When looking for a new show to watch I usually scroll though the shows on Hulu, Crunchyroll, and Netflix. See what image captures my eye, read the show’s description, then often go and read a reviews on myanimelist.net.
This image caught my eye. A girl lifting up her skirt. I am mildly ashamed to admit that, but I am glad that it did.
Bakemonogatari is one of my favorite shows. It is put out by the animation house, Shaft, which is quickly becoming one of my favorite studios due to their unique sense of art direction.
Ghost story follows highschool senior, Koyomi Araragi, who had earlier that year survived a vampire attack. The show mostly centers around him helping several girls who have had problems/ encounters with spirits, demons or mythical creatures of some sort or another.
It was adapted from a series of light novels by Japanese novelist Nisio Isin. Since it didn’t come directly from a manga the art style was more from Shaft and from illustrations in the novel by a Taiwanese artist, Vofan.
I liked the use of lines and shadow in the show a lot.
It made for a visually interesting treat. Also the barrage of info derived from the light novels that would show up at the beginning of shows made for interesting viewing.
And of course the famous head tilting is a trade mark of Shaft and nowhere is it more apparent in Bakemongatari.
(admittedly some of these were from other seasons. Not Bakemonogatari, but you get the point.)
The show is dialog heavy and is one of the strongest parts of the show. There is much that goes over my head since there is Kanji word play going on. That being said, if you are not a fan of reading subtitles, this is not a show for you.
Parenting bit: There is graphic violence and blood ( although sometimes uniquely colored). There is adult sexual humor and some fan service (but by no means over the top). That coupled with a lot of reading and older themes may not make it the best for younger viewers, but that is up to you.
I can’t recommend this show enough. If you want a deeper explanation of the story go to myanimelist.net , wikipedia, or the show’s wiki. I am not a professional reviewer or writer. I am just a fan and a parent.
I love this ED. By Nagi Yanagi
The full song:
dadwatchesanime 
I used to be crazy over this show when it came out but it didn’t grow on me. I have to thank that I watched it, because it introduced me to a cool artist, supercell (and, as a bonus, yanagi nagi, too). 🙂
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I’ve recently watched this and now I cannot stop thinking about it.
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It is one of my favorites. It is really well done, The art style that Shaft chose to employ was really enjoyable.
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