría.

Tantos matices y diversidad de personajes femeninos y masculinos bien caraterizados, con un pasado y un posible futuro por delante gracias a la evolución que presentan. Acción con adrenalina y angustia de por medio. Un misterio en torno a cierto personaje que no olvidaré jamás (Johan cara de ángel infernal) y lo que le mueve a hacer todo lo que hace. El ritmo que lleva no es nada lento y aunque da información dosificada solo te queda leer hasta llegar al final.

Es que yo solo puedo decir cosas buenas de esta historia. De lo excelente que me parece, que me he pasado los mejores segundos, minutos y horas dedicándole mi tiempo a este manga y que el final, pese a que tiene opiniones divididas soy de los que le ha encantado porque deja muchas cosas sobre la mesa.

[Carlex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cuatro estrellas y media.

Bien, terminado "Monster". Un magnífico guion y un dibujo impecable en cada viñeta, acertado en cada (micro) momento dramático. 9 tomos o 163 capítulos (o números, asumo que así se publicó en Japón) son muchas páginas y me temía algún relleno, pero no ha sido el caso, más allá de pequeñas incoherencias o "casualidades". Así pues, el manga vale la pena de principio a fin.

[alittlelifeofmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been waiting for this day for quite a while now, and now that I am here I can only say that I'm happy to be here, and sad that I'm here at the same time.

Way back when, over a year ago, I read the first 2 volumes of this from my library because a booktuber had hauled this and said it was about a serial killer. Serial killers are a huge buzz word for me so naturally this was going to be right up my ally. Little did I know, my library didn't have volumes 3-9, and when I requested them to buy the bind ups, they wouldn't buy the bind up for volume 2, since their system told them they already had it (it was the single volume they had). So one day I go and talk to a librarian about this issue and she tells me that they in fact got all the bind ups so I was able to continue. But, I didn't really like volume 1 to the extent that I was in a huge rush to read on. Like, I liked volume 1 but it was a really slow bind up and I just wanted to fall in love from page 1, like I did with Death Note.

But I think that's the thing with Monster, it starts slow. It starts you with this little simple plot where there's 2 twins who come into the ER after their parents were shot and the little boy is dying. A doctor saves him, but little does the doctor know that the boy would grow to become a serial killer. So again, a nice start, but it was simple and nothing special. I can't remember whether it was volumes 3-4 or 5-6 that started growing, but this turned into such a well thought out series with twists, turns, side plots that are so relevant but you never realize how relevant to the end, and so much depth. The story turned into an iceberg, on the top was this serial killer, but underneath was a web of chaos and mayhem that turned this series into such a wonderful and thrilling read. I never wanted to leave this world, I would have devoured this as a novel, just as much as I did with the manga.

I love the characters to the absolute moon and back. Everyone, everyone grew. Everyone went through such extensive character development. I could go on and on with a full list of all the characters I love and why, but in the end they were all so special and made the story that much better. I also love that every single character you meet is relevant. There are characters who get their own chapter and you have no idea who they are or where they fit, but in the end they turn into one of the most important characters. This happened to me several times.

And the end. Where to start. I won't say anything because spoilers, but damn that ending. It was perfect. Such a fitting ending for every character. There were a couple things I desperately wanted to happen, and they didn't happen, but that's okay because what happened was even better. It's not the most exciting ending, it's not the most elaborate or fleshed out ending, but everything is dealt with and that's the most important part.

I want to collect these manga. I don't feel the need to collect a lot of manga, but this is one I can see myself revisiting over and over again and never getting bored and always discovering new connections and new links between all the events.

[Jose LZ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reseña de la serie completa:
Bien, ha sido un largo viaje, y muy satisfactorio la mayor parte del tiempo. Es un manga muy entretenido y mantiene la intriga a lo largo de toda la historia.
No obstante, para mí tiene algunos puntos en contra: se me ha hecho largo, hay páginas y personajes de relleno y algunas cosas del argumento están cogidas por los pelos.
Dicho lo cual, los puntos a favor compensan con creces los mencionados puntos en contra, y en conjunto se pasa un muy buen rato leyendo la serie, así que me parece una lectura muy recomendable.

[Jan Agaton · Rating 2 out of 5]

idk if im just delirious from this 24hr readathon that i stayed up til 8am for but i hated this ending.

