Review of Bakemonogatari

This review is just for this 15-episode Bakemonogatari season, not for the entire series itself!! While watching it, I fought internally with myself over what I thought about it, which is very typical of me. But I'm choosing to emphasize the things that I adored about Bakemonogatari, because the enjoyment that I got from it is something not quite like any other anime. However, I feel it's important to mention that Bakemonogatari's ultimate downfall is its pandering to p*dophiles. Especially in the Nadeko Snake arc. The camera never misses an opportunity to ogle the underage women in this show, and it's frankly disgusting. Without the fanservice,Bakemonogatari would be nothing short of a masterpiece. Instead, the show chooses to insult its own intelligence by sexualizing extremely young girls, some in middle school, and mischaracterize its own main character by having him be both kind, considerate, and selfless, while also being a drooling "lolicon" who sexually assaults middle-school aged children. I'm disappointed in the show and the direction it went regarding the fervent sexualization and p*dophilia.

I criticize this aspect of it so harshly because I was truly disappointed in it, due to how much I *loved* watching this. It's truly unlike any other anime. Its art is beautiful and cinematic, the world the characters live in feel both vast and small, busy and empty at the same time. Each character feels fleshed out in such a real manner -- in a way that each one has a secret life you'll never know about, a personal life inside the screen. The way the characters talk to each other is sharp and funny, and keeps the viewer completely engaged, almost like reading a novel. It reminds me of sitting at a dinner table with friends and more enjoying just listening to them talk to each other than actually participating in the conversation.

Not to mention, the pacing of this is completely beautiful. The episodes dash past you at a breakneck speed, telling you to pick up everything you can about what the characters are talking about, or get lost. If you're not in for the ride, then Bakemonogatari is not for you. An anime like this grips the viewer's attention and requires their participation because nothing is spoken outright. It relies on the viewer's attention and trust and intelligence, like a true mystery story. It really is different from any anime I've ever watched because it never waits for you to catch up, it simply keeps going. I think that's truly magnificent.

I think that the first three arcs of this season, Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Mai Mai, and Suruga Monkey, are the most enjoyable, and could probably even stand on their own individually. As I said before, the Nadeko Snake arc focused far too heavily on the sexualization and fetishization of a child. Each arc contains wonderful, humorous, and charming conversations between the characters though, and my attention was held so tightly by this show that I watched the first 10 episodes, fell asleep thinking about it, woke up thinking about it, and swiftly finished watching -- now here I am writing this review!

I will definitely keep watching the Monogatari series because of the things that I *did* love about it. However, I doubt I would ever recommend it fully to another living soul due to the disgusting fanservice and sexualization of children that takes place in this show. An anime such as this deserves to be enjoyed, but also consumed completely critically.