Monster (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was published by Shogakukan in its seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original between December 1994 and December 2001, with its chapters collected in 18 tankōbon volumes. The story follows Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese neurosurgeon in Düsseldorf, Germany, whose life unravels after encountering Johan Liebert, a former patient. Johan is a sociopathic serial killer that murders and manipulates others to murder anyone who sees his face—enforcing absolute anonymity to prove his nihilistic philosophy. Urasawa later wrote and illustrated the novel Another Monster, a story detailing the events of the manga from an investigative reporter's point of view, which was published in 2002. The manga was adapted by Madhouse into a 74-episode anime television series, which aired on Nippon Television from April 2004 to September 2005. The manga and anime were both licensed by Viz Media for English releases in North America, and the anime was broadcast on several television channels. Siren Visual licensed the anime in Australia. Monster was Urasawa's first work to receive international acclaim and success. It has had over 20 million copies in circulation. It has won several awards, including the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award and at the Japan Media Arts Festival. The anime series adaptation is considered to be one of the best anime series of all time.
Plot
Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a highly skilled Japanese neurosurgeon working at Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Though professionally accomplished and engaged to Eva Heinemann, the hospital director's daughter, he becomes disillusioned with the institution's practice of prioritizing politically influential patients over those in dire need. This ethical dilemma culminates when fraternal twins Johan and Anna Liebert are admitted after a massacre, with Johan requiring emergency surgery for a gunshot wound to the head. When the mayor arrives shortly after, also in critical condition, Tenma disregards orders and operates on Johan. Though the boy survives, the mayor dies, and Tenma faces severe repercussions—his career stalls, his engagement ends, and he is ostracized by his colleagues. Soon after, Director Heinemann and several doctors who opposed Tenma are murdered, and the twins disappear. Though Tenma is suspected, no evidence links him to the crimes, leaving him to confront the consequences of his choice. Years later, Tenma has regained his standing as Chief of Surgery. His life is upended when he treats Adolf Junkers, a criminal who cryptically warns of a "monster". Visiting Junkers later, Tenma finds the guard dead and the patient missing. Tracking him to a construction site, he witnesses Junkers held at gunpoint by Johan, now a young man. Despite Tenma's pleas, Johan executes Junkers, then coldly assures Tenma he would never harm the man who saved him. Stunned, Tenma realizes his act of mercy has unleashed a remorseless killer. Now a suspect in a string of murders, Tenma draws the attention of the BKA Inspector Heinrich Lunge, who doggedly pursues him as the prime culprit. Determined to expose Johan, Tenma seeks out Anna, now living as Nina Fortner with an adoptive family in Heidelberg. Though she appears to have moved on, she suffers from recurring nightmares. On her 20th birthday, Tenma warns her of Johan's return, but he fails to prevent Johan from murdering her adoptive parents, re-traumatizing her. Tenma's investigation reveals Johan's origins in a clandestine East German eugenics project at Kinderheim 511, an orphanage that brainwashed children using psychological manipulation and twisted literature. The experiments molded Johan into a calculating killer, his crimes part of a larger scheme to spread chaos. As Tenma uncovers more victims—former Kinderheim inmates, investigators, and civilians—he resolves to stop Johan, despite grappling with the moral implications of killing. His pursuit spans Germany and, eventually, Czechoslovakia, unravelling a labyrinth of conspiracies while evading authorities and Johan's followers. Each revelation strengthens his conviction to end the cycle of violence, even as the psychological toll mounts. Tenma's journey becomes one of redemption, pitting him against the very evil he once saved, as he strives to atone for his past and halt the devastation Johan has wrought.
Production Urasawa revealed that he pitched the idea of a manga concerning the medical field around 1986, but could tell his editor did not enjoy the idea. Therefore, he jokingly proposed a story about women's judo, and that lead to his first solo work Yawara! (1986–1993). The original idea for Monster came from the 1960s American television series The Fugitive, which had a strong impact on Urasawa when he saw it at the age of eight. In the story, a doctor is wrongfully convicted of murder, but escapes and searches for the real killer while on the run from the police. He said that his editor was adamant that the series would not do well, and tried to stop him from writing it. The Japanese medical industry was strongly influenced by the professional practices in Germany, and so it seemed natural to the author to set Monster in Germany. Post-war Germany was chosen so that the neo-Nazi movement could be included in the story. When the semi-monthly Monster began publication at the end of 1994, Urasawa was already writing Happy! weekly and continued to serialize both at the same time. When Happy! ended in 1999, he began the weekly 20th Century Boys. Writing both Monster and 20th Century Boys at the same time caused him to be briefly hospitalized for exhaustion.
Media
Manga
Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, Monster was serialized in Shogakukan's seinen manga magazine Big Comic Original from December 1994 to 20 December 2001. Shogakukan collected its 162 chapters into 18 tankōbon volumes released from 30 June 1995 to 28 February 2002. Takashi Nagasaki is credited as "co-producer" of the manga's story. Monster received a nine-volume kanzenban re-release between 30 January and 29 August 2008. Monster was licensed in North America by Viz Media, which published all 18 volumes between 21 February 2006 and 16 December 2008. They released the kanzenban version of the series, titled Monster: The Perfect Edition, between 15 July 2014 and 19 July 2016.
Anime
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
