"The golden glittering nine days that I will forever remember with lingering affection"
The light novel series of Monogatari has always been unique in the sense of narrating a deep and serious story in a rather light mood. Nekomonogatari, the 6th volume of the novel and 4th season of the animated series, in this case was no different. This 4 episodes describe the events that led to Araragi Koyomi's first encounter with the oddity that became a part of Hanekawa Tsubasa. If you have already seen Bakemonogatari, then you would be familiar with the event.
Monogatari series has always been a series with more non-story content than actual story, and Nekomonogatari has well lived up to that reputation. The contents of the episodes were mainly talks, perverted in many cases, short action scenes, mostly Araragi get beaten up, and of course, fanservice. But in case of original story, there is not much to mention. A gist of it was shown in the last arc of Bakemonogatari, and it was merely an expansion. Still it retained its fast paced, somewhat unpredictable course of events, and twists. So even after knowing most of the story, it's worth a watch.
The art style of Nekomonogatari, like always, is unique with its dynamic change and detailed backgrounds. However, in case of Nekomonogatari, the art has been much more regular and steady. Although some may see it as a good point, I'd say it lost a charm.
The season depicts only 6 characters - Araragi, Oshino, Hanekawa, Karen, Tsukihi, Shinobu - who hasn't been named yet and a flash of Sejougahara. If you've seen the first seasons - which you should, before seeing this - there isn't much to tell about the characters. Being an anime mostly driven by it's characters, it has retained every aspect of the characters form the series.
Overall I've been a big fan of the Monogatari series from the start. I've enjoyed this new addition as much as the older ones. Seeing how even an already narrated story was made into it so finely, the hopefully upcoming seasons of the series should definitely be worth watching.
