Review of Bakemonogatari
"Huh, I wonder what the show that Renai Circulation is from is like." -Me, 6 years ago, about to drastically alter the course of my entire life. There's a lot to be said about coming-of-age stories. If you're someone who reflects on the past a lot I think you'll agree with me here. Getting through adolescence, getting past high school, falling in love for the first time (and the second time), among other things. It's an integral part of the human experience. Bakemonogatari, and the Monogatari series as a whole, talks about all of this, with a level of nuance that I've quite literally never witnessed inany other form of media so far.
On its own Bakemonogatari is an amazing piece of art. It is not my favorite season of this series, by a long shot, but it is still a great introduction to it.
I feel inclined to state that this anime is almost unwelcoming in its presentation. It has a bizarre animation style, unusual humor, a whole lot of dialogue, and some jokes and quirks that make it impossible for me to recommend to any member of my family. Yet it's still a truly brilliant story told and animated exceedingly well. I'm really glad I went into it with no idea of what I was getting into, and for that reason I'm not going to talk about any specific plot points or characters in this review. I think it's best viewed blind with only vague ideas of what it's about.
The art is really just captivating. That's the best way I can describe it. Odd camera angles and movements, a distinct lack of any animated characters aside from the main cast, and most prominently, its flashing animation cards full of text that I quickly gave up on trying to pause and read. At first I found them irritating, but as I continued watching, only catching a few words of the text flashing by, I began to warm up to them. It's like the directors wanted to capture what it's like to have a mind racing with thoughts in animation, and they did a really good job.
The music is what drew me into the show in the first place. You've definitely heard at least one song from this series, likely multiple. Its openings are super iconic, with Bake being one of the only anime that I rarely skip ahead. Its soundtrack is what sets the mood for each scene and does a perfect job at setting a tone. Frankly there are some songs so heavily laced with nostalgia from this series that it brings me nearly to tears.
The characters and the story feel like more than just characters and a story. This anime has something to say. Yes, it is technically a harem. Yes, there are harem-y jokes. But that's not all there is to this story. If you watch Bake and all you see is a harem, you missed something. I am fully confident in describing this series and Bake individually as a coming-of-age story. These people are flawed, and they all go about figuring life out and growing up in different ways. The characters often surprised me in unsurprising ways. "Wow, I can't believe they said that, but I get it." That's all I'll say on the matter.
Lastly, I believe that only watching Bake is doing the entire series a huge disservice. This story, these characters, have so much to show and tell, and it quite literally only gets better from the beginning. If you've got the time and interest, please do yourself a favor and see this story through to its end, all the way to Zoku.
And now for the epilogue, or rather, the punchline of this review: watching this show for the first time felt like how a lot of people felt playing Minecraft for the first time. I will always chase the high that this anime showed me.