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Better than the real thing.

Fake, unreal, an impostor. Story. With even more of a play on words than its predecessor, Bakemonogatari. Nisemonogatari is everything you can believe or disbelieve in when it comes to being a good anime. Directed by the avant-garde-ish Akiyuki Shinbo, Nisemonogatari pushes the boundaries of conventionality in anime and even in our own perceptions in more than a few ways. Like Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari splits itself into two character-centric arcs, focusing on Araragi Koyomi's sisters, Araragi Karen and Araragi Tsukihi.

As a show Nisemonogatari carries surrealist presentation, strong dialogue interactions, characterisation, story, tenets of philosophy and seamlessly integrated 'fanservice'. It is that ... final point which I believe draws the greatest strength of Nisemonogatari, not as an anime or show, but in the name itself. The seamless integration of the fanservice in this show brings about discussion whether or not Nisemonogatari delivers a story at all, or whether it is just simply a conduit for the release of morally questionable content, which is a valid point for many viewers and indeed the polarising point. If the latter being the case, then Nisemonogatari has already sold itself strongly as not being a story at all, that the Impostory has always simply been telling us the truth and we refused to believe it wasn't a story and that it was always intent on showcasing various fetishes. However if it is truly a story, then we can say it is a story about various impostors and believe the falsity or fanservice in some aspects of its presentation as being integral towards it. Either way in this discussion, the great power in the name of Nisemonogatari has already demonstrated what I believe to be an excellent show which will leave you reeling one way or the other as a viewer.

The six elements of this show as mentioned above are seamless in their integration together which is primarily why I feel Nisemonogatari succeeds well in encapsulating the viewer in its mysterious world. As a show driven strongly by its dialogue, it is well backed up by the developed personalities and quirks of its various characters. The opening episode helps us reminisce the sharp personality of Senjougahara, her borderline sadism and her 'tender' love for Araragi Koyomi and hammers in what this show is all about, the powerful dialogue and serious yet occasionally comedic exchanges between the often powerful personalities in play. Within this scene, viewers are also treated with the surrealist presentation, the quick scene cuts, the magnified close ups which delivers a powerful intimacy, an almost voyeuristic, teasing approach to observing the relationship between Koyomi and Senjougahara. In terms of the story, this opening exchange would not have seemed significant at all, however the proceeding scenes and the effectiveness of their dialogue allows for seamless transition as the story is revealed to the viewer, bit by bit. Nisemonogatari continues in this vein albeit after this scene, exchanges grow even more unconventional, including the make or break element of fanservice. Combined with the surrealist approach and voyeuristic directing, the exchanges between Koyomi and various female characters have put many viewers on edge and an amount on high. However because these scenes generally carry some story significance or at least are serving as a transitional point, the fanservice slips itself in as a strange necessity almost. It is also important to note that these scenes serve as the intimate observation point of the developing feelings of many of the girls have for Koyomi.

When I discuss fanservice, Nisemonogatari also strays far from the typical conventional ecchi like scenes found in various harem shows. That is to say that the fanservice in Nisemonogatari is different in terms of impact, presentation, time, location and case. One of the first things I should mention is how normalised the fanservice is in some cases. The character Kanbaru Suruga is an example of where her flirtatious personality results in her being intimately nude in her own room. The setting of her room is different to say more traditional fanservice locations such as the beach of hot springs and this also brings me to another point. As is with Shinbo's directing, Nisemonogatari's fanservice brings about this intimacy which is only exemplified by the surroundings and the scene cuts and close-ups. In some cases, the fanservice occurs in the room of the girl, or in one case Koyomi's own room which adds additional characterisation elements and heightens parts of the dialogue. Additionally, the fanservice brings forth extra dialogue which helps to proceed to the next element of the story. Some say you could compare it to Phoenix Wright, with a little more intimate action from examining witnesses in attempting to unveil the mystery. Also unlike other shows with fanservice, I feel that the fanservice here is not forced per se, but as mentioned integrated well into the story. Because the fanservice was done with story intent in many cases, and done seamlessly I feel that this element contributes to the success of Nisemonogatari as a show and to itself as a name. There is also the impact of a certain scene in Episode 8 which will not be forgotten any time soon.

