Monster

Dr. Kenzo Tenma is a young Japanese doctor working at the Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf during the 1980s. A remarkably finished cerebrum surgeon, he appears to have everything on his plate: a promotion in the offering; the favor of the hospital's director Heinemann; and Heinemann's daughter Eva as his fiancee. However, Tenma grows increasingly dissatisfied with the political bias of the hospital for treating patients, and seizes his chance to change things after a strange massacre brings the twins Johan and Anna Liebert into his hospital.

Johan has a gunfire wound to the head and Anna continues mumbling about slaughtering, and Tenma decides to operate on Johan instead of the mayor of Düsseldorf who arrived afterwards. Johan is saved, but Mayor Roedecker dies. Tenma loses all his social standing and Eva as a consequence. However, Director Heinemann and the other doctors in Tenma's way are mysteriously murdered, and both children disappear from the hospital soon after. The police suspect Tenma, as he profits fabulously from this turn of occasions, but they have no confirmation, and so can do no more than question him.

Nine years later. Tenma is now the Chief of Surgery at Eisler Memorial Hospital. Following sparing a known criminal named Adolf Junkers following being hit by an auto, he hears him muttering about a "monster". Tenma extends kindness to Junkers, and he thus reciprocates by beginning to open up to the doctor. Then one evening, when Dr. Tenma comes back with a clock as a gift for Junkers, he finds the guard in front of Junkers's room dead, and Junkers himself gone. Taking after the trail to the project post of a part-fulfilled constructing close to the doctor's facility, Tenma considers Junkers being kept at gunpoint. The man, who has developed a sort of doctor-patient relationship with Dr. Tenma, warns him against coming closer, and pleads with him to run away. Tenma refuses, however, and the man holding the gun is revealed to be the boy whose life Tenma had saved nine years ago, Johan Liebert. Despite Dr. Tenma's attempt to reason with him, Johan shoots the criminal, tells Tenma that he could never kill the man who had saved his life, and then walks off into the night while Tenma is still too shocked to stop him.

Monster is a seinen manga written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa, published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original between 1994 and 2001, and reprinted in 18 tankobon volumes. It was adapted by Madhouse as a 74-episode anime TV series, which aired on NTV from April 7, 2004 to September 28, 2005. It was directed by Masayuki Kojima, written by Tatsuhiko Urahata and featured character designs by Kitaro Kosaka. The manga and anime have both been licensed by Viz Media for an English release. Urasawa later wrote and illustrated the novel Another Monster, a supplement story detailing the events of the manga from an investigative reporter's point of view, published by Shogakukan in 2002.