Is this series underrated?

[Ri_]

Hello Bronwen, what a surprise.
Yes, Monster has it's creepiness level. But optimistic moments have their part, too. My favorite thing to say about whether Monster's good is, that the manga won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999, which is something like the manga oscar of Japan. On a side note, I also think that the anime doesn't quite reach up to the manga, but it's alright.

[Bronwen Stx]

Originally Posted by Ri_

Hello Bronwen, what a surprise.
Yes, Monster has it's creepiness level. But optimistic moments have their part, too. My favorite thing to say about whether Monster's good is, that the manga won the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999, which is something like the manga oscar of Japan. On a side note, I also think that the anime doesn't quite reach up to the manga, but it's alright.

Lol, I'm surprise as well. How are you?

Anyways, heh, yeah, I heard about that award for the manga. I'll be looking forward to reading the manga the most for sure. The anime definitely look interesting.

[Joe Dalton]

No it's not underrated.
Not for it's quality and not for it's fanbase.
Monster attemps to create an inteligent thiller but fails.
First off, in order to actualy get a good audience with a show like this you need a constant flow of story. So the filler stuff gimps it a great deal.
Second, The characters have little depth and we rarely see it's development points.
Also the location, while it would be a good place for this story they do a horrible job at portraying germany. Instead we get a mixture of Japanese culture and german suroundings.
The story is pretty good, but not a masterpiece.

It suffers from the same flaws as shows like Naruto but doesn't compensate for it with something entertaining to draw in audience.
The story rates above average, but the on most other departments it's just nothing great.

[avmoghe]

Joe Dalton - I agree with you about the fillers stopping the flow of the story. (Technically speaking "likely fillers" since its impossible for anyone to classify an episode as a filler until the entire series is done) I agree that the show is no longer perfect like I would've gladly sworn to during the first seven episodes of the series.

However, I disagree with the rest of your post. Even with these "fillers", the show's story is far better than most other shows I've seen (quite a strong statement considering I've seen less than a third of the series). Its one of the very, very few show that actually makes me think. And I dont mean in an Evangelion-psycho-nonsense way. The story is handled with a minimal amount of silliness, or staring contests, or cheesiness that plagues many other anime. I would say its the one series that I wouldn't mind showing to non-anime watching adults.

Either way, one more vote for the "under-appreciated" category.

[Ri_]

@Bronwen: Getting along fine, thank you enjoy watching the rest~

I think we've all agreed that Monster is under-watched. As a side note, at the time it happens to be my no. 1 favorite series, though I also won't say it's liek teh absolute perfectest thing evar; I give it a 9/10, yet I'm fond of the things I see as weaknesses. //view from one sworn manga fan

[The Great Yuri]

In my opinion, I just don't know how many people would dig Monster... I mean I think it is good and all... but it isn't the same as say Naruto which can grab a wider audience.

Monster is a bit wierd and moderately sinister. I think most FMA fans woul like monster because it actauly has a plot.

[audiophile]

i agree. the show started off amazing, and in the latter half (12-20's) they've 'dropped the ball', turning a 10/10 series into a 8/10 series.

it's still a fantastic series, and is only one of two anime series i'm following.

I also wonder why they inexplicably left the whole Tenma story abruptly to follow a brand new set of characters. it's definitely welcome to have multiple plots running, but i'd rather have them interweave (which i bet it will eventually).

Despite its flaws, i still feel like its a gripping story that stands tall amongst the other series, which is filled with tongue-in-cheek content rehashed over and over again.

This series for me raises the bar. I absolutely can't wait to see how everything resolves in the end.

btw, how many eps will there be? (should there be rather...) judging by the pace of the anime with respect to the manga?

[Crowley]

They haven't "left the tenma story", it's not "the tenma story", it's "Monster", and it focusses on all the main characters. Right now they're showing what Johan's up to, but Tenma will be back soon.

There will be around 75 episodes. I say around because I believe the studio initually announced 78, but I've been seeing numbers varying from 65 up to 80 since then.

[F Stop]

I personally like the fact that the series is showing more of Johan and less of Tenma right now. Balances everything out, and this way the audience sees enough of both characters to form their own opinions about them...

[pathyfinder]

Guess I don't know either ways seeing as I never heard any hype.

Those members whom I respect recommended it and after one Episode I was sucked in.

The music is freaky and in the early eps I had to quick close it out seeing as it freaked me out major! Seriously how can one NOT have the shivers when hearing "then slowly you come to realize....blah blah blah"

I did start reading the manga but seeing as the series matches it perfectly I feel I can "trust" the animation and just try to be patient.

I've heard about the ending and well it's not the ending I think I'd want however Life is a journey so I should just sit back and enjoy it.

Stragely enough MONSTER does relax me

[audiophile]

i agree.
i like that we're seeing more of Johan. he was just so elusive for so long, it got a little frustrating playing this 'endless cat and mouse' game.

