Ever Feel Like Anime Has Weird Angles
Ever Feel Like Anime Has Weird Angles
Synopsis
Koyomi Araragi, a 3rd-twelvemonth loftier school educatee, manages to survive a vampire attack with the help of Meme Oshino, a foreign man residing in an abased building. Though beingness saved from vampirism and now a human over again, several side effects such as superhuman healing abilities and enhanced vision still remain. Regardless, Araragi tries to live the life of a normal student, with the help of his friend and the class president, Tsubasa Hanekawa.
When swain classmate Hitagi Senjougahara falls down the stairs and is caught by Araragi, the boy realizes that the girl is unnaturally weightless. Despite Senjougahara'southward protests, Araragi insists he aid her, deciding to enlist the aid of Oshino, the very man who had once helped him with his own predicament.
Through several tales involving demons and gods, Bakemonogatari follows Araragi as he attempts to help those who suffer from supernatural maladies.
[Written by MAL Rewrite]
Groundwork
Related Anime
| Adaptation: | Monogatari Serial: First Flavor |
| Summary: | Bakemonogatari Recap |
| Sequel: | Nisemonogatari |
| Prequel: | Nekomonogatari: Kuro |
| Other: | Nisekoimonogatari |
| Side story: | Koyomimonogatari |
Characters & Voice Actors
Staff
Reviews
Jun 27, 2010
xv of xv episodes seen
| Overall | 10 |
| Story | nine |
| Animation | ix |
| Sound | ten |
| Grapheme | ten |
| Enjoyment | 10 |
"To exist blunt, I just enjoy talking to you... and then I want to talk with you more."
"If our opinions disharmonism, let'southward talk it over." (Dialogue from episode 5)
'Bakemonogatari', cleverly translated as 'Ghostory' or 'Monstory', is nearly v not-and so-normal girls that Araragi Koyomi, a vampire himself, encounters and endeavour to save from oddities possessing them.
Character: What makes the couple extraordinary, is that Senjougahara is often boke while Araragi is tsukkomi. Traditional Japanese stand-upwards one-act consists of a duo: I takes the "boke" part who says something stupid while the "tsukommi" part points out the flaws in boke'due south argument, often with a violent slap in the head. Yes, that's right. Boke is masochist by nature and often not very intelligent, while tsukommi is sadist by nature and often more observant. The unlikely toggling of comedy roles were delivered extremely well, and this back and forth interaction between the leading couple is a key part of this show's appeal. The remaining four main characters are not as complex as the leading couple, merely they all have their ain unique issues that drive the story,each with distinct personalities that made them memorable. STORY: Hachikuji, Kanbaru, and Hanekawa'due south arcs developed the relationship of leading couple while offering new topics to the story. "Bakemonogatari" is substantially a verbal performance with visual support. Story is driven by back and along debate on various issues. SOUND: Music score in 'Bakemonogatari' has a generally consequent ambient feel to information technology with a prissy catamenia. Other than intense music for action scenes, they don't particularly set the mood or enhance drama as what I unremarkably consider to be stiff BGM for anime, just the usually upbeat sounds in the groundwork set the quick pace for dialogue, and make conversations all the more engaging. OP song "Staple Stable" is ane of the best anime opening theme song past a seiyuu, ever. Really memorable tune accompanied by dandy vocal and lyric by 1000000 stone was only amazing. Fine art: Visuals for the anime got somewhat of an "fine art house movie" treatment. There were many abstruse and surreal scenes, anarchistic cuts, and intriguing camera angles that made the viewing feel very pleasant. Information technology'due south the perfected grade of SHAFT's signature fashion. The only complaint I have with the animation is the use of photographs/videos of real-life imagery. At the run a risk of sounding like a super-otaku, I would say 3D images practise non belong in the world of 2D. ENJOYMENT: The 8-calendar month wait for the concluding three episodes were excruciating, only the ending was so satisfying that it nigh made it worth the cool expect. Given the commercial success 'Bakemonogatari' has achieved, I will be hoping for the remaining novels in the serial to exist animated. Possibly 'Kizumonogatari' OVA/film and 'Nisemonogatari' as a sequel season. To be blunt, I just enjoyed listening to them... so I want to heed to them more.