[Fereshte · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Dr. Tenma, all lives were equal to you... and so I was revived. But you've noticed by now, haven't you? The only thing all humans are equal in... is death."

I want to start this review by saying, this series is truly a masterpiece.

Now let's start because there's so much to unpack here. Ready? Let's go.

Dr. Tenma is a young brilliant neurosurgeon who believes all human's lives are equal and every life matters. So what happens when one day, because of that belief, instead of doing a surgery on the mayor like the director order him to do, he chooses to save the life of a ten year old boy who was shot in the head, because he was brought to the hospital before the mayor?

And more importantly, what happens when he saves the boy and he grew up to become a monster? A true evil? As Johan himself says it, he was supposed to die that night, but Dr. Tenma basically resurrected him from the dead. So does that mean he is also responsible for the blood Johan has shed?

And no, this is not the only philosophical question you would find yourself asking through the whole series. In fact, the entire series is filled with them. What determines someone is pure evil and someone's not? Can you tell for sure?

The series is surly a slow burn. Throughout the whole story you will meet so many side characters and they'll all serve a purpose to the story, every single one of them, and even though you would only see them for a short amount of time, Urasawa's characterization is so strong that you will feel for them like you have personally known them.

"Do you understand what it means to destroy the very nucleus of human good and evil? Do you understand what happens when you awaken the monster inside a human being??!"

The mystery behind why Johan is the way he is will haunt you throughout the whole series and even when you get the full picture, as unbelievable as it seems, you start to feel for him too. After all, he was just a victim of the cruel world. And he is right. The only thing all humans are equal in, is death.



As for the ending, i loved and hated it at the same time. There were a lot of things that I wanted to be explained but nonetheless, I think the ending was perfect.

Wow, yeah, I can totally see myself thinking about this series and the great question of it all for the rest of my life. I really think that its story and the message truly changed something in me.

[ava ୨୧ · Rating 5 out of 5]

this is a series that i can guarantee i will never stop thinking about or trying to figure out for the rest of my life. i have chills just thinking about it. urasawa is a master at his craft!

[Valéria · Rating 5 out of 5]

i’ll never be the same again

[bee ⭑.ᐟ · Rating 5 out of 5]

i don’t even know what to say i’m speechless…
that wasn’t the ending i expected maybe because i prepared myself for the absolute worst but i’m still upset. rip grimmer i literally cried so much even when i knew it was coming 🥲. WHY DIDNT WE FIND OUT THEIR NAMES. UGH. ig it wasn’t relevant to who they are now but idc i don’t like being left unanswered.
i still have so many questions but overall this was the best thing i’ve ever read i’m so upset it’s over ☹️ even if you don’t read manga i recommend this it’s simply a masterpiece, thank you urasawa🙏🏼.

[Svetlana · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing volume. Fantastic whole series.
Very tense and intriguing. The story is very touching. Brilliantly structured.
Very satisfying resolution to all the arcs and many characters. Even for some was so sad (Mr G.)
The ending was left for interpretations, but I really liked it that way.
Will not be tired to recommend it to read to all, even if you are not a constant manga reader.

[James DeSantis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monster comes to a close and it's as ambitious as I expected with a real look into what a monster is and how it is made.

The whole build up has pretty much every major character playing a role. The 3 main really get to shine as Grimmer, Tenma, and Lunge all eventually come to this little down out of nowhere to finally hunt down Johan.

I'm not going to speak much on the story because it'll hit spoilers but I do what to commend the author for pushing the ending he went with. Ambiguous with more "well what now" questions but honestly that was never the point of Monster. Wasn't to answer every question but to put on display what could creature a monster and why they do what they do. Brutal in exaction, the last volume is a trail of bodies to give us some answers but we must decide what the ending truly is.

Monster is a masterpiece. Sure some slow moving parts here or there but when it all came together I couldn't be gladder I read this magnificent series.

[Sina Tavousi Masrour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great series, but I'm kinda let down by the ending. It's not bad or anything, but for a series with seemingly endless characters and relations and secrets, it certainly felt random and unsatisfactory.

This is a brilliant and complex series, but it did not "wow" me at all.

[Johan Wilbur · Rating 5 out of 5]

Esta serie es que es excepcional. No tiene mucho más, pero voy a intentarlo, que hace mucho que no escribe.

