Koyomimonogatari

Owarimonogatari aired on Fall of 2015, It brought many joys to the Monogatari fans animating the last of the Monogatari installment regarding Nishio Ishin novels produced by Anime Studio SHAFT.

Our hopes dove a bit when we found out only 2 / 3 Volumes of the Owarimonogatari installment was animated during the Fall season of 2015. As a Monogatari fan I was a bit mad since as not only a fan but an objective reviewer knew that the end product wouldn't have the impact we the fans wanted on the newbies regarding the series or maybe it's more adequate to say the conclusion of the ... series.

In light of the screening of Kizumonogatari Tekketsu-hen Part 1 / 3 on Japanese cinemas the fans got a little extra. A prep-show that would massage the audience for the turmoil that's to come to us the fans for the upcoming Volume 3 of Owarimonogatari through a phone app that would air alongside the re-airing of Bakemonogatari. The remainder arcs of Owarimonogatari are the following:

-Mayoi Hell
-Hitagi Rendezvous
-Ougi Dark

So what exactly is this thing called Koyomimonogatari and what exactly does it mean to the franchise or what's to come it?

Story 10 / 10

Koyomi is a Japanese phrase for Calendar or rather it's KANJI could be read as calendar and this of course being a part of the Monogatari franchise deals with tada...Stories.

Calendar Story deals with events dealt during the year since which Araragi Koyomi had the fateful meeting with "Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade" The Hot Blooded, Iron Blooded yet Cold Blooded Vampire. The Name of the series already being a pun since it's a story about our Main Character Koyomi but it also depicts 12 stories depicted on 12 months which constitute a whole year.

We are carried since the aftermath of Spring Break all the way towards March 13th the day it left off on the last episode of "Shinobu Mail". Which is the end of volume 2 of the light novel adaptation.

The series dissect whether Araragi Koyomi meeting with oddities has somewhat normalized him to expect odd but ordinary situations to be oddity related, Most of all this based around perspective and lessons for the viewer regarding situations and train of thought.

A sort of behind the scenes of the main vein of the Monogatari Series that straighten not only the main series of maybe misunderstanding or vague assumptions but also produce a bridge to the 5th arc of the Owarimonogatari novel which has quite the complicated beginning and as of now can understand how delirious it was or is for the producers to bring forth the lasts of the Final Season Section towards the fan base.

Art 7 / 10

The art it's standard but deluded since the watching experience comes from a telephone app. Most adequate since it's a series of 12-13 minutes but quite annoying for those always expecting to be surprised.

Quite frankly I was meh...about the art since it doesn't bother me but the quality of it.

Sound 8 / 10

Given the outlet the sound wasn't as good as it would be it regular streaming sites but it was good enough. The voice actors like always had the meticulous delivery and the BGM was refreshing.

Character 10 / 10

Many aspect of the characters that we know or think we know came out to the light and widen our perception of these characters.

Enjoyment 10 / 10

I was quite pleased with this installment of "Setting things Straight" as this is what the show is about and enjoyed it to the maximum of my capabilities. If only AniplexUSA had licensed this on a better format then I wouldn't have the slightest of complains.

Overall 10 /10

This is a great set of stories which shed light to aspects of points of view, character and even human nature itself. I would say the Last Two episodes are more than crucial to any Monogatari FAN as they're bridges and the groundwork of what's to come for the Owarimonogatari Volume 3 Adaptation. Anyone who binged the series and reached this review I recommend to you the same and I really hope you love this series as I have come to enjoy it and love it.

In several of my anime reviews, I've spoken about titles that split the community, and this same principal also applies to series that span several iterations and installments. And If there was ever an anime series that immediately invoked contention among anime enthusiasts it would be that of the Monogatari franchise, with fans on one side proclaiming it as the "crème de la crème of anime" and naysayers labeling it as pseudo-intellectual fanservice-bait for plebeians. Since its anime debut in 2009, that tug-of-war relationship has shown no signs of letting up. With such bipolar opinions between parties, there seems to be only one solution to ... determine the show's worth, and that's simply to have someone who couldn't give a flying fuck either way to provide an impartial evaluation. Ladies and gentlemen, in an attempt to restore a semblance of common sense to this feud, I, a man who has mastered the sacred art of "Who cares" shall proceed to do just that by bringing equilibrium to this cacophonous mess of a "debate."

To put it simply:

-If you're searching for something with a great audiovisual presentation that properly utilizes the medium of anime to its advantage, look no further than the Monogatari lineup, as it rivals many of its competitors in terms of striking imagery and eye-candy material.
BUT
-If you want a little something extra with your audiovisual experience, like, I don't know... maybe a compelling narrative and actual character exploration, then I suggest you go check out a Masaaki Yuasa project instead.

Koyomimonogatari, like its prior installments, is yet another entry into the franchise that upholds its quirky upbeat presentation, wordy banter and all the glitz and glam expected from a Shaft/Shinbou love-child, but like its prior installments, the narrative is a meandering pile-driver of senior-citizen pacing and superfluous storylines that border on utter pointlessness. No, the Monogatari franchise isn't trash like many self-proclaimed elites would preach, but at the same time, it isn't really breaking new grounds either. It's a show that, script-wise, can barely keep its head above water, but presentation-wise, stands as a monolith that dwarfs others around it.

Diving head first into these side stories, the show wastes no time plopping us and our protagonist Ararararararagi against his first obstacle. And in typical Monogatari fashion, that obstacle is, of course, something that is accompanied by the involvement of some quirky female character. If you wanted to make a template to help describe Monogatari as a whole to an outsider, it'd go something along these lines:

Arararararargi meets a female --> He helps solve her problems --> Female has some kind of infatuation with our lead (whether rational or not) --> Bombastic visual motifs and rapid-fire dialogue occur in quick succession--> The cycle starts all over again.

Koyomimonogatari is essentially a set of side stories that can be wedged into several different moments throughout the entire franchise. They serve as placeholders of sorts, all self-contained, but still a part of the ever-expanding Monogatari-verse. Each one of these mystery episodes centers around the involvement of any given female character that has been introduced up to this point, and it is up to our protagonist Arararararargi to solve yet again whatever issue they're having. Take the template I just gave, but applied on a micro scale, and you've pretty much got the plot of any given scenario. Of course there were a few episodes that serve as exceptions to this rule, but for the most part, it consisted of this formula. The biggest difference is that Arararararargi often seeks the advice of other females in the story, this time, around to help piece together the mystery that he can't quite figure out himself. These cases can range from trivial to something that directly ties into bigger events to come (as seen by the franchise's other installments).
There is also a continuing storyline established in the last three episodes. While still self-contained in standing with the rest of the series, it's an overarching story for these specials as its own entity. Another thing to take note of is that these episodes aren't of feature length time for typical anime episodes (20-24 minutes), but are condensed down to 10 minute run times, with exclusion of the opening and ending themes.

The mood of each episode also changed with the female whom it was centered around. For Ougi Oshino, things had this morbid sense of dread hanging over everything, while Tsukihi Araragi's story gave off a more bubblegum mood. It was a minor touch, but one worth noting, as it did much in spicing up the feeling and tone of each new story. Even the color choices placed throughout were adjusted accordingly, with the personality commonly associated with the character. For Yotsugi Ononoki, her surroundings were mostly washed out and devoid of color to reflect her doll-like personality, while characters like Shinobu Oshino had sparse uses of yellow tossed in to represent her intermittent bursts of child-like innocence better. These touches showed an eye for detail on the staff behind these specials, which made them feel like they were done by people who care about the project rather than a team producing material of an established brand for profit. Of course, these techniques were carried over from the main series, but applying them here shows that they cared about these shorts as much as anything found in the main story up to this point.