Regarding the core of Nisemono (The Impostor), Nisemonogatari brings forth various intelligent exchanges regarding that topic. Whether it be fake love, fake feelings, lies, families, justice, relationships, Nisemonogatari has excelled at keeping towards its particular core topic. Some of the best exchanges are a result of discussions between Koyomi/Senjougahara and a self described villain and a self described good guy and they have raised interesting philosophical points of things we perceive in society such as good and evil and the power of lies. This is partly due to the excellence of the source material written by Nsio Isin, whose manipulation of language has proven to create powerful dialogue.

Regarding some of the more technical aspects such as music, voice acting and animation, this is probably one of SHAFT's better works in terms of animation. Many will recall how horrible and non-existent the animation for Bakemonogatari was and will notice that Nisemonogatari relies far less on full screen cuts and has much more fluid animation. The voice acting for Nisemonogatari has also been excellent, in particular the voice of Kaiki Deishu, voiced by the experienced Miki Shinichiro. His deliverance of lines which were lies and compliments with sarcasm and scorn enhanced the many scenes he was in and certainly heightened the personality traits of his character. Kamiya Hiroshi also remains excellent as Koyomi Araragi, delivering comedic, serious lines along his character. I felt the OST remained a little under the radar, but proved to be good enough for the situations they were played in.

Nisemonogatari presents a mature, comedic, intimate, emotional rollercoaster of a show with its avant-garde methods of presentation, backed up by its powerful characters and their exchanges and dialogues. As a sequel, it will prove more difficult to watch without watching Bakemonogatari, and as what I would deem a seinen show, difficult for newcomers to anime, especially those unaccustomed to degrees of fanservice. If you enjoyed Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari will be familiar to you and I would recommend you continue even if you don't enjoy fanservice. Fans of SHAFT shows should also explore the Gatari series and watch up to Nisemonogatari. Mystery, Fantasy and Comedy fans should also try watching Nisemonogatari, through watching through Bakemonogatari first. Nisemonogatari for me has few weaknesses as a show aside from it being a sequel and I'd rate it a 9 for enjoyment. Critically, Nisemonogatari also fares very well as a show, I think of it as the smooth, silky tapestry located in an art museum with all the statues and nude pictures, it's captivating, flowing and intricate, yet you don't stare at it for all the naughty bits. It scores a critical score of 8.

On a personal note, I had quite high hopes for this show. With a good amount of successful anime stemming from being original anime series, Dog Days, having that element, combined with having an excellent seiyuu cast and being animated and directed by the staff from the animation studio Seven Arcs, seemed highly promising to deliver a successful show. However for the most part they did not.

Story and Setting

Dog Days is a 13 episode original series which revolves around a boy called Cinque or Shinku who is transported into a medieval fantasy land called Flonyard as a hero of the country Biscotti, to fight ... against the nation of Gallette. From this premise, it was possible for the show to develop into something complex, but the setting of the show, being light-hearted in a manner suiting children, nullified most prospects of there being any serious conflicts or development from the get-go. As viewers will soon discover in Episode 1, war between nations is almost perfectly safe, with inhabitants either turning into animal fluff-balls or having their clothes blown off, a somewhat hilarious foil to the seriousness of actual warfare. However, this is not to say that Dog Days is a show completely suited to children. Seven Arcs being Seven Arcs, there are traces of fanservice here and there and a darkish twist when the 'villain' emerges.

The story, being set in a medieval war-like setting gives way to the strength of the series, that is the action scenes. Most of the fighting and action scenes were nicely choreographed with bows, swords, staves, shurikens and even magical artillery as weaponry. There was much flashiness, especially from the character's special Seal Cannon moves which are comparable to the much loved beamspam from the Nanoha series. The action was also quite prevalent throughout the series with several episodes being fully devoted to fights between the characters. Despite the action, I have criticisms of how certain fights were completely skipped and looking back now, I felt the series could've been improved if they choose to extend the fights instead of focusing on minor show elements such as fanservice.

