List of Monster characters

This is a List of Monster characters from the Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Naoki Urasawa and published by Shogakukan in Big Comic Original between 1994 and 2001. The chapters of Monster were collected and printed in 18 tankōbon volumes. Urasawa later wrote and illustrated the novel Another Monster, a story detailing the events of the manga from an investigative reporter's point of view, which was published in 2002. The manga was adapted by Madhouse into a 74-episode anime TV series, which aired on NTV from April 2004 to September 2005.

Main characters

Dr. Kenzō Tenma

Voiced by: Hidenobu Kiuchi (Japanese); Liam O'Brien (English)

The main protagonist of the series. Kenzo Tenma is a Japanese neurosurgeon working at Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf. Little is known of Tenma's childhood apart from his father (who worked as a director at a prestige hospital) and brother also being doctors. Tenma's family ties grew weaker since he left Japan for Germany. Tenma's surgical skills became evident to his superiors at the beginning of Monster, and he was promoted to chief of neurosurgery by Director Udo Heinemann around the time he met Eva (who Director Heinemenan offered to him in marriage). When a young boy with a bullet wound arrived, Tenma was about to operate when Chief of Surgery Dr. Oppenheim and Director Heinemann told Tenma to work on Mayor Roedecker (who collapsed at his holiday home) first. Tenma told Heinemann that he was the only one who could operate on a child and asked Heinemann to have Dr. Boyer handle the mayor. Heinemann ignored his request, ordering him to operate on the mayor. After a crisis of conscience, Tenma saves the life of a young boy instead of Mayor Roedecker. He is then scolded afterwards by Dr. Boyer and Dr. Oppenheim for not treating the mayor (who died as the doctors had to scramble to cover for Tenma at the last minute). At a banquet, Tenma begged for forgiveness from Director Heinemann who forgive him while blacklisting him, withdrawing Eva's hand in marriage, and Boyer becoming the new head of neurosurgery. Weeks later, Tenma gets word from the police that Director Heinemann, Dr. Oppenheim and Dr. Boyer have been mysteriously killed. Because of the three deaths and transfers of some doctors, the chairman of the board appoints Tenma chief of surgery. Nine years later, Tenma learns that Heinemann's murderer (and the recent killer of Adolf Junkers) is the boy he saved years before, Johan Liebert. Plagued by guilt, he resolves to find Johan and end the life of this "monster" he feels responsible for creating (while evading Inspector Heinrich Lunge, who suspects Tenma of the murders). He is a humanitarian who cares about the lives of others, and his kindness influences those he meets. In his quest to kill Johan, Tenma nearly succeeds several times only to have him slip away until their final confrontation in Ruhenheim. At the time when Tenma was staying at Milan Kolasch's house, it is revealed that Tenma can make a good Oyakodon. When Johan wants Tenma to kill him, he threatens Wim when the child's drunk father, Herbert, mistakes Johan for a monster and shoots him. After Johan is flown to a hospital in a helicopter, Tenma treats him and is cleared of all charges. He later joins Doctors Without Borders (learning from Otto Heckel where Johan and Anna's mother is), and visits the comatose Johan in a police hospital. Afterwards, he heads off to meet Dieter, Nina, and Dr. Julius Reichwein before he heads overseas.

Johan Liebert

Young Johan Liebert Voiced by: Yuuto Uemura (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (English)

Adult Johan Liebert Voiced by: Nozomu Sasaki (Japanese); Keith Silverstein (English)

Johan Liebert is the "monster" of the title and the principal antagonist of the series. The mystery of his past is the focus of the plot. He is called a monster, the next Hitler and the devil himself. Johan Liebert was shot in the head as a child, but saved from death by Dr. Tenma. Because of this, he regards Tenma as a father figure. He claims to love his twin sister, and has some loyalty to her. Johan has spent parts of his life in different places under different names. He possesses charisma and intelligence but is also cunning, manipulative and deceitful; while he is seemingly kind, compassionate and loving to children, he is actually cold and cruel. He uses his talents to manipulate and corrupt others, often with no apparent end than to cause suffering and destruction. His goal (stated as a child) is to be the last one standing at the end of the world. One of the themes of Monster is how individuals are capable of behaving monstrously, and Johan often acts as a direct or indirect catalyst for such behavior. He identifies with other killers, discovering their secrets. Like Tenma, Johan is similar to a character from a manga by Osamu Tezuka: in this case Michio Yuki, the villain in MW. This includes his childhood involvement in a secret military experiment, his ability to manipulate powerful people, his ambition to trigger the end of the world, his suicidal tendencies and occasional episodes of cross-dressing. In keeping with the Apocalypse theme, Johan shares traits with the Antichrist: being "resurrected" after being shot through the head and being mistaken for a monster with "seven heads and many horns". Although Nina remembers that Johan and Anna had no real names, he is primarily known as Johan. After causing the death of Petr Čapek, he orchestrates the Ruhenheim Massacre and has his final encounter with Tenma. When Johan threatens Wim to get Tenma to shoot him, Johan is shot by Wim's drunken father, Herbert. He is flown to a hospital in a helicopter, with the bullet wound treated by Tenma. Comatose, he is visited by Tenma in a police hospital. The final page shows his bed empty, ambiguously suggesting that Johan has escaped the hospital.

