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| “ | When you’re in the darkness, you only sink deeper into it. Keep the light shining. | „ |
| ~ Dr. Kenzo Tenma |
Dr. Kenzo Tenma is the main protagonist of the Monster series. He's a skilled neurosurgeon who believes that every life is equal and often does his best to save the lives of everyone he can. After this philosophy inadvertedly leads to Tenma saving the life of the would-be serial killer, Johan Liebert, the doctor starts a manhunt against him years later, seeking to stop Johan's murder streak and bring him to justice.
He was voiced by Hidenobu Kiuchi in the original Japanese version of the anime and by Liam O'Brien (who also voiced Guan Yu from the Dynasty Warriors series.) in the English dub.
Appearance[]
Tenma is a Japanese man of average build with middle-parted black hair, brown eyes, and tan skin. At the start of the series, his hair is kept short and he is usually clean-shaven, but as the story progresses, his hair grows out to the point where it reaches his shoulders, and he is often seen with a stubble.
Personality[]
Tenma is someone who is completely dedicated to his work and puts the needs and welfare of his patients above everything else. Despite being an incredibly talented neurosurgeon, he confides in Inspector Lunge about the intense anxiety he experiences during surgeries, constantly worrying about making a mistake that could have serious consequences.
Tenma has a constant and intense preoccupation with rescuing and preserving as many lives as he possibly can. Johan, on the other hand, takes pleasure in manipulating this particular mindset, deliberately instigating numerous brutal and ruthless acts of mass killings, potentially as a means to test Tenma's resolve in preventing them.
Throughout the entirety of the series, his kindness is a prevailing characteristic that shines brightly. This is particularly noticeable when juxtaposed with Johan's unscrupulous and morally bankrupt nature. Our protagonist, on the other hand, frequently finds himself contemplating the moral implications of his actions, showcasing a deep sense of introspection. In moments of worry or concern, often in the company of Johan, he tends to neglect his own well-being to an extreme extent, pushing himself to the point of physical collapse due to lack of nourishment or sleep. Despite these occasional bouts of self-neglect, he manages to maintain an overall optimistic outlook on life, or at the very least strives to project this optimism to those around him. This is evident in his consistent efforts to offer words of encouragement and support to the individuals who cross his path.
When Lunge delves into Tenma's subconscious, he uncovers the unsettling truth that Tenma is an outsider in both Japanese and German society. Surprisingly, despite this lack of belonging, Tenma doesn't exhibit extreme social awkwardness. In fact, in various flashbacks, including those of Eva and Rudi, he is depicted as contentedly interacting with a group of people. However, when given the choice, Tenma tends to gravitate towards working independently rather than being part of a team.
Tenma firmly believes in the motto "All lives are equal," and this belief is deeply ingrained in his psyche. It goes beyond just his work ethic and influences his actions and decisions in significant ways. One instance where this belief is tested is when he disobeys Director Heinemann's orders to prioritize saving the person who arrived first, regardless of their social status. Tenma's decision to save someone based on their immediate need rather than their social standing reflects his unwavering commitment to the principle that all lives hold the same value. This belief also plays a significant role in Tenma's internal struggle with his decision to kill Johan. Despite the apparent necessity of his actions, Tenma is plagued with guilt after shooting Roberto. He truly believes that he has taken a life, and the immense remorse he feels leads him to question his worthiness as a doctor. In fact, Tenma's conviction in his belief begins to waver as he starts to doubt his own principles. Overall, Tenma's motto of "All lives are equal" is not just a simple mantra for him. It shapes his worldview, influences his choices, and deeply impacts his emotional and psychological state.
In Another Monster, several of Tenma's dear friends, such as Eva, express their admiration for him by emphasizing his remarkable ability to treat everyone with respect and equality, regardless of their background or skills. This endearing quality is what draws people towards him, as Tenma never belittles or condescends to others, even though his own talents are undeniably extraordinary. Instead, he genuinely values and appreciates the abilities of those around him, sometimes even prioritizing their capabilities over his own. This unwavering humility and egalitarian approach to relationships make Tenma a truly exceptional and beloved friend in the eyes of those fortunate enough to know him well.
History[]
Dr. Kenzō Tenma is a Japanese neurosurgeon working at the Eisler Memorial Hospital in Düsseldorf. At the beginning of Monster, he is the Head of Neurosurgery who was favored by the department's director, Heinemann, for his prodigious surgical skills and was even offered Director Heinemann's daughter Eva for marriage. However he starts to become disillusioned when he learns his boss prioritizes saving affluent patients over those who need it most, which caused at least one patient's death.
When a young boy arrived with a bullet wound, Dr. Tenma was about to prepare to operate on him when Chief of Surgery Dr. Oppenheim and a call from Director Heinemann told Tenma to work on Mayor Roedecker (who collapsed at his holiday home). Tenma told Director Heinemann that the surgery would be very difficult and that he is the only one who could operate on the young boy, and asked Director Heinemann to have Dr. Boyer handle the mayor, but Director Heinemann ignored his request and ordered him to operate on the Mayor. After a crisis of conscience, he chooses to save the life of a young boy instead of Mayor Roedecker.