Another thing worth noting was that the opening songs would change in accordance with whichever female character the episode was focusing on. These were songs used throughout the prior seasons for their individual story arc and, like the minor details found with the color choices, this too helped in setting the tone for whomever the female in question was for that episode. Every episode was crafted to be in service of the subject matter at hand, which when compared to the conventional method of creating episodes, could be seen as a liberal act for the betterment of creative freedom on the staff's behalf.

If you're reading this review then you're already familiar with the characters of this universe; nothing really changes. It's still the mischievous and slightly perverted Arararararargi being surrounded by a bevy of zany females. And while the main series seems to be zigzagging with its plot constantly, the benefit of this mostly episodic format made these specials far more palatable and easier to follow.

Enjoyment: 5/10

I often found myself spacing out and rewatching several scenes of this show. The content itself is fine, but it contains stories and characters I honestly don't care about. This was made for the fans, not me, so it's really unfair to evaluate it for doing its job. This wasn't made with everyone in mind; this is a niche project that knew who its target audience was. So while I might not find much here to enjoy, there will be those who eat this up, simple as that.

Overall: 6/10

These specials are without question self-indulgent excuses to revisit the world of Arararararargi and friends. Is that necessarily a bad thing? No, not really. As it stands, it doesn't hinder the integrity of the franchise as a whole and serves as a decent enough deviation from the main story for fans to partake in. It's just as eccentric and warped as anything offered in the shows prior and did a commendable job maintaining the same level of quality found in a typical episode of Monogatari. This was made for the die-hard fans of this franchise, and with that said, if you've been apathetic or just detested the series up to this point, then don't waste your time here. However, if you're an avid follower of this ongoing series and for some reason hasn't viewed this installment yet, I highly suggest you check it out soon.

Koyomimonogatari can be a hit or miss depending on how much you're into the series.

Story- 7/10

Koyomimonogatari is an ONA full of stories based off of the Nisio's Monogatari series. The episodes are mostly about things that seem out of the ordinary or supernatural however after the characters look into the situation further the so called "incidents" or "abnormalities" are often times misunderstanding and turn out to be nothing of importance. The show itself is pretty decent it's not too bad nor is it too good. I personally would not recommend it to any of the die hard fans of this series though. The biggest reason ... why I wouldn't is because the show strays away from the original story or path, along with other developments that you.. I would find in the actual story or TV series. In the shows defensive though, it is short about 12-13 minutes long so I can understand why certain things were cut out just to focus more on developing a story or in this case "stories."

Now I must strongly disagree with statements about this series being "complex" or the stories "complexity" in all honesty, this show is actually very simple, simple plot, simple stories etc. You would have to be completely new to this series to not understand what makes it a unique series. If you are new to this series then I would highly recommend you check out the main story, that way you can understand how things work in Monogatari series.

Moving along, I strongly felt that it was lacking, more specifically in the creativity department. Certain events and moments did not feel fresh or exciting, no bizarre oddities and paranormal activity. For example, and probably one of my favorite paranormal scenes was in Bakemonogatari. In the scene mentioned viewers were graced with an exciting and an emotional moment between Hitagi going up against the stone crab oddity. None of that feeling was in this series, so again, the sense of excitement I felt was pretty much non-existent. I could not find myself looking forward to most of upcoming scenes or moments. Now, the episodes were damn well-paced, like even though I found myself bored every now and then, there would be an episode that stood out. I would assume mostly because those certain episodes felt more like the main Monogatari series to me. For example the certain episodes were completely out of the ordinary, hilarious. and most importantly that good ol' fashioned Monogatari fan service.. Mhhmmm, that aside, my overall feeling for the story was that it was sort of like I was watching filler, or at the very least, rejected episodes that just couldn't exactly make the cut into the actual story.

Art/Sound- 7/10

One thing, out of the many, that I love most about this series and I am strictly speaking about the Monogatari series in general is it's art, animation & creativity. Now, here is where I think time restraints come in again. Akio Watanabe is a well known at shaft studios, he's the key animator, character designer, creator or main artist of the posters for the Blu-rays and specials, etc. Well, if you're watching Koyomimonogatari, or deciding to get into and if you are like me and love seeing HQ animation designs, cut-scenes, or character reaction faces etc then just be prepared to be let down just a little, not too much though. A lot of the "creativity" in this series, for the most part, scenes, themes and reactions sometimes feel recycled. The greatest thing about the "feeling of recycled themes and scenes" though is that When there are new scenes, they pack a punch of laughter right into my face. My personal favorite in terms of what I just mentioned is in episode 9 because you know, Shinobu, doughnuts, whats' not to love? there were only such a handful of new little skits or cutaways that had me in stitches laughing in this series so overall I was just a bit disappointed with it. The music and art still retained its' usual style and there were no major changes other than opening songs. The BGM was recycled from the OST of the other series. Going back to opening songs and outro or "ending songs" they looked pretty clean and sounded nice, it really retained that "Okay the show is starting prepare yourself" vibe.

Characters 7/10

So for the characters department, I was okay with it, there was no need for any major changes or development/growth... I noticed that our characters were still their usual selves. Kanbaru being Kanbaru, Hitagi being Hitagi, Araragi being Arararagi, (Oops I stuttered) etc. So nothing new, no big changes.

Final thoughts-

To sort of wrap things up, I was not too impressed with this installment. I think I expected a little too much from this series of shorts. That was most likely my biggest mistake watching this (expecting a lot for specials.) I do however look forward to seeing the next parts of the films, and maybe down the road next year or even better this year, there will be another release. Overall I gave this show a 7/10 because while it wasn't the greatest thing to come from Nisio's Monogatari series however the show still stuck to its' roots rather than changing everything and becoming something entirely different. It still had that sense of wonder, and unique story which always makes this series great.

Ever since Bakemonogatari, I knew that SHAFT is going to adapt every single Monogatari Books but I never knew they were going to adapt Koyomimonogatari because it's just a bunch of side stories. The word "side stories" might throw some people off but don't skip this show because you're going to need to watch the last 2 episodes. You'll thank me later.

[REVIEW]
Koyomimonogatari is a sequel (airing order) to Owarimonogatari but it does not take place after Owarimonogatari. The 12 short stories chronologically takes place throughout the Monogatari Series timeline. It's actually very easy to tell when, one of the short episodes, takes place by ... watching the OP Animation. For example, episode 2 "Koyomi Flower" takes place during the Bakemonogatari (Hitagi Crab arc) timeline because the OP Animation is "staple stable" that was shown during the Hitagi Crab arc.

Since this are just a bunch of short side stories, don't expect the episodes to be 24 minutes long because they're not. The episodes are just 14 mins. long, including the OP and ED theme songs, so in reality, you only get 11 mins. of content. Also, there's no overarching arc for Koyomimonogatari which will be the first in the series to have an episodic plot instead of a story arc.

