Review of Bakemonogatari
"This is a story of boy meets girl. The boy, Koyomi Araragi of Chiba in the Kanto Region, grew up believing that he'd never truly be happy until the day he met the one. This belief stemmed from early exposure to sad British pop music and a total mis-reading of the movie 'The Graduate'. The girl, Senjougahara Hitagi also of Chiba in the Kanto Region, did not share this belief. Since the disintegration of her parent's marriage she'd only love two things. The first was her long hair. The second was how easily she could cut it off and not feel a thing. Araragi meetsSenjougahara on January 8th. He knows almost immediately she is who he has been searching for. This is a story of boy meets girl, but you should know upfront, this is not a love story." And this line was taken from the intro of 500 Days of Summer.
Watching Bakemonogatari reminds me alot of 500 Days of Summer. I loved 500 Days of Summer, and the film was released the same time Bakemonogatari was aired in Japan. Both Bakemonogatari and 500 Days of SUmmer shared the exact ideas of love, and relationship. But like 500 Days of Sumemr, it is not a love story.
Bakemonopgatari is adapted from a light novel series by Nisio Isin and is produced by SHAFT studios, known for their artistic takes on various genres and is directed by Akiyuki Shinbo, known for his works like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Mahou Shoujo Lyrical Nanoha and his recent work, mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica.
The story revolves around Koyomi Araragi, an average high schooler who somehow turned into a vampire. During an afterschool hang out with his friend Hanekawa, he met a woman named Senjoughara Hitagi who's also Araragi's classmate. It turns out she's a woman who has an incurable disease that turns her into a weightless human. And this is where the romance begins.
And let me repeat this: This is not a love story.
You see, Bakemonogatari is more of a series of supernatural stories mixed in with a harem story. Throughout his complicated romance with Hitagi, Araragi encounters females who are also supernatural entities like Senjougahara, and each of these females are told in a series of story arcs. In these arcs, You got Senjougahara who's suffering from a "weightless" disease, a little girl named Hachikuji Mayoi who got lost on her way home, a junior student of Araragi's school named Kanbaru who has a monkey's claw on her left arm, a girl named Nadeko who has a snake-like entity tied around her body and Araragi's friend and class rep hanekawa who has a bit of a cat problem. Each of these girls' arcs are well shown and follows faithfully from the light novel series.
What makes Bakemonogatari a really good series is the characters. Araragi is very similar to Tom from 500 Days of Summer: A snarky but average man with an interesting view of life. He's quite relatable in a sense that atleast he's not whiny or idiotic like most males in a harem or a romantic comedy.
And then you have Senjougahara. She proclaims herself as a tsundere, but she's more of a kuudere and she's quite a cold person, but she is able to relate to Araragi and unlike most tsundere & kuudere characters, she doesn't try and torture Araragi, and even when she does, she does it to a point where Araragi can atleast tolerate.
The central supporting character in this Mimi Oshino, a spiritual healer who helps people with spiritual & supernatural disorders. He is also aided by Shinobu, a little girl who's also a vampire. He and SHinobu play a part in each arc, from helping Senjougahara's weightless problem to treating a girl who has an invisible snake entity tied around her body.
This is a SHAFT anime, so most of the time you'll be reading a story that might make no sense at first, but makes alot of sense later. SHAFT always goes for this route. It takes a while to get used to this anime's storyline, and you will have a hard time understanding it unless if you have read the light novels earlier.
The art and animation in this is amazing. It follows a Film Noir style and It's pretty much influenced by French New Wave directors like Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard, and the animation is pretty much based on Akiyuki Shinbo's previous works: Lots of cuts, the used of text and complex character interactions. This is Shinbo's most artistic work. DOn't expect a Pani Poni Dash or Zetsubou Sensei with this anime. It's way different than his previous works and it might just be his most artistic yet.
I love the music in this anime. It's composed by Satoru Kousaki, who is pretty much one of my favourite composers in anime. He has done Lucky Star, Haruhi Suzumiya series and Star Driver, but Bakemonogatari is his best work, with insert music and background music inspired by Yoko Kanno and Leftfield. The OPs of this anime are based on the character arcs, and are sung by the females of this show. My favourite has to be Staple and Stable by Chiwa Saitou and Renai Circulation by Kana Hanazawa. Both are OPs that i've been listening to on my iPod for the past few days an di can't stop listening to them.
Speaking of Kana Hanazawa and Chiwa Saitou, let's talk about the voice acting. The seiyuus in this are amazing, with SHAFT employing it's regulars like Kamiya Hiroshi, Saitou Chiwa, Sawashiro Miyuki and Horie Yui to fill in for their characters. All of these seiyuus have done a great job with this, especially Kamiya Hiroshi who does a great job as Araragi. When he's not doing the likes of Izaya, he tends to do characters like Araragi and Nozomu Itoshiki, and the amount of energy and voice he pulls to his characters are amazing.
In conclusion, Bakemonogatari is a work of art. it balances between a fun take on supernatural entities with a romance that resembles 500 Days of Summer. Watching this is like looking at beautiful paintings at the Louvre. It's just amazing and if you love Neo-Noir or French New Wave Films by Truffaut and Godard, then you'll definitely love this anime.