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Figure out your target audience!!!

Such a WASTE of potential. The historical material that this show is based on is a massive gold-mine for TV, just waiting for the right people to take it on. The audience can deduce that the following will occur when starting the series: China is eventually unified as the country we know today (minus some expanded territory). Those who know more may be aware that the states were unified ~230 BC, which began the Qin dynasty shortly before the Han dynasty. Besides this, the events that occur in the plot are quite unpredictable (unless you know a shit tonne of details ... on Chinese history). The 3rd season features an extremely fascinating character, Li Mu - who stole the show with his incredible wit. If you enjoyed Death Note for its clever characters, this may be a treat for you.

So this show features some history, politics, war and brutality... So... Who's the target audience? Adults right?

Well, the writers don't seem to know. When the dialogue isn't political, it can turn into something extremely childish and cringe. There’s also a handful of ‘silly’ scenes where you see characters grope each other’s boobs (well, it is anime). Or when Qiang Lei explains how she thinks babies are made (because these characters share the minds of children, not adults…). Many of the characters look like actual clowns, like Wang Qi. Others have rabbit teeth and bizarre hairstyles. Why? Is this supposed to be a kids show? Lucky for the writers, they have amazing reference material, but their ability to write dialogue can sometimes be god damn awful and lacks maturity. An intriguing character like Li Mu, who in my opinion, is neither good nor evil, is better defined by his actions, which explain his motives and character far better than his dialogue does... I imagine if we got better dialogue, many of the interesting characters in this show would become even more incredible. I was at the edge of my seat watching this 3rd season, but eventually got disinterested by season 4 because I failed to take this show seriously.

Edgy.
I love characters. Characters are slightly more important (to me) than the plot itself. The characters are well-defined and unique, although far too smart and sophisticated to be teenagers, which made it kind of hard to take it seriously. I was kind of yearning for a character that was somewhat relatable. Exchanges of dialogue were long and dragged on at times. Characters can interact without dialogue, strive for simplicity SOMETIMES, eg: facial cues, touch, and gaze. We don't always need to know in words how a character is thinking or feeling... in rigorous detail, allow for some ambiguity so that the audience can make ... their own interpretations. I couldn't really find much personal enjoyment in this show. The soundtrack was fun, the animation was great, I like the art style... The dialoque, is perhaps.... a bit hard to tolerate at times. Though, out of the whole Monogatari series, this one seems the best.