Monster follows Dr. Kenzo Tenma, a surgeon whose life unravels after saving a boy named Johan Liebert, who grows into a manipulative embodiment of evil.
The series grapples with moral ambiguity, the value of life, and humanity’s capacity for monstrosity. This list curates quotes that encapsulate the show’s philosophical depth and character evolution.
A monster does not cry
Episode 45 (The Monster Inside Us)
Speaker: Johan Liebert
Context: Johan’s declaration of his inhumanity, rejecting empathy to justify his atrocities.
All lives are equal. But when you die, it’s all the same
Episode 54 (The Nameless Monster)
Speaker: Johan Liebert
Context: Johan’s nihilistic rebuttal to Tenma’s belief in universal human worth.
No one can escape their past
Episode 22 (The Scraped-Back Memory)
Speaker: Dr. Kenzo Tenma
Context: Tenma’s acceptance of accountability for saving Johan, driving his redemption arc.
Killing is easy… If you can forget the taste of sugar
Episode 8 (The Girl in the Red Coat)
Speaker: Dr. Reichwein
Context: Metaphor for losing humanity’s sweetness when embracing violence.
Everyone you know and love will end up dying. You can’t do anything about it
Episode 67 (A Peaceful Home)
Speaker: Johan Liebert
Context: Johan weaponizes existential dread to break others’ resolve.
Having someone to wait for is happiness. Whether they come or not
Episode 38 (The Town of Slaughter Revisited)
Speaker: Eva Heinemann
Context: Eva’s growth from selfishness to finding purpose in hope.
My emotions got lost somewhere inside me. They’re like a letter I sent myself… that took decades to arrive
Episode 71 (The Monster’s End)
Speaker: Wolfgang Grimmer
Context: Grimmer’s poignant reflection on rediscovering his humanity before death.
You must become the light that illuminates the darkness
Episode 61 (The Baby’s Depths)
Speaker: Inspector Lunge
Context: Lunge’s resolve to pursue justice, even through flawed methods.
The only thing human lives are equal in is death
Episode 49 (The Successors)
Speaker: Johan Liebert
Context: Johan’s warped philosophy justifying mass manipulation and murder.
I wanted someone to stop me. I wanted someone to take the burden off my shoulders
Episode 30 (Anna’s Lie)
Speaker: Nina Fortner (Anna Liebert)
Context: Nina’s plea for absolution from her traumatic past.
Everything will be fine as long as you keep smiling
Episode 64 (The Magnificent Steiner’s Return)
Speaker: Wolfgang Grimmer
Context: Grimmer’s coping mechanism masking decades of suppressed trauma.
People should know in their hearts that food tastes good
Episode 71 (The Monster’s End)
Speaker: Wolfgang Grimmer
Context: Grimmer’s defense of life’s simple joys against nihilism.
You’re not a victim. You’re just another thread in the web
Episode 25 (The Secret Route)
Speaker: Karel Ranke
Context: Critique of self-pity, emphasizing complicity in systemic cycles of violence.
There’s no such thing as a coincidence in this world… only hitsuzen
Episode 40 (The Red Rose Mansion)
Speaker: Franz Bonaparta
Context: Bonaparta’s fatalistic view of Johan’s existence as inevitable.
You think Hell is only for others? You’re already there
Episode 18 (The Executioner)
Speaker: Roberto
Context: Roberto’s taunt to Tenma, linking guilt to internal torment.
I am the only one who can see my brother’s true self
Episode 50 (The Door to Memory)
Speaker: Nina Fortner (Anna Liebert)
Context: Nina’s burden of understanding Johan’s duality.
Munch-munch, chomp-chomp, gobble-gobble, gulp!
Episode 54 (The Nameless Monster)
Speaker: Narrator (The Nameless Monster story)
Context: Haunting refrain symbolizing Johan’s consumption of identities and souls.
Revenge is like a fire—it burns the one who holds it
Episode 44 (The Town of Slaughter)
Speaker: Martin Reest
Context: Martin’s warning to Eva about vengeance’s self-destructive nature.
Even if you erase their existence… your pain won’t disappear
Episode 28 (The Baby’s Journey)
Speaker: Ren Gillen
Context: Gillen’s sobering truth about the emptiness of revenge.
You can’t outrun the past. But you can howl it down
Episode 58 (The Red Rose Mansion’s Secret)
Speaker: Inspector Lunge
Context: Lunge’s shift from obsession to accepting imperfection.
The soul weighs 21 grams. Light enough to carry, heavy enough to drown you
Episode 13 (The Legend of the Holy Monster)
Speaker: Dr. Julius Reichwein
Context: Reichwein’s metaphor for guilt’s paradoxical weight.
I became Hell Girl to atone… but Hell has no mercy for atonement
Episode 74 (The Real Monster)
Speaker: Dr. Kenzo Tenma (internal monologue)
Context: Tenma’s confrontation with his role in creating Johan.
People should think beer tastes good after a hard day’s work
Episode 71 (The Monster’s End)
Speaker: Wolfgang Grimmer
Context: Grimmer’s plea for preserving life’s mundane beauties.
Why do humans cling to life when they’re already dead inside?
Episode 33 (The Perfect Suicide)
Speaker: Johan Liebert
Context: Johan’s nihilistic critique of hollow societal norms.
You’ll drown in your own hatred. That’s the real Hell
Episode 62 (The Baby’s Laughter)
Speaker: Dr. Kenzo Tenma
Context: Tenma’s warning to Johan, affirming his refusal to surrender to despair.
