Also some quick spoiler thoughts for the ending of Monster
I really liked the situation they set up in that town at the end, but in the end I felt a bit disappointed. That old couple handed out lots of guns, but each of the characters the story actually focused on (Wim, his drunk dad, the lotto couple) wound up resisting the urge to kill anyone. When the town began tearing itself apart, it felt like it was just Johan's lackeys led by Roberto who were doing all of the killing. Since it was set up as Johan simply setting up the opportunity for people's inherent darkness be the spark that would rip the town apart, not getting to see any of that from any of the characters the story focused on was a letdown. Thankfully, all the actual character stuff was great. It was neat having Tenma, Lunge, Grimmer, Nina, Roberto, and Johan all in one place finally interacting with each other and finishing the story off. The actual ending was great... until that sequel hook shot of Johan apparently escaping from the hospital! Maybe my opinion on that will change later after I've thought more about it, but right now I think that's pretty lame. I'm not sure how Johan going back into the world ties into the themes. Tenma told him the name his mother gave him, and maybe that will infuse humanity into Johan and he'll live a life of peace, which would point to one thematic conclusion. Or maybe he'll go back to sowing death and chaos, making Tenma regret saving him again, and that would point to a completely different thematic conclusion. I'm not sure how I feel about such a well put-together story having such an inconclusive ending, but oh well. Everything else about the last episode was solid.