Review of Bakemonogatari

Spoiler-free should-you-watch review of the entire Monogatari series: Monogatari is easily one of my favorite anime of all time, and I don't like to pick favorites. It is *something else*. All the same, it's a show I'm incredibly hesitant to recommend to just anyone, because it has some quite notorious faults. I tried writing this review with the "cons" first, because you HAVE to address them, but I kept expanding on each justification until it became a massive essay framed around the criticisms rather than an honest review. So I'm just going to gush about it right out the gate, because I really do think it'sworth a watch in spite of its faults, but I'll touch on the "cons" as they become relevant.

If I had to describe the Monogatari series in one word, it would be STYLISH. Every single aspect of the show contributes to an overall style that's sharp and clean and unmistakably Monogatari. My girlfriend describes sushi in much the same way I feel about this series: it's such a distinct type of food that when you're craving it, nothing else can substitute.

The animation is clean and beautiful, and although people might find Monogatari boring because so much of it is people standing around talking, the studio does an incredible job making the visuals interesting in spite of that. Characters are viewed from some of the strangest angles you've ever seen, and the show utilizes and invents tons of unusual body language to convey their feelings. It's also the best use of 3D animation in anime I've ever seen; I find 3D shortcuts incredibly jarring in other anime, particularly on human characters, but Monogatari uses it perfectly in the background. And that brings me to the unique world and tone; there's something beautifully unsettling about the labyrinthian kaleidoscope nightmare they live in. The backgrounds aren't reality, but they *reflect* reality, sometimes revealing unspoken truths about the world. Scenes are devoid of bystanders, not because there are no bystanders, but because who cares if they're there or not? They don't matter. Part of the style involves these "blinking" frames that flash up and sometimes convey thoughts through color. Sometimes, these frames have internal thoughts or pieces of the light novel on them, but they're just extra and you don't have to pause to read them if you don't want to. I have heard that all of the above has the opposite effect on some people, and they become bored. The good news is that Monogatari is very up-front about this style, so if you hate it you won't get too invested before realizing it. The voice actors are all phenomenal, and the way Shaft handles the opening animations is unparallelled. Each arc, not season, not half-season, EACH ARC has its own opening credits song SUNG BY THE VOICE ACTOR FOR THE CHARACTER THE ARC IS ABOUT. And they're super well done. The score is great, and honestly gets even better as it goes on.

Monogatari can be really funny, and not "I'm hungry so let me make a silly face" funny or "a bunch of characters are laughing at something only mildly amusing" funny. The timing is on point, the situations are well composed, and the characters are petty or sadistic or absurd or callous or oblivious in just the right ways. It often satirizes anime genres and tropes, but it's usually silly enough to be amusing even if you don't get the reference. The author makes near constant use of Japanese wordplay, which isn't too hard to follow with the right subs, so pick your subtitles with care. The dialogue is super sharp and fast paced, and the series does a great job of suddenly changing gears to alternate between silly, witty, serious and touching all in the same conversation. I'm not saying you'll be in tears laughing the whole time; I usually bounce between rolling my eyes, smiling, nose-laughing and laughing out loud depending on the joke. There's an artful levity that draws you through dialogue like a dance, ebbing and flowing to an irregular-but-compelling beat, almost like a modern anime version of the snappy dialogue in movies from the 1940s.

The writing in general is really well done, with the entire series fundamentally resting on top of compelling and thought-provoking metaphors that ground the fantasy elements in realism, each arc exploring different ideas, feelings and relationships. And this intertwined story makes the series quite robust, because when something doesn't quite make sense, you can shift to the other thread to search for meaning. Monogatari alternates comfortably between leading you along by the hand and trusting you to pick up on the subtext, or to understand that the characters don't totally mean what they're saying. The story is a strange blend between episodic and plot-driven, where there *is* an overall plot, but each mini arc stands up by its own merits. You may not understand the full significance of an arc until later because the stories don't always come chronologically, which creates some great tension and mystery. The romance elements are compelling and mature, and as someone who usually finds anime romance plots ham-fisted, I found myself savoring the moments when Monogatari revealed slivers of the tenderness it had deservedly built up over its course. And, a point many people will be excited to hear, the ending is good. It gives a decent sense of closure, and while there are certainly plot holes along the way, the structure of Monogatari's fantasy makes it easy to realize they don't really matter all that much. The realism that grounds the show is in a mental space that's much more nebulous.

