Ao no Exorcist: C
The antichrist reaches puberty and joins a school which trains exorcists for the Catholic church so that he can kick Satan's ass.
Ao no Exorcist (The Blue Exorcist) is a shonen series that has a similar concept to many other series like it, and that makes it difficult to criticize or praise. I was fairly certain of what I was getting into with the first episode (Naruto with Christian demonology instead of ninjas) and I was neither impressed nor disappointed. It's competently written, the characters are effective and the series overall holds itself together, but it doesn't really do any more than that.
I feel a little bad for being completely unsurprised by this series. I said after the third episode, "Huh, I think this is getting a C," and my opinion of it didn't change for twenty-two more episodes. I don't think I gave it that grade because I want to be right, despite the fact that there were good, even awesome moments in the series, it just wasn't as brilliantly crafted or well-written as I've come to expect from my grading system, and the awesome moments were far outnumbered by predictable (but not bad) story and action. But I feel kind of bad about it.
If you're into shonen and like to see the Japanese perspective on the 'fun' parts of Christian mythology and demonology, you can have some fun with Ao no Exorcist. I wouldn't really recommend it to anyone who hadn't expressed a vested interest in either shonen anime as a genre or silly Japanese takes on Christianity as a theme.
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Wednesday, September 5, 2012
Anime News
The two series I'm really enjoying watching (Dog Days' and Yuru Yuri ♪♪) are both mid-season, so giving a report on them would be inappropriate. Instead I figured I'd just talk about what Japan's coming out with in the next few months.
First of all, disappointing to me personally is the news that Kizumonogatari (the prequel movie to Bakemonogatari) has been delayed by Shaft. However, instead, over the course of October we're going to be treated to a couple of Madoka Magica movies, so I guess it's okay in the end. Of course, there's the problem that we won't actually be able to WATCH those except as illegal and poor-quality camrips until around spring or summer next year, but that's how movies go.
Rebuild of Evangelion 3.0 is coming out soon too, but has the exact same problem as the new Madoka movies; we won't actually be able to watch it for quite a while. I'm looking forward to it, though.
I have confirmed that a second season of Medaka Box will be airing. So that's great.
Shaft, in addition to the Madoka Movies (which are probably in post by now) is also working on a new season of Hidamari Sketch.
It seems as though we'll be getting YET ANOTHER season of Hayate no Gotoku, which I can't deny a bit of childish glee for.
There's a Toaru Majutsu no Index movie coming up late in the year (maybe early next year).
News I didn't expect to hear: Production IG is making a Mass Effect anime movie slated for Winter 2012 with the subtitle "Paragon Lost. " I suspect that'll make the jump to the US fairly quickly, since the franchise is quite popular over here.
There are a lot of other series coming out that I haven't done the research on to know if they're worth watching, and I'm sure some of them will be showing up on THIS VERY BLOG in the future.
Monday, September 3, 2012
Utawarerumono
Utawarerumono: D+
I first heard of this series when I was shown the DVD special... it must have been 4 years ago. It was amusing and kind of silly, but given that the title (which translates to "The One Being Sung") is a rather complex mishmash of japanese syllables, it didn't stick in my head and I lost it until a friend reminded me of the name a few weeks ago. So I decided I'd watch it.
And I really really wanted to like it. The characters held my attention and the fantasy world felt fantastic and mysterious. The protagonist clearly had some powerful magical dark secret (and amnesia, which worked out well, actually) and I was looking forward to learning more about it.
One of my first complaints were the pointlessly evil villains. These guys were moustache-twirling, dog-kicking, incredibly-skilled-but-good-hearted-subordinate-who-refused-to-massacre-a-village-full-of-innocent-people-firing idiot villains. And they don't stop showing up, either. Maybe I've just been spoiled by other anime that have provided justifications for why people are bastards, but that was my first disappointment. But whatever, right? We beat up some bad guys and save the world. It's cool.
More characters keep getting rolled as the series progresses on, especially female characters. This isn't really surprising, originally, Utawarerumono was a turn-based strategy hentai game, but very few elements of the original fan service or naughty bits are left over (in TVTropes terms, the underwear has been very well bleached). I think we don't even see cleavage until episode 3? Anyway, that combined with the fact that the girls' reasons for being attracted to the protagonist are either well-justified or just left out led me to enjoy the first half of the series.
