Review of Bakemonogatari

The monogatari series is something so unique that you either hate it or love it. I love it. And let me tell you why you should at the very least give it a try. The monogatari series is probably one of, if not the most complex anime ever made with Bakemonogatari being the starting point. At least thats how most people started watching. And for a good reason. First of all it introduces a lot of the characters that youll see again later in the series. Each character Araragi Koyomi (the MC) meets, gets their own arc. Basically thats just a part of the show,its usually 3-5 episodes long.

Now, the story itself is almost entirely made up of dialouge. There is very little fighting and that is I think the reason some people love it or find it terribly boring. And if you only look at Bakemonogatari and ignore the rest of the series i can see how some people might think that way. However you have to look at the series as a whole and only then it becomes the masterpiece that it is. Character development is on point and there are basically no side characters that only appear like once or twice in the whole anime. That makes every character so much more memorable. You'll also never see any pedestrians. If you do theyre always in the form of cardboard cutouts. If youre careful you notice that Bakemonogatari, and most of the series, is told in from of a story that Araragi is telling you. So everything that isnt a crucial part of the story (like pedestrians) are just not there. The whole series has a very unique art style. While you might argue that the characters look pretty basic, which i can agree on, the e.g. landscape and buildings are mostly drawn in a very simple way. That is once again because its Araragi telling you a story so unimportant backgrounds like buildings that dont have anything to do with the story wont be as detailed as things like his own house.

The music in this anime is also absolutely outstanding. Every OST fits the situation perfectly and let me tell you, there are a lot. So in conclusion: Great characters, very interesting art style, great and complex story and great music. It really isnt for everyone and if you dont like Bakemonogatari you'll probably dont like the rest of the show. However if you do happen to like it then you'll most likely find the rest of the series very enjoyable aswell.