Nina Fortner/Anna Liebert

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (Japanese); Karen Strassman^[1] (English)

Anna Liebert is Johan's twin sister, the only physically unharmed survivor of the night her parents and brother were shot in what appeared to be a botched burglary. Nina is a sweet, kind, loving, hardworking and intelligent young woman. She seemed to have a happy life, but discovers there are parts of her past she does not remember. At first, she had amnesia due to the psychological trauma of the attack. After she and Johan disappeared, she was adopted by the Fortner family from Heidelberg (who were unaware of her previous identity as Anna Liebert) where she was named Nina Fortner. As Nina Fortner, she was a law student at the University of Heidelberg and a practitioner of aikido. She lived in peace until Johan contacted her on her 20th birthday and also pursues Johan, with different methods and for a different reason than Tenma does. While Nina does not share her brother's psychosis, they have similar fears linked to their past: she is frozen with shock after reading a children's book which caused Johan to faint. While Nina is primarily a pacifist, she will threaten (or kill) someone if she feels it necessary or to protect others. During a hypnosis session with Dr. Gillen, her personality changes and she reveals that Nina is not her name; when he asks her real name, she refuses to say and attacks him. She also reveals that their father was a soldier in Czechoslovakia, that he was murdered before they were born, and their mother was a political activist. She is present at the Ruhenheim Massacre, forgiving her brother and trying to dissuade Tenma from shooting Johan. By the end of the series, Nina graduates from college and plans to attend law school.

Inspector Heinrich Lunge

Inspector Lunge as seen in Episode 3.

Voiced by: Tsutomu Isobe (Japanese); Richard Epcar (English)

First seen in chapter five, Inspector Heinrich Lunge^[2] is a BKA detective assigned to the murder case at the hospital. He thinks Tenma is the prime suspect, believing that Tenma invented Johan; he is later convinced that Johan is Tenma's alter ego. Inspector Lunge is obsessed with Tenma. His devotion to his work comes at the expense of his personal life; during the series, his wife and pregnant daughter leave him. What he loves most is his job; Lunge missed a chance to meet his grandson for the first time to see Tenma's friends from Japan instead. He expresses some regret; during his fight with Roberto he seems angry to hear Roberto say how happy his wife was with another man, and his grandson saw that man as his grandfather. Lunge has an excellent memory, "entering data" into his mind by making typing gestures with his hands. He seems devoid of emotion, which allows him to commit himself to every case on which he works. His toughness drives a murder suspect to suicide, prompting his superiors to remove Lunge from all his cases. After the University of Munich fire, Lunge learns that Johan really exists. He then takes a "holiday" in Prague to track down Franz Bonaparta, author of a book which may reveal Johan's origins. Lunge ends up in Ruhenheim, meeting Grimmer and Tenma; apologizing to the latter for his mistakes, he heads off to a showdown with Roberto. Both are wounded in the shootout; Lunge survives, while Roberto dies of his wounds. While being carried away by a stretcher to the hospital, he blames Roberto for the Ruhenheim Massacre stating that Roberto was essentially responsible for what happened there. It is unknown why, but it is hinted that he does so to protect Johan and perhaps Tenma. After the Ruhenheim Massacre, Lunge visits Grimmer's grave along with Jan Suk and Fritz Vardemann. He tells them he is a professor at a police academy, and has rekindled his relationship with his daughter.

Dieter

Voiced by: Junko Takeuchi (Japanese); Laura Bailey (English)

First seen in chapter 11, Dieter is a young boy Tenma encounters in his search for Johan. When Tenma first meets him, he is under the care of a man named Hartmann; Tenma later discovers that Dieter is physically abused by Hartmann. Hartmann plans to make Dieter into another Johan by applying the same conditioning used in the Kinderheim 511 orphanage. Dieter later becomes happier after being saved by Tenma from Hartmann's physical and mental abuse. Dieter follows Tenma in his search for Johan, to prevent Tenma from becoming a murderer because he is fond of him. He later teams up with Nina, to help her find out more about her past and give her moral support when her traumatic memories resurface (since he was also subjected to similar abuse). Dieter seems to have absorbed some of Tenma's beliefs and optimism about life, when he meets a young boy influenced by Johan to be more like the latter. The young boy recites what he heard Johan say about life, death and fear, and tries to tempt Dieter to walk along the ledge of a building with his eyes closed. Dieter refuses, saying he wants to live, to experience new things and see the faces of the people he loves; he repeats what he heard Tenma say: "Tomorrow will be better". Dieter helps Nina find out more about her past. By the end of the series he reunites with Otto Heckel, who tells Dieter to give information he dug up on where the mother of the Liebert twins is to Tenma.

Eva Heinemann

Eva Heinemann as seen in episode 1.

Voiced by: Mami Koyama (Japanese); Tara Platt (English)

Eva Heinemann is Tenma's fiancée and the daughter of Director Udo Heinemann. She is independent, superficial, bossy, loud, demanding, and manipulative. She is also cruel, taunting, demeaning, and hates not having her way. She is not often seen without either demanding to be pampered or having a drink. Though Tenma and her seemed to have a lovely relationship, it was just as flawed and had problems. He'd ignore Eva while he is doing research, and insisted on activities Eva didn't care for, though some of it was because it probably wasn't part of her spoiled life style. Although she claims to love him, she sometimes treated him cruelly. However, Tenma asks for Eva's hand in marriage (to her father's approval). She leaves Tenma after he is demoted by her father for disobeying his orders, doing it in the cruelest way, when he attempts to talk to her. She mockingly grins, dropping his ring in front of him, and then calls him a fool as she goes to meet another man, indicating that she replaced him without a thought. Director Heinemann's murder takes a toll on her. She tries to reconcile with Tenma, but he quietly rejects her. Several years and three failed marriages later, she meets Inspector Lunge where she reminiscing about her time with Tenma. Nostalgic, Eva visits Tenma at the hospital and attempts to start over with him. When Eva is rejected again, she lashes out at him. She becomes an embittered alcoholic, using money from divorce settlements to finance her lifestyle. After burning her house down in a drunken rage, she wanders throughout Germany and is caught up in the investigation of the "monster" where one of her drunken activities caused her to spend a night in the police department's jail. Although she does not suspect Tenma caused her father's death, she obsessively hopes to see him suffer in prison in retaliation for his rejection of her. Eva becomes a target of Roberto during her near-encounter with Johan Liebert the night he murdered Adolf Junkers. Petr Čapek and "the Baby" hire Martin to bring her to Frankfurt, where she tries to mold him into a replica of Tenma. When Martin dies after a shootout, Eva is devastated. Although Tenma tells her to go by train to Munich to meet with Dr. Reichwein and tell the police what she knows about Johan, instead she plans revenge on those responsible for Martin's death and purchases a gun. Eva finds Christof Sievernich (partially responsible for Martin's death) and tries unsuccessfully to kill him. She is saved by Tenma who wounds Sievernich. Eva is later seen with Dieter at Julius Reichwein's house where she mentions that the police did not believe her story that Johan Liebert was the culprit. During this time, Eva trades alcohol for cigarettes. By the end of the series, she becomes an interior decorator who has released her anger at Tenma and her grief for Martin when she visits Dr. Reichwein. In Another Monster, Eva explains that she left Tenma after Director Heinemann demoted him because her father needed a right-hand man who he could put his full trust in. Eva still emphasizes that breaking the engagement was her own conscious decision.

