Beautiful and thoughtful but needlessly long
This show is one of the most climactic anime I have seen. The fact that it takes place in Germany and Czech Republic is impressive, especially that the scenery in Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Prague is based on real places and definitely recognisable. Czechoslovakia, having had one of the most amoral and destructive regimes of the Soviet block (due to the fact, that their communist leaders were democratically chosen), is a perfect place to accommodate the terrible themes of the show, as is Eastern Germany.
Except for one episode where people in a car are supposed to speak Czech (which is just Czech text horribly read by a clearly Japanese person), all the writing and names are realistic. The amount of effort that was put into making this show feel right is amazing.
The characters are very well developed. There is no deus ex machina to push the story along. The characters strive to deal with situations in believable ways and even though its often difficult for the viewer to emphasise with them, their actions are understandable. I write this because many anime fall into the trap of character development leading to drastic changes in behaviour, morality or beliefs which are frankly unrealistic. Monster feels very realistic.
The animation is extremely well done. The real scenery, the face expressions (or lack of them) are drawn perfectly. There is no pointless fanservice or gore.
The story is brilliantly written, despite many people finding plot holes and complaining about the ending. There are several threads that explain the nuances of the show; I suggest reading them before pointing out, that something makes no sense.
The one complaint I have about this show is it's length. I would not mind 74 episodes if all of them added something to the story, but this is not the case. Even though all episodes are connected to the main theme, at least a third of them is not necessary to advance the plot. This is not to say they weren't interesting, however watching three or four episodes of a seemingly random story, before finding the small connection to the main characters was frustrating.
I definitely recommend this show for anyone who is not looking for action. It's beauty and thoughtfulness is hard to find elsewhere.
Except for one episode where people in a car are supposed to speak Czech (which is just Czech text horribly read by a clearly Japanese person), all the writing and names are realistic. The amount of effort that was put into making this show feel right is amazing.
The characters are very well developed. There is no deus ex machina to push the story along. The characters strive to deal with situations in believable ways and even though its often difficult for the viewer to emphasise with them, their actions are understandable. I write this because many anime fall into the trap of character development leading to drastic changes in behaviour, morality or beliefs which are frankly unrealistic. Monster feels very realistic.
The animation is extremely well done. The real scenery, the face expressions (or lack of them) are drawn perfectly. There is no pointless fanservice or gore.
The story is brilliantly written, despite many people finding plot holes and complaining about the ending. There are several threads that explain the nuances of the show; I suggest reading them before pointing out, that something makes no sense.
The one complaint I have about this show is it's length. I would not mind 74 episodes if all of them added something to the story, but this is not the case. Even though all episodes are connected to the main theme, at least a third of them is not necessary to advance the plot. This is not to say they weren't interesting, however watching three or four episodes of a seemingly random story, before finding the small connection to the main characters was frustrating.
I definitely recommend this show for anyone who is not looking for action. It's beauty and thoughtfulness is hard to find elsewhere.
- Zubacz
- 15. Juni 2014