Those who have been following the anime side of things should probably recognize the Monster series since we just finished reviewing the Australian release of the anime back in May. Well now here in North America fans of the Monster anime will soon have a chance to read the source material in an all new format as Viz Media is planning on releasing the “Perfect Edition” of the Monster manga starting on July 15th.
Monster: The Perfect Edition Volume 1 will be released on this date under the Viz Signature imprint and this print only release will be priced at $19.99. Such a price tag is for good reason however, as this is an oversized release that comes with a new translation, re-mastered pages, a generous amount of full color pages, and it also contains both the first and second volume of the series.
All future volumes of Monster: The Perfect Edition will be released four times a year in North America, the United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand with there being nine volumes in total. Viz Media describes the manga as such:
In Naoki Urasawa’s Monster, Johan is a cold and calculating killer with a mysterious past, and brilliant Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the only one who can stop him! Conspiracy and serial murder open the door to a compelling, intricately woven plot in this masterwork of suspense. In the first volume of the new Perfect Edition, everyone faces uncertainty at some point in their lives. Even a brilliant surgeon like Kenzo Tenma is no exception. But there’s no way he could have known that his decision to stop chasing professional success and instead concentrate on his oath to save peoples’ lives would result in the birth of an abomination. The questions of good and evil now take on a terrifyingly real dimension. Years later, in Germany during the tumultuous post-reunification period, middle-aged childless couples are being killed one after another. The serial killer’s identity is known. The reasons why he kills are not. Dr. Tenma sets out on a journey to find the killer’s twin sister, who may hold some clues to solving the enigma of the “Monster.”
