Unlike the many mainstream titles available in the anime market, there are many hidden gems which publishers aren’t so likely to pick up either because they are older titles or otherwise wouldn’t have a mass market appeal. Several times these last few years, Australian anime publisher Siren Visual have screamed “Be Damned!” with that idea and licensed some very niche but nevertheless highly enjoyable series. From Dennou Coil and Usagi Drop to even some of their more mainstream acquisitions such as Tiger & Bunny, many of their releases have scored well on this site, and I would like to think have been very well received by the Australian anime community.
While Siren Visual have been known to take some risks with their niche licenses, a majority of their releases have been no longer than 26-episodes, with many of the really niche acquisitions being no more than 13 episodes. With them only publishing a couple of anime titles a month, I could imagine that the risk associated with acquiring the rights to a longer series and having it fail in the market would be greater. Fortunately for Siren Visual these last five months, five volumes and 74-episodes have been fully worth it in my mind, with the anime adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s Monster potentially being the publishers ultimate license to date.
Monster follows a highly acclaimed neurosurgeon Dr. Kenzo Tenma who works at a leading German hospital and is being groomed to become its next chief of surgery. Due to events that arise which lead him to question the value of a human life, he opts to operate on and eventually save the life of a young wounded boy named John Liebert instead of operating on the city mayor (A major donor to the hospital who passes away). After losing his employers respect, wife-to-be and any prospect of any promotion because of this decision, the head of the hospital and two other staff members are found murdered which result in Dr. Tenma being promoted to Chief of Surgery.
Nine years later a series of subsequent murders leads Dr. Tenma to uncover that his former patient John Liebert was responsible for them – but a detective and the police force suspect that he is involved somehow. Feeling responsible for letting a future mass murderer away with his life, he begins to track down Liebert, which leads him into a series of darker events. This is pretty much what I wrote in my original review of Volume 1 and have been conflicted on if I should elaborate much further on the plot. Ultimately I have decided that I have too much respect for the events that take place to spoil any more of it. Every episode is rewarding, and is up there with one of the best plots I have had the opportunity to watch in my time reviewing anime. It is no wonder that HBO are looking to commission a live-action television series based on Naoki Urasawa’s previous works.
Monster was produced back in the day where anime (and most other films for that matter) were produced at a 4:3 aspect ratio and before every second anime series were competing with each other for dominance over the prettiest visuals. Despite that, the visual quality is very strong and suits the darker tones presented across the series. Everything from the character and environment designs to animation were of a strong standard and I have no complaints on the matter.
This is complemented by a solid soundtrack despite dull opening/ending themes and good voice acting. While Siren Visual is the only company that currently holds the rights to Monster in the Western Market, the original North American licensor Viz Media had commissioned an English dub for the series which was included in this compilation alongside the original Japanese dub. Both are strong dubs, and should not disappoint irrespective of your personal preference.
While it is hardly something that would stop you from buying this series, Siren Visual have not included any additional content in any volumes of Monster. The company have hinted they are looking into doing a box set at a later date, so perhaps they might do a special hardcover box or something along those lines that might be made available cheap to early adopters.
As I said at the beginning of this review, Monster is what could be considered the “Ultimate” license for Siren Visual, and out of all their acquisitions to date it has stood out the most. While the series can progress slowly at times and may not hold the attention of a casual audience for more than a couple of episodes, it certainly comes across as a ‘thinking persons’ anime which is worth multiple viewing to fully appreciate every aspect of its plot. Monster is one of the titles I could happily recommend someone consider adding to their anime collection, and for 74-episodes of consistent quality it deserves one of the first coveted A+ grades on The Otaku’s Study.
