Anime 9260 Kizumonogatari I Tekketsu-hen Reviews Filter Check 1

Shaft opens up with their Pro - GAME for the Kizumonogatari: Tekketsu-hen, Part 1 out of Three. The other two being Nekketsu-hen and Reiketsu-hen.

I've been a fan of The Monogatari Series for quite some time and honestly like every fan out there who seen this series back when this movie was being announced on 2011 - 2013 Gap. We've been SHAFTED 3 times after all and each one those hurt a lot for us fans.

I almost teared up as I found myself dumbfounded sitting down waiting for the show to finally begin. Suddenly filled myself with reminiscence of the entirety of the ... series that went right in front of my eyes, Preparing myself mentally for what was about to begin. The very foundation of NISHIO ISHIN tale, A tale he at first didn't planned to publish was now right in front of my eyes on the form of a animated movie adaptation.

However did SHAFT make up for their cruel games of leaving the fans holding their breath?.

Story 10 / 10
Given that it is unfair to do a review of a story since this is 1 / 3 of then light novel adaptation, I will say that the first quarter was meticulously executed to perfection.

Inner monologues as well as narrations are absent on this adaptation and are substituted by visuals and symbolism that do it instead meant to challenge the perception of the audience. It compliments the dialogues and storyline presented on this first adaptation.

I always wondered how would SHAFT open Kizumonogatari as the novel opens up to the readers as a flashback of Araragi Koyomi as he has a memory he has kept out of prying eyes and deemed the occasion fit for him to talk about the Hot Blooded, Iron Blooded yet Cold Blooded Vampire. Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade later on know as simply "Oshino Shinobu".

The Film opens up with Araragi Koyomi wandering inside a building as it were a maze, He explores multiple rooms and decides for the stairs. All this going while on silent as there is no sound but his heavy breathing. He reaches the top and upon opening the door encounters a dense like gray sky filled with clouds and surrounded by hundreds if not thousands of crows as they eerily make sounds as if something awful is about to happen, an Ill omen.

Araragi ignores the crows as they persist as though they're warning him not to keep moving, but he does and stares blankly at the sky as he sees just the shape of the sun but it don't quite make it out of the clouds. The sun rays start to break free of the cloud and Araragi doesn't noticed that little by little he is catching on fire, After he notices it he panics and falls 2 stories down to the ground but shares a moment with "Bakemonogatari" as his falling mimics Senjougahara Hitagi never ending fall but with the difference that Araragi Koyomi plummets like a asteroid enveloped in flames towards the ground.

The picture turns black and we quickly are moved to Araragi Koyomi walking on the streets right in front of Naoetsu High School just to encounter Hanekawa Tsubasa right across!. The rest you'll have to see.

[For the people who have read "Wound Tale" as Vertical-Inc has named Kizumonogatari for the English translation. Kizumonogatari: Tekketsu-hen adapts the first 100 pages of the novel chapters 001 - 006 in all!.]


Art 10 / 10
Crisp and clean, The art and animation showed to the fans it's outstanding truly impeccable, A somewhat strange blend of animation with what seems to be realistic CG that works out on a way that you would never think it would on a rather extreme positive way. As always SHAFT proves impossible doesn't exist on their book of words.

The symbolism is put to well use and the sounds placed on the right scenes are outright powerful to leave you with a dry mouth with nothing to say.

Araragi Koyomi as well as Kiss-Shot on their fateful meeting had a lot of work done on regards to corporeal and facial expressions so much so that's it automatically silences the theater when there was a comedy just moments ago.

Sound 10 / 10
The voice actors were on their A Game and the OST were on point and so well done that you can't help but to have your both hands on a triangular manner on which you are left breathless to how much you can get into this 1/3 of the trilogy.

The auditory exposition was masterful and more than BGM the sounds used conveyed seriousness as well as reality checks for some of the characters. It as well highlight positions in power and the powerless on key situations throughout the film

Characters 10 / 10
The characters are used as a thread on a needle, Accurate and on par with the story. They're well stitched together on complementary fashion that becomes a game of catch and you're on the middle as you witness remarks and rebuttals done and launched around right in front of your eyes.

Enjoyment 10 / 10
I can't go further than PERFECT, This film will have you gripped on your seat and you will be swayed to laugh and will be brought to tears, When you realize this was done with just a third of a trilogy you then realize that this series will go down as a Masterpiece.

The adaptation has been twinkled a bit so that your foreseen knowledge of the movie from the light novel doesn't make it feel easy to anticipate. It is done on a way to hook the audience without removing the vitality from the novel.

The synergy between visuals and auditory expositions are masterfully done compensating for the cut of inner monologues and usual narrations that we are so used to Araragi Koyomi doing. It is done in such a way that it conveyed as much as the dialogue itself and work in perfect harmony.

The opening it's great. I've gone over and over and I don't see an alternate opening.

Overall 10 / 10
If you're a Monogatari Fan you just have to witness this work of art, If you aren't then give it a chance. There is a high chance you will be drawn to the series. Having said that, Rather than a prequel this is more of a Prologue nevertheless you can be assured that this film it's worth every penny and more!.

I honestly have never wanted summer to come and I'm a winter person, That should say enough. All because I want Nekketsu-hen to arrive as soon as possible.

