The Monogatari Series: More Than Just Anime, It's a Total Work of Art 

I would have never of guessed that you would rate the Monogatari series so low.

Nisemonogatari has one of my favorite quotes of all time. A fake is more valuable than the real thing. In its deliberate attempt to become the real thing it becomes more real than the real thing.

I hate the cliche of "you just don't get it," but for those who don't like this series, I'm afraid that you just dont't get it. I have friends who believe that watching a movie or show is a passive experience. They get distracted, they send texts, they only want to pay attention to moments of violence or high melodrama. Monogatari is best viewed actively. The dialogue is never small talk. Practically every line has meaning. The word cards have meaning. The backgrounds have meaning. At points it makes sense to pause to read something, to look at the design, or the colors. Many people do not want to put in any effort into watching, and just want everything handed to them. For these people, I understand how they don't like it. But there is a big difference between "it is bad" and "I don't like it."

I actually didn't even knew Nise and Tsuki where disliked, Tsukihi Phoenix and Youtsugi Doll are actually two of my favorite arcs, ok that i think like you and i can't remember a part where i thinked "This is bad" but seeing Araragi act in an agressive way the moment someone threaten the life of his sister was a new light on Araragi mind, he asking Karen if she would die for Tsukihi was an highlight for me, and bird of death hitting you like a rock on the start of the episode, but i'm getting out of track here. The fact is that Nise like you said does a lot of foreshadowing that if you stoped there can see futile, but if you continue watching just gives you that extra "bang" in your head when you put the pieces togheter. Tsuki for me is great visually and, again, seeing Araragi coming to terms thar Ononoki didn't need help, that she accepted her actual state was another great scene for me, Tsuki is short but i enjoyed every episode (and Orange Mint is one of my favorite ops so add that to the list) In the end i'm just confirming what you just said that Monogatari is an "complete" piece of art and experiencing it completely is just a marvel on it's own, visually, audio, story etc... It just keeps building up ans sucking you in, just an awesome video man.

SHAFT fanboy and a die hard Monogatari fan here I love the entire series in its totality

I remember someone once saying that "You should just watch Bake- and Nisemonogatari, the rest is bad" I'm in Owarimonogatari rn and I have no idea wtf he/she was talking about

"Monogatari would consistently lie to its viewers" *shows Kaiki scene* Well played

While I don't agree that they're all 10/10, I do agree that the whole is more interesting and important than the sum of its parts. Well done analysis.

Hanekawa confessing to Araragi is amazing AMAZING scene. Monogatari is a feeling 😭😭😭

You're so good at relating philosophy, psychology and history to shows. I can tell how much effort went into this video.

How does nisio manage to write such complex stories in such little time

I loved it, monogatari is probably my favorite anime and watching someone devote so much time and passion to the analysis of underrated arcs, in favor of the whole story is just great.

I finished the Monogatari series not too long ago. To me it actually is one of the best series I’ve watched. I like the points you made about different parts of the series networking into itself giving more substance to each thing that’s shown. From what I can gather and remember, the Monogatari series is the kind of show where you should expect cryptic messages through simple actions that you can already understand at face value. It’s the kind of show that is nearly impossible to recommend. People have to watch because they want to and not because someone told them to. Nice video.

Monogatari is one of few shows that I love the totality of. I seriously want to buy all their light novels and anime. Seriously wanna rep that Monogatari. This series affected me as a person to be honest even though it might sound corny or something. But it really did. It had such an impact that it almost feels like a part of me. I'm always in complete awe by the show. Also it's a nice bonus that it's fandom is pretty great too. The show also has been a great tool for me, my GF and friends to compare our world views, how we interpret things and just talk about some topics/subjects. Without it those ideas and conversations would have maybe stayed unshared.

I cannot understand for the life of me why people shit on Nise so badly. I liked Nise a lot, especially the second arc. On top of that, the OPs in Nise are bomb af.

Now we wait for zokuowarimonogatari to complete a modern masterpiece.

I fucking love how you explain this, these are actually pretty similar to my thoughts but whenever i try to explain it it just doesnt come out aswell.

"I'm sorry... I must have studdered." What an exclamation point on a wonderful piece of work.

Although Nise isn't one of my favorite Monogatari story arcs, the bath tub scene between Araragi and Shinobu has to be one of my favorite scenes from the entire series. I think the scene did an amazing job to resolve the resentment that Shinobu harbored and further developed (gave depth) the relationship between Araragi and her.

