Monster

[Shilohan ninja]

Have you ever tried to help or maybe save someone you thought to be in need and ended up regretting it later on? Would you have still tried to help that person again the second time around, even if that person had killed and shattered the lives of hundreds, including those closest to you? Could you find it in yourself to show them kindness and forgiveness? Would you take revenge for what that individual did to you and your friends and loved ones? Would you make them pay? Could you live with yourself after the fact? Would you even know how to react? Would you feel anything?

Would you entrust the situation to God?

What is it that keeps you going, moving forward, living? What is your reason for being, your... purpose in life? What could you not live without? Who could you not live without?

I don't mean to get all deep and philosophical on you guys all of a sudden, just thoughts rolling around upstairs after finishing Naoki Urasawa's Monster on youtube and I thought it'd be interesting to hear some of your reactions and opinions. If you can, try and at least watch the first few episodes before answering, just for perspective's sake.



[NOTE: The anime in question (Naoki Urasawa's Monster) is not recommended for anyone under 17 as it gets rather violent and tends to be briefly graphic in several spots throughout the series. It is recommended that an adult preview the series before watching with younglings and viewer discretion is strongly advised.]

[Midori]

Moved this to the Anime board.

[Shilohan ninja]

I should also mention that the version I found on youtube is found by browsing the shows option (so you can watch full episodes without having to click the next video to see how each ends) and it is the english dub. I'm not sure where to find the japanese version, not that I'd be able to understand it, lol.

[Atria35]

I'm not sure where to find the japanese version, not that I'd be able to understand it, lol.

That's why they have subtitles! I believe they had it on Hulu. Still might. And people can buy the first 15 eps on dvd boxset.

You were definitely watching from the perspective of Tenma. He deals with a lot of moral issues in pursuing Johan.

While I can't recall any times when I've been 'bitten' by something like that, I could definitely feel his fall. I'm a trusting person, and that would devastate me. I honestly don't know if I would lend a hand to that person if they came to me a second time. I don't know where it would go from expressing God's love to enabling evil. And that's the catch- because of what Johan had done and the lives he'd taken or manipulated, I don't think that I would. Some of what he did was open revenge against those who had done his family harm- but so much of it was terrible slaughter.

If I did kill him myself, I know that I wouldn't be able to stop thinking about what would have happened had I let him go. But at the same time, if I did let him go and more people died because of me, I wouldn't be able to live with myself. Allowing other innocent people to die- that would put me in the deepest spiritual torture.

In any case, I watched Monster from a more psychological perspective- where did Johan's madness begin? Was it justified? Was he really insane, or just angry with the world?

And then you get into the connected issues- was he born that way? Did it come out when [spoiler]his mom had to make the choice between them?[/spoiler] Was it an outbreak of anger because of what they did to his sister, or jealousy because she got attention from it?

And what exactly as his relationship with his sister?

[rocklobster]

As I told Atria when we once discussed this movie, I don't think we are born anything, except sons and daughters of God. Still, this series brings up some excellent stuff, and I think Johann is one of the most awesome villains ever.

[Atria35]

And I think I had disagreed with Rocky, since in nature vs. nurture studies they have definitively proved that there are some personality traits that are definitively genetic, so I was wondering if it was possible that, due to [spoiler]the genetic breeding program, if the evil had been 'bred' into him. After all, he and his sister had been celebrated as the culmination of the program. Maybe there was something in his DNA that his sister didn't have, and he was the true culmination of the Nazi breeding program[/spoiler]