Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season

Highly recommended. This season is very good, with new animation and continued innovation from the studio making Monogatari more modern as the era progresses and doesn't look out of date. In the end, all the stories in Monogatari are very enjoyable to enjoy with animation that is adaptive from time to time without changing the characteristics and plot of Monogatari. Once you become a monogatari fan, you will definitely love everything about monogatari even without the presence of the MC (koyokoyo) and your waifu. Because, all the characters in this series are classy, and not easy to hate them. Good job Nisio Isin, Vofan, Shaft, ... and all the staff who worked on this series.

You know it, I know it, everybody knows it:
If you are here, you have likely watched the entirety of Monogatari and probably liked it as well (since you would not have watched it up to this point otherwise). Therefore, you will like this season as well. That's honestly all you need to know.

It's another masterpiece of art direction, philosophy and story telling. The openings and endings are amazing again. They kept up the quality of the series.

10/10


...Apparently this review needs more information, but honestly, it does not, so ignore this part of the review, but here you have some fillers that this review apparently ... requires:

>Is the story unique? If it was predictable, did you enjoy it anyway because you like this genre/set-up?
It's exactly what you'd expect of Monogatari.

>Do you think the art style is fitting for the story?
Hell yeah. The art style of Monogatari is unique and deserves a "Masterpiece"-rating all of its own.

>Were the characters well-rounded? Did they have flaws and strengths, or were they unusually strong/smart/stupid?
Of course they have flaws and strengths. That's basically the point of the story.

>Did the characters react to situations and events in a realistic way?
I guess? Monogatari is deeply philosophical and what you see can be interpreted in many different ways.

>Do you think others will enjoy/dislike this series, even if you didn't? Why?
As written above, if you have liked Monogatari so far, you will absolutely like tihs season as well.

Can Monogatari really be Monogatari without Koyomi-kun? After binging this arc, I would have to say no. So far, the season feels like little more than a mid spin-off.

I don't get the decision to take one of the most boring characters from the franchise, and waste a whole half season on her. While there was some development, it seemed there should have been more to this than the writers actually presented. OK, she can now draw some shikigami. OK, she is less a victim and more a participant. Is she really a better person? Is she a worse person? I'm not feeling either. ... She's still about as swallow as a person as can be. Ononoki-chan, who is a freaking corpse, has more depth, and is better rounded. And the Ougi plot device is back. 😒

Not only was the character writing at issue, so was the narrative. It blundered along constantly. And this 6th ep was so poorly done. 5 minutes of story and 18 minutes of filler epilogue. It was so lazy, as to leave me disdainful. Never thought I'd ever say that about anything Monogatari.

Not everything is a complete travesty though. We get some very nicely rendered artwork, as per the franchise. I think they may have made Segoku and Ononoki a little too cutesy, but that's just my taste. I could have done with a lot less of the completely gratuitous and sophmoric fanservice. The director should have wielded it like a fencing foil, not a battle axe. The animation was not quite up to par with what I have come to expect from the franchine. The hand drawn stuff was fine, but way too many instances of cheaply done 2D and 3D CGI. I've seen a lot worse (looking at you Stampede) but I still found it distracting.

I will give props to the VAs, who help hold this arc up nicely. Both Sengoku and Ononoki were skillfully done. Good use of his cast by the director. Almost enough to make up for the writing and animation flaws.

I'm finding this season kind of off. It's not unwatchable, but I can't help but think this should have been much better. If I was grading, I'd give this 78/100; a C+. But I am used to Monogatari stuff being in the B+ to A- range. This is firmly in the disappointment camp. I can only recommend this to the hard core Monogatari freaks out there.