Monster Episode 73 Reaction
Comments (35)
i'm not leaving puddles for bonaparta or johan. but i value remorse and redemption only bonaparta has demonstrated remorse and a move towards redemption. more to the point, i wouldn't see value in locking up bonaparta vs. him actively atoning for the rest of his life. like that one chimera ant in HxH same for johan, if he shows remorse and wants to redeem his actions. but even if he doesn't, i'd not be quick to label locking him up as the alternative outcome/solution. bc in my household, we reject carceral justice off rip
It didn't feel right to me too seeing Nina running towards Bonaparta so i get it but i really don't think that the show want us to feel empathy towards Bonaparta. Him redeemed himself is not him becoming an honorable man. He saved Nina because of his own obsession. He calls the twins jewels, drew them obsessively for years and even dare visit them at the liebert when he had no rights to. And you cannot convince me that him loving the mother is like how normal people love. She was his prisoner after all.
I get where you're coming from but what about all he did for Wiem and the rest of the town? I think its fair to say while he may never be able to truly atone for what he did or redeem himself he still did grow/change as a person for the better
The reaction I've been waiting for is finally here, after 73 episodes. The realization on your faces when you see that Johan is still alive and understand what the ending will be..... poetic cinema 😭🙏💖 Mileena even called it last episode!!! Tenma fighting for so long to become someone he's not, and kill someone he was convinced he needed to regret saving, even though doing so would go against his very nature.... yet in the end he makes the same choice all over again, even this time knowing exactly who that person is. I truly couldn't think of a better ending for the series, it's so touching and powerful and makes me cry every time I think about it 😭 Tenma may not have any deep attachment to Johan at least consciously, but imo he cannot be called anything other than his guardian angel (especially since Johan himself considered Tenma his father figure albeit through his own twisted viewpoint) just like he is for everyone. He saved Johan as a child and he saves him again even now, even knowing now that he's a monster, which in itself proves that he isn't one and that he's still worth saving. Not necessarily forgiving him, per se, but his own version of that, like Nina forgiving him. Letting him know his beliefs are wrong, by telling him "even you deserve to live, and I'd save you again and again, every time" (I think that was the exact wording Mileena used last episode, that he'd do it again and again 😭). I'm rambling lol I could go on and on, it's just so powerful to me, it hits me SO hard and I knew the girls would feel it as well 😭🥹💖 I love Monster and Tenma & Johan's relationship so so much; absolutely legendary characters and show ❤️ Also, Lunge being put side by side with the person he didn't believe was real for most of the series, and being the one to vouch for Tenma to save him.... just pure peak. Perfect conclusion for his character as well <3
the reason Johan didnt succeed was because Tenma had people by his side
Masterpiece
The only thing to this day that I feel weird about and kind of confused is if tenma would’ve shoot johan in that situation, would it even have went against tenma’s character or proven johan right? My thing is tenma was able to pull the trigger at Roberto before to save his own life. Whether it would’ve killed Roberto or not he was willing to take that chance. (He learns after that he didn’t kill Roberto, so I think it may’ve influenced his choice) Now in this case johan points the gun at Wim seemingly to provoke tenma to shoot him. (Whether he would’ve shoot wim or not doesn’t really matter since we’re being put in the same spot as tenma. We dont know) But tenma doesn’t shoot even tho wim’s life is at risk and is basically left with the same decision of when he first shoot roberto but this time it’s for saving not him but another person’s life. Now its left ambiguous because we dont know if tenma would have shoot johan or not since Wim’s father comes and do it to protect his son. But this idea that tenma cannot kill a person no matter the circumstances is a bit wanky. I think the main conclusion is that tenma cannot stop himself from helping to save a life no matter who it is instead of tenma not being able to take a life. Also to me the attempt of johan proving that anyone can become a monster, feels weirdly answered by the story. Does Johan feel like his point would’ve been proven if tenma shoot him or if tenma killed him? Because those are two different things. Now the sole action of shooting someone is you accepting the gamble of taking’s someone life and if that was what johan was trying to prove himself then I guess I can see it but to us the viewers it would feel like johan was basically right since tenma did it prior with Roberto, whether johan knew about it or not. Now people would say that tenma main intention wasn’t to kill Roberto but to protect himself from immediate danger but I think that argument can be used for this instance with wim. If tenma would’ve shoot johan it would’ve been on a basis of protecting a child in immediate danger also. That’s why I always felt like when Johan points at his head for tenma to shoot him knowing that tenma goal all along was to assassinate him and tenma basically refuse, that was when he lost. That was when his plan failed. And when he pointed the gun at wim it was a desperate, pathetic and childish attempt to prove himself that he is right that anyone can become a monster. It’s almost as if he, for the first time, resulted to desperate measures to validate his vision, wanting to deluded himself in being right even though it wouldn’t have since the act of taking a life wouldn’t have been the reason of tenma shooting but on contrary it would’ve been the act of wanting to save someone that would’ve made him do it. There’s many ways to interpret that scene but I find it hard to believe that if tenma was to shoot johan… that it would’ve proven johan right. Since if the sole act of tenma shooting him was the determinate factor of proving johan right, then the feeling that johan’s view was proved wrong would’ve been incorrect based on tenma’s actions before this. I think the true test of character is whether tenma would’ve refused to treat johan to save his life or accepted.
