GR Anime Review: Bakemonogatari

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

Despite the series' interesting plot, they have some of the best and most memorable openings in anime.

[@aqua-sama3861]

i always saw u everywhere and that make me think thay im everywhere too i know ur the same person i always saw because im subscribed to u xD

[@9o1ybius]

it's the Justin Y. of anime

[@jeremyfuller7730]

THE best. There isn't another series where every opening can be argued as the best with like 14 openings

[@kashyapchonekar5437]

Seno~

[@HyuugaCharlie]

@@jeremyfuller7730 black clover

[@pattyboywales]

I adore the series, but I can't recommend it blindly to anyone.

[@benjiusofficial]

You were on the verge of greatness. You were so close.

[@Katpasniss]

It's my favourite anime, but I struggle to recommend it, I often say, watch the first 2 episode of Bakemonogatari and you'll know if it is for you or not

[@LifeisMoldyBread]

It's definitely a series that's hard to click for people but when it does, it really clicks

[@Katpasniss]

@@LifeisMoldyBread it will either end in your top 10 anime that you love or top 10 anime that you hate

[@nathanielduncan4692]

Even thought i've never watch series i just can't because of my moral code i'm not into that lolicon pedo shit sorry i just hate that shit.

[@3xtr3m3dr0ps]

Kind of disappointed how you didn't mention the god tier OST

[@joaomiranda7168]

Rushed review overall.

[@TheStuntastik]

It wouldn't change the rating. As good as the memes and music that have come out of this series are, the series itself is still a hard watch. The fan service dies down a bit in Second Season but that's a long way off for new viewers.

[@TheBreadB]

Rushed review (2)

[@halfabrain6491]

Yeah i agree

[@youcancallmekamisama4548]

How could you not talk about the OST?!?!

[@idonotmakevidsyet]

FBI: "Open up!" Me: "well actually theres a deeper meaning to this scene"

[@restingsadface]

next top comment

[@ConvincingPeople]

This meme is extremely tired and far more applicable to Nise anyway.

[@theblackswordsman9951]

FBI: "Oh...ok.

[@nathanielduncan4692]

@@ConvincingPeople So are you saying the creator of said series is a pedophile?

[@electricant55]

@@nathanielduncan4692 No, he's saying you should fuck off and find less overused memes

[@neobee602]

Monogatari is a series that you should watch but not recommended to anyone

[@nathanielduncan4692]

I can't watch it simply because of my moral code.

[@janandreas231]

@@nathanielduncan4692 What is your moral code?

[@jdsam93]

It was recommend to me. He said it has great action xD

[@AWanderingSwordsman]

I recommend it to everyone. Great show, great ost, great visual style, and unique. Even if you don't end up liking, I think it'll still be memorable and probably something you don't regret having seen.

[@nathanielduncan4692]

@BaneCleaver Well he is, the guy is atracked to little girls.

[@kashyapchonekar5437]

True monogatari fans do not need a toothbrush image to hint towards it...

[@Jotunn96]

The second he said the word fanservice my mind leapt to that scene and literally everything involving hachikuji too lmao

[@copperfield42]

even non-fan know that scene, it make its round through the anime community... I know of that scene and I haven't watched a single ep of the monogatari franchise

[@Zodia195]

@@copperfield42 Yeah I haven't watched a single Monogatori season or episode and even I know about that infamous scene. It's the same when one mentions a particular part of FMA with a girl and her dog or Pokemon's famous theme song when everyone knows the words.

[@fitzjolt]

I can hear the music now...

[@RipleySawzen]

You could walk up to me on the street and say "The scene!" and hold up a toothbrush and I'd know what you were talking about

[@PurpleCyanideTube]

“Bakemonogatari has been a staple” ... HA! I see what you did there.

[@afabian2]

perhaps even a stable staple, if you will.

[@baumundallesandere]

He looked so proud of himself :)

[@tt-ej5ox]

i don't get it :,|

[@PurpleCyanideTube]

@@tt-ej5ox one of the main characters has a habit of threatening to staple peoples lips

[@vezavezaaa]

Crab

[@nexter4202]

The thing is.... this show does get better each season, also watching only the first season leaves it, you know... incomplete.

[@Mercure250]

I'd compare it to watching, like, the first 6 episodes of Steins;Gate and leave it there.

[@LongNguyen-pv9sm]

100 something episodes is a big commitment, and this is only a Bake review so

[@nexter4202]

@@LongNguyen-pv9sm that's true, I'm not saying his review is invalid. I do recognize the big time commitment - I'll leave it at that

[@norightturn7047]

One of the first animes I watched during my first year of really heavily watching anime. Still, pretty much my favorite. I love this series.

[@theblackswordsman9951]

@@LongNguyen-pv9sm Its not that long mate. it ain't a shonen

[@cassif19]

Senjougahara's apparition did not stem from her trauma, but from the way she chose to protect herself by burying her feelings. She's actually living a pretty good life at the moment, with her loving dad. What her mother did was not solved, but she finally processed her traumatic experience properly. That is the meaning of her arc

[@Rozemyne2314]

monogatari is everything ........ and i love every aspect of it. But yeah, even as a hardcore fan of this series, I also can't recommend this series to everyone

[@Pyovali]

It's not a con per se.

[@jeremyfuller7730]

Kinda how you can't recommend The Tatami Galaxy to everyone

[@matteocomin2864]

Yeah Yeah Peace Peace

[@aiwash2766]

Oshirohyro I have a question. Why can’t you recommend this to everyone, is it because of all the sexual stuff or is there more to it, I ask this as someone who’s never seen this anime but constantly hears about it and wanna try it out.

[@Rozemyne2314]

@@aiwash2766 Some reasons people may not like are: 1. People can get bored of the anime as many of the scenes are mainly just characters talking and most people tend to just enjoy a lot of action and whatnot (The conversations here were really interesting to me and so I stayed) 2. People may get turned off by a lot of the sexual stuff (Though I never did, I just laughed) 3. The overarching plot of the anime is VERY LONG and covers the whole length of the entire anime. So, starting this anime is a VERY HEAVY investment as you really need to watch everything and sometimes even re-watch past arcs to understand some things in the later arcs (The later arcs are not going to follow chronologically as the release of each season. Watch it by release date if you plan to start and not chronological. Will make more sense)

[@D1ttu]

Monogatari, being my favourite show, is completely unrecommendable and I don't fault anyone for not liking it. People's enjoyment of media is subjective. I guess my aversion to fanservice has died down after a few years.

[@tennysonkung3102]

Hridhay Kiran This

[@lampad4549]

Agreed its a hard series to recommend, but its one that anyone can appreciate cause it does what any story should do, it has a strong consistent theme explored through the arcs of the characters and develops them along the way along with a surprisingly overarching plot.

[@akasuki61xyungslumma85]

Plz sweat some more...PLZ!!!!

[@davidtitanium22]

It's a series to watch when you're bored of regular anime. It's sheer uniqueness catch me when I see my friend watching it a few years ago. I never thought a show full of conversation could be this interesting

[@MaoRatto]

To me, I find fan service just adds to it and the absurdities, but after all. i get bored of the same type of fan service.

[@animesanctuary1634]

Problems aren't meant to be solved per say, but like you said, the way the individual perceives things. Like with Senjougahara, what changed was the weight of she turning her face away from her true feelings (which was the result of the actual problem) was what was lifted. Problems exist, but the way they affect you depend on how you face them. How I see it is that aberrations are the result of how you perceive things rather than events, the same way that if you encounter one aberration you are very likely to encounter many more.

[@D1ttu]

Chuckles in Tsubasa Tiger.

[@Invizive]

@@D1ttu the tiger fits quite well, I like him

[@RaGiAn87]

Tbh I have no idea what you tried to say, to me it was either obvious stuff or nothing relevant

[@animesanctuary1634]

@@RaGiAn87 Ok.

[@HKy0uma]

Ah and lets not forget as it has been stated somewhere the stories are told through the narrators perspective, so the story itself comes from a shaded warped view altogether.

[@Questionable_Content]

That’s the thing. The girls’ problems aren’t actually solved until later arcs. The individual arcs of season 1 are just meant to be basic solutions and not permanent ones.

