Monster, Volume 1: Herr Doktor Tenma

[I'm going to include a full synopsis for this volume, but not for any of the others. However, my original post on my blog includes synopses for every single volume I read. They have major spoilers, so only read them if that doesn't bother you.]

Dr. Tenma's life is going fairly well, until he gets frustrated with being used for the hospital director's benefit and chooses to operate on a little boy rather than on the mayor, who was brought in later but would have been a more politically advantageous patient. He is then demoted and dumped by the director's daughter, after which the director and several of his cronies turn up poisoned. Nine years later (1995), Tenma is head of surgery and saves the life of a lock picker. Lunge, the show more detective in charge of the case involving the lock picker, still suspects Tenma of those poisonings. Then Tenma learns the truth: Johan, the boy he saved, killed those doctors and paved the way for Tenma's career advancement.

The story's setup is nice and clear: an idealistic doctor tries to do good things and keep himself apart from political games and ends up saving the life of a monster. The series' “monster,” a little boy, is on the loose, his twin sister is missing, and Tenma is suspected of having killed several people for his own gain.

I like Urasawa's artwork – clean lines and character designs that are more than just “stock face with different hair and clothes.” I also like the setup, although it's hard to believe that a little kid managed to kill multiple grownups like a pro.

(Original review posted on A Library Girl's Familiar Diversions.) show less

Sprawling mass murder mystery by a master Japanese mangaka. The real brilliance here is how Urasawa maintains the edge-of-your-seat tension over 18 collections (years of serialized cliffhanger manga), when so many others max out early on and have to keep topping themselves, unavoidably deteriorating into shark jumping and worse. The core idea is completely chilling and Urusawa keeps the horror alive and subtle right up til the end. One of the great mangas.

As a straight mystery manga, it had a solid beginning. I could get into Dr. Tenma's idealism and how people took advantage of him. As a setup, it allowed me to relax into the story, but little besides a string of murders at the end occurred, helping him rise to a real position of power in the hospital. It was kind of slow, but the pace is deliberate and character focused.

Why I am reading it is because I heard this was one of the best sociopathic murder stories ever written. Better than Death Note, even, and that's pretty high praise. So, we'll see.

Dr. Tenma risks his career to save the life of a little boy. It reaffirms his belief in the fact that patients lives come first. Unfortunately the life he saves leads to the death of many. The first in the series this novel is all set up. We meet the main characters and discover how everyone got where they are. This series already looks to be extremely interesting.

Dr. Tenma risks his career to save the life of a little boy. It reaffirms his belief in the fact that patients lives come first. Unfortunately the life he saves leads to the death of many. The first in the series this novel is all set up. We meet the main characters and discover how everyone got where they are. This series already looks to be extremely interesting.

My favorite anime. This is the manga that started it all! :) Why review genius work when you can just read it for yourself and properly see it as intended? It really is a superior manga. Strongly recommend this to anyone that needs a fantastic original horror story that is heavy in realism and isn't wanting to focus on paranormal/supernatural tones. This series does a phenomenal job at introducing the characters organically and fleshes them/their journey throughout the story.
I also strongly suggest and recommend the anime! Whether you read the manga first and then watch, or watch first and then read the manga! (I watched the anime first in High School and then checked out the manga afterward! They are fairly close to each other.)

Dr. Tenma risks his career to save the life of a little boy. It reaffirms his belief in the fact that patients lives come first. Unfortunately the life he saves leads to the death of many. The first in the series this novel is all set up. We meet the main characters and discover how everyone got where they are. This series already looks to be extremely interesting.