A nameless monster - Namae no nai kaibutsu - Monster

Monster is a famous manga published in 1994 that received its anime adaptation in 2004 with 74 episodes. Because it is old, few have had the chance to appreciate this wonderful work; I myself hesitated a lot because of the art style and the square screen. Finally, I had the opportunity to watch this masterpiece that involves suspense, psychological thriller, and questions the existence of a monster within people. If you haven’t watched it yet, hurry and watch!

The anime has nothing supernatural; the story takes place in Germany and shows a doctor named Tenma who decides to save a boy who was shot in the head, but this boy ends up becoming a Psychopathic Serial Killer who manipulates people. The anime shows how simple words and actions can turn people into emotionless monsters.

A nameless monster

In the background story of the anime, an illustrated book appears with the name Namae no nai kaibutsu (なまえのないかいぶつ) which literally means a nameless monster. The original name in Czech is Obluda, Kierá Nemá Své Jméno. This book has an interesting story that was important in the anime, especially the phrase:

Look at me, Look at me! The monster growing inside me is so big! (Boku wo mite! Boku wo mite! Boku no naka no kaibutsu ga konnani ookikunattayo)

This story is quite complex; only by watching the anime can you understand the meaning behind it. In this article, I decided to use it to study some expressions in Japanese. You can see the story by watching the video below:

Embedded video (YouTube)

(I couldn’t find the original video with the original audio, but I found the audio);

You can use this story to learn Japanese. I liked it because it is told in the style of a children’s story, with simple words, onomatopoeias, etc. In this article, I want to let you examine the story yourself, sentence by sentence, word by word, ideogram by ideogram. I recommend using the site jisho to look up the meanings of the words if you want to understand them. This way, you can create your own sentences for Anki and study at the same time.

Studying the story in Japanese

昔々ある所に名前の無い怪物がいました。
mukashi mukashi, aru tokoro ni namae no nai kaibutsu ga imashita.

A long time ago, there was a nameless monster.

怪物は名前が欲しくて欲しくて、仕方ありませんでした。
kaibutsu ha namae ga hoshikute hoshikute, shikata arimasen deshita.

The monster wanted so much to have a name that it couldn’t take it anymore.

そこで怪物は旅に出て名前を探すことにしました。
soko de kaibutsu ha tabi ni dete namae wo sagasukoto ni narimashita.

So it decided to set out on a journey to find a name.

でも世界は広いので怪物は二つに別れて旅に出ました。
demo sekai ha hiroi node kaibutsu ha futatsu ni wakarete tabi ni demashita.

But the world was a big place, so the monster split into two to fulfill the journey.

一匹は東へも一匹は西へ。
ippiki ha higashi he, ippiki ha nishi he.

One went east and the other went west.

東へ行った怪物は村を見付けました。
higashi he itta kaibutsu ha mura wo mitsukemashita.

The monster that went east found a village.

村の入口にはかじやがいました。
mura no iriguchi ni ha kajiya ga imashita.

There was a blacksmith at the entrance of the village.

「かじやのおじさん、僕にあなたの名前ください。」
"kajiya no ojisan, boku ni anata no namae kudasai."

– “Mr. Blacksmith, please give me your name.”

「名前なんてあげられるものか。」
"namae nante agerarerumono ka."

– “I can’t give you my name.”

「名前をくれたら、お礼におじさんの中に入って力を強くしてあげるよ。」
"namae wo kuretara, orei ni ojisan no naka ni haitte, chikarawo tsuyoku shite ageru yo."

– “If you give me your name, I will enter your stomach and make you the strongest man in the world in return.”

「本当か？力が強くなるなら、名前を上げよう。」
"hontou? chikara ga tsuyoku naru nara, namae wo ageyou."

– “Really? I will give you my name if you make me stronger in return.”

怪物はかじやの中に入っていきました。
kaibutsu ha kajiya no naka ni haitteikimashita.

And the monster entered the blacksmith’s stomach.

怪物はかじやのオットになりました。
kaibutsu ha kajiya no Otto ni narimashita.

The monster became Otto, the Blacksmith.

かじやのオットは村一番の力持ち
kajiya no Otto ha mura ichiban chikaramochi

Otto was the strongest in the village.

でも、ある日
demo aru hi

But one day:

「僕を見て、僕を見て、僕の中の怪物がこんなに大きくなったよ。」
"boku wo mite, boku wo mite, boku no naka no kaibutsu ga konnani ookiku natta yo."

Look at me, look at me. The monster in me has grown so much!

＊バリバリ、クシャクシャ、バキバキ、ゴクン＊
baribari, kushakusha, bakibaki, gokun

Bite Bite, Chew Chew, Crush Crush, Swallow.

おなかの空いた怪物はオットを中から食べてしまいました。
onaka no suita kaibutsu ha Otto wo naka kara tabete shimaimashita.

The hungry monster ate Otto from the inside out.