[@MrFreakHeavy]

I disliked when he mentioned that Senjou's root problem wasn't solved when in reality it was. The origin of her problem was her family -- her mother, specifically. But the real problem, the root problem, the one that caused her to ask the crab and lose her weight, was her inability to accept her pain, her emotions, and the need to run away. In a way, you could say she was drinking her problems away to not feel them, to forget, to feel like nothing was wrong. In the end, she did solve her problem, she asked the crab to bring her emotions back -- not her weight mind you, which was the reason all this arc began. As Araragi stated, her family problem is something that probably isn't fixable, and that's the whole thing about this story, that Senjou needs to accept that her mother is gone and won't be with her, that she isn't the one at fault for all that happened, and that feel sad is okay, but that we have to deal with those emotions and move on. We see her dealing with what's left as the story goes forward, but her real issue is dealt with from the very start. All this makes me think he didn't get the very first arc. :(

[@TryingExtraHard]

It's also important to note that the fact that Oshino actually does all of the problem solving is one of the points of the "long arc" told over multiple seasons. A large part of the later seasons is entirely about Araragi learning to figure out his issues without the help of someone else, even going as far as having Oshino vanish for a long chunk of story being a major plot point.

[@Ssssssshhha]

I think the biggest problem with the Monogatari series when brought to a western audience is the fact that it’s a Japanese novel adapted into an anime. As a native Japanese speaker I can say that I enjoy the banter and jokes in Bakemonogatari and it’s subsequent series. But since most of the jokes rely on the Japanese language there’s no “true” translation which fits the jokes original nuance, making them harder to land in some cases. The original source material of the series being a novel(or light novel. Bakemonogatari muddles the water a bit) adds to the confusion towards the series as a whole. The flashing texts are often excerpts from the novel mostly being Araragi’s inner thoughts or supplementary information. These can be seen as important as they serve some purpose for the deeper understanding of the series, but I believe they should be seen as more of an Easter egg for those that are either, rewatching the series, or have read the novel. These flashing texts are hard for even me to read without giving my full attention to them, much less when I’m concentrated on the plot. With prior knowledge as to what’s going to happen next, these texts become much easier to read, at least in my experience. One of the themes of the Monogatari series as a whole is the fact that it’s a “story” told by “someone” often Araragi or another unreliable narrator. As the series progresses different narrators come to tell their stories from their perspectives. Often changing the anime’s tone and art direction of the arc. For example, in most cases where Araragi isn’t the narrator, the fan service is toned down significantly. Another case is when the non present background character appear for one arc with one of the side characters as the narrator. This all has to do with the novel being told in the first person. We as readers can only get a glimpse of what truly happened through the rose tinted glasses of the storyteller. And since the anime is a well made and reliable retelling of the story, it tries to reflects that by showing what Araragi tells (although often exaggerated).

[@old_boy9030]

This is why I have a hard time when people take the position that Japanese dubs with subtitles are superior to English dubs. I'll grant that there's plenty of times when the dub is so atrocious that watching in original Japanese is almost a necessity, but the simple fact is that if you're not fluent in Japanese and you weren't born there or spent enough time living there to become very familiar with the culture, there are going to be things that you miss as an English (or other language for that matter) watcher. Dubs are made not only to translate into a language that the target audience can literally understand, but also to make certain elements (such as humor) actually make sense to said audience. An example of this was in a video I once saw on this subject mentioning the movie "Tangled" (retelling of Rapunzel). There's a scene where Rapunzel traps the male lead, Flynn Rider, after finding him snooping around her tower and room to question him about it. In the English version, Rapunzel asks his name, and after he gives it, he asks hers. When she says it, Flynn responds with, "Gesundheit". The word is actually a German one that is their equivalent of saying l, "God bless you" after someone sneezes. In this context, it's a joke typical (less so in more recent history, but still) of English media when one is confronted with a name that is very unusual or a long/odd-sounding/uncommon word, they respond with "Gesundheit", as if whomever they heard the name or word from just sneezed. This joke didn't translate well at all into French, so what was done instead was a play on words; the name Rapunzel goes by in French is Raiponce, which sounds exactly like the French word for answer (réponse). So in the aforementioned scene, when Flynn Rider asks for Rapunzel's name, her reply leads Flynn Rider to believe she's asking again for his name, to which he then replies, "I just gave you an answer" lol

[@hebari7015]

Like he said the translations hard to get i know a language that is "tamil" and the jokes said in it is hard to get or understand or even translate to "english". If ur translating for some one and they don't know one of the languages its hard to get like you its easy for you to understand cuz u know Japanese and you know english so when u tell something in translation to some who speaks both languages they will get it just like you did but if they know only one of the languages its hard for them to understand

[@Gatchu137]

@@old_boy9030 You're thinking of localization vs translation, and that has nothing to do with whatever language you're watching in. In the case of a dub localizing a joke or play on words, to make more sense to their audience, they're still changing the joke. You're not getting the original experience, you're getting whatever the localization team decided would make for a decent compromise. A translation is a more direct, well, translation of what was actually said. Whether it translates well or poorly, who knows. In the context of dubbing, there are plenty of cases where the dub doesn't actually localize the lines, they just translate it verbatim. Likewise, there are people who subtitle the original Japanese, but localize the subtitles to make more sense to readers. The reason why people say dubs are largely worse is because the Japanese voice acting industry for anime is much wider, with a greater range of talent. English dubs use the same selection of like, 12 people, who don't have much vocal range.

[@NerdOracle]

all of monogatari is just packed full of fun and passion for the project. even with the parts that have me rolling my eyes or scratching my head, i still find myself with a stupid grin on my face. and it's made me laugh more than a handful of times. i also find the weird ways it's animated and orchestrated very unique, which is enjoyable in its own right, for me personally. and the best part of monogatari for me will always be the iconic interactions between the characters

[@ItsSirTenSHI]

Started to watch the series and I can 100% agree with you.i really like how this show is unique to the ones I've seen so far

[@vincentjoe1773]

*The Anime Man wants to know your location*

[@shinsekaigakuen7712]

Vincent Joe they’re friends lmao

[@ThorfinnDaRealGOAT]

@@shinsekaigakuen7712 not anymooooooore lol

[@Nightbird-67tm]

@@ThorfinnDaRealGOAT What happened? I'm completely out of the loop with the this one.

[@ThorfinnDaRealGOAT]

@@Nightbird-67tm Joey loves Monogatari. Probably his favorite series and light novels. But this dude is so far up his own ass he can't see that this show is factually amazing on every level. Yet he praises shows that are heavily based on it like Bunny Girl Senpai

[@DaPixelPenguin]

indy debreuckere there’s nothing wrong with praising bunny girl senpai, but the fact that he’s making claims that mostly aren’t true having seen the whole thing are understanding the deeper stuff isn’t something i agree with.

[@KroocsMD]

I love this series in its entirety. For me, it’s been the only show to capture depression and personal problems in a nice metaphorical way. This story of adolescence where you can only save yourself in the fight against the monsters inside of you. I’ve just never been able to recapture the feeling of finishing this anime. Bunny Senpai reminded of the series, but never fully captured the magic of Monogatari for me. Easily the best of the best for me.

[@ZypherGaming]

Well said

[@XTheJaws]

Have you seen "Sagrada Reset"(seems like the best fit based on what you wrote), "Oregairu" and "Welcome to the NHK?"

[@pilotmanpaul]

Unless Bunny girl senpai gets a witty nobleheaded 600 year old blonde French vampire, it'll never stick to me as much as Monogatari.

[@Doominator10]

All bunny senpai did was remind me of how much I liked monogatari. That’s actually some decent praise since monogatari is my favorite series.

[@avataraarow]

If you are looking for an accurate representation of depression, then you really need to watch march comes in like a lion. It's an extremely different kind of show, but it is by far the most accurate representation of depression that I have ever seen in any medium, and it's more grounded approach to the subject and how you pull yourself out of and deal with those issues is breathtaking imo. Also it's another series that is directed by shinbo, so the visuals are incredible, even better than monogatari in my opinion but that's extremely subjective because the styles are extremely different and difficult to compare

[@RePollster]

After bakemonogatari Oshino ends up leaving and problems are actually resolved pretty well imo. Just saying this is one of those shows that can't be judged just by looking at the first season

[@LifeisMoldyBread]

That's the problem I have with this review. A lot of the problems he stated are completely deliberate. They are set ups for later seasons. The girls' problems don't get resolved in this season because real life problems don't go away overnight. It would take atleast 1 or 2 arcs before they find a resolution. And the meaningful conversations that "contribute nothing to the plot" gains more weight as the series go on. A prime example of this is the first conversation Araragi had with Hanekawa. He talked about how he hated class democracy which we find out several seasons later is a hint to a major plot point. But I do realize it's only a review on bake so a lot of his points are valid if you are just looking at it as its own thing

[@MagnificentCreature]

Astora GrEaTsWoRd *Thats* the issue with this video. He ends up pointing out so many flaws that are nitty and invalid. It will draw away people from watching the anime. Its akin to reading fake news.

