The theory of Monsters and Doctors came to life after watching a thriller series.
I watched this series this year and it got me confused for weeks after I finished watching it.
The series was about a young brilliant neurosurgeon who risked his career to save the life of a critically wounded boy. Nine years later, the boy now a charismatic young man reappeared to the surgeon, admitted to being a serial killer and disappeared again. The brilliant neurosurgeon felt guilty, deciding to kill this young man even though he was the one who saved him earlier.
Monster. That’s the name of the series.
What is this Series About?
In its simple fictional characters, Monster tackled complex realistic questions. Throughout the series, the characters showed that the line between good and evil is not always clear. Power in the wrong hands always corrupt those around it. And actions meant to do good can have devastating outcomes.
Much of the core battle in Monster is the ideological war between Tenma and Johan.
In the story, Tenma is the young brilliant neurosurgeon and believes all life is precious. Johan is the boy who was saved but grows up to believe all life is meaningless. Tenma represents the good side of humanity while Johan is the bad one.
The story becomes more interesting because of the sides they belonged to.
After Tenma’s first encounter with adult Johan, the doctor abandons his career to right his wrongs. Tenma believed it was his duty to pursue and kill Johan to make amends for the havoc being wrought about his former patient. Meanwhile, Johan continued to kill people and wants to break Tenma psychologically by making him a murderer.
Yet at the end, there is a twist.
Understanding the Original Monsters and Doctors
Hypothetically, if I asked you to choose between Johan and Dr. Tenma, who will you pick?
With this brief character overview, it is so easy to choose Dr. Tenma. He saves people and is a doctor. The doctor is the good guy.
However, there is a short story in the series that briefly explained the nature of Johan:
The Nameless Monster
Once upon a time, in a land far away, there lived a nameless monster.
The monster was dying to have a name.
So the monster made up his mind, and set out on a journey to look for one.
But the world was such a very large place.
The monster split in two, and went on separate journeys.
One went east.
The other headed west.
The one who went east came upon a village.
There was a blacksmith who lived at the village’s entrance.
“Mr. Blacksmith, please give me your name!” said the monster.
“I can’t give you my name!” replied the blacksmith.
‘If you give me your name, I’ll go inside you and make you strong,” said the monster.
“Really?” said the blacksmith, “If you make me stronger, I’ll give you my name.”
The monster went into the blacksmith.
And so, the monster became Otto the blacksmith.
Otto was the strongest man in town.
But then one day he said, “Look at me! Look at me! The monster inside of me is getting bigger!”
Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp.
The hungry monster ate up Otto from the inside out.
Once again, he was a monster without a name.
Next, he went into Hans the shoemaker.
However…
Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp.
Once again, he went back to being a monster without a name.
Then, he became Thomas the hunter.
But soon…
Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp.
Back he went to being a monster without a name.
The monster next went to a castle to look for a nice name.
He came upon a very sick boy who lived in that castle.
“If you give me your name, I’ll make you strong,” said the monster.
The boy replied, “If you can make me healthy and strong, I will give you my name!”
So the monster jumped right into the boy.
And the boy became full of vigor.
The king was overjoyed.
He announced, “The prince is healthy! The prince is strong!”
The monster became quite fond of the boy’s name.
He was also quite pleased with his royal life in the castle.
So he controlled himself no matter how ravenous his appetite became.
Day after day, despite his growing hunger, the monster stayed put inside the boy.
But finally, the hunger just became too great…
“Look at me! Look at me!” said the boy, “The monster inside of me has gotten this big!”
The boy devoured the king and all his servants.
Munch munch, chomp chomp, gobble gobble, gulp.
The castle was lonely now with everyone gone, so the boy left on a journey.
He walked and walked for days.
And then one day, the boy came upon the monster who had gone west.
“I have a name!” said the boy, “And it’s such a wonderful one at that!”
But the monster who went west replied, “Who needs a name? I’m perfectly happy without one. After all, that’s what we are – nameless monsters.”
The boy ate up the monster who went west.
At last he had found a name, but there was no longer anyone to call him by it.
Such a shame, because Johan was such a wonderful name.
What happens at the end of the series?
In the final episodes, Johan eventually comes face-to-face with Tenma and urges the surgeon to shoot him.
Tenma doesn’t go through with it, and then a drunk guy arrives and shoots Johan instead. The police show up on the scene. As it happens, Tenma is the only surgeon qualified to save Johan’s life.
Despite having embarked on a long, painful journey to eliminate the monster he had created, Tenma saves Johan’s life and ends up choosing good over evil yet again.
The Monster Series Poster – Monsters or Doctors
Are you part of the Monsters or Doctors?
Monster is a complex and thought-provoking series.
Maybe it can be a good watch for you. Just FYI, it has a slow burn with sentimental flashbacks but staying true to the end is worth it.
And then there are also old philosophical questions of the moral nature of mankind:
Can People Really Change?
Are people born good and they are later corrupted? Or are there some who are born evil? Can a person be completely evil and irredeemable?
Most importantly – Are we monsters or doctors?
It’s up to you to interpret.
