Monster (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa. It was published by Shogakukan in its manga magazine Big Comic Original between December 1994 and December 2001, with its chapters collected in 18 volumes. The story follows Kenzo Tenma, a Japanese neurosurgeon in Düsseldorf, Germany, whose life unravels after encountering Johan Liebert, a former patient. Johan is a sociopathic serial killer that murders and manipulates others to murder anyone who sees his face—enforcing absolute anonymity to prove his nihilistic philosophy.
Urasawa later wrote and illustrated the novel Another Monster, a story detailing the events of the manga from an investigative reporter's point of view, which was published in 2002. The manga was adapted by Madhouse into a 74-episode anime television series, which aired on Nippon Television from April 2004 to September 2005. The manga and anime were both licensed by Viz Media for English releases in North America, and the anime was broadcast on several television channels. Siren Visual licensed the anime in Australia.
Monster was Urasawa's first work to receive international acclaim and success. It has over 20 million copies in circulation and has won several awards, including the third Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize and the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award. The anime series adaptation is considered to be one of the best anime series of all time.
Plot
Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a highly skilled Japanese neurosurgeon working at Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf, West Germany. Though professionally accomplished and engaged to Eva Heinemann, the hospital director's daughter, he becomes disillusioned with the institution's practice of prioritizing politically influential patients over those in dire need. This ethical dilemma culminates when fraternal twins Johan and Anna Liebert are admitted after a massacre, with Johan requiring emergency surgery for a gunshot wound to the head. When the mayor arrives shortly after, also in critical condition, Tenma disregards orders and operates on Johan. Though the boy survives, the mayor dies, and Tenma faces severe repercussions—his career stalls, his engagement ends, and he is ostracized by his colleagues. Soon after, Director Heinemann and several doctors who opposed Tenma are murdered, and the twins disappear. Though Tenma is suspected, no evidence links him to the crimes, leaving him to confront the consequences of his choice.
Years later, Tenma has regained his standing as Chief of Surgery. His life is upended when he treats Adolf Junkers, a criminal who cryptically warns of a "monster". Visiting Junkers later, Tenma finds the guard dead and the patient missing. Tracking him to a construction site, he witnesses Junkers held at gunpoint by Johan, now a young man. Despite Tenma's pleas, Johan executes Junkers, then coldly assures Tenma he would never harm the man who saved him. Stunned, Tenma realizes his act of mercy has unleashed a remorseless killer.
Now a suspect in a string of murders, Tenma draws the attention of the BKA Inspector Heinrich Lunge, who doggedly pursues him as the prime culprit. Determined to expose Johan, Tenma seeks out Anna, now living as Nina Fortner with an adoptive family in Heidelberg. Though she appears to have moved on, she suffers from recurring nightmares. On her 20th birthday, Tenma warns her of Johan's return, but he fails to prevent Johan from murdering her adoptive parents, re-traumatizing her.
Tenma's investigation reveals Johan's origins in a clandestine East German eugenics project at Kinderheim 511, an orphanage that brainwashed children using psychological manipulation and twisted literature. The experiments molded Johan into a calculating killer, his crimes part of a larger scheme to spread chaos. As Tenma uncovers more victims—former Kinderheim inmates, investigators, and civilians—he resolves to stop Johan, despite grappling with the moral implications of killing.
His pursuit spans Germany and, eventually, Czechoslovakia, unravelling a labyrinth of conspiracies while evading authorities and Johan's followers. Each revelation strengthens his conviction to end the cycle of violence, even as the psychological toll mounts. Tenma's journey becomes one of redemption, pitting him against the very evil he once saved, as he strives to atone for his past and halt the devastation Johan has wrought.
Production Urasawa revealed that he pitched the idea of a manga concerning the medical field around 1986, but could tell his editor did not enjoy the idea. Therefore, he jokingly proposed a story about women's judo, and that lead to his first solo work Yawara! (1986–1993).
The original idea for Monster came from the 1960s American television series The Fugitive, which had a strong impact on Urasawa when he saw it at the age of eight. In the story, a doctor is wrongfully convicted of murder, but escapes and searches for the real killer while on the run from the police. He said that his editor was adamant that the series would not do well, and tried to stop him from writing it.
The Japanese medical industry was strongly influenced by the professional practices in Germany, and so it seemed natural to the author to set Monster in Germany. Post-war Germany was chosen so that the neo-Nazi movement could be included in the story. When the semi-monthly Monster began publication at the end of 1994, Urasawa was already writing Happy! weekly and continued to serialize both at the same time. When Happy! ended in 1999, he began the weekly 20th Century Boys. Writing both Monster and 20th Century Boys at the same time caused him to be briefly hospitalized for exhaustion.
