Johan Liebert

Johan Liebert (ヨハン・リーベルト, Yohan Rīberuto) is the titular "monster" and main antagonist of the series. He is the older twin brother of Nina Fortner (formerly known as Anna Liebert) who was shot in the head in 1986 [4], but he was operated on and saved from death by Dr. Kenzo Tenma. Because of this, he is very grateful to Dr. Tenma and extends a profound respect towards his savior throughout the series.

He has spent portions of his life in different locations under different aliases and possesses an extraordinary level of charisma and intelligence. He tends to use his gifts to cruelly manipulate and corrupt others, often with no apparent end other than to cause suffering and destruction for his pleasure. His original goal, as he states when he is young, was to be the last one standing at the end of the world,[5] though later he decides upon a different fate toward the height of this pursuit,[6] to erase himself from the world and commit the perfect suicide.[7]

Appearance

Johan is a handsome young man who has often been described as "beautiful" (by various characters) with short blonde hair that has bangs hanging on either side, blue eyes and his skin appears to be a very pale skin color.

As a child, he had short bangs hanging over his forehead.

Personality

On the surface, Johan is a well-mannered, charismatic, and compassionate yet somewhat aloof young man who possesses a myriad of favorable traits and can easily overwhelm individuals with his seemingly flawless nature, as seen with Hans Georg Schuwald, who describes him as being not of this world.[8] This meticulously crafted facade makes it easy for him to make new allies and manipulate them into doing various deeds for him through the influence of his supposed friendship and good will. With such skill in creating this sense of perfection and pureness, Johan hides his true motives with ease.

Within this contrived exterior, however, Johan callously delivers destruction and suffering to those who happen to fall prey to his schemes. Even before his tenure at Kinderheim 511, Johan still exhibits psychopathic tendencies. For example, most of his murders, both in childhood and adulthood, have been premeditated and calculated.

Many of Johan's beliefs run consistent with nihilism, as he does not see any meaning to life. He claims, "Most of this universe is 'death' anyway," and that to the universe, "most lives are just specks in a corner of the earth, gone in a flash".[9]

Johan also has a tendency to make his victims experience the worst possible loss and suffering rather than actually killing them himself; this experience often leads the victims to kill themselves, however. Helmut Wolf is a prime example of this; instead of simply being killed, Wolf is forced to watch as all of his close relatives and acquaintances die, one after another, all so he can feel what Johan felt, solitude.

The root of Johan's actions is unknown. Although he was sent to the experimental orphanage of Kinderheim 511, Hartmann informs Tenma that, "[Kinderheim 511] couldn't possibly create a masterpiece like him!" Neither of his parents seemed to suffer from psychopathy or any other mental illnesses. Anna, despite being the twin to experience the horrible events at the Red Rose Mansion, turns out to be a genuinely loving and caring person. However, while she is able to suppress her memories of the Red Rose Mansion, Johan takes them as his own, coming to believe that he was the one who experienced them.[10] After the Ruhenheim massacre, while convalescing in a state hospital from his second operation, Johan reveals to Tenma, through unknown means, his memory of his mother's decision,[11] revealing that the memory affected him profoundly.

"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.