[@MagnificentCreature]

Artix Vektör a 偽物 review

[@cptKamina]

@@MagnificentCreature Lol imagine being this defensive over an anime. The review is very clearly about the firs season. Saying "This changes in later seasons" is so fucking dumb

[@MagnificentCreature]

@@cptKamina and I don't appreciate the reviewer talking only about the first season when the whole thing is out. You don't see people reviewing the dragonball anime nowadays and for some reason only talking about its first season. Especially if your review is to promote the purchase of said anime. A fan who may end up really enjoying the series can be swayed because he say a nitty and inaccurate review of just a small part of it

[@yaboijebus1418]

Monogatari as a whole is an incredibly niche series, some people(like me) will watch it and love it to death, and others will absolutely hate it, no in-between tbh, and both opinions are completely ok.

[@Jotunn96]

I feel like there is an in between it's just rare for people to feel that way. I've shown it to a few of my friends and most of them just felt really damn conflicted by the end.

[@KhanMann66]

I'm glad it's niche. Last thing I need is sjw complaining about the sexuality crap. *coughMHAcough*

[@TP-no4bh]

I completely agree while completely disagreeing. On the one hand, it's obviously niche, but on the other hand it's the second best selling anime series ever, so its got a pretty big niche.

[@HellGod67]

@@TP-no4bh The niche is called native japanese speakers.

[@priyanshubastia1829]

what people want is the stuff PACKED WITH JUST ACTION AND ANIMATION ND NO FUCKIN PLOT like demon slayer. MONOGATARI IS DEFINITELY NOT FOR EvERYONE

[@VVVU2x]

I will say this, the Kizumonogatari films are my favorite anime of the decade,. Seriously they're basically masterpieces

[@jeremyfuller7730]

And the KissShot vs Araragi fight is animated on basically the same level as OPM S1 and Mob Psycho S2

[@luisgonzalez-hc4xu]

They are one of the best movies I've seen overall, not only by anime standards

[@finn5053]

I love them as well, they look so damn good too, the rain in the 2nd one ahhhhh

[@AntiNihilist]

I hope he watches them next someday

[@markwise224]

One of the best fight scenes in anime

[@strongworld02]

I love the series and totally forgot about the fanservice. It's totally irrelevant for me and gives me neither more nor less enjoyment. Bakemonogatari alone isn't very good in my opinion but the overall world and characters are really interesting to me.

[@catsouplover7745]

damn, bake is probably my favorite season of monogatari, why u dont like it?

[@hundvd_7]

@@catsouplover7745 Looking back at it, I too think it is best, but it gained a lot of depth _because_ of the later seasons

[@strongworld02]

​@@catsouplover7745 What I didn't like was that there didn't seem to be an overall story and it was just about beating another oddity over and over. I know that you need to introduce the characters first and build the world but it didn't feel like anything connected. Reading what I just wrote makes me wonder if anything changed about that in other seasons and I guess it's always just another oddity. Maybe I just enjoyed the other seasons more because I was already attached to the characters. Many Arcs of other seasons (especially second season) also were just much more interesting to me. Bake also felt kinda slow but that is probably because I watched it the most with friends to get them into it and it makes me remember the times I've already seen it and wanted things to move on.

[@KhanMann66]

@@strongworld02 Bake felt like a monster of the week anime. Didn't help that it was basically a sequel to Kizumonogatari and that confused the hell out of me.

[@Mercure250]

@@KhanMann66 Other way around. Kizu is supposed to be the prequel. Most Monogatari fans, I'd say, will say that you should still watch Bake first.

[@matteocomin2864]

Bakemonogatari ( And the whole monogatari series ) isn't a product for everyone. Everybody has different standards and different tastes on anime. Everyone looks for something different in an anime than the others; One may look for good animated fights; one may look for good plot; one may look for sad moments etc etc.. You can say whatever you want to Monogatari: You can say it's a masterpiece or you can say it's hot garbage. But you CAN'T say it's not unique. I love this franchise because there's NOTHING else like this in anime ( even in films and tv series ). I love this series because, when i look for a good show, i give priority a lot to character developement, dialogues and narrative ( the way you tell a story ) rather than plot itself. And monogatari excels ( to me at least ) on those 3 aspects. Every character of the cast has his unique personality and his unique interaction with the others and the anime does an amazing job taking his time to build those characters to make you empathize with them. I really don't mind the fan service; sometimes it's plot convenient and necessary, sometimes it's not. It doesn't, anyway, ruin the experience or the enjoyment whatsoever And OMG it has the best OSTs you can find in anime; they are just so perfect Like i said: Either you consider it a masterpiece ( like i do ) or either you consider it a crap show. But it's definetly worth giving a try, just to see if it can be your jam or not. P.S: Sorry for my english if i messed up

[@mcdouble03]

I mostly agree with this sentiment. The dialogue and characters are some of my fav among media, but the fan service at times can be particularly lame imo

[@Mercure250]

One thing is certain : Only watching Bake does it a disservice. Of course, if someone is turned off from the show, I won't force them to watch. I myself wouldn't want to watch, like, 26 episodes before "The good stuff" starts if I don't at least somewhat enjoy watching the first 26 episodes. Not worth it. While I did enjoy Bakemonogatari, if I were to judge Bakemonogatari alone, it wouldn't be one of my favorites. I would just be like "eh, it's interesting, I guess". But Monogatari as a whole is more than the sum of its parts. Bakemonogatari becomes good because it's part of that whole universe, that whole story. Bakemonogatari alone would be incomplete. And fortunately, it isn't alone. But Arkada only watched this one so far, so, in a sense, I can't disagree with him, since, well, I would probably have similar things to say if I watched Bake alone, though I think I enjoyed it more than him still. The fan service criticism is applicable to the whole series though. It could have been toned down a little bit. And I can't deny even the whole thing isn't for everyone. I totally understand his conflict at the end, when he has to give it a rating.

[@lampad4549]

@@mcdouble03 the fan service get played into the interactions though and adds to it imo, especially the senjogahara, hanekawa and nadeko ones, they add a dynamic in the character interactions.

[@mcdouble03]

@@lampad4549 I don't completely disagree with you. The show is very clever and even subversive at times flipping things like fan service to give it a different or altered meaning, or sometimes to just poke fun at it, or even have build more nuanced characters. But I still think this show goes too far. As an adult I would have a hard time recommending this anyone not already immersed in anime culture and even then it's still not for every anime fan. I just think the fan service goes too far especially characters like... mayoi?(the snail girl w/ backpack. Again this show is probably in my top 5 but still I hate how far the fan service goes.

[@andryzoun]

Monogatari as a whole is a freaking masterpiece.

[@MyNameIsIisan]

@@Dimitris_Half Not really.

[@dakaki6668]

@@Dimitris_Half The fan service is important. Even i who hate fan service watched it. Why? Well because the fan service impact the relation ship with the character. If you pay closely, every and yeah i say EVERY fan service has a meaning. If you don't like a scene and you think it just pure fan service then rewatch it.

[@rumfordc]

@@dakaki6668 try and explain the meaning of a single fan-service scene. please.

[@dakaki6668]

@@rumfordc ok, at episode 1 or 2(i don't really remember) when staple girl showed herself to the main character. That already a great devlopment to her character, let me explain. In her back story, when she was almost raped. She was traumatized and never again show her body to a men. But at the time she showed herself to the main character. She was calm and did not paniked. Not only she overcome her fear, but also created a great relation with the main character. Also, please forgive me for my really, really bad english.

[@rumfordc]

@@dakaki6668 Thank you for that explanation. Your English is understandable enough. I agree that is a proper meaning and character development. I actually liked all of Bakemonogatari, but I confused some of it with Nisemonogatari which I didn't like as much. Is there a meaning to the Toothbrush scene? xD

[@smokyjo5245]

The real question all us raving monogatari fans what to ask you: “You gonna keep going?”