The characters are distinct and three-dimensional, even when they're not (especially when they're not), and they all get their time to shine and grow and have relatable struggles. I find myself thinking about how much I relish Senjougahara Hitagi as a character, and how I wish her keen tongue found its way into more scenes. Sometimes characters talk duplicitously, and the show trusts you to understand if they were lying or joking, while sometimes they just discuss a concept openly and at length. And in every scene they're constantly swapping between questions and jokes and serious discussions, and it becomes this artful collage of conversation. Yes, there's fanservice, some truly steamy encounters, but there are also hilarious sequences, and really down to earth and touching moments, each type of scene providing perspective for all the others as the show goes on, so that all of it can feel at home when mixed together.

And if you're *looking* for fanservice of young women? Holy, yes, it's there, eventually you'll be tripping over it. Admittedly, it does get pretty egregious, especially around Nisemonogatari. But at the same time, some of the characters are in puberty, some of the plotlines are about their sexual expression, and in a weird way Monogatari can be markedly mature in its openness about that sexuality. The strong male gaze might be disappointing, or make some viewers uncomfortable, but Monogatari at least makes real use of it sometimes, instead of throwing it in purely for sex appeal. Sexualization of the characters is an entire dimension of the show, given that it's mostly from Koyomi's perspective, and it does convey tone when that sexualization turns on and off, sometimes within the same scene. Characters are also constantly weaponizing their sexuality, which is kind of refreshing, and usually hilarious. Often, a sexual advance that you'd normally label as "anime cringe" will say a lot about what the characters think about each other, and how well they understand one another. For every scene where nakedness is used for sex appeal, there's another where it's used for humor, and yet another where it's about unwinding and unburdening or about being vulnerable and trusting. And it's all mixed together, leaving you to interpret what they're going for in any given scene. The series consciously takes a different perspective in each of these cases, which leads me to respect it a lot more than some people are willing to. And as a last note, it almost doesn't need to be said, but the characters are all beautiful. Even without the element of sexual desire, you can appreciate the artful poses and overall attractive (albeit sometimes unrealistic) displays of the human form. It's a little more than *just* ecchi, but it's *definitely* ecchi.

I won't say I'm on board with the lolicon and siscon stuff, or the playful sexual harassment/assault, because I'm not; it's the easiest thing to turn people off about the show. While I wouldn't blame you for drawing the line there, it's such a shame to discard the entire rest of the show because of it. The following 4 sections will contain the closest thing to spoilers in this review, because it's impossible to explain without knowing the kinds of situations that come up. I'll keep everything as vague as possible, and use fake examples when necessary. Here are some clarifications that might help you decide whether or not Monogatari is worth giving a shot:

1) They do at least try to bucketize the harassment and lolicon stuff (usually paired together) into the "humor" category, which I can sort of understand in terms of cultural differences. It is in poor taste, but the show almost exclusively treats Koyomi's lolicon proclivities to be a joke. When things get serious, he drops the act, and it's even addressed as part of his character development later in the series. Because Monogatari shows signs of self-awareness, I formed the impression that Koyomi doesn't announce everything he sees or thinks, and that he's almost always just trying to be funny. This becomes really clear when he interacts with Kanbaru Suruga, who reflects some of his behaviors, or when the art style becomes much more cartoonish as he's playing the lolicon. When Koyomi begins to encounter women that are older than him, I found that he reads less like a rampaging pervert that goes around harassing everyone and more like an awkward idiot who doesn't feel like an adult yet and thinks perversion is funny. This is, however, a personal interpretation of what's left unsaid, and if you're unwilling to give him the benefit of the doubt, you'll think he's reprehensible. I personally don't want to believe that, and having watched the entire series I'm pretty happy with my interpretation, but Monogatari still toes the line. In the final arcs, there are two scenes in particular that come to mind, one that seems to be hard evidence for my interpretation, and another that seems to outright contradict it. So all of this isn't to say that it's totally fine because he's joking. It isn't. But I hope it can help you find solace in ignoring it.

