Eva is the Monster character I always was the most taken by, and thinking about it, that might be because she's so raw.
Most of the Monster recurring characters, while complex and compelling, all have some 'symbolic' quality to them. Johan is compared multiple times to a fairytale monster, to the Beast of Apocalypse, something purely evil; even if it's subverted by the end of the manga, there is always something almost supernatural to his ability to commit crimes and influence the minds of others. Tenma, on the opposite side of the spectrum, is basically a Messianic figure, bringing hope and goodness wherever he goes, saving people left and right. Nina is on an epic quest to reclaim her past and decide between life and death.
And then there’s a wild Eva, who was literally your average spoiled daddy’s girl who never learned how to build healthy relationships and found herself tossed into the mix for a chance sighting of Johan. While other characters spend their time trying to save lives or destroying them or discovering a shocking past, she stumbles around in her alcoholism and misdirected rage at Tenma, getting more and more entangled with the plot. Her quest to ruin Tenma is soon abandoned, she isn’t trying to save anyone; except for herself.
Eva’s story is personal, not universal; she is fighting against herself, her upbringing, her dependency from other people, and there is just something so intense in it. Relatable, for some aspects. Eva carves her own path towards a better life crying and screaming and never quite abandoning her focus on herself, even when she learns to open herself to others and accept that she can be a support to others in her relationship with Martin.
Her big moment is not apocalyptic destruction or the salvation of someone else, it’s accepting to live even when life serves her the umpteenth kick in the gut, accepting to work on herself and build herself a future where she can be happy. Eva is purely human, a disastrous joy for the eyes and, in my opinion, one of the characters that make Monster the masterpiece it is.
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