[@GlassReflection]

Probably! I'm invested enough to watch more once I have time in the new year. Though I will only end up making further videos on it if I feel like I have something to say. So we'll see how that goes :)

[@Ceser1999]

@@GlassReflection I would be extremely interested in how your opinion shifts over time as you watch more.

[@benjiusofficial]

Wait wait wait... He's only seen Bake? Oh, I see where these criticisms come from. It's kinda like judging all of JoJo from just Phantom Blood.

[@FyreSpyke]

@@GlassReflection Obviously no guarantee that your opinion of the series will change, but your point about the girls' problems not getting fully resolved is definitely something addressed later on. Mostly in "Second Season".

[@jb687827]

@@GlassReflection You have to at least watch the first five episodes of 2nd season. That's possibly the best arc in the series, and if you still don't like it at that point I would say you can stop. Love your videos. Keep up the good work.

[@finn5053]

"worse availability in the west" >shows the kizu films Those are actually the only ones accessable here in germany besides bakemonogatari, not a single other chapter or season are available, not even nisemonogatari...

[@Anagnorisis25]

True, but you can get the rest of the series easily from the UK. Reasonably priced also :)

[@finn5053]

@@Anagnorisis25 yeah i actually imported anime from the UK before (kill la kill, railgun and railgun s for example) because it's just so much cheaper over there

[@jb687827]

Even in the US, different parts of the series go in and out of availability on different sites. Heck, Koyomimonogatari isn't available for streaming anywhere, but the books have been legally translated.

[@Anagnorisis25]

@@finn5053 I think I have more anime from the UK than from Germany... :D Was pleasantly surprised by Railgun.. Didn't know the series... just bought it to try it out. You can do that for 20 bucks per season... But i won't buy 3 episodes for 40 bucks just to try something out :D I just hate it.. No one needs 4 Volumes for a 12 episode series... My biggest grudge with Anime from Germany D:

[@finn5053]

@@Anagnorisis25 Ah so you're from Germany too. And yeah it's quite painful that a three episode volume here is like twice the price of a full season in the UK... So yeah he shouldn't be complaining about Aniplex' 140$ for 26 episodes offer xD

[@RevolveR2011]

its one of the best shows i've watched, but i would never recommend it to anyone. Dont watch it, but its amazing

[@Jotunn96]

It's amazing, don't watch it is the best way to describe how I feel about monogatari lmao

[@Kyrmana]

Why not?

[@KhanMann66]

@@Kyrmana Lots and lots of dialogue with little action. Very plot heavy that demands patience. People nowadays can't stand anime like this anymore. It's why My Hero Academia is number 1 mainstream anime.

[@KhanMann66]

Yep don't watch Bake unless you're into story heavy dialogue. My kind of anime.

[@nathanielduncan4692]

I could watch i'm not into lolicon shit sorry i really,really hate that stuff.

[@huhwut6]

I have watched the series but your reviews show me a different point of view and make me wanna watch this series again. Plus best of luck on the tough task of uploading daily, I remember the last time u did that.

[@NaramSinofAkkad790]

Bakemonogatari in particular is so hard to pin down when it comes to it's depiction of sex and sexuality. It's incredibly crude and disgusting at times but then you have something like Senjogahara's arc and I've never seen a more viseral and heart wrenching depiction of sexual assualt in anime. It's incredibly well handled and her further relationship with Araragi is surprisingly mature and nuanced. That scene of them on the blanket under the night sky where they're just honest with each other about how their trauma is going to affect their relationship is one of my favorite scenes in all of anime. None of this can be said about Nisemongatari however as in the very first episode the pedophilic aspects of the series get ramped up to ten as an entire sequence plays out of the main character trying constantly to look at a child's underwear. Could not make it past that.

[@bondsie2]

To each their own and while I understand the sentiment behind this I would say that the "pedophilic" aspects are more of a meta comment about how series tend to gloss over these aspects that existed (especially around the time that Nise was written). There's definitely parts of it that can be a bit overbearing if you're not taking it in through that lens (and even if you are sometimes it's a bit much) but I think the important aspect to keep in mind is that it's never overtly sexualized or made out to be a good thing. He pretty much always gets put in his place when that kind of thing is happening and at no point does the show romanticize it or idolize it. They more just point out that this is a thing that's happening, this is what it's like when it's taken to the extreme, and it should be uncomfortable. There's also the fact that it's played for a gag on the reoccurring aspect of their character interactions which I think helps it become more endearing over the course of the series than gross. There's only one section that it really gets overdone imo and even then there's a reason for it. As for the rest of the sex and sexuality aspects that the show explores I would encourage you to look at a video series by Tsubasa's Family that sort of outlines fanservice as a whole and using Monogatari as an example of it. I think there's only like 2 videos left though from copywrite from his series but I still think the point will come off well enough where he sort of outlines the use-case for fanservice and sexuality in the media and how it changes via character perspective, camera control, and motives.

[@dixieenormis1783]

"Bakemonogatari,is a thing" -GR Reflection

[@aimlessequation5390]

Monogatari is its own genre.

[@lanchesternaanyane]

I just watched episode 1 and my brain feels like mush.

[@oneeyednerd7926]

I agree that not every one can digest Monogatari but the true beauty of monogatari is when Nisio Isin who created these images in our heads brings out a jackhammer and smashes them when he switches to the perspective of the girls in season two. That is where "Only you can save yourself" comes to play when we get an insight into the girls mind, Hanekawa is my favourite character of all time for a reason.

[@thelawyerfrommars]

I love Bakemonogatari. I understand why some people may not like it, but to me, as a musician/artist/polyglot, it just "speaks" my language. The music, the visuals, the delivery in the conversations... It's a love letter to artists and language lovers. It's so unique and it's not afraid to be loud and different even if it gets weird because of that. What else can I say, it has soul.

[@carbonslice8160]

I feel as though Bakemonogatari is a lot like your teenage years. While you're going through it you might be indifferent or even hate it, but after you go further you look back on it and slowly start to realize it was actually the best time in your life.

[@connorhennessey1316]

11:10 An experience is the best way to describe Monogatari. Whether it's a good, bad, or in between experience is the debate.

[@juliasousa6299]

i feel like you either love or hate the monogatari series... i love everything about it from the flashing text to weird angles and long conversations going nowhere. it does end up being one of my favourite series and i feel like it is a very emotional one honestly... especially hanamonogatari and shiromonogatari, they just make me cry everytime. hope you enjoyed the other parts of the series a bit more arcada.

[@AskAScreenwriter]

ONE ADDITIONAL WARNING when looking to find and watch Bakemonogatari! The original series (Bakemonogatari) is actually 15 episodes long, but the final 3 episodes (Which are KEY to the series overall) were first released on the internet, not actually broadcast on TV like the other 12. Some streaming services (When they have the series available) have only the first 12 episodes, while some have all 15. I just checked as I'm writing this, and Crunchyroll and Hulu in the US only have 12 episodes. I first watched the series on Amazon Prime (which no longer has it available) and they had all 15. You'll DEFINITELY want to watch the final 3 episodes! After that, If you want to jump into the monogatari series as a whole, start with Bakemonogatari, THEN worry about 'what to watch next.' There are a lot of recommendations for the way to watch them all (Especially where the Kizumongatari movies fit in as prequels to all the rest), but there's really no 'wrong' way.

[@pilotmanpaul]

I did not expect this. Everyone, has there tastes but I do say that I went into Bakemonogatari headless and strangely enough, I enjoyed it and laughed at many of the fanservice moments and got the jokes and the back to back banter of Senjougahara and Araragi. Though I might also understand if people do not enjoy its strange and outright LSD-ish way of animation but its certainly a nostalgic piece for me that I will never forget. Its like going through a Roller Coaster while high on Coke. Hope you keep watching more of the Monogatari series though. Its weird, its funny, its quirky, its stupid, it knows itself and most of all *MILF Kiss Shot is best girl.*

[@tomasroque3338]

>MILF Kiss Shot That's an odd way to spell "Hanekawa", but NisiOisiN is known for his clever wordplay, so who am I to judge?

[@luisgonzalez-hc4xu]

Kaiki is best girl actually.... But I do prefer Hanekawa or kiss shot, can't decide

[@tomasroque3338]

@@luisgonzalez-hc4xu Kaiki is best *grill*, not best girl

[@jeremyfuller7730]

@@tomasroque3338 Hanekawa is literally worst girl. Tied with Nadeko. Mayoi and Yotsugi are best girls

[@tomasroque3338]

@@jeremyfuller7730 Interesting. For me, Nadeko is #2, and Yotsugi/Mayoi are close to the bottom. Character depth/development is a big plus for me, and I personaly relate a lot to Hanekawa's struggles.

