Bakemonogatari 02

Episode 02 (6/10 Somewhat Good)

Impression:

Don’t watch the first half; you’re not missing anything but a ton of uncalled for fanservice. The real meat of the episode is in the second half. We learn about Hitagi’s past. I don’t like the way this show crams the entire story, back story, characters, etc. in your mouth and expects you to digest it as is. The point of a story is to show it not just tell it. It’s a waste of animation otherwise. The characters have little to no personality, which is the fault of the terrible writing. Now, I heard that the staff is constantly changing, so some of the problems in this episode may not occur in the next. It all depends on who is working for what episode and how talented they are. Expect many inconsistencies in production. I may have to drop this due to the content; because, I’m not going to waste my time putting something unworthy into my mind.

Suggestive Content:

Skip the first half; the only content isn’t worth seeing. Hitagi showers, gets dressed, undressed, and dressed again in front of Araragi. The camera shows various parts of her body and full body shots of her naked or in her underwear for about fifteen minutes straight. Hitagi is basically showing off her body to “repay Araragi for helping her.” During that time they talk about sexual issues like Ararragi’s virginity. The second half of the episode is full of talk about gods and mysticism. Hitagi shares that a member of her mother’s cult tried to rape her and there is some imagery related to that.

Rating:

Animation: 8.5/10 – Not as good as the first episode

Characters: 6/10

Writing: 5/10

Pacing: 5/10

Enjoyment: 6/10

First Look @ Bakemonogatari

Episode 01 (8/10 Great!)
Impression:
I’m going to break this review down to two lists of highlights:
The Good: 1) The art and animation was breath-taking. I’m a huge animation nut! I’ve been known to watch an anime on art/animation credit alone, and I’d do it with this one even if the writing goes down the toilet. 2) This is definitely an abstract/weird/mind-trick anime. I love this genre, but not everyone will appreciate it. If you didn’t like Lain, FLCL, Boogiepop Phantom, etc., you won’t like this. 3) I wish I could carry writing supplies inside my body! That’s amazingly cool. An office supply vampire has got to be the most creative character this season.
The Bad: 1) The banana joke (?) – I don’t care who the writer is, nobody can pull a banana peel slip out of the air and still expect to maintain their morose, serious atmosphere. Seriously, what in the world was that? 2) This was more an artistic endeavor than a story. Even the little writing they had going slipped near the end. 3) The talk about tsundere and moe on the bike ride. The creators go from taking themselves severely seriously to not seriously at all.
Genre: mind tricks wrapped in mind-blowing art… oh, and vampires
Suggestive Content:
Araragi stares at Tsubasa’s panties in the opening sequence for an entire minute (it’s timed at the bottom, which I think is bad taste.) There’s talk of moe and some bad language. Hitagi threatens Araragi she’ll cut “something” off, though it was never specified. She also warns him not to violate her or she’d send her family after him. Heavy religious talk and theories about gods.
Rating:
Animation: 9/10
Characters: 6/10 – No personality, or, not likable. Except Shinobu; I’m very interested in her.
Writing: 7/10 – She slipped on a banana peel? Are you KIDDING me?
Pacing: 6/10
Enjoyment: 9/10