So what story does each episode offer? Are the mysteries the same as the main Monogatari series? Are the dialogues as engaging as the predecessors? So many questions...you're full of good questions. To answer the first question, No. the mysteries for Koyomimonogatari aren't even that great to begin with. At first, the mysteries seemed serious and as it goes on, it turns out to be a false alarm. In other words, it's not an oddity that's causing said mysteries. The characters are just being paranoid or they just think it's being caused by an oddity but it's not. Unlike the previous Monogatari shows, you won't need to use much of your brain if you're going to watch Koyomimonogatari. I mean, what's the point? Araragi is just going to summarize everything that just happened in an episode and he does it for every single episode and like I said above, the "mysteries" aren't that mysterious at all.

Since Koyomimonogatari has 12 short stories separated into 12 episodes, that means each episode will feature Araragi and a girl from his hare-- *ahem* I mean, his friends who are all girls. So if you're a big fan of Nadeko, Senjougahara or the Fire Sisters then I can 100% guarantee you that there will be an episode of that girl alone with Araragi solving a mystery and having a hilarious conversation. Their conversations is actually the main reason why I am enjoying Koyomimonogatari and not the story itself. Each characters are hilarious in their own ways like Kanbaru and her pervertedness (Ep. 4) or when Senjougahara goes yandere on Araragi. Pretty weird since I have always preferred the Monogatari series' story over the fanservice/comedy scenes.
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[Animation and Soundtrack]
The animation for Koyomimonogatari is pretty lacking compared to the latest Monogatari series, Owarimonogatari, which had better animation than Koyomimonogatari. It honestly felt like I was watching Bakemonogatari at times because of the animation. Though, Koyomimonogatari's animation to me is really not a big problem since this are just 12 short episodes. If this was...let's say, Owarimonogatari 2nd cour then I would have made it a big problem.

The soundtrack is exactly the same as the predecessors and most, if not, all soundtrack were reused which is again...not a big problem. Even the OP theme songs were reused which honestly gave me a feeling of nostalgia every episode. I feel so old.....
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[VERDICT]
I'm a big fan of the Monogatari Series so even though Koyomimonogatari's story isn't on par with...let's say Owari and Second Season, I still enjoyed this show because of the characters. If you're planning on skipping Koyomimonogatari because you think it's just a bunch of side stories then you're making a mistake because the last two episodes is a set up to the 2nd cour of Owarimonogatari.


[Story]: (7/10)
[Art/Animation]: (8.5/10)
[Sound]: (9/10)
[Characters]: (9/10)

[OVERALL]: (8.3/10)

(7.5/10)

Before I talk about the last two episodes - let me preface this entire review by saying that I was coming into Koyomi with a completely different mindset. Perhaps that's why it didn't disappoint me in many ways.

I love these characters so seeing them interact some more, relax, throw around some witty dialogue and just tell a few short monthly stories; I was content with just that.

That's what I got too. The title can be read as "Calendar story", which fits since there are 12 episodes which are each around 12 minutes. Each take place during a certain month... fitting the yearly cycle ... of a calendar.

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[PART 1] : Expectations


Knowing that this was more of an OVA, or so I thought, i was expecting a few things. First, a lower budget and more stilted animation than i'm used to. Two, throwaway stories filled with fanservice and general character-pleasing moments. Three, a disregard for a mass continuity of the series.

While the overall animation (at least of the first five episodes, weirdly enough) was of lower quality than a lot of the show. However, it more than made up with it with some truly beautiful scenes in the latter half of this mini-season.

What I did get though was more pieces of a puzzle. In my Owarimonogatari review, where I foolishly listened to Wikipedia and assumed it was the final big series for the show, I capped off the review by saying that the show is about romance. I still support this idea wholeheartedly.

What I also said is that its structure is reminiscent of an incredibly intricate puzzle that you were so excited to build but dropped all the pieces and they somehow scattered around the house. So over the next few months you found each piece one by one and assembled the very patchy puzzle.

These stories served like the scenery of the image. The background of the puzzle. The missing few pieces making up a cloud or a bush. But that doesn't mean that they aren't unwelcome. If you enjoy these characters as much as I do, then seeing them more isn't really a bad thing.

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[PART 2] : Delivery


So with this in mind, these episodes played out accordingly. I wish i could give this show a better review, but the first four episodes weren't really overly interesting. The stories just weren't gripping, but perhaps that sets up the latter half which had seemingly more time put into it.

Starting with Tsukihi, we got more eye-candy, too. And I don't just mean fan-service. There was an impressive amount of animation going into every scene and the shows more simplistic stories were instantly more watchable.

If animation wasn't the only thing that improved, the overall dialogue did too. It felt snappier and thankfully funnier. I always enjoyed the blunt humor of the show and it only gets funnier the more you know the characters. The more you know them, the more you laugh with them.

So there we go from girl to girl. We get fun cameos like Hachikuji making an appearance in the past. We see Shinobu's love of donuts in a very cute 12 minute episode. We even see Ononoki come in for a small episode of her own, which was great because she's just the best.

And then we get the final two episodes...

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[PART 3] : Koyomi ****


If the last ten episodes play out like a subversion, then these last two episodes are the climax of said subversion. Ditching the lighthearted storytelling we get a much more serious look into Araragi and his fate in this world.

Kagenui, another favorite of mine, makes a welcome appearance in Koyomi's penultimate episode. As per usual, she's an absolute joy to have on screen. Her character design is endlessly cool and simply her movement is captivating. I thought we were going to get a look into her, which is something I would love to do since she's been one of the shows more mysterious figures.

No. Instead Koyomi's finale delivers an ending reminscent of Hitagi End's... ending. By reminiscent I mean perhaps equally jaw-dropping, if not as well done.

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[EPILOGUE] : The future


So here i foolishly sit at four in the morning realizing that Owari isn't the end of the show. That there are plans for more and sadly those plans are most likely going to come after the movies.

Although i'm thrilled to watch Kizumonogatari's story of the past, with its bigger budget and hopefully interesting story, I won't lie and say that i'm not incredibly interested to see what will happen next in the present.

The final two episodes opened more questions than they answered. I felt like this show now has a very blatant story, which is refreshing since its usually very contained in its arcs. I wouldn't put it past the show to tell a season-long arc next, bringing in all the major players. I want to see more of Episode, I want to see more of Oshino, I want to see so much more of Kagenui.

I cannot wait a year or more for the continuation, but much like any avid television fan, I will have to.

I wish I could rate these last two episodes as separates, but alas, I cannot. That doesn't detract from the delightful experience I had with Koyomimonogatari. If you are put off by the lower score on MAL, don't be. I feel like a lot of people were expecting something different from these shorts.

All I have to say is brace your ass for a proper blasting with the finale.

Peace peace!

It's my first review and the reason I'm writing it is because I'm honestly dumbfounded by the fact that NO ONE,so far ,mentions all these stories were recycled from previous seasons
I think I watched Bakemonogatari in 2013 or 2014 and as I'm writing this it's 2018 before Christmas but I can still recall a lot of these short stories, some more or less vividly and can't understand how no one else does.
There's not need to watch Koyomimonogatari because anyone who is interested has most likely seen previous seasons. You can even see a difference in animation quality- it was left untouched, and therefore later episodes' ... animation is notceably better.
Shortly put: no need to watch this. Better go rewatch full episodes.

