Owarimonogatari

Shaft's anime series, which debuted in 2009, is part of the wider Monogatari franchise based on the light novel series by Nisio Isin. The franchise includes several shows that have aired out of sequence, with the latest installment "Owarimonogatari."

The show kicks off impressively, unlike any other anime you have seen. The entire look and feel of the show are that of a stage play with fixed locations, a few characters, and lengthy dialogues or monologues full of obscure references and wordplay. The action's pace is slow as each show heavily focuses on unraveling a mystery with supernatural overtones. The show can be unconventional, creepy, disturbing, ... and sometimes downright weird.

In season one, there are two story arcs. In the first arc, the central character, high schooler Koyomi Araragi, is introduced to Ougi Oshino, an enigmatic underclassman. They investigate several closely related mysteries about events in Araragi's life, all involving a female classmate, Sodachi Oikura, who exhibited an unexplained hatred of Araragi. Oshino gently unlocks parts of Araragi's memories of events to reveal the revelations.

The second story arc is less standalone than the first and concerns Araragi meeting his school friend Suruga Kanbaru at an abandoned cram school where a supernatural entity attacks them. The story spins violently out of control in a tale of revenge, curses, love, and vampires. It's challenging to deliver any synopsis of the second arc as it is all over the place, with the show seemingly enjoying its self-referential obscurity. It appears to have been written by the fans for the fans, and to an outsider, it resembles a Shakespearean play written about a book from the Bible.

Shaft's shows are challenging to comprehend, with highly sophisticated and long-winded dialogues that seldom conclude. As entertainment, it can only appeal to the fans, and the casual observer may be unable to follow what is happening. It is almost like one big joke, and it's on the audience. Although it is a genuinely clever show, it is sometimes borderline pretentious, and it's hard to determine whether Shaft designed their shows to be impenetrable to outsiders to enforce their cult-like status among fans or whether they did so deliberately.

In conclusion, the Monogatari franchise is an original and highly stylish show, but it can be almost unwatchable due to its deeply unconventional style. While it is undoubtedly clever, it may be too clever for some. It is recommended that anyone picking up the franchise so late in the day should plow through the Wikipedia pages to get up to speed before committing to watching this particular show.