Monster

2004 • TMDB 8.5 • 1 season • 74 episodes • Animation, Drama, Mystery, Crime • Nippon TV

Where to Watch

In the US, Monster streams on Netflix (1 season) and Netflix Standard with Ads (1 season). Availability checked against US listings on October 29, 2026.

Overview

In a German hospital, brilliant surgeon Kenzo Tenma makes a choice that ruins his career: he saves the life of a wounded boy instead of the town’s powerful mayor. Years later, the boy he saved, Johan Liebert, has grown into a charming, remorseless killer — and Tenma, blamed for the murders Johan leaves behind, goes on the run to stop the monster he created. Monster is a slow-burn psychological thriller, not an action series: its tension comes from conversations, from Inspector Lunge’s relentless pursuit, and from the question at its heart — is Johan born evil, or was he made that way? Across 74 episodes, Tenma crosses a vividly drawn Europe of orphanages, hospitals and small towns, meeting people whose lives Johan has touched and broken. Patient, philosophical and quietly devastating, it asks what a single life is worth — and whether one good man can undo one terrible mistake.

Main Cast

The main voice cast includes:

• Hidenobu Kiuchi as Tenma (74 episodes)
• Mamiko Noto as Anna / Nina (38 episodes)
• Tsutomu Isobe as Inspector Lunge (24 episodes)
• Ichiro Nagai as Dr. Reichwein (20 episodes)
• Junko Takeuchi as Dieter (19 episodes)

Seasons Snapshot

• Season 1 — 74 episodes, premiered April 7, 2004

Finale: “The Real Monster” (1×74) aired September 28, 2005.

Why Watch Monster?

• Johan Liebert — one of anime’s greatest villains, terrifying precisely because he is so calm.
• A thriller built on ideas, not action — moral questions that linger for days.
• Inspector Lunge’s pursuit — a cat-and-mouse game across Europe.
• 74 episodes that never waste one, from a master of suspense.
• A grounded, realistic Europe rarely seen in anime.

Trailer

No official trailer available. TMDB’s only listed video for this series is a fan-made trailer, so we have not embedded it here.