Urasawa's Monster

This is going to be an unusual review for this blog because it refers both to a book (or rather a series of graphic novels) and an anime series. In my defense, though, extraordinary content merits an extraordinary review.

I came upon Naoki Urasawa's Monster anime series thanks to the recommendation of one of these friends who nailed my tastes in books and music down to nearly a science. I knew that I was in for a big treat. After watching five 20-minute episodes, I was hopelessly hooked, but decided to watch the remaining 65 episodes when I could binge watch with little else to distract me. I almost kept my resolve, but then I stumbled upon a comic book store that carried the first volume of the manga's "perfect editions." A couple of months later, unable to restrain myself any longer, I dove into the manga, which forced me to watch the anime nearly in parallel. Thus began what became an unforgettable deep jump into one of the best series I've ever experienced.

In both media, Monster offers a very dark, complex, slow brewing exploration of topics related to what makes us human (9 volumes of manga, 27 hours of anime). The universe is primed with the personal, ethical dilemma confronted by a neurosurgeon who has little time to decide which of two human lives to save, a choice that endangers his professional career. The choice of the "right thing to do" would depend on knowing how the event will cause the future to unfold, but there's no crystal ball.

To avoid spoilers, I'll say only that Dr. Tenma's gut wrenching choice takes him down a long, winding path of pain, angst, and suffering. Maybe every human life has the same worth. Maybe the people we love are really the ones who can hurts as the most. Maybe there's an absolute evil in this world. Maybe the education we receive shapes us to behave according to a master plan. Maybe some seemingly inconsequential people we meet on our personal journey will be the ones who will save us when we need them the most. Maybe there are grand conspiracy theories that we can believe being orchestrated by people who don't realize they are also being manipulated against their will. Maybe there is indeed hope for those minds who have being touched by evil in their childhood for they will always be able to exercise their free will in spite of their "programming." Maybe. Lots of maybes. The series explores also European history, xenophobia, political extremism, love, friendship, childhood, education, prostitution, and other topics that I'm sure I'm forgetting, but above all, the meaning of identity.

Monster is not plotted as a straight arrow directed at a final climax. Instead, it takes beautiful detours and introduces a multiplicity of smaller characters and side stories, some of which are there to flesh out the main characters in the story and others which are there to remind us that our journeys in life are multifaceted and meandering. There have been reviewers who expressed annoyance with this apparent lack of focus, but I am not among them. I actually think that many of the threads got wrapped up beautifully in the end and those that didn't still added a lot of color to the story. It is the combination of all these threads and their characters that make Monster a masterpiece.

The cast of characters is simply amazing. I made fast friends with several of them, who will leave me lasting memories and who I plan to revisit from time to time: the conflicted, suffering Dr. Tenma, whose plight drives you all the way through the story, the complex twins Johan and Nina whose natures you just cannot fathom until the very end, the Eva wavering between evil and redemption, the obsessive compulsive Inspector Lunge whose quests include one for his lost humanity, the wandering freelance reporter and loyal friend Grimmer, and Dieter, the child in search of a parent, to cite a few.

The artwork in the Monster anime is not necessarily of consistently high quality. There are times where drawing and animation reach peaks of brilliance and others where they seems oversimplified. Since the storyline kept me fully engrossed, that never bothered me. (The artwork on the manga, on the other hand, is consistently beautiful.) As for the soundtrack, I was very impressed by how well the opening song and sequence fit together. I was also incredibly stoked to find David Sylvian's "For the love of life" song in closing credits sequence of the first 30-something episodes. It's a strong song that reminded me of his collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto in "Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence," called "Forbidden Colors." There came a point, though, when I was shocked to discover that this song was substituted by another that sounds almost like an unexpertly performed sweet lullaby. Eventually, this second song started growing on me and I learned to like it (as you'd expect of a fanboy of the series). As to the remainder of the soundtrack, there are some songs that get overused a bit, if you pay close attention. I recall one, in particular, which I dubbed the "stereotypical cheesy piano lounge song," but, again the fanboy forgives.

All in all, I'd recommend Monster to anyone who is ready for an exciting experience involving dark and challenging mature subjects. I thing there's too much to shock audiences under 12 and to go over heads between 13 and 18. My expectation is that who will get the most of this series are adults over 20-something who managed to keep a strong and healthy inner child.

Review: Mockingjay

Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



For some reason, this book didn't work nearly as well as the first two. It's not the more brooding nature of the narrative that harmed it, but possibly the author just wanting to wrap it up in a hurry, with a limited, maximum page count. I found that many passages were left awfully shallow, narrating events quickly and refusing to explore some big points and questions. It was a somewhat less than satisfying read to me.



