Bakemonogatari has darker contours and frames that skew the images not away from reality, but rather toward it. SHAFT Grupp's unique style of animation is present throughout the work as they seemingly meld bits and pieces of the anime and life in general together, somehow awkwardly connecting. Vivid colors give way to forceful imagination and torture the brain and eyes.
The Characters are somewhat memorable--not developed enough to "favorite" them but enough to remember what they did in general, and what anime they might have belonged to.
The sound, however, was supremely excellent. I thoroughly enjoyed the OP's and ED and if anything, the music was the highlight of the work. Oddly, even the lyrics seemed to fit, although the songs seemed more lively to me than the actual anime.
Overall, Bakemonogatari is an excellent work for a very specific audience. If you enjoy Ayakashi-related topics and anime, this will be the work for you. If you prefer cold-hearted and understandably paranoid Tsunderes, this is a piece for you! If you do not enjoy femdom I would advise staying away from this work; your eyes may be subject to violent younger sisters and a girlfriend who spouts verbal and physical abuse without so much a loving word. This eventually changes, however, but not much...
To be utterly generous, 3.5 stars out of 5 for the morbidly frank and seemingly wacky Bakemonogatari.
-Jay
P.s. If you find a problem with my review please comment on my profile or send me a message and I will get back to you! Thank you for taking the time to read and I hope you found this helpful!
