Jan 14, 2012
Before watching this series, it's pretty helpful to watch the first season, Bakemonogatari. Otherwise all the old characters' acquaintance with Koyomi won't be as understood, but they're not the focus of the story. His two little sisters are going to be the heart of the story. That being said, people who like Bakemongatari will almost certain like Nisemonogatari.
A short idea of what the Monogatari series is about is a mystery comedy and a "light" harem with a clear winning girl. A majority of the characters are girls that are afflicted with the supernatural, and the main character just so happens to have Chronic Hero Syndrome
...
where he has to save every girl that has these problems. Saving the girls are the mysteries and most conversations are comedic acts.
The story starts in medias res, where the main character is being held by his slightly psycho girlfriend with little explanation other than a promise from the last season that she would always protect him. From there, it goes back to the start of his summer vacation antics with various girls. The story is a lot of thinking and exchanges of thoughts as most mysteries are, but there's a lot of comedy thrown in. There is also a big bad that was absent from the first season and will start to explain more of the world the main character has to take care of.
The art of the anime is a very different style. It's extremely stylized like an art student messing around with raster layering and 3D cell shading. Aside from the characters, the backgrounds and objects in the story are all purely computer generated graphics that are heavily stylized. The colors are often very contrasting and have lots of empty space or clutter with weird objects. The environment can often be exaggerated and pretty surreal in its nature. There are no background characters, ever. The art serves to isolate the world that the main character and everyone around him lives him, and it really creates a different atmosphere. The art has been a departure from characteristic animes but done perfectly. There are also various scenes that simply shows a color and the background in that color that help set up the mood. These things may not normally be your cup of tea, but this is all about creating the atmosphere for the anime.
The characters are really what make the story. Each important character has an affliction with some sort of supernatural being (all animals minus the main character, who is a Vampire and the king of the Supernatural). The main character's job is to free each of these girls of their supernatural problems that usually stem from internal desires that they don't like to admit. None of the girls are truly alike. Each character is deeply explored throughout the story and generally saved when they grow in character. They all have huge emotional burdens that are amplified by the supernatural and must overcome with the help of the main character.
If you enjoy a lot of talk, extremely stylized art, and a deep, rich story, this is a series you should watch. If you watched Bakemonogatari, then you should expect the same girls to be running around Koyomi except that Oshino is no longer with him. There's also much more fanservice starting in the second episode. Either way, this is a great series everyone should watch.
Reviewer’s Rating: 10
What did you think of this review?
Nice
0
Love it
0
Funny
0
Confusing
0
Well-written
0
Creative
0Show all
