Review of Bakemonogatari

I'm somewhat conflicted on this show and as such it took me some time to pick a score. Overall, I found it pretty enjoyable with a few really stand out moments. However, it didn't quite do enough to justify an 8 or 9. I'll quickly mention the art/sound since that seems to be the done thing. I quite enjoyed the art direction, although I think if you are one of those people who stopped to pause and read all the text you are maybe missing the point a bit but whatever. It was interesting to look at despite the lack of action. The sound waspretty good too, I enjoyed the piano intro to take 5 in the background as well as the variety of openings.

Bakemonogatari is one of those shows that tries to critique/deconstruct/subvert it's own genre, a la what Tarantino or Edgar Wright like to do. So, while it does offer some subversions of the genre it is still very much an ecchi harem show. This does mean that as a viewer you need to be comfortable watching an ecchi harem show and for me, while I don't hate the genres they are far from my favourites. I think the subversion aspect worked well at times, often by intentionally calling out the main character (and by extension the audience) for enjoying something perverted while clearly portraying it for the audiences enjoyment at the same. However, it does sometimes wear a bit thin and for me it feels like it is trying a little too hard at times.

One of the show's main shticks is the whole back and forth banter between Araragi and the various ladies. This worked quite well for me, and I enjoyed some of the jokes, although a few were clearly lost in translation. They do get a tiny bit repetitive and I will be interested to see how my interest holds up in the later seasons. he various ladies aren't super complex but have just enough dimension to break out of their generic anime "categories".

The plot itself is pretty straightforward and works as a vehicle for character development and more importantly the banter. However, I found the series at it best when it slowed down for a moment and gave us some really sweet character moments that almost pushed this to an 8 for me. This worked especially well with regards to Senjogouhara (main love interest) who, despite her backstory utilising what is often a rather lazy and tonally inappropriate trope, managed to be more complex than just "damaged angry girl". These moments break through the Banter in a really refreshing way and didn't feel unnaturally forced, and avoided giving me tonal whiplash which is always a plus.

All in all I enjoyed it and will probably pick up the sequels at some point. So, if you can tolerate the ecchi then it's worth a shot but obviously YMMV.