Art 6/10: The art is just fine, similar to Bakemonogatari.

Sound 8/10: Top notch voice acting with great pairing music. However, no memorable soundtrack like 2nd season or some other series...

Character 8/10: Great characters are the strength of the monogatari franchise. These characters added charm to this series. But this series didn't build those characters further or go in-depth during to the short run-time.

Story 3/10: Some of the stories are really bad that doesn't worth to be told. Some are just average. Overall, it was poor.

Enjoyment 5/10: Some episodes are really bad due to bad stories. Some are okay due to ... okay stories or fan service. Overall, it was mediocre

Overall, 5/10: I don't mind spending the time watching this. But I'd be totally okay if I didn't watch it.

This review will be short since I don't have that much to say.

Story: 6/10
I fall into the faction of the Monogatari fanbase where I was essentially bored with a lot of Bakemonogatari, but still ended up liking it quite a bit due to the clever dialogues when characters were talking shit to each other. The problem for me was that I did not care about the universe itself, such as the significance of the different levels of oddities and how they were created. Koyomimonogatari had this problem throughout most of its run until the latter third of the show when either the show ... seeks to be fun or decides to move the plot along while details of the universe are sprinkled along the way rather than info-dumping everything. Characters were their usual selves, although Shinobu decided to be really cute compared to her normal condescending self in one episode. Hardly any development, if at all, happened to them.

Art: 7/10
Downgrade in overall style compared to previous series, ignoring the fact that the episodes I could find were only in 540p. Backgrounds didn't really have that sort of atmosphere that fit the mood of what was going on unlike in previous entries, but still competent enough to not make my eyes bleed or anything. Animation-wise, it was your typical Monogatari: stills, mouths flapping, etc. There were a couple well animated moments here and there, mostly in the latter episodes. I did notice a good amount of reused animation in the first episode from Bakemonogatari, though, which gave that ep a sloppy first impression.

Sound: 8/10
Nice to see all the openings from who knows how long ago, again. OST worked well, even if practically all of it was from Bakemonogatari.

Overall: 6/10
Not the best entry in the series, but overall the show wasn't really that great due to the aforementioned issues in the story section. However, the series is really short given that there are only nine minutes of content per episode (since I took into account the openings and endings) and only twelve episodes, so it'll be like watching one movie if you decided to marathon this particular entry. Monogatari has always been a hit-or-miss for me, but unfortunately, this one was a miss. Luckily, the essential episodes required for the anime adaptation of Owarimonogatari Vol. 3 are some of the good ones.

You may be wondering if this Monogatari entry is worth watching, as I did, seeing the slightly lower MAL rating and that it is about 12 short stories (self contained except for episodes 11 and 12) spread out chronologically over the course of the show. After all, do we really need a Koyomimonogatari, Aragagi is hardly a new character (how often is he not on screen is more like it). However, while no major progressions are made (minus the ending cliffhanger) the short stories are all lightly entertaining in their own right. Some bridge on being a little too light (Episode 3's "demon sand"), but ... every episode has some thoughtful underlying theme, even episode 3 in that it deals with the question of what an "oddity" is, in the context of the show and otherwise. The show is a nice little reminiscence of the interconnected world of Monogatari. Each episode starts with one of the typically excellent openers from a previous series. The ending is pleasant, and fits the low-key feel of the rest of the show. Each episode is divided into a 10 minute chunk, and as before stated, is self-contained, and can be chipped away at. The art and background music as characters make exchanges are also of similar relative quality with other Monogataris. If you are off-put by the dizzying, sometimes needlessly meandering or riddle like dialogue seen elsewhere in the series, or the blatant, sometimes low brow, almost aggressive ecchi elements, or if this would be your first exposure to the Monogatari franchise, this is not for you. However, if you have been following the show up to this point, it is worth your while. The show is overall enjoyable and is a direct lead up to what will be the final arc in the series, Owarimonogatari Ge. Too bad, I was holding out for Deishuumonogatari, maybe there will be an OVA...

This was ... the least enjoyable entry in monogatari series, and pretty much fell flat.

The main issue is that episodes are shorter, meaning that by the time they get to anything, the episode is over.

Almost every episodes have unique song, which is quite good, but aside from that, this anime could use improvement.

Basically, my issue is that this series lacked anything I liked in the monogatari series. There weren't much of that weird humor, no usual surreal atmosphere that was present from time to time, and wasn't much in a "mystery" department. So, it fell flat for me. I enjoyed seeing certain character once more, ... but majority of the anime failed to click to me. Not sure if I'd recommend this one.

Details:
Story:
Pretty much fails to get to any point, lots of episodes about nothing. Seeing certain characters prancing about may be interesting, however.

Art:
Standard monogatari art, though I felt like quality was slightly downgraded compared to previous entries, especially in the beging. Then again, previous entry I watched was Kizumonogatari, which was top notch in every department. maybe it impacted my judgement.

Sound:
Decent. One of the opening songs is my favorite, but it was present in one of the previous movies.

Characters:
Same characters as usual, but it feels like they don't play to their full potential.

Enjoyement:
There were few moments that were interesting, but mostly the anime fell flat for me. Enjoyement was worse then one of the previous "low point" monogatari entries I watched.

Overall:
I'm honestly, not sure if I'd recomend to watch it, if you saw previous entries. I meant, every element of "monogatari" seems to be in place, and yet something is missing. It is nicely done, but most of the time there's no usual "magic" I'd expect from those series. At least it did not quite work for me.

A QUICK SUMMARY OF WHAT YOU SHOULD BE EXPECTING FOR THE NON-MONOGATARI WATCHERS:

1. It's a way to rationalize a certain type of situation that one might denounces that it's a work of an oddity, natural occurrence and human's actions. Basically the punchline thing at the end tend to tell you what the answer is. It tells you as to why or how these weird situation occurs and why some might interpret it this way or a way to subjectively get an answer out of it to stop our curiosity from running wild, with the uses of pretext and possibly a logical conclusion.

2. Philosophy. Things like, ... What makes or defines things as an oddity. Does worshipping an object = making that object an oddity. Or was it an oddity before it was being worship, that's why others are worshiping it. Or do we have to believe that this matter or an object is an oddity to make it an oddity or is it the other way around? Technically a form of presenting a paradoxical argument. Like the Schrodinger cat experiment.

3. Or some shits that people does to subtly get their messages or to teaches you about being a grown up or a matured individuals, through actions and sacrifices.

Frankly speaking, this is a monogatari or a story, but a short story. About the supernatural and the misinterpretation of human to these situation of the supernatural or natural occurrence that is subjective to explanation and judgement of one's own mind. And the 3 possible outcome for everything can be explains through human's actions, the supernatural (oddities), and the nature's actions (natural phenomenon basically) to make a specific things, to appear that way or comes into the consensus of being the weird entity or superficial looks that will later be argue in thesubjective thoughts of eaco characters in the anime.

Technically, It's a short story about rationalizing and thinking logically to solve the mystery at hands. To explain things in the most reasonable and seemingly sound and valid, as to how these seemingly supernatural phenomenon is mysteriously occurring in the first place.

