Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Orishaboy
Bakemonogatari is a parody. Yep, that's how I will recommend it to you.
Since it's inception, the Monogatari series has been a subject of debate about its art direction, editing, characters, and dialogue which have been endlessly praised and criticized. But today, I would like to shine light on a lesser talked about aspect of Monogatari and that's the deconstruction/parody aspect.
Bakemonogatari, as a light novel released in the mid 2000s while they were swarming with tropes, sets its sights on taking those same tropes and realistically portraying them as real human beings. That's the premise.
It takes the oblivious harem protagonist, the tsundere, the 3000 year old loli, the tomboy, the smart glasses girl, and the moe girl (later entries introduce the childhood friend, the onee-san, an…
Read at the sourceJoeMalone
Bakemonogatari isn't an anime for everyone. It's built for the weebs and the "cultured" ones,people who've been engaged with anime and manga for a long time. The show is dense with references, including Japanese specific jokes and cultural nods that even an experienced non Japanese fan can struggle to fully catch, let alone a beginner.
What makes Bakemonogatari genuinely unique is everything about how it's made. The dialogue is long form and rapid fire, yet it flows naturally rather than feeling like exposition dumps. The animation style is experimental, almost avant-garde: flashing text cards appear on screen too quickly to fully read, acting as a kind of rhythmic punctuation that mimics the chaotic speed of human thought. The camera lingers on extreme closeups of characters' eyes, and t…
Read at the sourceFakeframer
BAKEMONOGATARI is a terrible first introduction to the series in my opinion. It have slow pacing, constant image flashing, character cant have a normal conversation without the camera constantly switching different angle that can really hurt your eyes, the humor/comedy is pretty awful and early character introduction doesnt give me much impression. The character design/ artstyle is pretty interesting and unique compare to your regular anime But the editing style in Bakemonogatari feel like they trying too hard to make the show unique so it end up give you a terrible experience while trying to finish Bakemonogatari. The story and monster in the show is very confusing even when it already got explain. The protagonist is an extreme degenerate which make you uncomfortable watching Bakemonotaga…
Read at the sourceksxsk
Bakemonogatari, the first anime in the Monogatari Series, has a very good introduction with the Senjougahara arc (Hitagi Crab). It has the best backstory I've ever seen in anime; everything that happens in Monogatari fits together and makes sense, without forcing ideas that don't align with the anime's premise. Each arc in Bakemonogatari has its own identity, without repeating ideas too much. Monogatari haters only call Araragi a pedophile because they never gave the anime a chance. There are some strange scenes in the anime, but nothing that will ruin your experience. The only weak point is its endless dialogue; at least 80% of the episode is dialogue, and most of it is important to the story, so it can get a little tiring.
Read at the sourcebmzbmz
Bakemonogatari is one piece of media that has allowed me to watch things with fan service, if you hate fan service like I did before but think you will enjoy the premise/style then I recommend bakemonogatari (as well as Love exposure 2008 - if you like monogatari then go watch this trust me). My overall opinion hasn't changed about fan service I just think it is worth watching regardless, also at the time of writing I have only seen this season.
Anyways... Why should you watch?
The visual style of this show is unique and it works so well, from the background, unusual cutting and color palette. Secondly, the story is entertaining following araragi trying to solve various characters supernatural issues. Talking about characters - the smart dialogue, great wordplay and interactions between p…
Read at the sourceHaustlaufivindi
We all have our own "cockroaches" (crabs, snails/wandering cows, demon monkeys, invisible snakes, cats, and vampires living in our shadows). Some are known only to us, while others are noticed by others, no matter how hard we try to hide these monsters. Sometimes, only we can win battles with them, while other times, we cannot cope without help. Sometimes, we don't even need to fight them; we should apologize for inventing them, dumping the problems we flee from, deluding ourselves, on the monsters of our dormant minds. It is against these terrifying creatures, dwelling in those corners of our personality where the light of our minds dares not shine, that the main character, Araragi, fights.
