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Oct 16, 2021
Note: This is a review based solely on Bakemonogatari
Bakemonogatari tells the everyday life of the semi-supernatural human Koyomi Araragi and his encounters with apparitions. These so called apparitions are fundamentally psychological problems that end up gaining physical form or are expressed through real life situations, resembling the anime "Rascal does not dream of Bunny Girl Senpai", although you could say that Bakemonogatari is the better anime using that concept, taking it's supernatural components to a more refined level.
Story 6/10
I need to start by saying that this is not an anime that you should watch for the plot since it's a character based experience, as such,
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a more intense story could deviate from the development of the cast. However there are still some bits of story that end up being told as back-stories for each character, since it's just that, the greater plot ends up being absent of progression making it seem like there's really no beginning nor end to it.
Art 9/10
Bakemonogatari originally came from a light novel, as a consequence, it's a dialogue heavy show, to emend that, some clever takes where applied like a quick pop-up of light novel quotes or words that would describe something in the act, dynamic camera zoom-in's and a constant switch between unprecedented camera angles to not let you get distracted with something else other than the characters.
The color paletes are also well used in the sense that the three primary colors (red, blue and yellow) are more dominant when it comes to broad daylight and all the other three secondary have their specific purpose: Orange being the color used at noon time, Green at night time and Purple (and pink) tones for most of the side characters.
Sound 10/10
Since I've just spoken about the art and how it dynamizes the intense dialogue, I should already say that the SFX also help in that sense, going along with the quick flash pop-ups and camera zooms. The other SFX, just like the voice acting, don't deviate in quality like the wind, pen taps or school materials. And I can't skip on mentioning the 5 openings that this 15 episode anime has, all 5 of them being a decent listen. But what shines through all else in this category are the OST's and the piano played OP's, you might not realize how great they are but once you finish Bakemonogatari, you can hear these songs and instantly think of a specific scene in the show in which the sentiment of that OST is transmited.
Characters 10/10
Since it's a character driven show, it's obvious that those said characters are well developed, with each one having 2-3 episodes that focus on their apparition, story and psychological problems. For every apparition there's a different problem at hand and the viewer can eventually relate or enjoy at least one of them:
⁍ Hitagi Senjougahara: An aggressive and dominant tsundere that carries the weight of burden and guilt from her past.
⁍ Mayoi Hachikuji: A happy childish character that represents the feeling of being an outsider to a family that you don't care about except when it's too late.
⁍ Suruga Kanbaru: The cheerful sportive girl with a deep down grudge against those who obstruct the path to her wishes.
⁍ Nadeko Sengoku: A shy girl that has a complex about her body and age, wanting to grow up as quickly as possible.
⁍ Tsubasa Hanekawa: The typical studious class president that feels ignored as a person by the protagonist and consequently ends up not containing the amount of stress that those feelings cause.
It might not be easy to understand the meanings right away but just like a real life person, it takes some interpretation to get behind their mask.
Enjoyment 7/10
I know I said that there were some tricks used to help with the dynamic of the show but its still a slow paced anime and you need to be in the right mood to watch it, so don't watch monogatari if you aren't able to dispose some of your attention to it. In the end, it might not be the best anime you've seen but it will be something that will reside within your memories.
🦀🐌🐒🐍🐈🦀🐌🐒🐍🐈🦀🐌🐒🐍🐈
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Oct 1, 2021
ATTENTION: I will review Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 as a whole even though they might differ in tone a bit
Steins;Gate is a time travel show that goes way past that, it's a slow-paced well-built masterpiece that I've watched in 1 day and a half (50 or so episodes) just so you can see how hooked I became to this amazing perspective on time traveling and this captivating environment that it offers us.
Story 10/10
The story told is about a group of friends that live in Akihabara (Tokyo) and have a rented apartment used as a Lab, they discover that it's possible
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to change the timelines by sending messages to the past due to the butterfly effect. The story progresses at the typical snowballing pace, and it gets constantly more anxious and despairing as the main character tries to keep things together. It has some of the greatest plot that I've ever seen in any time travel show and anime overall, maybe the only one comparable to this in this aspect would be Code Geass.
There are a ton of little references and cool skits all around the story, for example some mention about "Back to the Future" and "A Girl who Lept trough Time", as for skits it has a really good one right in the first episode where the main character sort of breaks the 4th wall when talking to a TV cartoon, provoking him to show evidence on how he could prove that his world is more real than theirs, this helps setting the theme of the show to this kind of philosophycal thinking from the very start. The big reference, and the one that connects the show to the real world is John Titor, a forum user in the year 2000 that proclaimed to be a real time traveler (true story), Steins;Gate simply played around with this story, bringing up everything it spoke about: the IBN-1500, the 3rd World War, etc...