The overall plot though is unfortunately very shallow and unimaginative and is something I have to be very critical of. There are perhaps only two major important points in the story, one which is resolved in the time span of one episode and the other is full of glaring plot holes and unlikely coincidences.

This brings me to the pacing of the series. Dog Days can either drag out one conflict or story element for several episodes, or resolve another story element in a single episode. This I found was quite detrimental to the series and marked a serious flaw in the storyboard and directing of the series overall.

My final opinion on the story is that I'm quite disappointed with it. It had potential to become something interesting and complex, but Seven Arcs decided to pull off the same twist too many times. Attempting to garner sympathy for the 'villain'.

Characters

Character designers these days are attempting to add more and more different elements to the characters and their outfits and designs and for the most part they are quite successful. Dog Days also follows in this fashion, creating a very large cast of different unique and mostly flavourful characters with their own quirks, features and personality.

Each major character who participates in combat (that is to say the great majority of them) possesses their own unique Seal, which is displayed as an emblem when they perform special attacks. Each character also fights in a unique style which is separate from the other characters using a large variety of weapons from bows, magical artillery, giant axes to even anchors. The characters also all have separate personalities, despite some being archetypical, it was strange yet pleasant that Seven Arcs managed to juggle all the different natures of the characters together.

For example, our male hero, Cinque, fights with his divine staff/sword (and no it's not Raising Heart) Paladion with incredible acrobatic, athletic manoeuvres and with his multiple Seal Cannon techniques such as summoning a divine jetboard or playing with flaming sticks. It's actually quite refreshing to have a male protagonist like Cinque who doesn't get beat upon or is a hesitant sissy when the action comes and for actually making a likeable male protagonist in the sea of boring males protagonists out there, Seven Arcs deserve some credit.

My only criticism is with such a large cast of characters, it's nearly impossible to give all of them the screen time that fans would desire. The character Godwin Dorure, who is voiced by Norio Wakamoto, is one example of a character I would've liked to have witnessed more. I felt other important characters such as Yukikaze and the Countess d’Arquien also needed more screen time.

My final opinion on the characters is that I'm pleased with depth of uniqueness most characters possess in things such as personality, fighting style and appearance. With such a large cast of characters, viewers will probably find a character they'll like to cheer for, although this brings me back to my criticism of the amount of screen time characters get.

Art, Animation and Music

The art and animation for Dog Days isn't a strength but nor is it a weakness. There are a few pluses for the show, notably the fighting and the art for the seal cannons and their emblems. They are very flashy and pretty to look at, and the design for the Emblems have quite a bit of depth to them. One of the more average aspects of art for the show was the rather uninspiring backgrounds. With the potential of the fantasy setting, Seven Arcs could've been considerably more creative then the very average backgrounds of floating islands, blue skies and clouds and lush green battlefields which is used quite a bit throughout the series. A minus for the show in the art and animation department was the crudely drawn faces of the grunt soldiers which features throughout almost all the episodes and in one of the later episodes, a singing scene which the animation really goes downhill.

What I feel is an underrated, or rather unmentioned aspect of Dog Days is the music. The battle music is slightly similar to music I've heard from games, such as Megaman, especially the music from battles which is to say they're of good quality. The music in general feels appropriate for the scenes they're accompanying and adds to the atmosphere.

Overall, there's nothing super flashy to mention about the art of the show aside from the special moves. The animation was average in most parts aside from large dips towards the end of the series. The music is a praiseworthy aspect which accompanies the progression of the scenes well.

Conclusion

In the end, Dog Days shapes itself to be a a bit mediocre at best. There's nothing inspiring or largely original with its story or background and the only real strength it has are the characters (which is the case for a lot of shows nowadays), the action (which it decided to skip out a lot of) and the music. For action fans, Dog Days may intrigue you with a decent amount of action. For fantasy fans, Dog Days is likely nothing new and there's probably better shows to watch out there. Enjoyment-wise, Dog Days proved to be a mildly entertaining light-hearted series with the action and a few comedic scenes here and there and gets an enjoyment score of 7.5. However from a critical perspective, Dog Days fares worse with a score of 7.