Frankly, the first episode - clip-like, surreal, with frequent plot breaks - brings back unpleasan…
Read at the sourceAan1m
The start of a generational experience and series - the introduction to many legendary charachters and one of my favourite tsundere pairing and one of my favourite couples - this show lays the foundation of a much broader and complex world - the animation is stellar as expected from studio shaft but what truly makes monogatari as a series stand out is its heartfelt and clever language it uses - each character interaction serves a purpose and the supernatural aspect of the show is also very intriguing - overall a great start to a fantastic series to come - sets up the character dynamics brilliantly laying out a miniature arc for each important character
Read at the sourcecnjones_
A decade removed from my initial, unsuccessful attempt to engage with Bakemonogatari, I find myself attentive to dimensions of the work that had previously eluded me. What proves most striking is the series' vivid rendering of adolescence, achieved through a kinetic visual idiom, a saturated and meticulously calibrated color palette, and a thoroughgoing immersion in contemporary Japanese cultural particulars, like the idiomatic wordplay to references drawn from manga conventions, internet culture, and regional folklore. For viewers situated outside this cultural framework (like me), a considerable portion of these allusions will likely register as opaque on first encounter; nevertheless, this interpretive distance seldom diminishes the work's overall coherence or affective impact, since th…
Read at the sourceViolentPete
By some perverse act of God, after more than a decade of trying, I’ve finally* managed to finish watching Bakemonogatari, so I am now qualified to say with full confidence that it is total dogshit. I fucking hate Tarantino movies and this reminds me of them a lot. Just words, words, words, the characters keep fucking talking and talking but never say anything of substance. Two cardboard cutouts of what I assume are supposed to be people talking and talking and talking. I guess that’s being a little mean to Tarantino, though, because he does occasionally manage to be funny or have something interesting happen, but Bakemonogatari never manages to be either funny or interesting. People often describe it as “clever” or “witty”, which is code for “not actually funny”.
There is no plot, it’s a…
Read at the sourcemaomaojane4
I have been looking for something good to watch forever, until I came across Monogatari. At first, I was a bit hesitant to watch it because of the ecchi, heavy dialogue, and stuff like that, but I gave it a chance. I wish I had discovered this series earlier! Everything about it is amazing, the dialogue, the banter, the word play, the characters. I have been watching anime for a while, and my top 5 stayed the same until I watched Monogatari. It’s such a brilliant series and everything about it is amazing. I absolutely love the interactions between the characters, especially Senjougahara and Araragi. I love the way they talk to each other. As I said earlier, I was worried about the heavy dialogue because it’s hard for me to get into series if I’m not interested in them. But it became the th…
Read at the sourceHat_Hoyle
What can I say about this anime that I barely know, yet already love to pieces? This anime that I barely know, yet already love to pieces, is one of the best anime I have ever seen. This anime that I barely know, yet already love to pieces, manages to execute everything perfectly, from the art style, animation, openings (of which there are several), dialogue (some of the best), and soundtrack.
This anime that I barely know, yet already love to pieces, despite being niche—thank goodness—is an example of a 10/10 anime where you will be happy to follow every episode with a smile on your face from start to finish.
Read at the sourceKohakuHisui
When I first watched this anime, I thought it was just another typical show. The dialogue felt strange, the pacing seemed random, and it honestly left me confused. But I was wrong. Upon rewatching it, everything felt different. From the start, Bakemonogatari isn't an anime that relies on action or a fast-paced plot instead, it thrives on sharp dialogue, heavy symbolism, and the psychological exploration of its characters. The storytelling is non-linear, filled with eccentric scene cuts, and can feel visually "noisy" but that’s exactly where its charm lies.
I’ll be honest: I’ve never been someone interested in philosophy. However, somehow, this anime sparked that interest in me. Its delivery doesn't feel "preachy" it’s more like an invitation to reflect slowly. I began to realize that eve…
Read at the sourceanonyymio
This is review of the Monogatari series as a whole.
Venturing deep into Egyptian deserts in the 4th and 5th Century you will find monks such as John Cassian battling with vices, emotions and passions, which are in turn identified as spiritual creatures: demons, or spirits. The monks engage in conversations with them and try to identify the deep psychological causes and mechanisms causing them. Many of them are sexual passions. A type of psychotherapy, early pastoral care and spiritual guidance is born.
Japanese spirit(ual) psychology is fascinating, because it identifies a parallel word. Psychological malaises or untreated wants and desires manifest as spiritual creatures, bakemonos. There is a way of dealing with them spiritually, or they can be overcome psychologically. Identifying the…
Read at the sourcezettai-jin-stray
The story about the special feelings a man has for all the precious women in his life. A drama to test the purity of his conviction to its depths, and even to question if such a motivation can even exist in this age. From the largely contemptable light novel medium some spare few authors arose willing to test a culture of egotism and an enclosing and capturing of life, in this case clearly expressed through a conflicted use of otaku storytelling. The story of Mayoi was brilliant for its use of negation and substitution, the mother and sister were only to be known through the crab and the snail. Nadeko’s story isn’t very good but alas even Mobile Suit Gundam has its salt episode.
But this is an anime, and thus it must compete against and break itself to become film. There’s an austerity to…
Read at the sourceOutarel
Can’t really say anything about this one other than “not for me.” I’ve seen the whole season, and I might even say I don’t mind it, but I have zero interest in watching the other seasons.
It’s not that the show is bad; it’s stylish, sharp, and clever in its dialogue, but for me, it’s way too heavy on talking and not enough stuff happening.
I can see why people love it—the aesthetics and tone are unique—but personally, I just couldn’t stay engaged for long.
There’s stuff to appreciate, but it never hooked me emotionally. I respect it, just don’t enjoy it
Read at the sourceViz108
This isn't really going to be a review as much as it's going to be my direct thoughts after finishing Bakemonogatari, so take it with a grain of salt.
Monogatari is an otaku mecca. There's no way around it. The original anime is coming up on nearly 2 decades, and echoes of its run can still be found in internet culture. Knowing this, I wasn't really sure what to expect coming into the series as a relative newbie. What I found was fun and interesting, but didn't blow me away. The story premise is captivating enough, and is definitely well executed. The visual style of the anime is like no other, and there's plenty of 2010s fanservice too. But ultimately, Bakemonogatari left me expecting more. It's possible that's just two decades of hype skewing my expectations, but either way I'm hoping…
Read at the source11equalsFish
I've watched the entirety of the Monogatari anime up to now, so I'm writing my general thoughts about the series here for my own convenience. This is going to end up a but unpolished. I may edit it later.
The show is incredibly expressive, and as a troubled young person growing up I really connected with the story of growing up and having convictions. It had completely changed who I am as a person, and how I use graphic design and story telling. The reason I started to make stories and art is because I was skipping through the Monogatari series, seeing philosophy and avant-garde compositions that deeply moved me, while also avoiding the pedophilia. It was inspiringly because it was so conflicted and flawed. I wrote a story about a dead ghost talking to a bartender about their own death an…
Read at the sourceKevin_has_knives
No matter how many times I meet the characters and rewatch the ending, it'll always give me that warm, gooey feeling. pure happiness, maybe, or is it what a stereotypical high school experience is like in the most non-stereotypical way possible? Mainly, you can sum it up to someone manning up and taking responsibility and growing more into the person he's meant to be. Really shines through if you continue to watch the series, and only gets better the more you watch. This show is such a big investment, but by Zoku Monogatari (leaves you in a good place, but leaves room for off/monster continuation) I promise you'll love it.
Read at the sourceRinco_1161
Review of Bakemonogatari (but really: the whole Monogatari Series)
Disclaimer: This is my personal opinion. Mild spoilers (nothing huge, mostly about style and structure).
I don’t really know why I love Monogatari.
And that is exactly what makes it special to me. It’s the only anime where I gave a 10/10, but I still can’t fully explain it.
I don’t give 10s often. My average anime score is around 6.8, and it’s not because I watch only trash. Usually, when I rate something 10/10, it’s because the story is insane, or it breaks me emotionally. (Shout out to Clannad s2 and Violet Evergarden.) But Monogatari is different.
It’s not “perfect” in the usual ways
If you come here looking for a “great plot” like Berserk-level epic writing, you won’t get that. The story is interesting, yes, but i…
Read at the sourceTreweyerdv
Ok, now I'm just gonna say my honest thought about this anime (I've finished watching the entire Monogatari series). No spoilers, so don't worry.
First, this anime is dialogue-heavy with some flashing text that you can pause and read (or just ignore it) though it would be better if you read it, as that will give you context about what is happening.
Second, if you want to see anime with action, then this anime is clearly not for you, though I can say that this anime has a few action scenes (and that action scene is excellent.) Also, you can watch the Kizumonogatari movie trilogy if you want to see full action.
Third, the fanservice: the fanservice in this anime is really heavy too and has a loli character (+ for some people or - for some people) and also some incest jokes that will get s…
Read at the source
