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Naoki Urasawa's Monster: Kanzenban #8
Naoki Urasawa's Monster, Volume 8
"L'une des clés de la naissance du "Monstre" se trouve forcément dans ma mémoire!!". Nina, qui est restée à Prague dans l'espoir de retrouver des souvenirs de son enfance, recouvre finalement toute sa mémoire!! Qu'est-il vraiment arrivé à Nina et Johann lorsqu'ils étaient enfants!? Et que s'est-il passé dans "la villa des roses"!?
426 pages, Paperback
First published July 30, 2008
About the author
Naoki Urasawa
340 books2,449 followersUrasawa Naoki (浦沢直樹) is a Japanese mangaka. He is perhaps best known for Monster (which drew praise from Junot Díaz, the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner) and 20th Century Boys.
Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.
Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing
Urasawa's work often concentrates on intricate plotting, interweaving narratives, a deep focus on character development and psychological complexity. Urasawa has won the Shogakukan Manga Award, the Japan Media Arts Festival excellence award, the Kodansha Manga Award and the Tezuka Osamu Cultural Prize. In 2008 Urasawa accepted a guest teaching post at Nagoya Zokei University.
Series list (not including short stories collections):
- Pineapple ARMY (パイナップルARMY) 1985-1988, written by Kazuya Kudo;
- YAWARA! 1986-1993;
- Master Keaton (MASTERキートン) 1988-1994, written by Hokusei Katsushika;
- Happy! 1993-1999
- MONSTER 1994-2001
- 20th Century Boys (20世紀少年) 1999-2006
- 21st Century Boys (21世紀少年) 2007
- PLUTO 2003-2009, based on Tezuka Osamu's Tetsuwan Atom
- BILLY BAT 2008-2016
- Master Keaton Remaster (MASTERキートン Reマスター) 2012-2014
- Mujirushi (夢印-MUJIRUSHI-) 2017-2018, collaboration with Musée du Louvre
- Asadora! (連続漫画小説 あさドラ!) 2018-ongoing
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
August 2, 2022
When I tell you I have done absolutely nothing today besides read this series. I HAVE TO KNOW!
EVAAAAAAA!!!!!! I am a ride or die for this alcoholic, bratty, self-obsessed, dramatic, rich bitch. She is everything. Any time she shows emotion, I want to scream and cry. I love her.
And Grimmer! Ugh, he is such a deep well of emotions and trauma and how the brain will work to repair itself by forgetting and burying anything it can't handle.
I'm so scared for this to end.
EVAAAAAAA!!!!!! I am a ride or die for this alcoholic, bratty, self-obsessed, dramatic, rich bitch. She is everything. Any time she shows emotion, I want to scream and cry. I love her.
And Grimmer! Ugh, he is such a deep well of emotions and trauma and how the brain will work to repair itself by forgetting and burying anything it can't handle.
I'm so scared for this to end.
December 19, 2020
A por el último, que la historia llega a su fin y está demasiado buena, que digo, buenísima.
August 12, 2017
For the penultimate book in this series I was quite underwhelmed. I mean it was good, don't get me wrong, but it had the sort of slow vibes and boring perspectives that I haven't encountered since volume 3 or 4. It wasn't very fast paced and there was not a lot of plot progression until the very end. However, I am really excited to see where this story ends in the next, and last, volume.
December 11, 2022
felt like a filler because there were way too many flashbacks & not much happened. def my least fave of the series, but still excited to finish the last volume!
October 16, 2023
Four and a half stars.
February 19, 2021
We're getting so close to the end now. So much revealed here. Deaths that I guessed would happen but still shocked and sad when they did. People putting their lives on the line to stop a evil that may just be unstoppable at this point. A ending that left me on the edge of my seat wanting to know if the doctor will make it in time. I'm not sure how it'll end but Monster is already a classic in my book at this point.
March 16, 2023
3.5 stars- it is starting to feel a bit like treading water at this point
July 18, 2020
Нарешті з’являється шалена динаміка та глибина, яка була на початку серії. Мені вже здавалось, що Урасава взагалі просто роздроблює (читай розтягує) історію, щоб вміститись у якусь задану кількість випусків. Можливо, доля правило в цьому є, але цей том показує наскільки важливими були всі попередні сюжетні лінії. Навіть лінія Кензо стає не основною у цьому мережеві, що тільки додатково показує наскільки в історії важлива саме історія, а не окремий персонаж, яким би цікавим він не був. Словом, ми вже дуже поряд із Йоганом, моторошним і загадковим, мотиви й цілі якого стають все більше зрлзумілими й, що найцікавіше, по-своєму логічними. Також цікава як виглядає його сестра, а точніше — її основна місія у цьому трилері. Потужна манга, яка досягне свого катарсису вже в останньому томі. Навіть боюсь подумати, що приготував Урасава, один із найбільш сильних сучасних мангак.