[@DuskyPredator]

My favourite season/arc is Hanamonogatari, the one that has Koyomi in only one scene, with otherwise following the sporty lesbian, Suruga. GR said in this that her problem was Koyomi, yet the two actually become close friends. Similarly, the series actually heavily criticises the harem lead solving all the problem, where the idea of such easy answers being something that can be unhealthy in the long run, and evidence of kind of a problem of ignorance of a saviour complex. It heavily plays into the final arc with the nature of Ougi. God Ougi is a creepy cool character.

[@ConvincingPeople]

DuskyPredator I fucking love Ougi. Also agreed on Hana being one of the best arcs, which is apparently a somewhat unusual opinion.

[@XTheJaws]

If I were to introduce someone to the Monogatari series, I would choose Hanamogatari. It's (almost) a stand alone arc that perfectly encapsulates the spirit and style of what the entire series is about.

[@mabithebard]

As a lesbian I love Kanbaru and her story.

[@MrFreakHeavy]

What about Sodachi? Where there's literally NO solution? Fantastic arc, btw. Or even Kizu where the solution is the worst thing ever.

[@stingerredshock3418]

My favorite, PERSONAL favorite, would be Koimonogatari. “Everybody had embarrassing childhoods” quote had me being reborn. I had one and I was ashamed to look back at it, but when Koi came along I was able to accept it. Since then, my productivity, my proficiency, my social skills have imrpoved drastically. It made my life easier, honestly. An anime.

[@lth_lch]

It's really one of those "If you know, you know" types of series. Impossible to recommend to the layperson, but incredibly rewarding for someone who makes the investment.

[@kagebeast954]

Absolutely love you for understanding exactly how I felt attempting to try to get into this series. Definitely not for everyone and definitely not for me

[@DwarfLordGeorge]

The monogatari series is an acquired taste, for some it's amazing and a favorite for years to come but others won't appreciate or enjoy it. It's a perfect example of tastes differing.

[@maz4425]

Eh

[@tiffles3890]

A professional reviewer/youtuber touching the monogatari series for the FIRST time ever in .... 2019/2020? How is that even physically possible?

[@finallyanime]

Gaurab Chatterjee trust me he’s not the only one

[@minhdang803]

Well meanwhile Gigguk hasn't watched FMA yet, I don't know what is more controversial? (Just a funny thought)

[@tiffles3890]

@@minhdang803 That just may be even more horrifying, lol.

[@ItsNep]

I think the main reason I like the series so much is the characters. With a few exceptions, they are generally pretty entertaining and interesting. Also has some of the best openings and endings in anime IMO. Orange Mint and Marshmallow Justice are great, and Kimino Shiranai Monogatari is one of my most favorite songs, period. I think a lot of the charm that comes with the OPs is in part due to them all being performed by the characters VAs (Except Shinobu). Also, if you are interested in watching Bakemonogatari, Crunchyroll is actually missing the last couple of episodes, so I would advise against watching it there.

[@lampad4549]

In my opinion, you dont need to pause it to catch the frames that go by at bullet speed you can watch unpaused and still get a grasp of what is happening. I recommend people to catcg the slides during the rewatch as you have already got a full grasp of the story at that point and reading those slides during the rewatch would give you better experience over what you already as they could potentially add to it. The slides are there for a reason but they also shot by at an incomprehensible speed for a reason they serve along the same lines as eatser eggs, you dont need them to understand or follow the story but they could potentially enrich your following of the story if that makes sense.

[@gracjanlekston134]

Hope, you continue watching the series, Monogatari continues to get better and better as it goes on.

[@KhanMann66]

Sooo much better! It's like watching Stein's:Gate, just go with the flow. Everything will make sense as you watch.

[@QWERTY-gp8fd]

@@KhanMann66 dont compare it to steins gate. steins gate is balanced. monogatari is either u love it or hate it.

[@solidmasterdante]

One thing I'm interested to hear about is whether or not you ever have an urge to watch it again. When I first watched Bake, my feelings were about the same as yours. I didn't really ENJOY it, but there were a lot of thematic and stylistic aspects that I appreciated a great deal. My overall feeling was, "Huh. That was neat. Don't ever want to watch it again though." But then, cut to 6-7 months later, I inexplicably found myself thinking about the show again. There was just something very unique about the experience, a certain FEEL to it that I hadn't found in any other shows, and I guess as a result, it ended up really sticking with me in a way I didn't immediately realize it would. So, after I had been feeling the urge more and more, I finally rewatched the show, and it ended up being such an excellent experience I immediately moved on to everything else that was released at that point, and now it's one of my favorite shows. I even own those fuck-off expensive blurays, and YES, I absolutely hate myself for supporting Aniplex's dumb bullshit :/ Despite being one of my favorite shows, it's still not one I really give as a recommendation to most people though, for many of the same reasons you cited. It's a tricky one, that's for sure :p

[@gtcWoona]

So I disagree with the review, but I'm glad it was talked about anyway. The most important points I'd respond to in order of ease are: 1- text on a televised show that flashes at speeds impossible to read are not meant to be read. That should be obvious. I wouldn't call them subliminal so much as I would say they're tonal flares, and if you read them 9 times out of 10, that's what you're going to get. These texts are what is being implied by the direction of the scene anyway, just delivered in a harder and more precise fashion. The issue here is primarily in the fact that some of them *are* meant to be read, and they still flash rather quickly. My take on it is that its made to engage your reflexes. Trust the director, read what you can read, and take away what you can. The only issue with this is that monogatari conversations can be dense and hard to follow as is. A lot of emphasis is placed on the minor differences between phrases and the drastic ways that perspective on a scenario can change when those differences are expressed, for example. That kind of content is really hard to parse, and especially so when you're trying to follow along with the show's visual representations of the conversation as well. Adding in these shots that *are* meant to be read makes it quite overwhelming. Regardless, Point: a lot of the text isn't meant to be read. Don't trip about it. 2- The idea that problems are not solved. That's not true at all. The supernatural issues are sometimes resolved and sometimes not. But what is being changed here are the psychological issues. Oftentimes the circumstances will not change or can not be reversed. But how they are viewed and how the characters feel about them can be changed. /////spoiler of details are necessary to exemplify what I'm talking about///// Hitagi's weight crab is a perfect example. No, neither Araragi, nor Oshino, nor Senjougahara can repair her broken family situation or her relationship with her mother. But that wasn't the crux of the issue for that arc anyway. The problem was that she had lost her emotions regarding the issue, and therefore was missing an integral part of her own identity. By the end of that arc, not only was the supernatural weightlessness dispelled, but she was able to reconnect with her sadness about her family. This is her accepting the past and all of the pain with it. Its an integral stage of moving on from trauma, is what I hear. I think its a little disappointing that this review focuses on the fact that her family is still a wreck. \\\\\endo spoilers\\\\\ Point: the problems aren't *always* solved. But the true nature of a problem isn't the circumstance itself, usually, but how you feel about it. That's why that only you can save yourself. 3- The fanservice is open to interpretation Yeah, I don't know about that one. So let me get started by saying that whether or not things are that sexual in the supposed "reality" of Monogatari vs part of the narrative constructed by Araragi in his retelling of these stories isn't exactly relevant. We're being shown titty all the time whether or not it "actually" happened. For the record, I do think that most of the sexuality is projection from Araragi for reasons. But even if that's not the case, I think a lot of it *does* happen. (this is so hard to talk about) People who say the sexuality is a deconstruction have their heads up their asses. Its plain old indulgence, like the comedy in this show, and I love it. I think it is treated differently than fanservice in most anime though. I think a lot of the time its not there to be legitimate spank material. The scenes just aren't directed to be titillating. Its more like, sexuality is used tonally, either for comedy, for illustration, for character building sometimes, to disturb, to contrast, etc. Sometimes its just cute as hell. Of course there are scenes that *are* sexual in nature and meant to be titillating, but it usually coincides with how the characters themselves are feeling as well (take Senjougahara teasing Araragi on their date for example.) Example would be-- in a typical anime you'd probably have a conversation take place while we hold an ass shot of the girl speaking and an upward angle that lets us see the main character responding to her. Its hard to put into words how monogatari differs from this, but my take is going to be the context. And in lieu of actually attempting to write here, I will say you can compare the opening scene of Bakemonogatari, that scene you used to illustrate of Senjougahara riding a playground fixture and Araragi shoving his face next to her ass, the scene of Sengoku attempting to exercise the Jagirinawa and basically getting invisibly tentacle-raped, and the other kinda-famous scene of Hanekawa doing the tongue twister. Personally, I think Monogatari's take on sexuality and fanservice so different from the usual "Main character falls down on top of girl who was only wearing a towel. Slow pan up to see the situation. WHAT? He's got his hands *WHERE?!*" type scene that I really would have preferred that be distinctly pointed out. Point: Monogatari isn't using the most tried-and-true methods to make itself as titillating as possible. But sexuality can be used in many ways, and sometimes its just for pleasure. The show is pretty perverse, but I think its more due to the theming than the fanservice in question. Kanbaru deciding that she's going to be Araragi's sex slave comes to mind. 4- The conversations are circular and about nothing. Yeah. But they can be enjoyed. Sometimes they're there just to establish a way a character behaves. I think that one thing that is amiss in a lot of shows is this indulgence in pure conversation. Do you ever really get to know somebody if you never have a straight conversation with them? Via Monogatari's conversations, we get to observe how a relationship really is maintained. The reasons why the two conversing characters maintain an interest in each other and the way they get along. We also get to see how they view the world or how their ideas clash. Sometime its small talk. But that small talk is usually well-made banter and very entertaining imo. It shares common elements with slice of life in that way. For this final point, I'd say that if you can appreciate what the Breakfast Club does, you can appreciate what Monogatari does. It grounds the cast by dragging us into the experience of actually conversing in-depth with them. No breaks or cutaways, no leaving the scene. The characters don't even acknowledge the actions that are being shown because 1, they service as visual interest for the audience, and 2, they also serve to illustrate the dynamics between the characters. Araragi and Senjougahara playing together on park fixtures is because 1, they \*kinda\* did and 2 because it shows us that their conversation was a lot of back and forth, playing together. Point: Monogatari's conversations are and aren't about nothing. They are in service of intimacy between the audience and the cast. 5- mention the music. Its good. 6- I would and wouldn't recommend the show. Its unique and beautiful. Its deeply interesting. Its not for everybody. The actual pedophilia is a trigger that I can understand makes the show completely irredeemable for some. For me, the biggest issues are the lack of males in the cast and the sparse interactions between characters outside the MC. I'm with you on these points. The only people I would really recommend Monogatari to are those that are sick of anime tropes. It's got them here or there, yes, but they're also remade fresh. Thanks for the review. Hope you do more. Just putting it out there that you're not going to see the series become significantly different until you're in the 2nd season. But I'm excited to hear your take. Hoping you continue~ GAH *FINALLY AFTER SO MANY YEARS* I wonder why most of the big anitubers haven't talked about Monogatari... I want Gigguk and Mother's Basement's takes on it :/