El caso es que acercarse a Monster (y a Naoki Urasawa en general) es sencillo. Tiene un dibujo excepcional y su manejo de la tensión y del suspense, tanto aquí como en 20th Century Boys, por ej, es que no tiene sentido ninguno de lo bueno que es.

Aquí seguimos la historia, no de uno, sino de varios monstruos. Todos los personajes que salen tienen su miga. Todos son carismaticos, empáticos y tienen un trasfondo y una historia triste detrás. No veras nada en Monster que esté de relleno. Los personajes fluyen de un lado a otro y forman en si mismos un contexto denso que, al llegar al final de la misma, se declara indispensable para que todo tenga la forma que tiene al llegar a la última página.

Puede que en algunos momentos, a estas alturas de la vida y si eres muy dado de las historias de suspense, thriller y tal, tengas esa sensación de "Esto ya lo he visto antes", es facil, sí. Pero desde luego si entras en su juego, con sus giros de guión, la acción y el carisma que destilan todos los personajes de esta obra también es facil que te quedes hasta descubrir el final.

Y luego está Johan Liebheart, que puede ser el peor villano que hayas leído jamás en la historia del manga. Al nivel de Griffth en Berserk, o más (al menos Johan tiene un por qué hace lo que hace, Griffith ni eso tenía).

Lo curioso es haberla releído tantos años después de hacerlo por primera vez y ahora encontrarle ecos de tantas obras literarias, como la peli de El fugitivo, la filosofía de Camus, la trilogía de Claus y Lucas de Agota Kristof (de esta última la verdad es que tiene mucho, pero mucho) y bastantes más.

En definitiva, que si os va el mundillo es raro que no la hayais leído, pero si no lo habeis hecho, haceros el favor porque si es una de las obras maestras del género por algo es.

[erigibbi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Che BOMBA quest’ultimo volume 😱🤯
Ma che bomba tutta la serie!
Bella bella bella!
Se amate i thriller psicologici, leggete Monster!

[Jenny · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely magnificent, this is the ending Monster deserved.

When I saw my jaw is still on the floor as I am writing this because that ending left me floored and speechless, I am not exaggerating. The final plot twists, the showdown, the way everything came full circle just all of it was perfectly crafted. The ending certainly leaves some room for interpretation, but I think it's the ending this story deserved given its nature. But overall, this is one of the best psychological thrillers I have ever read and it was one hell of a ride.

[Conejo Literario · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cardíaco se le queda corto. Que forma de terminar la historia.

[Armita · Rating 5 out of 5]

The ending made me really emotional.

[Rory Wilding · Rating 5 out of 5]

As we have now reached the final volume of Naoki Urasawa’s epic manga Monster, I will be going into SPOILERS.

Opening with the long-awaited reunion between the Liebert twins Anna/Nina and Johan, the former comes to the traumatic realisation that she was the twin taken by Franz Bonaparta – the man responsible for the eugenics experiment leading to the birth of the twins – to his Red Rose Mansion, when he committed mass murder. Upon discovering Nina, Tenma, still on the hunt for Johan, sets on a journey to discover Bonaparta, leading to him as well as many others to the quiet town of Ruhenheim.

For much of this volume, the narrative focuses a lot on the townies living within Ruhenheim, where no crime has ever been committed, until the arrival of new people changes the town for the worse. It may seem weird to focus on these minor characters as we are approaching the end of the story and although they don’t have much significance compared to previous minor players in the manga, Urasawa gives enough time to develop a range of people, each with their own personality that we care about, just in time for the climatic massacre to happen.

The origins of the massacre are built on evil planning and paranoia, the latter is best represented in the marriage between an elderly couple, who unexpectedly wins the lottery, but instead of excitement, they express fear due to the possibility of their neighbours may want a slice of their currency. Pushing to the psychological angle, even further into darker territory, guns have been given to certain townies and shootings/murders occur during a heavy rainy night, tipping very closely into gothic horror. Urasawa’s art is stellar with a lot of chapters taking place in the rain, putting more detail into the characters and buildings, all of which are being drenched.

With a number of our heroes crossing paths during the finish line, the return of fan-favourite Grimmer is a pleasant one, but he does have the most emotionally powerful moments of the entire series, to make you tearful. Although not every character has their monstrous side, some of them are rather wrong-headed, the most notable of which would be Inspector Lunge, who has been so wrong about his suspicions towards Tenma. However, even he gets his “hero” moment as he reconciles with the doctor. Urawara is very good at redeeming hissable characters to glorious effect.

