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What Happened To Johan Liebert After Monster?

The ending of the underrated masterpiece, Monster, would have left so many fans (including myself) in a confused and shocking state. Although the series was quite the ride and took so many twists and turns, there were still questions that begged to be answered in the series. The major one would be about the sudden disappearance of one of the most celebrated antagonists of anime history, Johan Liebert.

In the final scene of Monster, we see Dr. Tenma visiting Johan in the Bayern State-Run Police hospital. There Tenma tells him what the actual names of Johan and Anna (Nina Fortner) that were given by Viera Černá, their Mother, were (Tenma visited Viera in the hospital she was at before visiting Johan). To Tenma’s shock, Johan seemingly awakens from his slumber at this moment, asking Tenma with dead straight zombie eyes regarding the incident in three frogs lodging.

Monster ended with the picture of Johan’s hospital bed being empty and the window being open (while the end credits are going on). It’s possible that Johan was awake most of the time and just pretending to sleep and waited for Tenma to visit him.

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After that, he’d just disappear again, just like how he disappeared previously from the hospital Tenma was working at.

The question remains on the minds of people who finished the series. What happened to Johan after Monster ended? People theorize that he escaped from the hospital, lost all his memories of the past, and started living a normal life as any human being would. Others theorize that after Johan escaped from the hospital, he was caught by the police and was given the death sentence immediately. There were also theories that the final scene of Monster was just Tenma’s hallucination and the bed was empty all along and that Johan was killed beforehand.

Unsatisfied by the ambiguous conclusion of one of the best manga ever written, I was searching hard for the answers all over the internet. It was then that I came to know that Naoki Urazawa, the creator of the Monster Series, had written a Light Novel (LN) called “Another Monster – The Investigative Report” for the purpose of providing more information which were missing or stuff which were left unexplained in the original series.

The following contains major spoilers from the above mentioned Light Novel.

What Happened To Johan? Did Johan Die?

Short answer, Johan Liebert is not dead. He is still out there as a monster. Well this is the conclusion I reached after going through the light novel Another Monster. Read on to find out why.

The events of Another Monster take place in 2001, about 3 years after the Ruhenheim massacre. It contains a series of interviews conducted by a freelance reporter called Werner Weber, who was interested in the Johan case. Weber interviews several key characters, like Eva Heinemann, Inspector Lunge, Karl Schuwald (Son of Hans Schuwald), etc.

In the Novel, Werner is trying to connect the Johan case with another case which happened in the year 2000. In this case, an “Axe using serial killer” called Gustav Kottmann had slaughtered a nurse and two doctors in St. Ursula’s Clinic, Austria. After carrying out the murders he took his own life. The peculiar thing about this case was that unlike his previous crimes, this was not a sexual crime.

“One, two, three… My mission is complete,” Kottmann’s last words on this earth. What was this mission, and who did he receive it from? And why didn’t he commit any murders for the year up to this point? Where was he hiding while the police labeled him a “wanted” suspect? I delved into Gustav Kottmann’s life, seeking the answers to these three questions.

Werner Weber, Another Monster

Well, this looks kind of familiar! Before this incident, two key things happened:

  1. A mysterious man with a bleeding arm shows up for treatment at St. Ursula Emergency Clinic, but disappears right after without leaving a trace.
  2. Eugen Molke (revealed by police investigations to be Jaroslav Čarek, formerly a high ranking adviser in Omnipol) is found dead in his home.

According to Czech police files, before Čarek was hired to be a top advisor at Omnipol, he was a captain in the secret police, and was responsible for many of the secret terrorist training camps set up in Czechoslovakia. Recall back what was mentioned in the main series that the Czechoslovakian secret police had a shady past and Johan (disguised as Nina) killed a few former members of the secret police.

What follows is a series of interviews and self-contemplation by Weber, getting him closer and closer to the truth about all these cases. Little did he know he was also getting closer and closer to his own final chapter….

The Novel ended with Werner Weber’s disappearance after he received a mysterious call from Hermann Fuhr, the person who was the mastermind behind the murders in St. Ursula’s Clinic and the murder of Čarek.

Who is Hermann Fuhr?

Hermann Führ, was an outstanding student and a product of Petr Capek’s and Bonaparta’s reading sessions at the Red Rose Mansion. By copying Bonaparta’s style of writing, he authored “Dorn of the Darkness” and another book.

