//Review contains poor language, language that everybody here can easily //understand.
//Author may be drunk, half-there or even suffer from dehumanisation. So //you don't have to take it seriously.
//I do not refer to a source material. But there is no spoiler. ;)
Title: ”Money, it's a Shaft.”
Monogatari is a word which means story. But every story must be about something. The easiest way to characterize plot is just give a title. It’s one of the main factor which describes every story in this universe.
The first anime adaptation, made by studio Shaft, was called Bakemonogatari (Ghost and Story – Ghostory). Its aim was rather obvious – telling story about ghosts – describe characters by telling story about their ghosts. It’s so easy to understand, isn’t it? Of course because it’s the most safety ground to tell a story about something else. Often this concept touches characters or relationship between them. If we talk about anime which wants to show one aspect (which is in this case a main one), we have to make a compromise. This compromise is a main plot. But what to do to hide it? Just a think about composition – strategy.
And here goes the Shaft’s stroke of genius– Blitzkrieg.
Studio perfectly seen what are their strengths and weaknesses. They knew that presentation the story form very beginning, which Is quite complex, won’t make such a big impression and won’t encourage viewers to see the whole series. There is the reason of Bakemonogatari as the first chapter – characters are the main ground every series. Maybe not characters as they themselves but the formula of their presentation. Viewers remembers only some the most basic things of the show. One of them is type of narrative – characters only talks about anything which strangely perfect fits to situation which is about something what is not important. So something like life, or something. It makes a specific slow pacing, the place is frugal and a bit abstract but perfectly combines with long dialogs, because it’s give a natural to this place. It’s very complex but it’s don’t require detailed interpretation. So that is that strength of the series, which makes its different to others.
But what’s the weakness? The rest – plot.
It’s not hard to figure out that thing. But what to do to turn into the advantage? The solution was adding some pieces of information into the dialogues but in a amount that viewers won’t pay attention to them. In addition there was no point – separate parts of story were more interesting that the reason why they are. There was just a little problem – the chorological beginning which was only based on the main plot.
Here Comes Your Man – Shinobu.
Secret weapon and guarantee of success – If we can’t change it, we can make fans to love it. If the main character of this part is Shinobu, let’s give them impression that she is a very important person, give a lot information round her but not about her (I look at you Snail’s chapter in Second Season). And Suddenly this character has became as much popular as Senjougahara who had well developed personality, whose development took some parts of the series. But who cares, there is Assassin Shinobu.
The Main dish – hate born under punches.
This long introduction was to show the main problem this movie which had came into being long before the first sheets of script have been written. It’s heavily depends on its genesis. I causes the fact that it can’t be taken as a separate anime movie, because basically a long trailer – movie which gives you some parts of information about their localization. But in this case in really poor way.
So let’s talk about local plot because it’s Monogatari series. Plot focuses more on Koyomi than Shinobu (the poster lies), what is completely clear because he is the main protagonist of most series. There comes a question – “How to develop any character in any part of this series”. Most people would say that by talking. And they are right. But there is a problem – you are the only person in the anime, so talking to yourself is kind of sick. So what the authors decided to do? Only logical solution, development by the actions. But the amount of them is a bit low – about 3 or 4 scene for 1 hour movie. It is rather ridicules, if we know that it’s one on the main topic. By the way if you have even seen at least one movie about vampire, you know these scenes already now.
By what about Shinobu? And that’s a good question – “What about her?”. She is technically the most important person (like always) but nothing about has been said. To better understand it, you must realize that this part of story is similar to business conversation and making deals. The personality is not important as the product which you want to buy or sell. Every single talk is driven by plot, not character development . And there is nothing wrong with it so far as we don’t talk about characters whose personality are main topics of the movie.
Here comes the main problem - luck of dialogues. I means that’s not exactly the truth because there are a lot of them . The problem is not their number but their aim. If your show is only based on dialogues and every of them (maybe not 2) is about plot whose you will see in another movie, you know that something is wrong. If the plot and character development are main themes, they should have the same weight. Series shouldn’t begin only one of these elements. The first movie should be a introduction, not a synopsis or a big bag of promises which will come to life when the time will come – trailer. True art defend itself, it doesn’t need trailers. Only business needs them.
"HuHuh! I was in the right!"
"Yes, absolutely in the right!"
"I certainly was in the right!"
//Review powered by: Elvis Costello “This Years Model”, Kind Crimson “In the Court of the Crimson King” and Faust “The Sad Skinhead”.
// Thank you for reading!
