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Anyone else watching Bakemonogatari apart from me? Definitely one of the better shows this season i feel. There's about 5 eps so far out of a planned total of 15.

I could ramble on and on, trying to sell the show to you, but i think I'll let the episodes do the talking instead (and they do a damn good job at it too imo!). The show has a rather unique story-telling style that most people will find either jarring or brilliant. So basically go grab the first two episodes, give it a quick whirl and see for yourself whether the show is for you or not.

Quick run-down of the shows premise:

Torrents at Animesuki



People familiar with works including both director, Akiyuki Shinbo and animation studio, Shaft should know what they're getting themselves into and to be frank i think this distinct directing and production style works absolutely perfectly here given the supernatural setting and source material. I think they've finally found a source material that will hand in hand with this rather unique story telling method. They just compliment each other so well

The title is a Japanese pun of sorts, playing on the words Bakemono (Monsters/Supernatural Beings) and Monogatari (Narrative/Story) so a rough translation would be something along the lines of Monstory or Ghostory.

This post has been edited by bROCKoLEE on Jan 20 2012, 02:02 AM

I watched the first episode and was amazed by the art style, then got turned off by the story, if you can promise me it gets better by episode 5, I'll give it another shot

The reason why I suggested the first two episode as a trial of the show is because they cover the first story arc, Hitagi Crab, giving you a relative feel for the series yourself. I'd say watch the 2nd episode to get the conclusion of the arc, then make the judgment whether to continue or not. You've only got half the story so far and you could change your mind after seeing the resolution to it after all

Each arc is relatively self-sustained so after if you're still a bit unsure, then eps 3-5 covers another story arc, Mayoi Snail, and you can get a better feel for the show then. Basically each arc introduces a new girl with a new set of supernatural problems, so you could essentially dislike one arc but love another depending on the story arc.

If you enjoyed the verbal jousting that goes on between the characters, then i can assure you there's plenty more of it down the line The light novels that the show is based on is basically filled with em, in fact they actually had to cut some out due to time-restraints unfortunately... =/ The series is also a bit of a parody too, so i guess it might fall a bit more into the comedy side of things, which can be good or bad depending on what you're looking for from the series lol =P

Probably my favorite series from the summer season.

Hehe, another show I've been following since the first episode and didn't start a thread on. Been putting it on talk hold because of the much text in it not in english, aside from the Kohasubi sub releases that translates most of the texts but are just behind in translations at 2 episodes.

It is one of my sleeper favorites I don't talk about (for my personal reasons), so its just like what r3d$unz feel about being amazed and turned off.

^lol, you make it sound as though if it were a guilty pleasure or something haha

But yea this show definitely has a ridiculous amount of potential i feel, and it has managed to deliver each and every single episode so far. I dunno what more can i ask from it Also you've just gotta love the star of the show herself, Senjougahara Hitagi, she's practically carrying half the show i feel. Major props to her VA, Chiwa Sato for the great work too

For the past few days, I've been basically listening to nothing but non-stop loops of the ED song. Haha guess I'm going through a Bakemonogatari phase right now, i havn't been this crazy over a show in a good while lol

From the latest episode of Bakemonogatari (eps 9)
God i love this show! Stuff like this is just way too much icing on the cake

Also a slight FYI, I've edited my first post of the thread, mainly just the story synopsis along with a link to torrents of the episode

This post has been edited by bROCKoLEE on Oct 2 2009, 02:43 AM

Rather enjoyed Koyomi's interaction with Hitagi and her dad during the last episode. Probably one of the few times (if not the only time) anime has made me "aww". Pretty gay of me to admit that, but whatever.

^ I'm sure you already know this, but just for the sake of informing others who don't: Eps 12 is the last TV episode. There's still 3 more episodes to go before Bakemonogatari ends, but they'll be broadcasted on the anime's official website instead (whenever that is... since they havn't said anything yet, lets hope it's in a rather timely manner and isn't stalled like Duke Nukem Forever =P).

I really like what they're doing here with Bakemonogatari. Even though they have a limited amount of TV time to work with, they're still allocating more episodes into the series despite the fact that these won't even make it onto TV. All this just so they won't butcher the series and so they can actually do it right. If that's not love and respect then i don't know what is man. If only more production companies would follow suit, then we probably won't have so many series being branded as wasted potential.

As for the eps 12 itself:

SPOILER

Yea that was a pretty heart-warming episode to end the TV broadcast off with. Up until this episode I've always felt that the Araragi and Hitagi relationship was kinda one-sided, slanting towards Hitagi. I mean it just seemed to me like Araragi never had the same mutual feelings as Hitagi did (or never showed it at least). However that one scene where Araragi grabbed Hitagi's hand in response to Hitagi telling him of her insecurities was a nice show of Araragi's character and made me think otherwise of their relationship. Can't wait for future episodes. I liked how they alluded back to the main plot ploint of this story arc this episode as well

Is that official? I thought people were still waiting on some sort of announcement about how SHAFT was going to release the remaining episodes.

