Bakemonogatari has a solid, straight-foward story. The anime is broken up into several arcs, each one introducing a new girl and how she came to be affected by an entity. Araragi solves each girl's problems with the help of an odd man named Oshino, who happens to be an expert in apparitions. Bakemonogatari isn't the start of the story, however. Araragi is a human-turned-vampire-turned-human-again, but there is no explanation of his transformations. Even though the show doesn't go into much detail about this interesting fact, it isn't essential to know his background to enjoy the rest of the show. Fortunately, there is news of a prequel to Bakemonogatari that will hopefully shed some light on Araragi's past. :)
Bakemonogatari may seem like a harem, but romance is present as the episodes progress. Also, if you are looking for action, Bakemonogatari might not be what you're looking for. Nisio Isin is well-known for the witty dialogue in his novels and it is adapted well into the anime, so conversations between characters might feel extremely wordy. It's not like there is absolutely no action; there are some action scenes that are beautifully animated. Plus, the interaction and dialogue between characters is amusing rather than it feeling like a boring drag.
The art of Bakemonogatari is really great. The colors are vivid and even the backgrounds look amazing. All of the characters have distinctive designs and are very likeable. The only negative thing I have to say about the animation is that there are these red and black "scenes" that sporadically pop up throughout the anime. I didn't really mind them at first, until there was an obnoxious amount showing up in one of the later episodes. Regardless of this drawback, Bakemonogatari definitely deserves a try.