[@Mercure250]

Well, I do know that Gigguk loves Senjougahara. So it's a hint. There's Under The Scope who did interesting videos on it, imo. He talks about each titles individually (well except when they are strongly linked, like Nekomonogatari Kuro and Shiro). Though he has yet to talk about Hana and the third season. About 6 : Lack of male cast, sure, but KAIKI THO In any case, I pretty much agree with everything you said.

[@gtcWoona]

​@@Mercure250 Kaiki and Oshino are fantastic. Makes me feel like we oughta have more boys. Also, with more males there'd be a greater opportunity to see more couples outside of KoyoxHita

[@Mercure250]

@@gtcWoona I agree. If only we could have had Kanbaru x Numachi. (Spoiler ahead) But she ded.

[@Guko97]

i enjoy "plot"

[@GlassReflection]

Ahh, I see you are a man of culture as well.

[@olianims]

Ho

[@adanganronpafan6073]

Hol' up

[@DtDani_]

It really seems like you wanted to like Bakemonogatari, but that you really couldn't because of the 'fanservice'. I would really say that's a shame, but we can't enjoy everything, and I also wouldn't recommend the Monogatari Series to everyone. The thing about Monogatari is that it's a combination of short stories making for a bigger overall story. For example, in Bakemonogatari there is some foreshadowing to Araragi's backstory, which gets explained in Owarimonogatari season 1, a much later season in the franchise. That backstory then explains a lot about Araragi's personality in Kizumonogatari. I would say that you are mistaken about the point that characters don't solve their own problems. Senjougahara temporarily solves her own situation in Bakemonogatari with help from Araragi and Oshino, but really solves it herself in the Hitagi End arc in Monogatari Series: Second Season. Hachikuji's problem temporarily gets solved through Senjougahara in Bakemonogatari, but she eventually solves it herself in a later season. Kanbaru's problem also temporarily gets solved through Senjougahara, which she herself solves in a later season. The same goes for other characters in the series. Because Bakemonogatari is still part of the prologue of Monogatari the different arcs only have a temporary solution and finally get concluded in a later season. Even Araragi himself has an arc which stretches over many Monogatari seasons and concludes in a later season. In this way the short stories come together to form a much bigger story. I would recommend to at least watch the series until Monogatari Series: Second Season to see the conclusion of the first arcs, but I would also understand if you wouldn't want to do that. In the end everyone's taste in anime is different.

[@dexkani9993]

Literally the same opinion I had after a few mins watching

[@MagnificentCreature]

Understand this Arkada. Bakemonogatari fans aren’t hating you just because your opinions are invalid. But as a big anituber, you have failed your responsibility at reviewing anime. This video being under researched is akin to fake news. It may draw away potential fans, potential die hard story enjoyers, because Bake fixes those flaws and more later on and people enjoy that. This video doesn’t just do it injustice. This video does intelligence injustice. This video does your credibility injustice.

[@MagnificentCreature]

If you aren’t going to watch a series just because its long, then do a tweet about it. Don’t make a half assed video and call it content

[@raaaaqj4uh]

I completely understand your POV. Despite Monogatari series being one of my favorite anime series as a whole, I didn't quite enjoy Bakemonogatari on my first ever watchthrough. The series only started getting interesting for me from from the second season and by the third it had cemented itself as one of the best. And the movies are just one of the best and most visually appealing things I have ever watched. But this series definitely isn't for everyone.

[@lampad4549]

I think to write of the fan service as needless just because its vague is a wrong take, as just because something is vague doesn't mean that there can't be a wrong take on the show. If there is sufficient evidence displayed by the show to back up the take that there is narrative and thematic purpose to the fan service then the take that its all pointless and excessive would be inherently detracted unless they have good arguments to nullify those in the opposition.

[@konstantinekalandia1138]

Series that I dropped twice, but on third try fell absolutely in love with...

[@aidani4633]

I was so exited when I saw the notification, Monogatari is one of my favorites!

[@jeremyfuller7730]

Favorite series of all time. Amazing in every way.I do have a problem with you not reviewing the first season but the whole series. Thus, not actually talking about Bakemonogatari in depth although it's probably the best season of the series

[@DetectiveGalileo]

Why Monogatari series is a Masterpiece Anime: -It starts slow but it become very interesting later. -OP and ED are all amazing and unskippable. -The series use different kind of technique in animation which is very good especially in the conversations scene. -One of the few anime that focuses more in words especially using wordplays,figure of speech and double meaning in some dialogues and monologue. -The use of unreliable narrator which helps other characters to get their development. -The fanservice is not just fanservice. It shows how the personality of characters and how closed they are to each other. -Lastly,it is roller coster journey. There are some satisfying moments, happy moments, brutal moments and sad moments. So in short, Akiyuki Shinbo's SHAFT+Nisio Isin's Monogatari light novel series=MASTERPIECE.

[@TheRomeoSan]

This is one of those series I loved at the beginning, but was hesitate to watch as more of it came out as you have to be in a certain mood to appreciate it. I have put off finishing this series for years thinking I'll get to it eventually lol.

[@eugenefindit]

I will comment you for not fumbling on Araragi. ^_^ Edit: Definitely my least favourite thing about the Monogatari Series (which has gotten better with seasons) are the huge chunks of text strewn between scenes.

[@GlassReflection]

I made sure not to stutter XD

[@theblackswordsman9951]

You don't have to read them as any fan of the series will tell you. I've watched it multiple times and even read the novels and havent stopped to read the snippets once. Just read the ones you can thats enough. Alot of the text is just straght up lines of the scene from the novel so they're not all necessary to read.