The main characters of 'Bakemonogatari' are among the nigh unique and complex I have even so to see.
Heroine Senjougahara Hitagi is a tsundere like half of all modernistic heroines in anime, just she is also 「ドS」, a sadist to an extreme caste, which is more than common for side characters and rare for heroines. Our protagonist, as expected, is rather on the masochist side who takes constant exact abuse from Senjougahara.
The leading couple in this series, on the other hand, take turns with the roles. It is specially interesting when the sadist and intelligent Senjougahara purposefully have on the boke part and overwhelms tsukkomi. Such as making insulting statements that audio flawed, merely when Araragi tries to make a improvement, he realizes what she said was true. Or Senjougahara makes a blatantly flawed statement just to hurt Araragi, and his comeback autumn into deaf ears. And of grade, enough of intentional boke or tease spoken with so much dominance that Araragi just gives upward and let it slide.
There are 6 main characters in this series, and total of only 5 side/peripheral characters (Meme, Shinobu, two sisters, and Senjougahara's father) in the whole serial. The express grapheme headcount made thorough character development possible despite being an arc-based serial.
Just put, one-half the show is about the romantic relationship between the Senjougahara and Araragi.
The other one-half is about a constant argument between two values: The rational vs the idealistic, with Araragi as Mr. Dainty Guy seeking happy cease for everyone. Solution of supernatural oddities every bit the topic of the argument.
The only flaw in the story in my opinion, is that Sengoku'southward arc was pretty much by itself, and contributed very little to the whole series other than loli and moe fan service.
Each arc is an incident focusing on a dissimilar girl, but all the arcs combine to show a whole movie of Araragi and Senjougahara endmost their personal distances.
With verbal functioning playing such a big role in this show, voice acting is taken to a whole new level in this series.
Every characters' voices fit perfectly, and not only that, distinct tones and dash of speech communication institute unique impressions for every single grapheme. The characters speak so fast in this series with lots of natural language twisters, but the seiyuu bandage had washed a wonderful task in keeping upwards. I don't think information technology'southward an exaggeration to describe voice acting in this series as epic.
The other four OPs sang past seiyuu of each arc heroines were nowhere as impressive equally "Staple Stable", merely offers refreshment value to the OPs, and fits each character perfectly.
ED song's lyric made petty sense at start, simply its meaning was unveiled in a conversation between the leading couple in a certain episode, and information technology turned out to very suitable for the series. The two Senjougahara theme songs (OP1, ED) were masterpieces.
Animation in 'Bakemonogatari' mainly serve as a visual aid to the exact performance, and it proved to exist very effective.
Graphic symbol designs were attractive, and main characters had visually shown a broad range of emotion that further portrays the grapheme'due south state of listen.
Every bit a fansubber and having seen thousands of hours of fan/professionally translated works, I tin can tell you lot that at to the lowest degree 10% of the meaning is lost in translation, no matter how well translated. In conversation/narration driven series filled with wordplay and metaphors, at least xx% of the pregnant, therefore enjoyability, will inevitably be lost to non-Japanese speakers.
Still, 'Bakemonogatari' is a truthful masterpiece with experimental production that actually worked. Attention was paid to the tiniest details, and a story well-told. Truly amazing direction by Shinbou Akiyuki left the states with so many memorable scenes, and this will definitely exist a series to exist remembered.
Dec 24, 2015
fifteen of 15 episodes seen
| Overall | 3 |
| Story | half dozen |
| Animation | viii |
| Sound | 6 |
| Character | five |
| Enjoyment | three |
THIS REVIEW IS FOR ALL SEASONS, Equally SUCH, IT CONTAINS SPOILERS
Monogatari takes identify in a city populated by about 20 people, cardboard cutouts, and kanji characters, and follows the story of Koyomi Araragi equally he meets girls who have supernatural oddity-related issues in their lives and tries to help them.
I am not a fan of the Monogatari anime, but I will become into why later in this review.
