Monster 2
Posted: March 22, 2007 Filed under: Monster 4 Comments »Since I started reading Astro Boy for the sake of Naoki Urasawa, it was hard for me not to jump back into this series after the most recent volume of Astro Boy, which features Tezuka’s Dr. Tenma heavily. I was hoping that there was a more obvious reference, like the two shared the same first name or looked alike, but that’s not the case, so maybe it’s just a coincidence or vague reference.
The best scene in this volume is where Tenma goes to a mercenary to learn how to shoot a gun. There’s a little girl with the mercenary, and when Tenma asks if the little girl is his daughter or grand-daughter, the mercenary launches into a story about how he killed her mother in front of her eyes in a grass hut somewhere in the middle of the jungle. That’s hard, people, and it came from nowhere. There was no need for such badassness in the middle of my thriller, but it was there anyway, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Having Johan stay at the fringe of the story, and continuing with these holes where something happens and then Tenma is later left with nothing, is pretty amazing. After a long sequence where Tenma tries to rescue Anna, he’s left with no job, a murder suspect fleeing the police, and no leads as to what happened to Johan or Anna.
I was sad about the ultimate fate of the good-natured reporter. I was hoping he was going to be a sidekick or something.
[...] Kiss at the Mangamaniaccafe. At Slightly Biased Manga, Connie reads vol. 2 of Saint Seiya and vol. 2 of Monster. Matthew Alexander enjoys vol. 1 of Kedamono Damono at Anime on DVD. Leroy Douresseaux checks out [...]
Wow, the second volume is even better. Incredible artwork and the story so good I couldn’t put it down. I got goosebumps at the end when the girl smiled. Keep them coming! ^_^
Man, I really, REALLY need to start reading this again. Perhaps tonight will be a good night.
…. and I heard this series is getting better and better in later volumes.. I’m currently waiting for volumes 4-7 to arrive..