So, I finished the three movies in Kizumonogatari yesterday. It was great to finally understand the situation with Araragi, the vampiress with the ridiculous name, Oshino Meme (the negotiator), and the busty class rep, Hanekawa.

But it's going to be quite a jolt when I finally get back to the first installment of the series, because the direction is so different. One of the things Bakemonogatari was known for were the many brief flashes of interstitial text related to the story appearing on screen between cuts. This has been cut down extremely, mostly just red or black cards with words for red or black in different languages on them. Maybe not as interesting, but it helps it flow a bit better because you don't need to mash the pause button so much (On the earlier series, I recommend just watching it through once before even trying to read all the text).

The other stylistic difference that will clash is the use of simplified, near-chibi, and other odd character design shifts to go with the mood. There is also, in the third movie, a really over-extended fan-servicey scene with Araragi persuading Hanegawa to let him fondle her boobs before going to fight the vampiress, although I'm sure I've just persuaded some folks to seek this out with that....

The story is a a lot less talky and more action oriented than the previous (or technically following) chapters. That's not to say it's a wall-to-wall actioner. But having been turned into a Vampire by an especially powerful (although weakened) Vampiress has given him extreme regeneration powers. He can lose an arm (And does, many times) and have a new one appear in seconds. This is played out to absurd extremes in the final battle.

Despite all the differences, it is still very clearly in the same mold as the other Monogatari stories, with artistic settings and no unnecessary characters being shown.

It exists in this weird state of being the first story with all the background needed for the first released series, but perhaps not necessarily the best entry point either for the series.

(The other artistic difference in this set of episodes is they use that annoying red skin highlight with the white dot in the middle technique, which looks so much to me like it should be a first and second degree burn. I may be wrong, but I don't recall that being in the earlier releases.)

Posted by: Mauser at 08:09 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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