Nisemonogatari

A few years ago I rated Nisemonogatari a perfect 10/10, however upon revisiting it i find myself questioning what I must have been thinking. While it has some of the qualities that initially drew me in to the series, it’s clear that my perspective has shifted dramatically. The most glaring difference being the shift in visual storytelling because of the change of director from Bakemonogatari. Despite this it still manages to maintain the essence of the Monogatari series unlike the Kizumonogatari movies, which felt disconnected from the series in a negative way.

My biggest issue with Nisemonogatari lies in it's character's. The character's (who were so compelling in Bakemonogatari) feel significantly less interesting here. Their dialogues while not boring, lack the engaging quality that made the original series (Bakemonogatari) so captivating. Now i do not by any means find Nisemonogatari's characters to be terrible, that is not but even remotely close to how i feel. That being said the reason i am so harsh upon them is because i remember what was in Bakemonogatari and it makes me hold this up to far higher standards than i would something else just as good. But the returning characters (although far worse) are not at all bad in this adaptation. The new characters introduced for the first time are somewhat more appealing than their counterparts, if only because they don't have a legacy to tarnish. This contrast highlights the missed potential in evolving the established cast.

The opening sequences are another area where this anime falls short for me. While the music (particularly Platinum Disco) matches the quality of it's predecessor, the accompanying visuals appear lazy and simplistic by comparison. The same can be said for the ending sequence of each episode which also doesn't hold a candle.

The ending of the series lacks the punch needed to excite me for the continuation of the series. For new viewers, it's likely the strength of Bakemonogatari that would keep them engaged enough to continue watching beyond this installment.

The slower pacing in Nisemonogatari isn’t inherently bad, but the two arc's presented feel underwhelming compared to the five arcs in Bakemonogatari. I feel you would expect that more time per arc would allow for greater detail and interest, but i do understand longer stories are not always better. But i had far more interest in a Single Bakemonogatari episode than i did the entire runtime of Nisemonogatari which i find rather sad. Also, the heightened sexual content here feel's so very excessive. While Bakemonogatari had it's share of provocative moments, here it often seems to amplify these to an uncomfortable degree. Just because something worked previously doesn’t mean it needs to be intensified dramatically in the subsequent release.

The animation in this installment is actually the only part in which i would say it rivals that of the original. There are more over the top scenes in this one compared to the original, but i do not feel that is bad. I do prefer the camera angles of the original slightly more, however the limited action scenes in this anime are actually pretty solid throughout and if it replaced the ones in Bakemonogatari it wouldn't make the original any worse. I like how the action seems to tell just as much of a story as the words for either better or worse depending on how you look at it. Although the animation isn't ground-breaking at all, it is good and the choreography and story around the action is really what makes it great.

I understand that this review is really just comparing it to Bakemonogatari. So i do want to quickly mention how Nisemonogatari is not at all terrible in any of the aspects i talked about throughout this review. But the reason i scorned it so much is due to the fact that it's part of a great series and i do not find it does it justice.

Overall, while Nisemonogatari is a pretty good show alone, but fall's short in it being part of the Monogatari series. The characters feel less engaging, the visual storytelling lacks the interest of its predecessor and it doesn't make use of it's slower pacing as well as it could have. I do also believe that Bakemonogatari does carry Nisemonogatari heavily as without Bakemonogatari, i would not at all be as interested in any of the characters as Nisemonogatari does a far worse job with them.

Final Score - 6/10.