Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Volume 6: The Secret Woods

Naoki Urasawa's Monster #6

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 masterpiece manga thriller.

Tenma's former fiancée Eva Heinneman's life has gone downhill since the death of her father and her breakup with Tenma. Now she's involved with a menacing man with a shady past and a mysterious connection to Johan. Meanwhile, Johan has worked his way into the graces of a powerful but lonely old financier. Could Johan be targeting this man for more than just his money?

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

208 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 1997

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

[Gabby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still obsessed with this series and I love what happened in this volume! And I’m curious to see where this story is going 😍

[Gabriel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yo entiendo perfectamente todo el odio que tiene Eva pero es uno de los personajes tan bien estructurados que aunque esté hecha para que la mayor parte del tiempo quieras zarandearla para que reaccione (al igual que Lunge) hay otras pequeñas partes en las que se puede sentir genuina lástima por ella y un poco de comprensión. No sé, lo siento pero a mí siempre me ha gustado ella.

Que por cierto, Tenma es muy bueno porque yo no hubiera movido un solo dedo para ayudar a Lunge.

Y volviendo a lo importante, aunque Johan no haya aparecido en todos los capítulos anterios (a excepción del primer tomo) se siente chocante verlo por fin y nos va a dar chicha de la buena. Ya estoy temblando de la emoción y anticipación. Me gusta también que el autor haya jugado con el tema del chico del jueves.

[daph pink ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

I am giving this volume 3.5 stars because, aside from my happiness that Johan is back, I feel that everything is redundant and that everyone is connected in some way. They gave me the impression that everyone in Germany is related to one another, that the nation is small, and that everyone is familiar with one another.

[Anna Kļaviņa · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this volume at last we meet Johan in person!
Ah, Gerhard Freidl would be perfect as Johan Lieber, wouldn't he?

But before we see Johan we meet Eva. She is unhappy, lonely and miserable however it is a bit hard do sympathise with her she still is obsessed with Tenma and wallows in self pity. I hope she will be able to pull herself together.
And now more pictures! Olga Prokofieva as Eva Heinemann

and Naoki Tanaka as Dr Kazuo Tenma

[Rahul · Rating 5 out of 5]

And the mystery becomes more deep with intro of Johan and other new characters and a suicide/murder. The story is left to another cliffhanger. It is mind boggling complex.

[itselv]

Help I think Johan is manipulating me into believing he’s a good guy with a second uncontrollably evil personality

[Hanieh Sadat Shobeiri · Rating 5 out of 5]

این مانگا جوریه که آدم موقع خوندنش کاملآ می‌فهمه با یه شاهکار طرفه!
می‌تونم مدت‌ها فقط به تصاویرش و کاراکترپردازی‌هاش خیره بشم. دوست دارم تک تک پنل‌هاشو پرینت کنم و بزنم به دیوار اتاقم :))

[Luthfi Ferizqi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finally, the handsome Johan is introduced in this volume. It’s exciting to see how much deeper the story will go from here.

[Mikael Kuoppala · Rating 5 out of 5]

Concentrating on new, younger characters the sixth volume of "Monster" is no less intriguing or mature that its predecessors. We get a nice mystery, some wonderful character drama, and- best of all- it becomes apparent that the saga is getting very near to Johan, the charismatic "monster" whose destructive trail of dehumanizing hate we have witnessed throughout this story.

[Christina Pilkington · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite volume to date! The story is beaming so suspenseful! I loved that we are finally seeing more of Johan. His character is so mysterious and creepy! The pacing was perfect in this volume. I always wanted to keep reading just one more chapter.

Diving right into Volume 7!

[Peachy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Showdown (ch 42) was thrilling with so many cinematic panels. Inspector Lunge was fucking insane!