Just a heads up, these short stories itself aren't focusing on developing the plot, or the story to the original sequel or prequel of the story at all. It rather give us the rationality in the happenings that may seem like a supernatural or a miracle that make it happen. While in reality, they refuted it with a logically sounded argument and justification to the point that they're trying to make. In order to make sense out of this irrational behavior of a humans, or the existing object, matters or things that may be accidentally worship as an oddity, or as a god. While spontaneously, they will bring back the idea of being doubtful after they've come into a logical explanation for it. Just to indicate that an explanation from a human being and not from the nature itself, doesn't holds any absolute truth, since It's a subjective pretext or an excuse to make sense out of it or to simplify the abstract complementary of occurrence that make it turn out this way. So at the very end of each episodes, they would also stated that an oddity is an oddity if you believe it to be so. Or us decided to make it an oddity from an accidental misinterpretation of it. And it can be. Because we cannot prove it wrong, due to the lack of ground and evidence or stance that you could take to refute or defend it.

I can see why people may hate it. Because they cannot understand its point and its complex arrangement of words and semantics of it, while trying to make sense out of it or what we the audience should be expecting of the show. In a spontaneous manner of taking in info and trying to make sense or rationale about the statement, or premise, or points, or subjective pretext or an answer, visuals, random pop up texts and its evidences to comprehend all of It. Or, It's because you can't handle em loli being treated like an adult or being valued as a sexual partner with their distinct body age, but mentally, older than their actual, superficial self. And to which direction are they going focusing on going with the story itself. So yeah, there's going to be alot of pausing for other slow thinkers or readers (like me). To grasp the ideas of what they're going on about. Well It was animated from a short novel fills with so much words that It cannot be compound into the entire dialogue of the anime. No complains for me there, while some might. It's more like a short story that teaches people to think subjectively and understands that it's a subjective beliefs that holds no absolute truth to the actual truth itself or to introduce the author's philosophy through the resonance of each character philosophy in the show. That's why there is always a punchline that comes in at the very end of their conferring of information or an experience about the supernatural stuff that occurs right in front of them. And Araragi plays as the naive thinker and a kind of dude that gives up half way of thinking and relies on other character for a rationale answers or thoughts about the conclusion that he makes before the punchline scene kicks in. Like every fucking monogatari series, with Araragi being the dumb ass protagonist who goes by a very naive and heroic like journey or goals, but in the end, still relying on most people to make it happen.

It's like saying, ok... Here's a story, here's what happen, here's what the person who presented the story or listen to it thinks about it, with rationale premise and grounds that was taken from their P.O.V. And now try to come up with a conclusion that will somehow ended up as the same outcome that they will be giving at the punchline or entirely different to your very own originality. Either from the complexity of the complementary circumstances that makes it the way it's for you to come into that conclusion or a naive way of thinking that's extremely a straight forward answer with no intense logic being apply to it. if you like to think while watching an anime, this is one of them. Or if you like to check out some anime that're pretty argumentative and big with their references to western, eastern and any other culture related topic with their own. Then you might wanna check it out.

While this is the case, or the purpose of these short stories or koyomimonogatari. There're quite a lack of an arduous effort into making the art looks as good as the previous art in the owarimonogatari and monogatari second season. However, as the story progresses in episodes to episodes, the art seem to be fix itself anyways. And i like how they put back the old OST in bakemonogatari to make us, the monogatari fans of the series to feel this sense of nostalgic memories about It. As a way of saying, these short story are connected to what went down during the past before any of the things we sees happens or after it happen. But overall, it was an interesting ONA with pure philosophy and argumentative outline towards the end or the resolution of each episode's situation or a rhetorical question and its skepticism view of knowledge, appearance, and existence that we can only use our pretext to rationalize it, in order to make sense out of it for the benefit of our understanding that we know at least a little something about the universe or nature itself, or what other people may thinks.

Despite all of my, glorifying words and depiction of this anime or its own short novels. It wasn't that interesting. It did not only lack a storyline, but it also lacks the incentives for a person to watch them. Liked i said, it's like one of those fanservice ONA for monogatari fans. So in this sense, it's not really connected to the actual progression of the story plot. But rather, it's just out there just to teach some stuff or shares some of its leftover story that weren't animated in the short novel, or not so essentially that important to progress the actual plot, in its contemporary time period that each episodes has introduced with its given premises to the, "koyomimonogatari" or koyomimonogatari story.

Gotta be the worst part of the entire Monogatari series so far, but that was to be expected since it's a miniseries of short 12-minute episodes and all but two of them are completely irrelevant to the main story. More character interactions with good jokes and thought-provoking puzzles are always good, but some of them have very underwhelming endings. The final two episodes, though? They are very important to the main story and feel almost out-of-place, though I guess technically they are also thought-provoking puzzles as well.

This miniseries, since it was released online, has a noticeably lower budget; its OPs reuse songs from previous ... story arcs and slightly-remixed animation, and the soundtrack seems to include no new tracks. However, the animation and direction are still up to SHAFT's high standards (well high for the BD release) and won't disappoint.

Obviously, it's a must-watch if you are going through the various Monogatari series and miniseries and movies, but go in expecting some pleasant filler, because that's what you're going to get.

Something I never talked about regarding this franchise is the wordplay in the titles, as the first two combine the last syllable of a word with the first one of monogatari. It’s lost in the translation, but the original names of Monsterstory and Imposterstory are cool because of that. Then later entries lost that because the connection of syllables just wasn’t there anymore. Koyomimonogatari doesn’t reach that level either, but at least it has a double meaning of Calendar Story, because it happens across many months, while it also means the story of Koyomi, as he is the main character of every episode.

Besides that, ... I suspected even before I watched it that it would be the one to get the lowest rating out of me, since even the fanbase agrees it’s the worst entry in the franchise and don’t defend it much.

The show is usually referred as filler or a type of series of specials, more than an actual season, and that’s exactly what it feels like. It’s just about Koyomi and one girl per episode pondering about a silly mystery that might or not be related to an aberration, and as most episodes prove at the end, they aren’t. Heck, even the duration is just about half of a normal one, and even less when you consider that most have an opening and ending. So, if an episode it’s between twelve and fourteen minutes long, it’s actually about nine to eleven minutes long.

So basically, it’s just a cashgrab of an entry that shouldn’t even exist, but even just saying that doesn’t cover how bad it is. Although every season before had a lot of meandering and dead time, it was never done to this degree. Here’s a rock, let’s talk about it for twelve minutes about if it is or not supernatural, only for the resolution to be completely stupid. There are some flowers there, let’s ask ourselves if they are for a ghost or not, only for the reason to be something completely different.

Some other stories are even sillier. Kanbaru’s father looks wrong at water. Shinobu, the once most powerful supernatural entity ever, wants to eat donuts. Let’s spend a whole episode just with that.

Some episodes even go against the concept because they are not even about whether something is supernatural or not, like the Shinobu one, or the Tsukihi one, since she is convinced beforehand that her problem is not related to a ghost.

Some other even contradict the canon since, despite the show attempting to connect every story with a specific point in-series, Araragi talks with Kaiki before they actually met, and Nadeko goes to his room when she already was becoming one with the snake. Those things don’t add up.

You can’t even call this series a proper mystery, since the answers are given out of the blue through lateral thinking without any proper hint or anticipation. It’s not slice of life either, because the things that happen to the characters are initially thought of as out of the ordinary.

Maybe it’s supposed to be comedy? Well, I may not be the proper audience since I rarely laugh when watching anime, but this series didn’t even get a smile out of me, I bet I get more laughs out of Monogatari fans that dislike my reviews than this series ever got from me.

