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School girls, an 8-year-old genius, and a robot all rolled into one hysterical, crying cuz' your laughing too hard anime. We follow these girls through their supposedly normal daily lives. Although, as expected, there lives are anything but normal.

This show is overflowing with cute, simply drawn characters who all their their quirks, ticks, and strange personalities. You wonder why Yuko is so obsessed with the wooden blocks in Moi's hair, or laugh at how hard Moi tries to hide her sexual-themed artwork, and you'll feel sorry for Nano's strong desire to be seen as a normal girl and not a robot. Their innocence and overly ... dramatized lives demand your laughter!

I have to admit, the show can only be taken in moderate doses. If you watch more than a few episodes straight, you might get sick of the overly adorable Professor, or the lack of any linear story line, and sometimes the randomness is TOO random. And sometimes you'd like to understand WHY something is so funny because you don't understand the cultural context.

All in all, this is a great series to watch if your also watching a depressing anime at the same time, it will certainly lighten your mood!

THE STORY;

The story of Shelter centers around Rin, a girl who is living inside of a virtual world that she can control through a high-tech tablet. Before everyone starts screaming “Sword Art Online”, this isn’t that kind of virtual world. In this world, anything her imagination desires, she can create and experience. During the video’s opening minutes, it’s rather confusing as to why she exists in this world. You start to ask yourself if this is some kind of new technology and this is what humans are doing in the future. Will she meet other people in this world? Can she interact with other people ... at all? But then as the music video continues, you come to realize just why she is in this virtual world and this is where this episode becomes really impactful. Within the span of 90 seconds, you are taken through an intense roller coaster of emotions as you watch Rin experience her memories while drifting aimlessly through her virtual world. I won’t say why in case you haven’t watched it yet, but when you see the reasons behind everything, you can help but feel deep sorrow and sympathy towards Rin. The knowledge of what has happened really sets in and makes you realize the intense gravity of the situation.

It also makes you ask… “are there others?’


ART, ANIMATION & SOUND;

A-1 Pictures, of all studios, animated Shelter and I have to have to say that I am mightily impressed. When A-1 uses CG in combination with art, it often times looks pretty as in the case of Sword Art Online or some of the openings we saw from the 2014 season of Fairy Tail. However, in this case, the entirety of the short was just jaw-dropping. The animation was also some of the best I’ve seen out of this studio in a long time as well. I really have to tip my hat to them for a well-done job on the production. The soundtrack to this show, really consists of 1 song, which is aptly named “Shelter” by Porter Robinson and Madeon. It’s actually a beautiful upbeat techno song that really provides a relaxed, yet, happy atmosphere, which is odd once the ending to the short kicks in. Despite its happy nature, the music also enhances the roller coaster of emotions you experience at the end. The effects of the song convey a duality of purpose and it’s really hard to create music that would fit a piece such as this. Robinson and Madeon did a wonderful job with the track and I highly suggest you check out Robinson’s YouTube for the full version of the song.


SCENES;

Since this review is a bit shorter due to the length of the piece being talked about, here are some beautiful screenshots of the short for your enjoyment!


OVERALL THOUGHTS;

I’m often seeing the comment that this 6 minute short is better than 80% of the anime that has come out this season thus far and, honestly, after seeing the long list of shows containing less than appealing stories, I have to agree. Even the shows I picked out to watch this season are not holding up to my expectations. The best part is? This anime was written by Porter Robinson, who is, not Japanese. This lead to many people questioning whether or not this should be considered an anime… much in the same way as Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra. While the latter two borrowed the anime style, people don’t consider these shows as true anime. Shelter, on the other hand, while written by a non-Japanese native, it was developed by a Japanese studio, thus blurring the line, once again, as to what can or cannot be considered an anime. My personal opinion is that it’s anime, but in the end, does that even truly matter? It is true that I thoroughly enjoyed Shelter and felt that it proved that you can do so much with so little. It had really good storytelling and presented the story in a unique way. I believe that if you have six minutes in your life to spare, then it should be spent watching Shelter. I highly doubt that you will regret it! For those who say we should get a full-length movie out of this, I have to disagree. I think this is perfect just the way it is. If you want to watch it, the video is available for free on YouTube. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fzQ6gRAEoy0)

The Highlights
Visual style: Minimalist, with Shinbo Akiyuki written all over it.
Dialogue: Witty, fast and engaging.
Romance: Slow and compelling.
Ending: Incomplete.
Senjogahara Hitagi: Sublime.