he would've shot
Girls pay attention to the ending of the next episode! There's something you can't miss! (Hint: Lunge's "Room Scene" on episode 39)
A lot of people miss this and don't understand the ending
I’m glad Nina was the one who told Tenma he was never wrong for saving Johan. I really needed her to say that to him because it just hits so much more if she’s the one who says it when you consider the fact that Johan killed her parents.
Regarding you guys' opinion on not feeling fully satisfied because Tenma was robbed of the decision to choose to not kill Johan: I think that decision by Urasawa is BRILLIANT writing. I believe he knew that MOST people put into that situation would absolutely shoot Johan before he has a chance to kill Wim. The issue is that Tenma has been built up through the ENTIRE show as the complete opposite ideology of Johan. He CANNOT be the one to shoot the gun. He is too pure. He is the personification of the idea that "All live are equal", even those of the most vile. Robbing Tenma of that "choice" somehow makes this entire situation more believable while also retaining the entire philosophy his character is built around. Someone else pulls the trigger before Tenma can make his choice to shoot or not. Because of that, the audience doesnt have to sit with the thought that "man that was so unbelievable, ANYONE would have shot Johan in that moment" OR the thoughts that "man, Tenma really let a kid get killed/I can't believe Johan won(Tenma shooting him). Its actually a BRILLIANT writing choice to "rob" Tenma of that choice in the end. Yes, it makes you feel conflicted about how it ends, but that is by design. EVERY DEATH FOR EVERY HUMAN SHOULD FEEL CONFLICTING IF ALL LIVES ARE CREATED EQUAL.
From what I understood I think they said they weren’t satisfied in the moment but after the second half of the episode happened and it all came full circle they felt satisfied.
Anna's rememberance is probably my favorite moment on the show. So far we've been presented with that ominous hand coming closer and the phrase "Humans can become anything". Due to the context you simply assume it is a statement of perverse Social Engineering - "we will turn you into whatever we want". Once the full context is gained it turns out to be the exact opposite. The ominous hand becomes a caress and the meaning of the phrase becomes akin to "you can become anything you want, you are free". It's a brilliant subversion consistent with the general theme of the series that good ultimately triumphs over evil.
And so comes to an end one of the best written Anime of all time. Its highly underappreciated but highly rated. Anyone who knows, knows that this is a masterpiece. So glad you amazing ladies took the time to experience it.
I'm not asking you for empathy on Bonaparta but I think you miss that he was the one that saved Nina after getting obsessed with the twins and his mom. He killed everyone in the Red Rose Mansion and helped her escape. Nina wasn't so much time there, a few days only. Johan was never manipulated by Franz but by his own mother in order to seek vendetta from the death of Johan's father and the kidnapping of Nina to the Red Rose Mansion. After Nina escaped and went to their home at the Three Frogs she shared with Johan what happened, but Nina never mention that Franz help her get out of there (that is why in this episode Nina remember that memory was the last piece of the puzzle but she couldn't get there in time to let Johan know that Franz actually save her). We never knew why Johan was alone in the Three Frogs waiting for Nina. i'm just saying but... his own Mother just manipulated Johan filling his mind with anger, sorrow and revenge, ran away and left Johan to his own fate. She was the one that created the Monster. Franz abandoned the experiment after killed and buried everyone in the Red Rose Mansion, went to this Villa to start a new life and was trying to pay for his sins by building a community. Franz then saw in the news that the twins were adopted by the Lieberts and went on a visit to see if they are fine, Johan saw this while faking being asleep and though Franz came back for them again, then Johan killed the Lieberts thinking they weren't getting adopted but they were getting captured. The irony at the end is that even after Win's father being a crazy alcoholic he still stand for his kid saving him without a doubt, but in other hand... Johan's mother... well you already know she left him alone.