Now, when it comes to Johan himself, there is no redemption for himself, but through the perspective of his sister, who is willing to forgive him. They were both victims of something monstrous since their childhood. This brings me onto the last few chapters, in which Johan is shot by someone else, and is flown to a hospital in a helicopter, with the bullet wound treated by Tenma, who is cleared of all charges. Everyone else who has survived this grand ordeal has moved on to their own positive future, leaving the trauma behind, including Nina herself.

The final chapter features Tenma, now a member of Doctors Without Borders, visit's Johan's mother, and visits the comatose Johan in a police hospital. During Tenma’s visit with his former enemy, Johan suddenly awakes and reveals to the doctor about what started his monstrous side, suggesting that his mother who, though sacrifices one of her children to Bonaparta’s experiment, may not have wanted either one or the other. As the chapter is titled “The Real Monster”, it is open to interpretation about who is the real villain behind all of this.

Because the ending is presented somewhat as a hallucination, speculation has been raised towards many readers and whether the final resolution doesn’t do justice to what Urasawa has been building towards. Even I have questioned this, but ultimately has not put me off from loving this incredible manga, which may have some minor faults, but is an extraordinary thriller exploring the psychology of humanity, in both the light and the dark.

[Thresk · Rating 3 out of 5]

The free fall in plot structure, pacing, atmosphere, and narrative trajectory that began with volume 5 reaches its nadir in an equivocal and deeply dissatisfying "conclusion."

Early Monster volumes were so compelling that I read them almost compulsively; I'd generally read them in a sitting, as quickly as I could order them.

But this is a series which should've seen its original vision through - that of Johan engineered to be a clandestine sleeper agent Antichrist - introduced 60% fewer extraneous, ultimately directionless plot threads and ancillary characters, and concluded at half its final length.

Oh, well... I'll remember vols 1 - 4 fondly.

[Milan Konjevic · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kraj.... ovo je jedan od najboljih stripova koje sam procitao u zivotu. Svakako top 5 sto se tice kadriranja. Nisam verovao da ovako napet triler moze da se napravi u stripu. Svaka moguca preporuka. A ja sad idem da nadjem 20th century boys, sledeci strip ovog Maestra.

[Neil R. Coulter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series has been consistently, astoundingly, good for the entire nine volumes. Early in the story, it was clear that there couldn't possibly be an ending that feels completely satisfying. The story is extraordinarily complex, and the resolution of certain questions in certain ways would always feel cheap. It's a little like the original two seasons of Twin Peaks—as a viewer, you desperately want to know who killed Laura Palmer, but you also know that there's no satisfying way for that mystery to be solved; but you also don't want it to never be solved. That's something of the quandary with Monster. I wanted it to keep going, but I didn't want it to keep going.

Given all of that, Urasawa creates an ending that does all it possibly can. If a few threads are not tied up in the ways that I expected or hoped, it still feels fine. And if a few questions remain somewhat unresolved, that also feels like the way this story should be. At the conclusion of the series, I saw the primary question as, What is the monster inside all of us, and what would it take to release it? Watching the bizarre (but not totally unreal) events unfold at Ruhenheim, I wondered how much of a push it would take to bring that about in any town anywhere. How many people, in the heat of conflict and injustice, would accept an invitation to fix the problem in that way?

The story also presents a consistent question of how we move on from the hurts of the past, whether we suffered them or caused them. This question remains even more open than the question about "the real monster," because few characters find a path forward out of the past. The past looms over every character, and different time periods refuse to disentangle. Each generation wrestles with the shadows left by the previous generation. Politics, policing, and war become characters of their own, beyond anyone's control, which motivate all kinds of harm. Can we be more than merely subjects of such blind, cold fate?

Tenma's story suggests that we can. At the end, we see him as not just a "fugitive" protagonist on the run, but more as the persistent answer to the impossible questions. The world seems to be able to force anyone into any decision, but Tenma steadfastly holds on to the right choice. He's pursued, tempted, and always in hiding, but he never loses his name or who he truly is. And he's rarely far from a community of friends and patients who love him and remind him who he is. We read only hints of his background—I think it's brilliant that Urasawa never gives us a full flashback to Tenma's childhood—and it's just enough to show that he answers all the questions of this story through his life. I imagine that someday, long after the events of this series, he does return to Japan to find the last healing that he still needs from where he started.

