Bakemonogatari

From my perspective that haven't seen bakemonogatari the anime this is not just fairly good, in my opoinion i got a whole lot of enjoyment and wonderful art in one book, and i have never seen anything like it!

When i was reading other really good mangas like death note and uzumaki i got this kinda vibe that only the really good books give you! Bakemonogatari is one of them and with a unique feeling of tension, beautie and horror in one set.

The anime includes therefore:

1. Beautiful art that is 10/10

2. Wonderful story = 9/10 where there isn't any obvious reason for this, just feel like it somehow could have been just a little easier to understand, but it's nothing fatal

3. The characters are perfect and one of a kind, 10/10

4. I really enjoyed this but sometimes the explanation and story was a little tricky to understand at first = 9/10

Overall this is a really, really good manga that you should pick up soon since this series has just started out, started out as a lovely piece of art and culture = 9/10

Note: In the future i might consider a 10/10 but i feel i can't do that yet since i've only read one volume!

Note:Bakemonogatari means monster (bake) story (monogatari). And feel the title!!

Notwithstanding its popularity, Bakemonogatari has always been thorough; despite its supernatural tone, it is still a series in which most of the time consists of long talks between characters and the development of these latter, dealing with deep issues such as sinfulness or the need to overcome a murky past. This review is foremost a comparison with the anime, that is to say I am not going to rate the characters and the plot per se, but how good the adaptation is regarding the former material.
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The manga goes for the most sheer rendering of Bakemonogatari. As it should be, the dialogue between characters remains as the foremost radix of the story, but adding an special emphasis on underlining the core of the story. To everyone's astonishment, there is not a high amount of text despite the gift of the gab that the characters have in the anime and the novels. Instead, there is an interspersing humor and drama almost perfectly fitted without any type of filler, what makes the plot very forthright and a lofty conspectus of everything that makes this series so great.
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There is plenty of metaphores in the artstyle of this manga, to bet decisively on a beautification of each scene with much more subtle and allegories. The characters are given the most attention, thus there are characters depicted on every single panel. The artstyle of Bakemonogatari mainly focuses on the attitude and pose of the characters, making each design unique.
The artstyle is more realistic than in the anime. At first it is a bit of a shock to see detailed character designs and a less conventional style, but it also fits very well with the spirit of the manga, plus the characters apparent a more epicurean aspect, something that has always been present in the Monogatari Series.
Even though the art is not as mindblowing as Berserk, the drawings are precise, detailed and fresh, with their own quirks.

In a nutshell, I loved Bakemonogatari both as an anime and as a manga. However, I recommend people who have not watched the entire series yet to watch the whole thing first so the nods to other seasons will not spoil the story for them.

After reading the first 5 volumes of "Bakemonogatari" I've come to the conclusion that the manga adaptation of NISIOISIN's most popular work is truly magnificent!
Story:
The greatest aspect of Monogatari is that it can be enjoyed on a superficial level through comedy and interesting character interactions, yet at the same time the series is filled with symbolism and themes that inspire and are thought-provoking. Moreover, even though we might feel clueless and lost at certain points, near the end of each arc we get a "punchline" that connects all the strings from before and provides a satisfying conclusion. For some, the ammount of dialogue might be overwhelming at times. However, after you get attached to the characters you'll be longing for every single interaction.
Characters:
Monogatari's characters recieive common praise for being some of the best written and fun to watch. They all go through their own character development and are a great represantation of the themes presented in their own arcs. At first you might get the impression that characters are just walking anime tropes and cliches, but don't be mistaken. It was made on puropse in order to surprise the viewer and show a more realistic side to these tropes.
Art:
Oh Great's art is among one of the best you can find. It has that cinematic feeling to it. What is more, every single panel is extremely detailed and some are filled with easter eggs. So far the best art can be seen in volumes 4 and 5 as we are greated with some stellar fight sequences. The character designs are also great and depict their personality in a great way.
Enjoyment and overall thoughts:
As you may guess I found "Bakemonogatari" to be one of the best ongoing series I've read. I'm giving it a 9 so far as it still looks like it has more place to grow. Now, for all the anime-only fans - give it a try! From my point of view, the manga adaptation expands what was presented in the anime and adds new layers to it making characters even more fleshed-out. I'd gladly recommend it to any Monogatari fan or somebody who's into rom-com, mystery type of stuff.

Oh! Great is an incredible visual artist, no one could deny that. But I do not think the manga adaptation is in good hands with him at the helm. Why? For starters, this scene (which I believe took place in the late 60's page wise) from the first chapter. It's an absolute atrocity.

