The style of this anime is out of this world. It's god-tier. I've never seen anything quite like it. It's very unique and distinctive. It's definitely bizarre and unusual at first, but you get used to it very quickly as it's all done beautifully and brilliantly. It definitely piqued my interest in the first couple of minutes. The music also really caught my attention, it was during the moment when Senjougahara was threatening Araragi with the boxcutter and stapler. The soundtrack definitely stands out, it compliments every scene wonderfully. I think I fell in love with the art style when they showed the different scenery shots with the sun setting in the background. All the different hues of orange combined with the contrasting whites, blacks and grays was breathtaking. It felt so fresh and foreign, yet nostalgic at the same time. The whole aesthetic of the world was very fantasy-like and surreal, kind of like a dream. It's an amazing work of art. I was constantly pausing the show just so I could admire everything on screen. It's all beautifully, meticulously and creatively conceptualized. It reminded me of the way they use color in the game Mirror's Edge. I love how self-aware the show is. They use words like tsundere, moe and loli to describe themselves or other characters. The random at times, playful nature of the show reminded me of FLCL. Similar to FLCL, this show also has themes pertaining to adolescence that make you feel like a kid again, like you're back in high school. What a crazy coincidence - the third episode starts out with mentioning that it's Mother's Day, and as I'm writing this, tomorrow is actually Mother's Day. Even crazier is that in the show it falls on a Sunday, and tomorrow's Mother's Day actually falls on a Sunday.
The characters and story in this anime are the reason why you become invested and stay watching it. The dynamic/relationship between Senjougahara and Araragi was very entertaining to experience. Watching them become closer to one another was something I always looked forward to. Their interactions were very funny at times. Senjougahara's spicy and somewhat odd personality definitely has an attractive quality to it. At times it feels like she's an alien just by the way she communicates with Araragi. She's a pretty complex girl, and kind of psycho to be honest lol. The ritual scene where Senjougahara was coming to terms with the Weight Crab, was a beautiful metaphor for repressed memories. Unfortunately, the show starts to drag around the 4th episode when they were helping Mayoi find the address. It got boring, nothing was really happening and the story wasn't progressing. It also didn't help that Mayoi was kind of an annoying character. I dropped it, I literally dropped the show during the middle of the 5th episode. I felt so disappointed. The anime started out amazing and then it just turned into pointless redundant dialogue. Ok, so the show picks up after it was revealed that Mayoi was actually a snail ghost who was impeding Araragi from going home. That was an interesting little twist. That fight between Kanbaru, the monkey arm, and Araragi was sick. The animations were insane! I felt so bad for the snake girl, Sengoku. Thankfully Araragi was able to save her from the curse. Apparently all the girls in this anime have personal problems they're dealing with and Araragi is basically there to help them. I liked the scene where Araragi and Senjou were lying under the stars, that was cozy. Hanekawa's cat personality was really cute. That was a pretty cool concept how Shinobu submerged herself into Araragi's shadow.
I think the problem I have with this anime is that it felt like a chore at times. It is extremely dialogue-heavy and there's a lot of reading. If I wanted to read, then I'd go for the book. I mean that's why I'm watching the anime, because it's more visual. Yet still, the anime bombards you with text and dialogue. It just feels like there's a lot of needless and redundant dialogue that goes on and it takes me out of the show. One second the pacing is perfect and the next, two characters will be having a conversation that lasts 5-7 minutes where they segue way into a rant about a topic that has nothing to do with the story. It's pretty frustrating and annoying to say the least. But the good thing is that it doesn't happen too frequently. I also can't help but feel that because I can't read kanji and don't understand Japanese, I'm really at a disadvantage watching this show - I can't really enjoy it to it's fullest. It's definitely not a show for everyone in this regard. If it wasn't for the amazing style of the art/animations and the interesting ghost story arcs and seeing the evolution of Araragi and Senjou's relationship, I would've completely dropped this anime during the 5th episode and never would've looked back. Also, the female characters in this show are really cute and have interesting and complex personalities. I also really liked how they changed the opening for each new arc.