Werner Weber

Werner Weber is a freelancing journalist who is the main character of Another Monster. He interviewed people that were in the lives of Kenzo Tenma and Johan Liebert ranging from Kenzo Tenma's childhood friends, Eva Heinemann, Inspector Heinrich Lunge, Rudy Gillen, Karl Neumann, Jan Suk, Karel Rank, and others.

Supporting characters

Director Udo Heinemann

Voiced by: Masaru Ikeda (Japanese); Steve Kramer (English)

The Director of Eisler Memorial Hospital. Director Udo Heinemann supervises Tenma and the other doctors and surgeons. Impressed with Tenma's talents, he offers his daughter Eva in marriage. Tenma is dissatisfied with hospital politics when he is ordered to treat an opera singer F. Rosenbach instead of a Turkish construction worker who arrived first. Tenma saves the singer, but the construction worker dies as a result of treatment delays from Dr. Becker. When the Liebert twins are brought in (with Johan's bullet head wound), Tenma is working on him when chief of surgery Dr. Oppenheim and Director Heinemann order him to treat a cerebral clot in Mayor Roedecker (who came in after them). When Tenma tells Director Heinemann that he is the only one who can successfully operate on Johan and to have Dr. Boyer handle the mayor for him, Director Heinemann ignores Tenma's request since the next review of medical facilities will have Mayor Roedecker promising increased funding to Eisler Memorial. Tenma's decision to operate on Johan causes the other doctors to scramble to cover for him at the last minute resulting in Roedecker's death. Director Heinemann receives a report from Dr. Oppenheim about what happened to Roedecker. The next day, Director Heinemann states at a press conference that Mayor Roedecker died from a cerebral infarction and that they tried their best to save him. When Tenma apologizes to Director Heinemann at a hospital banquet for what happened to Mayor Roedecker, Director Heinemann tells him not to worry about it and that he just followed his heart. However, Dr. Boyer will be assuming Tenma's Head of Neurosurgery position. Director Heinemann also tells Tenma that will not be getting any review papers from him by the next Health Summit and will not recommend Tenma if he plans a transfer. Angry about what Director Heienmann, Tenma sits beside an unconscious Johan Liebert ranting about Heinemann's attitude and that he'd be better off dead. Director Heinemann later ordered Dr. Oppenheim to have Dr. Boyer watch over the twins after hearing that Tenma was watching over them. Director Heinemann is later found dead when he, Dr. Oppenheim and Dr. Boyer were poisoned by candy left by Johan Liebert. Director Heinemann's death had its toll on Eva who broke down in tears during her father's funeral. In Another Monster, it was revealed that Kenzo Tenma had arrived in Germany after reading Director Heinemann's research on Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Tenma later learned that Dr. Heinemann's researches were not actually written by him, but by his teaching assistants. Dr. Tenma feared that he might become one of them.

Dr. Oppenheim

Voiced by: Nobuaki Fukuda (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)

Dr. Oppenheim is the Chief of Surgery at Eisler Memorial, serving under Udo Heinemann. He has Tenma operate on F. Rosenbach while Dr. Becker treats the Turkish construction worker. When the Liebert twins came in, he hands Tenma his phone when Director Heinemann orders Tenma to treat Mayor Roedecker first. When Mayor Roedecker dies during surgery, Dr. Oppenheim berates Tenma for letting him die. He tells Tenma that he has already filed his report to Director Heinemann and that Mayor Roedecker's death is Temna's fault. Director Heinemann later orders Dr. Oppenheim to put Dr. Boyer in charge of the twins after he heard that Tenma was watching them. With Director Heinemann and Dr. Boyer, Dr. Oppenheim is found dead when the three are poisoned with candy left by Johan Liebert. Dr. Oppenheim's death caused the chairman of the board to give his position to Tenma.

Dr. Boyer

Voiced by: Masahiko Tanaka (Japanese); Michael McConnohie (English)

Dr. Boyer is a surgeon at Eisler Memorial Hospital. He and another doctor were to join Tenma for Mayor Roedecker's surgery. After Tenma operates on Johan Liebert instead, Dr. Boyer scolds Tenma for inadvertently causing Roedecker's death and stated that the doctors had to scramble to cover for him at the last minute. Because of this, Director Udo Heinemann appoints Dr. Boyer to be the new Head of Neurosurgery. When Anna Liebert collapses near Johan, Boyer is instructed to photograph her memory jog over Tenma's objections as part of Director Heinemann's "emergency image-saver" for retrieving hospital's costs. Dr. Boyer tells Tenma that Director Heinemann has put him in charge of the Liebert twins and that he can't argue with Director Heinemann on this. After Johan awakens, Dr. Boyer tells Tenma that he has served his purpose by saving Johan's life and orders Tenma to return to his post as Dr. Boyer enters Johan's room. Director Heinemann, Dr. Oppenheim and Dr. Boyer are later found dead where they were poisoned with candy left by Johan Liebert.