--- https://i.imgur.com/7j5REaX.png ---

Let's put aside how logistically absurd it is for a moment.

Let's put aside the question of how a girl with no weight could possibly snap a metal railing, even in a dilapidated building, simply by leaning against it.

Let's put aside the question of how Senjougahara could possibly be a floor above Araragi WHENEVER HE IS LITERALLY GUIDING HER THROUGH THE CRAM SCHOOL FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME.

No, putting that all aside, the primary issue here is the way it completely abandons the characterization that the original light-novels and anime so adamantly established.

The primary intention of Hitagi Crab was to set up a world where idiosyncrasies plague characters in the form of aberrations, and the way the characters who inhabit that world come to terms and cope with said aberrations. The main takeaway from the first few arches has always been that you cannot save someone, you can only help guide them to the path to save themselves. Araragi was never a white-knight and Senjougahara was never a princess in a castle. After all, even an act of kindness or generosity will be perceived as an act of hostility, right?

Having the very first chapter culminate in a terribly disappointing scene where Senjougahara nonsensically ends up an entire floor ahead of Araragi despite having never entered the cram school prior only to end up, whoops, falling into the palm of his hand before turning a faint pink and thanking him like some sort of savior.... And then having a Araragi give the "you save yourself" speech in COMPLETE IRONY after that--

It leaves such a bad taste in my mouth.

I've seen the manga receiving praise, and I'll probably be downvoted and disagreed with; but, really--

This is just bad, guys. Oh! Great really missed the mark and misunderstood the framework of the story.

~~ENGLISH & SPANISH REVIEW/ANALYSIS~~ [8.5/10]

The Bakemonogatari manga, or rather, Bakemonogatari in general is controversial because of the artistic execution of the medium, whether in anime, or in this case manga, its humor, and funny touches of gag, but that is not the only thing, that is not what What makes Bakemonogatari excellent, is its history, message and characters.

Before going ahead with the manga, I want to clarify that it is impossible to criticize the manga as the anime because they are totally different media, but still maintains the aesthetic, artistic, retailer and with much symbolism that Bakemonogatari uses to express everything that you want in an even more intense way.

Art: 10/10

It's no surprise, the art of Bakemonogatari and Monogatari in general, whatever the medium, has always been good. In this case the drawing is extremely detailed, the use of nuances and contrasts used by the artist is very well used when expressing the emotions of the characters and also express the message that wants to give a certain character arc. In relation to the same, as in the anime, the symbolism and kind of interludes of pages with highly detailed illustrations are used a lot to express more meaningfully what is happening within the story, and to be in a manga it is extremely outstanding and the quality of the drawing or art, is maintained at all times.

Story: 8/10

The story revolves around a message, that is divided into several, but mainly we find topics such as self-discovery, overcoming, denying the escapism of a difficult situation, and overcoming their own weaknesses. Throughout the story characters are introduced little by little, and in how they deal with their own demons expressed in an extremely metaphorical way in a magical realism, which in this aspect they call 'eccentricities', the stories are very well achieved not only because of this, but also because the characters constantly evolve and the message is achieved in each arch. There are stories that can be quite heartbreaking and have a dense narrative to explain well what happens, but in turn does not miss the funny and positivism of Bakemonogatari when it comes to overcoming them.

This being the good aspect of the series and reviewing it, it undoubtedly has a very fresh argument and narrative weight, but regarding the bad, or rather, weaknesses, it is the inconsistency of the arcs, none becomes bad, but some are excellent as Hitagi Crab who spends too much inside the plot and the development of the "arc star" in this arc, however in others like Nadeko Snake, the plot is much simpler and without such depth. This makes history very good without a doubt, but sometimes it lacks some substance to be an excellent work in narrative terms.

Characters: 9.5/10

Bakemonogatari has a great cast of characters, which most are very three-dimensional and therefore human and easy to empathize with what they are going through, each one has a fairly defined personality, and although not all are equally good, they all end contributing in some way to the series, and the main characters are quite outstanding in their way of being and in how they reason and how they constantly evolve.

Unlike the subsequent installments of the series, the characters do not fully show their development and some have a somewhat simpler development (Nadeko) than others (Hitagi), the reason is quite simple, the first just wants to get rid of a bad derivative of A bad decision, the second wishes to regain its essence, including its bad feelings to be able to be a "normal human" again. This makes character development not so brightly perfect, but great.

Bakemonogatari's manga may not have as much acceptance as the anime because obviously the media are different and can not be evaluated in the same way, but it maintains the essence, the homogenous variation of genres, its message, its charismatic characters, dialogues and aesthetics as a whole to the symbolisms. Being in my opinion a 8.5/10.