The End of Her Fall (ch 43) had me feeling conflicted. I like Eva's character but witnessing her downfall was gratifying nonetheless. When Roberto first appeared I thought that he was going to be Johan. I do not care for him yet, but I do like how unassuming yet controlling he seemed. I almost forgot how terrible they truly were when they started dancing together. Roberto hurting Eva made me flinch, but seeing how she was unbothered made me stop. I thought he was going to string her along, even though she was the type who took what she can get (and more) anyway, but he revealed his true colors sooner than I expected. And so did Eva. I am already intrigued by how they would play each other. I wonder who will have the upper hand.

I love Eva, but there was no way she did not reek this whole chapter though.

Eva's Confession (ch 44) revealed that Eva was a creepy stalker who followed Tenma the night Junkers was killed, and that Tenma engaged in body worship when making love. I enjoyed the panels here especially when Eva and Dr. Becker were talking, Eva chased Tenma up to when she saw Johan's face, and the present. The last panel was a pleasant surprise.

I thought that The Men's Dining Table (ch 45) was going to be another feel-good chapter wherein Tenma touches the lives of the people he met and changes them for the better what with the charming outdoor lunch... I swear to god that if Eva will kill Dieter...

The panels in this chapter were as lovely as ever because of the scenery, ants, and conversation over the dining table. And the heartbreak from poor Helmut, the man's last friend and follower, being killed before Dieter was able to tell him that he was no longer a bodyguard could already be felt even before he was shot! Damn. And I personally especially love portrayals of dynamics between someone and their bodyguard.

The man talking about how the gruesome demise of Johan's laundering business could have been avoided had they just shared a meal reminded me of the chapter from Attack on Titan wherein the alliance had some of Hange Zoe's stew during the tensest and most awkward of campfires.

I am quite unsure about what to make of Unseen Enemies (ch 46). Dieter lowkey teasing Eva about Tenma was quite corny, and so was her declaring that her new dream was to deliver him to the police alive. I like that she finally seemed to truly love Tenma (enough to finally let him go) though. I almost felt sorry for her when she was so convinced that he would not save her. The ending was not quite on the same level as the rest of the Tenma-saves-lives-in-more-ways-than-one chapters, but it was charming nonetheless.

I loved the panels wherein Tenma ran and reached Eva.

The Tuesday Boy (ch 47) was quite confusing because Karl's background sounded quite convoluted. I suppose the reader was supposed to follow along with nosy Lotte who tried to investigate and piece things together about him. I think I am missing a piece of the puzzle, and hopefully that would be revealed in the next chapter.

The Thursday Boy (ch 48) fell kinda flat despite revealing that the kid supposedly impersonating Karl committed suicide. The ending more than made up for it though! I was reminded of L introducing himself to Light Yagami.

I am kinda crying at Johan also studying law quq

The Leftover Mystery (ch 49) had fucking amazing development. I loved the introduction of the seemingly incompetent detective no one seemed to take seriously, and his dismissible attempts at investigation that unexpectedly bore fruit.

The final scene at the rooftop felt like a masterpiece given how Naoki Urasawa slowly built up this tense and suspenseful atmosphere that the unsuspecting Karl was not aware of only to subvert it so beautifully at the end.

I am so excited because I finally saw Johan Liebert characterized by his own words and actions as compared to the bits and pieces I picked up from the other characters. I hope he becomes physically present in the manga from here on out. I am so excited to meet this figure that was so elusive, I was almost convinced that he really was just one of Tenma's personalities.

I apologize but I could not suspend my disbelief for the counsilor believing that Edmund Fahren was incapable of manipulation and suicidal tendencies just by looking at his picture.

The Secret Woods (ch 50) was so intriguing. I cannot help but wonder if Johan's poetic descriptions of Obenberg forest was a portrayal of a humane and kind side of him, his manipulative and sinister side, or simply another side to him that others are not sure how to perceive.

Johan is so interesting to compare and contrast with Tenma: both were people persons whom others cannot see as capable of committing grave acts in spite of reasons to believe otherwise. Both were on the run and changing the lives of those they met- Tenma saving them, and Johan killing them. I wonder if he was chasing anything in particular.

I appreciate Schuwald repeating Karl's words: "it's okay, I don't care anymore."