Interestingly, Dorn of the Darkness happens to be both Johan’s and Kottman’s favorite book. Kottman was writing Führ letters of appreciation of his book and was deeply inspired by the book. Führ used that opportunity and used him to kill the doctors and nurse in the hospital. While in the process of killing Čarek, he suffered an arm injury and went to the St. Ursula’s Clinic for treatment. He ordered Kottman to kill the doctors there. His goal was to remove the people who knew him, quite similar to Johan’s….

“Four years ago, I went to Prague. Who knows why, but I wanted to set foot again in the scariest place, the Red Rose Mansion. But it was engulfed in flames. And then he emerged from within. I was set free. I stopped running. I could paint my picture books, and live like him. The end…in the Landscape of the End, there will be only he and I.”

Hermann Führ, Another Monster

Führ, after explaining everything to Weber, told him that he was in the room adjacent to him, in the hotel where Weber was staying. The next morning, both the rooms were found empty.

Two fascinating things were found in Weber’s room, a manuscript of Führ’s latest work called “The Awakening Monster” and a memo, in which the following sketch was found:

Johan Liebert's text

Well, this pretty much settles the whole Johan being alive or not debate. He is alive. Even though it is not confirmed by the author himself in the book that this is a sketch of Johan, but the resemblance is uncanny. Especially the hairdo and the eyes.

In the finale of the novel (the commentary by the co-author Takashi Nagasaki), it is mentioned that he (as himself) met the winning bidder of the sketches of Helmuth Voss (Bonaparta) that were sold in an auction. That person used the name “Werner Weber” to buy the sketches for his client and incinerate them. He mentioned that this client wants to redo the Eugenics Experiments, originally done by Bonaparta, and he intends to meet Hermann Führ and invite him back into his country. Once that is accomplished, the client would gather the children to restart the experiment, with the help of Führ, the next generation Voss/Bonaparta.

Now the question is, who is this client and what is his relation to Hermann Führ? The answer is not conclusively mentioned in the novel and is kept as an open question.

Could this client be Johan Liebert?

My suspicions are the following: Johan Liebert’s favorite book is Dorn of the Darkness and is authored by Führ, whom Johan would have probably found out, was a participant in the famous reading sessions at the Red Rose Mansion. He also met Führ while the mansion was in flames and they would have talked. Johan would have instructed Führ to kill Čarek. Then, while knowing Weber was upto, Johan would have taken the next room. By using the name Führ, he called Weber, explained everything to him, went into his room, took him away and made Weber to kill himself through manipulation.

The client who bought the sketches in the auction is Johan and he wants to re-create the experiments with the help of Führ and also using a famous political leader for himself (as a puppet) to eventually make himself the only sane standing man on Earth. Klaus Poppe (Bonaparta) tried this experiment first on his father, Terner Poppe and as a result, he lost his mind and died. Klaus wanted to use these experiments on a large scale, not to make a leader for Germany as it seemed, but to make everyone else but him, disappear. Johan, even though instructed by his mom to kill Klaus Poppe, wanted to have the same goal as him and be the last man on Earth standing alive.

What do you guys think of this theory? Let us know your opinions on the comments section!

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38 thoughts on “What Happened To Johan Liebert After Monster?”

      • I pretty much think johan committed suicide when he learned he had a name given by his mother (which tenma told him).. cuz eventually his goal was failed and pretty much useless.. becuase HE thought HE was the monster sent to red rose mansion when it was NINA but instead he was actually loved by bonaparta and his mother and his existence mattered which is a symbolism that *love beats nihilism* (all thanks to kinderheim 511 which brainwashed him) and thats when he thought to plan the perfect suicide by proving tenma ideologies wrong that “every life is equal” by making tenma the monster by killing himself(johan) which failed as he was killed by the random drunkard.. anyways its my personal theory and sorry for my long ass rant :3

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  1. i think the best answer would be johan is dead, and the character in another monster must be the successful experiment from before. Although, i am also troubled with Tenma’s words when he spoke to their mother in France’s hospital. When Johan asked Tenma “how are they doing?”. Tenma answered “both are doing well”. It could mean that Johan is still alive or maybe he said it due to his concern toward Johan’s mom at that time. Johan suppose to be dead though, i mean how come someone can survive being shot at the head twice?. What do you think Anand?

