This was such an interesting story about unintended consequences and it had some pretty cool artwork but it was just a lot of pages for not a lot of happenings. It did very well at establishing tone and character, but I felt like I was flipping through this awfully fast, even for a comic book. One of the things I love about (good) comics is how concise they are but here there seemed like a lot of filler (which is a terrible thing to call someone's art, I know). And there are 9 more volumes? ( )

Series Info/Source: This is the first book in the Monster: Perfect Edition series. I got this book as a gift for Christmas.

Story (3/5): This story was not what I thought it was going to be, for some reason I thought there were some supernatural aspects here. Rather the story is about a doctor who accidentally saves the life of a boy who grows up to be a serial killer. The story is very intricate and well done but really just wasn’t for me.

Characters (4/5): Again, the characters have amazing depth and are very well done. However, I didn’t enjoy reading about them and they just weren’t for me. Dr. Tenma gets himself from one bad situation into another and we are just getting to know and understand the evil monster and his sister at the close of this volume.

Setting (4/5): The story is set in Germany, around the time of the collapse of the Berlin wall. It’s a good backdrop to the story but not the driver behind the story.

Writing Style/Illustration (5/5): Tha illustration style is amazingly detailed and easy to follow, very well done. This edition has color plates for the first few pages of each “book”. The writing is also very well done and easy to follow.

Summary (4/5): Overall this is a very high quality seinen manga but the subject matter just wasn’t for me. Writing and illustration is very high quality and character development is well done. I personally did not enjoy the serial killer storyline. However, I think those who enjoy thrillers and/or horror manga will find this a very impressive read. ( )

With manga or comic books, I usually like to finish reading an entire series before I write a review; however, I needed to talk about Volume 1 of Monster because I absolutely LOVED it! Once I've completed this manga, I will write a full series review, and trust me, I CANNOT wait to get my hands on the next volumes! That being said, let’s talk about Monster!

Oh. My. God. This was one of my favourite things I've read this year! Although I am extremely new to manga, as this is only the second series I've read, Monster blew me away. Admittedly, getting into manga has been a little bit of a challenge for me because there is SO much, and I have no idea what kind of stories I would like! However, this psychological thriller about an up-and-coming neurosurgeon and his hunt for a serial killer had me enthralled from cover to cover 😊 In Monster, the young Dr. Tenma finds himself in a difficult situation when he disobeys his director, saving the life of a young boy instead of the mayor. Several years later, a brutal serial killer is on the loose throughout Germany, and Dr. Tenma discovers that the decision which almost cost him his career could be costing people their lives. Absolute perfection!

This volume kept me on the edge of my seat the whole way through and genuinely gave me the creeps. I loved every second of it! (Have I said that already? 😛) I love psychological thrillers, and I am a huge fan of shows like Criminal Minds. The serial killer in this manga could definitely be an unsub on Criminal Minds! I think one of the aspects I loved most about this manga is that it was dark and serious without any magical element to it. The only other manga I have read is Deathnote and I liked it... but Monster completely stole the show for me. Honestly, Deathnote can't even compare. (Please don't hate me!)

Anyway, those are some of my thoughts about Naoki Urasawa's first volume of Monster. I'm looking forward to finishing the series so that I can reflect on the story in its entirety. I'm always looking for new manga to explore, but this one may have set the bar pretty high! ( )