[Zoë · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5✨ I definitely enjoyed the latter half of this more than the first. We get a little more of Eva's perspective in the first part, but kinda like inspector Lunge, I'm kinda getting weary of her character. No matter what happens she goes back to her old ways. 🙄 The second half of this volume was very intriguing, and the way it ends in a cliffhanger has me going crazy! Can't wait to get my hands on the next volume.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5
Maybe because I'm gobbling these up so fast or maybe because only half this volume is actually about Tenma and company, but this is the first volume to feel a little flat.

[Maria Clara · Rating 5 out of 5]

fiquei triste com a morte de um personagem

[Iman Danial Hakim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Manga marathon

[Irakli K · Rating 4 out of 5]

უჰ, ძაან ჩაიხლართა

[Patrick Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have noticed that this series really likes to do fake outs and impersonators. I think at least one chapter of every volume does this, and I'm really not quite sure why. It doesn't do much for the characters or plot, except make things a bit more convoluted. In any event, this was a good volume.

The second half, when the attention is taken away from Tenma's crazy ex, is pretty good. Lots of mystery, lots of new characters, and a great ending. Johan finally makes an appearance after inhabiting the background for several volumes. It was awesome to finally see him back in action no matter how brief it might have been.

The first half of the novel is blah. Eva comes back into the picture, and she takes up a gargantuan amount of page time. The first half explores her experiences after Tenma rejects her and her slow fall of her finances and sanity. She is still as unlikable as she has always been. I almost feel like Urasawa is trying to get me to feel sad for her. She does some pretty gross things out of desperation and apathy, but I still felt nothing.

I'm also tired of Tenma not really accomplishing anything in most of the volumes. He'll get a random tip about Johan, follow it for a little while, and then it turns out worthless. I think this happens too often. I would like to see actual progress toward capturing and killing Johan. Until that happens, this series is going to drag whenever Tenma occupies panel space.

Despite my complaints, this volume was still very enjoyable. Good opening, good ending, and a nice second half fueled my desire to see it to the end. I must insist that this novel series build momentum at a quicker pace because most of these volumes are just solid. Not exceptional. Hopefully, the next volume will do so.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

Monster is a carefully constructed thriller that builds with each passing chapter. It really must be read from the beginning.

Lunge is closing in on Tenma, but his relentlessness begins to cloud his judgement regarding procedure and methods. Ev's life spirals further down the drain and Tenma himself continues his relentless pursuit of Johan.

Monster loses a little momentum for the first time in this volume, albeit just slightly. The first half of the volume is perfectly paced and full of the tension I expect from the series. The maneuvering of various interested parties and the way everything plays out is gripping and yet filled with subtleties and foreshadowing.

The second half is where things slow down. The jump to the college campus and several chapters of buildup featuring new characters is decently done, but also a bit jarring and a more gradual build than usual for this manga. There's also more of a "foregone conclusion feel" than normal in this arc. It does eventually pick back up with some twists and an intriguing hook for the next volume.

Though not entirely up to the lofty standards previously set, volume 6 is still an excellent installment overall for Monster.

[Laras · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Vol. 5, there's an appearance of a criminal psychologist whose work style is reminiscent of that of Lunge's in that he makes too quick an assumption and holds on to it too tight. But luckily, when evidences present themselves, he is willing to change his mind, or at least consider another possibility, and is not shy to admit that he could be wrong.

As for Johan, there's an indication of him having split personality, but how, in what form, how split is that split, is still not obvious. He is wanted by a neo-nazi group, and they seem to know much about him, which shows that he is very well-known in criminal world (and actually also by people whose work still has something to do with this world, for example a private investigator), and in turn raises the question of why Lunge doesn't know about him.

Vol. 6 contains the buildup of a new branch of the story with many appearances of new (or guest, maybe) characters.

