(Bakemonogatari, Kizumonogatari, Nisemonogatari, and Nekomonogatari in that order).
It is best experienced with prior knowledge.
Upon finding myself inflicted with an (un)healthy obsession towards a certain seasonal anime known best as Bunny Girl Senpai, I began my short journey in an attempt to find something even remotely close in design or similar to in concept of said seasonal. I needed more. Of course, as anyone would, I landed on the beloved Monogatari series, and thank god I did. So, I suppose I shall now attempt to write about it. That being said, I do wholeheartedly encourage you to watch / read for yourself and create your own opinions, just as what I write here is simply my own opinion and analysis. This exists as nothing more than my own feelings written into a review format.
The Monogatari series became the latest totally normal obsession of mine after thoroughly enjoying and completing the first season. I had known about the Monogatari series' popularity for a while, and I also had known of its fairly sizeable fanbase recommending it to rascal lovers. However, I was definitely not prepared to be as blown away as I am now. After watching and completing the second season recently, I find myself in love with this series to a substantial degree in which it dethroned with ease what was at the time my favorite anime / LN series, Rascal.
Nisio Isin's masterfully written novel series quickly became the forefront of my library within just around a week. This series as a whole most definitely has something for everybody, primarily due to its large cast of incredibly likable characters, a wide array of genres, uniqueness, and most importantly, its intricate yet intriguing storyline.
Seemingly referencing and revolving around many different folktales and legends of many different cultures, the story contains its own charm that I have yet to find elsewhere. The characters and character relations always flawlessly push the story forward in a direction as to where everything is necessary to the plot in the long run, leaving behind zero plot holes or noticeable flaws in direction.
Some will say that the anime's story itself can be seen as hard to follow or perhaps even convoluted, and you'd most likely expect me to disagree to incline more people to watch and read it.. but no. It genuinely IS very convoluted and intricate, and I don't think you should expect to understand everything within just one watch. In this case, It's admittedly not for everyone. It is not the kind of series where you can simply turn your brain off and still be able to comprehend what's occurring.
One noticeable aspect that I brushed over earlier is the series' adaptability to being a jack of all trades genre-wise. One minute it's a rom-com, and the next it's a brutal fight scene. Sometimes it could supply a meaningful outlook or point of view on life, and other times it just be makin' you laugh by bein' a silly little lighthearted comedy. Goofy shit, like the running joke between Hachikuji and Arararagi. Shitsurei, kamimashita.
As for animation, Shaft's beautiful visuals and near-comical overuse of the head tilt closeups along with other "Shaft-isms" fit this series perfectly in my opinion, and the adaptation coming from the LNs is amazingly done. (Although admittedly the LNs are FAR superior still.) The flashing walls of text straight out of the LN pages resonate with me as being fundamental and intriguing additions that sheds light on the inner thoughts of the characters or add subtle context clues. If you're also interested in reading them, get ready to pause a SHIT ton and get out your kanji dictionary.
In terms of sound and writing, the music and dialogue never falter in being astonishing. Each piece of music fits the mood to a tee. If they're trying to convey intimidation, sorrow, fear, frustration, etc., or perhaps even deafening silence where no music plays at all, the OST will beautifully flow with the mood to help convey these feelings and emotions-- ESPECIALLY in this season. As for the dialogue, it's incredibly intelligent as to be expected from Nisio Isin, and there's a LOT of it. Some of Araragi's monologues can last for a comical amount of time, almost as if he's telling the story that you're about to watch unfold, hence the name. ("Monogatari," which literally translates from Japanese to English as a story, or tale.)
Continuing my spiel on the series' impeccably clever writing, the signature subtle verbal nuances that Monogatari has to offer can be difficult to pick up on due to its rather complex Japanese wordplay and kanji. Most of it is translated into subtitles to at least make it somewhat comedic or to allow insight into the joke / play on words, however, the experience is enhanced if you can understand some Japanese. (A decent amount of it has to do with kanji characters and plays on the Japanese language, so, obviously.) For a more simple example, a play on words can be seen just within the name of the first story of the first season, Bakemonogatari, in which "bakemono" (化け物) is its own word that roughly translates to "a monster."
The series' ability to be philosophical and profound is absolutely there, yet often shrouded by the ruse of occasional lightheartedness and mind-numbing action. Such topics may either be incredibly insightful for those who take the time to view it as such, or off-putting and confusing for others. Some may feel that the overtly philosophical subject matter exists simply to balance out the goofiness, and perhaps in the worst case of this, potential barrages of profound dialogue may induce ennui in the casual viewers and to those who find such topics tedious.
Personally, however, I view the presence of philosophical topics as an important factor in rating series in which such topics may exist. Insightful topics in media-- especially anime-- is something that piques my interest, to say the least, and if done correctly, can increase my immersion in a series tenfold. Legitimate philosophy and takeaways behind actions, words and intelligent quotes will always impress me, and the Monogatari series shows many beautiful examples of the like.
That all being said, let me make something else clear, this series is by no means the next End of Eva mindfuck. With an open mind, most individuals could roughly understand the gist of such confusing plotlines and deeper meanings in most of this series. As I stated earlier, however, it may very well be convoluted enough for those who are expecting-- let's say-- another Bunny Girl Senpai to be shocked. Instead of the easily conceived plot and cutesy design of Rascal, they are met with enigmatic dialogue, near inscrutable plot and writing, and an ever-fluctuating atmosphere. Ultimately the Monogatari series most definitely can be psychologically stimulating enough to supply both ample emotion and meaning if sought out, without getting in the way of its undeniably quintessential nature.
I firmly believe the genius behind Monogatari has created something incredibly special with this series, and I think it deserves even more recognition for what it is.
Now, with that all out of the way, as far as enjoyment goes I'd say this is my favorite and most enjoyed season of my favorite and most enjoyed series to date. Therefore, this is the first review I've ever actually taken the (albeit little) time to write.
I do realize that this review proved to be more of an assessment of the Monogatari series as a whole than it was a review on the second season alone.. but whatever. As I said, this is my favorite season of the series anyway, and I feel like this'd be the place to sing my ever-growing praises on this masterpiece.
Easy 10/10, thank you Nisio Isin.
