Story:
At first glance, Bakemonogatari is an anime about supernatural beings and a boy trying to solve the problems they cause. But that is just the background for an actually pretty romantic story that develops and eventually takes over. I'm not really sure how this works, but it does. I'm not going to give out futher details as they would be spoilers, but Bakemonogatari makes for an interesting story with a rather slow pacing that still fits very well. For example, in the snail story the characters don't actually do something, yet the dialogue prevents it from ever becoming boring. The show reveals some secrets and keeps some, develops constantly in little steps and ends in a feel-good way somehow. As you can see, describing Bakemonogatari is not easy.
8/10
Art:
Shaft is known for its trippy artwork and Bakemonogatari is no exception. I'd even say they go very far in this one, having a lot of dialogue screens interrupting the actual animation, which itself looks pretty good, yet a little creepy. The town these characters live in feels big, cold, empty and loveless. And then we have the occasional art shift to wake one up from being lulled into the scenery. If there is one thing to criticize, I'd say the characters could look a little more imaginative, but that's nothing that will really hurt your viewing experience.
9/10
Sound:
Sound effects and background music absolutely work into the experience of watching Bakemonogatari. While there often is no music present, when it kicks in it gives off a vibe that corresponds well with the visuals and dialogue. The concept of mutliple openings representing the different characters that are focussed on in that specific episode is a great concept, though it would have worked better if the songs themselves would be more diverse. The ending song is very good and even ties in with what a specific character is feeling as revealed later on.
9/10
Characters:
This is a heavily dialogue driven anime, so the characters are naturally much more important than anything else. The talks between Araragi and Senjougahara are very interesting and entertaining, they just play into each other very well. Kanbaru works just as well with Araragi, though I don't think she ever really talked with Senjougahara, would have been interesting. Sadly, not all characters are as interesting as these three. Sengoku for example, as incredibly cute as she is, didn't really add anything to this anime. Another main character, Hanekawa, did not really click with me either, though this is probably only a question of preferences.
7/10
Enjoyment:
I'm not gonna lie here, watching Bakemonogatari is very exhausting. If you are into fast action or flashy animation, this is not for you. Following the train of thoughts of everybody in their dialogues can be a little hard, especially in the earlier episodes when you are not yet familiar with the characters. If you decide to go along with this however, you will most likely entertained. I don't know if reading all the text that appears onscreen is really necessary, but since I mostly didn't i would guess it's not. Bakemonogatari is an entertaining anime, that needs a little while to get into and that keeps challenging you to pay attention, but is ultimately rewarding.
8/10
Overall:
8.2/10
