Written by Otaku Apologist
Monster, based on Naoki Urasawa’s award-winning manga, is one of my favorite anime shows in recent years, but I also hate it. I watched all 74 episodes available on Netflix in several night-long binges. And after concluding my binge, I found myself face-palming. It wasn’t just a casual face-palm, but a crying fit kind of facepalm. I absolutely understand what Urasawa was aiming for, it’s blatantly obvious, and I have to strongly disagree with him.
The dilemma is whether the genius neurosurgeon, doctor Kenzo Tenma, can hold on to his virtue while battered by the harsh reality of life. Will he commit murder, to save lives? Will he stoop to the level of someone who weighs the value of human life as a mathematical calculation? Will the antagonist seduce him into abandoning his doctor’s oath?
The Monster manga was released between 1994 and 2001. The anime was made by Madhouse, directed by Masayuki Kojima, aired between 2004-2005.
Spoilers beyond this point. If you’re interested, go watch this classic anime now and come back to this post later, if you want to add your own commentary.
The story was leading up to a certain conclusion. This conclusion is denied. And it’s denied with a cheap cop-out. Speaking from a moral standpoint, it’s also philosophically the wrong conclusion to arrive at.
Tenma gets multiple chances throughout the show to do the necessary act. It’s eventually carried out by someone else. And after that’s done, he saves the antagonist again. He holds on to his principles to the very bloody end, which was preceded by countless innocent people dying because of his indecisiveness.
Tenma was the man with the knowledge and the ability, positioned perfectly to carry out his task, for the good of humanity, and he pussies out. Not just once or twice. He doesn’t learn. He even gets a sniper rifle, trains to shoot. Has several days to oogle at the villain, and he doesn’t take the goddamn shot.
Just take the fucking shot. Suffer a little for the sake of others, you selfish fuck.
He cared more about his personal feelings than doing what needed to be done. This is the painful difference between the liberals and the conservatives. A conservative doesn’t love unconditionally. You have clear cutoff points. Cross a red line, you’re done. You’re just done. Because you understand that the larger social context is more important than your petty little feelings. If it befalls on you to do something painful, for the continuity of your family and community, you do it.
The writer could not resolve the question he wrestled with. It’s obviously the question of, if you would’ve shot Hitler, would you have done it? What if you could take him out when he was a kid? The villain actually grows up into a refined young mass murderer, when he could’ve been destroyed early on, when he was weak. The story isn’t stubtle at all, it takes place in the 1990s Germany.
That’s why another person takes the necessary shot. Because pussies have to be carried, they won’t carry themselves. A real man studies the world and its history and positions themselves to take out bad guys. Tenma did the study, but pussied out. Seems even the creators were honest enough that his pathetic behavior isn’t rewarded. He stays single.
I watched another movie just recently, Eye in the Sky, that wrestles with this same philosophical dilemma. It featured the late Alan Rickman, so I had to watch it. There, we see the entire decision-making system, the soldiers who press the button that launches missiles into the asses of terrorists, we see the military leaders, lawyers, experts and politicians. This isn’t a spoiler, because the conclusion is obvious from the start. They will take the shot. The only question is how much collateral damage is acceptable. They run the math.
The final words of Alan Rickman in this movie were absolutely chilling. I cried wildly when he uttered his lines. In the context that is laid out during the duration of the movie, they’re the saddest, most sobering words to end the argument with. For me, it was not the firing of the missile, it’s what he says that was the climax of the movie. Rest in peace, man.
So, there you go. Two incredible media recommendations in one article. Here’s a third one, it’s a turn-based strategy game that takes inspiration from the legendary X-Com series. Read our official review of Need for Sin.
