The Absence of Compassion in Johan Liebert

It has been a long time. In a faraway place, there lived a nameless monster. This monster greatly desired to have a name. Therefore, the monster set out on a prolonged journey to discover a name.

The anime series "Monster" presents an exotic and atypical villain in the world of anime. I must profess, Urasawa Naoki is adept at composing compelling antagonists. There is no preferable way to wade existential dread than through the principal villain of "Monster"—a boy who seeks purification by Tenma perennially. This boy is named Johan Liebert.

When we hear the name Johan Liebert, what is the first thing that comes to mind? Someone nihilistic, orchestrating various complexities through ulterior methods? Someone in whom not a shred of conscience is embedded? A figure who has gained absolute flawlessness and is admired by society? Or an iconic figure who seeks to unveil humanity to its darker aspects?

Despite his possibly ferocious nature from certain normative perspectives, the monster within Johan can surprisingly emerge quickly due to one thing that we might overlook.

Thus, what is that?

The Disappearance of Compassion

He was never loved. The presence of compassion was absent from his childhood. He never reached out for that precious warmth.

To comprehend why Johan immerses himself in darkness like he does now, I was compelled to investigate his background. Throughout the anime, there are many hints that indicate he experienced at least a "moral education" that was pernicious.

He was unwanted by his mother. His mother forsook him in the midst of social turmoil. This herded the minor Johan to end up at Kinderheim 511—and lamentably, this was not a shelter overflowing with love and benevolent moral values. Instead, it was a hellish orphanage that seemed to infringe human rights.

He was indoctrinated with aberrant doctrines and was abused both physically and mentally. He dissipated all memories, even his feelings for his sister—Anna was one of the few essential things he fiercely held onto.

This institution conducted horrific experiments on children to breed superhuman beings. An organization that aspired to produce emotionless and identity-less humans. Because emotions and identity are hindrances to the goal of creating formidable killing machines.

There was no love available in that orphanage. There were only endless, suffocating corridors of gloom. Kinderheim 511 also obliterated Johan’s emotions and corroded his own identity. It eradicated what is fundamental for a human to be human.

The Loss of Last Hope for Love

“The end? What is the end...I’ve seen the end many times. What is the end?”

For Johan, Anna—his sister, was the only warm space left for him to return to. In his tiny world, Johan only saw himself and Anna. They were similar in uniformity. Johan had no identity. Therefore, in his mind, the identity he shared with Anna made them a single individual. Johan is Anna, and Anna is Johan. That is how Johan gazes at it.

However, all of that was altered.

When Johan killed his foster parents—which I see as a manifestation of rebellion against the control of authority figures. Perhaps Johan believed that the presence of parents would only hinder the intimacy between himself and Anna. Or perhaps he intended to witness if Anna, the only source of affection he hoped for in this world—besides his other self, could condone and grant forgiveness. Could his other self show and share love or not?

Nevertheless, the situation deviated from Johan's desires. When Anna shot him, Johan's soul was truly shattered and dejected. He was not shown even a shred of love, not even from himself. His heart felt crestfallen. Johan could no longer trust anyone. Not even himself. The only thing he had left was the monster inside him—the dark monster that was growing more restless. However, that monster accepted him and embraced him. And vice versa.

Moreover, it is only the Monster within him that can now extend a hand to him. Nothing else. So, why should he trust a world that is already shoddy and relies on humans? Why not merely annihilate it all—presumably Johan thought.

Representation of the Quintessential Figure Desired by Society

“For you, all lives are created equal. That’s why I came back to life. But you’ve finally come to realize it now, haven’t you? Only one thing is equal for all, and that is death.”

Johan represents the faultless product of society's lofty aspirations. Discriminatory aspirations that formulate human worth based on certain standards. He was designed to have exceptional intelligence, captivating charisma, flawless physique, and proficient skills in various fields. These are all desired based on society's aspirations for certain reasons.

The superior human—that is how Johan is represented. In this context, Johan can be seen as a symbol of everlasting ambition. The desire to achieve fraught excellence—with moral or ethical boundaries obscured. He mirrors the dark side of human ambition to tread upon "perfection" and domination over others without regard to the consequences or negative impacts that may arise.