2) Some people who have seen the whole series will take exception to the loli criticism; they can consider this point a response. Because anime so often focuses on highschoolers, my take in general is that character ages always need to be scaled up a few years during the translation process to convey the same meaning in western standards. Even considering this, however, there are still little girls involved. Because there's often a divide between animation style and realism, anime art establishes age primarily by context, e.g., other characters. There are adults in this show. There are young adults in this show. In the real world, some women are short, and breasts and hips come in all shapes and sizes, but very few if any women are contextually the size and shape of 10 year olds compared to everyone else. And for that reason, it's fairly disingenuous to pretend that the issue is more complicated than it appears on the surface.

Aside: I'm ignoring the whole older-than-they-look trope or anything like that; it's impossible to get into without spoilers, but when you consider the specifics of each loli's character, it feels like an intentional exploration of typical "justified" loli situations (e.g, "she's METALLY 1000s of years old") that frames them in a way much more difficult to justify. It's yet another reason why the loli-content is so disappointing: Monogatari's loli scenarios feel self-aware, like intentional digs at typical loli tropes, saying "okay, what about NOW?". But they're sort of undercut whenever Shaft throws a bone to the loli crowd anyway.

3) I already touched on puberty and sexual exploration, and that does cut out part of this discussion. For the most part, the siscon stuff is super transparent fetishy nonsense, but I'll happily defend it one one level: a variation of Poe's Law. Have you ever taken to saying a phrase you don't like as a joke, only to find months down the line that you're saying it all the time, and it's indistinguishable from someone who says it in earnest? This is kind of how the siscon content of Monogatari works. Koyomi, who thinks perversion is funny, plays the siscon as a joke. At some point it goes too far and they suddenly realize that they're no longer in a joke. I won't pretend to know how they feel, but it is kind of interesting. As uncomfortable as it might make people, siscon behavior really is the least problematic of the three I mentioned above. I could normally see an objection to it as an argument against grooming, but their particular relationship as siblings is much closer to that of peers than anything else. Monogatari also does a decent job using it to explore his sisters' personalities, so it isn't for nothing, but yes, it should have been something else instead.

4?) This last one isn't the same kind of red flag as the others, but I'll touch on the complaint that this is a harem anime. That tag isn't entirely wrong but I do think it's misleading. Monogatari does, very intentionally, resemble a harem anime. A male protagonist gradually meets a cast of almost exclusively young women (potential suitors?) that need his help. Do not be put off by this. As the series develops, it reveals many of these tropes to be misconceptions; more than it falls into them, it comes to criticize and tear them apart one-by-one. Their intrapersonal relationships become more defined and complex, and each "suitor" becomes a character study, exploring different kinds of dynamics between people. Though Monogatari is primarily seen through Koyomi's eyes, it is just as much about the other characters, if not moreso most of the time. Distinguishing the show's perspective from Koyomi's perspective is one of the most interesting parts about it. Koyomi doesn't really have the magic touch to fix their problems, and he barely functions as a savior. What he has is an unrealistic sense of justice, a good amount of luck, and big helping of stupid with a side of empathy. The women of Monogatari are not simply objects for his lust or affection; usually they're the ones teaching him about the world. And honestly that's why it's so compelling to root for him; he really has no right to think he can help anyone, and it's remarkable things go his way. And, of course no spoilers, the show is aware of this and does eventually discuss the versimilitude of Koyomi as a savior. However, you can't ignore that Monogatari makes a point to give Koyomi no male peers, and he is almost always helping these young women in their stories. Even when he's absent, his absence is often referenced. The show doesn't fully fail the Bechdel test, but it gets close.

So there, Monogatari warts and all. I am not so disjointed from reality to think that this series reflects acceptable social standards. Part of me focuses so hard on these problems as an expression of remorse for enjoying the rest of the show so much, because there really is nothing else like it. I hope that talking through these points left you confident enough to decide whether or not to pick the series up, whatever choice you do make. If any of the above sounds particularly enticing, though, especially the writing and characters, I really *really* recommend giving it a shot. Monogatari can be so well written it gives me hope. Period.