Now, I'm going to spoil the ending, because it's the part of the series that ruins it.
Then, around episode 18 or so, things just start going downhill, and they start going downhill fast. A character who was made sympathetic begins making outstandingly bad decisions. We suddenly have invincible mecha in our fantasy setting (which isn't that bad, it's anime, right?). And then the invincible mecha aren't invincible any more, and our protagonist can turn into a kaiju. That's his dark secret. He turns into godzilla. And then evil godzilla shows up and they fight. And the protagonist has to be sealed beneath the earth for the safety of the world. The end.
Even that could have been made a credible story except for the fact that so many of the characters wind up not mattering at all to the ongoing story, they were only put in there because they were in the original game and taking them out would have displeased their fans.
It reminded me more than anything of the Fate Stay Night anime: they clearly have way more story and characterization and plot than they can ever fit into 26 episodes, so they tried to make a cohesive and expansive story out of everything, but they wind up not giving enough focus to the things that would have made that story make sense because they're trying to give screen time to everything else in it. Which is really too bad, because there are some nice ideas and some genuinely lovable characters in this series, and it's really disappointing that they series they're in sucks so bad.
I should mention in regard to Fate Stay Night's anime: I also played/read the Visual Novel, and it was mind-blowingly good, a truly brilliant example of what can be done with a voiced and partially animated choose-your-own-adventure story that takes full advantage of its multiple endings and branching plot trees to deepen characterization and plot. So I think it's very likely that the Utawarerumono GAME is actually really good, worth making into an anime, certainly.
But unless you have a disturbing fetish for animal ears, tails and disappointment, I recommend against watching the series.
I first heard of this series when I was shown the DVD special... it must have been 4 years ago. It was amusing and kind of silly, but given that the title (which translates to "The One Being Sung") is a rather complex mishmash of japanese syllables, it didn't stick in my head and I lost it until a friend reminded me of the name a few weeks ago. So I decided I'd watch it.
And I really really wanted to like it. The characters held my attention and the fantasy world felt fantastic and mysterious. The protagonist clearly had some powerful magical dark secret (and amnesia, which worked out well, actually) and I was looking forward to learning more about it.
One of my first complaints were the pointlessly evil villains. These guys were moustache-twirling, dog-kicking, incredibly-skilled-but-good-hearted-subordinate-who-refused-to-massacre-a-village-full-of-innocent-people-firing idiot villains. And they don't stop showing up, either. Maybe I've just been spoiled by other anime that have provided justifications for why people are bastards, but that was my first disappointment. But whatever, right? We beat up some bad guys and save the world. It's cool.
More characters keep getting rolled as the series progresses on, especially female characters. This isn't really surprising, originally, Utawarerumono was a turn-based strategy hentai game, but very few elements of the original fan service or naughty bits are left over (in TVTropes terms, the underwear has been very well bleached). I think we don't even see cleavage until episode 3? Anyway, that combined with the fact that the girls' reasons for being attracted to the protagonist are either well-justified or just left out led me to enjoy the first half of the series.
Now, I'm going to spoil the ending, because it's the part of the series that ruins it.
Then, around episode 18 or so, things just start going downhill, and they start going downhill fast. A character who was made sympathetic begins making outstandingly bad decisions. We suddenly have invincible mecha in our fantasy setting (which isn't that bad, it's anime, right?). And then the invincible mecha aren't invincible any more, and our protagonist can turn into a kaiju. That's his dark secret. He turns into godzilla. And then evil godzilla shows up and they fight. And the protagonist has to be sealed beneath the earth for the safety of the world. The end.
Even that could have been made a credible story except for the fact that so many of the characters wind up not mattering at all to the ongoing story, they were only put in there because they were in the original game and taking them out would have displeased their fans.
It reminded me more than anything of the Fate Stay Night anime: they clearly have way more story and characterization and plot than they can ever fit into 26 episodes, so they tried to make a cohesive and expansive story out of everything, but they wind up not giving enough focus to the things that would have made that story make sense because they're trying to give screen time to everything else in it. Which is really too bad, because there are some nice ideas and some genuinely lovable characters in this series, and it's really disappointing that they series they're in sucks so bad.