Its hard for someone to love Monogatari series. But when you fall in love there is no escape unless you watch all series. 6 month after became otaku i start watching bakemonogatari and i dropped it after episode 4 cause i cant get all the point what they said, and to be honest i dont understand and dont like how they persented. 3 years later after watching hundreds of anime and now fell like everything i watched empty. Thats reminded me when first time watching Bakemonogatari. I give it second try and i dont know how to explained it. I fall in love. It gives me the vibes when i first time watching anime. Sometimes you need to pause or playback to understand plot. But that doesnt matter. That make this series unique and different.

Not much to add personally, I agree completely. It'so hard to explain why watching it in airing order is the one true way. Mystery and foreshadowing don't tell enough about interconectedness of this series. Except Hanamonogatari - It's just unnecessary spoilers for the end of Owarimonogatari S2. I would recommend watching it last, I know I would prefer watching it that way. That's unfortunate, as I really like Suruga(and that arc in particular). Anyway, great vid as always!)

Thank you. My feelings toward Monogatari are much different from those toward any other anime (Monogatari being my favorite anime). As someone with no experience in analytical writing, I'm glad to see that some YT analysis videos are mentioning a lot of those feelings. I often think about writing down exactly why I like Monogatari so much. However, I would end up writing an entire book and I do not have the skill do to so. This is an amazing video that helped me understand some of my feelings toward the series. Thank you... again. This is a fantastical analysis.

Fantastic video! The more I learn about the series the more I grow to love it, and the part I find magical is the amount that I still don't fully understand or appreiciate. There is always more to discover!

Excellent video man, all this talk reminds me of when I read something regarding the chronologicality. About how there's one red thread going through the series that involves its absurd release order and it has to do with Araragi's development. Every arc in order one by one makes for the perfect trip through Araragi's entire character. He doesn't want to talk about himself all the way through and lies to the reader, but the further you go the more you get to know about him and you get to piece him together yourself. Absolutely love it.

So absolutely powerful, and insanely telling of the beautiful work set forth before us. I've been watching since it originally aired, and although I didn't know it at the time I was enraptured with the way the story was being told in such gratifying and potent ways. It has been so very long since I've watched Monogatari in any form, but this video moved me to tears...telling of my desperate need to give the whole series a clean and thorough re-watch and reigniting the fires I had in my belly at every important moment. What hit me hardest in this video was the flood of emotion from the music at key points, reinforcing just how much I love not only each character, but this entire work of art as whole. Thank you!

Thank you sir for making one of the best video essays on the Monogatari series! Sometimes I struggle with explaining why this series is so good, but you have simplified all of my thoughts into a nice video. Thank you, although I'm a few years late.

Timeless masterpiece: Monogatari is beyond the current time... It has transcended narrative, visual, philosophical barriers...

Really fantastic video! I’ve always wanted more attention to that defence of what people dismiss as the “weaker” arcs, and how they all are important to strengthen the Monogatari series as a whole.

I feel I would have appreciated this a lot more if I had previously watched the series. But dispite that, I can really tell you put a lot of effort into this and I really enjoyed it!

Monogatari makes me so happy... and sad... and so many other wonderful emotions. It means the world to me.

I'm scared, man, you just said exactly what I think about monogatari . It's nice to know that someone thinks like me, but it also scares a little kkkk great video

I remember when I found your channel I didn't knew about the monogatari series, so your outro was just kinda funny. But months later when I finished it and watched one of your videos again, the realization hit me very hard haha. Anyway, great video as always!

nice video i am always glad to have more people make videos on defending the "lesser" arcs since i need more than just my nonsensical ramblings to describe the themes of monogatari

One of the reasons i fell in love with the monogatari series (and one which i had almost forgotten until now) is that watching it made me feel stupid and slow, like i had never felt before. this is because the show is so clever, I struggled to keep up with the dialogue, as it constantly made me think "thats a really good point, how on earth did they come up with that?" and there were just so many things i just wanted to pause and think about. I found the witty dialogue and the other audiovisual content so fascinating, that i immediately fell in love with the show, and kept wanting to just watch more of it. The show put so many thoughts into my head at once i that i just had to admire it. But after finishing the series, these thoughts started to fade, and when i started hearing about other peoples opinions in the community about the show, it felt like every review just talked about the fanservice or the parts that i didnt think were that important. This video made me feel the way I did watching the monogatary series initially. I think hit the nail on the head of exactly what is good about the monogatari series and it was well made/edited. and brought so many new perspectives about the show i had never thought of. It felt almost like i was watching the show itself. Excellent work!

