Kizumonogatari III: Reiketsu-hen

EDIT: People, people. I went and saw this in a movie theater. In real life. Please stop asking me where you can download it, because I don't know. Thank you!

As perfect as they were, I almost regret giving the other two movies tens, for now I have no numerical way of showing that this one is far superior to even them. Spoilers for those movies, obviously.

Anyone who's seen the main Monogatari series can tell you that the difference between pre-Kizu Araragi and post-Kizu Araragi is like night and day. The question, though, is this: what happened in Kizu to change him so dramatically? There were two catalysts: Hanekawa and Kissshot. In Nekketsu, we saw him learn the joy of true friendship when Hanekawa obstinately stuck by him where any sane human wouldn't have. In Reiketsu, we see the effect Kissshot had on him. This relied on buildup from the previous two movies - through them, the viewer and Araragi had to come to like Kissshot. But this is a review for Reiketsu, so I'll quickly move on to why that's important here and now. You know how Kizu has been devoid of the signature Araragi narration that pervades the main series? It comes back after a certain scene in this movie. My belief is that it's intended as a delineator between pre- and post-Kizu Araragi. "This scene is where the transition was complete." I don't want to go into further detail because I don't want to force my interpretation on you, but the takeaway from this paragraph is this: Araragi's character arc in Kizu is very cleverly done, making use of both female leads, who themselves have character arcs.

Readers of the book know that there's a very long talk scene in this movie (after the one I was just alluding to), meaning that Shaft has to pull out all their Monogatari tricks to keep the viewer's eyes open. And they do it well. The tone shifts at a moment's notice, with the OST and the animation style as its indicators, keeping it from becoming monotonous. The comedic timing was brilliant, enhancing jokes to be even more funny. The symbolism is cheesy and heavy-handed - to comedic effect. It was clear that Shaft knew they were being ridiculous with the symbolism in this scene.

This has nothing to do with Shaft, but the juxtaposition of the two talk scenes (both of which I talked about, believe it or not) really is brilliant. It's like a modified Hero's Journey template that has two Audience with the Father sections. It raises the stakes for the Ultimate Boon section.

Speaking of which, let's talk about that, shall we? The fight scene in this movie was a lot longer and more action-packed than I remember it being in the novel. Frankly, it was amazing. Several parts of it were somehow silly and badass at the same time. The best part, though, was that we knew our characters. They were both unique, well-developed, and interesting. Think about - REALLY think about the climactic showdowns you've seen and name one that fits all three of those criteria. Ain't easy, is it?

But as any reader of the novel knows, the real climax of this story is the very, very end. Remember that legendary narration from the last few paragraphs of the novel? They kept it. Every last word. A huge number of factors make it so that the end of the fight scene isn't also the end of the movie's tension. Your socks will be blown off.

After writing so much about this movie, it made me realize why I consider it so much better than the first two, though they were perfect too: out of the three Kizu installments, this is the one that feels most like a standalone movie. Its tone shifts multiple times, its pacing is extremely varied, and it feels like it has a proper climax. What was Tekketsu's climax? "Pleasure doin' business with you." It was hard to say that that movie was anything more than set-up (albeit very good set-up) for the next two. What was Nekketsu's climax? "I'm not a human anymore." The story was quite obviously nowhere near any satisfying endpoint, and we had two character arcs very openly unresolved. It was, again, hard to argue that it had merit as a standalone movie. These problems were borne of Aniplex's decision to cut Kizu into three, which is why they didn't affect my scores for the movies themselves, but it's worth noting why Reiketsu is so much better than Tekketsu and Nekketsu.

Now that I've talked at you for five friggin' hours, I'd like to end my review with this. Out of all the anime movies I've seen here in Japan so far (Kimi no Na wa, KnK, Nekketsu, Planetarian, Kagerou Daze, AC...), this is the only one where I've walked out of the theater and thought to myself, "I want to see this again, right now."

Oh, and there's no post-credits scene. Sorry! No "Owari S2 soon" or "Musubi in stores now" or anything.

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Kizumonogatari is 1 movie contrary to how it was marketed, distributed, and how mal has it entered into its database. So I will speak about the series as a whole.

Kizumonogatari takes a cinematic approach on the well-established TV series the Monogatari series. This is truly a prequel that can only be appreciated when watching all of the series up towards Owarimonogatari. If you want Kizumonogatari in the chronological order you are watching anime wrong and the entire intention of the series is ruined. The foreshadowing is lost and you lose the bigger picture SHAFT tried to create for Nisio's work.

