Review of Bakemonogatari

It's hard to describe the Monogatari series. This is more of a personal review to jot down my feelings in regard to the show. Story and Art 10 - The episode arcs of Monogatari by themselves are rather plain as far as supernatural themes in shows go. Something mysterious happens to someone, Main character intervenes with help from other characters, a moral lesson or story is taught and then there is an end. Depending on the arc, the story varies from average to though provoking and interesting to think about. Additionally, the show's monsters or aberrations are rooted in the Japanese language. The show itselfis very heavy in references to the Japanese language and culture that don't make that much sense to a foreign audience, however the show tends to explain itself well. Another thing to note is that the first entry 'Bakemonogatari' is the thrid series chronologically, so many events and characters are left ambiguous and there are many questions that the viewer is left with after watching.

While the events of the story are a part of the reason why so many people watch the Monogatari series, what makes this so interesting in comparison to other types of tales is the presentation.

What makes the Monogatari series unique is its use of presentation to focus the story on the main characters. For example, there are literally no side characters, all background characters are either nonexistent or reduced to either text or outlines. Often times there will be on screen text that flashes in and out to give more context to the scene that was present in the novel. Sometimes animation sequences occur that have no impact on the story and serve no purpose aside from visualizing metaphorical experiences that characters undergo i.e. Characters will change animation style from everyone else and comedically fall over in overreaction to a statement from another character.

The uniqueness of its visual presentation in combination with its interesting story at times is what makes Monogatari stand out so much in comparison to other shows.

Sound 10 - The music is great, fits the scene and in general matches the mood of the show well. One of the neater aspects of the show is how often the opening sequences change and the various heroines sing the opening songs that correspond with their arc.

Character 10 - As with most shows, big grains of salt must be taken when looking at these characters as actual human beings, however there are exceptions to this and even when viewed through the 'not realistic' lens the characters are a large part of what makes monogatari so endearing. With a complete lack of background characters the main focus of the show is how the characters develop and deal with the aberrations that afflict them. The Story and the Art direction set the stage for the characters and they do not disappoint.

Enjoyment 10 - I have heaped praise upon this show and the previous sections pretty much cum up why I enjoy it, however I have a few complaints. The traditional Japanese comedy routine of a straight man and a deadpan jokester is not everyone's cup of tea and there is a lot of it within this series. Additionally, the amount of pedophilic actions the main character does at times is something I find gross as opposed to anything else. I understand that there is a different cultural context to these actions, however for me personally it is hard to separate jokes from pedophilia. In addition to this there is a load of fan service, I am personally indifferent to it for the most part, but it detracts from some of the female characters at important times.

Overall 10 - In my opinion a show doesn't need to be necessarily perfect to receive a 10 and that is definitely the case with Monogatari. I am not a fan of some of the humor, and the pedophilia (and incest later on) just grosses me out. However, in spite of all of this the visual presentation and the genuine quality of the writing present within the show cements it as one of my personal favorite anime.

tl;dr Bakemonogatari is a great show and worth watching, however it is weird and you'll have a lot of questions going in. Also prepare for pedo jokes and a very Japanese oriented sense of humor and story.

Edited my review a little bit. cum made me laugh so it stays.