Puck

Story:

Bakemonogatari is one of those rare anime where you watch it and everything just clicks. The stories draw heavily upon Japanese folklore, but still manage to incorporate tropes from other anime in a relevant and interesting manner. The series is divided into five arcs, devoting 2-5 episodes to each particular, arc, which deals with a particular spirit or type of spirit. Each arc also introduces another character into the story, and each spirit is significantly different enough as to remain engaging without the sort of “monster of the week” feeling one gets from other anime. To clarify, each character is afflicted by a different spirit, which feeds upon the issue each character is struggling with, and must be dealt with accordingly.

 What really sets the story apart is the dialogue between the characters. It can be rapid and disjointed and contain very little relevant information in terms of story progression, or it can be short and clipped, and positively dripping with information, (though this information may not be readily apparent.) Though, when the conversation is rather sparse on plot information, it starts to reveal how the characters involved react with one another, and the conversation stars to build off the character’s personalities to reveal the deep-seated values the people have, usually related to the issue the current spirit is feeding on. In short, the dialogue is a brilliant balance between story progression, character development, and even humor, as many of the exchanges are ridiculous in one way or another, yet still pertinent and meaningful.

Animation:

The animation is incredible. Abstract camera angles, odd color palettes, heavy use of both positive and negative space to convey meaning, and beautiful use of light and shadow set this production a cut above the rest. About the only thing not absolutely extraordinary are the character designs, which are fairly standard, though they are still rendered beautifully. I cannot find fault with both the novelty and ingenuity if the animators. As a student of the visual arts, I realize that appreciation of animation is heavily based on the viewer’s aesthetic leanings, and in that, I cannot fathom giving Bakemonogatari anything but a 10, in that it is the most wonderfully animated show I have ever seen.

Sound:

Here unfortunately, Bakemongatari fell short of the mark. The seiyuu are merely average with nothing to really distinguish them from another show, though they were cast fairly well for their respective characters. Araragi sounds exactly as I would expect Araragi to sound. as for background music, it was fairly average as well, not adding a huge amount to my viewing experience, and in some cases sounding rather childish and trite. From what I can only assume was a synthesized xylophone, to a harmonica, plenty of different styles of music are used, but don’t really stand out in any situation. One novel thing done, was to change the opening songs to more accurately reflect the character being featured in the arc. But sadly, all but one of these songs fall short. The first opening, Staple Stable by Chiwa Saito, is quite good. The endings are also not much to rhapsodize about, being rather standard themselves. Once again, music taste relies on the viewer’s pre-existing preferences, but in this case, I believe Bakemonogatari does not rate any higher than a 5 for its rather mediocre soundtrack.

Characters:

The basis for ridding the characters of their particular spiritual afflictions is singly based on that character overcoming a personal issue or personality flaw, so plot progression relies on character development. Seeing as the story is quite powerful, it stands to reason that Bakemonogatari does a fairly good job at developing rather simple characters into much more complex and real people. Senjougahara evolves from the edgy, domineering girl hiding problem into a shy girl who is afraid of losing something important to her who puts up an edgy front as to hide her distress, and that’s only in the first two episodes. I will not discuss Araragi’s relationships, as their development is simply to good for me to spoil. Simply put, the character development is as brilliant as it is beautifully crafted.

Overall:

A solid story, animation that simply must be seen, and brilliantly executed character development combine to make Bakemonogatari a solid and enjoyable watch.