April 21, 2024
the temptation to start the next one but i should probably sleep - i don’t want it to end 😫
July 14, 2024
Za sada, i dalje jedan od najboljih stripova koje sam u zivotu procitao - a procitao sam MNOGO. Videcemo kako ce u poslednjem tomu stvari da se raspletu.
July 12, 2022
If I could give this series 11/5 stars I would, without hesitation.
October 15, 2022
Tylko jeden tom do końca został 😩
Read
December 30, 2022“The end… what does that mean exactly? The end… the end… the end… the end… I’ve seen the end over and over again… what is the end?”
June 4, 2024
Everything's coming together, but I still have no idea what the "right" ending for this story will be. One more volume, and then, somehow, the story will conclude . . .
May 6, 2020
The last volume ended on an unusual cliffhanger with a man being shot in the stomach and is in the backseat of the car, which is being driven to the nearest hospital, of which the wounded man declines. At this point, this man named Martin Reest has been recruited to bring Tenma’s ex-fiancée Eva Heinemann to Frankfurt and act as her bodyguard; he is in a position that he finds difficult which is working alongside a woman that for him, has disastrous effects as it eventually does.
Throughout the entire series, Eva has been unlikable from the very moment she said the words: “Some lives are worth more than others.” After being dumped by Tenma, she screams for revenge towards him whilst she is constantly drinking. However, there are the few moments where she does the right thing, even if she doesn’t realise itself. Through her relationship with Martin, she is starting to learn the error of her ways, the most recent of which was her mistreatment towards Martin, who develops some emotion with her.
As we are approaching the end of the series, there has been anticipation towards a handful of sequences of truth, reconciliation and confrontation. In one chapter here, Tenma and Eva are reunited and have a cup of coffee. Their conversation is not about their romance and more about what happened to Martin, but the fact that these former lovers are on speaking terms and although the central conflict of Johan is still ongoing, there’s a chance that these will cross paths again, hopefully for the best.
For something that has much darkness as the main theme of Naoki Urasawa’s manga is about the monster within humanity, the author is able to balance the lightness with the handful of characters clinging on to whatever hope there is left, from Tenma trying to save a man from his own vengeance and stay with the family he has made, to little Dieter saving Nina from reclaiming her old dark memories and create some new and happy ones.
Although Johan is absolutely the main antagonist, there is an array of supporting villains that are hissable and compelling when you understand their side of the story, though not sympathising with them. Having previously appeared, “The Baby” has a chapter of his own here where there is oddly a tenderness as he develops a brief relationship with an exotic dancer. Responsible for many incidents in Monster, the high-ranked Peter Čapek is played as the organised mastermind with a grand plan of creating the Master Race and although his presence is truly menacing as shown in Nina’s haunting memories, his villainy is cleverly disregarded with another looming presence: Johan.
In the last few chapters of this penultimate volume, Johan continues to scare as well as fascinate us, delving more into his childhood and seeing him a shadowy figured young adult, who has reunited with his twin sister. The final pages are literally a montage of past and present events, building towards the climax of Monster.
Throughout the entire series, Eva has been unlikable from the very moment she said the words: “Some lives are worth more than others.” After being dumped by Tenma, she screams for revenge towards him whilst she is constantly drinking. However, there are the few moments where she does the right thing, even if she doesn’t realise itself. Through her relationship with Martin, she is starting to learn the error of her ways, the most recent of which was her mistreatment towards Martin, who develops some emotion with her.
As we are approaching the end of the series, there has been anticipation towards a handful of sequences of truth, reconciliation and confrontation. In one chapter here, Tenma and Eva are reunited and have a cup of coffee. Their conversation is not about their romance and more about what happened to Martin, but the fact that these former lovers are on speaking terms and although the central conflict of Johan is still ongoing, there’s a chance that these will cross paths again, hopefully for the best.
For something that has much darkness as the main theme of Naoki Urasawa’s manga is about the monster within humanity, the author is able to balance the lightness with the handful of characters clinging on to whatever hope there is left, from Tenma trying to save a man from his own vengeance and stay with the family he has made, to little Dieter saving Nina from reclaiming her old dark memories and create some new and happy ones.
Although Johan is absolutely the main antagonist, there is an array of supporting villains that are hissable and compelling when you understand their side of the story, though not sympathising with them. Having previously appeared, “The Baby” has a chapter of his own here where there is oddly a tenderness as he develops a brief relationship with an exotic dancer. Responsible for many incidents in Monster, the high-ranked Peter Čapek is played as the organised mastermind with a grand plan of creating the Master Race and although his presence is truly menacing as shown in Nina’s haunting memories, his villainy is cleverly disregarded with another looming presence: Johan.
