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Book Review: Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 9 by Naoki Urasawa

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Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 9

Author: Naoki Urasawa

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: July 19, 2016

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Horror/482 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Nina comes face to face with Johan, and yet she can’t bring herself to kill her twin. When Tenma finds her, she is about to shoot herself, blaming herself for what happened. The memories that Johan spoke of are hers, not his. Everything is her fault. Tenma stops her from pulling the trigger. Suddenly she realizes what Johan intends to do – he plans to kill himself but also to eliminate everyone who has any memory of him!

Detective Lunge arrives in the quiet town of Ruhenheim and begins to investigate, ending up in a small book store. Herr Grimmer also arrives in Ruhenheim. He hears what he thinks is a gunshot. Is that possible? Grimmer and Lunge run into each other, and Grimmer tells the detective that a terrible massacre is about to take place here.

After speaking with Nina, whom he has taken to the hospital, Tenma seeks out the son of Franz Bonaparta. He’s figured out what Bonaparta’s real name is and, with the son’s help, he learns how to find him.

And now it’s begun. All roads seem to lead to Ruhenheim, and everyone is gathering there, while the town finds itself in the throes of some terrible madness. People are scared, because people are dying but they don’t know why. Will Johan achieve his insane desire to kill himself and take everyone who ever knew him with him?

It’s been one wild ride but this story has finally reached an end. So many twists and turns. Such an incredible mind this Urasawa possesses! He’s kept us guessing about what’s going on all this time, and now it’s done. The final volume of Monster does not disappoint. And though most everything is explained, I still have questions. Even so, I do like the ending.  I am sorry to say good-bye to Tenma and Nina and Dieter. Even Detective Junge. Thank you for taking me along on such a wonderful journey. I must find the anime and watch that now.

Book Review: Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 7 by Naoki Urasawa

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Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 7   

Author: Naoki Urasawa

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 19, 2016

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Horror/416 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

As the news spreads that the serial killer long sought by the police, Kenzo Tenma, has been taken into custody, certain people listen with disbelief. Detective Suk is determined to go to Prague to speak with Tenma before he is extradited back to Germany, but runs into two other detectives, who inform him that his name has been cleared thanks to a journalist named Grimmer. Meanwhile, Detective Lunge, who is supposedly on vacation, is also in Prague, following various leads. He learns certain things which point away from Tenma’s guilt. Will he believe them? Or is he too obsessed with the idea that Johan is Tenma’s alter ego?

In the jail, Tenma is called upon to treat a fellow prisoner, due to the doctor being otherwise occupied. The prisoner knows who Tenma is and asks if he wants to escape with him, but Tenma declines. An attorney, son of an accused spy, is enlisted to aid in Tenma’s defense at the request of a number of people, including a group of his former patients who all believe in his innocence. He goes to see Tenma, who tells him everything, and decides to take his case.

After his own meeting with the attorney, Dr. Reichwein goes back to Eva and tells her she needs to cooperate with the lawyer in order to help Tenma. But she isn’t interested in helping him. She wants to see him suffer for the rest of his life for breaking up with her. She blames him for the way her life turned out, rather than blaming herself. Tenma receives a surprise visitor – Roberto, the assassin he shot the night of the fire. Roberto tells him he might kill Eva. Now Tenma has no choice but to escape in order to save her.

There is so much going on in this volume. The tension is rising, and it feels like we are close to the end, to the truth. So many burning questions. Will Eva change her mind and testify for Tenma, now that she realizes she actually saw Johan that night? How are we supposed to tell the difference between Johan and Nina, when he looks just like her when he’s in disguise? The secrets of the Rose Red Mansion are coming out.  The story with Eva and the detective was pretty interesting, I’ll have to admit, although I can’t stand the woman. Will Tenma’s escape lead to anything? What will Nina do? Guess we have to wait for the next volume to find out.

