Review of Bakemonogatari

This show piqued my interest when I first started watching it, with it's unique (and violent) character interaction, strange yet alluring style, and odd basis for a plot. But, sadly, by the end of the show, I felt like it had devolved from something that could have been great to a half-decent time-waster that (again, like so many shows) focused too much on fanservice. The animation was fantastic, but the show has a strange habit of zooming in on very detailed depictions of the characters' eyes. I don't know what purpose it served, but it was a little disturbing at first seeing peoples' tear ducts everyfew minutes. Still, high-tier animation deserves to be recognized, and this show is definitely not lacking as far as art.

I don't notice sound a whole lot in most anime shows, except for in the opening themes. I thought the openers were nice, but nothing more than that, and the sound in the show was not obvious enough to be outstanding or obnoxious. Nothing to report here.

The characters are very fun and interesting, especially the female lead, Senjougahara. She's a bit scary, but in the end, very likeable because of her quirkiness. I can't really say the same for the main character Araragi - as far as personality, he's very average-joe-ish, like a lot of main characters, but then again, he has an odd sort of photographic way of looking at the world which the anime does a very good job of showing, and really adds to the show's cool, if a little alien, style. The other characters, while they seem to be there only to provide fanservice, actually make reappearances after their little arc in the story is up, which is nice, because you don't feel like they just disappeared.

The real issue in Bakemonogatari is that the story doesn't really seem to be getting anywhere. It's one of those shows with an arc for each character that is introduced, but the characters that are introduced don't contribute towards any ongoing plot besides consistently connecting to the main idea of the show and providing plenty of fanservice. It really made me sad, because the show has a few mysterious moments that seem to beg for deeper inspection and story.

I didn't dislike Bakemonogatari overall. It was a fun watch, but by the time I reached the end of it and looked back, I felt like it was sort of empty. It's the same kind of feeling you get when you enjoy some really good hard candy, then realize after you've eaten it all that you're still hungry, but now you're sick to your stomach. In the end, I hungered for something with a bit more sustenance....