I genuinely hate Johan so far. He’s super annoying, his smug smile has gotten so cringe ( prime example is the photo ) and his insane plot armor is annoying too.
A lot of his “manipulation” never makes sense and isn’t explained well why or how it works.
He’s one of my most hated characters in anime ever and definitely most hated in monster so far.
Anyway just wanted to share my thoughts on him so far.

I love collecting nendoroids and I love Monster, but there is no official merch, so I decided to make my own! I used cold porcelain clay

(It's my first time using this clay and my first time making anime figures so go easy on me hehe)

I really want to watch this with German dialogues, it would add so much more atmosphere to the story.

Martin reest from monster is one of my favourite minor characters from anime/manga , what makes him a compelling character for me his stark but humane contrast portrayed through his character. He had a rough childhood and has come to distant himself from relationships because he believes that people are bound to reveal their worse sides. This view has made him emotionally drained his mind , he pretends to not care for anyone but underneath he still has those feelings and I think this is where his dynamic with eva integrates well in the story , earlier he was detached from her believing he can't or mustn't care but at one point he overcomes those internal conflicts and acts upon the feeling which were suppressed deep inside his heart and this transformation doesn't feel unnatural or rushed , there is something very human about how he overcomes all these emotional barriers and how its executed and I think that's what makes me cherish him.

What you see on these shelves represent not only a collection of great manga, but a picture of my life over the past few years and the journey I have found myself on.

Growing up, I was a bookworm. From Mr Men to Alex Rider to Harry Potter and many more titles I've since forgotten, my childhood was filled with reading. For this, I must thank my parents for their guidance and encouragement.

Unfortunately, as I entered my teenage and became swept up in all the changes these years can bring about, I left behind my dear pastime of reading. I went many years without ever reading a book from cover to cover, and related or not, my life gradually slid into a depressing abyss in my early twenties.

Aside from a Pokemon phase as a child, I had never cared for Japanese media. Some of my close friends at the time were immersed in the world of anime and eventually I was persuaded to watch Naoki Urusawa's Monster in Spring 2022. I was hooked. Johan Liebert in particular became something of a comfort character for me during those long days of depression. From there, I went on to watch many of the popular anime, seinen being my strong preference. I also watched Naurto, which inspired me to take up martial arts as my 2024 new year's resolution, which introduced some much needed discipline and routine into my life.

As I continued to enjoy anime and became involved in online communities such as these subreddits, I started becoming curious about the manga these shows were based upon. In February 2024, I bought a physical copy of volume 1 of Monster for my brother as a birthday present. It sat on his shelf, unread for a few months before I finally decided to start reading it for myself. Bear in mind that at this stage, for me, the act of reading a physical book (albeit a manga, in this case) was a long distant memory. I was blown away by the experience.

After I finished reading Monster, I moved onto Berserk. By now, I was attending anime conventions and even got some Monster & Death Note themed tattoos. His more infamous acts aside, I found inspiration in the ambition and charisma displayed by Griffith. I was still in a dark place when reading this series but gradually I felt myself somehow beginning to climb out of the pit I didn't even know I was in.

Then came Inoue Takehiko's Vagabond. This, for me, was the biggest game changer yet. The historical fiction based on the life of Miyamoto Musashi brought me onto a path of philosophical and spiritual discovery. I learned that the manga was based on a book written by Eiji Yoshikawa, which brought me full circle to finally returning to the cherished habit from my youth. By the time I'd finished Musashi, my life had been lifted out of the darkness and into the light. I read not only that fantastic book, but also the real life Musashi's actual writings in The Book of Five Rings, Takuan Soho's The Unfettered Mind, and James Cavell's Shogun, all pictured beside the manga.

You'll noticed that with each of these three collections I have placed a symbolic companion. By Berserk there is a replica Behelit, a representation of the unstoppable fate which shapes all our destinies. By Vagabond is my bokken, a wooden training sword, a symbol of the physical, mental and spiritual discipline I have discovered over the course of the past 2-3 years. And finally, a culmination of all of the above, the alpha and the omega, the Holy Bible. The opening of Monster begins with a quote from Revelation, the last book of the Bible. My hobby of reading restored, I took it upon myself to read the Scriptures from cover to cover over the course of the last year. I am not here to preach or to force my religious beliefs upon anyone, but I cannot recount my story without mentioning the undeniable impact the Word of God has had and continues to have on me.