[Julia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Popłakałam się 3 razy podczas tego tomu.
Te 9 tomów pozwoliło się bardzo przywiązać do bohaterów. Niesamowite jest to, że pomimo mnogości wątków i dużego skomplikowania fabuły, która sprawiała, że czasem po kilkutygodniej przerwie otwierałam nowy tom, nie pamiętając zupełnie co się działo wcześniej, i już po kilku stronach byłam na nowo wciągnięta i włosy mi się jeżyły na głowie. Urasawa potrafi zmrozić krew w żyłach bez nadmiernego epatowanie makabrą i obrzydliwościami. Nie ma nic straszniejszego, niż biały mężczyzna ;)
Przepiękna klamra kompozycyjna fakt, że historia zaczęła się od operacji Johana, i zakończyła w ten sam sposób...
Skłania do rozważań nad tym, jak ważne jest dla człowieka jego własne imię, osobowość i możliwość odczuwania... i jak okrutne i katastrofalne w skutkach jest pozbawienie kogoś tychże rzeczy.
Długo jeszcze będę myśleć o tej serii i doktorze Kenzo Tenmie...

[Minnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

4,5

Es ist vollbracht. Der letzte Band der großen Monster-Saga und obwohl die letzten paar Bände sehr slow gewesen sind, hat dieser dafür umso mehr reingehauen. Es gab alles, von plottwist reveals, zu Drama, Emotionen, Action, sehr viele Tote, eine ganze Stadt, die in Angst und Schrecken versetzt wird und das lang ersehnte Showdown ..
Es ist kein Geheimnis, das Naoki Urasawa einer meiner absoluten Lieblings-Mangakas ist und ietzt habe ich sein berühmtestes Werk beendet. Besonders das letzte Kapitel hat mir am meisten gefallen und hat mich grüblerisch zurückgelassen. Ich kanns kaum erwarten sein nächstes berühmtes Werk anzufangen: 20th Cenutry Boys.

[Rodrigo Reyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Monster was an incredible mystery thriller. Set after the collapse of the Berlin Wall and taking place mostly in Germany… the backdrop creates a tension of its own as we follow the bread crumbs to catching the “Monster”and unraveling the past that created him. The themes of childhood nurture, morality, and identity are clear throughout the plot. It all comes to a perfect crescendo in the final volume. The last panel was a bittersweet fitting ending to the series.

[Fran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tienen algo especial los mangas de Urasawa. Por un lado, te puedes dejar arrastrar por la historia sin profundizar demasiado, a modo de culebrón, gracias a un sentido del ritmo y unos cliffhangers muy precisos. Son series completamente adictivas que, por fortuna, tienen una longitud proporcionada. Por el otro, puedes rascar donde te dé la gana: en la complejidad psicológica de los personajes; en los dilemas morales que exponen; en la narrativa y composición; en los paisajes tan realistas y evocadores; en el contexto histórico; en el conjunto tan equilibrado.

Dicho de otra forma, "Monster" es un portento inabarcable. Es un thriller laberíntico que integra cuestiones como la eugenesia, el juramento hipocrático o el conductismo en un marco que no puede estar mejor dibujado y ambientado: las dos Alemanias y la Checoslovaquia de los años 80, con todos los claroscuros que tuvo aquella época en los países dentro de la órbita soviética o fronterizos a ella. Sus personajes, víctimas de diferentes obsesiones, buscan infructuosamente salidas a su propio dilema moral: Tenma y el arrepentimiento; Nina y el trauma; Johan y el nihilismo; Eva y la autodestrucción (qué arco tan increíble); Grimmer y la búsqueda de humanidad; el inspector Lunge y el trabajo como sentido de vida. Filosofía de altos vuelos, servida sin pedantería y encajada en una historia hiperbólica que nunca deja de sorprender.

En su contra, hay momentos que Urasawa se deja llevar por un "buenismo" que empaña más de un capítulo. También, en ocasiones, se enreda demasiado, pero acaba saliendo airoso. Y poco más.

¡Grandísima obra!

[Edgar Cotes Argelich · Rating 4 out of 5]

Un clàssic de manga de thriller amb uns personatges complexos, un dibuix meravellós i que es llegeix amb un sospir. Té molts alts i baixos, i tira a vegades de bastants tòpics del gènere, però val la pena. El final és molt emocionant.