Book Review: Monster, Perfect Edition Vol 5 by Naoki Urasawa

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Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 5   

Author: Naoki Urasawa

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: July 21, 2015

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Horror/410 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer:  Julie Lynn Hayes

 

Tenma is hiding on top of a bookcase, rifle in hand, waiting for the moment when he can kill Johan, and end the life he never should have saved all those years ago. Dr. Reichwein has gone to see Herr Schuman, to warn him about Johan, fearful of what Tenma might do. But Schuman insists on going to the ceremony at the library anyway. Once they arrive, he tells Karl he has forgotten something and sends him home to retrieve it. Dr. Reichwein suddenly realizes where Tenma is and rushes out, but he can’t shake Dieter. And the persistent Detective Lunge, who still believes Tenma and Johan are the same person, heads to the library as well to talk to Herr Schuman.

Nina is shocked to learn that Lotte knows Johan and realizes she is a dead ringer for him. And what is this book that scared Johan so?  A Czech picture book about a monster with no name? Meanwhile Tenma has Johan in his sights. All he has to do is squeeze. So why can’t he? And who is this strange woman who has just set the library on fire?

Tenma receives a message, brought to him in the park on behalf of Herr Schuman by his son Karl. He says the mother of the twins is alive and living in Prague. A journalist named Grimmer is seeking information on the East German Kinderheim. He runs into Tenma on a train, and they become traveling companions. But when the authorities stop the train, he reveals his knowledge of Tenma’s identity and tells him to run. Afterward, Grimmer finds the former director of Kinderheim and learns, to his horror, that he has a number of young boys in his home. What is he doing, recreating experiments of the past? Can Grimmer stop him?

The more we know, the more I want to know, as these plots become more and more entwined.  I didn’t think Tenma would be able to shoot Johan, and yet I feel he has to die somehow. I think Nina can do it. Unless of course, there is more to her than meets the eye. I’m not even sure of that anymore.

Did Kinderheim create a monster, or was Johan always that? If he was, what about Nina? Grimmer’s alto ego is pretty amazing, I have to say. And Lunge is so delusional, I can’t wait to see his face when he learns the truth about Johan – that he is a real and horrible person who is not Tenma.

Another great volume of Monster, can’t wait for the next one!

Book Review: Monster, Perfect Edition, Vol 4 by Naoki Urasawa

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Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 4   

Author: Naoki Urasawa

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: April 21, 2015

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Horror/438 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

A PI named Richard, who was thrown off the police force for shooting a kid, is in therapy to deal with that, as well as the addiction to alcohol that almost killed him and cost him his wife and his daughter. Even now, his daughter won’t see him, although he’s on a better footing with his ex. Richard asks his therapist, Dr. Reichwein, to look at a photo and see if he can tell anything about the man in the picture. Turns out, things are starting to work out for him and his daughter has agreed to see him the next day. When that doesn’t happen, though, he contemplates turning back to drink.

Neuman, who still hasn’t revealed his true identity to the billionaire Schuwald, has introduced Johan to him, and Johan has become indispensable. Neuman’s foster parents reveal that they wish to adopt him. Without giving them an answer, he calls his employer and says he is leaving his employ, but the old man wants him to read to him one last time. Richard, the PI, tries to report to Schuwald what he has learned, but the man is no longer interested and insists the matter is settled.

Dr. Reichwein remembers a former student of his who has done very well, Dr. Gillen. He’s recently read an interview Gillen did with a serial killer named Jürgens who claimed a “friend” ordered him to commit the murders. He also asks him about a former classmate of his who did well, a doctor named Tenma.

As Richard continues to investigate the people who surround Herr Schuwald, he is starting to uncover a disturbing pattern… plus he finds himself the object of some near-misses that could have hurt or killed him. He ends up at the home of Johan’s current adoptive parents, the Lieberts.

