The Big Whatsit

Several years ago, a friend of mine introduced me to anime. I’d watched Akira and Spirited Away, and was a regular viewer on Toonami when they showed Samurai Jack (I know - not anime, but the inspirations are obvious) at family friendly times, but I didn’t know there was this entire world of Japanese animation waiting out there. Via Naruto, my schooling took me on to Monster, an adaptation of Naoki Urasawa’s legendary manga that hit hard because of its adult themes. The Boy would happily watch Naruto with me, but this long series was a different matter. Slow burning, low key and very, very dark, the first few episodes were gritty and tough going, focusing on a gamut of human issues and soul-crushing incidents.

Monster is known as seinen anime, a show targeted at older audiences. It’s no surprise. The violence isn’t overly graphic; there’s little sex or nudity on display. However, the subject matter is wholly adult in nature. Whether you’re watching a Doctor struggling to stay in control of his ethics whilst being instructed from above to ignore them, the slow moral decay of a shunned woman, or a gifted homicide detective who’s so good at his job that everything else in his life suffers, it’s clear the themes in Monster require some degree of maturity to understand and follow them.

The story is set in Germany, and focuses on Kenzo Tenma, a young, brilliant Japanese neurosurgeon who practises in Dusseldorf’s Eisler Memorial Hospital. A favourite of the Director, Tenma is engaged to Eva Heinemann, his daughter, and all seems to be going well. His future prospects are nothing but excellent. That is, until one night when a pair of orphaned twin children are brought in to the hospital. Their adoptive parents have been killed; the boy, Johann, is suffering extreme brain trauma after being shot in the head, whilst his sister, Anna, is traumatised psychologically. Tenma prepares to operate on Johann, knowing he will die otherwise. At the same time, the city’s mayor requires urgent attention, and the Director orders Tenma to concentrate on this task instead. Our hero is faced with an agonising choice - save the boy, or the politician. The hospital’s prestige will be enhanced greatly if the latter survives; Tenma knows he’s being manipulated. Too often, he’s been pulled out of crucial surgery to operate on ‘prestige cases,’ and he is growing ever more dissatisfied with the way lives are governed by politics. So he disobeys the Director, saves the child, and faces the consequences. Unfortunately, not only does he destroy his favour within the hospital, his decision to spare Johann sets in motion a chain of cataclysmic events that will change his life - and those of others - forever…

Initially, I watched something like ten episodes of the series, and then, as is often the case, moved on to other things. However, the tone and depth of Monster has always stuck me, and I now have access to all 74(!) instalments. My aim over the next few days is to watch it all, to see how it works out and then start reading the plethora of fansites and discussion topics it has provoked in the English language alone. Needless to say, this is a series with bags of potential. I can’t imagine any producer worth their money not viewing it and already mentally working out the western adaptation, and as chance would have it, New Line have bought the rights, with Josh Olsson (A History of Violence) signed up to knock out a screenplay. Whatever Olsson comes up with, and bearing in mind I thought the Viggo Mortsensen thriller was a classic, I can’t see him producing anything that has the power of the original series. Unlike in Japan, western audiences seem to perceive animation as a medium for kids, which suggests a live action version that brush strokes over the main points whilst being set in dark lit locations and featuring moody music will be the order of the day. I might be wrong, but I can already see Clive Owen putting in a cynical, weary performance as some alternative Tenma that entirely misses the point of the character. We’ll see.

In the meantime, check back here as I provide updates on my viewing progress at random intervals over the weekend and into the days beyond. This is no Empire viewing marathon. I’m not going to subject myself to 24 hours of Monster, describing my growing tiredness, but I do intend to consume it in large dollops of top drawer eastern animation. Spoilers will no doubt ensue, and I’ll try to throw in warnings where applicable.

Thus it’s armed with Lucky Strike and glass of gin and slimline that I approach episode one. Cue the opening excerpts from Revelations…