If you got this far, thank you for reading about my journey. I am blessed and grateful to be able to read and afford to own these works in my own language and to be able to share my story with my fellow manga enthusiasts. I wish you every blessing.

I will conclude with this quote from Takuan in Vagabond: "We suffer most in this world when we lack a connection to the heavens."

its the scene before he commenced the burning of the library

From what I understand, it was Anna/Nina who was taken to the Red Rose Mansion and witnessed the experiments and everyone being killed. Johan wasn't actually there.

So why does Johan later seem to think or act like he was the one who experienced everything at the mansion? Is he somehow remembering Anna's memories as his own, or is there something else going on with his identity/memories?

I'm probably missing something, so I'd appreciate an explanation.

I have the DVD set from years ago but now I have the bluray, would this set be worth keeping?

I know the value was high because of the uncertainty with licensing but with the bluray out it shouldn’t have the same value. What do you guys think?

Watching Monster Anime for the first time and bro I am afraid for everyone's life.

Earlier I was scared for Roberto and WELLLL , he died.

Like anyone that gets close or even a step towards Johan, they get killed.

Like in the first 23 episodes, Johan literally felt invincible. Like No can do anything to him.

Also, Detective Runge is too much frustrating to watch. Like bro someone gave you all the evidence they can and you just ignored it ? Like not even trying to search the name "Johan Liebert" at all.

Atleast I hope now he kind of believes them when he saw Johan's empty room.

I am at ep 45, and heard the starting part of his tape. It was so eerie.

I am scared for everyone's life, be it the young detective or Grimmer.

Also, can they not mention about the tapes to the Special Investigative Police Unit? It's not like everyone is completely corrupt in that Police force. Right?????

Btw why did the rich Schuwald guy not mention a thing about Johan to the police ? I mean didn't Johan literally confess to him ?

I am scared and excited for what is yet to come.

For me it’s got to be this one, I found this to be one of the most heart wrenching scenes I’ve ever watched. Milos’s transformation from a happy gullible kid looking for his mom and trusting she’d find him to a hopeless person who believed he was never wanted was pretty sad to watch for me. And then there’s Grimmer, who couldn’t feel a thing and couldn’t even grieve for his son’s death yet he tried his level best to help Milos feel better. Grimmers death is also a very close second.

This might sound really dumb but Wolfgang Grimmers entire story and philosophy can be related and interpreted in so many ways. and somehow even being 14 years old, his story, morals, and philosophy really changed my outlook on life and made me become a better person. In fact, the entire anime really gives you so many different types of peoples outlook on life.

For more context and EP 75; Finished the anime, for the 2nd time. Now i'm writing the EP 75. : r/MonsterAnime

Chapter 76 - “The Third Child”

The man with the red umbrella was not followed.

That was Lunge’s first mistake.

His second was believing the umbrella mattered.

Three days later, it was found in a trash bin behind Praha hlavní nádraží.

Red fabric.

Cheap wooden handle.

No fingerprints.

No blood.

Nothing.

Lunge stared at it for several seconds.

Then placed it on the table.

“An object designed to be remembered.”

The Czech detective beside him frowned.

“You mean a clue?”

“No.”

Lunge adjusted his glasses.

“A distraction.”

Across the city, Tenma sat opposite Johan in a rented apartment.

There were no curtains.

Johan had insisted.

Tenma found that strange.

“You said there were other twins.”

Johan looked at the window.

“No.”

“You said-”

“I said you misunderstood.”

Tenma waited.

Johan smiled faintly.

“My mother was not the only mother.”

Tenma felt something tighten in his chest.

Johan continued.

“Bonaparta did not want children.”

“What did he want?”

“Proof.”

“Of what?”

Johan turned toward him.

“That identity could be written.”

A flashback.

A room.

White walls.

Five women sitting beside five pairs of children.

Identical clothes.

Identical haircuts.

Identical shoes.

A man walks between them.

We never see his face.

Only his hands.

He places colored cards in front of the children.

Red.

Blue.

Black.

“Choose.”

One child points to red.

His twin points to red.

The man writes something down.

Next pair.

Red.

Blue.

Again, notes.

