Monster (Up to Ep 49)

A very engaging anime and it's still continuing. I guess it should be completed by this year since it's already at Ep 52 and the general word is that it should be done by Ep 78. Too bad the sub versions are only at Ep 49 so I'm still waiting for the rest to be out and downloading raws in the meantime.

The story is well-thought and very much organized. Things which appear to be totally unrelated would definitely have a meaning in the later stage. I'm very much into mystery and investigative plots so this goes down well for me. Unlike the usual animes set in Tokyo, this is set in Germany from 1986 onwards to 1997 or so (at least that's the year so far in Ep 49) and the story has moved on to Prague, Czech Republic where Tenma, Grimmer, Nina and Lunge are on the journey to find out the roots of Johan and Nina. I have a feeling that Johan and Nina are related to that guy who was in the Czechoslovia secret police and wrote that eerie story book about the nameless monster. Somehow, the storybook seems to be reflective of Johan's life and we'll see the connection soon since Tenma, Grimmer and Lunge are supposedly going to the Rose Mansion to find out more about that author.

Johan and Nina certainly look so similar to each other and I would never have noticed it if not for Johan impersonating as Nina and killing a number of people who would have spilled the beans about his past. Why is he so desperate to hide this and what is he trying to achieve? I do not believe the theory that Johan has split personalities and has no control over what he's doing. To me, he's definitely consicious of the things he's doing and he's always one step before Tenma to stop him from knowing more. Johan is intelligent enough to make everyone spin round and round so it's scary to know that someone like him is messing around with your life.

Maybe when I get to the end of the anime, I might consider getting the manga. Heard from people that the ending of the manga would be different from the anime. And the manga has only 18 volumes so it would be easier to get a complete set...