He is then scolded afterwards by Dr. Boyer and Dr. Oppenheim for not working on the mayor, who died as a result of the doctors having to scramble to cover for Tenma at the last minute. At a banquet, Dr. Tenma begged for forgiveness from Director Heinemann who pretended to have forgiven him, but then revealed he had demoted Tenma from his position and blacklisted him, which was followed by Eva rescinding their engagement and Dr. Boyer gaining Tenma's position as Head of Neurosurgery. When Tenma talked to the supposedly unconscious boy who he saved, he expressed his anger and wished his boss to be dead.
Some weeks later, Dr. Tenma gets word from the visiting policemen that Director Heinemann, Dr. Oppenheim, and Dr. Boyer are mysteriously killed. Because of the three deaths and some transfers of some of the doctors, the Chairman of the Board ended up giving Dr. Tenma the position of Chief of Surgery.
It is only after nine years that Dr. Tenma learns the perpetrator of Director Heinemann's murder and the recent death of Adolf Junkers is none other than 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 him of the murders committed by Johan. In his investigations, he meets a boy called Dieter, whose legal guardian secretly mistreats him and tries to practice the Kinderheim 511 methods, and when Dieter's sufferings are revealed, Tenma rescues him and forms a friendship with him.
Despite his mission, Dr. Tenma is a humanitarian who genuinely cares about the lives of others. These acts of kindness make him very influential with the people he meets. Not much is known about Tenma's childhood; however, when he was growing up in Japan, he was constantly getting picked on and had a habit of wetting his pants. This earned him the nickname of "Sissy Pants Tenma". As well, Kenzo's father and brother were also doctors, though Tenma was not close to his family, and his family ties have grown weaker as he had not been back in Japan since he left to Germany. It is unknown how much time passed between Tenma becoming a certified doctor to when he started as an attending surgeon at Eisler Memorial Hospital. However, it soon became evident to his superiors that Kenzo was probably the best neurosurgeon on staff, and he would die quickly be promoted to Chief of Neurosurgery around the same time he met Eva. Tenma also has some acquaintances from Japan who occasionally visit him while on business, but it is not known how close his friendship with these people is. In his journey to kill Johan, he comes incredibly close on a number of occasions, only to have Johan slip away.
This ends up leading him to the final confrontation with Johan in Ruhenheim. When Johan wants Tenma to kill him, he tries to threaten Wim when the child's drunk father Herbert ends up mistaking Johan for a monster and shoots him. After Johan had been picked up by the ambulance, Dr. Tenma was convinced by Nina and, indirectly, Lunge to save Johan and ended up treating the wound. Eventually, Dr. Tenma was cleared of all charges. He later joins Doctors Without Borders and learns from Otto Heckel where the mother of Johan and Anna is located. Tenma later visits a comatose Johan in a police hospital before leaving to visit his friends. Suddenly, he saw Johan questioning if his mother really loved him, and it was left ambiguous if Johan really did that or if it was just a hallucination. After his visit, Johan escaped from the hospital and disappeared. It was initially unknown if he escaped the country or was caught and was later executed, but canonically in Another Monster, Johan had “rebuilt” his life. It's also revealed that Johan's crimes have been exposed to the public.
Trivia[]
- In the manga version, the protagonist was depicted with a cartoonish appearance, standing at a height of seven heads. However, as the story progressed, his physical appearance underwent a significant transformation, becoming more attractive and growing eight heads taller. On the other hand, in the anime adaptation, the character's appearance is already portrayed as being good-looking right from the beginning, with a height of eight heads.
- Both he and Naoki Urasawa were born on the same day, which is January 2nd, and they celebrate their birthdays together.
- Hardly anyone refers to him by his given name, except for Eva, his former partner. In most cases, he is commonly addressed simply as "Tenma," occasionally accompanied by his professional title of Doctor.
- The person we are talking about has the exact same name as Dr. Tenma, a character in Osamu Tezuka's famous Astro Boy series. Interestingly, this series not only gained immense popularity but also became the source material for another incredibly successful manga series by Naoki Urasawa, known as Pluto.
- Tenma possesses fluency in his mother tongue of Japanese as well as in the languages of German and English.
- He decided to let his hair grow and avoid frequent shaving in order to conceal his identity, as all photographs of him depict him with a neater look.
External Links[]
- Kenzo Tenma on the Pure Good Wiki
- Kenzo Tenma on the Monster Wiki
- Kenzo Tenma on the Love Exalted Wiki
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 Heroes
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Kenzo Tenma | Nina Fortner | Heinrich Lunge | Dieter | Eva Heinemann | Rudy Gillen | Otto Heckel | Karl Neuman | Lotte Frank | Wolfgang Grimmer | Hugo Bernhardt | Jacob Maurer | Richard Braun | Julius Reichwein | Dr. Schumann | Rung | Hans Georg Schuwald | Jan Suk | Jaromír Lipský | ||