Review of Bakemonogatari

This anime truly is just a work of art. The format of it is unlike any I've yet to see and the storyline is solid. The dialogue in this anime is it's strongest asset; it's filled with wordplay, psychology, and sarcasm and is sure to give you a seizure if you can't keep up. Story: 9 The story is split up into sections or arcs about each girl that the main character, Koyomi, tries to save. Each of the girls basically encounter some cool and mysterious yokai from japanese or american folklore which is really interesting because "you never just "run in" to a yokai, withoutactually wanting to meet one in the first place". It's cool learning more about the characters and how and why they encountered such oddities.

Art: 10
This animation is literally seizure-inducing. Title screens, text inserts, scene changes, background shots, close ups, x-rays, and head tilts. It's like Shaft (the animation company) overdosed on Shaft. Although sporadic, it does play a good role in complimenting the overall psychedelic feel of the anime itself. And the quality, needless to say, is spectacular. I feel like, because the anime is so dialogue based, the viewer is visually stimulated with the art to compensate.

Sound: 9
All the OST's suit very well. It's sometimes cute and quirky and intense when it needs to be. They do a good job of setting the mood.

Character: 10
Interestingly enough, this anime is a harem. And what ensues with that idea is usually, textbook female characters and a spineless main character. Bakemonogatari diverges away from this common stencil for harems and brings us well rounded, interesting, thorough female characters, and an actually rather ballsy main character. I can't find a character that I dislike

Enjoyment: 8
Although very very very good in all categories, the anime was rather difficult to enjoy. Being american, I miss out on so so so so many puns and inside jokes. And even though I like the heavy dialogue, talking for 20 minutes can become rather difficult to no fall asleep to.

Overall: 10
This has go to be one of my favorite anime series. It's value comes from the philosophies and ideas that it gives. I often find myself thinking back on the story even now, 2 years after watching it. It's very quotable and I've actually learned a lot from it.