[@nathanielduncan4692]

Well not all of us know japanese you do know that?

[@electricant55]

@@nathanielduncan4692 The fuck does that have to do with anything?

[@eugenefindit]

@@theblackswordsman9951 Yeah. I've heard they were mostly Araragi's inner monologues to cover the entirety of the light novels. It's just that they are really distracting. At the very least, it is nice that they are left on screen longer in later seasons for reading to be more convenient. 😁

[@Irimu_]

Confused. Why make a review of only bake? That's like rating a game on the tutorial.

[@CorvoAttano369]

He has limited time, especially now during the review week of awsome, so a review of the whole Monogatari-series would be too big of a project unfortunately

[@Irimu_]

@@CorvoAttano369 Has he watched the rest then? Most of his negative points don't work for Monogatari as a whole, especially his viewing of Araragi as a flat character.

[@CorvoAttano369]

@@Irimu_ I don't know, but I don't think so...

[@ProNoobGamer93]

For a guy who says Ending is paramount all the time he never really bothers to reach the ending.

[@Irimu_]

@@ProNoobGamer93 True XD

[@jakturner7844]

Huzzah! He finally did a review! Even if it wasn’t the most positive, I still appreciate you biting the bullet and just starting it at least. For me, the Monogatari series is my favorite anime ever, period. I see it as less of an inspection of characters as they try to solve their problems, and more of an inspection of myself reflected in the characters I’m watching; Araragi is my sense to prioritize the needs and wants of my friends before my own, Senjogahara is my inability to trust others until an unreasonable amount of time, Hachikuji is my want to avoid responsibilities that might cause negative backlash, Kanbaru and Sengoku are my “Id”, my raw, bestial desire that wants nothing more than violence and sex at any cost, no matter how it hurts anyone else, friends included. And Hanekawa. My GOD, Hanekawa is the most perfect reflection of my internal mindset I have ever seen in anime. I literally segregated my mind through stress and other negative stimuli, and now, instead of a monarchy in charge of my brain that has a single final say, my head is a democracy, with maybe a dozen different opinions all firing at once, and it would take me actual DAYS to make a single decision that should’ve taken me a single second. A quote from later in the series; “She will not cry. If she cries she will remove that heart. She will not feel sadness. If she feels sadness, she will remove that heart. She will remove heart after heart, creating an army of monsters, all so she can remain pure white.” And I had to stop for the day, because they were literally just describing me at that point. After I finished the story, I fucking bawled, because so much of that story was so very similar to me, and what I was going through. After I finished Monogatari as a whole, I was fundamentally changed as a person, because EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER was a reflection of me in some aspect, with some being more clear than others, and I am truly happy every single time I see someone else talk about it, or start watching a reaction of it (Through reaction serieses, I’m currently watching it for the ninth time, by the way) even if it’s not entirely positive, any excuse to see more of it is better. As a whole, Monogatari is extremely hit-or-miss, a lot of people just can’t get past the fanservice, or not understand the roundabout dialogue, or just get into the story as a whole, but for me, this is just a 105 episode self-reflection, and I love every damn second of it.

[@shadushio9682]

The first time my uninitiated younger anime-viewing self watched this, he hated it. Years later, my much more experienced anime-watching self wonders what the hell was wrong with me. ;)

[@CPD0123a]

And then you sit back and think What the heck IS CURRENTLY wrong with me????

[@ItsMichaelReid]

Initially at least for me when I first saw it, I found it kind of difficult to follow along

[@xXAkirhaXx]

When I first watched it, it seemed cool. In my mid thirties now and watched the whole series with a group of friends. I can confirm that it's a show that comes across as deep but is really just a coming of age story with Shintoism. I'd love to say it's trying to say something deeper than that, but it's not. It's a teenager obsessed with boobs and clueless about other people who eventually gets over himself.

[@Invizive]

@@xXAkirhaXx development of mature morality and perception of the world can be called deep though. Helping with these aspects is the core of most fictional stories that try to give at least some value to the audience, so calling it deep is not too generous

[@Mercure250]

@@CPD0123a I ask myself this every day, even when I'm not watching this series.

[@jacobhowarth9495]

I understand your outlook on the first season as it was mine at the start of the series when I first watched it. The reason that it became one of my favorite shows was because of how the characters developed

[@Vaklaaja]

This review is honestly what i thought of Bake after watching it. However, after watching the entirety of Monogatari i forgot how much of a ”meh” Bake was at first for me too. That being said, I absolutely love Monogatari and even tho everyone probably already knows this, if you’re gonna watch Bake then watch the rest of the seasons as well.

[@RagingPeanutButter]

2:42 that is technically wrong. It is more of a mindset that he could not leave anyone in need alone, something that was also explored later later in the series. And yes, there are a number or question able fan services in the show, but the thing is, when you are actually committed to the show and its characters, its just something that flies over you head. You don't stay around for the fan service around these parts.

[@SeaCow1g]

You mention that the fan service can make it hard to watch for some while acknowledging all the work of countless videos essays on KZbin breaking down how there are layers of depth to it that can make the series actually better if you happen to pick up on it. I get that. Where we seem to differ though is in the opinion that this can be a bad thing. I LOVE that the different takeaways can spark so much debate. That means the work provokes, that it is resistant to just one interpretation, that it has....dare I say it....DEPTH. And I consider that to be a very good thing.

[@Lee-lm2bn]

I can totally agree with you about the heavy fanservice debate...but when I'd watched The Monogatari Series for the first time, I particularly liked how "complex" the characters thoughts and traits are. *[Spoilers ahead]* Take "Nadeko Sengoku" as an example, on the outside she seems to be an timid, clumsy and childish girl with an simplehearted attitude ..but on the inside she is extremely possessive, jealous and not that cute at all. She becomes a real threat over time. The characters cannot be easily divided into good or bad, everyone has their own individual flaws.. and that's what I personally like about the whole show, how they reveal and display the characters content of minds in interesting, creative ways.

[@lukeedwards4928]

You're rating system could have a "Certified Frosty: Classic" and a "Certified Frosty: Personal Favourite" That way, you keep the legacy of the Certified Frosty Rank, but seperate based on subtitle

[@tsrig1027]

I definitely agree with your reservations when it comes to actively recommending this series. I only watched it two years after my friend recommended it to me. While I now consider myself a fan (I have all the physical copies of the English-translated LNs and some figurines), I found the first episode to be.... weird? It took me a while to get it, but, once I did, I started enjoying it at around episode 3 of Bakemonogatari. This franchise really is one of the series that made me a hardcore fan for life.

[@MGengarDude]

I really love the dialogue in this series.

[@gtcWoona]

YOU DON'T KNOW HOW LONG I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR YOU TO TALK ABOUT THIS-- I STARTED WATCHING YOUR CHANNEL IN 2012 AAAAAAAAAAA man I'm so excited

[@oa9606]

I think its the only series where I dont really want to understand everything because I could save that for re-watches

[@bayasgalantsogtgerel3346]

I have to say no one who has actually watched the Monogatari series has ever said that the monkey paw's originate from the series as they literally explain in the episode where the monkey paw actually originates from. Edit: I know this video is a year old, but I just wanted to say that you don't know fully understand the entire concept of the series to really explain why it's so great, however it's a reasonable to have this viewpoint on certain aspects of the anime since when you look back at it the series doesn't follow any traditional story telling paths. The series relies heavily on it's dialogue heavy content and uses the background to give the aesthetics needed for its stroytelling, with very little actual action. I can't do justice to give an in depth explanation how the story resonates with the audience, but yes it's a weird anime that doesn't everyones cup of tea.

[@DaRkLoRd-rc5yu]

i would say just stick with it, and if you get acclimatised to monogatari's tone and humour, your in for an amazing ride. second season was one of the highest points for me, the way the timeline fits together, and the arcs that happen is really great, also dont worry about the text cuts, just watch the anime. the text is just extracts from the light novel. your not really ment to read all of it, it's just meant for skim reading, and you get more of it on repeat watches. for example the hints of what happened in golden week, and agaragi's clash with shinobu, and then black hanekowa in the weeks afterwards arent really supposed to be clear to you until you get to the arcs themselves. and watching them in release order makes getting to kizomonogatari so satisfying, ending on the very first thing that happened that we only ever had a vague idea of before, and then seeing the hints through out the series again on rewatches. gah i love monogatari it's the series that keeps on giving.