Overall: 8.5/10 = 8/10 [Very Good!!]

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El manga de Bakemonogatari, o mejor dicho, Bakemonogatari en general es controversial por lo artística ejecución del medio sea en anime, o en este caso manga, su humor, y toques graciosos de gag, pero eso no es lo único, eso no es lo que hace Bakemonogatari excelente, es su historia, mensaje y personajes.

Antes de ir adelante con el manga, quiero aclarar que es imposible criticar igual al manga que el animé porque son medios totalmente diferentes, pero aún así se mantiene la esencia estética, artística, detallista y con mucho simbolismo que usa Bakemonogatari para expresar todo lo que desea de una forma aún mas intensa.

Arte: 10/10

No es una sorpresa, el arte de Bakemonogatari y Monogatari en general sea en el medio que sea, siempre ha sido bueno. En este caso el dibujo es sumamente detallista, el uso de matices y contrastes usado por el dibujante está muy bien empleado a la hora de expresar las emociones de los personajes y expresar también el mensaje que quiere dar cierto arco de personaje. En relación con lo mismo, al igual que en el anime, se usa mucho el simbolismo y especie de interludios de páginas con ilustraciones sumamente detalladas para expresar con mayor sentido lo que está pasando dentro de la historia, y para ser en un manga es sumamente sobresaliente y la calidad del dibujo o bien arte, se mantiene en todo momento.

Historia: 8,5/10

La historia gira en torno a un mensaje, ese se divide en varios, pero principalmente nos encontramos temas como el autodescubrimiento, la superación, negar el escapismo de una situación difícil, y superar sus propias debilidades. A lo largo de la historia se introducen personajes de a poco, y en como ellos lidian con sus propios demonios expresados de una forma sumamente metafórica en un realismo mágico, el cual a este aspecto le llaman 'Excentricidades', las historias están muy bien logradas no solo por esto, si no porque además los personajes constantemente evolucionan y se nota que el mensaje se logra en cada arco. Hay historias que pueden ser bastante desgarradoras y poseen una narrativa densa para explicar bien lo que sucede, pero a su vez no se pierde lo gracioso y el positivismo de Bakemonogatari a la hora de superarlos.

Siendo este el aspecto bueno de la serie y repasarlo, sin dudas posee un argumento y peso narrativo muy fresco, pero respecto a lo malos, o mejor dicho, debilidades, es la inconsistencia de los arcos, ninguno llega a ser malo, pero algunos son excelentes como Hitagi Crab que pasa demasiado dentro de la trama y del desarrollo de la "estrella del arco" en este arco, en cambio en otros como Nadeko Snake, la trama es bastante mas simple y sin tanta profundidad. Esto hace que la Historia sea sin dudas muy buena, pero a veces le falta algo de sustancia para poder ser una obra excelente en términos narrativos.

Personajes: 9,5/10

Bakemonogatari tiene un gran cast de personajes, el cual la mayoría son muy tridimensionales y por ende humanos y fáciles de empatizar a lo que están pasando, cada uno tiene una personalidad bastante definida, y a pesar de que no todos sean igual de buenos, todos terminan aportando de alguna forma a la serie, y los personajes principales son bastante sobresalientes dentro de su forma de ser y en como razonan y como constantemente evolucionan.

A diferencias de las entregas posteriores de la serie, los personajes no muestran completamente su desarrollo y algunos poseen un desarrollo algo mas simple (Nadeko) que otros (Hitagi), la razón es bastante simple, la primera solo desea deshacerse de un mal derivado de una mala decisión, la segunda desea recuperar su esencia, incluyendo sus malas sensaciones para poder volver a ser una "humana normal". Esto hace que el desarrollo de personajes no sea tan brillante, pero si excelente.

El manga de Bakemonogatari quizás no tenga tanta aceptación como el animé porque obviamente los medios son diferentes y no se pueden evaluar de la misma forma, pero mantiene la esencia, se conserva la variación homogénea de géneros, su mensaje, sus carismáticos personajes, diálogos y estética en conjunto a los simbolismos. Siendo a mi parecer un 8,5/10.

Total: 8,5/10 = 8/10 [Muy Bueno!!]

7/10. That's a pretty solid score. If I'm rating something a 7, then I at least consider it to be "good".

So why is it hard for me to recommend this manga to most people?

TL;DR - I think this manga is good, but I don't recommend this series to someone who is new to the series, as I think it's the worst way to experience it. Please watch the anime and light novel instead if you haven't.

