Monster (モンスター Monsutā) sometimes referred to as "Naoki Urasawa's Monster" is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was published by Shogakukan in their Big Comic Original magazine between 1994 and 2001, with the chapters collected and reprinted into 18 tankōbon volumes.
Plot: 10/10
When a Doctor makes the highly controversial decision to save a boy's life over the mayor's, it leads to the loss of almost everything he holds dear. His fiance, his career, his social standing. The only thing he keeps is his own feeling of self worth, knowing that he did the right thing in saving the boy, who came in first. Yet even that is threatened when he begins to learn that nothing is as it originally appeared. A trail of bloodshed pointing to the seemingly innocent child leaves him questioning even his beliefs. Whether, in the end, all lives are ever truly equal.
As you can see from the synopsis above, Monster has a original, intriquing plot that sucks you straight in from the first chapter and never let's you go. However, mind you, this isn't some Shonen shluck (as much as I love those too), Monster never tries to capture the viewer with explosions or fanservice. Instead, it captures the viewer with the story's high tension, as well as emotional moments.
Some people say that the series beggins to drabble after Vol. 9. I personally think that the serie's is fresh and crisp from first page to the last. And speaking of the last page, several people say to have found the ending dissapointing, however I think that the ending gave the perfect emotional ending I was hoping for. It really shines off the more complex moral's of the story. Johan really isn't important, or evil, he's just an ordinary person who was push over due to certian events. The series true message is that a monster just as evil, or even moreso, than Johan's hides within us all, and with the right push, we could become just as bad as him. However, we still have a choice to make in the choice.
Art: 8/10
The art wasn't very special or even that memorable but it didn't really need to be. It served the story and served it well. The entire point of a manga is to tell a story, and the art did just that. It never hindered the story, or confused the reader, but it never amazed them either. It just did what is was meant to do. You can't really fault something for doing what it was meant to do, so I guess that gives it a 8/10.
Characters: 10/10
This I am sure deserved this grade. Monster brings a wide variety of characters that each are important to the story in their own way. No matter the screen time, none of the characters are two-dimensional. There is a chapter that introdduces two new characters that never appear again in the series. One of them is a Lawyer and the other is a Seceretary (readers of the series will know who I'm talking about.) Both of these characters are fully developed and go through the changes. Sure, they couldn't be the main character, but they are still relatable.
The main character, Tenma, is slightly a weak link, as I said early in the plot section how it show that all the characters could become monsters, well unlike the other characters this concept is barely explored in Tenma's character. In fact, I can only think of one instance where this is happens. Tenma's strongest feature is his interactions with other characters. The story decides to take much more focus on how other character's change through there interactions with Tenma, then it focuses on how Tenma channges through his interactions with others.
Overall: 9.25/10
Monster is a great manga, if not the best, definitely one of them. Yes, it has flaws but everything does. This is definitely a must-read.
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