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    • We saw him in the hospital bed right? He was lying there and later on escaped i suppose.
      And buying the sketches and burning them sounds something Johan would do. He did set the red rose mansion on fire. So there could be a connection. And the picture of Johan on werber’s desk gives more proof.

      How can someone survive a gun shot twice? One was by his little sister when she was 5 or something and the other was a drunk guy who was so scared when he saw him. Technically speaking, they could have missed his vital part.

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    • Adzamdin, the figure in the sketch cannot be the “successful experiment” due to his age. It is made clear that Führ was born in 1950.

      The headshot is irrelevant if we consider that the series has Tenma as a doctor, the genius. If Johan had died, the bed would not have been rendered unmade. The bed should have been well made, because that’s what the personal do after picking up a dead person.

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    • well you can lose up to 30% of your brain and it would still function, there were been cases where people were shot in the head twice and survived. johan can not be dead as he is the next evolution to human life(a perfect human) and if he is dead that means that human existence no longer has a point.

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  2. Even I don’t think he’s dead because I don’t think he would lie to the mother of those twins; I understand that the audience wants him dead but that’s just not true. The author has left the ending ambiguous, probably, because he’s not sure if he wants to write a sequel w/ the same antagonist lol!

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    • Well my theory is that johan was indeed saved by dr. Tenma, the genius doc. About the question that how can someone survive two headshots, in my opinion, since the first shot was when he was a kid and the second was several years after that and both times he wasn’t shot by a pro― the first time it was a kid and the second time it was a drunkard― so it is actually possible for him to surivive both the times (given that he was treated by the genius doc and that the bullet didnt hit the vital spot). And then the mysterious ending, johan’s empty bed. Yeah at first when tenma suddenly saw johan sitting up straight with those scary eyes and talking to him was indeed a hallucination, but tenma hallucinating johan even being alive cant be true. Beacuse when we see that the bed is empty we can also notice that the bed isnt made neatly, it definitely looks like someone has just got up from it. If johan had already been dead and taken away, the bed would have been tidely made without any creases. So then where did johan go? I think (and also want) that he commits suicide. In my view tenma would have definitely told johan his real name that he had always wished to know and in the series johan himself is suffering and seeking help to get rid of the monster. So it is a great possibility that he ended his life for he now had a name and maybe now he could rest easy.

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      • It’s possible that Tenma did have an hallucination. Urasawa did an open ended ending on purpose and left it to fans for interpretation. But i can totally see the words spoken by Johan as real because that’s a legitimate plot point.

        And regarding Johan committing suicide in the end, my question is “why would he?” the fact that he survived for the 2nd time, he’d think he’s chosen by fate to survive right? “The chosen one” so to speak. Either he’d lead a peaceful life by getting to know his name or continue to embark on his plan – kill everyone who knows him. and another monster seems to suggest the latter.

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  3. This is terrifying. I was hoping that after the series and essentially coming back to life the second time Johan would have reformed and learned to “love life” but if he wants to redo the experiments then he is still the monster 🙁

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    • And of you think about it. In the new fairy tale book the first thing the child does after finding out that he has the same name as the most loved child, is free the monster.

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      • True, I guess the only point that could make it possible that he’s alive is that he’s free of the monster, but he was still born a sociopath and being free of the monster might also make him so “free and satisfied” that he committed suicide because he felt it was the right time after finally being able to know his name.

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  4. The most obvious and most likely answer is that he committed suicide as that’s what the open window and empty bed show. This anime was meant to come to an end, meaning Johan is unfortunately dead. Even though he didn’t fully accomplish the “perfect suicide”, he still wanted to die. He most likely felt accomplished in knowing he had a name and that Anna forgave him. Even though he was is a sociopath/psychopathy he still had love for his family, so I think him suiciding since he was highly suicidal makes 100% sense in the end of the 74th episode. Everything that happens in those last scenes points towards it. The fact he wanted to die and do the “perfect suicide” justifies this point to a T. Even though I literally cried so hard at the empty bed scene, people have to assume the fact he’s dead. I’d like to think not, but the facts are obvious. The author even points to this throughout the whole story.

