| | |  | VIZ SIGNATURE | Home » » » Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Vol. 1 | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Brilliant doctor Kenzo Tenma risks his reputation and promising career to save the life of a critically wounded young boy. Unbeknownst to him, this child is destined for a terrible fate. Conspiracies, serial murders, and a scathing depiction of the underbelly of hospital politics are all masterfully woven together in this compelling manga thriller. | | | Product Details: | | | Author:
| Naoki Urasawa | | Paperback:
| 224 pages | | Publisher:
| VIZ Media LLC | | Publication Date:
| February 21, 2006 | | Language:
| English | | ISBN:
| 1591166411 | | Product Length:
| 7.54 inches | | Product Width:
| 5.06 inches | | Product Height:
| 0.73 inches | | Product Weight:
| 0.46 pounds | | Package Length:
| 7.4 inches | | Package Width:
| 5.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 0.8 inches | | Package Weight:
| 0.4 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 14 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 14 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
24 of 24 found the following review helpful:
You don't need talons and big teeth to be a true Monster.Mar 08, 2006
By Courtland J. Carpenter
Monster is not your typical manga story. Japanese manga rarely conveys a more Western backdrop for a story theme this well. The series takes place in Europe, mostly in Germany or it's sister countries. It has some historical references, but it's not really a historical tale either. It is really about the close relationship between good and evil, how difficult it can be to see the line drawn between them.
Dr. Tenma is a young doctor who appears to have it all. He is engaged to the hospital administrators daughter, in line for the job of head surgeon, and gifted with great talent. He is however, a master surgeon with a conscience. When his rich benefactors attempt to use him twice in as many days, to abandon a needy patient, only to treat someone of wealth and power, he balks. He cannot stomach having his skills used to save only who can pay the most. He believes a doctor is more than that. as might be expected, the administrator of the hospital, and his pampered, bitchy daughter, no longer support him when the person he fails to treat dies. Even the boy he just saved from the gunshot wound to the head, has his treatment handed over to another inferior doctor.
Tenma's professional career is nearly over before it begins. Something happens to change that, and it casts a cloud of suspicion over the doctor. The administrator, plus some other powerful doctors die suddenly, and Temna is given the post as head surgeon anyway. Nine years later while attempting another kind act he finds out why.
I won't throw in any spoilers here, and many may have guessed what happened at this point reading the story, but you won't have guessed all the detail. You will ask questions that come behind all this, and in the asking is the essence of the story. What is interesting, is we ask ourself with those questions, over, and over throughout the series. For instance what if the doctor had simply allowed himself to be manipulated by the heartless administration? Does the end really justify the means? In the long run he may have saved many. Was it the right thing to do what he did, and if so why when the result was so bad?
Many of us will feel the same resolve to do what the doctor is planning, but can he really do it in the end? What happens to the others if he cannot, and what happens to him if he does? There is rarely a more righteously good character created in any story as Dr. Tenma. Yet he is as complex a character as you'll ever likely see in a manga.
If you are looking for comedy, go elsewhere, there's no fan service, but occasionally some adult situations. If you don't like to think, go elsewhere. This manga is often about questions, those that have only personal answers. They do not force feed anyone baby food here. This is a crisp, well paced, and interesting drama / thriller. My understanding is that a movie company, has purchased the story rights recently to turn this into a motion picture. I'm not sure they have the time to convey everything of relevance in a single movie. Reading this manga is probably the best way to experience this, or perhaps the 74 episode anime series.
3 of 3 found the following review helpful:
EXCELLENTJul 10, 2006
By Francescoli Gabriel
"Gabriel Francescoli"
I've read both volume 1 and 2 of Urasawa's Monster and find it excellent. Even if you are not a fan of manga, and you find a little odd reading "backwards", these books worth it.
Urasawa's art is (and is not, at the same time) the typical japanese manga art. Is good, clear and well paced. The story is interesting, intriguing and, even if you have the main elements of the story known from almost the beginning of volume 2, your "need" to go on and read the story, and to see how it develops until the end (and what will be the end) is great. An the "need" turns on to be more important while you turn the pages.
I don't know exactly how many volumes it will take to get to the end, but you can count on me to faithfully be there to read it. And I think if you give it a try you will surely be there too.
4 of 5 found the following review helpful:
MonsterDec 28, 2006
By Ligia
Unbelievable! You will be engrossed in the world created by Naoki Urasawa. The story is superb and the character development couldn't be more detailed. The pychoanalysis of each player is unmatched in other manga. You can't get better than this. The content is intelligent and accurate. The author did his homework on psychology, neurology, surgical procedures and the history of Germany around the time of the fall of the Berlin Wall. It's impressive. Not much on Japanese culture but that's also interesting. You have a Japanese protagonist and you have German culture. Morality and how far you can push someone until they loose their humanity is explored. The antagonist is facinating. In some novels he doesn't even make an appearance yet you feel his presence throght the elaborate descriptions of his character from the mouth of others. Nicely done. The action is non-stop, especially in volume four. The violence is very real and it will get to you. But you won't loose hope because the main character is so amazing.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
ExcellentJan 02, 2012
By Stephen R.
Monster is a stupendous diversion from the manga mainstream. It's a world of stark realities and human failings, where our tenuous grip on what is and what is not blurs until indistinctness. And even as this story explores some of the darker corners of our psyches, it also evokes tremendous moments of poignancy. This is more than a manga lover's story. Anyone who can appreciate a terrific story will empathize with Dr. Tenma on his journey to combat a real monster.
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
A Masterpiece in Manga, a tale of darkness and redemption!Dec 01, 2011
By Newton Rocha
"Monster" is a great achievement and a fantastic endeavor in manga. The story is great, sprawling through many years and full of small contained side stories within a investigative tale into the soul of a serial killer. The characters are well rounded, as deep as in novels, their personalities distinct and the narrative keeps secrets within secrets, that makes you keep on reading until the last page of its many volumes. It's a fantastic tale, full of philosophical insights of what is this thing we call "human nature" and the role of memories and emotions in giving one's life some kind of meaning in an indifferent universe. Fantastic!
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