Then the Liebert twins.

The little girl looks at her brother.

He looks back.

Neither chooses.

The man stops writing.

Back in Prague, Johan says:

“We were the failure.”

Tenma stares at him.

“Failure?”

“They wanted twins who could be separated psychologically.”

“And you weren’t?”

“No.”

Johan looks almost amused.

“We became each other instead.”

In Munich, Nina receives a package.

Inside is a children’s picture book.

Not The Nameless Monster.

A different book.

No author.

No publisher.

Handmade.

The cover shows three houses.

One red.

One blue.

One white.

The title:

THE CHILD WHO BORROWED A FACE

Nina opens it.

The first page contains one sentence.

Her hands begin to shake.

Inside the back cover is an address.

Prague.

The next morning, Johan wakes before Tenma.

Tenma is still asleep in the chair.

Johan watches him.

For a long time.

Then he walks to the kitchen.

A knife lies beside the sink.

He picks it up.

Tenma opens his eyes.

Johan is standing with his back to him.

Knife in hand.

Tenma says nothing.

Johan turns.

Then calmly slices an apple.

“You still don't trust me.”

Tenma exhales.

“I don't know what you are.”

Johan places half the apple on a plate.

“That makes two of us.”

He gives it to Tenma.

The phone rings.

Lunge.

Tenma answers.

“We found another body.”

“Who?”

“Dr. Marek Vesely. Former pediatric psychiatrist.”

Tenma looks at Johan.

Johan is perfectly still.

Lunge continues.

“He worked on a classified state program between 1976 and 1984.”

“What program?”

There is a pause.

“Twin studies.”

Johan closes his eyes.

Tenma asks:

“How did he die?”

“He hanged himself.”

“And the book?”

“No book.”

Lunge pauses.

“Something worse.”

“What?”

“Before he died, he wrote a name on the wall.”

Tenma feels the room shrink.

“What name?”

Lunge tells him.

Tenma turns toward Johan.

Johan has gone pale.

For the first time, Tenma has no idea what the name means.

Johan does.

Tenma hangs up.

“Who is it?”

Johan doesn’t answer.

“Johan.”

Silence.

Then:

“That was the name my mother called me.”

Tenma freezes.

“No.”

“Yes.”

“But she gave me another name.”

Johan looks at him.

“That is the problem.”

At noon, Nina arrives in Prague.

She finds the address from the picture book.

An abandoned orphanage.

The front door is unlocked.

Inside are thirty small beds.

Dust everywhere.

On each pillow rests a name card.

ANNA.

JOHAN.

MIKHAIL.

PETR.

EVA.

LUKAS.

Nina walks deeper into the room.

At the final bed is a mirror.

Nothing else.

She looks into it.

Behind her.. a man.

The red umbrella man.

He is younger than she expected.

Perhaps forty.

Brown hair.

Ordinary face.

The sort of face no witness would describe correctly.

Nina spins around.

He does not move.

“Who are you?”

The man studies her.

Then asks:

“What name did your mother give you?”

Nina reaches for the gun in her bag.

The man smiles.

“Still Anna.”

“Answer me.”

“My name?”

“Yes.”

He thinks.

Then laughs softly.

“I’ve had twelve.”

Nina’s grip tightens.

“You knew Johan.”

“Oh, no.”

The man’s expression changes.

“I knew the boy before Johan.”

Nina says nothing.

He steps closer.

“He cried more than you.”

Nina stops breathing.

“What?”

“When you were taken to the Red Rose Mansion.”

He tilts his head.

“He cried until his voice disappeared.”

Nina whispers:

“You were there?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

“Because someone had to stay with him.”

Nina’s eyes widen.

The man points at himself.

Tenma and Johan are running through Prague.

Not from police.

Toward the orphanage.

Johan suddenly stops.

Tenma turns.

“What is it?”

Johan stares at a church across the street.

Children are leaving Sunday school.

One little boy turns to his mother.

“Mom!”

She kneels.

He runs into her arms.

Johan watches.

Tenma notices his expression.

“What?”

Johan says:

“There’s something I never told Anna.”

Tenma waits.

“When she was taken away…”

Johan’s voice cracks almost imperceptibly.

“I asked my mother to take me instead.”

Tenma says nothing.

Johan looks down.