I think some of those points are a bit more ambiguous in the story than they sound. First, about Bonaparta “saving” Nina. It’s true that he killed everyone at the Red Rose Mansion and let her escape, but the series heavily frames this less as an act of pure compassion and more as the result of his obsession and guilt. He created the entire system that destroyed those children in the first place. So while he did stop the experiment in the end, it’s hard to interpret that as true redemption rather than a late psychological collapse after realizing what he had done. Regarding Johan being manipulated mainly by his mother, I think that’s where I disagree the most. The narrative strongly suggests Johan’s identity crisis comes from a combination of factors: the twin identity confusion, the mother’s forced choice, Nina’s traumatic memories being transferred to him through storytelling, and Bonaparta’s ideology embedded in the books and experiments. It’s not really supported that the mother intentionally raised him for revenge, in fact, most evidence points to her being mentally shattered rather than calculating. About the mother “creating the monster”. I think the story intentionally avoids placing full blame on any single person. That’s kind of the central theme: the monster is the product of systems, ideology, trauma, and loss of identity, not just one parent’s actions. Even the forced choice which child has to go was engineered specifically to destroy a mother psychologically, because she was part of the experiment too. And Bonaparta trying to “start a new life” is also complicated. He wasn’t simply a repentant man. He continued manipulating identities, writing new stories, and influencing lives from the shadows. His guilt never really erased his responsibility. But yeah, I want to post my comment about the mother below the final episode.
Man… I’m not ready to leave this anime behind… thank god at least we have Pluto after Frieren. From the same author so you girls can except an excellent story with amazing characters.
They will unleash such hateful tirades on Thrasia the moment they realize what Pluto is all about :D
Many consider Johan to be the best anime villain of all time.
He should always be mentioned
“People can become… whatever they want to be” “You two are beautiful treasures. That’s why you mustn’t become monsters” these quotes still hits to this day.
I love how they suddenly realized what the whole story of Monster was about: it was to make Tenma realize again that all life is equal, that every life must be saved, and that anyone, even those who seem like monsters, deserves to be saved and judged. The moment you see Johan survived and is in a critical state, you understand. It's so good. I can't wait for the next episode when you meet the Mother. I will post some stuff there.
I love how Tenma and Johan are foils for each other. Both agree that everyone is equal, but for Johan that's a negative, nihilistic perspective. Everyone is equally worthless. Whereas for Tenma, every life is equally precious and valuable.
LMAO. Milena already guessing right again. "Maybe somewhere at the ending we will see a woman (the Mother)" (2:29). It's way more than that, but yeah, she was right :D
I watched ep 71 and 72 today and somehow totally forgot that monster was today omg so excited <3
Once again thank you to this community for pushing for this show. Probably would put off watching it for decades 🙏
Monster is a perfectly rated show, neither overrated nor underrated, but it is so underappreciated and neglected. It deserves more people to watch it. I mean, it’s #16 on the highest-rated anime list and even in the top 100 on IMDb, but you still have to force people to finally watch it!
The fact that lunge was placed RIGHT NEXT to Johan so that he can be proved one final last time that he truly exists
“The only thing humans are equal in is death”. One of the most chilling antagonist lines in fiction. Absolutely fantastic antagonist. Will delve deeper into johans character in the final episode
Yas! We are finally here. I love this episode so much. I am also heartbroken that we are finishing Monster.
The fact that Milena predicted tenma’s ending in last episode 😄
I... have... been...waiting...for....this....for...9 ..months….LETS FKN GO
The first episode ends with Tenma saving Johan and the scene that leads to the final episode is Tenma saving Johan
One of those refresh spamming days fr <3