Monster: "You can see it..."

[grazzt.insanejournal.com]

Since it seems like a few people are making "last" posts to commemorate the move, I figured I might as well join in. And since it's my last post at InsaneJournal, why not take the material from the final volume of Monster?

Of course, in a series as full of twists and turns as this one is, you could argue that most scans would be a)inexplicable to people who haven't been following along and are not in possession of some sort of flowchart and/or b) massive spoilers for the entire series. But I don't think this scene is either.

All you need in the way of context is that this is beginning of the final confrontation. Johan and Tenma, face to face on the rain drenched streets of a small German town. Reads right to left:









Just a note: Johan pointing a finger at the center of his forehead while facing down a gunman is a recurring image in the series. I think this is what makes Johan really interesting: his self-destructive nature (or at the very least his carelessness of his own safety) makes his nihilism more...sincere is the best word I can think of. Whereas the average nihilist villain still values themselves to a large extent, and only uses nihilism as an excuse to act horrifically towards others, Johan actually seems to believe that he's just as worthless as everyone else.

The scene is a great summary of the conflict between the two. And the "scenery of the doomsday" is a wonderful counter-image to, say, the taste of sugar. A barren, windswept plain, not even damaged by war to show that humanity had once been there. Utter emptiness, accentuated by only the sparsest of growths. What a perfect metaphor for the universe, huh? At least, Johan's universe...

Scans from the scanlation at Spectrum Nexus, not the Viz translation.

Comments

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

I just finished reading that last week. Still annoyed by the end.

[grazzt.insanejournal.com]

Really? What annoyed you?

[mullon.insanejournal.com]

Well, I thought Johan's plan was underwhelming and the last page was unnecessarily inconclusive.

[grazzt.insanejournal.com]

Yeah, I suppose I can agree with you on the first point. It was well written, but the stakes weren't nearly as high as earlier in the series.

And I thought the last page was great. Sure, it's inconclusive, but not in a cliche "The end...or is it?" way. You can interpret it any number of ways. Particularly given the rest of the last chapter and, indeed, the series.

[killermoth1.insanejournal.com]

It's great seeing Monster on the page, as I finished watching the anime not long ago. I actually really loved the conclusion, as it wasn't so much high stakes as it was a clashing of the various themes that were threading together. Plus Nina's line is one of my favourites in the series.

Few spoilers here that I discuss:

I always had a similar view to the "scenery of the doomsday"; it was isolation. To me that was why Roberto couldn't see it, he had nothing to lose as he had no memory. Johan still cared for his sister in a twisted way and remembered all the loss in his life as he became alone. Tenma felt at that moment that he was losing everything and that there was no one for him.

End spoilers.

I have to say I do hold a big grudge against Monster though. For me it was so amazing that I just can't take the majority of (mostly modern) comics seriously now. Their constant resurrections, almost zero themes and wildly alternating characterisations that often butcher what the previous writer did has made me tired. And the status quo, oh God the status quo. I only buy select DC comics now.

[yaseen101]

Yeah, sometimes I feel like *some* manga's can pull off a lot of things a whole lot better than most mainstream comics, even the occasionally medicore or shitty ones can sometimes blow me away when the series reaches it's height.

[grazzt]

It's also probably because you're less likely to encounter truly bad manga since it doesn't get translated, either commercially or by fans.

[yaseen101]

Yeah, that may be the reason why I find manga's more satisfying and enjoyable than most comics. Don't get me wrong, there are awesome comics out there, like the Incredible Hercules and such but I still find myself drifted more towards manga's than comics.