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Review: Catching Fire

Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Nice sequel to the first installment. Fast paced, gripping, involving. The writing continues to be simple and effective for its goals, but it's not beautiful prose by any means. Still, I couldn't put it down until I was done and when that happened, I was pleased that I read it.



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Review: Renato Russo - O filho da Revolução

Renato Russo - O filho da Revolução by Carlos Marcelo

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Não fui um grande fã do Legião enquanto a banda existiu. Tinha o segundo disco, gostava muito de 'Índios' e até gostava de ouvir algumas músicas no rádio. Mas a imagem do Renato Russo me parecia uma tentativa forçada de ser um somatório de Ian Curtis com Jim Morrison. A música tinha uns toques de pós-punk inglês que para mim não se encaixavam no contexto de rock brasileiro. Como fã de Joy Division, não gostava de ouvir a versão tupiniquim da banda inglesa. Fiquei nesse esnobismo crítico idiota e perdi o bonde na sua primeira passagem. Com o passar de 15 anos, notei que a vontade de revisitar o acervo da banda crescia cada vez mais. A um certo ponto, fiquei fã de carteirinha. Ouço sem cansar cada uma das músicas do Legião, gosto de procurar videos do Aborto Elétrico pela Internet, e me impressiono com o fato de ter sido o gênio das músicas do Renato o que impulsionou o começo do Capital Inicial.

Descobrir esse livro foi instrumental para que eu reparasse a minha ignorância do que o Renato e as suas bandas representaram para o estabelecimento de rock de verdade no Brasil. Sendo eu também um filho da revolução de 1964, sabia pouco de tanta coisa que o país viveu sob a ditadura. Este livro preenche essas duas lacunas e mostra no contexto histórico o surgimento do rock em Brasília. Além disso, explora até que direitinho a complexa personalidade desse mito e dos seus relacionamentos pessoais. Achei muito bacana a quantidade de fotos, rabiscos e notas dos cadernos do próprio Renato porque te aproximam da narrativa e do "personagem" central.

Só que faltou uma estrela para ficar um livro realmente excelente. Achei as últimas 50 páginas um pouco corridas, como se o gás do autor tivesse acabado ou como se o editor tivesse podado a extensão do livro. Ou talvez, eu simplesmente não queria que o livro acabasse. Não sei. Outra coisa que percebi foi que o trabalho de desenvolver uma perspectiva histórica para dar contexto à música se esgotou lá pelo governo Sarney. Não sei ao certo se o autor usou esse mecanismo para sugerir que os motivos para rebeldia tinham acabado, mas quem é brasileiro sabe bem que isso não computa.

Para quem quer mais, vale a pena assistir ao documentário "Rock Brasília" e até ao filme "Somos Tão Jovens" (que toma umas liberdades artísticas com a história, mas mesmo assim é legalzinho).




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Review: Paul of Dune

Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



For a McDune novel, it is not bad. This covers a period of time after the first Dune and the (not so strong) Dune Messiah. The plot includes some classic machinations of Hakonnens vs. Atreides, some aspects of the relationship between Paul and his father, and most importantly, Muad'Dib's growth into the ruler of the known universe. There are two or three near climax moments in the story that provide some excitement and keep you going, but overall, it's a bland book that you don't regret and don't celebrate having read.



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Review: Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom

Death Note, Volume 1: Boredom by Tsugumi Ohba

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Even having seen the whole anime series and knowing what is going to happen, it's still fun to read.



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Review: Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning

Guitar Zero: The New Musician and the Science of Learning by Gary Marcus

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Interesting book, though not quite what I wanted to read. Gary Marcus is a PhD in cognitive psychology who decides to pick up the guitar (and to learn music) later in life. The part of learning music and learning to play an instrument late in life is what drew me to this, since it's pretty much my own story. Marcus writes precious little about his personal journey and much more about the scholarly, cognitive aspects of the endeavour, which were interesting to read about. I got to understand better how humans are (or rather, how they are not) wired with a music instinct, how our brains evolve as we are trying to learn an instrument, how one can be an expert musician without knowing how to read music, and many other interesting points on cognition. Although all this material made for a very interesting intellectual read, I fear that the lasting lessons for my journey as a musician wannabe can be summarized in few words. In short, it's an interesting work in making psychology more accessible to the masses, but not terribly helpful to a guitar student.



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