Haunted by his previous choice, Tenma defies orders and stays to operate on Johan.
: A grieving woman confronts Tenma, blaming him for her husband’s death. He had been ordered by the Hospital Director to operate on a famous opera singer instead of her husband, who arrived first.
: Tenma's belief in saving everyone is pitted against the cold, political reality of the hospital. Monster Episode 1
While Tenma is at his lowest, the hospital leadership—including the Director and the doctors who replaced Tenma—are suddenly and mysteriously murdered. With his rivals gone, Tenma is ironically promoted to Chief of Surgery, but the boy he saved, Johan, has vanished from the hospital along with his sister.
: The episode questions if all lives are truly equal, as Tenma's "moral" choice leads to a darker outcome. Haunted by his previous choice, Tenma defies orders
: The surgery is a success, but the Mayor dies under the care of other surgeons.
The episode introduces Tenma's internal struggle through two pivotal moments: : Tenma's belief in saving everyone is pitted
Kenzo Tenma is a brilliant Japanese neurosurgeon working in Düsseldorf, Germany, during the late 1980s. He is the hospital’s rising star, engaged to the Director’s daughter, Eva Heinemann, and seemingly destined for the role of Chief of Surgery. However, his success is built on a hospital hierarchy that prioritizes politics and prestige over human life.