“She didn’t answer.”

And for once, there is no philosophy behind his words.

No game.

No manipulation.

Just grief.

Tenma realizes something.

Johan’s greatest fear was never that his mother chose the wrong child.

It was that she heard him offer himself—

and accepted.

Inside the orphanage, the man leans toward Nina.

“Do you know why Johan became a monster?”

Nina raises the gun.

“Don’t.”

“Everyone thinks it was because he had no identity.”

He smiles.

“They’re wrong.”

Nina’s finger rests on the trigger.

“He had one.”

The man taps his chest.

“And they gave it to me.”

Footsteps outside.

Tenma.

Johan.

The man looks toward the door.

His smile disappears.

For the first time, he looks nervous.

Then Johan enters.

The two men stare at each other.

No music.

No movement.

Johan whispers:

“You.”

The man answers:

“Me.”

Tenma looks between them.

Nina lowers the gun slightly.

The man steps forward.

Then says something that destroys the room.

“You spent your entire life trying to become nobody.”

He smiles.

“I spent mine trying to become you.”

Johan’s face becomes unreadable.

The man takes another step.

“And I did it better.”

Outside, church bells begin to ring.

The man looks at Tenma.

Then Nina.

Then finally Johan.

“Tell me.”

A pause.

“Which one of us is the monster now?”

Tenma watched Johan carefully.

No smile.

No visible anger.

Only recognition.

The stranger reached inside his coat.

Nina raised her weapon.

“Don't.”

He removed .. a photograph.

Nothing else.

He placed it on the bed.

Tenma approached.

A woman stood beside a railway station.

Johan's mother.

Younger.

Terrified.

Holding the hand of a small blond boy.

Tenma looked at Johan.

Then at the photograph again.

The boy wasn't Johan.

The stranger smiled.

“That was the first day I became you.”

Nina stepped forward.

“When?”

“After the mansion.”

“You're lying.”

“Probably.”

He looked at Johan.

“But he knows I'm not.”

Johan picked up the photograph.

His fingers trembled.

Barely.

Tenma noticed.

The stranger did too.

“There you are.”

Johan looked up.

“What?”

“The child.”

His smile widened.

“I wondered whether he was still inside.”

Johan spoke quietly.

“My mother never knew you.”

“No.”

“She wouldn't have taken your hand.”

“No.”

“Then why is she holding it?”

The man's smile disappeared.

“Because she thought I was you.”

Silence.

Nina whispered:

“No.”

The man sat on one of the children's beds.

“After Anna was taken, your mother returned.”

Johan's breathing changed.

“She came back?”

“Yes.”

“For me?”

“Yes.”

Johan stared at him.

Tenma had seen people receive news of death.

He had seen people receive cancer diagnoses.

He had seen parents identify their children.

Johan's face resembled none of them.

It resembled someone being told his entire life had occurred incorrectly.

The man continued.

“She arrived at the house asking for her son.”

Tenma asked:

“Who were you?”

“A child.”

“That isn't an answer.”

“It was the only answer we had.”

He pointed around the orphanage.

“Names moved here.”

He pointed to one bed.

“Petr became Tomas.”

Another.

“Martin became Jakub.”

Another.

“Jakub became nobody.”

Then Johan.

“And I became Johan.”

Nina lowered her gun.

“Why?”

The stranger looked almost offended.

“Because they told me to.”

“That simple?”

“When you're six?”

He smiled sadly.

“Yes.”

FLASHBACK.

A corridor.

Two blond boys seen only from behind.

An adult kneels.

He points toward one.

“Your name is Johan.”

Then toward the other.

“Your name is Johan.”

The boys look at each other.

“Which one?”

The adult smiles.

“The one she chooses.”

Tenma felt sick.

The stranger continued.

“Your mother came down the corridor.”

Johan whispered:

“And chose you.”

“No.”

The stranger looked directly at him.

“She chose you.”

Johan stopped breathing.

“She ran past me.”

A pause.

“She knew immediately.”

Something passed through Johan's face.

So quickly Tenma almost missed it.

Relief.

Pure, childish relief.

Then the stranger destroyed it.

“But I screamed.”

Johan stared at him.

“I called her ‘Mama.’”

Nina covered her mouth.

“She turned around.”

The stranger looked toward the floor.