The characters are all pretty much what you'd expect from a harem anime. There's the selfless main graphic symbol, the Tsundere girlfriend, the shy Moe girl who turns out to really be psycho and manipulative, the smart daughter who wears glasses (for a brief time anyway), the little sister(s), the athletic girl, the lesbian, etc. However, most of them are written with more nuance than what yous'd expect, as in, they go backstories, but on a basic level, I don't feel like it's any deeper than the graphic symbol backstories from whatever other anime. But they do have a flake more depth than what y'all'd expect from a harem evidence, pregnant they are not in a round-the-clock quest for the chief character'southward dick. I'grand not a fan of the characters (except for Kaiki Deishuu and peradventure Meme Oshino), and don't remember they're very noteworthy, just I practise give the author credit for that. The dialogue is also the aforementioned as what you'd expect from an anime. Talking about motivations, delivering exposition, and bantering whenever in that location's naught going on. The difference is that most the show is only that, talking, with nothing else going on. However, I don't accept that much of a problem with that attribute and some of the dialogue is occasionally funny. Nevertheless, fifty-fifty and then, the dialogue often tends to go in circles and isn't stiff enough to conduct the whole prove in my stance, only more on that later. When information technology comes to the story, all the same, a lot of the story arcs offset out with potential, but then they terminate up focusing more on the dialogue rather than doing something interesting with the premise, and then end unmemorably. Surprisingly enough, despite the first scene of this prove existence a 15-20 2d-long panty shot, there isn't actually all that much fanservice. Nonetheless, when at that place is, information technology'due south rather unappealing. Two running gags with Koyomi include going out and molesting Mayoi, who is 11, and planning on tricking his little sisters into being molested by him, and he suffers no real comeuppance for information technology. I'd say information technology's refreshing to accept a subversion as a modify of step from the typical harem humour where the chief graphic symbol does something perverted by blow and gets beaten up for it, but I don't think child molestation or incest are funny. That's non to mention the rape snake from the Nadeko Snake arc, and 2 extended scenes from Nisemonogatari, in which Shinobu, who is over 400 years onetime but is physically 8, bathes with Koyomi, equally well as the infamous scene where he brushes his little sister'due south teeth and it looks like they're having oral. I take read an essay analyzing the fanservice in Nise, of all things, and plainly it's supposed to stand for teenage sexuality, or how the girls want to exist seen past Koyomi. Okay, merely that doesn't hateful that I have to feel it's worth waxing philosophical well-nigh this aspect. Might as well apply that aforementioned logic to every ecchi harem out in that location. The biggest problem I have with Monogatari, all the same, isn't intrinsic to the series in general, since I've read some of the calorie-free novels and think they're okay, despite having these flaws. The blitheness looks nice and make clean (despite the obvious low upkeep resulting in all these still frames), notwithstanding, it is likewise its biggest flaw (besides the fanservice). Shaft has been using the same visuals for every Shinbo-directed show for several years (x-eleven years every bit of the time of this review), simply I feel that when making Monogatari, they rely on their visuals too much. A lot of the fourth dimension, during the dialogue scenes in Monogatari, they keep cutting to Dadaist visuals, text screens, weird camera angles, and extreme closeups, which wouldn't be a problem, except that they focus on them for and then long and then oftentimes, that it detracts from the experience. They go too overboard with those and neglect to build upwardly a good momentum for the pacing. I don't gauge a show based on the blitheness, every bit long equally I'm interested in the story and the characters, but this is one example where I have the opinion that it detracts from everything else. In this case, I feel like the animation department is as well busy showing off what I already know that they can do while not advancing the story in a significant measure in each episode with trivial pay-off, and that aspect is what I actually care about in a show. I've already seen this exact same type of animation in multiple other Shaft shows previously, and then it doesn't do annihilation for me anymore, I'm not going to requite it actress points. Imagine if someone made an adaptation of a book, and instead of adapting the events of the volume in a visual format, the adaptation entirely consisted of watching some guy sitting there, reading the book out loud. That's what watching Monogatari feels like. In conclusion, I think that the Monogatari light novels are okay despite their flaws, but that Shaft's direction makes the anime boring to watch, and that I would have likely enjoyed the prove more if information technology was fabricated by another studio, or if Shaft hadn't gone so overboard with the animation to the extent that it detracts from everything else. The only reason I keep to sentry it is but because I'yard waiting for the moment where it finally lives up to its potential. Monogatari is a love-information technology-or-hate-information technology testify, watch it if you lot want, maybe you'll like it, but if you lot end up not liking it, I recommend watching Monster or Mushishi as preferable alternatives.
