If you know me well this may come as a bit of a shock to you. Usually when I speak of anime or manga favorites, it’s always One Piece. Well, I have a bit of a confession to make. One Piece while still my favorite piece of art and literature ever and my favorite manga of all time, it’s not my favorite anime anymore. Not even close. It’s been Monogatari for about two and a half years. Toei Animation simply isn’t doing the One Piece manga justice any longer. Monogatari is clever, well written, written by a genius, it’s got an interesting premise, strong characters with depth and visually stunning animation. Monogatari is also my favorite light novel series along with A Certain Magical Index.
Getting back on topic, the series is cleverly constructed because it’s in good hands. The dialogue is fun and super entertaining. The way the characters interact with one another is such a riot. It’s silly, it’s funny and there are tons of smart Japanese idioms, puns and play on words present in the conversations. Isin’s knowledge of the Japanese language is so proficient that it’s literally impossible to translate a good portion of these clever quips into English. So much of what’s being said is lost in translation. The character names are also funny, punny names.
These oddities or apparitions have several reasons for afflicting the real world and the people in it. Reasons stemming from intense emotions like prolonged hatred. That could cause a distortion in the world or cause the person of your hatred to become afflicted with some curse. The first example in the series is when the main character meets a girl who’s weightless. She doesn’t weight anything at all.
Araragi Koyomi, a relatively normal high schooler has his regular daily life come to an end when he encounters some supernatural beings. After the end of said ordeal he essentially becomes a vampire. Using his little experience with apparitions, powers and sense of justice, Koyomi attempts to help people with oddities. Separated into mini story arcs and character arcs. The story is not told in chronological order. That’s the best I can do without spoiling major plot points.
Two personal favorite characters of mine are Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade (Shinobu Oshino) and Hitagi Senjougahara. Without spoiling much, Shinobu is a cool character and comes in all stages of growing up. There’s loli, form, teenage form and the older busty one. She’s got a long and rich history. Her character has layers of complexity and her relationship with the main character is interesting. Oh, she’s also a vampire, the best vampire ever.
The various Monogatari anime are insanely visually pleasing and stimulating. Lots of poetic imagery and interesting events happening on screen. Nisio's narratives tend to be dialogue heavy but expect to always be visually entertained even when nothing of note is happening. However, don’t take everything you see literal as a lot of it is symbolic. The series is well directed with magnificent cinematography, nice colours, beautiful looking characters and great action scenes. It is clean, colorful and vibrant.
P.S: The watch order is Bakemonogatari, Kizumonogatari Nisemongatari, Nekomonogatari Kuro, Monogatari Season 2, Hanamonogatari, Tsukimonogatari, Owarimongatari and Owarimonogatari Season 2.