Times Rewatched: 3
Each of these 3 VERY different experiences I have with this anime has finally made me come to a conclusion once and for all.
As this was the first in the series it was kind of hard for me to wrap my head around what was happening at first. But after some thought I decided to return to this anime and rewatch it for my first time. After my first time it was very apparent that I had clearly missed the point of a lot of scenes, which prompted me to eventually continue in the series with a newfound light. Said newfound light was better understanding of film, which prompted my second rewatch. While I was watching it for a second time I had realized that I had yet again missed a lot that the show offered. Whether that be subtle audio, or very quick cuts in between shots. But it wasn't until my third viewing that something had struck me. I wouldn't be nearly has harsh or critical about other anime if it wasn't for this one.
[Story] 8/10 - Just like Monogatari's original counterparts by Nisio Isin, it is split into short stories that surround usually around one character at a time. I will yet again let the synopsis do the job of explaining the plot but I will take the job of explaining why the plot is good and why the plot is bad.
Starting off with why it is good. Pacing is fantastic, every story is around 2-5 episodes. Which is not a lot of time to acknowledge and develop a new character or event. Even though this anime kind of restricts itself like this; you never feel like you were left out of something in the story. Each story is unique and wonderful. Some are better than others but that can just be brushed off as preference.
Now onto the bad things. The dialogue is god awful sometimes. Sometimes it feels intentional, which is okay I guess? Tone and mood change constantly, this can be a good and a bad thing. Some may say that it's part of the anime's aesthetic but when compared to things father down the road like Monogatari: Second Season and Owarimonogatari it just seems like a negative thing.
[Art] 9/10 - Each art style is unique and different from anime to anime, but there is something special about this one in particular especially after learning about what year this anime was released in! It's just very polished, while they don't fully flesh out and create other background characters. They instead use words or outlines to represent irrelevant characters which was an interesting choice. The world the characters are in doesn't feel empty due to it's amazingly detailed background and settings. Animation wise it's kind of stiff and pivotal which is not a bad thing. In fact it seems as if it was a design choice. Every character design is unique and interesting, each design also seems to compliment ones attitude but that is something for the character section of this review.
Visual Storytelling. If not for the care and love put into the small yet significant things found in the background or even hidden in plain sight for the viewer to find it might not be as good. This is something that is continued for the rest of the series and plays a massive role in understanding characters, events and well the scenes themselves! The only negative is that it might take you a view rewatches to find them all...
[Sound] 8/10 - But before we get started on character I must give credit where credit is due. The music is fantastic! Usually... Most of the time the anime has great music choice for scenes but there was always at least one per arc that seemed a bit off. Like it didn't add to the tone/mood of the scene but also not breaking the viewers perception of said tone/mood. And if you are involved in the anime meme community you might recognize one of the openings. :)
[Character] 7/10 - Onto the anime's weakest point... Now the character development really doesn't fit well with the short stories, as that is a very short amount of time to give a character an arc than finish it in a few episodes. This would be a lot better if the character arc didn't involve such large changes to the characters. Now don't get me wrong here I think the character development is good, but it could have been better.
[Enjoyment] 10/10 - I usually have fun watching anime whether what im watching is good or bad. But this one I can wholeheartedly say that I loved every single second of watching this. It has always been a joy no matter how many times I watch it. In fact during my third viewing I took a good friend of mine and sat her down to watch the series with me. We had a few laughs but the best parts would include the food for thought moments and the "oh my god..." moments. It was awesome to see her reaction to things while I simultaneously took a deeper look at the anime.
[Overall] 8/10 - For the amount that im praising this you might be wondering why im not rating this a 10 out of 10. Because I believe that there is a very specific line in between 8 and 9 and 9 and 10. All of the stories are interesting and different in their own way. Characters change, and the art and sound is the cherry on top.
Do I recommend this? Yes, but let me tell you that it's not for everyone.
If today is your birthday, Happy Birthday!
Have a wonderful rest of your day everyone!