In my opinion, the biggest example of this is in Monogatari 2nd Season's Mayoi Jiangshi arc. In that arc, Koyomi time travels and prevents something from occurring in the testify's backstory. Because of this change he made, a character was unable to help him during the events of a previous story arc in this alternate timeline, which leads to the extinction of humanity via a vampire zombie invasion. I was genuinely pleasantly surprised at the premise of this story arc considering it gave new significant and importance to previous arcs and character interactions. Simply gauge how the story arc plays out. Lots of talking, of course.
October 13, 2011
15 of fifteen episodes seen
| Overall | 10 |
| Story | 10 |
| Animation | 10 |
| Sound | ten |
| Character | 10 |
| Enjoyment | 10 |
For every medium, there are few masterpieces that transcend the genre and become something special. Since I consider anime, every bit a genre, to be simply equally legitimate an art form (despite the bad rep it ofttimes gets), I volition also review Bakemonogatari as a work of fine art, and information technology is irrefutably i of the special few anime series that fully capitalize on the strengths of the anime medium.
STORY ART Audio Character Koyomi - Of all anime leads I've seen, he is one of the few truly-believable leads that are likeable. He is considerately decent-looking and decently dressed, non, as are many a bluish-haired shounen characters, outrageously flamboyant. He is non an outspoken paragon of bravery and power. He is even a chip of a sociopath. However, the subtle inner stability he shows makes him stronger than Goku or Lelouch in my opinion. He isn't a social butterfly, simply he would never seriously harm some other person. Though he is a bit of a debauchee, simply like the rest of us, the viewers tin't picture him always existence disloyal to his romantic partner. Koyomi's inner forcefulness and stability are what keeps this series from condign a typical harem anime, and such qualities of his grapheme are what makes the viewer and so strongly and ineffably place with him. Senjougahara - Outset of all, her name is awesome, just phonetically. I read that it means something similar "battleground" in Japanese, only it sounds and so feminine and appropriate to her character. With that bated, if Koyomi is the steady, dependable drummer keeping beat to the Bakemonogatari band, Senjougahara is the atomic number 82 vocalist that captures and enthralls the viewer. Anime is, more than anything, a visual fine art, so it is of course important that her every frame is perfected and beautified with adoration. Non simply is she one of the most flawlessly cute female characters in anime, the style she poses and moves is also idealized. Imagine a girl who never does anything unsightly: never makes an unflattering face, is never without makeup (or e'er looks perfect without ane), never goes to the bathroom, you become the idea, and that would be Senjougahara. Once again, the creators of Bakemonogatari actually cashed in on this aspect of anime to create a visually flawless female pb. Utter perfection, however, isn't always likeable, equally none of us are perfect. Senjougahara, therefore, needs some profound flaw in club to get-go her concrete perfection, and that's when her character development comes into play. I won't say much more on that for fearfulness of spoiling, but she exists not as a perfect, standalone beingness, only someone who absolutely depends on Koyomi to complete her. That's why their interactions piece of work, fifty-fifty though they should logically have nil reason to even know each other. Senjougahara is the modern Yamato Nadeshiko, though the usage of that term to describe her may be controversial. The numerous attempts to categorize her as a tsundere/kuudere/yandere/whaeverdere have all failed because her character is grounded not on a trope, but a real-life ideal of feminine beauty. She is the culmination, or rather, an affiliation, of decades of anime heroines that captured the viewers, male and female alike. Senjougahara and Koyomi accept such subtle and inexplicable chemistry because they are both subtle, ultimately mysterious characters. ENJOYMENT Overall, if you think yourself the discriminating, intellectual beta-component of modernistic society (who also happens to spotter anime), you will love this series. Information technology's a love or detest blazon of anime, in my opinion, and if yous are the type of person this show caters to, yous volition come to thoroughly appreciate every aspect of the testify, besides but Senjougahara. If you're not, that doesn't mean you lot're not as cultured or some nonsense; but need to find your anime masterpiece, as I plant Bakemonogatari.