Dr. Becker

Voiced by: Yasuyoshi Hara

Dr. Becker is a surgeon at Eisler Memorial. While Dr. Tenma is treating opera singer F. Rosenbach on Dr. Oppenheim's orders, Dr. Becker handles the surgery of a Turkish construction worker who dies from treatment delays. When the Liebert twins are brought in, he helps Tenma with Johan's surgery. After Mayor Roedecker's death, Becker visits Tenma asking if he has heard from Director Udo Heinemann. When Director Heinemann, Dr. Oppenheim, and Dr. Boyer are found dead, Dr. Becker, Tenma and a nurse discover that the Liebert twins are gone. After Director Heinemann's funeral, Dr. Becker and Tenma are approached by Inspectors Weisbach and Lunge, who are searching for clues. When Tenma is arrested in Prague, Dr. Becker voices doubts to his patients that a good lawyer would represent him.

Egon Weisbach

Voiced by: Ryuji Nakagi (Japanese); David Lodge (English)

Egon Weisbach is a police inspector who is the first person to investigate the Lieberts' murder. At the hospital, he helps Anna Liebert remember her name and her brother. After Heinemann's funeral, he and Inspector Lunge approach Tenma for clues. Nine years later, Weisbach is near retirement when he brings apprehended murderer Rheinhardt Dinger to the police station. He later meets Rudy Gillen who is interrogating murderers whose murders do not match their modus operandi. When they ask Rheinhardt again, they are led by a clue leading to Johan Liebert.

Professor Kronecker

Voiced by: Taimei Suzuki (Japanese); Michael McConnohie (English)

Kronecker teaches at the University of Heidelberg, and scolds Nina for being late for class. By the end of the series, he tells Nina that she has graduated and she had better not be late for her law-school entrance exam.

Otto Heckel

Voiced by: Yoshito Yasuhara (Japanese); Doug Erholtz (English)

A buck-toothed thief, Heckel runs into Tenma in chapter 17 when he breaks into a murder victim's house where Tenma is investigating. Heckel is not interested in solving the mystery surrounding the monster; he is preoccupied with making quick cash by any means necessary. Nonetheless, Tenma and Heckel must rely on each other in order to survive. Heckel becomes friends with Dieter around the time when Tenma has his encounter with "The Baby." By the end of the series he resurfaces, telling Dieter that he has located the mother of the Liebert twins for Tenma.

"The Baby"

Voiced by: Kazuo Kumakura (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)

First mentioned in chapter 26, "The Baby" is a short, elderly, neo-Nazi leader. He sees Johan as an ideal Aryan leader, who could become the next Adolf Hitler to lead Germany into prominence. The Baby works for four individuals who would welcome Johan as a political leader. He hopes to use Nina as bait to coerce Johan and as a precautionary measure to protect him (and the other group members) from Johan. This fails as Johan kills one of the four members of the organization. The Baby is reminiscent of a character from Twin Peaks named "the Midget." The Baby's first appearance is similar as he appears to Nina from behind a red curtain (similar in turn to the Black Lodge's waiting room), dancing to "Be My Baby". He is killed by an exotic dancer employed by Johan in a plot to destroy Petr Čapek and his organization.

General Helmut Wolf

Voiced by: Kōichi Kitamura (Japanese); Anthony Landor (English)

First seen in chapter 29, General Wolf is an old soldier who was first to find the twins and is the second of four individuals (with Goedelitz and Čapek) in the organization. He gave Johan his name (the name of the boy in the picture book entitled The Monster without a Name). Wolf is the only one of the four who did not want to make Johan a modern-day Führer. His family and acquaintances have been killed by Johan, teaching him true loneliness. Later in the series, Tenma encounters Wolf on his deathbed after the destruction of the Red Rose Mansion; before he dies, he begs Tenma to speak his name as proof he existed.

Rudy Gillen

Voiced by: Takayuki Sugo (Japanese); Derek Stephen Prince (English)

First seen in chapter 33, Gillen is a criminologist and one of Tenma's former classmates (a former student of Dr. Reichwein). He helps Tenma by saving him from arrest and acquiring information about Johan from the criminals Johan has met. Gillen has some insight into Johan and his motives, but is still baffled by Johan's actions. Gillen later gives Nina hypnotherapy, during which she tries to attack him. Gillen and Inspector Weisbach later interrogate murderers who have killed people who do not fit their modus operandi. He later accompanies Nina to Ruhenheim, where they encounter some of the people whom Tenma evacuated. He tells one of the adults to have the children treated at a hospital and to have the authorities get to Ruhenheim as fast as they can. Gillen is later seen with Nina when Johan is shot by Herbert Knaup. In Another Monster, Gillen writes a best-seller about Johan and his string of murders. He believes that Johan is still in the hospital, but thinks it best to not interview him if he awakens.

Roberto

Voiced by: Nobuyuki Katsube (Japanese); J.B. Blanc (English)

First seen in chapter 37, Roberto is a big, burly man and one of the many people from the Kinderheim 511 orphanage whom Johan controls. He admires Johan often serving as Johan's bodyguard and hitman. While Roberto knows nothing about his past it is suggested that he is the nephew of a former high-level StB officer named Karl Ranke, since there is a resemblance between the two. Ranke tells a story about his sister who, with her husband, was shot trying to cross the Berlin Wall into West Germany; only their son, Adolf Reinhart, survived the attack. As Adolf's legal guardian, Ranke signed papers turning his nephew over to Kinderheim 511. Wolfgang Grimmer may be the only person who remembers him, considering him a friend during their time at the orphanage (Grimmer remembers that one of Adolf's favorite drinks was cocoa). It is unclear in Monster or Another Monster if Roberto is Adolf Reinhart. He is shot by Tenma and seems to fall over a balcony into a sea of flames, but returns as an attorney for Tenma called Alfred Baul. Largely faithful to Johan, he is thinner and his right arm is largely useless. When he first meets Nina Fortner, although Johan wishes no harm to his sister Roberto leaves her to be killed by his men to protect Johan. Of Johan's henchmen, Roberto appears the most frequently as an enemy. He is mortally wounded by Lunge in the Ruhenheim Massacre and kills Franz Bonaparta, and while dying asks Johan to show him "Dooms Day", but Johan says he can not see it.