I should mention in regard to Fate Stay Night's anime: I also played/read the Visual Novel, and it was mind-blowingly good, a truly brilliant example of what can be done with a voiced and partially animated choose-your-own-adventure story that takes full advantage of its multiple endings and branching plot trees to deepen characterization and plot. So I think it's very likely that the Utawarerumono GAME is actually really good, worth making into an anime, certainly.
But unless you have a disturbing fetish for animal ears, tails and disappointment, I recommend against watching the series.
Friday, August 31, 2012
Medaka Box
Medaka Box: B
Written by Nisio Isin of Bakemonogatari and Katanagatari and animated by Gainax, there's pretty much no way I could give it a BAD rating, is there?
Medaka Box is about an invincible genius superwoman who happens to be 16, hot, and impossibly optimistic and nice. She becomes student council president in her first year of high school with 98% of the vote. Actually, it's about her childhood friend who looks out for her and helps her get through her life, because despite being an invincible genius superwoman, she's still also a 16 year old girl with emotions who overlooks things and fails to understand how people work sometimes.
Nisio Isin likes writing with pre-set relationships and history and letting you get to know the characters as well as they know each other. Medaka Box also avoids any sort of traditional harem-ery and much in the way of ship tease. The series is very episodic, with several episodes containing two short stories within them, but, true to Nisio Isin's writing, every character who we meet has a personality, goals and position in the setting. Episodes also tend to be dialogue-heavy (though not as much as Bakemonogatari or Katanagatari), though there is a fair amount of action.
Medaka Box basically asks "What if Superman were a 16 year old girl and the student council president?" and runs with it, more or less honestly. If that sounds like fun, check out Medaka Box.
Written by Nisio Isin of Bakemonogatari and Katanagatari and animated by Gainax, there's pretty much no way I could give it a BAD rating, is there?
Medaka Box is about an invincible genius superwoman who happens to be 16, hot, and impossibly optimistic and nice. She becomes student council president in her first year of high school with 98% of the vote. Actually, it's about her childhood friend who looks out for her and helps her get through her life, because despite being an invincible genius superwoman, she's still also a 16 year old girl with emotions who overlooks things and fails to understand how people work sometimes.
Nisio Isin likes writing with pre-set relationships and history and letting you get to know the characters as well as they know each other. Medaka Box also avoids any sort of traditional harem-ery and much in the way of ship tease. The series is very episodic, with several episodes containing two short stories within them, but, true to Nisio Isin's writing, every character who we meet has a personality, goals and position in the setting. Episodes also tend to be dialogue-heavy (though not as much as Bakemonogatari or Katanagatari), though there is a fair amount of action.
Medaka Box basically asks "What if Superman were a 16 year old girl and the student council president?" and runs with it, more or less honestly. If that sounds like fun, check out Medaka Box.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Dog Days', first half
Been a while since I did a part-way review, hasn't it?
So, Dog Days season two (written Dog Days') continues in the first season's tradition of utter adorability and fan service, and somehow turns both up a little bit.
For the people who are two lazy to read my Dog Days review, the series takes place in an alternate world populated by dog-, cat-, bunny- and, newly appearing in season two, squirrel-people, who summon humans from the real world to be 'heroes' in their wars. However, the wars in question are more like friendly mass athletic competitions than anything like involving death or really serious injury, instead, you're beaten when your armor (or clothing) is blasted off (thus providing one of the primary forms of fan service).
This time, Shinku (which is being spelled Cinque by the sub group I'm watching, which is as good as anything) has brought two of his friends from the real world to serve as Heroes for two other countries. Like many second seasons I'm seeing lately, they seem to have the advantage of getting straight to the point and right to the adorability and fan service.
There's just this sense of childish glee and FUN that the show maintains that makes it a joy to watch, if you can watch this show and not grin at it then some part of your soul has died. Either that or you're too distracted by the jiggling (Yukikaze is made of jello with springs in it, I swear) or the fan service.