Monogatari is a character mystery moe harem I can't even describe it. Close enough!

tHANK YOU! Goodness I love this series, and watching it to completion is kinda the point (tho i also respect people who just watched bake and called it a day), so judging arcs 100% seperately makes no sense to me tbh. Great analysis as always, snail bless u_u

Now i can just show my friends this video explaining why I like monogatari so much, instead of spending hours to show them disconnected clips or trying to summarize all the very different arcs. Thank you so much.

Great video. I only realized it was four years old when I started writing this. That just shows that it's a great timeless piece that accurately understood what makes this series one of the closest things to a masterpiece there is.

Monogatari truly is a work of art intended to be taken as a whole. When I first watched bake, it was a slightly excentric, but still a normal series to me. After finishing all availible material and putting the pieces of the puzzle together, I can probably call it my favourite anime series of all time. I rewatched it a couple of times, and I have to say, it felt even better for the second time, when I had more understanding of how it all works and I was able to notice all the details I couldn't catch for the first time. Now I'm trying to get my hands on the light novels, but it's a little bit of a pain because they aren't availible in my country, so I have to get them from somewhere else.

Why did i just come across this video, I agree with everything you said I'm in legit shock. It's like you stole what I thought of the series and made a video about it. Awesome video, earned a new sub

I am pretty bad at putting complex thoughts into coherent, understandable writing, so I'll just say that I appreciate the warning before 'bird of death', that one always hits me hard.

I completely agree with you but a lot of the anagnosis comes from remembering fine details in shows that aired years beforehand. This would require very excellent memory from the viewer, watching it in a batch, or rewatching the whole series. I just finished rewatching the whole series and I really enjoyed it a lot more after knowing what happens in future arcs. Props to this great video.

An excellent point excellently made. Also, am I the only person who wishes someone would do a variant on the "Ren'ai Circulation" meme with "Mousou Express"? Seriously, I'm waiting over here...

This is the best and most beautiful way I've heard this series been described. The monogatari series was one of my first animes and is, to this day, my favorite anime. This video put into simple words everything I love about this series.

I've gotta say I've held this stance ever since I finished Owari season 2, if not even longer. Like you said, every arc/season of Monogatari contributes to the grander narrative, which so far is an absolute 10/10. Though even without recontextualizing some arcs I haven't revisited through others I've watched multiple times now, I must admit that there isn't a single storyline in this series yet I didn't like or get some value out of. Nise and Tsuki were probably the seasons/books that resonated with me the most thematically, and I'll never understand the hate they receive. They set the grander stage for Second Season and Owari respectively and show great insight into how much Koyomi and characters who are integral parts of his daily life either as loved ones/confidants or adversaries have grown. And to me they're probably some of the funniest and most beautifully animated parts of the series as well. I think I've given every season a 9/10 except Koyomi, but when I continue my rewatch and read through all of the novels I might knock that score for most arcs back up to a 10 like you did. I absolutely love everything about this series from its characters, philosophy, themes, and presentation...and I'm so glad you agree. Excellent video essay, you've earned a subscriber.

I love everything about this series. It's definitely my #1 all time. I would love to crowd fund a dubbed version just so I could share it with people that won't watch subbed anime. However, I would still prefer the subbed version myself.

eh, I agree with you mostly except about Koyomimongatari. most of the episodes don't relate that much to the series in my opinion, outside of those couple episodes that explain Owarimonogatari S2. Like the rock shrine episode with hanekawa or the donut episode with shinobu...I just felt like it was the show's last way of spending time with the characters before it ended.

Ah, I see you're a man of culture as well.

I usually don't watch anime content on youtube but this sums up this series perfectly. It is an absolute masterpiece and has changed the way I perceive other media.

I understand the irony of practicing how to pronounce "gesamtkunstwerk" while also pronouncing Wagner's name the most American way possible. Forgive me! :x Also big thanks to Bakuretsu works for the new endcard! You can check out their designs here: bakuretsuworks.com/

Thanks, you’ve convinced me to finish Koyomimonogatari. And I love the vid, Monogatari is my favorite anime, I agree with almost everything you said.

Man this Anime have so much to offer than any other anime out there

A lot was actually cut from koyomi monogatari in the anime version, its really not the same without the weird philosophical thought experiment on roads frequent in the intro and outro for each chapter; in its whole form. It is my favorite

When I saw the title I was like:Yup that makes sense👍 After I see the title where it says including Nise and Itsuki I was like: Holy sh!t,I need to watch this!

Parting Gift always makes me cry. Thanks ;-;

Great video, I'd love to see more of this kind of essays from you in the future.

