Monster

[Otohiko]

Johan shoots that guy in the end I'm wondering if he ever appeared in the series beforehand, cause i don't remember him.

Dude, you forgot Capek?

And it's not actually Johan that shoots him, is it?

Actually, that's the same reaction my mom had to it. It really is kind of irritating that at the real key point in the series when you forget who's one of the main secondary characters is.

Maybe they should just do us a favour and hold off releases just so that they can put out the remaining 7 all at the same time

[Vancore]

Not Capek, the other guy =P I thought he looked similiar to a guy in a previous ep.. but maybe not.

But, wow... if what you say is true no wonder the plan changed The ending is definatly going to be an interesting one.

[madbunny]

You know... I'm wondering how many episodes there were originally supposed to be. Didn't it feel like the show was starting to come to a head at around 50-ish and then it just went right into some more weirdness instead? When this first came out the numbers on the people downloading is were pretty small, but if you look now it's fairly large.

So, my thought is: is this stuff all the original story, or is it added on to stretch out the series?

[Otohiko]

So, my thought is: is this stuff all the original story, or is it added on to stretch out the series?

No, it's all exactly as it is in the manga. Monster is the only anime I know that is about 99.9% faithful to the original manga in all respects - visually and story-wise. In fact I'm surprised they managed to get it into 74 eps rather than the 80-something I'd originally expected.

I think the last few episodes that we've seen are best watched together in a row, in the context of the ending. There's a bit of repetition, but it's rather deliberate. Of course, how much sense it makes is another question.

It's funny because the main points of it all can be summed up in pretty simple terms, but the whole point of the series is to have you convinced beyond all reason so that when those 'few words' do appear, it suddenly all makes a lot of sense. Whether you buy into that or not is up to you.

Basically, we just started on what is volume 18, the last one in the manga. I, too, felt a bit weird about vol. 17, but I think it's important enough. I think we're past the character-developing weirdness now and back into the plot's final stretch.

[Otohiko]

Also, having just read over the last segment of the manga, I'm also REALLY curious now as to how they handle the last scene in the series (this might make sense to those who've read it). That one's going to be really crucial, because looking over it again, I interpreted it in a completely different way than I did originally - and I actually kind of wish that it ends up being interpreted that way in the anime.

We'll see, I guess...

[Otohiko]

(correction - I believe I confused the volumes; we've started 17 and not 18 just now)

[jasper-isis]

I'm up to episode 61 now. Pretty soon I'm gonna run out of new episodes to watch!

So like...

Eva... she becomes badass too? Haha, that'd be fun to watch.

What do you guys think of the licensing prospects of this show? If and when that time comes, I for some reason can't really imagine any American computer other than FUNimation being the one to pick it up. They seem to have good experience in dealing with longer, seinen-type shows (right?). But then, Geneon had Master Keaton, so they could also possibly get it. Though I kinda hope not, because Geneon DVD's tend to be more expensive, and this is a pretty long show...

I don't like how Viz keeps pushing back the release date of the manga. And if they go with a regular release schedule, it's gonna take three whole years for the entire series to come out.

[Coffee 54]

I'm up to episode 61 now. Pretty soon I'm gonna run out of new episodes to watch!

So like...

Eva... she becomes badass too? Haha, that'd be fun to watch.

What do you guys think of the licensing prospects of this show? If and when that time comes, I for some reason can't really imagine any American computer other than FUNimation being the one to pick it up. They seem to have good experience in dealing with longer, seinen-type shows (right?). But then, Geneon had Master Keaton, so they could also possibly get it. Though I kinda hope not, because Geneon DVD's tend to be more expensive, and this is a pretty long show...

I don't like how Viz keeps pushing back the release date of the manga. And if they go with a regular release schedule, it's gonna take three whole years for the entire series to come out.

You what'd be funny? If someone licenses it right before episode 74 and immediately puts a stop to the fansubs. Then we'd all have to wait years before seeing the end. Wait, did I say funny? I meant nightmarish.

On the other hand an english dub would certainly make the show more palletable to my family, most of whom I'm sure would love the show if not for all the reading.

[Otohiko]

I don't think we're going to see it licensed too soon. I would be very surprised, anyway.

The problem for Monster, I think, is not so much who gets it and how they release it - but how they're gonna market it. I don't think there's a precedent yet for a series this long aimed at a mature audience being successfully marketed.

I suspect they may wait for the manga and maybe even that live action movie.

***

As far as the manga being released slowly, don't worry. If you're watching the anime, you aren't missing much at all. Or much of anything, really (yey for good adaptation)

[Gaarasan]

Really good series. I was introduced to it in the summer, but the downloads take WEEKS So i'm only finished watching episode 13. But so far it;s amazing.

But for those of you who are way ahead of me, have you noticed that in ep 12 and 13 that kid Dieter sounds really like Naruto? Could they be the same voice actors?