When Dr. Reichwein  receives some devastating news, as he tries to figure out what happened and he is almost killed! He chases down his would-be killer and confronts him, demanding to know who is paying him to do this. Later, his life is saved by Dr. Tenma, and meanwhile Dr. Gillen is visited by BKA Inspector Lunge. Nina Fortner is hot on Johan’s trail, while Johan is teaching children a terrible game, and Tenma lies in wait to rid the world of a monster…

Not as much of Tenma or Nina in this volume, but the other characters and their stories are definitely riveting. The PI who is trying to redeem himself for his daughter’s sake, the therapist who has ties with two former students, including Tenma, and who is determined to unravel the mystery he’s begun to see. The obsessed Lunge, whom I suspect no longer cares if Tenma is innocent or guilty, he’s just going to bring him down no matter what. I can’t help but compare the so-called “friend” of Jürgens, who forced him to kill, with the sinister Friend of Urasawa’s Twentieth Century Boys. Both Johan and Friend are definitely evil men. I really hope Tenma doesn’t go through with his plans.

Another great volume, can’t wait for the next one.

Book Review: Monster, Perfect Edition, Vol 3 by Naoki Urusawa

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Monster: The Perfect Edition, Vol 3     

Author: Naoki Urasawa

Publisher: Viz Media

American release date: January 20, 2015

Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Manga/Horror/434 pages

Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★

Reviewer: Julie Lynn Hayes

 

An old classmate of Tenma’s interviews and analyzes serial killers in order to get into their heads and mindset. The last thing he expects is to receive a visit from the wanted Tenma. Tenma needs his help. He shows him the handwritten notes left by Johan, and tells the story of the boy who became a monster. The classmate, Rudi, is skeptical due to his perception of Tenma when they were in school together, but takes the tape of his story to a serial killer, Peter Jürgens, to get his opinion.

Jürgens urges Rudi to go to the scene of his last murder. Not sure what he will find, Rudi goes down into the basement, where the killer was found to be hiding. There he finds evidence to support what Peter had said, that he’d been told to kill his last victim by a so-called friend.

Rudi and Tenma agree to meet to discuss the notes, but Tenma is unaware that he has been sold out to the police. Will Rudi turn him in? Or will what he  has seen persuade him that Tenma is not a serial killer? If Frau Kempf, the victim, was childless, whose pictures are these in the basement? Pictures of a faceless little boy…

While hitchhiking, Tenma and Dieter are picked up by an older couple who speak no German. The wife asks Tenma’s help in translation. Unfortunately, the car runs out of gas, so Tenma volunteers to go for some, taking Dieter with him. The husband, who was once a detective, seems to look at Tenma rather oddly, as if he’s suspicious of him for some reason.

A well-to family with a child live in a beautiful home, enjoying their life, but there is something odd about the house next door. The husband gets weird being-watched vibes from one of the windows.

So much going on here! Tenma is determined to find and kill Johan before he can hurt anyone else. The former BKA agent, Lunge, is still hot on Tenma’s trail, convinced that Johan doesn’t exist except as an alter personality of Tenma. When he finds evidence that someone else killed a couple that Tenma is accused of having killed, he wants nothing to do with it because it doesn’t suit his agenda. Nina is determined to find her brother as well and continually puts herself in harm’s way in order to get to the truth. She knows that sooner or later they will bring her to Johan, since her brother seems to want to see her too. And why does Jürgens remind me of Ed Kemper?

And let’s not forget Tenma’s ex, Eva Heineman, who blames him for all her troubles. Can she sink any lower? Raging alcoholic floozy, she alternates between wanting Tenma back and wanting to see him in prison for life. She is a loose cannon who could prove dangerous in the long run.

The volume ends with the Thursday’s Boy story, which is fascinating itself, and we finally get a bigger glimpse of Johan. Nothing negative to say about this series, love it to death. Such intricate plotting, coupled with great characterization, and wonderful artwork. Who could ask for more? Looking forward to the next volume.