Prequels are a dangerous game. Going backwards to retroactively tell a story for which the aftermath has already played out is challenging. For one, the conclusion is not only set in stone, but this crafted statue has been laid bare for all to see already. No matter the twisting roads a prequel might take, the viewer knows what the final destination looks like, and it is a difficult task to build drama with this great hurdle.
The second issue, however, is far greater. The prequel seeks to shed light on a great mystery of the original story. And ironically, the greatest mysteries are often best left unanswered. Often what makes a mysterious character so compelling is the unanswered questions. There is no fault of your own if you seek the answer to these mysteries. But these answers can hurt. They can be unsatisfying. Or maybe they just reveal that the mystery was the best part.
The Kizumonogatari trilogy of movies set forth to reveal the vampiric origins of Araragi and Shinobu. The trilogy takes an action filled, gory, and blood-soaked path to do so - an abrupt and stark change from the Bakemonogatari just before it. And this is because Kizumonogatari, according to the consensus of the community, is the second part of the first season of the Monogatari Series despite it’s being released six years after the first part. So then, this very different feeling of the trilogy from Bakemonogatari could be forgiven.
As alluded, however, the answers Kizumonogatari seeks to tell, were not worth this six year detour. Going from a mostly grounded and very compelling urban fantasy to excessive and off-the-wall action flick reveals the latter as weak. The writing has lost its tightness, the editing its snappiness, and the characters their wit.
The ultimate tragedy of this trilogy is that it deviates from the great strength of Bakemonogatari: its conservative and sharp approach to writing. It explained what it needed to, but didn’t bother with the rest. Kizumonogatari feels like three movies were made from a story that had been cut from the original. Again, you aren’t to be blamed if you want to know why Araragi is a vampire. I, however, regret the time I spent learning it.
Despite this, I don’t think the Kizumonogatari movies are bad. If you felt whisked away by the incredible visuals of the Bakemonogatari, the trilogy reveals what six years of development can bring to the series. The use of rotoscoping makes the characters feel even more alive than before (although, it at times makes them feel disconnected from their physical environment). The action sequences, which have a minor feature in Bakemonogatari, are more prevalent in Kizumonogatari. If you enjoyed them the first time, they are executed very well in the trilogy. And while the pacing isn’t what it was, there are still some incredibly well done scenes and sequences.
If you have any doubts, then, about if you should watch these three movies, this is my answer: if what brought you here was more of the above, go ahead, you’ll enjoy it. Or if what brought you was really wanting to find out why Araragi was a vampire, you’ll probably enjoy it. Question, though, if you actually want to know.
But if what brought you here was the writing - the sharpness and snappiness of Bakemonogatari - I can honestly say you probably aren’t missing much by skipping these movies. Kizumonogatari lacks the self-awareness and wit of Bakemonogatari and it suffers greatly as a result. I understand that over six years, pacing, style and genre can change a lot, but I found it all too much of a change, and ultimately a change in the wrong direction.
Post-Review Edit: I understand that a number of people disagree (pretty strongly) with what I touched on in this review. To mention what I've talked to a number of people about on my profile (and to hopefully avoid more people rehashing the same thing on there too), I'm making this edit. I'm not going to pass anymore judgements on the movies here and will be leaving the review up (even though I am very much not happy with it).
Anyway, thanks for taking time to read this review and apologies for having written it. Read my other reviews, they're much better, I promise :)
Post-Review Edit 2: As mentioned above, I re-visited these films and have now re-reviewed them. I enjoyed them a lot more the second time!
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