How the piss do you even pronounce that! The name is a combination of two words (bakamono and monogatari which means monster and story) which basically means monster story. With a name like that you would think that Bakemonogatari was going to be a horror anime but it turned out to be so far from that it's just out there in how freaking epic it was and there are still three episodes to go. But they will be streamed on the Internet at the end of the month and I didn't want to wait that long to finally blog about the best anime of the 2009 Summer Season.
Even with all the crap and unfinished episodes and the frames of texts I'm still saying this was and is the best anime of the last season and I'm not alone in that thought either since the first release racked up an impressive 44,000+ units sold in it's first week. Beating even K-on. Almost guaranteeing a US License (well I can hope anyways right) in the near future if not already done.
I loved this series and had a great time watching it even though it wasn't finished in some spots like the notorious 10th episode and if something that wasn't even finished when it was aired can illicit such an interest just imagine what the finished DVD product might be like. I liked it because it wasn't just moe gushing which can be good sometimes but Bakemonogatari was smart, funny and pretty damn clever which set it apart from everything else that is being aired at the time. Add in just a touch of fanservice, sexual innuendo and a healthy dose of action it became easily my favorite series of the summer season.
Basically Bakemonogatari is an anime that revolves around Araragi as he helps out a handful of fellow classmates deal with a variety of spiritual apparitions that have cursed them in one way or another. The first and most important classmate he helps is Senjougahara who has been possessed by a crab like god who stole her weight. Araragi helps Senjougahara and the two become friends and eventually boyfriend and girlfriend with the last episode of the broadcast being their first date. The rest of the time Araragi and Senjougahara are out helping other girls they met who are also possessed by evil spirits or in one case a lost spirit themselves.
I think you really just have to experience the anime for yourself to understand just how interesting and great Bakemonogatari is since it relies pretty heavily on conversations held during quick cuts, close up shots intersected by moments of action all infused with a nice soundtrack it really somehow all just comes together and works well. I'm definitely looking forward to the last three episodes which will start streaming at the end of October on the official Bakemonogatari site. I'm also interested to see how the DVDs turn out as well.
The first opening is a bit of a trick though and actually is more about events before the anime but is a great way to look at how the rest of the anime is presented:
