#22 Bakemonogatari!

        If you've been paying attention to any currently airing anime then you might have seen something about Kizumonogatari Part 3 or Owarimonogatari. If you have, then you probably know that they're a part of the Monogatari universe. I'm going to say right now that the universe is a little confusing when it comes to figuring out which order to watch the different shows in. Luckily there are some lists out there to help you. (which are listed at the bottom) This post however, is going to focus on Bakemonogatari, which is the first season in the Monogatari series and came out in 2009. (in airing order)

        Bakemonogatari follows a high school boy named Araragi, and his interactions with the supernatural world. He finds himself in dangerous situations when he tries to help others who are experiencing supernatural problems. Bakemonogatari would fall under the genres of supernatural, comedy, mystery and romance. (Although, it's not romantic in the way you might think.) If you want to read the official description click here!

       Bakemonogatari's art style is unprecedented when it comes to the background art and character movements. Studio Shaft is now known for this style and it's sometimes referred to as the shaft head tilt.


      One of the interesting aspects of Bakemonogatari are the differences between the originally aired version, and the Blue-Ray version. If you've watched Bakemonogatari, and you're not sure which version you watched, it's pretty simple to figure out. If the background looked like the picture to the right, then it was the Blu-Ray version. If you want to see a few more examples, you can click here. If you want to watch a side by side comparison of the TV version V.S the Blue-Ray version, click here. (just so you know, it does include spoilers)


        A few more really great things that make Bakemonogatari unique are the eye fixation, head tilts, body pans, screen flashes, weird color templates, abandoned locations and real footage and or pictures. (If you want to read more about them click here.) Bakemonogatari also has an amazing music score. We get some elevator music like "Date" and some synthesizer songs like "Uzu". We also get some cool percussive music like "Rainy Devil". Most of the tracks include either piano, Xylophone, or marimba as the base with multiple other instruments and electronic mixing. We sometimes get to hear some vocals. There's also a song that's reminiscent of Ghost In The Shell's  "Making of Cyborg" called "Kekkai". If you want to listen to the entire Bakemonogatari soundtrack click here. 

        Bakemonogatari is such a unique anime, visually and story wise. It's story doesn't have a particular end other than helping each person with their problems, but it's definitely entertaining and worth a watch. (Bakemonogatari is also the anime used in one of my favorite AMV's and it's amazing, you should go check it out here.) Just a side note Bakemonogatari does include some violent and unexpected gore, as you can see in this iconic scene. 

If you want to watch Bakemonogatari it's on crunchy roll, hulu, and amazon prime.

(If you're wondering what order to watch the Monogatari series in, here are a couple of choices (here) and (here))
















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