Hans Georg Schuwald

Voiced by: Michio Hazama (Japanese); Dan Woren (English)

First seen in chapter 47, Han Georg Schuwald is known as the "Bayern Vampire." He is a successful, reclusive paraplegic businessman and his success allows him to donate his library to the University of Munich. Schuwald employs several students from the university, who read him Latin. He fathered a son with a prostitute, Margot Langer (friends in Prague with a mother of twins), whom he says he still loves. Although it is believed he was there when Karl was born, for some reason he abandoned mother and son. While his library-dedication ceremony is targeted by Johan in a scheme to unleash terror and pandemonium, the authorities (including Inspector Lunge) believe Schuwald is the real target and Tenma is responsible. Before Tenma leaves for Prague, he has Karl deliver a message to Schuwald about the mother of the Liebert twins' living in Prague. Schuwald later undergoes therapy with Dr. Reichwein and hires Fritz Vardemann to defend Tenma when he is arrested. After the Ruhenheim Massacre at the end of the series, Schuwald is informed of Tenma's current status and wishes to see him again one day.

Margot Langer/Halenka Novakova

Margot Langer Voiced by: Atsuko Tanaka (Japanese); Brigitte Burdine (English)

Fake Margot Langer Voiced by: Kazuko Yanaga (Japanese); Wendee Lee (English)

A prostitute and mother of Hans Georg Schuwald's son Karl Neumann. Before meeting Schuwald, she and a friend plan to leave Prague. Margot succeeds, but her friend is caught. Margot then works as a high-priced call girl who eventually becomes Schuwald's lover (it is hinted that she returns his feelings). Years after giving birth to Karl, she sends him away out of love so he will not be known as "the son of a whore". It is hinted that after her retirement, she lives with Johan in friendship telling him of her past and his mother. However, it is also hinted that Johan kills Margot. Blue Sophie (who later posed as Margot) is also later killed by Johan and Roberto. In a flashback, Schuwald reveals that Margot's real name is Halenka Novakova and she went missing after leaving for Prague. It is later revealed that her old friend Viera Černá mothered the Liebert twins.

Karl Neumann

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (Japanese); Yuri Lowenthal (English)

First seen in chapter 47, Neumann is a student at the University of Munich and the son of Schuwald and Langer (who sent him away for a better life). Karl spent much of his childhood in foster care, until the Neumanns adopted him; he is shown to love and care for them as his parents. Neumann tries to get close to Schuwald without letting him know that he is his son. He is also involved in the mystery of a dead student, and the disappearance of Johan Liebert after his father's book collection is destroyed in an inferno during a ceremony at the university library. After reconciling with his father, he remains as Schuwald's personal assistant. He later confronts Inspector Lunge and shows him a picture of Johan. Under orders from his father, he encounters Tenma at the train station and reveals that the twins' mother lives in Prague. When Tenma is arrested Schuwald has Karl hire Fritz Vardemann to represent him, and Neumann is present when Nina returns for therapy with Dr. Gillen. At the end of the series, Karl tells his father about Tenma's whereabouts after the Ruhenheim Massacre. It is revealed in Another Monster that he has taken Schuwald's last name and lives happily with him, he is facing challenges to his paternity as Schuwald's son.

Lotte Frank

Voiced by: Kyoko Hikami (Japanese); Julie Ann Taylor (English)

First seen in chapter 47, Lotte is a student at the University of Munich who is trying to win Karl Neumann's heart, so she aids his investigation of his father and late mother. When Karl rejects (and unintentionally humiliates) her by getting a proxy to go on a date with her, she is crushed and is comforted by Nina; they become fast friends. Lotte also wants to know about the mysteries behind Johan Liebert and the death of the student who worked with them for Schuwald. Lotte and Karl are seen together, when Anna briefly returns to visit the others and drop off Dieter with Dr. Reichwein. It is unknown whether she and Karl are a couple, but they are apparently friends.

Julius Reichwein

Voiced by: Ichirō Nagai (Japanese); Paul St. Peter (English)

First seen in chapter 49, Reichwein is a psychologist who specializes in counseling and assisting recovering alcoholics. He is caught up in the mystery surrounding the "Monster" after one of his patients (Richard Braun) dies allegedly in a drunken accident while investigating Johan Liebert. He later becomes guardian to Dieter (helping Tenma and defending his character) and provides psychological care to Nina, Eva and others. Reichwein bears a physical resemblance to Wilford Brimley and Shunsaku Ban (from Astro Boy). Naoki Urasawa has also used Brimley as a model in Pluto.

Richard Braun

Voiced by: Hiroshi Arikawa (Japanese); Cam Clarke (English)

Braun is a private investigator hired by Schuwald to investigate the (apparent) suicide of Edmund Farren. Formerly with the Munich Police Department, Richard leaves the force after drunkenly killing an underage suspect. Shortly after, his wife and daughter leave him due to his alcoholism. He is seeing Dr. Julius Reichwein to overcome his addiction, is piecing his life back together and has partially reconciled with his family. During his investigation into Farren's suicide, Braun becomes suspicious of Johan Liebert. He begins looking into the young man's past, and notices a connection to several of his previous cases. Aware of the detective's suspicion, Johan confronts Braun and leads him to a rooftop whilst discussing the incident which led to his dismissal from the police. Johan then claims that Braun was not drunk when he shot the suspect, but convinced himself that he was due to guilt. He then offers him a drink. Braun is later found dead after falling from the roof with a smashed whiskey bottle. The police rule it was either suicide or accident. However, Dr. Reichwein is convinced that he was murdered as Richard never drank whiskey.