Bakemonogatari is a beautifully unique anime that immersed me in it's world, its characters and its story. The pros: Amazing art style and animations that are unique and distinctive from any other anime; interesting and complex characters that develop wonderfully throughout the show; a beautifully and cleverly crafted story that puts an interesting spin on ghost stories and is a refreshing take on typical romance tropes. The cons: you're going to have to read a lot lol. And it will feel like a chore at times, and you will get annoyed and frustrated and might want to drop it. But you know what, it's worth it. It definitely piqued my interest in the rest of the Monogatari series. It's not anime for everyone, but for those interested, you'll be treated to something special.
The characters and story in this anime are the reason why you become invested and stay watching it. The dynamic/relationship between Senjougahara and Araragi was very entertaining to experience. Watching them become closer to one another was something I always looked forward to. Their interactions were very funny at times. Senjougahara's spicy and somewhat odd personality definitely has an attractive quality to it. At times it feels like she's an alien just by the way she communicates with Araragi. She's a pretty complex girl, and kind of psycho to be honest lol. The ritual scene where Senjougahara was coming to terms with the Weight Crab, was a beautiful metaphor for repressed memories. Unfortunately, the show starts to drag around the 4th episode when they were helping Mayoi find the address. It got boring, nothing was really happening and the story wasn't progressing. It also didn't help that Mayoi was kind of an annoying character. I dropped it, I literally dropped the show during the middle of the 5th episode. I felt so disappointed. The anime started out amazing and then it just turned into pointless redundant dialogue. Ok, so the show picks up after it was revealed that Mayoi was actually a snail ghost who was impeding Araragi from going home. That was an interesting little twist. That fight between Kanbaru, the monkey arm, and Araragi was sick. The animations were insane! I felt so bad for the snake girl, Sengoku. Thankfully Araragi was able to save her from the curse. Apparently all the girls in this anime have personal problems they're dealing with and Araragi is basically there to help them. I liked the scene where Araragi and Senjou were lying under the stars, that was cozy. Hanekawa's cat personality was really cute. That was a pretty cool concept how Shinobu submerged herself into Araragi's shadow.
I think the problem I have with this anime is that it felt like a chore at times. It is extremely dialogue-heavy and there's a lot of reading. If I wanted to read, then I'd go for the book. I mean that's why I'm watching the anime, because it's more visual. Yet still, the anime bombards you with text and dialogue. It just feels like there's a lot of needless and redundant dialogue that goes on and it takes me out of the show. One second the pacing is perfect and the next, two characters will be having a conversation that lasts 5-7 minutes where they segue way into a rant about a topic that has nothing to do with the story. It's pretty frustrating and annoying to say the least. But the good thing is that it doesn't happen too frequently. I also can't help but feel that because I can't read kanji and don't understand Japanese, I'm really at a disadvantage watching this show - I can't really enjoy it to it's fullest. It's definitely not a show for everyone in this regard. If it wasn't for the amazing style of the art/animations and the interesting ghost story arcs and seeing the evolution of Araragi and Senjou's relationship, I would've completely dropped this anime during the 5th episode and never would've looked back. Also, the female characters in this show are really cute and have interesting and complex personalities. I also really liked how they changed the opening for each new arc.
Bakemonogatari is a beautifully unique anime that immersed me in it's world, its characters and its story. The pros: Amazing art style and animations that are unique and distinctive from any other anime; interesting and complex characters that develop wonderfully throughout the show; a beautifully and cleverly crafted story that puts an interesting spin on ghost stories and is a refreshing take on typical romance tropes. The cons: you're going to have to read a lot lol. And it will feel like a chore at times, and you will get annoyed and frustrated and might want to drop it. But you know what, it's worth it. It definitely piqued my interest in the rest of the Monogatari series. It's not anime for everyone, but for those interested, you'll be treated to something special.