Edit: Fair warning, I'm going to be comparing the other versions of Monogatari a few times

Bakemonogatari is a manga based off of the Monogatari light novel series, taking the name of the first part. It's a rather popular series known for its characterization and witty dialogue with frequent use of wordplay and references in its writing. This can be seen in the name itself, a combination of bakemono(monster) and monogatari(story) to create the completed "bakemonogatari".

When it comes to the writing itself, it's a rather solid manga in my opinion. The story, very basically, revolves around Koyomi Araragi, a high school student who encounters numerous supernatural phenomena called "oddities" and helps out various girls struggling with their own oddity issues. The supernatural phenomena are generally connected to some part of the characters' psychology in some way, and solving these incidents require many vastly different methods. I thoroughly enjoyed Bakemonogatari's dialogue and wit, and personally found it very entertaining. Characterization is also a fantastic point for this series, with each arc introducing a new unique member of the cast that the main character can compliment pretty well in all their interactions. However, the story is by no means even close to being finished (judging by source material), and there are still plenty of developments left to go over in this manga. With that in mind, the story is really interesting and good for one that's only in its beginning stage. The presentation is pretty good as well, and while I prefer both the anime and LN designs of the characters, I can't deny that this manga still manages to look great.

That being said, I can't in good faith recommend this manga for a two major reasons. First of all, I don't expect this series, whether it be anime, manga, or light novel, to appeal to everyone. This series is 90% about the dialogue, and I'm barely exaggerating with that figure. If you don't enjoy long winded conversations seemingly about nothing and plenty of banter, this series is definitely not for you. If you have a strong distaste for fanservice, you should probably keep away as well - while it's not the absolute worst, if you REALLY hate fanservice you will not find yourself enjoying a good amount of frames. The nonlinear storytelling may also be kind of off-putting; one arc tells the events preceding the events that happened in the previous 4 arcs.

Suppose you make it past all the hurdles that this series has across all mediums. Now you've reached the second obstacle - you're choosing an inferior way to experience this series. Whether it be anime or light novel, both have at least finished Final Season, which concludes Araragi's overarching story and ends at a good place. This manga, on the other hand, is still in its introductory phases and won't be out of it for a while. This is also disregarding the most important aspect - Bakemonogatari is NOT a faithful adaptation of the series. There's many creative liberties being taken here, such as, notably, completely rewriting Araragi's character to be more in line of a "cool" shounen protagonist (personally I think he works way better the way he did originally). With this in mind, there's no way I'd even consider recommending what I, as a huge Monogatari fan, consider the worst way to experience this series hands down to a newcomer.

When it comes down to it, I like Bakemonogatari. However, that's only through the lens of someone already a Monogatari fan. For me, the only appeal is seeing an alternate retelling of the story I already enjoy, which many other fans don't even enjoy for its botched adaptation compared to the anime and light novel that we thoroughly liked. I only recommend this to people who liked the Light Novel or Anime, and just want to experience a different version.

"Save you ? Me ? I can't do that. You're the only one that can save yourself."

If you're here, you are definitely a fan of the Monogatari Series, or maybe just a random person just looking for a manga. In all cases, I recommend you this manga. NO SPOILERS/

Story : 9.5

The story is really awesome, it's about the relationships between Araragi, the main character, and 6 other girls, who all have awesome personalities. I must also say that it's not your typical vampire story tho.

Art : 10

If i could add 11/10, I would definitely, it's just the BEST art I've EVER seen. The scenery is really abstract, like Shaft usually do. The chara-design are just like in the anime, but really well drawn. The alternation between serious and funny faces is well-done. For me it's better drawn than Berserk (please don't hurt me =)

Character : 10

Probably the best bit of the monogatari series. The relation ship and the talking between the characters is just so damn good. Araragi can be really serious and really hilarious at the same time, he's a half vampire. The other girls have awesome (sorry to repeat, but it's the best world to describe it) personalities. There's a tsundere, two lolis, a class rep, a childhood friend and a tomboy. BUT it's not as usual and I must specify this point.

Enjoyment : 9.5

Nothing to tell, but I really did have fun reading Bakemonogatari. If you're a shônen type reader, maybe it's not your type, but you should definitely have a look at it. For the romance fan, there is a few, but not too much.

Overall : 9.75 ~ 10

So I recommend everyone to, AT LEAST, have a look at this masterpiece. It's NOT better than the anime (obviously lol), but still, if you judge it individually, it's really good. Thanks for reading.

P.S. It's my first review, and English is not my native language.