Nekomonogatari (Black)

Nekomonogatari (Black): A+

I really just want to hold down the A and + keys for this, but that would be unprofessional.  Instead I will be unprofessional by squeeing wildly and bouncing up and down about how much I loved Nekomonogatari (Black).

As long-time followers know, I'm a huge fan of the writer (Niso Isin) and director (Akiyuki Shinbo) of the Monogatari series in particular and the Monogatari series in general, so it should be no surprise that I loved this as well.  The reason it's Nekomonogatari (Black) is because there is, later in the series, a Nekomonogatari (White), which has not yet been made into an anime yet.

Nekomonogatari is a prequel to both Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari, and unlike many prequels, builds on them intelligently and deliberately: Neko (Black) is meant to be watched AFTER Bake and Nise, and watching in in that order spreads a thick, gooey, delicious layer of fucked up over both of the chronologically succeeding series (though Bakemonogatari more than Nisemonogatari), something that retroactively makes both series much better, as it dawns on you that the characters knew all this happened, and did what they did later regardless.

In short, Neko (Black) adds tremendously to the Monogatari series as a whole, and gives me great hopes for the second season that is being released in 2013.  I literally could not contain a shout of triumph when I saw that there would be more this year.  If they continue to build on prior material the way Neko and Nise have, the Monogatari series as a whole may actually grow into an S rank series by virtue of brilliant writing.

If you liked the intelligent writing of Bakemonogatari and the off-color but honest sexuality and humor of Nisemonogatari, you will adore the emotional tragedy of Nekomonogatari.  If girls in their underwear, older brothers sexually harassing younger sisters or coldly psychological child abuse are triggers for you, you probably shouldn't watch it, the last especially is done in a manner that shows the activity and the result, not the in-between part, and I found utterly chilling.

Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari

Bakemonogatari:  AA++
Nisemonogatari:  A

So first let me say that Bakemonogatari is pretty much my favorite series of all time, right now.  Nisemonogatari is the 'sequel' series, and aired earlier this year.  There's going to be a prequel, a movie, called Kizumonogatari released later this year.

The titles are all portmanteaus of the world 'monogatari' which means 'story.'  'Bakemono' means ghost or monster, Nisemono means a fake or an imposter, and Kizumono means 'damaged goods'.  If I had to anglicize them, "GhoStory" and "ImpoStory" come fairly easily, though I don't know what to do with Kizumonogatari.

Like most series which I recommend highly, my primary way of recommending Bakemonogatari is to just say "Watch it."

However, Bakemonogatari isn't an S rank, for very specific reasons: it's extraordinarily dialogue-heavy, it's rather perverted, it revolves deeply around japanese mythology, language and symbolism, it's much darker than it looks on the surface and to really get everything out of it it requires a thorough analysis of actions vs words: most of the characters lie or are mistaken, and it is only occasionally pointed out directly that they were lying or wrong in retrospect, it is simply shown that they were wrong or inaccurate.

This makes it the kind of series that you have to let yourself get involved in to fully appreciate.  However, the characters are flavorful, the art is absolutely stunning and the writing is clever, it's not difficult to get yourself wrapped up in it.

In short, if you're like me, you'll absolutely adore this series.

Nisemonogatari is overall weaker than the original series, I feel, but is still very good, as it expands inter-character relationships as well as providing substantial character development and further explaining certain characters' history and even more quiet, disturbing implications.