Even in terms of visuals and audio the entry just feels uninspired, because the artwork goes back to Bakemonogatari levels of polish and the motions, directing and special effects are far more common than they were in ALL the previous seasons. At the same time, since the actions of the characters are far more mundane, there aren’t nearly as much nor as good sound effects, and every piece of soundtrack and every opening is straight up reused from the shows before it. At least the intro on Shinobu’s episode is great. There’s a new ending I think but it’s nothing special, even among the not special outros of this franchise. Don’t get me wrong, both aspects are still above average but nothing compared to what was shown so far.

The only few positives I found in it is how it keeps building up the actions of Ougi, and it shows Ononoki keeping an eye on Araragi at some point around Second Season, I guess based on both her own will and Kagenui or Gaen’s orders, to ensure that events from a certain arc happen the way they did.

The last two episodes are the only ones that can be said that progress the plot, and even then the second to last barely does it and is not very serious, while the last one is the best but goes for a shocker of an ending, which doesn’t work because Hanamonogatari already showed that everyone is fine, thus it ruins the outcome that Koyomimonogatari goes for.

The best thing that I can say about this series is that is not as bad nor cheaply made as other Specials type of extra entries of other series, but if I have to go to THAT level to say something nice about an anime, then it’s seriously fucked.

(This review has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!)

The inexplicable parts of life have plagued the minds of people for a millennium. Otherwise known as oddities, strange phenomena have a certain allure to their presence. They invite imagination; they drum up curiosity.

From the logically possible to the truly bizarre, odd occurrences will not disappear anytime soon – so long as there are those willing to question the world around them.

Koyomimonogatari tackles this subject in the span of less than three hours. Simultaneously, it also promises a ton of content that fans of the overall series will most likely approve and appreciate.

STORY

The Monogatari series. ... Beloved by many, it has come a long way since its original (anime) debut back in 2010. During this time, it has created for itself a flair and a uniqueness that has defined it as a signature part of the medium and a must-try show within the anime community at large. What better way to tribute this juggernaut than to create a bunch of smaller, singular stories for the audience to reminisce on as it prepares for the final leg of its historic journey?

That’s what Koyomimonogatari is (mostly) about. It’s an anime which encompasses basically everything that people have come to like about Araragi and the craziness he has experienced for so long now. Indeed, this anime is designed for those that have been through it all as well: the starry nights, the toothbrushes, the bathroom monologues, the spooks. In some sense, it is a reward for having supported the many seasons, episodes, and minutes of content up to this point.

As such, this mini-season takes the Monogatari formula and dilutes it down its purest essence. Then it condenses this glob into a pink, oval-shaped piece of Dubble-Bubble Gum to chew on, bringing with it a savory sweetness and a rush of sugar as soon as it enters the mouth. Right before it starts to lose its flavor, the anime spits out the current piece, reaches into its pocket, pulls out the next piece, and starts chewing once again. A cycle that continues eleven separate times (equating to twelve pieces of gum) until its pockets empty.

Of course, these episodes aren’t pieces of gum but rather events in an anime, but the metaphor works regardless. With each new episode, Koyomimonogatari treats the audience to the same style of jokes, dialogue, and presentation this series has embraced since the beginning. Better yet, while some crossover exists, they also feature nearly every favorite character from before for their own individual aside once again.

But it also serves another purpose: granting the audience the chance at one last “lookback” on all that has happened. Like revisiting old friends, each important girl from this massive tale takes center stage (sometimes with other cameos) while interspersing the episodes with the events and the timelines of every other season up to this point. As if the series looked at itself and said, “Let’s have a bunch of fun with one last hurrah.”

This season does not reach the same level of complexity or intrigue on an event or interpersonal basis that Monogatari has always touted. Again, it essentially fills some of the gaps between the previous seasons, acting as a celebration of the series of sorts. Nevertheless, the anime contains new content and even focuses on a concept, the concept that has (more or less) carried it all this time: oddities.

The episodes structure themselves in the same way: an oddity of some kind is introduced, Araragi discusses it with a character or two, and the aftermath is revealed. Each oddity relates to a nature-related subject – stone, sand, water, tree, mountain – and so, by extension, they also explore the very nature of oddities at every turn. From their existence to their purpose, Koyomimonogatari at the very least doesn’t forget about its deeper roots insofar as it has some thematic semblance per usual.

The tail end of the eleventh episode and the majority of the twelfth episode (even if the circumstances within that finale are designed to be an oddity in and of themselves) constitute the primer for its sequel season. Meaning, those scenes don’t technically adhere to this season’s structure. Instead, they act as a reminder for the audience. That they’ve had their fun for a little while – and now it’s time to get back to the core of this series.

ART & ANIMATION

True to form, and indeed not needing to deviate from its signature artistry, Koyomimonogatari incorporates much of the same artistic decisions that have driven the series up to this point.

For instance, the camera loves to take really close-up views of the characters’ eyes to the point that the audience can see their emotions or thoughts reflected in their pupils. Fast in-betweens and one-off art styles likewise make a welcome return. Overly expressive mouth and lip movements emphasize certain words and lines for an added bit of engagement. And those neck-breaking head tilts are in full effect when and where appropriate (which realistically means at any given moment).

Scene direction and shot composition remain consistent, too. They often take on weird yet fun traits that engage the audience, complementing the heavier use of dialogue with dynamic cinematography. One example includes Araragi conversing over the phone with Hanekawa as he rock-climbs in his room, and Hanekawa in turn speaks directly into the camera and towards the audience as a sort of intimate moment between both parties.

Stage plays and film watching, both in the middle of everyday life, also push the dynamism along. Not to mention that the anime includes several references to previous locations such as Kaiki’s conman room and the pivotal shrine atop the winding-staircase mountain. These location callbacks bolster the sense of remembrance that goes on within this season even more.

The anime also grants the audience the chance to see some of the characters back in their original designs before the ensuing events morphed them (for better or for worse). Senjougahara with long hair. Shinobu sulking in the corner with a leather helmet on. Nadeko not being a mind-controlled snake devil. Seeing these characters as they were and thinking about how they look now makes reminiscing about them that much easier. An important facet given the nostalgia trip Koyomimonogatari delivers.

This new, shorter season does not aim for anything too flashy or too involved, so it does not “Wow!” in its presentation. But, like the other aspects of the show, watching such familiar visuals over and over and over makes for a comfortable watch without a doubt.

CHARACTERS

While reiterating now, Koyomimonogatari isn’t a typical iteration in the series. It doesn’t focus on multi-episode arcs which then expound on a particular, notable character of the franchise. Rather, they invite everyone into the fold to give them yet another quick chance in the spotlight.

They take advantage of that time, presenting the best of their personalities, staying true to their characterizations, and reveling in the relationships they share with Araragi. Kanbaru excites over the contrast of her body while hoarding her favorite ecchi books in literal mining caves. Senjougahara looks out for her dear boyfriend but isn’t afraid to tell him to die outright. Shinobu pops into existence and still loves her donuts. Both Karen and Tsukihi interact with their brother in strange ways per usual. And, of course, Hachikuji flubs her lines in as cute a manner as possible.