怪物はまた名前の無い怪物にぎゃくもどり、靴屋のハンスの中に入っても
kaibutsu ha mata namae no nai kaibutsu ni gyaku modori, kutsuya no Hans no naka ni haitte mo

And returned to being a nameless monster. Even so, it entered the shoemaker Hans’s stomach, but:

＊バリバリ、クシャクシャ、バキバキ、ゴクン＊
baribari, kushakusha, bakibaki, gokun

Bite Bite, Chew Chew, Crush Crush, Swallow.

また、名前の無い怪物にぎゃくもどり、かりゅうど トマスに入っても
mata, namae no nai kaibutsu ni gyaku modori, karyuudo Thomas ni haitte mo

And it returned to being a nameless monster. Still, it entered the hunter Thomas’s stomach, but:

＊バリバリ、クシャクシャ、バキバキ、ゴクン＊
baribari, kushakusha, bakibaki, gokun

Bite Bite, Chew Chew, Crush Crush, Swallow.

やっぱり名前のない怪物にぎゃくもどり。
yappari, namae no nai kaibutsu ni gyaku modori.

And it returned to being a nameless monster.

怪物はお城の中にすてきな名前を探しに行きました。
kaibutsu ha oshiro no naka ni suteki na namae wo sagashini ikimashita.

The monster went to the castle in search of a wonderful name.

お城の中には病気の男の子がいました。
oshiro no naka ni ha byouki no otoko no ko ga imashita.

Inside the castle, there was a very sick boy.

「きみの名前を僕にくれたら、強くしてあげるよ。」
"kimi no namae wo boku ni kuretara, tsuyoku shite ageru yo."

– “I will make you healthy if you give me your name.”

「病気が直って強くなるなら、名前を上げる。」
"byouki ga naotte tsuyoku naru nara, namae wo ageru yo."

– “I will give you my name if you cure my illness and make me stronger.”

怪物は男の子の中に入って行きました。
kaibutsu ha otoko no ko no naka ni haitteikimashita.

The monster entered the boy.

男の子はとても元気になりました。
otoko no ko ha totemo genki ni narimashita.

The boy became very healthy.

王さまは大喜び 「王子は元気になった！王子は元気になった！」
ousama ha ooyorokobi "ouji ha genki ni natta! ouji ha genki ni natta!"

The king was overjoyed. – “The prince is well! The prince is well!”

怪物は男の子の名前が気に入りました。
kaibutsu ha otoko no ko no namae ga ki ni irimashita.

The monster liked the boy’s name.

お城の暮らしも気に入りました。
oshiro no kurashi mo ki ni irimashita.

And it also liked life in the castle.

だから、おなかが空いても がまんしました。
dakara, onaka ga suitemo gaman shimashita.

For this reason, it endured even when it got hungry.

毎日毎日、おなかがペコペコでもがまんしました。
mainichi, mainichi, onaka ga pekopeko de mo gaman shimashita.

Every day, even when its stomach was empty, it endured.

でも、あまりおなかが空いてしまったので
demo, amari onaka ga suite shimatta node

But, due to being very hungry:

「僕を見て、僕を見て、僕の中の怪物がこんなに大きくなったよ。」
"boku wo mite, boku wo mite, boku no naka no kaibutsu ga konnani ookiku natta yo."

Look at me, look at me. The monster in me has grown so much!

男の子は王様もけらいもみんな食べてしまいました。
otoko no ko ha ousama mo kerai mo minna tabete shimaimashita.

The boy ate his father, the servants, and everyone.

＊バリバリ、クシャクシャ、バキバキ、ゴクン＊
baribari, kushakusha, bakibaki, gokun

Bite Bite, Chew Chew, Crush Crush, Swallow.

誰もいなくなってしまったので、男の子は旅に出ました。
dare mo inaku natte shimattanode, otoko no ko ha tabi ni demashita.

Since there was no one left, the boy set out on a journey and ate everyone he met along the way, until he found no one else.

何日も何日も、歩き続けて。
nannichi mo, nannichi mo, arukitsudsukete.

He walked and walked for days.

ある日男の子は西へ行った怪物を出会いました。
aru hi, otoko no ko ha nishi he itta kaibutsu wo deaimashita.

One day, the boy met the monster that went west.

「名前がついたよ。すてきな名前なんだ。」
"namae ga tsuita yo. suteki na namae nan da."

– “I have a name. I have a wonderful name.”

西へ行った怪物は言いました「名前なんていらないは。
nishi he itta kaibutsu iimashita: "namae nante iranai ha.

And then the monster that went west said:

名前なんてなくてもしあわせよ。わたしたちは名前の無い怪物ですもの。」
namae nante nakutemo shiawase yo. watashitachi ha namae no nai kaibutsu desu mono."

– “I don’t need a name. I am happy even without a name. Because we are nameless monsters.”

男の子は西へ行った怪物を食べてしまいました。
otoko no ko ha nishi he itta kaibutsu wo tabete shimaimashita.

The boy ate the monster that went west.

名前をついたのに名前をよんでくれる人はいなくなりました。
namae wo tsuita noni namae wo yonde kureru hito ha inaku narimashita.

Despite having a name, there was no one left to call him by his name.

「ヨハン」すてきな名前なのに。
Johann suteki na namae nanoni.

Johan. It’s a wonderful name.