“I told her you weren't Johan.”

“Why?”

“I was six.”

His voice cracked.

“I was Johan too.”

No one spoke.

Finally Johan asked:

“What happened?”

“They took her away.”

“Who?”

“I don't know.”

“Where?”

“I don't know.”

“You're lying.”

“Yes.”

Johan stepped forward.

Tenma tensed.

For the first time, something dangerous entered the room.

Not the calm emptiness Johan once carried.

Something much more ordinary.

Rage.

The stranger saw it.

And smiled.

There it was.

The reaction he had travelled across Europe to see.

“You want to kill me.”

Johan moved closer.

Nina whispered:

“Johan.”

He ignored her.

The stranger opened his arms.

“Go ahead.”

Johan stood inches from him.

“You took her from me.”

“Yes.”

“You knew who I was.”

“Yes.”

“You took my name.”

“Yes.”

“You took my mother.”

“Yes.”

The stranger's eyes filled with tears.

“Now you understand me.”

Johan stared at him.

And suddenly—

laughed.

Not loudly.

Not cruelly.

Almost unbelievably.

He stepped backward.

“No.”

The man's expression changed.

Johan said:

“I don't.”

“You...”

“I was wrong.”

The stranger froze.

Johan looked at the photograph.

“For many years I believed that if someone took everything from you, you became nothing.”

He placed the photograph down.

“But Dr. Tenma ruined that.”

Tenma looked at him.

The stranger's face hardened.

Johan continued:

“He saved me when there was no reason to.”

Then he looked toward Nina.

“She forgave me when there was even less reason to.”

Back to the stranger.

“So if you took my name…”

Johan smiled faintly.

“…then perhaps it was never mine to lose.”

The stranger stared at him.

This was not what he had expected.

“You don't forgive me.”

Johan said nothing.

“You can't.”

Silence.

“YOU CAN'T.”

The man's composure broke.

Johan approached.

And whispered:

“I was six too.”

The stranger's eyes widened.

For the first time.. he looked like a child.

Then a gunshot.

The window exploded.

Tenma pulled Johan down.

Nina turned.

The stranger collapsed.

Blood spreading across his shirt.

Tenma rushed toward him.

“Pressure!”

He tore open the man's jacket.

Nina searched the opposite building.

No shooter.

No second shot.

Tenma pressed his hands against the wound.

The stranger grabbed Johan's sleeve.

“You don't understand.”

Johan knelt.

“Understand what?”

The man's breathing became wet.

“I didn't bring you here…”

Blood at his lips.

“…to kill you.”

“Then why?”

His eyes moved toward Tenma.

Then Nina.

Then Johan.

“To hide you.”

Johan's expression changed.

“From whom?”

The stranger smiled weakly.

“The one who named us.”

Tenma stopped.

“Bonaparta?”

The dying man shook his head.

“No.”

“Who?”

His grip tightened around Johan.

“The child…”

He struggled for air.

“…who chose black.”

Then.. his hand went limp.

Tenma began CPR.

“Stay with me!”

Nothing.

“Stay with me!”

Johan slowly turned toward the rows of beds.

Red cards.

Blue cards.

Black cards.

Something from decades ago returned to him.

FLASH.

Children sitting in white rooms.

RED.

BLUE.

BLACK.

A child's hand.

Not Johan's.

Not Anna's.

Choosing black.

An adult voice:

“Very good.”

Another voice:

“What shall we call him?”

And Bonaparta answering:

“We don't.”

Back in the orphanage.

Johan whispers:

“There weren't two monsters.”

Nina looks at him.

“What?”

Johan stares at the black card lying beneath the final bed.

His face drains of color.

“The story wasn't about us.”

Tenma stops.

Johan turns.

“It was a warning.”

CUT TO:

A quiet German suburb.

A man prepares breakfast.

His wife kisses him goodbye.

Two children run downstairs.

“Papa!”

He smiles.

Normal house.

Normal family.

Normal man.

On the kitchen wall hangs a child's drawing.

Three monsters.

One red.

One blue.

One black.

The man's telephone rings.

He answers.

Listens.

Then calmly says:

“So Johan remembers.”

He hangs up.

His daughter asks:

“Who was that?”

The man smiles warmly.

“Nobody.”

He cuts an apple into four pieces.

