Thanks to manga and anime, we got to see unique and interesting characters. It is safe to assume that 90% of anime watchers have applied life lessons from an anime character. Thanks to well-written shows like Naruto, Fullmetal Alchemist, and many others, we got to be better people. But sometimes, that can venture into truly terrifying territory. There are antagonists in every story that shows the worst humans are capable of. They only see themselves and their goal and do not care about the harm they cause. We see humans who are incarnations of monsters. And speaking of monsters, what better person to talk about than Johan Liebert, THE monster himself?
Johan is the primary antagonist and titular “monster” in Naoki Uruzawa’s Monster. Born in 1975, he is the older twin brother of Anna Liebert (currently known as Nina Fortner). The twins were Germans born in Czechoslovakia. In 1986, he was shot in the head but was operated on and saved by protagonist Dr. Kenzo Tenma. He is shown to be ruthless and cruel throughout the series but has a profound respect for Dr. Tenma. Johan still hates humanity and wants to be the last man standing as the world ends. Johan is perhaps, one of the best anime antagonists to exist. Let’s read some facts about why that is so.
Johan’s history
Johan has characteristics that we have seen in real-life serial killers. He possesses an extraordinary amount of charisma and intelligence. On top of that, he is good-looking and can attract people without saying a word. He is very aware of his gifts and uses them mercilessly to fulfill his goal. He manipulates and corrupts people without remorse and causes destruction and suffering. Johan is the definition of the word ‘monster,’ because he enjoys what he does. He is also able to bring out the monsters in people, in contrast with Tenma’s ability to bring out the good.
Let’s look deeper into why this happened. Johan and Anna were born as a result of a eugenics experiment conducted by Franz Bonaparta. The purpose of the experiment was to create a child with exceptionally high intelligence, flawless looks, and capable of leading the human race. A few years after they were born, the twins and their mother, Viera Černá, are released from confinement. They move into the Three Frogs Building in Prague. Černá dresses them identically as girls to make it seem that she only has one child.
Fast forward to 1981, Bonaparta pays a visit and informs the Černá that one of her children will be taken to the Red Rose Mansion. The mansion is a hub for the government to conduct covert experiments. It has a history of illegal and violent activities. It continued until Johan burnt it down in 1997. When she hears the news, Černá hands over Johan. But she quickly changes her mind and hands Anna over instead. This made a big impact on Johan, and he carried it for the rest of his life. He never figured out whether his mother tried to protect him or confused him for Anna.
Changing Character
Both Černá and Anna are taken away, and Johan is left alone. He spent that time reading Bonaparta’s picture book, The Nameless Monster. Anna manages to escape the mansion after some time and comes back to the Three Frogs. Johan asks her to describe the events, and she shares. But Johan confuses the events she tells him with his own experiences. In the end, he thinks he suffered at the mansion.
Soon they burn down the Three Frogs and escape. Johan and Anna pass out from exhaustion near the Czech-German border and are rescued by a patrol officer named Helmut Wolf. Wolf sends them to two orphanages: Anna to Orphanage 47 and Johan to Kinderheim 511.
Kinderheim 511 turned out to be an East German experimental orphanage in East Berlin. However, the scientists figured out that Johan is way too advanced for their programs. Johan later thinks of leaving and formulates a plan. He decides to use the hatred of the children and officers against each other. He literally and figuratively throws a scrap of cloth doused in oil onto an open flame. This results in the deaths of fifty children and officers. Johan calmly sits on a chair and watches over the carnage. He finds out what life is about, at least for him.
Believable Character
Johan being a human, is his ultimate power. Animes offer powerful and scary villains all the time. Pain, Madara Uchiha, Freiza, or Meruem are antagonists that can kill you in a split second. Johan cannot do that. There is no Super Saiyan or Sage Mode for this person. But he is scary because of his intelligence.
Johan turns people into serial killers. Then, he makes the people kill the targets he lists out for them. The amount of fear he instills in them feels all too real. But that is not it. He can talk people into committing suicide. He shares his life philosophies, and within no time, they see things from his point of view.
Despite the number of problems he creates, Johan is a ghost. He never makes public statements, and he prefers it that way. After all, he was raised by people in shadowy organizations. Johan is meant to be the leader of humanity, capable of starting another World War. He is also a master of disguise and can perfectly impersonate his sister Anna. He doesn’t always have to rely on his serial killer side to make people obey him. Sometimes all it takes is a pretty lady for a man’s downfall.
Next up is his expression. Johan, at all times, has a warm smile on his face. People don’t find him threatening, and children play with him. Uruzawa did a wonderful thing by giving him a blank canvas appearance. Normal people, as well as psychopaths, see his face and personality and believe that this is a man who truly understands them. Johan takes full advantage of this. People project their dirty expectations on him, and he makes them carry it out without breaking a sweat.
A Nihilistic Approach
It is an unwritten rule that a masterfully crafted hero or villain should have a powerful personal philosophy. For Johan, it is nihilism. He enjoys what he does, but he also fantasizes about his death. He strongly believes that life has no intrinsic value or meaning. Nihilism came to be when skepticism against god arose. This term became prominent when German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche discussed it in numerous books.
In Johan’s case, it does not necessarily have to be skepticism against god. He has seen the horrors life can offer. Misfortune heaped upon misfortune can awaken nihilistic beliefs and can also create an impulse to destroy. Johan belongs to this special category, known as passive nihilists. They believe that meaning can never be found. For Johan, the belief that life held no meaning existed until he knew of Bonaparta. He finally found purpose thanks to him, even though it was to kill Bonaparta.
But towards the end, even he had a change of heart, and that is thanks to Tenma. Johan is very aware of what he made Tenma go through. At first, Tenma decided to save his life instead of the mayor’s, even at the cost of his career. He then throws Tenma’s life upside down after going on a killing spree. Tenma’s guilt comes into play here because he saved Johan’s life the first time. He decides he has to bring Johan to justice or kill him. However, he never utilized the chances he got to kill him. In an unjust world that did him wrong several times, Tenma stuck to his beliefs. Johan noted that as well.
When he is saved a second time, Johan realizes that there is more to life than just death. He has a long way to go, but he makes resolutions.
In the end, Johan is the perfect antagonist because he is not superhuman. He is a broken human being, and rather than sit and complain, he reflects that damage to the world he hates. He does not have a blood lust but is simply cold and calculating. Even after the explanations given above, you end up with the feeling that many parts have been omitted. That is the beauty of a character like Johan. He and his motivations are always open for discussion.
Also read: Who Is The Secret Son Of Netero from Hunter x Hunter?