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A review by loischanel
Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Volume 2 by Naoki Urasawa
4.0
Summary:
In the second volume of Monster, events take place nine years after the end of vol. 1. The Liebert twins have grown up, Anna is now called Nina and has been adopted by a middle-aged German couple called the Forners, but she has no memories of her childhood including the murder of her parents. All that remains is an unsettling blank in her mind. Dr Tenma is still on a mission to track down Johan, Nina's twin brother and this causes him to come into contact with Nina, who he realises is in danger. Meanwhile the police investigation into a series of murders, all involving different middle-aged couples rages on, framing Dr Tenma as a suspect.
My Thoughts:
This volume was just as exciting and suspenseful as the first one and again, I completed it in one short sitting. There's an ominous feeling throughout that I couldn't resist. Johan hardly appears in this volume except through the recollections of others and it's usually to do with his extreme taste for violence. This made his character even more sinister in my mind as it plays on the reader's imagination. This manga also had lots of shock value, particularly concerning the revelations we learn about from Nina.
I was only turned off by the last chapter involving an ex-soldier. It felt very rushed and the way his exchanges with Detective Lunge went didn't make any sense to me. This soldier refuses to provide evidence in a criminal investigation and he's allowed to go free? Isn't that obstruction of justice or something? Or maybe it has something to do with his rank as a soldier affording him some type of immunity I don't know about. In any case, the last chapter did have a softer, more human tone but it was also my least favourite chapter in the volume. All in all, a strong sequel that builds up anticipation for the next in the series!
In the second volume of Monster, events take place nine years after the end of vol. 1. The Liebert twins have grown up, Anna is now called Nina and has been adopted by a middle-aged German couple called the Forners, but she has no memories of her childhood including the murder of her parents. All that remains is an unsettling blank in her mind. Dr Tenma is still on a mission to track down Johan, Nina's twin brother and this causes him to come into contact with Nina, who he realises is in danger. Meanwhile the police investigation into a series of murders, all involving different middle-aged couples rages on, framing Dr Tenma as a suspect.
My Thoughts:
This volume was just as exciting and suspenseful as the first one and again, I completed it in one short sitting. There's an ominous feeling throughout that I couldn't resist. Johan hardly appears in this volume except through the recollections of others and it's usually to do with his extreme taste for violence. This made his character even more sinister in my mind as it plays on the reader's imagination. This manga also had lots of shock value, particularly concerning the revelations we learn about from Nina.
I was only turned off by the last chapter involving an ex-soldier. It felt very rushed and the way his exchanges with Detective Lunge went didn't make any sense to me. This soldier refuses to provide evidence in a criminal investigation and he's allowed to go free? Isn't that obstruction of justice or something? Or maybe it has something to do with his rank as a soldier affording him some type of immunity I don't know about. In any case, the last chapter did have a softer, more human tone but it was also my least favourite chapter in the volume. All in all, a strong sequel that builds up anticipation for the next in the series!