Wolfgang Grimmer

Voiced by: Hideyuki Tanaka (Japanese); Patrick Seitz (English)

First seen in chapter 78, Grimmer is a freelancing journalist researching Kinderheim 511 who is drawn into the search for Johan when he helps Tenma. Nearly always smiling, he is an apparently friendly, polite man who is good with children. However he seems to have a dark side; a former subject in Kinderheim 511, he has developed another personality: an aggressive fighter who protects him when he is under stress (similar to the Incredible Hulk), whom he calls the Magnificent Steiner, after a television show he watched as a child. Due to his training as a spy after his time in Kinderheim 511, he admits he is not good at expressing emotion. Grimmer mentions to Tenma that he had been married and had a son. One day, his son suddenly stopped breathing; although he tried to revive him, there was nothing he could do. When he attends his son's funeral, his wife is shocked and angry at his apparent lack of grief. However, he can finally show his feelings when a childhood friend nearly goes down the same road as Johan. Grimmer ends up in Ruhenheim under the alias of Mr. Neumeyer, and encounters Inspector Lunge. When the Ruhenheim Massacre begins, Wolfgang threatens a supposedly paraplegic man who was selling guns. When Grimmer is mortally wounded it sets off his Magnificent Steiner side, which pummels the gunmen. Dying, he confides to Tenma that he gave in to his anger (raising the possibility that his alter ego was a psychological filter he used to justify his violent acts); he then dies in front of Tenma, Franz Bonaparta and Wim Knaup. Grimmer's grave is later visited by Inspector Lunge, Jan Suk and Fritz Vardemann.

Jan Suk

Voiced by: Hisayoshi Suganuma (Japanese); Michael Sinterniklaas (English)

First seen in chapter 84, Jan Suk is a detective with the Prague police trying to solve the mystery involving the death of his superior Inspector Filip Zeman. Zeman was investigating the death of a former headmaster at Kinderheim 511 (with Grimmer as a suspect), when Jan Suk discovered Zeman was working with the Czechoslovak secret police. When Commissioner Hamrlik, Chief Detective Batella and Detective Janacek (who also had connections with the secret police) are mysteriously poisoned with candy given to one of the detectives by Johan Liebert (who was masquerading as Anna Liebert at the time), Jan Suk is under suspicion. When police attempt to monitor Jan Suk's movements, Detectives Novak and Zanda are killed by Johan. Suk obtains a tape made by the former headmaster of Kinderheim 511 and meets with Wolfgang Grimmer in an abandoned building, but is badly wounded by those seeking it. He confides in Anna Liebert (Johan masquerading as his sister), a blonde woman he meets at a bar. There are similarities between Kenzo Tenma and Jan Suk: both are young men with promise in their professions, caught in a web of events as a prime suspect. When Tenma is arrested by the Prague police, Suk tries to leave his hospital to help Tenma. Jan Suk is stopped by Detectives Bradec and Stransky who tell him that Grimmer has sent a note to them exonerating Jan Suk from involvement in the police officers' deaths. He and Vardemann later team up to discover the truth about Franz Bonaparta. At the series' end, Jan Suk visits Grimmer's grave with Inspector Lunge and Fritz Vardemann. It is interesting to note that despite having a crush on Nina Fortner/Anna Liebert who was actually Johan Liebert in disguise, he has never actually met Nina Fortner.

Commissioner Nepela

Voiced by: Katsunosuke Hori (Japanese); Bill Kessler (English)

A member of the Prague police, Nepela met Inspector Lunge at a police convention. He became commissioner after the deaths of Commissioner Hamrlik, Chief Detective Batella, and Detective Janacek. Suspicious of Grimmer and Suk's possible involved in their deaths, he had his men watch them both. Inspector Lunge later approached him to help translate a book entitled The Monster with No Name.

Karel Ranke

Voiced by: Yoshisada Sakaguchi (Japanese); Peter Lurie (English)

Ranke is a former captain in the Czechoslovak secret police who wants to see Tenma and Grimmer. Grimmer requests an agreement to obtain the tape and research materials for an unknown party in Germany in return for Suk's safety. While they do not agree, Ranke mentions Franz Bonaparta (a picture-book author living in a mansion covered with red roses, who cared for the Liebert twins). When they confirm Suk's safety, Grimmer and Tenma agree with Ranke to obtain the tape and research materials from Suk's mother. However, they discover the research materials gone; the tape has been recorded over by Johan Liebert with a message for Tenma. Inspector Lunge later visits Ranke for information about Franz Bonaparta.

Fritz Vardemann

Voiced by: Ryūsuke Ōbayashi (Japanese); Kyle Hebert (English)

Vardemann is a lawyer hired by residents of Düsseldorf after Tenma is arrested in Prague. Vardemann has made a name for himself as a defense attorney, defending his own father (who died in prison on suspicion on being a spy, before being exonerated). He is married, and during the series his wife gives birth to their daughter. Vardemann enjoys listening to "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz. He is visited by Inspector Lunge, who is looking for a lead on Franz Bonaparta. Vardemann tells Tenma he did not know that Alfred Baul was Roberto in disguise, targeting Eva Heinemann. It is revealed later that Vardemann found notes written by his father, suggesting his guilt. He then teams up with Suk to learn the truth about Franz Bonaparta and his father's past. At the series' end he, Jan Suk and Inspector Lunge visit Wolfgang Grimmer's grave. It is revealed in Another Monster that he has some of Grimmer's research notes on 511 Kinderheim and is looking for an Incredible Magnificent Steiner episode which Grimmer wanted to see. Vardemann is also Günther Milch's lawyer in Another Monster, making him promise not to escape from prison again in exchange for Vardemann's exonerating him..