[Britton · Rating 5 out of 5]

"And I will keep on doing what I am doing to cut the ground from under those who want an opportunity to be considered equal with us in the things they boast about. For such people are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light." 2 Corinthians 12-14

"He never sleeps. He says that he will never die. He dances in light and in shadow and he is a great favorite. He never sleeps, the judge. He is dancing, dancing. He says that he will never die.” - Blood Meridian

I tend to be a sucker for strong concepts. Give me a good hook for a story and I'll read it, even if it doesn't entirely grab me in the end. Much of the time, I'm disappointed when a concept is misused or the author/artist doesn't explore the concept's full potential, merely touching upon it to get the readers hooked and then going on about their own interests or in the worst-case scenario, destroying the momentum that's been built. But Monster is different, as it's the rare series that delivers on its concept, while also being a very fast paced, entertaining story.

I've tried to expand my horizons in the world of comics and read foreign comics, and manga has been on that list of foreign comics to read. I've read several manga such as Lone Wolf and Cub, Akira, Bastard, and Death Note which I've enjoyed to various degrees, but the name Naoki Urasawa has come up with almost religious reverence in the circles that I've come across in the manga fandom. I'm happy to say that Urasawa is a writer-artist combination who proves to be as skilled of a storyteller as he is a draughtsman.

Urasawa shows himself to be a master of pacing, a master of suspense, and a master storyteller. While Monster starts off slowly, Urasawa keeps the audience invested with deft plotting and intricate attention to character, before taking the audience on a wild ride from beginning to end. Much of his skill also comes from his sense of the mystique, giving us little niblets of a much grander mystery that keeps his audience coming back for more. It is this ability that kept me coming back for more. I was impressed with the psychological progression of the characters, how their beliefs change throughout the story, and how they grow from the experiences that they go through during the events of the story.

Urasawa's art is likewise skilled, it is cartoon-like, while also being filled with character and personality. All his characters have distinct designs, and a character rarely looks similar to the other. An issue I often find with manga art is that all the characters look like children, and at their oldest late teens to early 30s. I wouldn't be surprised if Urasawa was influenced by the artwork of Katsuhiro Otomo, as he shares his eye for detail and distinct characteristics of his characters. Though Urasawa's art often runs toward the gothic. My friend Dave put it nicely when he said that this series has such an ominous and otherworldly feel that it sometimes feels fantastic.

Proof of this idea is with the main antagonist Johan, the titular monster, someone who is so detached from the rest of humanity that it seems that he is something otherworldly. Like Anton Chigurh or The Joker, Johan's evil is something that is so incomprehensible to the human psyche, that even when his motives are clear we are still unable to penetrate why he does what he does. What makes him so frightening isn't that he's particularly malicious or sadistic, it's that he is completely indifferent towards the lives around him, including his own. Urasawa plays his cards beautifully by never showing Johan too much or stooping to cliches where he taunts the heroes, he proves to be more of a force of nature than a cartoon bad guy.

Much of the series explores the relationship of protagonist Dr. Tenma and Johan and how both effect the world around them. They're not merely enemies, but existential opposites who are forced to collide. As Robert McGee pointed out, a protagonist's journey is only as good as the forces that antagonize him. Tenma's journey is ripe with struggle as he uncovers the mystery of who Johan is and all the forces that seek him for good or ill. Yet what allows Tenma to win is the fact that he chooses to hang on to being good, despite being in a world that is so transparently corrupt, becoming just as incomprehensible to the people who want to exploit or use him for their own ends.

I was also very surprised with the depth of the side characters that Urasawa introduced and how many stories he weaved into the story without losing the threads of the main plot. While they might seem frivolous at first glance, Urasawa always manages to find a way to weave them back into the main story somehow, where no detail is lost in the abyss. Much of the emotion that I felt through the series came from the side characters often, and Urasawa proves to be as gifted with characterization as Stephen King, creating characters with depth and nuance that gives the story its heart despite all the horrors that happen in it.