Monogatari is 10/10 (Even Nise and Tsuki), water is wet, up is not down, and more, in today's news

Wow, I'm so impressed I don't know exactly what to say... this video is so great, you've done an excellent job explaining how all the series in Monogatari brings sense to all of Nisios work, even Nisemonogatari or Nekomonogatari(kuro) (I have a friend that constantly criticises Nise and Neko because of their fanservice, and I always have tried to explain him how this character arcs has their own pourpouse to exist in Monogatari. I'm going to show him your video without any doub. XD) By the way, I also love all Monogatari's characters, plots, histories, mitology and music (ogh, the OST is too much for mi body). This anime have influenced my life in a positive way that helped me growing up in my most awful/sad/depressed times. I'm happy to se how more people loves the monogatari series as I do. (I've almost cryed. Dust in my eyes you know :'D) I almost forgot: have you seen an anime called "KareKano"(also known as "His and Her circustances")? this is another show I like so much and I would love to see one of your videos speaking about it, cause is a shojou that swims in the gigantic ocean of hipocresy, shelf knowledge, interaction with other people, depression, etc... I convice you if I say it was directed by Hideaki Anno? XD Always at your choice to do it or not, but keep it in mind please. I really think it's woth it. Hope you'll make more videos like this, cause maybe you don't know, but even Gaen thinks they are amazing. XD p.s.: Excuse my bad english writing attempt pls XD. I've loved the connection you've made between Monogatari and Wagner's music. And the way you end your videos is excellent, so great, amazing, impressive, emotional... I just love it :D

Wagner lul, on a real note though this is one of my favorite series, I've watched every episode, and this was a great analysis. Nice work pointing out the OP and character arc themes. I personally think the score is probably the weakest part of the show unfortunately but that's probably a testament to how great the rest of the parts of the show are. Good stuff, also Wagner was nutso about how far gesamtkunstwerk went. All the way down to details on the costumes, but damn they pay off if you look at stuff like the Ring cycle. Even most of the pieces inside his operas are separate pieces of a whole "magical fire" being a great example, being built almost entirely out of different leitmotifs. I feel like monogatari does similar things with writing, using different phrases, plot points, or character traits to build a cohesive story that tells more with each installment Great video!

This guy gets it, Monogatari is absolutely phenominal in so many aspects, writing, animation, character development, soundtrack, just everything.

Another reason I think why Monogatari works so well as a single piece of fiction is how amazingly consistent it is with even seemingly mundane details. For example the last time I rewatched Bake I noticed for the first time that Araragi meantions to Senjou as basically just a side piece of information that math is his best subject which does actually become relevant in owari.

I genuinely think the entirety of the monogatari series is a 10 for me.

I have loved monogatari series the very first episode back in July 2009 but I am afraid that a few points made in the video may have escaped me entirely. Its not the authors fault its just I havnt been a very great fan to rewatch the series again. I have rewatch Bake again but I discovered, from the first time I watched it, its not really one of those series you can marathon to it, or at least just me. Each episode has A LOT of content to sift through and instead of mind numbingly consuming the show, i want to think about it. I really need to rewatch everything again, and, to me, it is a huge undertaking to do so, even more than watching all of gundam, one piece, or any other of the monolithic series. But i know this, no matter how many times I will watch it, I will always find something new.

i think you'll enjoy throwing around the term 'holistic' btw i love monogatari and i aint even watched all the seasons nor get what is going on half the time, and i've rewatched at random for years, watching analysis videos at whim. im really gonna be at this for decades because some of the seasons are only memorable or remotely interesting if you've pieced together what came before, and even so im just enjoying the artwork and composition and sound design of it all because i'll never not find it immensely aesthetically fulfilling

As someone who happened to accidentally watch Kizu before Bake, I will agree I would’ve loved watching it after that climactic finish of a first season.

In simple terms, every aspect of the show circles into a bigger one and with a number of components that this show has (witch is a fucking lot) it is really hard to be consistent as much as nisioisin is and thats why this is literaly the best show The most simple example i can think of is the thing that araragi says constantly in the show The "hell" he overcame Untiiiillll He actually goes to hell in the end Everything ties down to everything with a bilion styles music characters deconstructions animation symbolism philosophy art, hell, even the fan servise is a device used to say something about the situation so i really dont get how someone can rate monogatari anything less than a 10

My dude this is one of your best videos to date. I haven't seen a good monogatari vid in quite some time tbh. I hope you can keep making even better content in the future. Thanks and good luck!

