Monster (manga)
In December 1994, a manga titled Monster began serialization in Shogakukan's Big Comic Original magazine. The story centers on Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese neurosurgeon working at the Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Tenma faces a critical ethical dilemma when two patients arrive after a massacre: a young boy named Johan Liebert and the city mayor. Despite hospital orders to prioritize the politically powerful mayor, Tenma operates on Johan instead. The mayor dies during surgery while Johan survives. This single decision unravels Tenma's life, ending his engagement to Eva Heinemann and causing him to be ostracized by his colleagues. Years later, Tenma discovers that the boy he saved has become a sociopathic serial killer who murders anyone who sees his face.
Johan Liebert now appears as a young man holding Adolf Junkers at gunpoint at a construction site. He executes Junkers despite Tenma's pleas for mercy. Tenma realizes his act of saving Johan years ago unleashed a remorseless killer upon the world. Inspector Lunge from the BKA begins pursuing Tenma as the prime suspect in a string of murders across Germany. Tenma must track down Anna Liebert, who is living under the name Nina Fortner with an adoptive family. She suffers from recurring nightmares about her past at the 511 Kinderheim orphanage. Johan returns on Anna's birthday and murders her adoptive parents, re-traumatizing her. The investigation reveals Johan was molded into a calculating killer through psychological manipulation and twisted literature at the East German eugenics project. Tenma's pursuit spans Germany and beyond as he evades authorities while trying to stop Johan's larger scheme to spread chaos.
Studio Madhouse adapted the manga into a seventy-four episode anime television series that aired on Nippon TV between April 2004 and September 2005. Director Masayuki Kojima oversaw production while writer Tatsuhiko Urahata handled scripts. Original character designs came from long-time Studio Ghibli animator Kitarō Kōsaka before Shigeru Fujita adapted them for animation. Composer Kuniaki Haishima created the musical score including the opening theme Grain. David Sylvian wrote the first ending theme For the Love of Life which played during the first thirty-two episodes. He collaborated with Haishima on this track and noted in cover notes how the music signified themes of morality fate resignation and free will. Fujiko Hemming sang the second ending theme Make It Home for the remaining forty-two episodes. This song marked the only time she ever performed vocals in her career.
Viz Media licensed Monster for English releases in North America publishing all eighteen volumes between February 2006 and December 2008. They later released a version titled Monster: The Perfect Edition from July 2014 to July 2016. An English dub produced by Salami Studios aired on Syfy's Ani-Mondays starting the 12th of October 2009 at eleven pm EST. DVD box sets containing the first fifteen episodes were released on the 8th of December 2009 but low sales caused Viz to drop the license. The series began airing on Canada's Super Channel on the 15th of March 2010 and on the Funimation Channel on the 3rd of April 2010. Siren Visual licensed the anime for Australia in 2013 releasing it in five DVD volumes beginning that November. Netflix started streaming the series internationally on the 1st of January 2023 making all seventy-four episodes available by February of that year. Discotek Media announced in August 2025 they had licensed the series for Blu-ray release in 2026.
Monster won an Excellence Prize in the Manga Division at the first Japan Media Arts Festival held in 1997. It received the Grand Prize of the third Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999. The manga also won the forty-sixth Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category during 2001. Critics praised the work extensively with Junot Díaz calling Urasawa a national treasure in his review for Time magazine. Carl Kimlinger from Anime News Network described Urasawa as a master of suspense who maintained a delicate balance between deliberate misinformation and explicit danger. He noted the art was invisible perfection never showy or superfluous while characters wore their personalities on their faces. The Young Adult Library Services Association placed Monster on their 2007 Great Graphic Novels for Teens list. At the 2009 Industry Awards organized by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, Monster won Best Drama Manga. The manga has sold over twenty million copies making it one of the best-selling series of all time.
New Line Cinema acquired rights to adapt Monster into an American live-action film in 2005. Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson wrote the screenplay but no further information emerged about the project. Guillermo del Toro collaborated with HBO on a pilot for a live-action television series starting in 2013. Stephen Thompson co-executive producer of Doctor Who and Sherlock wrote the pilot script while del Toro planned to direct and serve as executive producer alongside Don Murphy and Susan Montford. Del Toro told Latino-Review in 2015 that HBO had passed on the project. They were then pitching to other studios without success. These attempts to bring the story to screens ultimately failed despite high-profile creative involvement.
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Common questions
When did the Monster manga begin serialization?
The Monster manga began serialization in December 1994 within Shogakukan's Big Comic Original magazine. This timeline marks the start of the story centering on neurosurgeon Kenzo Tenma.
Who created the Monster anime adaptation and when did it air?
Studio Madhouse adapted the series into a seventy-four episode anime television series that aired between April 2004 and September 2005. Director Masayuki Kojima oversaw production while writer Tatsuhiko Urahata handled scripts for the broadcast.
What awards did the Monster manga win during its publication run?
Monster won an Excellence Prize at the first Japan Media Arts Festival held in 1997 and received the Grand Prize of the third Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999. The work also secured the forty-sixth Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category during 2001 and Best Drama Manga at the 2009 Industry Awards organized by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation.
How many copies has the Monster manga sold worldwide?
The Monster manga has sold over twenty million copies making it one of the best-selling series of all time. These sales figures reflect the critical acclaim and popularity achieved across multiple decades since its inception.
Why did the live-action film adaptation of Monster fail to materialize?
New Line Cinema acquired rights to adapt Monster into an American live-action film in 2005 but no further information emerged about the project after screenwriter Josh Olson wrote the screenplay. Guillermo del Toro later collaborated with HBO on a pilot starting in 2013 that was ultimately passed on by the network despite high-profile creative involvement.