Nekomonogatari: Kuro is a romance, comedy, supernatural anime based on the novel; Monogatari Series: First Season, which was created by Isin Nisio and Vofan. Shaft produced the anime. The anime has four episodes and aired on December 31th, 2012.
Storyline (9/10)
Nekomonogatari: Kuro’s story follows Koyomi Araragi, a student who recently survived the attack of a vampire together with his friend Tsubasa Hanekawa. Koyomi finds out about the Oddity phenomenon, which unities all creatures such as: gods, ghosts, myths, and spirits. The cursed cat, living inside of Tsubasa’s body, becomes a real problem as she starts to attack people, therefore Araragi decides to save his precious friend. The story is very well-written and always finds a way to get the viewer to find out what happens with its twists and turns in the storyline.
Art (9/10)
Nekomonogatari: Kuro uses a mix of different art styles, from a quick sketch to a beautifully drawn artwork and a very colourful blend of colors to bring it to life for the viewer, to create a very creative animation. All locations are easy to recognize and all character have a unique look to them, making it easy for the viewer to recognize the anime’s characters.
Sound (9/10)
Nekomonogatari: Kuro’s background music has been well-made, as each musical piece fits the anime very well. The opening theme at the start of the first episode is “Perfect Slumber” sung by Yui Hoire and the ending theme at the end of fourth episode is “Kieru Daydream” sung by Marina Kawano. Both of these songs are well-sung. The opening theme’s vocals are soft and have slow beats, while the ending theme has fast pace and a more powerful feeling, which was made thanks to the singer. The voice of each character sounds great and is able bring each of them to life to the viewer.
Characters (10/10)
Nekomonogatari: Kuro focuses on Koyomi Araragi and Tsubasa Hanekawa.
Koyomi Araragi was voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya. He is a third year high school student that was attacked by a vampire during the spring break and was turned into a vampire. He was able to turn back to being a human; however, he still has some of his abilities from the past. In Nekomonogatari: Kuro he struggles to understand if he loves Tsubasa after she helps him out over the spring break.
Tsubasa Hanekawa was voiced by Yui Horie. She is Koyomi’s classmate and the class representative. She is an oddity specialist. She knows what they want and how to avoid them. In Nekomonogatari: Kuro she suffers from stress and falls in danger when the cursed cat appears.
Enjoyment (9/10)
Nekomonogatari: Kuro is an anime that while being only 4 episodes long is very interesting. With its balance of comedy scenes, supernatural elements and with a grain of romantic scenes, the show is very thrilling. Its unique art style is a nice thing; it mixes different types of art together making it impressive. While the most of the music isn’t something to write home about, there are some songs like the OP and the ED, which are great to listen to, as they help to understand the show better. The voice actors did a very good job, as they were able to make their characters look alive. The characters themselves are very interesting, as they attract viewer’s attention, making them want to know more about them. The message that Nekomonogatari: Kuro gives is following: people are unable to understand what they can’t see.
Overall (9/10)
Nekomonogatari: Kuro is a very good start to the Monogatari series, as it introduces some new characters and gives the viewers a quick glance at what the rest of the series will look like. While it is a very short anime, only four episodes long, it does a good job explaining things to the public that is new to the series. So if you are a veteran, or a newcomer, Nekomonogatari: Kuro is a great anime to watch.