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    • the only point that could make it possible that he’s alive is that he’s free of the monster, but he was still born a sociopath and being free of the monster might also make him so “free and satisfied” that he committed suicide because he felt it was the right time after finally being able to know his name.

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  5. I think in my theory that Johan is continue to live a normal life alone and hided. I don’t think he did suicide. Cause i don’t think is capable of, very much. Even if he has feelings. I just thinking that he runing somewhere. Alone.

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  6. Like the first time when he escaped death.He says it’s a second chance and a new life so he had a third chance and he won’t throw it away.
    And no police is good enough to catch him.so he have a normal life after founding his name or he wana make the last paragraph of the book real and make nobody in the world left to tell his name.

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  7. Could anyone elaborate what is the meaning when a character said “The experiment is still going on”
    Then what’s with the Tenma’s past, there was the scene where he was shown as a child playing hide and seek.
    What happened to Johan?
    What was the actual plan of Johan before reading the Bonaparta’ book “The nameless monster”
    The character karl’ mother what’s the exact connection with Johans mother?

    Who was Roberto actually?

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    • 1) The experiment they were referring to is the Eugenics experiment of taking & raising talented orphaned children to be the next hitler of Germany.

      2) Tenma was recollecting his bad childhood pastimes to remember the reason why left everything behind and moved to Germany

      3) What happened to Johan is the point of this post

      4) The actual plan of Johan was to carry out the “Scenery of Doomsday” where he was the last man standing on earth (except for Tenma and Nina)
      Check out this post for elaboration: https://animehunch.com/what-were-johan-lieberts-motives-in-monster/

      5) Karl’s mom and Johan’s mom were friends who stayed at a hotel after the fire at the 3 frogs

      6) Roberto is another kid who faced similar traumas as others at 511 Kinderheim. He was interested in researching about insects and butterflies but was a kind lad who didn’t even want to hurt any of them while inspecting them. After the massacre in the orphanage, he met Johan and was convinced by his ideology to become a hit man and serve as his right hand man

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  8. The correct answer I think is Johan wakes up and runs away from his bed to go kill his mother.

    The last episode is titled The Real Monster.

    So the real monster is his mother.

    This is because the mother prefers to save one child than to keep both. his mother let the other children be used as experimental material.

    her mother is like a monster choosing only one child to be saved

    Reply
    • Why do you think this way,Fans Monster? She really tried to escape with the kids while she was preganant so that shows that she loved both of them. Furthermore, making Johan looking like Nina was another motive that she really cared about him.The episode is called The Real Monster for interpretation as well. I belive that majority belive that Johan is the Monster . But we already know that,why would the author repeated that? Maybe Tenma was the real monster for Johan . Knowing his name was like a “awakeing from the deads” , thats why Tenma hallucinated that Johan was alive and talked to him. For Johan it was a new way of living , a IDENTITY that people took from him. only his mom knew his real identity … What do you think?

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  9. I think Johan is not dead, because the sketch drawn by Werner weber resembles only to him. And I don’t think the client who bought the books is Johan because when the bidder was asked if the client was german or Czech he said maybe neither. Also he said that he saw the client on TV. As we know Johan’s case got famous all over the Europe he would not make himself appear on television. Also the client tells about the plan of experiments and hermann fuhr to a stranger, Johan would not do that. According to me, the client was christof sievernich, cause he was alive, he was powerful to appear on tv close to political leaders and also he was disciple of Johan. And my guess is johan pretends to be in coma that is why nobody is talking about him in this novel.

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  10. Well my theory was that just like when his mom ushered her wish or dr temna ushered his at the start of the series. Since Tenma this time told Johan that he had a name blah blah blah, I think he went and just lived a normal life, otherwise there wouldn’t be any point to the series. Do I think he hallucinated? No, what would be the point, the whole point was that Tenma clung onto the philosophy that all lives are equal and Nina at the end believed that too so there would be no reason as to why he wouldn’t save Johan. Johan was trying to prove Tenma wrong by having him become the murderer to save people and step out of his bubble of not bearing the responsibility of ending a life. Johan did mention that Tenma’s path was alreaddy layed out for him.

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  11. Another monster a light novel was released to give few more clues. In that not a single character is talking about johan cause all believe he is in coma. So no he is not dead and also not leading any peaceful life.

    Reply

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