Should I read it or watch it? I prefer watching anime, especially if the soundtrack is good...

Should I read it or watch it? I prefer watching anime, especially if the soundtrack is good, but I've heard the manga is significantly better. What's the consensus, and if the anime doesn't life up then why?

The anime sticks very close to the manga, so there shouldn't be that much of a difference.

Read the manga as it got released here and watched the anime eight years later.

I was about to comment
>finally, a thread that uses this image without posting "overrated shit"
then I read the filename.

>thanks for rescuing me doc I'll go kill more people now
>you did it again thanks now I'll go kill again
>you see I kill people because my mom dressed me like a girl when I was a kid
dumb show

I still don't understand if I like this anime or not, I must've watched it like three times and I keep forgetting the main plot.
It's good but it definitely doesn't really leave an impression.

I'd say watch it. The music and visuals really ad to the atmosphere. Most people suggest the manga because the anime is pretty padded/stretched out.
I don't mind that though.

Wait, did the anime add even more padding? The manga already had way too much side character drama for my taste.

The anime is a near carbon-copy of the manga so you can easily watch it

If you plan to read the manga later and want it in physical form remember to hunt the original versions and not the VIZBig(Kanzenban) versions since the kanzenban version has altered art at some parts

Also remember that his name is Runge not "Lunge" the latter was a mistake by VIZ

>knew it was overrated but still watching/reading
I don't understand autism

Gurren Lagann, childish Drill-penis show.

>you did it again thanks now I'll go kill again
No he didn't

neither, it's shit

>did the anime add even more padding?
No
It just has a lot of dumb recaps at the beginning of each episode in later episodes

Shut up nigger
Monster is a masterpiece

In this thread, Underrated Hits

if monster is a masterpiece, I would hate to see something bad

It's not.

It is

If you like urasawa
Read it

I fucking hate urasawa so I cant say anything more without caliing it all shit

t. death note

I'm at episode 43 and I gotta ask, is Johan a fucking mindreader or something? This 6D space chess shit is just getting out of hand.

What is it you don't like from him?

Read it
Pacing is shit in the anime

Im not good at critique, Ive just really disliked every manga Ive read from him.
I cant even express it properly into words it just leaves me with this crappy feeling at the end of "well this was a massive waste of time" also really sick of his art.
I guess is his writing style, it makes me roll my eyes too often.

that kinda ruined it for me. we're always told what a monster Johann is but not once do we see him do something actually smart. Everything is explained with 'muh evil aura'.

It reminded me of that Sherlock screencap from Sup Forums.

>Pacing is shit in the anime
This is not true

Maybe it's because you prefer to read manga to get attached to characters?
Urasawa is definitely more about engaging you to the story than making you fall in love with his characters

Revealing how Johan works would ruin his mystique
The fact that Johan is portrayed to be so unbelievable is to add suspense...to make the reader/viewer question whether he's human or not

Johan is more of a figure than an actual character

>I guess is his writing style, it makes me roll my eyes too often.
So true, his writing style is so different, haha.
But that's exactly what I like from him, and the way he handle conspiracy is so good for me.

>we're always told what a monster Johann is but not once do we see him do something
But this is what I like from Monster that makes it more mysterious.

But you don't have to give away all of his secrets to establish that he's operating within the same rules of the universe. The downside to having this level of mystique is that it breaks immersion for the reader/view and makes his action seem absurd.

>you see I kill people because my mom dressed me like a girl when I was a kid
His mom didn't just dress him like a girl, she made him keep his real identity secret and take over that of his sister to stay under radar better (one child of a single mother garners less attention than twins). That messed him up mentally, made him actually think of himself as the sister in question, which eventually brought to the confusion as to who got kidnapped back then, since his sister pushed traumatic memories back into her subconscious, while he took the event onto himself as his own, as that was part of his sister's identity, hence his "identity".
That pretty much tells you he was always batshit insane.

I could totally get behind Johann as something like "the idea of evil", if it wasn't handled so badly (in my opinion).

They just keep going on and on and on about how his presence is so chilling and how special he is. You either keep that ship subtle and in the background or at some point you've got to back all that hype up with some facts.

It's been a while since I've read Robert Ludlum's Holcroft Covenant, which I suspect might have even inspired Monster as they are somewhat similar, but I remember main villain being special like Johan, but because he himself believed it and carried himself that way, as it was proven by his very quick and easy demise.
Perhaps Johan is a somewhat failed attempt at showing that, someone whose specialty comes from word of mouth, not actual abilities.

The anime adaptation is pretty perfect. The music and voice acting are extremely fitting. But the pacing is slightly slow, so if you get bored you will probably prefer the manga's pacing.