Media Manga
Written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, Monster was serialized in Shogakukan's manga magazine Big Comic Original from December 1994 to 20 December 2001. Shogakukan collected its 162 chapters into 18 volumes released from 30 June 1995 to 28 February 2002. Takashi Nagasaki is credited as "co-producer" of the manga's story. Monster received a nine-volume re-release between 30 January and 29 August 2008.
Monster was licensed in North America by Viz Media, which published all 18 volumes between 21 February 2006 and 16 December 2008. They released the version of the series, titled Monster: The Perfect Edition, between 15 July 2014 and 19 July 2016.
Anime
The manga series was adapted into an anime by Madhouse, which aired between 7 April 2004 and 28 September 2005 on Nippon TV. Directed by Masayuki Kojima and written by Tatsuhiko Urahata, it features original character designs by long-time Studio Ghibli animator Kitarō Kōsaka, which were adapted for the anime by Shigeru Fujita. The music was composed by Kuniaki Haishima, including the opening theme "Grain".
David Sylvian was commissioned to write the first ending theme, "For the Love of Life", on which he collaborated with Haishima. In the cover notes to the official soundtrack he said, "I was attracted to the Monster material by the moral dilemma faced by its central character. The calm surface of the music giving way to darker undercurrents, signifying the conscience of the lead protagonist and the themes of morality, fate, resignation, and free will." It was used for the first 32 episodes. The second ending theme, "Make It Home" by Fujiko Hemming, was used for the remaining 42 episodes. It is the only song Hemming sung in her career.
The credit sequence features illustrations from the fictional book Obluda, Která Nemá Své Jméno (The Monster Who Didn't Have A Name) by Emil Scherbe, which was published by Shogakukan on 30 September 2008.
An English dub of Monster was produced by Salami Studios for Viz Media, which owned the North American license to the anime. The show aired on Syfy's Ani-Mondays with two episodes back-to-back each Monday night at 11:00 pm EST, beginning 12 October 2009, as well as on its sister network Chiller. A DVD box set of the series, containing the first 15 episodes was released 8 December 2009. However, due to low sales of the first box set, Viz decided not to release the remaining episodes on DVD and later dropped the license. Monster began airing on Canada's Super Channel on 15 March 2010, and on the Funimation Channel on 3 April 2010 on weekends at 12:30 am. The series was also available digitally from several internet retailers. Siren Visual licensed the series for Australia in 2013, and released it in five DVD volumes beginning in November 2013.
Netflix began streaming the series internationally on 1 January 2023, premiering the first 30 episodes; the entire 74 episodes were made available for the following month. In August 2025, Discotek Media announced that it had licensed the series and would release it on Blu-ray in 2026.
Live-action adaptations In 2005, it was announced that New Line Cinema acquired the rights for an American live-action film adaptation of Monster. Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson, known for A History of Violence, was hired to write the screenplay. No new information on the film has been released since.
In 2013, it was revealed that Guillermo del Toro and American premium television network HBO were collaborating on a pilot for a live-action TV series based on Monster. Co-executive producer Stephen Thompson, known for Doctor Who and Sherlock, was announced to be writing the pilot, while del Toro was to direct and serve as executive producer alongside Don Murphy and Susan Montford. In 2015, del Toro told Latino-Review that HBO had passed on the project and that they were in the process of pitching to other studios.
Reception Manga Monster has been critically acclaimed. It won an Excellence Prize in the Manga Division at the first Japan Media Arts Festival in 1997 and the Grand Prize of the third Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize in 1999. It also won the 46th Shogakukan Manga Award in the General category in 2001 and the Best Manga Series at the Lucca Comics Awards in 2004. The Young Adult Library Services Association placed Monster on their 2007 "Great Graphic Novels for Teens" list. Viz Media's English release was nominated several times for Eisner Awards, twice in the category Best U.S. Edition of International Material – Japan (2007 and 2009) and three times in Best Continuing Series (2007, 2008, 2009). In 2009, when Oricon conducted a poll asking which manga series Japanese audiences wanted to see adapted into live-action, Monster came in fifth. At the 2009 Industry Awards held by the Society for the Promotion of Japanese Animation, the organizers of Anime Expo, Monster won the award for Best Drama Manga. The Monster manga has had over 20 million copies in circulation.