People have complained that the story is too episodic, also disjointed. Notwithstanding, the virtue of Bakemonogatari's storyline is that it is and then minimal. In all senses, this anime is a character-based experimental, and an elaborate storyline would actually detract from that experience. There are plenty of anime out at that place that thrive on plot twists and progression that keep the viewer on their seats, but Bakemonogatari isn't 1. The episodic storyline is a brilliant framing device for character evolution and naught more, which works out perfectly for this detail anime.
As usual Studio SHAFT splurged on art. This is definitely a series to be enjoyed in high-definition, preferably with the room lights turned off. Anime, by definition, is a genre segregated from realism. The beauty of anime as a medium is that every cut is animated, so that the blemishes, imperfections, and limitations of reality tin can exist omitted in favor of stylized, beautified perfection. Anime fine art style that attempts to be likewise realistic are bound to lose that edge and, naturally, pale in comparison to alive-action works featuring comparable visuals. Anime that go all in on stylizing can often seem distracting and also discrete from reality. With all of that in consideration, Bakemonogatari is one of the few shining masterpieces of the anime genre that hits the sweet spot. Everything in this anime is crisp and cute, from the characters to the slightest scenery particular. What would accept seemed tacky when drawn are boldly stylized and symbolized, rather than allowed to compromise the temper. For instance, people take complained about the cuts to photographs and abstract diagrams that pop upwards frequently. But imagine if all of those were actually animated; it would have been clunky and distracting from the dialog. For case, Senjougahara'southward mother isn't a graphic symbol in this anime, therefore having an designed, blithe character to her credit would distract from the very modest and tight bandage. I don't know how much budget went into this production, but they sure splurged where it was needed (characters, scenery-porn sequences, pivotal action sequences) and were decisive in radically minimizing what would have been superfluous.
There is quite a rave nigh Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari and Staple Stable, and they are indeed catchy and advisable opening/ending. Much more than underrated are the mundane, ambient audio design of this anime. Only as Bakemonogatari should ideally exist viewed in high-quality settings, so information technology should be heard with at least "nice" audio. Perhaps I had the fortune/misfortune of existence an impeccable audiophile and watched the series with headphones that cost me half a fortune, but anybody should at least watch Bakemonogatari with existent speakers or decent headphones. This is a series that can only exist fully appreciated when the viewer is immersed in information technology, and laptop speakers simply won't do.
Having said all of that, the non-intrusive BGM and ambient sounds do a perfect chore of accentuating the dialog/situation without, over again, distracting from what is actually important. Maybe the best case is in the Television finale, where the BGM swells and fades without the viewers really noticing because they are so perfectly integrated with the ebb and period of verbal/situational push button and pull between the two leads.
The voice acting, without even the need to elaborate, are acme-mark. The seiyuu for Koyomi is accordingly serious, jocular, and reflective. I especially enjoyed the sequences and inserts in which Koyomi is thinking selfish/perverted/silly thoughts. Excellent audio designing makes information technology audio like Koyomi's voice is really ringing inside my head, adding to the result and how identifiable his graphic symbol is. Vox interim for Senjougahara seemed a bit besides delicate and blatant at first, only it was revealed to be not the fault of the seiyuu, but part of character development, simply more than on that will border on spoiling. Permit me just add together that voice interim for both leads hit the sweet spot at least past the Tv finale.
All of the other elements, story, art, and sound, up to now were accompaniments to the bright characters of Bakemonogatari. If those elements had their virtue in garnishing the backgrounds of this anime, the characters' virtue lie in their shocking assertiveness and charisma.
This is the one category where I admit that the 10/10 is highly subjective. Objectively, Bakemonogatari is a height-quality art form, and I firmly believe that high-profile artists, filmmakers, etc. would capeesh that Bakemonogatari is the epitome of modern anime counterculture (Suzumiya Haruhi being the mainstream crystallization of modern anime). Even so, you have to be looking for the right thing to enjoy this anime. If the anime you typically bask are Naruto, TTGL, etc. (not that they aren't fantastic either), Bakemonogatari is perhaps not for you lot. This series is really for people who have watched a lot of anime, possibly fifty-fifty an otaku, and were drawn to the more sophisticated, mail-modern aspect of the genre as a whole. Information technology is, in a style, analogous to how Mozart is universally loved (for a good reason!), while composers like Hindemith entreatment strongly to those who have developed a taste in classical music. I personally pick this series as the number ane anime of all time (along with NGE) because it had all I was looking for: deep, subtle characters, platonic romance, somewhat surreal atmosphere, idealization only possible in anime, wit, and that pinch of sociopathy shown in each character, as are nowadays in every human being. There isn't one thing virtually this anime that is the "hook" (though, if I had to pick ane, I'd get with SENJOUGAHARA FASCINATION). Rather, every attribute of it plays its role perfectly to create a gestalt whole. Oh, and by the style, if you're like me and are desperately looking for non-moe, non-loli (getting harder and harder to find) anime made in 21st century, welcome to Bakemonogatari. This series is for mature viewers looking for a subtle, yet decisively anime experience.
