Review of Bakemonogatari

Bakemonogatari follows the life of Koyomi Araragi as he works to figure out and cure his close friends from their apparitions. The series puts a large focus on love with many of the apparitions, if not all of them, being caused by a form of love, whether sexually or not. The show is rather basic: the animation is still, the characters are shallow, and the characters are rather basic, but the introduction and use of these characters are rather good and the music is some of the best in any television show ever. This series is a collection of different arcs which can be separate basedon their intro. Some of these arcs seem to be boring, interesting, and overdone as well as not very well done. The show begins with Araragi meeting Hitagi Senjougahara at school, she is extremely lite and floats when she isn’t weighted down. Araragi takes her to Meme Oshino who knows all about apparitions and how to solve them. After solving her problem, a new arc follows Mayoi Hachikuji, a ghost apparition who died when she was just a kid, the arc ends when Araragi takes her to her mother’s house. The next arc, middle arc, follows star basketball player Suruga Kanbaru who has a crush on Araragi’s girlfriend, Senjougahara. She has a monkey’s paw which she had used to beat up her enemies and she uses it with the intent to kill Araragi and win Senjougahara over. The arc following this one follows Nadeko Sengoku who had a curse placed on her after denying a boy who asked her out. She tries to reverse the curse which ends up turning her into a snake. Araragi learns how to break the curse and is able to remove the curse from Sengoku, presumably sending it to the boy who originally placed the curse, killing him although it is not confirmed. The final arc, sort of, follows Tsubasa Hanekawa as she is transformed into a cat girl. In between this arc is a one-off episode following up the first arc between Araragi and Senjougahara. The arc ends when Shinobu Oshino bites her, killing the apparition.
There are many amazing factors contributing to why this show is so popular. Although the arcs and characters are simple and overdone, the music, way the characters are executed, and spins placed on the arc concepts help to make the show a lot more interesting. When reviewing this show, the most obvious place to start is the music. Each arc has a different theme song, and sometimes the animators go out of their way to change them such as when Sengoku’s hat is removed in episode ten but present in nine. Other concepts and ideas like having multiple arcs inside of arcs inside of seasons is a fresh and unique idea. The characters, although bland, have traits that help them stand out and all have a personal connection to Araragi in some way. The show definitely has scenes that are notable and stand out as well as very powerful scenes that the audience, may, be able to relate to and feel the tension such as when Araragi tries to prove his worth to Senjougahara’s father.
Although there are many factors that make this show stand out, there are many factors that contribute to its well deserved mediocre score. As previously stated, the characters are overdone and are identical to many other anime characters. As well as this, the arc of two high schoolers falling in love, or an upset ex-lover are really overdone and feel dragged out and boring. Although one can complain about everything wrong with the show, it is much easier to use specific examples. The easiest example would be the final arc. It begins with Araragi sending all his friends to look for Shinobu. By the final episode, Araragi is attacked by Hanekawa in her white cat form. She attacks and threatens to kill Araragi, and no one can stop her as all his friends were sent off by him. This moment is the make-or-break moment of the show as it was poorly executed and caused it to drop from a seven to a six. Instead of Araragi overcoming his flaws and defending himself, he is saved once again by Shinobu who is revealed to have been hiding in his shadow. The ending seems like an easy cop-out and no characters learn from their actions.
Although there are many great things about Bakemonogatari, such as the music, way characters are utilized, and unique concepts, stuff like overused character backgrounds, stereotypical arcs, and a terrible ending along with a minimalist and experimental art style make this show seem like it doesn’t know just what it wants to be yet. The show is mostly focused on talking and not animation, but then also features fully animated fight scenes with attacks and blood making it seem out of place. A person can not make up their mind on this show by reading reviews, but their opinions can only be set by watching this show. Although some will not enjoy it, the show is only fifteen episodes and has many redeeming qualities throughout and is definitely worth a watch through.