Wasn’t that something…
When I watched Bakemonogatari, my mind always converged on one single thing. Boredom. The show just didn’t click with me. All the ecchi-like scenes. The girls. Everything felt out of place. More like the show wasn’t made for me.
The story wasn’t at all interesting. Yes, it had its strong parts, like the comedy. But it was in no way special. The story didn’t captivate me. It didn’t grab me. I wasn’t invested in it or its characters. I did like the relationship between Araragi and Senjougahara, at least to a certain degree. But come on, she’s a freaking psychopath. She scares me! How the hell am I supposed to root for a relationship like that? This block I have with connecting with the couple isn’t really a fault of the show. It’s more of an inability from my side based on my biases. Even if I can’t really blame the show for it, this was the only thing I at least liked about the whole plot.
Then there are the characters. Ahhh, to me they felt like empty husks. Really, just husks. They didn’t feel real at all. I think the story was trying so hard to be meta that it failed at everything else. I did appreciate the time when Senjougahara broke the fourth wall talking about voice actors. But that’s about it. All those kanji just flying around wasn’t at all entertaining. It was honestly boring. I’m not against the whole tell not show theme of Monogatari but come on, just spouting exposition without a story to tie them together is just a bunch of meaningless facts.
I was literally ready to call it quits right after I finished Bake. I hadn’t watched a show this bad and I didn’t want to experience any of it ever again either. If I hadn’t been convinced so many times about how the show got wilder as it goes, I would’ve never watched Kizu.
Speaking of Kizu… This three-movie trilogy is comparable to some of the best titles I’ve ever watched. I’m not even exaggerating here. If you were to chart my enjoyment between Kizu and Bake it would be like day and night. Okay, it did have its fair share of fanfare. I mean, it had a lot of fanfare. But it’s impossible to undermine everything else around it. Unlike Fate’s UBW which does a lot of things right but nothing great. Kizu similarly does a lot of things and does them so well, that they’re noticeable outright.
One of the most unique things about Kizu is its vibe. I’m really happy it didn’t go down the weird abstract route of Bake nor the fantasy route of UBW. It was on a pedestal of its own. Especially with that godly soundtrack. I love the whole jazziness and the epicness it brings to the table. If you listened to the soundtrack in isolation without knowing anything about Kizu, you wouldn’t even imagine it’s what’s played behind flying vampires fighting for body parts! It simply elevates everything even within each scene. The music makes the show feel more like a fight between morality and the rules governing ethics. As if it’s a grand once-in-a-lifetime showdown.
If there’s anything bad to say about the trio. It’s their utilisation of CGI. Oh god wasn’t it bad. When the show looks good it looks pretty good, not great but pretty good. But when it’s bad, it’s really really bad.