So, Dog Days season two (written Dog Days') continues in the first season's tradition of utter adorability and fan service, and somehow turns both up a little bit.
For the people who are two lazy to read my Dog Days review, the series takes place in an alternate world populated by dog-, cat-, bunny- and, newly appearing in season two, squirrel-people, who summon humans from the real world to be 'heroes' in their wars. However, the wars in question are more like friendly mass athletic competitions than anything like involving death or really serious injury, instead, you're beaten when your armor (or clothing) is blasted off (thus providing one of the primary forms of fan service).
This time, Shinku (which is being spelled Cinque by the sub group I'm watching, which is as good as anything) has brought two of his friends from the real world to serve as Heroes for two other countries. Like many second seasons I'm seeing lately, they seem to have the advantage of getting straight to the point and right to the adorability and fan service.
There's just this sense of childish glee and FUN that the show maintains that makes it a joy to watch, if you can watch this show and not grin at it then some part of your soul has died. Either that or you're too distracted by the jiggling (Yukikaze is made of jello with springs in it, I swear) or the fan service.
Gintama
Gintama: B
Jeez, it took me more than a year to finish that 252-episode-and-a-movie monster of a series. But you know what? I enjoyed it. All 86 hours of it. That, alone, is a pretty impressive thing. Let me try to explain what it is about this series that makes it good despite its length.
Gintama, unlike most other long-running shows, occurs in short arcs, 1-5 episodes long, with the very longest being about 8 episodes. The vast majority of them fall between silly and absurd, with the longer arcs being much more likely to resemble the standard shonen fare of fights for honor, swordsmanship, badassery and saving the world, but usually with humorous interludes (such as a long-winded duel of out-witting each other about in a public restroom with no toilet paper), and, most importantly, endings. The short-arc format is one of the things that keeps Gintama fresh, especially combined with the show's intent of changing genre every arc (much like Excel Saga, a series which it definitely took several tips from).
Unlike most long-running shows, where the filler stabs you in the eye with its low quality and out-of-placeness, Gintama has no filler because it's all filler, but the filler is usually just as good as the actual show, or only a little bit worse. Gintama is also extremely off-color, making fun of the anime industry, other shonen shows, and generally breaking rules about what it should and shouldn't show. Kagura (the girl with the red hair and red chinese-style shirt in the picture above) is renowned for being the first heroine in a Shonen Jump series to vomit on-screen for instance, and she's hardly the only character to do supremely inappropriate things.
Gintama is a silly show with a lot of meta-humor, childish humor, toilet humor and absurdity punctuated with drama, heroism and good advice. If you can enjoy these things, you'll still probably dislike about one in five episodes of Gintama, but fortunately, there's so many episodes and they're so episodic that skipping a couple won't ruin anything for you.
Jeez, it took me more than a year to finish that 252-episode-and-a-movie monster of a series. But you know what? I enjoyed it. All 86 hours of it. That, alone, is a pretty impressive thing. Let me try to explain what it is about this series that makes it good despite its length.
Gintama, unlike most other long-running shows, occurs in short arcs, 1-5 episodes long, with the very longest being about 8 episodes. The vast majority of them fall between silly and absurd, with the longer arcs being much more likely to resemble the standard shonen fare of fights for honor, swordsmanship, badassery and saving the world, but usually with humorous interludes (such as a long-winded duel of out-witting each other about in a public restroom with no toilet paper), and, most importantly, endings. The short-arc format is one of the things that keeps Gintama fresh, especially combined with the show's intent of changing genre every arc (much like Excel Saga, a series which it definitely took several tips from).
Unlike most long-running shows, where the filler stabs you in the eye with its low quality and out-of-placeness, Gintama has no filler because it's all filler, but the filler is usually just as good as the actual show, or only a little bit worse. Gintama is also extremely off-color, making fun of the anime industry, other shonen shows, and generally breaking rules about what it should and shouldn't show. Kagura (the girl with the red hair and red chinese-style shirt in the picture above) is renowned for being the first heroine in a Shonen Jump series to vomit on-screen for instance, and she's hardly the only character to do supremely inappropriate things.