In the last few chapters of this penultimate volume, Johan continues to scare as well as fascinate us, delving more into his childhood and seeing him a shadowy figured young adult, who has reunited with his twin sister. The final pages are literally a montage of past and present events, building towards the climax of Monster.
April 6, 2019
Last time around, the Eva/Martin subplot was really breaking my heart. I totally didn't anticipate to feel this much for these two characters, but I really just wanted them to be happy. This time around, my feelings weren't nearly as strong.
Martin is Eva's bodyguard. As we meet him at the beginning of this volume, he has been badly shot and is dying following a gunfight. As he is driven to see Dr. Tenma, he recounts the events that led to his predicament. He was given a job by The Baby and Peter Capek to escort Eva Heinemann from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt on the same day she encountered Roberto. During their time together, the two of them form a deeper bond. Personally, their relationship had just too many issues (because both of them already had so many issues individually) and I can't look past how abusive and manipulative Eva was towards Martin. She basically groomed him to be a second Tenma which is just, yikes.
Martin is Eva's bodyguard. As we meet him at the beginning of this volume, he has been badly shot and is dying following a gunfight. As he is driven to see Dr. Tenma, he recounts the events that led to his predicament. He was given a job by The Baby and Peter Capek to escort Eva Heinemann from Düsseldorf to Frankfurt on the same day she encountered Roberto. During their time together, the two of them form a deeper bond. Personally, their relationship had just too many issues (because both of them already had so many issues individually) and I can't look past how abusive and manipulative Eva was towards Martin. She basically groomed him to be a second Tenma which is just, yikes.
May 6, 2020
The last chunk of this volume earned itself a whole star for how interesting and we’ll developed it was. But overall the story was slow and progression was similar to volume 3 & 4 (my least favourite volumes of the series). We’re crawling to the end guys and I think we’re finally getting some damn answers!
January 2, 2022
E no penúltimo volume somos apresentados a reconstrução do passado pelos olhos de Nina, temos uma interessante reviravolta que pode passar desapercebida ao leitor, mas é crucial para a ideia desenvolvida durante todo o mangá. Somos levados a acompanhar os passos de Johan e seus estranhos fascínio e domínio que detém sobre as pessoas. Descobrimos mais sobre os misteriosos acontecidos na mansão da rosas vermelhas.
December 11, 2021
As far as endgame preparation goes, this one was pretty damn good. It's all there now. The next volume will probably reveal it all and I'm suspecting that Lunge will show up and start to do shit too. And then... the end. Can't wait.
December 15, 2021
Fühlte sich ein wenig wie Filler an. Die letzten Bände hatten zwar auch Filler-Elemente, aber sie waren trotzdem spannend und echt gut. Aber Nina hat ewig gebraucht, um sich zu erinnern und trotzdem haben wir nicht erfahren, woran sie sich eigentlich erinnert hat. Für den vorletzten Band immer noch spannend, aber deutlich schlechter. Ich hoffe der letzte haut dafür umso mehr rein.
January 26, 2020
Oh my god!
*immediately opens book 9*
*immediately opens book 9*
April 12, 2022
Didnt know i will be 100x emotional than the first read but i did. Literally cried at every chapters 😭😭. I mean its not that sad but its sadddd or its just bcus im too attached to these characters
July 24, 2022
Here we go… the ending🙈
July 15, 2023
4,5/5 stars
December 10, 2023
I don’t wanna finish but I can’t stop reading.. sorry zooz
February 7, 2024
O BOŻE AAAAAAAAAAAA
April 20, 2024
1 more volume left…
April 11, 2023
"Io non ti perdono. Non ti perdonerò mai... Anche se io dovessi morire i bambini che ora sono dentro di me, un volte cresciuti mi vendicheranno."
Sono quasi alla fine di questa lettura, mi manca solo un volume, e finalmente ho visto l'incontro tra Nina e Johan, anche se questi non sono i loro veri nomi, anche se questi nomi non sono importanti...
Tutti i personaggi principali si stanno riunendo in un unico luogo, dove il mostro metterà in scena il suo piano.
Sono quasi alla fine di questa lettura, mi manca solo un volume, e finalmente ho visto l'incontro tra Nina e Johan, anche se questi non sono i loro veri nomi, anche se questi nomi non sono importanti...
Tutti i personaggi principali si stanno riunendo in un unico luogo, dove il mostro metterà in scena il suo piano.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews