Review of Bakemonogatari

A shallow show with a wonderfully stylish coat of paint. There is so much to praise Bakemonogatari for and yet on the other side of the coin I find myself criticizing it for pretty much everything else. This show is stylized and incredibly so. It utilizes some of my favorite types of editing and atmosphere you can find in anime. With frequent cuts to shots of text on solid colors, atmospheric backgrounds and mood taking priority over drawing irrelevant characters, dreary music, and almost random shifts in artstyle. It's a solid array of versatile production that can be used to positively buff up the show. Theproblem therein is Bakemonogatari mostly meanders as a bland drama unfolds, the supernatural elements introduced hardly seeming to matter as all the shine this show has to offer seems to merely be a vehicle to peddle cheap eroticism and harem tropes with little actual emotional payoff.

Before diving into my gripes I first wish to speak on my enjoyment for Bakemonogatari's opening and endings as well as it's score. Personalized for each girl, these openings and the ending theme are some of the best content in the whole show. With incredible music tracks paired with gorgeous visuals with some common links between them all, including the meta comments on the OPs and ED that directly state which version of the OP/ED you are currently viewing. Each song is fantastic, especially the renowned Ren'ai Circulation which was even more delightful of a track when placed in the context of the full show. Many props to the music team and the VA's performances for each opening. Also worth celebrating is the score which is composed by the fantastic Kosaki Satoru who I recognized for having done the score to one of my favorite anime (Haruhi) as well as some other pieces I've heard around. While the full 'soundtrack' is mainly composed of ambient pieces, the bulk of these tracks hold enough atmosphere and progression in them to capture my attention often and help carry me through some of the more dulling long winded expository dialogues. Of course Kosaki seasons the score with some signature sweeping enrapturing 'emotional' tracks such as 'Classmate' as well as the arranged versions of the opening tracks. I loved the music to this show. It really made me feel something.

I wish the rest of this anime was as capable of making me feel something, especially the protagonist. Voiced by Kamiya Hiroshi, one of my favorite VA's of all time, I was incredibly interested in seeing what kind of character Araragi would be, what kind of developments he'd take if any and overall if he'd be likeable. He was nothing. Perhaps intended as a 'self insert' style character, I found him far too lecherous and uncharismatic to even slightly feel any kinship with Araragi, relate with him or root for him. And of course because this show is a 'harem-esque' he somehow manages to capture the hearts of every female lead despite being completely passe. I'm pretty detached from perversion or fan service in anime, unless I've already invested thoroughly in the show or already excessively like the character, I usually find horny gags or fanservice to just completely ruin immersion. I sit back in my chair and put my hand up like "Really?" "This is one of the first impressions you want me to have of this character? Fan service?" And it's completely true that the target of such fan service is still pubescent teenage boy viewers, which admittedly I am no longer. So while it could be accurate to say that I'm 'missing the point' of fan service, as I am considered no longer the target audience, it still completely ruins this shows chance of elevating into higher art when I find myself constantly rolling my eyes at Araragi's perverted outbursts, spontaneous groping, peeping and etc. It's not even that often, but it's still far too much for my tastes. This brings me back to my belief that the supernatural 'plot' of this show hardly carries any real weight other than to lead to more setups of getting the viewer to thirst for the female protagonists. The overarching plot goes somewhere but if we chart the path of it's direction of travel from episode 1 through 14, it barely covers any distance at all! It's such a disappointment to feel like you're watching episodes again and again where the plot is giving the viewer the runaround while merely dropping crumbs of things to actually enjoy. The bit of action we do see is fantastic, looks great, moves the plot forward and is fun, but it's a rarity while the majority of episodes wield long winded conversations and of course, low hanging fruit in the form of eroticism. There really was no need for the invisible snake scene to be sexual. Please grow up.

I know this is a long series and I'm hoping if I keep trucking through at least the Kizumonogatari film series and another series, it'll start to worm it's way into my heart, buuuut I really did want a lot more from the cast in general. It seems the only characters that were truly given much chance to fully develop were Senjougahara and Hanekawa, which should be the case given how important their roles were. Hopefully the rest will make their move sooner or later, especially Oshino. But as for the here and now, this first season of Monogatari has me leaving very conflicted but still hopeful for the future. Hopefully the fan service will either be dialed back a little in future installments or if used in a gag will ACTUALLY be funny like other series that do gag fan service. [I did think cat Hanekawa was cute though since I'm a sucker for nya puns.]