Monster - Ending Explained

The central mystery of "Monster" is not, as initially suggested, about teacher abuse, but about the secret, burgeoning romantic relationship between Minato and his classmate, Yori. Minato's strange behavior—cutting his hair, showing up with one shoe—are all connected to his interactions with Yori and the bullying Yori endures. Mr. Hori is innocent; his alleged 'assault' on Minato was an accident where his hand unintentionally struck the boy's nose. Hori's visit to a hostess club was a false rumor that Saori used against him.

The true 'monster' is multifaceted. It is the societal prejudice that makes Minato fear his own feelings, leading him to internalize the slur 'pig brain' which Yori's abusive father uses against his own son for not being 'manly' enough. It is also Yori's violent, alcoholic father, who is physically abusing him. The school administration, particularly the principal, becomes monstrous through its rigid, self-protective bureaucracy that values reputation over truth, repeating empty apologies instead of investigating.

The film's climax occurs during a massive typhoon. Minato and Yori, after a confrontation with Yori's father, flee to their secret hideout in the abandoned train car. As the storm rages, Saori and Mr. Hori, now realizing the truth, search for them. A mudslide covers the area of the train car. The final scene shows the boys running out of a tunnel into bright sunshine, asking if they have been reborn. This ambiguous ending deliberately leaves their fate open to interpretation: they have either physically died in the mudslide and this is a vision of their spirits in a peaceful afterlife, or they have metaphorically survived the 'storm' of their ordeal and are 'reborn' into a new world of freedom and self-acceptance, having escaped through a drain culvert.

The most debated aspect of "Monster" is its ending. After the typhoon, Minato and Yori emerge from their sanctuary into a sun-drenched landscape, running freely and laughing. This has led to two primary interpretations:

• A Hopeful, Metaphorical Rebirth: This reading sees the ending as a symbolic liberation. The children have weathered the storm of misunderstanding and societal judgment and have emerged into a new reality where they are free to be themselves. They are not literally dead or reborn, but they have been 'reborn' into a state of self-acceptance. The broken fence symbolizes the removal of the obstacles that previously trapped them. Director Hirokazu Kore-eda himself has described the final scene as a "blessing" and a "celebration" for the boys, freeing themselves from societal pressures.
• A Tragic, Afterlife Fantasy: Another, more somber interpretation suggests that the boys did not survive the typhoon and the subsequent mudslide that buried their hideout. The final sequence is seen as a depiction of their spirits in the afterlife, a beautiful and peaceful fantasy where they can finally be together without pain. The heavenly light, their dialogue about being 'reborn', and the fact that the adults cannot find them support this tragic reading.

The director has stated he left the ending intentionally ambiguous, wanting it to be both a cautionary tale for adults and a message of hope for children.