Shinbo Akiyuki and Nishio Ishin are a match made in heaven. Any veteran of Shaft‘s works (Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, Maria Holic, Hidamari Sketch) should be familiar with Shinbo‘s quirky and unique visual style, often relying on clever use of typography and colors to abstractly represent characters and situations. While this approach may seem slightly inappropriate for some other anime he’s produced (and certainly, it often seems that Shinbo tries a little too hard to indiscriminately jam his visual style down viewers’ throats), it fits perfectly ... with Bakemonogatari. The original light novel, penned by Nishio Ishin, features rapid-fire dialogue and constant wordplay, the perfect environment for Shinbo to wreak visual havoc. The words coming out of characters’ mouths and the text being displayed on screen are often two different interpretations of the same conversation. Bakemonogatari is a symphony of typography and color. Most visual elements are stripped down to their bare essentials: backgrounds are monochromatic, details are eschewed for simple geometric shapes, flashy animation is replaced by paper cutouts and black-and-white photographs. The show leaves much to the imagination of its viewers, and refrains from spoon-feeding viewers small morsels of plot.

In contrast the simple minimalism of the background, the show’s characters are exquisite. Visually, they are stunning. Elegant and colorful, they seem to glow – adding vibrance to the monochromatic and geometrical world around them. Their radiance indicates to the audience that they are Bakemonogatari.

And indeed, they are. Senjogahara Hitagi, the heroine of the show, is stunning. Self-deprecating, witty and bitingly sarcastic, she is one of the most unique and memorable characters to come out of anime in recent years. The interplay between her and Araragi, the show’s protagonist, is an absolute delight to watch. The show is theirs – in its purest form, Bakemonogatari is a love story between Araragi and Senjogahara. Their love is free of overly dramatic confessions and poorly made Valentine’s Day chocolate. Much is left unsaid between them, which makes their relationship so much more compelling and realistic.

Each of the show’s five arcs explores a specific aspect of their relationship: contact, confession, injury, jealousy, infidelity. Superficially, Bakemonogatari seems like five separate stories about supernatural phenomena. Yet, beneath the surface, Araragi and Senjogahara’s relationship always plays a role throughout the entirety of the series, and links the five unrelated stories together. Even when Senjogahara isn’t on screen, her presence and influence upon Araragi can be felt. Their relationship is marked by a quiet, unbreakable bond of trust, forged and developed through shared trials and tribulations. Senjogahara begins the show a cold, bitter and angry girl, harboring murderous malevolence towards Araragi. Throughout the course of Bakemonogatari‘s story, she slowly warms to him, developing an unspoken confidence in him which eventually blossoms into an unconditional and passionate love. Her relationship with Araragi is marked by mutual benefit and reciprocity – unlike most anime heroines, Senjogahara never becomes a subservient doormat for Araragi to step on.

The supporting cast in Bakemonogatari truly supports the main characters. They are many and varied: classmates, former lovers, childhood friends, strangers wandering the streets – but they all strengthen the story’s main narrative. At the same time, Bakemonogatari‘s mysteries are filled with imagination and are compelling and solid short stories in their own right. The fast pace of action helps keep viewers engaged and interested in every new episode while Araragi and Senjogahara’s romance is developed slowly, at a comfortable and realistic speed.

Unfortunately, the show’s ending left much to be desired. It felt extremely underwhelming compared to the brilliance which marked the rest of the series. Much hand-waving went on during the final few episodes, and the final resolution to the last arc reeked of deus ex machina. Few things were explained, and the show wrapped up without much conclusion. After fourteen episodes of top-notch storytelling, it honestly felt like SHAFT decided to take it easy. Regrettably, the ending of Bakemonogatari is the only thing which separates this show from perfection.

Still, Bakemonogatari is a tour de force of storytelling and visual style. The character development is sublime, and the main narrative is captivating. Undoubtedly one of the greatest series to come out of Japan in the last five years, Bakemonogatari will be remembered for years to come as an example of excellence in the the minds of thousands of fans.