As for Araragi himself, he remains the same helpful, perverted, and likable weirdo as he has always been. He throws a popcorn party for Nadeko to cheer her up. He “lets” Hanekawa do what she wishes with her own boobs. He dukes it out with Kagenui out of a sense of pride and self-understanding. Although he almost never solves the riddles himself, his involvement and his inquisitiveness not only create the correct solutions but also give the audience the necessary lens in which to view these cases from an outside perspective.

And that’s pretty much it. Koyomimonogatari does not include crazy changes or explore potentially deep arcs when it comes to its cast members. Despite beating a dead horse, this season simply gives the audience the buffet of memorable characters it has built over its lifetime. Nothing more, nothing less, and nothing else needed.

MUSIC & SOUND

Given the series’ track record and track record, Koyomimonogatari shows up to the arena with an almost unfair advantage.

It quickly becomes apparent why, for, upon each new episode, the audience bounces with giddiness at the prospect of hearing one of the many classic tunes the numerous previous seasons have created up to this point. The show also uses a tactic from its own playbook, selecting the individualized OP from a specific lady’s previous arc as the piece for her specific episode in this season. Whether platinum or circulated, the nostalgia and the fun run rampant as Koyomimonotagari provides more of that series goodness in soundbite form.

Perhaps surprisingly, then, the anime does not leverage the ending tracks from previous installments. Instead, the ED represents a brand-new addition to the series’ musical arsenal. While a passable listen and not a deal-breaker by any means, “whiz” doesn’t make one lose his or her head (like Araragi does) upon hearing it. It’s a cute little song with some nice vocal harmonies, but, when this season is basically one big nostalgia trip, foregoing the complementary-ED angle induces some disappointment.

Besides the many-OP-one-ED combo going on, the same talented voice-acting performances return across the board (and with too many to list or shoutout outright). The show goes so far as to bring back old favorites that the audience maybe hasn’t heard from for quite some time.

Likewise, the same interesting musical choices pop up for comical asides and mysterious happenings. The sound-effects are in tip-top shape per usual as well. Photo-shutter blinks, echo-grainy film narration, and alien-spaceship noises fill the gaps between the VA lines and the music like a familiar and useful adhesive.

In short, the audio design and direction earn a solid thumbs-up.

ENJOYMENT

Even with this tiny compilation, the series continues its trend of delivering a positive, worthwhile experience

I lost count of how many times I exclaimed out loud, “Gosh darn it, Monogatari!” Not because I was upset with the show. Far from it. My words were more about the anime simply being itself to a T at nearly every turn within this season. It didn’t get as strange as Nisemonogatari, and it didn’t get as thematically deep as Tsukimonogatari. However, it found that sweet spot between the two, championing its quirkiness and its musings with its head held high.

With its sense of self intact, I thoroughly liked these vignettes. Senjougahara, Hanekawa, and the other ladies of the series are always a blast to watch, so having a constant turnover of these known and beloved anime characters made for a short, simple treat. Neither amazing nor forgettable but rather a strong detour before the following sequel.

Koyomimonotagari isn’t as relevant as its brethren, but that’s quite all right. Instead, this trip down memory lane includes the past elements which made the series so intriguing, so fun all along. Small mysteries, an engaging artistic direction, cool characters, nostalgic music, and a smattering of entertaining content. Not an odd project whatsoever.

SUMMARY

Story: Good, like a high-school reunion where quick asides and tiny thematic ideas make up the catered food and the punchbowl respectively

Art & Animation: Good, a familiar visual suite invites the same sense of weirdness and dynamism, and the resurfacing of old designs allow for chances at reminiscing

Characters: Fine, Araragi and the other ladies of the series act out their known personalities and characterizations without doing or needing to do much else

Music & Sound: Good, the return of notable OPs brings excitement, the VA performances and other audio decisions create more nostalgia, but the new ED is passable at best and a disappointment at worst

Enjoyment: Good, itself to a T

Final Score: 7/10

Koyomimonogatari is about the mundaneness of life; about people’s infallible way of finding meaning in the mundane, and their equally infallible way of forgetting said meaning. Koyomimonogatari deals in the every day “ghost stories” we perceive in the world that make life interesting when it’s not.

Koyomimonogatari consists of twelve 12-minute long episodes. In ten of those, nothing happens. The first ten episodes are all small, inconsequential side stories scattered throughout the Monogatari Series timeline. Each of these ten episodes varies significantly in quality and themes, so without going into each one individually, I’ll simply say that they’re interesting in their own right. The last ... two episodes are plot, I think. I can’t say anything about them without spoiling them; so I won’t, but I am slightly confused as to where in the timeline they occur as I’m writing this before watching anything further in the series.

As far as recommending Koyomimonogatari, I’m pretty sure it’s a must for the series plot-wise, or at least it feels that way. Very cliff-hangy. Don’t be deceived by synopses describing Koyomimonogatari as solely side stories, the last two episodes seem plot-heavy. Koyomimonogatari is good enough on its own to merit a watch regardless, so just watch it, it’s more Monogatari.

Edit: I thought I was suffering from amnesia when I couldn't point out where the last two episodes were leading to, but I just ran into it. The last two episodes of Koyomimonogatari are a direct prequel to Owarimonogatari Season 2, making Koyomimonogatari unskippable.

A mere 12 minute per episode series? Yep, that's exactly what Koyomimonogatari is. Every episode is a short story with Araragi and friends, which allows it to resonate very well for Monogatari fans. Right off the bat, this anime series is not welcoming to newcomers. So, if you are looking around for seasonal anime and happen to find this, well, you unfortunately came to the wrong place. I mean it's still watchable, but without a premature exposure to the Monogatari style and presentation, Koyomimonogatari would be a weird experience indeed. Bakemonogatari would be a much better place to start ... as the first part of the series.

What about for people having watched Monogatari before? I honestly felt like Koyomimonogatari was just small side stories to enjoy with no real plot progression. However, certain events happen later to offer a nice transition to the next arc possibly. Don't worry, Koyomimonogatari is definitely better than the negative vibes coming from this review.

Art, Sound, and Characters (8/10 each) :
All Monogatari standards are hit. Shaft is very consistent with the Monogatari series in general and Koyomimonogatari is no exception. Transitions, characters, and backgrounds are still great.

The sound is a cool revisit from all the past Monogatari OPs for the real nostalgia. The ED is just decent. All of the Monogatari OST tracks ingrained in the heads of Monogatari fans are still present as well representing one of the most unique and memorable soundtracks personally. They fit the anime so well because of how well it matches the atmosphere. It slightly eggs the reader to think about what the characters are saying. It could mean something. THe soundtrack makes things feel so pensive; even the most trivial things can appear more important than they actually are.

Characters are still interesting being a part of this series. Araragi is a great protagonist with a well developed and balanced cast to back him up.

Story (6/10) and Enjoyment (7/10):
A majority of Koyomimonogatari's side stories are simple puzzles or mysteries. Since episodes are a mere twelve minutes, things have to be relatively simple to flesh out all the details. In this anime, mysteries have a widely fluctating quality. Some episodes are great; others, not so much. I could solve a few of the problems right away and it leaves the viewer with an unsatisfied feeling. Later though, the story evolves from daily occurrences to significant events. This is where Koyomimonogatari hits a peak and it becomes extremely enjoyable. Regardless, the good mysteries are still fun to attempt to solve as well. It's hard to expect extremely deep plot for a shorter view time in general.