It's the first anime that I've seen that just takes this time concept and applies it realisticaly to the point where you can never think of it as just another fantasy but a hypothesis that could be worked on in our world.
Art 9/10
I'm already going to say this: In reality Steins;Gate is not really an 9 out of 10 in Art Style, it doesn't compare to Violet Evergarden or Kizumonogatari, HOWEVER, I think it's a 9 out of 10 for what it serves: a more serious/realistic art style for a more serious/realistic anime. I don't think I would like to see Steins;Gate with that generic anime art that you see dropping every season, it would just ruin the charm. And what brings all that charm together is the use of the color palette, by using blue tones when the story is relating more to the past and yellow colors to when its relating to the future, white being the color of the balance between both, the color of hououin kyouma's silvery armor that is his lab coat, the symbol of the Steins;Gate worldline.
Sound 9/10
The openings are really good and the endings aswell although not as much, the robotic tone in the singer's voice fits the anime just right. Speaking on background music, there are a lot of tracks that go along side each scene type just like a visual novel, you have the typical comedical track, the day track, the night park track etc... but there's this especial one, "Believe Me", that has a lot of variations: the original one, which is used a lot during the first part of Steins;Gate in reflecting/sad moments, the bad one: used in Steins;Gate 0, it sounds really off, but it's purposeful, since this second season it's supposed to happen in the bad timeline, it somehow makes me sadder than the already sad original track, and then theres the last version, the epic one, vocals and violins come in, used as a leitmotif during the most important parts. This combination really packs a punch and will make the music not leave your head for the next weeks. Also, "SkyClad Observer" is the most heroic Insert Song that I've experienced, appearing in only two moments during Steins;Gate and Steins;Gate 0 but those are the momentes that will make you grin from ear to ear.
The voice acting is also really good especially on Hououin Kyouma with that goofy tone to his voice that makes him what he is.
Character 10/10
Oh this is it! This is what makes Steins;Gate the best show I've ever seen! The characters and how layered they are, everyone wears a mask in this show: Suzuha hiding that she's John Titor, Rukako and the unconfortability with his gender, Moeka and her blind dependency, Faris pretending not to have dramas and only showing the e-girl side, Maho holding her obsession with Kurisu, Daru and his hidden schemes, Mr. Braum pretending to be just a CRT-TV enjoyer, etc...
The most important characters in this aspect are Okabe, Kurisu and Mayuri without a doubt:
- Okabe Rintarou: The best main character I've met, he is both Okabe Rintarou and Hououin Kyouma, the latter one being a persona that he has made to entertain Mayuri, a mad scientist destined to rule the world while being cautious with the organization. So Okabe's main character in Steins;Gate is this so said mad scientist that just goofs around and has a lot of chuunibyou traits, but he is not just a clingy typical chuunibyou, he represents the hope left in Okabe's heart once things go downhill, the one Kurisu and Mayuri fell in love, the savior of the world from distopia, we can see how cold the show gets once he disappears in Steins;Gate 0, and that's why we love when he returned to us to fulfill his mission.
- Makise Kurisu: Kurisutina is sort of the counterpart to Mayuri in the fact that she represents a safe future where the 3rd world war doesn't exist. She starts by being a tsundere but as the show progresses and Okabe enters despair she starts being present in his worst moments, she can't understand him as well as Mayuri does, but she can help him better since they are both scientists and can relate to stuff that Mayurii just couldn't. It's the moral support that's allways there for when Okabe time travels, the safe and reliable source that we want to see at the end of the day.
- Mayuri Shiina: Mayushii is a special character in this universe, she doesn't have any sort of mask, she is pure and innocent, and represents all that is about Okarin's past, she knows him really well and is the first one to notice how he is starting to get distant, unfortunatly she is hesitant about making him open up to her since she doesn't really understand what's going on in the lab. She is the respresentation of emotions, the one that doesn't like anybody to fight or to suffer in silence, the one that is allways welcoming and cheerfull, empathyzing with everyone.
Enoyment 10/10
Best anime I've ever seen, since I liked the characters from the very start not even the "filler" episodes were a worry for me. Steins;Gate will not dissapoint and Steins;Gate 0 will get really good and be worth the really slow paced beggining. Once you watch this masterpiece it's hard to enjoy anime again.
El Psy Congroo.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
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