Reviews

Bakemonogatari follows the life of Araragi Koyomi, a student in his 3rd year of high school. An otherwise normal kid whose life changed after becoming partly vampire. These turn in events will shape the life of not only Araragi Koyomi, but also the life of Senjougahara Hitagi, a girl who never talks to anyone. A fateful fall down the stairs into Araragi arms sets the couple’s destiny in stone. More mysteries continue to unravel as Araragi figures out that Senjougahara weighs close to nothing. Araragi offers to help Senjougahara with her ‘physical illness’ by taking her to the very man that stopped him from becoming a full vampire. This incident sets the ball rolling for the anime as the series follows the couple seeking solutions to other strange supernatural cases. The variety of these unique cases offers a new perspective of the main character each and every time. The development of his personality is thus more fulfilled than your average anime.

Being new to anime, it took quite a while to get used to the unique art and dialogue led scenes that made bakemonogatari stand out, However, very quickly, due to the anime’s unique artwork, soundtracks and compelling character, my curiosity became clear. Bakemonogatari became very engaging in every aspect as everything complimented each other. Mere conversations became artwork and a fantastic viewing experience.

Bakemonogatari consisted of 5 Opening theme tunes, with each new opening theme tune used for the introduction of a new heroine. This helped advance the plot and accentuate each of the new characters. The song ‘Staple Stable’ stood out in particular for me. The soundtrack was truly a masterpiece, it really helped set the scenes and worked hand in hand with the quirky art styles and visuals. The visuals are always slick, and always impressive. Anime attracted me because of the unique artwork and compelling soundtracks. Bakemonogatari is unique even amongst anime, thus making it that much more striking.

Bakemonogatari takes it’s time with advancing the plot. Every conversation is either meaningful, humorous or exciting. Every conversation grabs my attention with the diverse and artistic interactions between the characters.