[@Mercure250]

I will disagree with Kizu though. It didn't feel that satisfying to me, it even felt out of place when I watched in release order. I've rewatched it in novel order, and it makes much more sense in terms of character development and themes.

[@baumundallesandere]

I agree with basically all of your points. I still really enjoy watching the Monogatari series. It leaves me in an enjoyable state of not completely comprehending what is going on with the flashing texts, the fanservice scenes and the long dialogues. Also I like figuring out, what actually happens in the scenes compared to what the narrator tells us is happening. Edit: Also the visuals and jokes are so unique to Monogatari.

[@krs4395]

I always viewed the Monogatari series as a Parody of Harem tropes. Especially when you consider that he got a girlfriend he's completely committed to and is completely committed to him by the end of the first arc.

[@tija1012]

Totally understand where you are coming from. I personally love this series. But I can see why others wouldn't. I first watched it back in my younger teen years when it first came out. I thought of it as 'meh'. It's very quiet and slow paced too. I dislike fanservice a lot so that didn't help at all either. Then Nisemonogatari came out and I heard the backlash from that. Totally ignored it. Then years later now adult, The Kizumonogatari movies came out. Then my whole outlook changed. I was so touched by Kiss-shot, Araragi, and Hanekawa. The way they interacted, the conflicts and all that. The animation, tone and music just had me in my feelings. So I gave it other chance, I loved it. Watched the whole series after that. Coming into the series with an attachment to the characters totally changed everything. Although the fanservice is lame, I can look past that as I've been watching anime since I was young and have basically become desensitized lol. Definitely only recommend the Monogatari series to seasoned anime watchers that like all kinds of genres. As new ones and people who only watch 1 or 2 genres will without a doubt be put off. The dialogue is a ridiculous amount and you might fall asleep so watch this when you have time to pay attention. The characters will be the main thing that keeps you interested. Since it was the movies that got me on, try those first. Honestly I think it might help. Monogatari is now one of my all time favorite animes.

[@LiveLXStudios]

I personally always like the banter. Was always really interesting, imo. My favorite part, basically

[@BeefForLess]

This was very good video for the R.W.O.A. And you touched upon some of the things I feel strongly about, with Bakemono. I personally can't wait for tomorrow's video!

[@myob2dac]

this series is my heart and soul ❤️

[@luisgonzalez-hc4xu]

Same

[@benjiusofficial]

Same

[@amanraj1608]

Finally!!! I was waiting for this video so long

[@KonpakuDingo]

head tilts everywhere

[@vezavezaaa]

Shaft's fault

[@MrFreakHeavy]

I love this series to death. And despite how much I love it, all that you said is correct. This series is something I love saying: "10/10 best anime, would not recommend." Good review, can't really say much when you actually covered everything including your opinion. Now for the actual fan moment: I don't know if you've watched the rest, but the series does get better. The movies are amazing, Nise is controversial but the endings of both arcs are fantastic. Neko:kuro is not as great as the rest. However, Second Season starts with one of the best arcs of the series. I hope you get/got to experience that arc because it is impressive.

[@madestmadhatter]

... You, didn't address the animation, the enthralling camera work, the inquisitive nature of the text prompts, the beautifully abstract artwork of common views within nature and the city scape, you were so focused on the things you hate you couldn't take a moment to look around where you stood and see the beauty that surrounds you. I understand that the whole thing about snail might repulse you, but people who started watching this show didn't know that that sort of thing was coming when they started in, and so we were enraptured by the peculiar and off the the wall approach to cinematography and story telling, and as we watched much of what you would call fan service did not feel like fan service as we did not feel comfortable enough in that moment to address it as such, the atmosphere always felt too stifled and strange to see it as anything other than strange. Yes this means I'm saying you were watching it wrong, and you are, and I know that sounds wrong but the simple matter of the fact is, based off your review, you knew too much going in, so you were looking for those things that make the show conventionally weird and off putting, rather than enjoying what made it unique, and yes this is a hard anime to recommend, but solely because of the fan service and the nature of modern viewership, otherwise not.

[@youtubename853]

Everything character-wise is resolved in the future, Bake is really just an introduction to them. About the text: the anime seems to struggle a lot trying to adapt every line from the novel, so you can simply look at the text on the screen as lines/internal thoughts that were never dubbed, but had to make it to the anime somehow. Pausing to read it all the time is such a huge pain in the ass that it will take away a lot of your enjoyment from the series...

[@SilverAlex92]

I feel in the need of saying that the overall story gets better and better as the series moves forward and Araragi has more significant role play. I started loving it after the third season, aptly called, Monogatari second season, went hard on the deconstruction route. I wont spoil much, but a significant theme of that season is the realization that araragi might actually causing more harm than what's he's helping. Also the show has some of the best visuals ever, specially the blue ray version.

[@norightturn7047]

Agreed, I really enjoyed the characters and it's weird tone and visuals kept me watching but around the 3rd season I truly truly fell in love with the show.

[@laurabustos6560]

2yrs later... As a female, who is usually prone to drop a show w fan service, unless the story is absolutely enthralling, I love Monogatari. I hv it on my every so often rewatch list. Along w/ Nichijou, Mushi Shi, Samurai Champloo, Polar Bear Cafe and Kino's Journeys.

[@AskAScreenwriter]

"The Scene" Superimposed over a toothbrush. Well done, Arkada, well done!

[@traxluh]

I really enjoyed this. While I don’t personally agree with a lot of your sentiments towards the show, I can really respect your approach towards reviewing it as a whole. Thanks a lot man

[@aftertwentea]

Continue watching, my dude.

[@xMudVegasx]

This is the first time I’ve disagreed (RESPECTFULLY) with you and I’m a long time fan, yet I actually may have enjoyed this video even more so than usual for the way it helped me understand our dissenting viewpoints and critically asses the show in a more unbiased manner. Thank you for all the time and energy you put into your work and as always, I look forward to future content.

[@jerithchaos]

"the scene" you mean the hottest toothbrushing scene ever between 2 siblings lol

[@DoReMi123acb]

The visuals and art style coupled with the surrealist tone are what make me want to watch it

[@jnliewmichael4235]

12:58 Ohh... So the rating question on twitter was for Bake... Here I thought it was for RWBY or something... Yeah... that makes way more sense

[@maxord11]

This show is actually INCREDIBLY easy to recommend. Albeit, not to regular people, but definitely to people who want some deep dive anime. I recommended this to a lot of my friends and had a pretty high success rate. Also, I have no idea what you mean with the "solved" oddities. Most of the girls have some inner peace or Hanakawa/Nadeko's impeding regression using some event as a placebo.

[@McDudes]

Dude the park scene in Episode 3 is amazing one of the best dialogues I've seen.

[@jb687827]

Monogatari is my favorite anime, but I'll admit a lot of what Arkada said is true about it. It does require you to be OK with a lot of fanservice to enjoy, and finding all the episodes can be a challenge. Plus, I'm guessing he didn't watch 2nd season for this review, and those are the best arcs in the entire series, and would solve a lot of the problems he had with the characters.

[@Mercure250]

From what he said, he probably only watched Bake, though it's not impossible he watched Kizu and Nise too. I doubt he's gotten further than that though.

[@AntiNihilist]

This video can be summarized as "The oldest hot take on Bakemonogatari since 2010." Seriously, after Nise there's basically no fan service and calling it a harem then would just be stupid. Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari are just character introductions for the plot to start. Having some nudity/semi-nudity just makes you remember the good ole days when Araragi was a normal kid with only normal anime guy problems.

[@miguelangelalonsorodriguez9220]

Great video. Love your way of expressing your thoughts

[@XmostlyharmlessX]

Bunny Girl Senpai as an alternative recommendation that "fixed a lot of things"? It's a great show, but don't kid yourself. Yes, it may not have the same "flaws", but not in any aspect does it come close.

[@Saurlok]

Thanks for finally giving this series a look, i totally understand the criticisms with the series and will 100% say this series it not for everyone. But anyone who can get into it i feel will love it, it's very wordy, there are entire episodes of just talking, it start you off in the deep end in terms of knowledge about what is going on within the world. But, it delivers over the course of the show so many good moments. The movies are a pure joy to see after you've gotten into it and yes, Nisioisin does spend an entire 2 pages describing a panty flash, and its absolutely hilarious.