Overall (7/10):
Koyomimonogatari is similar to its series. It will probably end up as a less extreme version of the love or hate scenario to people. This can definitely range from a 3/10 to a 10/10 depending on how interesting dialogue appears to be to the subjective viewer. As an avid Monogatari fan, I definitely like this anime. I love the series and how unique its style and presentation is. Koyomimonogatari is a decent anime to eat up, when I want some more of the series, although it would be nice if a small portion of the mysteries could be a bit more complex.

THE SECOND PART OF THIS REWIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

Pretty useless. Still enjoyable, but you could probably watch only the last episode, which introduces Owarimonogatari 2, without missing any important part of the story of the Monogatari series. You can easily watch Koyomimonogatari in a single day, so there is actually no real reason to skip it. Unfortunately there is no new opening, episodes have openings from the series they cover


SPOILERS STARTING NOW
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The ending is terrible. It's not an ending, but an introduction to the following series and Hanamonogatari, which you are supposed to watch before Koyomi, spoils you what will happen in one of the following series

As a big fan of the Monogatari series, even I was initially put off by the idea of watching Koyomimonogatari. After all, why would I want to watch a series of short, little spin-offs when there are an abundant number of episodes and movies already available? But now, almost a year after finishing Owarimonogatari, the desire to see more of Koyomi Araragi’s misadventures had been renewed and so I took the plunge into HIS monogatari (which I will now abbreviate as KM).

Story:

While critics will argue that the Monogatari series doesn’t REALLY have a story, they would mostly be wrong. The actions of our protagonist ... and the events of the series are most definitely leading towards a foreseeable conclusion, even if the plot is typically subdued by the mountains of focus the series places on characters and the endless amounts of charming dialogue between them. The same, however, can’t really be said for KM. When I called this a series of spin-offs, I meant exactly that. There is no setup, no climax, and not much of an ending in this one. Nothing resembling a plot or actual, crucial relevance to the main story comes in until the very last episode of this series. Instead the viewer is presented with a reoccurring setup of Araragi finding out about an odd mystery/oddity that is occurring in town and choosing to investigate it. The oddities range from a weird pattern in a children’s sandbox to a strange stone shrine in the high school yard. All of these mysteries also tend to end with a “punchline” meant to show how this supposed supernatural oddity can be easily explained by somewhat subtle, real-world logic. As each of these mysteries are often introduced by the many female characters of the series, KM feels more like an exposé of said characters, rather than a coherent story. This also isn’t helped by the fact that the continuity jumps around all over the main series’ chronology.

Characters:

Hopefully you’ve enjoyed most, if not all, of the characters of this series, because that is who KM is all about. Like a recap episode, but for characters, KM cycles through its roster of female leads without really offering anything new to the table. The characters display the same personality quirks as they would at that point in the series, presumably so that the viewer can remember what makes each of these girls soo damn unique. No major/minor revelations, no new redesigns, and no new jokes come with any of the girls presented in this series. The same can be said of Araragi, who absentmindedly stumbles through these short stories as he would in the main series, stopping occasionally to exercise his perverted nature or casually shift genre conventions. While it’s nothing to commend, if you’ve enjoyed these characters up to this point, you should be able to extract a bit more enjoyment out of this.

Presentation:

Everything about Shaft and Monogatari’s style is left very much intact. The bright color palette, the jerky transition with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it text, the spontaneous, nonsensical character movements, the extreme close-ups, and everyone’s favorite dramatic head-tilts are all still intact for these spin-offs. The same can be said about the OP’s, which are just a recycling of already existing tracks that, once again, match the female character that is the focus of the episode. As with everything else, it’s nothing new, but should still be enjoyable if it was before. However, the new ED, ‘whiz’ by TrySail, IS new and very much a worthy inclusion to the series’ musical repertoire.

Enjoyment:

Ultimately, I can’t help but feel a little biased towards this as a Monogatari fan. Even though this short series should lose massive amounts of points for being soo meandering and pointless, I just can’t help but love every second of it. Maybe it’s because I’ve had such a long break from the main series before watching this, but what little the show provided still managed to hit all the notes that it needed for me to find it enjoyable. Though I’ll admit that its lack of meaningful content will be a big deterrent for most, it’s incredibly short length(12 episodes, about 10 minutes each) and familiar themes make it worth looking into for any Monogatari fan that is craving for just a little bit more of the good stuff.

My rating for koyomimonogatari
Story : 4/10
Art : 6/10 the art is great but it's nothing new it's same as bakemonogatari
Sound 5/10 also nothing new
Characters 8/10
Enjoyement 0/10
Rating episodes:
Introduction
I love the monogatari series but tbh this part (exept for the last episode and the koyomi water episode) is garbage it has so many unecessary dialogues and the arcs in this part aren't as enjoyable as in the other parts , my rating for every episode is:
• Koyomi stone  2/10 tbh k don't remember anything about this episode because it made fall asleep
... • Koyomi flower 1/10 this one too but more than the previous one
• Koyomi sand   1.25 this one too
• Koyomi water 6/10 the only episode in koyomimonogatari that i consider as enjoyable
i liked the part when suruga talked about how her father saw her mother before meeting her in person in the water of the bath, also what made me enjoy this episode more is the fact that the writer used this idea in zoku owarimonogatari
• Koyomi wind  0.25 /10 another boring episode
• Koyomi tree   1/10 another one
• Koyomi tea    0/10 this episode was garbage my original rating for it is -♾/10 but because they used the op "Platinum Disco" I decided to give it a higher rating .
• Koyomi mountain 5/10 this episode has lot of heavy dialogues ,If I remembere correctly the episode was talkibg about the mountain shrink that was transferred or something like this it was an interesting episode but not really good .
• Koyomi torus   0/10 trash
• Koyomi seed 2/10 this one too
• Koyomi nothing 2/10 this episode was important but I barely remember anything about it tbh i remember that kagenui had a very boring dialogue with araragi and then she went on a journey or something like this not sure
• Koyomi dead 6.5/10 the most important episode in koyomimonogatari , gaen 's monologue was good and intersting , and the final scene was fire and made me excited to watch owarimonogatari .
Conclusion :
-Koyomi dead and koyomi water are the main reason why i give koyomimonogatari a 2/10 and not a 0/10 or a -1000/10.
- other reason why i love koyomimonagatari is the fact that it makes me fall asleep faster than sleeping pills
Overall rating : 2/10

Koyomimonogatari or for me Kokomo for short is a compilation of short stories that are not necessarily integral to the plot.

For the most part if you really want to you could only watch episodes 11 and 12 as they are the only episodes that are plot heavy and relevant.

the story is fine because most of these episodes are short yet tolerable, the only bad part about the story is the fact that nothing really matters in the grand scheme of things for this plot. while it is nice to see some characters that we as viewers might not have seen much. Im talking ... about the sisters, and the snail specifically, it does get rather boring some times.

the last two episodes are great and are a treat, though they mostly serve as a cliff hanger for Owarimonogatari 2nd Season

the music is bad. well the only reason why its bad is because they reuse the same music every season.

the characters are fine as usually

the art style hasn't changed much.

if your a fan watch it, but if you just want to get to Owarimonogatari 2nd season then just go too episode 11 and 12 and watch the other episodes later.