April 5, 2013
xv of 15 episodes seen
| Overall | 10 |
| Story | ix |
| Blitheness | 10 |
| Sound | 9 |
| Character | 10 |
| Enjoyment | 10 |
"Did you lot know every time you sigh, a niggling flake of happiness escapes?" - Senjougahara Hitagi, Episode half dozen
Well, you won't exist sighing anywhere in this anime.
Bakemonogatari from the offset tin can requite the wrong impression to the viewer. They must be wondering, "Why is this rated then loftier, if it all it is, is just random words popping up on the screen?" However, information technology is a actually proficient anime in its own weird way, and you're probably going to take to capeesh it that way as well.
Character: Usually, I'd start my review with the main part (story), but I believe the most important part of Bakemonogatari is its character development. Y'all have Koyomi Araragi, who interacts with five different girls throughout the story; the tsundere Senjougahara Hitagi, the cute and small-scale Mayoi Hachikuji, the tomboy Kanbaru Suruga, the other beautiful loli Sengoku Nadeko, and the Queen of Fanservice Hanekawa Tsubasa. Oh yeah, I almost forgot Oshino Shinobu. Each interaction and arc is unique. From funny wordplay, to stapling someone in the oral fissure, the character evolution is what makes this series a actually entertaining one. If Bakemonogatari didn't have a storyline at all (which it does), it would yet be entertaining to spotter. Story: The first episode actually starts off with flashing scenes from Kizumonogatari, the prequel of Bakemonogatari. You take Koyomi Araragi, who was recently bit by a vampire. In the beginning of the story, he meets Senjougahara past catching her fall. Was that the correct decision to make? Araragi himself says; "Non ignoring her was the right determination... I think" (Episode 1). She then tells him (in fact, forces him, past stapling the side of his mouth) to be tranquillity about her "incurable disease", but Koyomi insists on helping. He gets his friend who had helped him recover from the vampire attack; Oshino Meme. He specializes in supernatural problems to assistance not merely her, but everyone else throughout the story. The series overall isn't a story-focused one. It's more focused on the character interactions. The interaction between Senjougahara and Araragi are always entertaining to lookout man. Sound: The voices sound really squeamish, and the vocalization cast has a lot of popular names. The dialogue plays an important role is this anime, and is done really well, specially with its jokes. The OPs are really catchy (notable mention to Senjougahara's "Staple Stable" and Nadeko's "Ren'ai Circulation") and the ED (supercell - Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari) is only neat. Art: The fine art is somewhat similar to SHAFT'south other piece of work (equally expected). It's most like a mix of Sayonara Zetsubo Sensei and Arakawa Under the Bridge, only everything is well-baked and clear nonetheless. Some other element that plays a huge function in Bakemonogatari is the flashing text and small item that happens almost too oftentimes each episode. I think information technology is done well, and sets a mood for the episode. You don't take to cease and read everything, only the flashing words practice provide some info and foreshadowing. Enjoyment: Bakemonogatari has a lot of entertainment value, and all the elements combined make information technology a really proficient supernatural-romance-one-act. Each arc is enjoyable, and has a proficient amount of fan service for those who savour it. The romance was also done very well, which leaves the view with a warm feeling at the end. Information technology took some time to get used to the weird flashing words in the beginning, but one time you go used to it, you'll be in for an entertaining ride. Overall Rating: ten
Rating: 10
Senjougahara: *to Araragi* "I'm suprised you know such useless things. This is the first time since nativity that I've admired you."
Story: ix
Sound: 9
Art: 10
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Source: https://myanimelist.net/anime/5081/Bakemonogatari
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