Günther Milch

Voiced by: Shigeru Chiba (Japanese); Kirk Thornton (English)

Milch is a convict who, as a child, was kept in a cabinet while his parents were at work. During a life of crime, it is mentioned that he was caught and escaped many times. He met Tenma (who had been arrested by the Prague police and extradited to Düsseldorf) during his most recent capture. When Milch mentions his next planned escape, Tenma decides to accompany him when Roberto (as Alfred Baul) tells Tenma that he is going after Eva. When Tenma and Milch are being transported to prison, Milch's brother Gustav is a decoy. The plan falters when Gustav announces his love and promises to go clean for his girlfriend Helene. Forgetting his job, he stands in the road and is hit by the paddy wagon. Grabbing Gustav's gun, Tenma forces the guards to release him and Milch. After Gustav is taken to Eisler Memorial Milch and Tenma part, with Milch planning to go to Tunisia. It is revealed in Another Monster that Milch was caught and imprisoned again, promising his lawyer Fritz Vardemann he will not escape if Vardmann can get him out.

Jaromír Lipsky

Voiced by: Hiroaki Hirata (Japanese); Troy Baker (English)

A down-and-out puppeteer in Prague, Lipsky meets Nina as she passes through the city in pursuit of Johan. Inspired by her, Lipsky begins work on a new show with a new puppet resembling her. However, Lunge soon discovers he is the son of Klaus Poppe (or Franz Bonaparta). Lipsky reveals that his father barred him from book-reading sessions at the Mansion of Red Roses due to his "lack of talent". As time passes and Poppe has second thoughts about his work, he warms slightly towards his son. A postcard Poppe had sent him helps Lunge locate Ruhenheim. Tenma visits him and gets a lead on Franz Bonaparta, leading Tenma to Ruhenheim. Lipsky's past is revealed in Another Monster; his mother was an actress in underground plays. Lipsky is happier, and his puppet shows are receiving more attention; he has also developed a relationship with a woman who likes his shows. Lipsky credits Nina, who showed him he could be happy.

Martin Reest

Voiced by: Shuuichi Ikeda (Japanese); Roger Craig Smith (English)

Martin Reest was imprisoned for eight years for shooting his girlfriend Edda and her lover. After prison, he works for The Baby. Martin hates to drink, because of his childhood with an alcoholic mother. While she never beat him, she exhausted him from trying to keep her away out of bars. One night when she refused to come home with him, Martin (tired of her drunkness) left her on the streets alone and she froze to death. Petr Čapek recruited him to bring Eva Heinemann to Frankfurt and act as her bodyguard. Eva goes with him to avoid being killed by Roberto. In a bar, they exchange stories of their romantic lives. After seeing Petr, Eva molds him into an exact image of Tenma. Martin meets Tenma at a diner and beats him up, telling him to forget about Eva. Later that night, Tenma sees Martin at the same diner and describes Petr (who hired Martin to bring Eva to him) and an encounter with Johan at one of Petr's parties. Martin is later told by Petr to kill Eva. When (in an alcoholic stupor) Eva becomes aware of this, Martin does not kill her. He later meets Christof Sievernich, who learned that Martin's girlfriend Edda begged him to kill her and how he carried Martin's mother's body after she froze to death. Edda is a drug addict, and Martin tries desperately to get her clean. As it seemed he did, he came home to find her with her ex-boyfriend (a drug addict). Although she begged Martin to shoot her, he turned and left; as he did, he heard a gunshot and came back to find that she had committed suicide. Angered over her death, he killed her ex-boyfriend but never told the police that Edda shot herself. After leaving, he passes Johan without making eye contact. Martin later warns Eva of an attempt on her life, and has her dress as a maid to evade detection. He is shot in the stomach during a gunfight at the Reagan Hotel when protecting Eva from a team sent by Petr Čapek to kill her, although he shot five of the team. Robbie brings Martin to see Tenma. Martin tells Tenma about his encounter with Petr Capek, his continuing experiments, and his encounter with Christof before dying. Eva is devastated to hear from Tenma of his death.

Robbie

Voiced by: Yuzuru Fujimoto (Japanese); Peter Lurie (English)

Robbie owns the diner at which Martin eats and told him not to do any damage when he beats Tenma up. When Martin is wounded, Robbie drives him to Tenma.

Petr Čapek

Voiced by: Nobuo Tanaka (Japanese); Dave Mallow (English)

First seen in chapter 121, Čapek is the last individual in the organization (with General Helmut Wolfe and Goedelitz): a bespectacled, white-haired, mysterious man responsible for many incidents in Monster. He is highest-ranked in the organization, and tries to control the devil by letting him meet Christof Sievernich. In his youth, Čapek was Franz Bonaparta's apprentice and participated in the experiment on the Liebert twins. Čapek thinks everything is going well, but Johan tells him clearly later that everything is going the right way according to Johan's own plan. Čapek was an old friend of a dentist, Milan Kolasch, who blames Petr for the riots which killed his loved ones. Kolasch tried to assassinate Petr at a convention, but was shot by police. Čapek was shocked at Kolasch's actions. After the death of "The Baby," he pretends everything is under control when he clearly knows things are going wrong. In his paranoia, when being driven to his villa Čapek kills his bodyguard, Pendington, when he thinks the guard is trying to kill him (Pendington was reaching for his lighter). Čapek later had Nina brought where Johan was waiting for them. After Tenma prevented Nina's suicide Čapek sees Tenma, telling him he is pursuing Franz Bonaparta. When Čapek's other bodyguards discover his paranoia, he is shot in the head by one out of two of them (who wondered what he and Franz were planning).