Gintama is a silly show with a lot of meta-humor, childish humor, toilet humor and absurdity punctuated with drama, heroism and good advice. If you can enjoy these things, you'll still probably dislike about one in five episodes of Gintama, but fortunately, there's so many episodes and they're so episodic that skipping a couple won't ruin anything for you.
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka of the Dead
Kore wa Zombie Desu Ka Of the Dead: C
It's kind of a relief when a series is painful enough that I can't give it anything other than a C, but that I can praise for being exactly what it is and absolutely nothing more. More so than its first season, KoreZombie Of The Dead (as the Second Season is titled) is a shameless parade of fan service, schadenfreude, embarrassing situations and dirty jokes. Maybe it's because I came into the second season with that expectation that I find myself appreciating it more than the first season.
In many ways it's more of the same that the first season brought, but, (to make a comparison), the first season is rock crack, season two is premium purified cocaine. Neither of them is good for you, and they both leave you with self-loathing but the second season is at least classy.
If the above image offends you in any way, don't watch this series. But if it still makes you giggle after reading all of this, you'd actually probably like KoreZombie of the Dead. You sick bastard.
There really is no other picture that gets this series across.
It's kind of a relief when a series is painful enough that I can't give it anything other than a C, but that I can praise for being exactly what it is and absolutely nothing more. More so than its first season, KoreZombie Of The Dead (as the Second Season is titled) is a shameless parade of fan service, schadenfreude, embarrassing situations and dirty jokes. Maybe it's because I came into the second season with that expectation that I find myself appreciating it more than the first season.
In many ways it's more of the same that the first season brought, but, (to make a comparison), the first season is rock crack, season two is premium purified cocaine. Neither of them is good for you, and they both leave you with self-loathing but the second season is at least classy.
If the above image offends you in any way, don't watch this series. But if it still makes you giggle after reading all of this, you'd actually probably like KoreZombie of the Dead. You sick bastard.
Sunday, July 29, 2012
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san
Haiyore! Nyaruko-san: C
So my first description of this series to my friends is as "The least dignified possible series about the Cthulhu mythos possible" and I still hold to that description.
In short, Nyarlothotep takes a form as an attractive silver-haired girl with an extreme ahoge (idiot hair) who (depending on how you interpret the series) either falls in love with a human boy or decides to screw with said boy in an extraordinarily invasive and creepy way. But not creepy like Lovecraft creepy, creepy in that 'girl trying to get herself pregnant by you without your consent' sort of way. Nyarlothotep is interfered with by Cthugha and Hastur (or possibly Hastur's son, it's not well explained), which could either be a good thing or a bad thing.
It's pretty funny, but it's not really good. The series has a lot of references, to the Call of Cthulhu tabletop game, the Lovecraft mythos and anime of all flavors. It's a High School Fantasy with all that implies, it just also has a lot of references to the Lovecraft Mythos and some moments of genuinely hilarious comedy. Being a High School Fantasy isn't actually a bad thing, but it does establish a quality ceiling. There's only so good one can be, and Haiyore! (which means, about "Creeping!") Nyaruko-san starts strong and trails off, like so many of its type do.
Give it a watch if you want to see a handful of awesome bits of animated Cthulhu mythos and get some laughs out of clever references, wordplay and Lovecraft-based humor, but don't go expecting anything brilliant or moving out of it.
So my first description of this series to my friends is as "The least dignified possible series about the Cthulhu mythos possible" and I still hold to that description.
In short, Nyarlothotep takes a form as an attractive silver-haired girl with an extreme ahoge (idiot hair) who (depending on how you interpret the series) either falls in love with a human boy or decides to screw with said boy in an extraordinarily invasive and creepy way. But not creepy like Lovecraft creepy, creepy in that 'girl trying to get herself pregnant by you without your consent' sort of way. Nyarlothotep is interfered with by Cthugha and Hastur (or possibly Hastur's son, it's not well explained), which could either be a good thing or a bad thing.
