A Reflection on Monster and Dr. Tenma
There’s something about binge-watching anime at night that feels different. Perhaps it’s the quiet, or perhaps it’s simply easier to take in stories when the world outside is sleeping. That’s precisely how I fell into Monster—a show I had heard of for years but never really watched.
I had been anticipating a typical thriller. What I got instead were questions I could not shake off. And all because of one person: Dr. Kenzo Tenma.
At first, Tenma seems like the kind of protagonist we’re used to seeing. Smart, well-meaning, trying to do the right thing in a system that values politics more than people. But then comes the moment—the one where everything changes. Faced with an impossible decision, Tenma chooses to save a young boy instead of a powerful politician. It’s not just a plot point. It’s a crack in the world that lets something unthinkable seep through.
That choice—so morally self-evident at the time—is actually unleashing something far more nefarious onto the world: Johan.
It’s mind-boggling that a single choice can have consequences so far-reaching.
What Goes Wrong When Doing The Right Thing?
That’s what kept running through my mind.
Tenma saved a life. Not out of honor. Not out of profit. Just because it was the right thing to do. But instead of being rewarded for being so honest, he is blamed, punished, and ultimately thrust into a moral abyss. And the worst part? The man he saved turns out to be… well, a monster.
I couldn’t help but wonder, what would I have done if I were him? Would I have stuck to my principles, with my hindsight? Or would I have buckled to pressure from other people, played it safe, and saved the politician?
It’s all simple to debate ethics in black and white until you’re standing face to face with the wreckage of a choice that shattered lives.
Tenma’s Burden
What is so fascinating about Tenma isn’t how good he is—it’s the responsibility that weighs upon him as a result of it. He doesn’t avoid his mistake. He doesn’t attempt to deny that he could have done otherwise. He accepts responsibility.
That’s not often the case.
There’s a moment a bit later in the show—one of many, really—where Tenma is wielding a gun. The man who made a vow to preserve life now considers it necessary to take one. Not in anger, but because he is overcome with guilt. As if this is the only thing he can do to turn things around.
That isn’t justice. That’s something else entirely. Something more substantial.
The Real Monster
The title Monster will lead you to think of Johan, and I guess that fella has it coming. But having watched, I found myself wondering if the real monster is one person. Or maybe it is a question. A feeling. The creeping, insidious doubt that sometimes being good does not always make things right.
It is the fear that being good is beside the point in a world that embosses power, manipulation, and sadism.
But then there’s Tenma—still trying, still fighting, still believing, even when everything else is saying he shouldn’t.
And maybe that’s the lesson.
Final Thoughts
I didn’t know an anime would have me awake at 2 a.m., wondering what I believe about morality, but here we are.
Monster is simply a psychological thriller. It’s a slow burn through the psyche. A reminder that to be human is to make choices that don’t necessarily make sense, suffer the consequences you never could have anticipated, and yet still try to do better.
Dr. Tenma didn’t just save a life. He carried it—along with everything that came after. And in doing so, he became one of the most real characters I’ve ever seen.