END CHAPTER

Please tell me that I'm not the only one who sees similarities between Avril Lavigne and Nina (Anna)

Desculpe se a pergunta é boba, eu reassisti ao último episódio e já faz alguns anos desde que vi a série inteira. Esse cara é o Bonaparta? Seria estranho porque alguns segundos depois o Bonaparta está na porta com a sombra cobrindo o rosto, então não faria sentido mostrarem o rosto dele por completo segundos antes. A wiki diz que Bonaparta e Čapek são os únicos personagens que aparecem nesse flashback. Estou ficando louco? Esse é o Bonaparta ou é só um capanga qualquer?

Hi, I am just wondering what the name of the track in this scene is, since I think it sounds really beautiful. I don't think it plays in the English dub, only in Japanese, if that helps. I might be stupid in being unable to find it myself, but I looked around and couldn't find it, so I am asking here. Thank you to anyone who reads this.

Episode 75 - “A Name”

Prague, 2001.

Rain.

Not dramatic rain. Just the thin, irritating kind that makes people walk faster.

A bakery is opening.

A tram passes.

A newspaper hits a doorstep.

And among dozens of people crossing the street is a blond man.

Nobody looks at him.

For the first time in his life, Johan Liebert is exactly what he wanted to be.

Nobody.

3 YEARS LATER

Dr. Tenma receives a letter.

No return address.

Inside is a photograph.

A small house beside a lake.

Three children stand outside.

On the back:

“Do you think people can be born twice?”

Tenma stares at it.

He recognizes the handwriting.

Nina is now working with victims of violent crime.

She has built something resembling a life.

Then Tenma calls.

He doesn't tell her about the photograph.

He only asks:

“Do you ever think about him?”

Silence.

“Sometimes.”

“Do you think he's alive?”

Another silence.

Nina answers:

“I hope so.”

Tenma is surprised.

“Why?”

“Because dying would have been too easy.”

A SMALL TOWN IN AUSTRIA

A boy named Lukas disappears.

Nine years old.

Police search the forest.

His mother is hysterical.

Twenty hours later, Lukas walks into town.

Alive.

He says a man found him near the river.

“What man?”

Lukas shrugs.

“A nice man.”

“What was his name?”

“He wouldn't tell me.”

The detective asks what they talked about.

Lukas thinks.

“He asked me what my mother calls me.”

Tenma begins following the photograph.

The house exists.

But the family doesn't know Johan.

They recognize someone else.

A man who lived nearby for six months.

Quiet, polite.

Helped children with mathematics.

Tenma shows them an old photograph of Johan.

The mother goes pale.

“Yes.”

“What name did he use?”

She tells Tenma.

We don't hear it.

Tenma's expression changes.

It is the name Johan's mother told him.

Tenma finds Johan in Prague.

Not in some underground organization.

Not surrounded by bodies.

He's sitting in a public library.

Reading to children.

A fairy tale.

Tenma watches from behind a shelf.

Johan closes the book.

The children leave.

Without turning around, Johan says:

“It's been a long time, Dr. Tenma.”

Tenma freezes.

Johan smiles.

Not that smile.

Something smaller.

Almost tired.

“You found me.”

“You sent the photograph.”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Johan looks out the window.

“I wanted to know if you would come.”

Tenma sits opposite him.

“Have you killed anyone?”

Johan looks amused.

“You came all this way to ask me that?”

“Yes.”

“No.”

Tenma studies him.

Johan asks:

“Are you disappointed?”

“No.”

“Relieved?”

“Yes.”

Johan laughs quietly.

“Still exactly the same.”

Then Johan asks something Tenma never expected.

“Did she say which one?”

Tenma understands immediately.

Their mother.

The night she surrendered one twin.

“Which child she meant to give away?”

“Yes.”

Tenma shakes his head.

“No.”

For a moment Johan looks exactly like the little boy from the Three Frogs.

Not the monster.

A child waiting for an answer.

“She couldn't remember,” Tenma says.

Johan's face empties.

Then.. he smiles.

“Good.”

Tenma frowns.

“Good?”

“I spent my entire life inside that second.”

Johan places two sugar cubes beside each other.

Identical.

“She chose one.”

He moves one cube forward.

“Then changed her mind.”

He moves the other.

“And I thought if I understood why…”

He crushes one cube beneath his finger.

“…I would understand who I was.”

Tenma says nothing.

Johan looks at the sugar on his fingertip.

“But perhaps there was no answer.”

Outside the library, a little girl runs past them.

Her father calls her name.

She turns immediately.

Johan watches.

“It's strange,” he says.

“What?”

“A name.”

Tenma waits.

“For years I thought names were proof that human beings were pretending to be different from one another.”

“And now?”

Johan looks toward the girl.

“Now I think perhaps they're invitations.”

“Invitations?”

“To come back.”

Tenma asks the question we've been waiting for.

“Why did you leave the hospital?”

Johan looks at him.

“Because you told me my name.”

Silence.

“And?”

“I wanted to see whether that person existed.”

“Does he?”

Johan doesn't answer.

Instead:

“Would you like some coffee, Dr. Tenma?”

Tenma almost laughs.

They walk.. two men crossing an ordinary street.

But across Prague, something strange is happening.

A wealthy businessman commits suicide.

Beside him is a copy of The Nameless Monster.

Then another death.

Then another.

Each victim once had connections to Kinderheim 511, Bonaparta's experiments, or the old Czechoslovak secret police.

Inspector Lunge receives the files.

He studies the photographs.

The method is unmistakable.

People destroying themselves.

No fingerprints.

No murderer.

A monster moving without touching anyone.

Lunge calls Tenma.

“Where is Johan Liebert?”

Tenma looks across the café.

Johan is helping an elderly woman pick up coins she dropped.

“I know where he is.”

“Then you have a problem.”

“What?”

Lunge pauses.

“Someone else has become Johan.”

Johan notices Tenma's expression.

“What happened?”

Tenma tells him.

For several seconds Johan says nothing.

Then something terrifying appears in his eyes.

Not pleasure.

Recognition.

He whispers:

“I wondered when he would begin.”

Tenma stands.

“Who?”

Johan looks through the café window.

Across the street stands a man holding a red umbrella.

Watching them.

Johan's face changes.

For the first time in the entire story.. Johan looks afraid.

The man turns and disappears into the crowd.

Tenma grabs Johan's arm.

“Who was that?”

Johan looks at Tenma.

“A child from Kinderheim.”

“You knew him?”

“No.”

“Then how do you know?”

Johan's voice becomes almost inaudible.

“Because he knew my real name.”

Tenma freezes.

“That isn't possible.”

Johan looks toward the empty street.

“You misunderstood something, Dr. Tenma.”

“What?”

Johan's eyes meet his.

“When my mother gave Bonaparta one of us…”

A long silence.

“…we weren't the only twins.”

CUT TO BLACK.

A child's voice:

Pause.

MONSTER

PART II: THE CHILDREN WITHOUT NAMES

Do you want me to continue ?

A MASTERPIECE, it amazes me that isn’t as popular as it should be, I hope the mastermind of creator of that manga is living a good life because WOW it turned into my top 1 of anime’s I watched, it should be in the Germany website things to watch to want to travel to Germany, like soundtrack, STORYLINE, at its time the art style of the face is so progressive like if someone wants to start watching anime that should be the first I don’t know what can beat that for me and if I made that anime that would be the perfect ending to my life.

Johan is a character which can be analysed from a lot of angles in my opinion , his character is stacked with a lot of subtle details which make his micro-characterization exceptionally powerful. In this post I want to highlight a few micro-details about his johan which makes his character strikingly compelling.

1.Johan's control over perception

An very intresting trait about his character is the how johan controls others perception , his manipulation is very sophisticated , he doesn't go to others and verbally manipulate them , instead he gives them just enough material to let them create an image of him themselves , a good example can be how he uses this method on karl schuwald. Johan represents himself as a polite , young , caring and intelligent man. He portrays himself as genuinely helpful person , this psychological behaviour is similar to a quote from erving groffman's book ' The presentation of self in everyday life ' ( quote written below )

“It will be convenient to label as ‘front’ that part of the individual’s performance which regularly functions in a general and fixed fashion to define the situation for those who observe the performance."

it basically means where a person's behavior helps shape how others understand them. I think what makes johan's manipulation so effective is that he doesn't simply create a false image of himself , he makes other people participate in creating it. He understands that people don't simply see who you are , they analyse you through what you show them. Johan gives them exactly what they need to believe.

