And what of the children? Surely they can't be blamed for our mistakes? - For the Love of Life, David Sylvian.

This anime does quite live up to its reputation. Even if it didn't really stimulate adrenaline rushes (with what the animes today are doing via all their fight scenes), you'd still say this is a masterpiece out of respect. In my personal opinion, the picture books of Franz Bonarparta, or I guess, Klaus Poppe, are masterpieces of their own within this world of anime. However gruesome the results had become of his tales.

Let's just say that I can't exactly describe what it is that I feel or think about Monster.

From the first few episodes, when Dr. Tenma was learning how to shoot a gun, all the while bringing acceptance and contentment between the Vietnamese girl and her guardian who had shot her parents - you can just sense how thought provoking this series will play out and how much it's gonna fuck you up.

The perfect suicide. True solitude. The only expression of love.

-- As much as we like to assume the depths of our suffering, our reality, and the people who feel disgust towards the ones who speak of their own misery, I can't help but still say (out of enlightenment more than self-pity), those are words I feel that has finally come to acknowledge what I've felt most of my life, that resemble who I am. Only of course, Johan had a much greater execution to embody them.

Like my favourite character of this series, Wolfgang Grimmer, had said,

They're like letters I sent to myself, that took decades to arrive.

To me, those words (about true solitude) are the letters I sent to myself, through this medium that we call anime. Although, instead, they have come earlier to me (perhaps as the perfect, most tender, warning that feels more like a passerby, or an elder's advice to a youngster) than the emotions did to Mr. Grimmer.

Hereby I also announce my favorite episodes, 49 & 71, both of which has Grimmer in it ("The reason you're here, is because someone wants you to be! This is the right thing to say right? I was never taught such complicated emotions," he said as tears rained down his cheeks, while hugging Milosz at the edge of the bridge. "In the last episode of Magnificent Steiner, he must have become human again," he said as he remembered that particular memory of childhood, simultaneously crying for his dead son for the first time, as he let out his last few breaths).

Another cherished character of mine, Martin Reest. Someone Eva Heinmenn could finally have a meaningful toast to, after her years of self neglect and vengeance - He said he was happy because you said you'd wait for him.

And of course, the others - Nina Fortner along with her companions, Dr. Reichweins, Mr. Gillen, Dieter, so on and so forth. Not to forget, Inspector Lunge. These characters you have to see for yourselves.

My favourite villain is probably Roberto, Adolf Reinhardt, just because of how they revealed the truth of his character. The kid he used to be who hated killing insects, yet later on became a hitman. I love hot cocoa.

And honorable mentions; The sound recordings/effects of shoes tapping against pavement. Johan dressed up as a girl (He has an amazing vocal range lmao. No doubt he enjoyed his time with Detective Suk. Speaking of, has Suk come to realize the truth of the twins' seperate identities? If yes, how so?) and Wim's dad screaming "What the hell is that?!" when he saw Johan. A seven headed monster with lots of thorns.

Truly, my effort at reviewing these moments that involve all these characters, says a lot about how memorable they are. They each have a distinct role in the anime. As in, if even one character were to be cut off from this show, it wouldn't be the same tour de force as it is now.

One disappointing thing apart from the fact that they should've been able identify Johan around the time of the library fire what with him on stage and everything grand - was the ending.

In another life, if I were given the job to create the final chapter, Deiter and Wim became childhood friends, in spite of the things they'd been through. And we see them, by the end, grown up, talking about the people they'd come across such as Tenma and Grimmer, about how life became more bearable with people like them. That is all.

p.s. I need a Tenma Kenzo spinoff. What was his past like? Despite having a neurosurgeon's conscience, how far could he actually go without breaking his No Killing rule?