Loved this! I would be super interested in a in-depth video all about Monogatari’s op’s/ed :)

Good video! one thing i have to disagree with - an essay is not the beginning or the end, but the middle of a conversation

Same, now to do the same for the LNs, Manga and then move on to other Nisioisin works.

after watching the end of this video I had a click moment in my head seeing ougi in male uniform and this just blew my mind

Excelent video, good job man! The more I learn about the series the more I grow to love it.

I really wanted to hear about the position of hanamonogatari, because having seen the shows in the order it aired, I had 2 questions, wherever it was better to see kizumonogatari earlier rather that almost at the end and if hanamonogatari at the end so it would be more charming to see grown up araragi and so.

Before I started watching your thorough reviews, I already love the franchise. I just don't know how and why. Thanks to these I understood and even found more reasons to love it.

you talked about motif without knowjng what a motif is. Amazingly smart

Well one thing everyone can agree on Kaiki best grill

What I love about this series is how each arc provides a valuable lesson and also lays out the path for the characters growth

I recently watched Zoku Owarimonogatari. Right until the last episode I kept feeling "meh" as well as a sense of imminent revelation .... both at the same time, some how. And when the final revelation came in the last episode, the whole season made sense in such a beautiful and poignant way, it was just phenomenal.

Tsukimonogatari would be a 10/10 even if all it had was Yotsugi building snowmen in the background.

When i finished the whole monogatariseries i thougt the anime late nigth boss is over but i forgot that there is another series called fate fuck it lets go

TBH when I watched the franchise for the first time I felt extremely confused at the end of koyominogatari, luckily I kept going after it but I still think that the 10 minute run time hurt the experience. That might be my only complaint about the series as a whole. Maybe I'll be able to focus on the things that matter on the second time I watch the whole franchise. And I did also think after kizu that anyone could start with the movie trilogy but, that is not something I would recommend anymore to anyone. I've also recently started to listen to the ost's of monogatari, the soundtracks for most part are god tier, best I've heard in any anime so far. Great video, had to watch it twice before making any comments, especially after the end speach I felt like like a normal one sentence comment wouldn't cut it, lol..

i did not know people disliked Nise and Tsuki. One arc has a slapping opening song, and great conflicts, the other is a great exposition of a mysterious character

am gonna check it out

I have no words, perfect video

i think it's best to watch kizu after nise so you can fully enjoy the bath scene

Saw this video ages ago under a different name (Monogatari is inseparable), glad to have finally found it again

Damn, this was a good analysis... I think I'll have to see the anime a few more times since it is one of my favorites ever ;)

Why would anyone dislike Tsuki. Tsuki is fucking amazingggg

Great analysis and video, although really spoilery for someone that is not caught up with all the seasons yet. At times I had to look away and just listen so I didn't get spoiled to death xD

10/10 all the way! I stared off scoring each season on its own but ultimately gave up after Koyomimonogatari. After re-watching the whole thing I upgraded them to a 10. Since then i added Owari 2nd and re-watched the whole shebang one more time. Cant wait for Zoku!

Wow. I've been waiting to find someone else with such a view of the monogatari series for so long... Thank you for this video, it was awesome ! It's so hard defending monogatari, most people won't even want to give it a try, I feel like that's part of why I find it, and your video, awesome

Am I the only one that find it weird that there is one op per 4 episode?

I've always had a weird relationship with the monogatari series. While I have seen seen all of it, I have retained almost none of it to memory and I think that is because each section is so dense with information, and I view them so far apart from one another. I suppose this makes an occasion for me to rewatch the series so that I can evaluate and record it the way I do now.

thanks for a great video, love your content and monogatari

I think you went far and beyond with this video. Good work.

Grr I hate the debate of watch order, nisioisin wrote it in a specific order why would you not consume it like that?

look i know the LN keeps going after final season into monster and off season, irrespectively, but im just really hoping the show doesnt end after zoku. ive never actually come across a story that i dont want there to be an ending to before my recent binge watch of the monogatari series. all of my favorite series that ive watched before this, cowboy bebop, eva, madoka, devilman crybaby, etc ive enjoyed the idea of them ending permanently, and ive generally laughed at series like naruto or one piece that seemingly go on forever (cuz they're bad). but seriously, if this series were to keep being as good as its been bake-owari, i'd be down with it going and exploring the past more, senjougahara and araragi more, what araragi and kiss shot do 100 years in the future, whatever. i just want more of these characters worse than any characters ive ever come across.

yo boys dont tell anyone but nise is my favourite season.

Nisemonogatari is so much better than people give it credit for - It’s actually one of the best Sets in the whole Series.

Awesome analysis! I really enjoyed your video and insight!