Review of Bakemonogatari
Just like Kill La Kill, Deadman Wonderland or Mirai Nikki, Bakemonogatari is not an anime I would recommend for newcomers. Absolutely not would I actually lead people to watch an anime that is not very "user-friendly." However, what I do believe is how people can actually be open to new things in anime and perhaps be open-minded about the whole aspect of somewhat ecchi or bloody content. I guess you could say that the content is mainly for adults but anime in itself is holistic and in many ways is not restricted to serving one audience. So enough with that argument Bakemonogatari by the name initself is a wordplay between two words; bakemono (monster) and monogatari (story). Of course a name like this would bring people into thinking, "It might be just your typical supernatural show." However, one should realize that the name Bakemonogatari as the title is the essence of the show. As a continued reference, having a wordplay in the titles of each monogatari series is something that it does to represent each show. In literary context, you could say that each title of the series has meaning and that meaning is translated into the show.
Bakemonogatari is a 12-episode show while the last 3 episodes were streamed online. The overall story of the show is essentially divided into "stories" quotation mark quotation mark. I say this because that is what monogatari (story) is. Bakemonogatari is separated into 5 different arcs, each with a title representing that "story"; these being Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Snail, Suruga Monkey, Nadeko Snake, and Tsubasa Cat. Each arc focuses on particular characters tied to the arcs. The plot essentially follows a former vampire, Araragi Koyomi in his journey through high school meeting various oddities.
Not to dissuade you from watching this but this anime is absolutely full of dialogue. Bakemonogatari has one of the most mind-provoking monologue content I have ever seen. There are a couple of action scenes animated but the gist of the show is how Araragi engages in interesting conversations with many different personalities. How Bakemonogatari keeps people interested in listening to monologues and dialogues is its use of artstyle, animation, music and interesting characters. Although you won't see much action, you will definitely see a lot of interesting landscapes, backgrounds and animation styles. What really got me interested was the content of Araragi's monologues and his dialogues with most people as well as the characters. Somehow one can relate to these. Some of it can be funny, and interesting but as I said if you prefer shounen animation then this anime won't probably appeal to you.
The music of Bakemonogatari is absolutely superb and used effectively in a lot of the scenes in the anime. Funnily enough the anime reuses its music in its sequels and prequels which I appreciate with the addition of new music. To me, Bakemonogatari was the door that led me into the world of Monogatari. It got me interested as the relationships and references in Bakemonogatari carries over to the other Monogatari series. You can see how one part in Bakemonogatari had an affect with another part of another story. All in all, I think Bakemonogatari is an extremely well-done anime (not surprising that it was adapted from light-novels). It contains a good plot, a well paced timing, glorious art, amazing music that complements each scene and characters that stick with you till the end of the Monogatari series
Thereby I rate Bakemonogatari as 10/10 for my personal enjoyment as well as the overall score