I continually stand in awe with how Urasawa manages to connect all these seemingly loose threads together to create one big story. It's rare that a story delivers on its core concept so adroitly, yet Urasawa does this and then some. He puts many comic creators around the world to shame, and he has fun doing it. His boundless imagination and his sense of set up and pay off will keep readers entertained as the story moves along as it does, culminating to an ending that is as oddly fitting as you could be with this story.

It's rare that a story explores evil with such nuance and creativity, we see all aspects of human evil be laid to bare through this series without reservation, rather it be the casual indifference of Johan, the selfish opportunism of the neo-Nazis, or the banal cruelty of the scientists from Kinderheim 511. One can also see the film Halloween being an influence on this series considering how Johan is much like Michael Myers, especially with the ending which I won't spoil here. Good might have triumphed today, Johan might be stopped, but he'll never truly be gone...

After all, evil never really dies, does it?

[kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not quite sure what to make of this volume. The first half of the volume continues to focus on Tenma per usual, and although several action-packed things happen, it didn't feel like it did much to progress the plot, if that makes sense. However, I'm fascinated by the 2nd half, in which we're getting a glimpse into what's happening around Johan in the meantime. That said, although I'm very intrigued to find out where this section of the story is going, it's not quite clear how this connects to our main plot yet. Is it just there to show Johan in his day-to-day life and to more fully understand him? To see whatever psychological condition he has & the way it functions daily? Or does this plot thread connect back to our main plot in some way? Only time will tell, but I'm definitely still very intrigued to see where we're headed from here.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic! We get to see a lot more facetime for mr. monster, even if he isn't doing anything particularly nefarious on screen. None of this is so much cat-and-mouse as it is a delicious character study. The tale is suspenseful and I'm very unsure about everyone's real motivation. The power of the writing is so strong that I feel like I really should know, and I can back up every theory, but just below the surface there's very interesting reversed currents.

It was shocking to see such a monsterous sociopath cry with abandon. I mean, what the hell was that?

If I once needed just a little more inducement to continue through this whole manga, then it all just got thrown out the window.

[Audrey Arnold · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid volume. Johan finally shows up, and we get to see a bit of him characterized by his own actions instead of other people's recounts of his actions. I am curious to see more of Johan in future volumes. Despite the appearance of Johan, though, this wasn't my favorite volume. I'm curious to see where the story goes next, though.

[Natasha den Dekker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I want to devour this entire series in one sitting.
Luckily I'm borrowing these off my partner's colleague so there's definitely a 'wait' factor which is making learning the story of Johan and Nina infinitely more exciting!!

[Blair Conrad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a lot of Tenma, but the Eva/Deiter interactions make this book worthwhile on their own. A little bit of a slowish confusing intro to the “Vampire of Bavaria” arc, but even that has its appeal.

[Stefu Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still great!

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

is it wrong that i am excited to start seeing johan in action...

[Inés Platero Gracia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Eva is a psychotic bitch. Sorry not sorry.

[سهر · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finally we meet Johan in person

[Rowan Briggs · Rating 4 out of 5]

TLDR: Another solid volume in the series. I really enjoyed the read and found myself staying up and reading the book when I really did not intend to (which means it really had my interest). If you have enjoyed the series up to this point, you will likely like this one as well.

Longer Review: I don't think this would be considered a spoiler, but this volume finally has Johan come in. This is good because we finally see why Johan is the "monster." Before this, the only thing we have seen is how others have reacted to Johan. We know from what he has done he is a monster. We have seen the crimes he is capable of, but we haven't really had an opportunity to see him in action and interacting with others. This volume finally gives Johan some time and it is really captivating. I don't want to delve into why, as I feel this could become a spoiler, but I think any reader who has been reading the series up to this point will enjoy this. The issue is, the story can feel a tad slow at moments. As it all comes together, you realize it is very methodic. It is slow because it wants you to understand all of the characters. That's where a lot of the thriller and suspense comes in. I do believe you will not enjoy the story that much though coming in at this point. You probably will be curious enough to take on the series, but you may miss out on some of the reasons why some moments are so suspenseful. Overall though, solid series, solid volume, solid 4/5.