But before going through Kizu 1 and 2 we are here on this page for Kizu 3. Kizu 3 was truly a wounded story. A story that doesn't end happy nor does it end conclusive. It's a prequel to the giant franchise therefore whatever happens at the end is only just the beginning. The story begins right where we left off. Arararararagi has collected the arms for Kiss Shot and is now going to see her full form. After some talks with Meme, we finally see her beautiful, bodacious, succulent body in all of her motherly, milf, glory. Truly a work of art. Fastword and we get to see the conflict arise. Ararararararararagi begins to realize that Kiss Shot in her full form is a danger to the human race. Internal conflict starts to brew within our young naive main character. Most of the middle part of the movie is focused on Hanekawa and Ararararararararararagi getting prepared to fight Kiss Shot. Of course, this wouldn't be the Gatari series without fanservice. And with some big ole' titties, it's obvious that Hanekawa will motivate him with her body. So to summarize, the first half is Kiss Shot and Arararagi, Second half is Hanekawa. Now the final part is strictly a fight between the two. This fight goes on for a while but you never truly get bored. There are 10 different art styles and animation styles in this 1 fight that you never get bored. As I stated early, you will have so much fun with this. To be exact, this might be the best fight scene in all of the anime. Scratch that, might is underselling it. It is the best fight scene. Bless you, father Oishi, the series director of Bake and storyboard for Kizu. And we end with a great moment. But it's not a happy one. Everyone is equally miserable. But that's what true happiness is. Wait for that like communism. I digress. Ararararagi ends up not killing Kiss Shot and having her live her life feeding of him to live. Arararagi doesn't turn back into a human. And they will spend their lives worried about someone hunting them.

So where do the first 2 movies play in this? The first movie serves as a way to introduce us back into the world. However, in a new world, Oishi constructed. The world where things are more avant grade. The world where internal monolog isn't needed. Exposition is replaced with visual storytelling. The second movie serves as the meat of the story. Showing us the best fights and the most interesting plot points. This movie serves as the concluding narrative to branch into the sequels. Sincerely, this is the best installment in the Gatari series. But to understand the lore more one must have watched everything that aired. I have to say, this is one of the best movies I have watched in my life. Thank you, Shaft, thank you, Oishi. God bless Japan.

BUT WAIT THERES MORE. The ecchi scenes are amazing in this movie and so is the fight scenes. Hanekawa and Kiss Shot titties are a 10/10 alone.

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I had the opportunity to view this film in theaters. This film exceeded my expectations. The previous 2 films were, unfortunately, unable to stand alone. Out of the two, this was the most action-packed and climactic. I was continuously blown away by the excellent sound direction and animation. Like most Shaft anime, the last Kizumonogatari film has an avant garde method of storytelling. It might seem strange, but it works for the tone and comedy of the anime. Random clips pop out and sometimes seem disjointed, however they only add to the amazing animation. There was one scene in particular that had everyone in the theater laughing due to its strangeness and eroticism. Overall, I highly recommend this film, although it may require getting used to the animation.

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Kizumono 3 answered questions that surfaced in the first and second installments. It also lessened my disdain for some of the objectives that were displayed in the previous films, particularly in regard to Guillotinecutter and his crew. After one last major surprise, Kiss Shot is returned to her final form. Her attitude has reverted to that of her 8-10 year old incarnation in the first film; cheerful, carefree and seemingly generous. Of course, her impression will appear differently to others. this is only my opinion and I admit, I didn't care for her person in Nekketsu. Araragis growth as a vampire and as a young man were impressive and I really enjoyed his conversations with Meme, even though they were brief. Araragis interactions with male characters seem more organic in contrast to his shiftiness around female cast members who, in this case, were Hanekawa and Kiss Shot. I can appreciate Araragis pursuit of justice and even his shyness. I did laugh at the perverted scenes, but they went on for longer than expected and became unconfortable. Despite the awkwardness, these scenes were far better executed than those in Nekketsu in which the nudity not only seemed out of place but stupid.

Animation-wise, part 3 is probably the best of the trilogy. The freakin flashcards are at a minimum and the cgi or whatever looks less static than it did in part one. The color choices for this project were appropriate, conveying just enough intensity. I really enjoyed the eternal "heat" and haziness of the set. Kizumono def goes down on my list for best animated blood, it felt like i was watching calligraphy. There is a sensation about the style and effort of the animation that is more electrifying than the plot. This is problematic and I am in no way overlooking this error, but Reiketsu made better use of this device than part 1 and 2.

To wrap up, I enjoyed Kizu and perhaps it was for the best that this chapter was broken up into 3 films. It still came off as a money grab (tickets weren't exactly cheap) but the big screen experience was worth the price. It was fairly unique and more entertaining than most of the television titles released in late 2015 through now - a condition that obviously impacted Kizu's reception, at least in the West.

Kizumonogatari overall gets a 6/10. Reiketsu, 7/10.

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