Christof Sievernich

Voiced by: Masashi Hironaka (Japanese); Travis Willingham (English)

First seen in chapter 124, Sievernich is Johan's disciple and another survivor of Kinderheim 511; he was adopted by the Sievernich family from child traffickers, who bought him. Son of a politician, he is spoiled. He and Johan agree to reunite 10 years after escaping the orphanage; they are introduced at a party by Eva Heinemann (who was hired to point Johan out). His late stepfather was one of four individuals in a neo-Nazi organization, and Sievernich was likely to succeed him. He has qualities similar to Johan's, intimidating Eva Heinemann's bodyguard Martin by reminding him of what happened to his mother and wife. Like Johan, Sievernich seems calm and jovial in front of others but is known for his "creepy" smile when speaking of death and the truth. He has a knack for discovering secrets, and can read people well. Nothing else is known about Sievernich, except that Johan or the organization tried to make him a second monster. Like Johan, he seems charismatic and friendly. However, his attitude can quickly change when someone threatens his plans. When Eva sees Sievernich, she fires a warning shot at his ear. He flies into a homicidal rage, accusing her of ruining his face and promising revenge when he rules the world. Shot in the leg by Tenma, he is dropped off at the nearest hospital after Tenma learns Johan's whereabouts. Sievernich has possibly fathered a child with Frida Schelling (whom Johan had killed for him).

Franz Bonaparta/Klaus Poppe

Voiced by: Nachi Nozawa (Japanese); Michael McConnohie (English)

Bonaparta is held responsible for the eugenics experiment leading to the birth of the Liebert twins, and author of the storybooks used to indoctrinate the children of Red Rose Mansion (notably The Nameless Monster, from which Johan took his name and his mode of operation). Other books include The Big Eyed Man and the Big Mouthed Man, The God of Peace and The Quiet Village. His stories are full of metaphor and symbolism, often with monsters as important characters. Most also promote the idea that human nature contains the ability to become good or evil, although his works tend to denounce humanity rather than uplift it. He is the father of Jaromir Lipsky, who received a postcard from him directing Inspector Lunge to Ruhenheim (where he runs the Hotel Versteck). Bonaparta is probably responsible for the death of the twins' father, as their mother strongly believes he is. He is shown (in flashbacks) to spend much time drawing her, although she despises him (vowing she would never forgive him, and when she died her children would avenge her). Bonaparta reveals his identity to Lunge and Grimmer after Grimmer threatens a supposedly paraplegic man who facilitated the Ruhenheim Massacre by giving out guns. Bonaparta repents for his actions after seeing Grimmer's death. He tells Tenma he had fallen in love with the twins' mother at first sight (despite her antipathy to him and his associates), also confessing that he killed anyone who was associated with (or even knew of the existence of) her and the twins. Bonaparta admits his guilt for making Johan; he later tries to kill Johan but is, instead, killed by a dying Roberto in front of Tenma and Wim. His real name is Klaus Poppe; other aliases include Emil Scherbe, Helmuth Voss and Jakob Vyrobek. Bonaparta revealed the twins' mother's name (Anna) only to Lunge and Tenma. Another Monster states that almost all traces of her were erased. After the mass murder at the Red Rose Mansion, it is hinted that Bonaparta erased her past. His son Jaromir Lipsky hints that Bonaparta wanted to isolate their mother and make himself the only one who knew of her existence.

Wim Knaup

Voiced by: Akiko Yajima (Japanese); Colleen O'Shaughnessey (English)

Wim lives in Ruhenheim and works at a hotel owned by Franz Bonaparta. He is abused by his drunk father Herbert and bullied by three children for his old bicycle as they call him "trash." When the three bullies steal Wim's bike, they tell him that it is in the "vampire's house" on the hill. When he enters the house, he meets Inspector Lunge and Wolfgang Grimmer (who tells hims where his bike is). Wim is later beaten by the bullies, who steal the money for his father's liquor. After they leave he is approached by an elderly couple, who ask if he would like to avenge them and offer him a gun. After another bullying episode, Wim is tempted to use the gun he received when the Ruhenheim Massacre begins. When Grimmer finds Wim where the bullies are now dead, he sees that Wim never used his gun and learns from Wim that he doesn't know who killed them. This is mentioned to Franz Bonaparta, who tells Wim he did the right thing not to use the gun. When Nina and Dr. Gillen arrive, Wim recognizes Nina from the drawings of her and Johan in the "vampire's house" on the hill. Wim tells Bonaparta about Nina's appearance when Johan arrives, and sees the wounded Roberto shoot Bonaparta before the latter can kill Johan. Johan later threatens Wim against Tenma, only to be shot by Wim's father. When Herbert is taken away by the authorities for questioning, Wim says that his father was protecting him. He is comforted by Nina and Dr. Gillen.

Herbert Knaup

Voiced by: Eiji Hanawa (Japanese); Doug Erholtz (English)

Knaup is an unemployed alcoholic who is the town drunk and the neglectful father of Wim Knaup. His drunkenness drove his wife to leave him and their son and he is mocked by the people of Ruhenheim. Because of his laziness, he forces Wim to run errands for him and abuses him. Like his son, Herbert is approached by the elderly couple and given a gun. During the Ruhenheim Massacre, he plans to avenge himself on the patrons of a local pub who often insulted him by killing them only to find everyone inside already dead. As the massacre continues, Herbert looks for his son and begins to lose his grip on reality. When he sees Johan threatening Wim, Herbert hallucinates and sees a monster in Johan's place. Panic-stricken, he shoots Johan in the head. When the police arrive, Herbert is taken away for questioning.

Viera Černá

Voiced by: Lauren Landa

Viera Černá is the mother of Anna and Johan Liebert and the friend of Halenka Novakova. Her children were used as part of an experiment by Franz Bonaparta. By the end of the series, it is revealed that Anna is still alive when she is encountered by Kenzo Tenma at a genetic laboratory in Southern France. Based on their conversation, Anna still hold a grudge on Bonaparta because of the murder of her lover who helped to father Anna and Johan. Her real name was revealed by a friend of hers in Another Monster.

References