It's pretty funny, but it's not really good. The series has a lot of references, to the Call of Cthulhu tabletop game, the Lovecraft mythos and anime of all flavors. It's a High School Fantasy with all that implies, it just also has a lot of references to the Lovecraft Mythos and some moments of genuinely hilarious comedy. Being a High School Fantasy isn't actually a bad thing, but it does establish a quality ceiling. There's only so good one can be, and Haiyore! (which means, about "Creeping!") Nyaruko-san starts strong and trails off, like so many of its type do.
Give it a watch if you want to see a handful of awesome bits of animated Cthulhu mythos and get some laughs out of clever references, wordplay and Lovecraft-based humor, but don't go expecting anything brilliant or moving out of it.
Saturday, July 28, 2012
Saki
Saki (Season 1): C
So I think I saw "Saki" as a name that popped up on like every one of my favorite seiyuu's pages over the course of surfing to see what else they were in, but it wasn't til it became a popular tag on an image board that I frequent that I went "huh I suppose this is popular, I should watch it."
What I didn't realize is that the series is about Mahjong in a big way, and that following the series is reaaaally hard if you don't know anything about Mahjong. So I watched the first nine episodes, stopped, got Diablo 3, played that for three weeks, learned about Mahjong, and then watched Saki. There may have been a few unnecessary steps in there.
Saki is about the mahjong club at a high school and its attempts to get to the Mahjong nationals. The series is up front with the fact that it's taking place in a different time/parallel universe where Mahjong is more popular than it is here. The characters are alive and have personalities and hopes and dreams and getting to know them is entertaining.
What I can't shake is the sense that Saki targeted at older gentlemen who know their Mahjong and like watching a parade of girls blushing at each other and very pointedly not making out even though perhaps they should be for the sake of their own health and happiness.
Saki has some strong Yuri elements, is really what I'm saying. They're not bad, but they're not explored in any way which would make them fascinating to the viewer. The series' fan service quotient is fairly low, at least in the traditional sense of 'panties, huge breasts and lots of skin,' but fairly high in the moe category (they even hit one of my personal moes, heterochromia). Aside from that sense and the fact that every so often Mahjong is such SERIOUS BUSINESS that I burst out laughing, Saki is actually pretty good entertainment.
If you're interested in what amounts to a sports anime about Mahjong (which will help you learn about it, if you get yourself a bit of a basis) and either enjoy or will tolerate the lesbian schoolgirl aspects and moe aspects, I recommend Saki. If any of that sounds like you'd be either bored, confused or creeped out, this is not for you.
So I think I saw "Saki" as a name that popped up on like every one of my favorite seiyuu's pages over the course of surfing to see what else they were in, but it wasn't til it became a popular tag on an image board that I frequent that I went "huh I suppose this is popular, I should watch it."
What I didn't realize is that the series is about Mahjong in a big way, and that following the series is reaaaally hard if you don't know anything about Mahjong. So I watched the first nine episodes, stopped, got Diablo 3, played that for three weeks, learned about Mahjong, and then watched Saki. There may have been a few unnecessary steps in there.
Saki is about the mahjong club at a high school and its attempts to get to the Mahjong nationals. The series is up front with the fact that it's taking place in a different time/parallel universe where Mahjong is more popular than it is here. The characters are alive and have personalities and hopes and dreams and getting to know them is entertaining.
What I can't shake is the sense that Saki targeted at older gentlemen who know their Mahjong and like watching a parade of girls blushing at each other and very pointedly not making out even though perhaps they should be for the sake of their own health and happiness.
Saki has some strong Yuri elements, is really what I'm saying. They're not bad, but they're not explored in any way which would make them fascinating to the viewer. The series' fan service quotient is fairly low, at least in the traditional sense of 'panties, huge breasts and lots of skin,' but fairly high in the moe category (they even hit one of my personal moes, heterochromia). Aside from that sense and the fact that every so often Mahjong is such SERIOUS BUSINESS that I burst out laughing, Saki is actually pretty good entertainment.
If you're interested in what amounts to a sports anime about Mahjong (which will help you learn about it, if you get yourself a bit of a basis) and either enjoy or will tolerate the lesbian schoolgirl aspects and moe aspects, I recommend Saki. If any of that sounds like you'd be either bored, confused or creeped out, this is not for you.
Sunday, June 24, 2012
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.
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.
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