This interpretation can also be seen in his relationship with other characters in the story—especially with the main protagonist, Dr. Tenma. Johan is often seen as a stark contrast to Dr. Tenma. Dr. Tenma represents virtue and justice. In the dynamics between the two, I believe Johan represents the drive that propels someone to achieve goals deemed "noble" or "ideal". Even if it means defying moral or social norms deeply rooted in human life.

The Abyss Named Bleak Nihilism

“There’s nothing special about being born. Not a thing. Most of the universe is just death, nothing more. In this universe of ours, the birth of a new life on some corner of our planet is nothing but a tiny, insignificant flash. Death is a normal thing. So why live?”

Johan never cared about money, power, hierarchy, revenge, or domination. His motives were extremely vague. He simply pursued his pure criminality.

Traces or impressions revealing nihilism can be seen when Maurer reveals to Tenma the clues from the crime scenes left by Johan. There is no clear purpose in them. There is no meaningful eagerness or malice in them. There is no sadism. Only hints of true death are attached.

Johan is apathetic to everything. He believes life is utterly vacant and birth is futile. All life is unmeaning, and all humans contain a monster within themselves. They are endowed with different values, treated unequally, and survive in a world brimming with discriminatory chaos. Johan stands alone in the opposite corner from the other characters who strive to embrace the light. He will always follow the path of darkness and prove to the world that death is inevitable. That death is noble.

For him, death will make life appear meaningless—like a barren tree without leaves secluded in the middle of a desert. Death is natural, so why bother living? He believes death is genuine tranquility; the finale of everything. In it lies the true equality for humankind.

He was never anchored to tranquility, happiness, or positive emotions in life. Instead, he was fascinated by terror, fear, chaos, and natural evil.

Perhaps he considers himself born into this world not out of love, but out of a mission. A mission to lead humanity to extinction. To trigger the apocalypse. Thus, he would stand as the last person on earth—and ultimately commit suicide as an act of defiance against life and his aspirations to become a fictional human.

The question now is, why did he fall into that?

He was discarded as a child. He also had to experience the horrid of his foggy identity and spend his years in the clutches of Kinderheim 511. Such a life made him submerged in everything vile. Even when he spoke to the unfortunate children whose fates were miserable—much like his own, he uttered words that made me shudder.

"Is there anyone who wants you? What is the reason for your existence? If there is no one calling you out, no one wants you," Johan said.

Who Is the Real Monster?

"Resentment arises when people gather, I just need to pour a little oil on it."

What Johan designed was a game of fate and the darkest nihilism. He murdered people, cultivated terror, spread fear, and shattered the minds of humans because for him, what is the point of life? This world is laden of abysmal and despicable people—and will continue to be so for centuries.

Johan seems to enjoy leading people to their lowest point. For him, they may be inferior like dust in the desert. However, this belief arises not from an illusion of arrogance but from an extreme discerning of the meaninglessness of life. This is at least the essence of Johan's character. Nihilism. The understanding that life is meaningless. Johan just wants to embody this principle.

Johan wants to transform everyone around him into monsters. Dark monsters that eternally disown and oppress humanity. He wants to liberate these monsters to witness even darker darkness and to watch the world's extinction.

The ultimate goal of Johan is to commit the perfect suicide. He wants everyone who knows his past and existence to perish and he wants to die at the hands of Tenma. He also wants to prove Tenma's mistaken belief that all lives are equal. He wants to demonstrate that humans are only equal in death.

Although at the end of the terminal act, we know Johan's ideology loses to Dr. Tenma.

Thus, in the End, Who Is Johan?

"Look at me. Look at me. The monster inside me is growing bigger."

In my view, behind his absolute and passive nihilism. Johan is solely a manifestation of a broken-hearted child longing for compassion amidst the viciousness of the world. He failed to get that. He is a vulnerable child who grew up as a machine that believes life is meaningless.

This leaves me with one crucial question. So, in the end, is the monster within him born out of the muddled social situation and utopian human standards? Or was the monster buried long ago and just needed a small spark to awaken it?

May 2024