Review of Bakemonogatari

(This is a non-spoiler "review" for all seasons, or more accurately my unfiltered thoughts after finishing Owari S2. Also, it is over a year old, only now being posted on MAL, though I still agree with it.) Holy shit. I knew this was up my alley, but I did not expect to enjoy Monogatari this much. No matter how I look at this series it's goddamn amazing. In every category I can think of Monogatari not only excels but comes near if not at the top of all anime I've ever watched over the past year. In fact I will name right here every aspect ofMonogatari that comes out as some of the best in anime:

Animation: Style, Smoothness, Character Designs, Background Designs, Fanservice
Writing: Dialogue, Comedy, Emotional Beats, Story (Stories?), References, Characters, Morals
Other: OP's, ED's, OST, Voice Acting
Overall: Enjoyment

Now it looks like here I have just listed everyone one should take into consideration when reviewing an anime. And if you thought that you'd be right. For every single word, word pair, and initialism contained in that list, I'm hard-pressed to think of an anime that does it better than the Monogatari series. I'm not so talented that I could tell you why each and every one of those individual parts is amazing, but to me they are.

The Monogatari fanbase is known for being pretentious, but with the way the show is it's easy to see why. I will say this: anyone who dismisses Monogatari as "just another harem" is objectively wrong, and I'm not exaggerating . First of all, while it's undeniable that at least part of the fanservice is there for the sake of being fanservice, Monogatari is easily the best of any anime at justifying that fanservice. The plot and characters would not work to the same effect without it. There's also the accusation that it's just "fanservice with a bit of philosophy mixed in" which is technically correct, but just because you're correct doesn't mean you're right. Ahem. What I meant to say was: that completely undermines the "philosophy" and moreover the messages of the anime. I rate with enjoyment in mind above all, but when one digs into the meaning and metaphors in this series there's a lot of great stuff to find.

Now for the epilogue, or rather, the punch line.
As you've surely gathered by now if you read all this, the Monogatari series is my favorite anime. I was originally going to wait after rewatching Chuunibyou to make that claim, but after finishing Ougi Dark I have no doubts; Chuunibyou will not beat this. Seriously, I liked Arararagi so much that I have to change the "favorite-characters" section on my MAL profile into a proper one rather than a best girl list. Monogatari is not for everyone, but luckily it's easy to tell who it's for if they've been watching anime for long enough. Anybody who doesn't mind lots and lots of dialogue, isn't turned-off by fanservice/lolicon-humor, and wants a deep, enjoyable story that treats them like a non-idiot will probably enjoy this series.