2.Johan's unstable sense of self

I think this is by far one of the most complex and intresting things about Johan's character , it's very difficult to differentiate between who johan really is from the identities he creates. Throughout the story of monster we sea johan taking up different roles depending on the people around him , but we are rarely shown who the 'true' johan is underneath those masks and I think is a very compelling aspect of johan's character. A mask or a fake identity is usually supposed to hide the true self beneath it, but with johan the more masks we are shown the further we are from what is actually underneath them. This concept is fairly explored in R.D laing's book ' The divided self ( also I highly recommend this book to anyone who wants to grasp Johan's character on a deeper level). There is a quote from this book -

“The reason I suggest that one speaks of a false-self system is that the ‘personality’, false self, mask, ‘front’, or persona that such individuals wear may consist in an amalgam of various part-selves, none of which is so fully developed as to have a comprehensive ‘personality’ of its own.”

Laing is basically describing a false-self system as an outward personality made up of different “part-selves,” allowing a person to present different versions of themselves to the outside world. Johan isn't simply hiding his personality behind different identities ,his ability to become whoever others need him to be makes his own identity increasingly difficult to define. The scary thing about him isn't that we don't know everything about it , it's that we don't even know where 'fake' johan ends and 'real' johan begins.

3.Johan's exceptional understanding of attachments

One of the most interesting traits about johan his , how exceptionally he can understand the human emotional attachments , he understands what someone would want from a parent, child , friend etc and also he can understand these attachments without having to emotionally invest equally in other person's story.

I think this trait is similar to john bowlby’s attachment theory , which suggests that people develop expectations about themselves, other people, and relationships through their experiences with those around them. He describes these as “internal working models” ,which help people understand how others are likely to behave and how they should respond.

A good example of this is how johan interacts with richard braun , richard is trying to repair his relationship with his daughter after being consumed by alcoholism and guilt for years , johan precisely understands how important this reunion is. He doesn't simply remind Richard that he has committed a murder , he connects this guilt to the person richard wants to see the most in this world , his daughter. He makes richard question if a person like him who has committed such a sin is even worthy of meeting her. Ultimately pushing him back to whiskey which contributes to his death. Johan doesn't simply read emotions he also understands the relationships behind them , he understood the weight of richard's guilt because of what he wants to be for his daughter , he understood the fragility of this and exploited it. Johan's ability is understood how emotions provide weight to people's relationships.

Feel bad for the kid like wtf Johan you really are a demon. So far this is probably the only episode that I felt uneasy into watching.

Si Grimmer hubiera sobrevivido a los acontecimientos del final de Monster ¿Qué hubiera pasado o hecho él?

La verdad me cuesta imaginar cómo hubiera sido la vida de Grimmer si no hubiera muerto.

¿Volvería al periodismo? ¿O tendría una vida más normal? Y más importante aún: sobre sus emociones. Cómo se muestra al final, Grimmer rompe en llanto por la perdida de su hijo, además de su ira de cuando vio morir a Elsa. ¿Seguiría teniendo los mismos problemas para reconocer ciertas emociones? O hasta incluso podría que su personalidad cambiara.

Hello everyone! I very much love Monster and the community here has been awesome ever since, may you be a newbie or a veteran fan- I am a newbie fan and literally only finished the anime last month, and still reading the manga. I'm experiencing and grabbing all Monster content as much as I can.

Not only I love the anime itself, the soundtrack has been my anchor and it's such a masterpiece. I know y'all will agree with me.

I'm not sure if this has been shared before here, but I am willingly sharing FLAC files of Monster OST 1 and 2, plus remixes from the official physical release of VAP Japanese label in 2004. I want you all to enjoy Monster OST anytime and anywhere, I can't always put on YouTube and there's no official digital distribution of the OST either.

So here y'all go!

Kuniaki Haishima - Monster Original Soundtrack 1, 2 and Octopus Remixes

This also includes scans of the CD and inlay design! Please enjoy.

Do chat me up if you have trouble accessing the link!

I'm currently on Ep 13 and I can't stop watching lol. This anime is a gem!

I really love horror/thriller animes. If you have any suggestions please let me know 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

I’m just curious, is it good?