Kizumonogatari Part 1 falls short in several aspects compared to its sequels (Bakemonogatari etc). I watched this movie a few years ago and absolutely hated it. This was after watching most of the Monogatari series before hand. I felt harsh as i originally gave it a 1/10 years ago because i felt it wasn't anything like the Monogatari series i have come to love. That being said all these years later and i decided to re-watch all three movies again starting with this one, and although i still find the movie to be a rather poor representation of the best of Monogatari, i believe i was far too harsh on my first viewing.

One of the most glaring issues of the movie lies in it's departure from the signature art style and animation quality that define the rest of the Monogatari series (not including the other two movies in the mini-series). While Monogatari to me is known for it's basic but interesting and important environments. This movie felt like it threw all of that out the window as nothing that should be recognisable is recognisable. From Araragi's house to the abandoned cram school all the environments feel so stupidly different it's rather ridiculous. Not only does the Cram school look far too pristine compared to the original, i also feel like the design is far less meaningful and the use of 3d animation makes the characters look far too out of place in the building. That last part also goes for the entire movie, from Araragi's meeting with Hanakawa to the meeting with Kiss-Shot, all of the environments look rather peculiar. This can be easily overlooked and i actually believe this is a very small issue in the grand scheme of things. The environment's although not what i have come to expect from the series, are not even close to terrible and are easily acceptable in my opinion. I do still believe there should have been limited changes from wat we have come to expect however.

Secondly, the meeting between Araragi and Kiss-Shot feels so very confusing. Araragi's initial encounter with Kiss-Shot is marked by a trail of blood leading to her in a subway in which Araragi goes down for what i believe to be pure interest. The explanation as to why Araragi is willing to die to save a Vampire lacks sufficient explanation. Now although the book explains it rather well as far as i am aware, i understand movies and books can be different in the way they tell stories. But the movie doesn't show anything visually or verbally before during and even after the incident anything that would suggest a reason as to why Araragi did what he did. If i try to find reason from the movie, i would say that he thought his life was meaningless. But nothing in the movie before really hints at this and especially after his initial meeting with the Vampire almost ending in him running away completely i am rather puzzled for a proper explanation. The lack of clarity in this pivotal moment of the film detracts from the overall narrative and undermines the emotional impact of their subsequent interactions in my eyes.

The dialogue throughout the film also falls far short of anything you would expect from the series. A single episode of Bakemonogatari has far more to offer than the entire movie. While the series is celebrated for its thought-provoking dialogue between characters, Kizumonogatari Part 1 feels devoid of the same depth that hooks you to not only the story but the characters within it. The viewers experience is one that is far less engaging as a result i do believe.

However, despite its shortcomings Kizumonogatari Part 1 does improve somewhat as the story progresses. As Araragi becomes more deeply entangled in the supernatural world and grapples with the consequences of his choice tot same the Vampire the story gains a slight bit of momentum and begins to draw you in. The latter half of the film offers glimpses of the brilliance that characterizes the Monogatari series and hints at the potential for a more compelling narrative in subsequent instalments. The conversation with both the aforementioned characters and Oshino at the end of the movie was actually rather interesting (to and extent) and far better than anything in the movie up until this point. Especially compared to the first conversation in the entire movie Araragi has with Hanakawa. This conversation was so poor i have barley mentioned it in this review as it was so very boring and had very few words of interest.

The animation in general was actually not too bad at all. It is nothing special and i have seen far better from the series. But if the movie was better in all the other aspects previously mentioned i feel the animation would hold up just fine. The opening scene also had me rather interested and the animation was definitely not at all bad. That being said nothing stood out as good animation wise. The animation would get an average score from me. I think the reason it looks rather poor whilst watching the movie is simply down to the aforementioned environmental design. The scene earlier on in the movie in which Araragi is running on a train-track looks absolutely terrible due to the background on which he is running. Not because of the animation itself.

I want to quickly mention before i end this review that the movie did not at all drag. The movie felt as quick as it's runtime would suggest and doesn't feel like a long experience even considering all the negatives i gave the movie and what my final score may show.

Overall, Kizumonogatari Part 1 is a disappointing entry in the Monogatari series as it fails to live up to the high standards set. While it offers an intriguing prelude to the events of the series its disjointed narrative and underwhelming dialogue ultimately undermine its potential. Despite its flaws i do believe fans of the series may find some enjoyment in revisiting some familiar characters, but for many this instalment may leave them longing for the brilliance they have come to expect.

HotHamlet - 3/10