[Ed Elric]

I have seen a LOT of anime series and I really do have to say Monster is one of the best. It has an AMAZING plot and it's scriptted so damn well. You really get to know the characters and wow I"m hooked ^^

I agree with the above comment about how people that like FMA will like this series. FMA is my fave anime of all time, but Monster is just so damn good that I can't stop watching it.

I am a huge Johan fan XD I like him a lot, I also like Tenma. I can't wait to see how this plays out ^^ I've never read the manga but the anime is kicking ass ^^

does Monster air once a week?

[jalana]

Originally Posted by Ed Elric

does Monster air once a week?

Yes. Barring stuff like natural disasters.

[Trax]

It's the same here as others have mentioned. I've been reluctant to try out Monster, it didn't seem that appealing when I checked what it's about. But after seeing the name pop up occasionally, I finally caved in when I saw it again in someone's watchlist and tried out the first 8 episodes. It did remind me a bit of the Fugutive, but as a mix of concepts it feels original in its own right. As far as anime goes, this one seems like a breath of fresh air to me, a series with a unique look and feel, unlike the many dime a dozen series out there. The supposed filler episodes do detract from the plot, but even those are usually interesting in their own right. I've seen up to episode 20 by now, and I give this a thumbs up. I don't think Monster is underrated, it just doesn't seem appealing to the average viewer so they don't give it a chance first. I'm glad I finally did.

[northernbright]

I don't know much about the anime, but I know the manga pretty well. I was first exposed to the Monster manga by a Chinese friend of mine who just had to show me it. He said it was the greatest comic he'd ever read. At that time I set out to get it translated, unsuccessfully, at mangascreener. Three attempts were made, each time the same excuse. The translators all complained that the medical terms, and psychology was too hard to translate, plus translating from Chinese was a pain to begin with. Luckily I met Stephen Paul and that all changed.
The Monster manga won the Tezuka award not only because it’s a masterpiece (albeit with its slow points, and filler) but also because it’s insanely popular... with an non-manga audience.
The Monster manga never struck a chord with the regular shonen fan, why? because it wasn't aimed at them. Urusawa wove a story for a more discerning reader, and got it published in a magazine aimed at an older male demographic.
The exciting thing however is that it found its greatest appeal among women in their 20's and 30's. Here's a bit of reverse chauvinism here; women have better taste than men.
The monster anime isn't underr ated; it just hasn't reached the right audience in the west yet. I doubt it ever will. The people who read it in Japan, for the most part, wouldn't be considered manga/anime fans... just smart.

I wish I'd learned better composition in college -_-

[uzumaki]

Hmm, considering how slow the bussiness is at this Monster forum, I'd say it really is quite unwatched. Though not underrated, because it (surprisingly) is already at some #24 or something on the animenfo ratings chart (http://www.animenfo.com/statistic/top.php?type=anime).

See, it's the realism that really does it. Turns you on or off. It did get kind of boring in the middle, but right now (at the late 60s; ep 67 latest), since they've only got like 7 more episodes, the tension is so wicked and the mood is chilling. Hair-raising masses of information are being provided, and the plot is spinning and twisting and zooming like mad to an end. Gulp.

Originally Posted by northernbright

The Monster manga never struck a chord with the regular shonen fan, why? because it wasn't aimed at them. Urusawa wove a story for a more discerning reader, and got it published in a magazine aimed at an older male demographic.
The exciting thing however is that it found its greatest appeal among women in their 20's and 30's. Here's a bit of reverse chauvinism here; women have better taste than men.
The monster anime isn't underr ated; it just hasn't reached the right audience in the west yet. I doubt it ever will. The people who read it in Japan, for the most part, wouldn't be considered manga/anime fans... just smart.

I wish I'd learned better composition in college -_-

(there, there, your comp is just fine) (who am I to talk, right?)

Wow, that bit about female fans was pretty surprising. But I'm really glad that Monster doesn't have the typical Japanese wife and schoolgirl...both are so hideously boring (honeslty, if deducing from anime alone, one would think that all Japanese wives did was chop lettuce in their aprons) and stereotyped. Eva was a wonderful change, with her drunkeness and stalker-y-ness.

[darkdragon1031]

i think its a hit or miss with a lot of people. this series does require a high level of patience and is probably a little hard to follow. I dont; believe its under rated, but it doesn;t seem to be that popular.

[combat kitten]

the series started good i guess but... honestly, Johan is no Dr. Lector.
So.. its getting alittle silly how Tenma still cant catch him ^^;
I started to feel he is incompetent >.>

[mantidor]

Originally Posted by combat kitten

the series started good i guess but... honestly, Johan is no Dr. Lector.

With this I agree, because Johan is way beyond Lecter. It seems you havent been watching the same series Ive been watching if you think Johan is easy to catch.

I dont know if the term underrated can be applied to the series, but I really think it deserves more recognition.