Apparently the official site just got updated, so it is now lol

Eps 13 to come October 28th.

Preview here: http://www.bakemonogatari.com/special/yokoku13.html

Cool beans. Still a few weeks off, but at least it's no "Second Season"/2009 Re-Air...

This is probably in the only type of the anime that doesn't grab me. I've watched the first two episode then... I concluded how this anime works :

1. BLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLABLA [SPAM] then, by the end : *Actual Story*
2. BLA[SPAM] until

SPOILER

the main ½ vampire ½ human guy tried to help the girl

Sorry but if I need to stop the vid often to read a wall of text, sorry, but I must dump you.

this series isnt high on my list but it still manages to stay on the list. its not the best but its rather interesting. the only thing that i dont like is the wall of text in the first 5 minutes of the ep. the flow of the plot is a bit awkward but its not that hard to get used to it.

Well, that's what you kinda expect from SHAFT.

Speaking of which here's a pretty cool AMV of Bakemonogatari's ED, except well... hijacked by Haruhi and her crew instead...

Those text flashes right before the title card in the grand scheme of things, really are just there for dramatic effect. They flash way too fast to be able to read cohearently real time so i doubt that was their number one intended purpose. It's basically just excerts from the corresponding novel chapters that offer a bit more (but not necssarily required) backstory and detail.

You could look at it as a little nods up to go read the original novels themselves, stuff they couldn't fit in but would've liked to or for enthusiasts of the show to take note of when they have the time (and possibly extra incentives to buy the DVD's even lol =P). Either way I don't necessarily pause the video myself for the sake of reading it because that just interrupts the natural flow of the episode and i don't like that. I'll do it afterwards though... .... provided I'm bothered enough that is... lol

I admit, the show is pretty dialogue heavy but it's also one of the shows strong points and does serve a purpose. There's often an underlying meaning or something you can extract beyond face value from what a character says that helps reveal an extra element in their nature. The fact that the dialogue can get pretty damn hilarious and witty at times is just an added bonus I say. It's not just all pointless talk or banter


But like i said earlier in my first post. The show's not gonna be everyone's cup of tea due to some rather unique and dare i say bizzare directing techniques. It's different from most other anime and I personally love it to death because of it. Not everyone else is going to feel the same way, but that's cool too. I just find the show to be rreally refreshing, a rather nice breath of fresh air for me

EDIT: Got rid of the horribly off topic post.

Hell, I'm glad to see a show that actually presents humor through dialogue. The whole "Oh LOL, looks like [female character 1] landed on top of [male character] in an awkward position and this led to [female character 2] misunderstanding the situation. I sure do enjoy these scenes, as they allow me to laugh without having to actually engage my brain" formula is much too common and I really only have the patience to watch one of these shows every few seasons.

This post has been edited by Nappy Hared Azn on Oct 6 2009, 08:03 AM

So are the episodes connected? I got the feeling that the characters changed each episode?

imo they are connected. to me it seems like they skip the scenes in between the intro to each oddity arc. it makes sense that the characters grew each time the new arc ends.

too bad the wall of text doesnt allow us time to read one frame normally without pausing the vid.

It's all the same characters throughout, just each story arc is relatively self sustained and focuses on a new character each time. They're all part of the one big story in the end though

Also just wanted to note that i updated the story synoposis in the first post lol =P

I just saw the first two episodes, especially in light of it being considered the best series of the summer, and it's pretty good...

Is the last episode a clear cut ending or do the OVAs continue the story?

It brought a pretty good end to the TV airing, but it's far from over.

Ah... Cause I heard about some OVAs being aired online later this month and was thinking it was for a proper conclusion to the series.

Eps 1-2 is the "Hitagi Crab" story arc.
Eps 3-5 is the "Mayoi Snail" story arc.
Eps 6-8 is the "Suruga Monkey" story arc.
Eps 9-10 is the "Nadeko Snake" story arc.
Eps 11-15 is the "Tsubasa Cat" story arc.

We're on eps 12 atm, which is only haflway through the "Tsubasa Cat" story arc. So yea the online episodes (13-15) is going to properly conclude the series.
Eps 13 is due out October 28th.

Well, I don't think you can count Episode 12 as part of the Tsubasa Cat arc. The only way it's related to the arc at all is the fact that the lunch date at the beginning of Episode 12 is alluded to in Episode 11 when Koyomi says he's got shit to do. If anything, Episode 12 is part of the Hitagi Crab arc, even though that ended with the whole crab battle thing at Suzaku--I mean Meme's creepy hang-out spot/loli vampire den/abandoned school/home.

Well, they may conclude the airing, but the series itself is far from over. There are other arcs that have not yet been animated and there are more novels in the work.

This post has been edited by Nappy Hared Azn on Oct 10 2009, 07:11 PM