For those who have stuck with the Monogatari series for the long haul (in particular the anime, as that is what I have the most experience with), it's no surprise that one of its biggest strengths is the atmosphere it creates. A broad concept, yet fulfilled in many different ways. The dialog-heavy conversations between characters (the point where entire episodes have consisted of only two distinct conversations), soundscapes underpinning moments of both comedy and drama, slightly-heavy faces with odd animation that admittedly got better as the series went on, setpieces and places emphasizing tension and characterization... take your pick. Each season creates its own atmosphere in a variety of ways, giving every single one its own style and character.
Each of the Kizumonogatari movies have their own character to them culminating in an overall tremendous experience, but I can't help but be so drawn towards the first of the three, Tekketsu. I'll be upfront about it; this movie is almost entirely setup for the next two, with the main attractions (that being the fights and Araragi's struggle with his humanity versus living as a vampire) only teased here. It's hard to really be into something that spends an hour primarily building its foundation, but Tekketsu saves itself from being plodding by making sure to have every scene matter, feeling like it means something.
From the start, it leaves an absolutely strong and notable impression. After all, it's not until a little over eight minutes in that characters start speaking. Gone are our main character's (Koyomi Araragi here) inner monologue and narration, and the silences during conversations normally taken up by inner interjections is instead taken up by... just that. Silences. Throughout the movie, there are only three sizable conversations that make up the meat of the movie, and only two feel like conversations from the television seasons; with Tsubasa Hanekawa at the beginning of the movie and with Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade (hereforth referred to as Shinobu for ease) during the cram school scene.
Even then, small bits of quiet break up the conversations in awkward ways, hijinks are practically nonexistent, and familiar conversational beats rarely happen. Instead, characters talk at their own pace, topics drift in the air caring little about getting to their destination, and everything happens at their own pace. It feels less like story happening and more like people talking, which is great! It makes the setup feel more natural, despite this movie being able to be summarized in only a single paragraph (and probably not even that much is needed).
As far as other movie elements that feel loosely defined, the pacing is also definitely in that category. All events happen at their own pace, which is better for a character-focused movie that's primarily setup than what is supposed to be a tightly-packed story-first series. While the movie doesn't have to do this, it often works for its advantage. The best example is 20 minutes in, with the build-up of Araragi following the trail of blood in the subway taking three minutes before reaching its conclusion. At various points the camera wil linger on small details or angles to focus the tension closing in, emphasizing Araragi's face at the most claustrophobic bits as the gravity of the situation truly sinks in. During scenes like these, as the film creates absolutely memorable moments, it'll do so on more relaxed and humanizing terms. It really does make characters feel more like real people, despite the absurdity and/or gravity of the situation, moreso than almost any other parts of the Monogatari series.
This is why when we have absurd bits like Araragi and Hanekawa's meeting, it feels less typical, less gross, and more funny than other anime that don't commit to how absurd they hammer home the bit and really emphasize how the characters feel. (The car crash right when that bit ends is perfect; catch the wreckage of the car later on in the scene.) Here, the comedic timing of the situation, the flow of the music, the incredibly gorgeous and expressive animation highlighting it, all work to serve the moment. Parts like this in all the movies, but this one especially, help it feel so engaging where any other treatments would probably lead to a collapse.
This kind of over-the-top absurdity is also highlighted with other elements of the film as well. The gorgeous, breathtaking 2D animation is contrasted against what seems to be oddly rendered 3D environments, making Araragi's adventure feel all the more bizarre. How about the cram school? In the television seasons, it's framed as a tight, claustrophobic building that ultimately ends up as many characters' salvation. In this film, it has the appearance and size of being a castle, a giant lonely place for Araragi and Shinobu. The scene where they walk around in it talking to each other takes ages as they explore different parts of the school (also having a loose flow to it), and it's captivating as a result. Or the pained, shocked face Araragi makes; it borders on ridiculousness but the film is self-aware enough not to make it too funny or attention-grabbing the entire time he makes it. And so on and so on.
At moments it gets to be too much. There was never any need to have Araragi and Hanekawa's meeting happen like that, but that ties into personal taste for how I do not enjoy Araragi whenever he's a part of the series (despite liking him more in the Kizu movies). With this being wholly setup, there's going to be times where this won't do it for me as much as the second or third parts would. Some parts of scenes feel a bit too vague or cryptic, as if stuff is passed over from the novels and we're left to infer more than we should. Oshino who is a bigger part of the next films, does not do too much here, despite him being introduced in the final third.
But even with the above, I ultimately think that the best aspects carry this for me and cater to my personal tastes the most. Plus, given its position both chronologically in and out-of-universe, it feels like a good place to let people new to the series to start (all they'd have to get over are the art and slight dialog barriers). Try and ride with it being a film almost all about setup; the payoff will be super worth it.
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