Kizumonogatari Tekketsu-hen is a truly sublime experience, an expertly crafted intense mood piece that encapsulates the ideological perspectives and meanderings of the coming-of-age character, such as is Araragi Koyomi; this is all portrayed in a very bloody folklore/supernatural tale complete with limbless vampires, a deus ex machina Hawaiin shirt wearing dude, head-patting, burning corpses, porn magazines, train metaphors, lots of crows masquerading as metaphors, and through sexualized imagery of PANTIES!!!

In this light novel adaptation of NisiOisiN's popular series, Bakemonogatari director Oishi Tatsuya returns (!!!!!!) to present the true beginnings of the Monogatari series in cinematic form (a first in the long running series). It's ... finally time that we witness Araragi speak about his ill-fated meeting with Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade during the spring break between his second and third year of high school, as it is his duty to so (well probably, it's been six years). Here, we begin this wounded tale of awakening, friendship, identity, as well as the role of balance between the supernatural and humans. The story follows our isolated and anti-social hero, Araragi, a friendless slacker who thinks having friends will decline his intensity as a human being, as he develops into a slightly less friendless slacker who makes a friend (well maybe two or three more), hence making him not a friendless slacker (too bad for you Araragi-kun, you' just made a friend;). It's also about vampires... for now until the next two movies come out!

The opening scene of the film lets us Monogatari fans know right off the bat that it will be a very different experience from previous series' iterations. Director Oishi breaks away from the more avant-garde and colorful visual styles and limited animation of narrative from the previous series (Nisemonogatari and onwards). He returns to the darker and more obscured perspective of the darker silhouettes of the original Bakemonogatari. It's a little more on the realism side rather than dreamy side. The art is a bit more morbid and dark, to convey a sense of isolation as well as the foreboding role of death/suicide that is so pervasive in Araragi's position throughout the film. That is not to say it's all death and gloomy, as there are still the more light-hearted and playful banters between characters. The role of post-modern identity and of truths and fakes and objectivity are still at play here. It's all still Monogatari, just with a bigger budget and a different style.

And man do they utilize that bigger budget with character animation. Facial animation looks incredibly emotive and stunning. The line work on character faces are impeccable, especially on Araragi and Kiss shot's ---- I mean Heart under blade's gigantic heaping melons -- I mean the line work on her face, definitely not her boobs. The quality of the work is able to convincingly convey every sense of emotion we see in Araragi, especially during a certain subway scene, one of my favorite scenes of the movie and probably of the entire series. A very visceral, bloody, intense, and powerful scene detailing human compassion and hopelessness through stunning animation. Araragi gives his best "Oh sh**! What the f*** is going on! Holy mother of big t!ts-- Holy Sh*t! F*** this I'm outta here! F**K! This lady has no arms and legs! Oh SH*T! I'm not taking this sh** anymore! I'm sick of these motherf***ing vampires on this motherf***ing plane! I am f***ed! F**K!" facial expressions ever.

And this is probably my favorite part of the film, the use of animation to invoke character's thoughts rather than through narration or monologues (though they are still present). The high quality art is able guide us through our hero's thoughts, desperations, as well as shifts in his mannerisms. It's pretty good. A movie budget is able to give the animation studio, Shaft, an alternative way of presenting the story cinematically. We lose some of the witty and hilarious inner thoughts of Araragi, but are presented with a thematic style that is able to portray emotions visually rather than through words. I know some people will hate that style, but the silence combined with heavy sound effects and limited dialogue or internal monologue create such a dark and foreboding presence. It enhances the tone I think the director is going for. I dig it.

Backgrounds are also very appealing and the CG didn't bother me at all, very well utilized not too distracting or noticeable.

The director's use of cross-cutting scenes (something I've not often seen in the series) to build up grand character introductions is also pretty damn cool. Specifically, a scene involving Heartunderblade discussing Araragi's new objective cross cutting with an impending encounter with a certain three characters. It's great work, a film technique we see in a lot of american films, but not too much in anime (at least in this series). Overall, the animation and art are sensational.

But it's not all about animation and the tone/silence that shine, dialogue is also heavy, especially in the second half. Here we are presented with the ramblings and bloated explanations that we've all come to love. Right guys Right! Music is mostly jazz but can be chaotic (in a good way) during the more intense scenes. And voice acting is all top notch. Maaya Sakamoto absolutely nails Kissshot's-I mean Heartunderblade's subway introduction scene. Again, I find that scene to be so raw and powerful that I can't stop thinking about it even days after watching it.

My only gripe with Kizumonogatari Part One is that it kinda just ends; though that's to be expected with a three parter for light novel. Character development is pretty stagnant, too, other than with Araragi. But having read the light novel, parts two and three should fix that. I also think it might be polarizing for newcomers since you're only basically getting one third of a story, an introduction of sorts. But I think it will keep them wanting more though. For fans, it's a must watch. F***ing watch it now! Legally please! (if it's playing in a theater near you)

But still, Kizumonogatari is a phenomenal and intense experience,.. for being one third of a movie. If the next two films can follow its opening footsteps, the trilogy will become a truly worthy thrall/servant to the almighty and great five hundred year old slayer and empress of aberrations Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade, the iron-blooded, hot-blooded, yet cold-blooded vampire.

But seriously, this is my favorite story from the all Monogatari arcs I've seen or read. I think they truly nailed it with this first film, so I have full confidence in the Shaft team to deliver in the next two installments. It's a moving and visceral novel with a knockout ending full of emotional truths, pain, and suffering, and I can't wait as I am so f***ing stoked to experience this incredible tale cinematically and through the visual medium. Thank you Aniplex of America for releasing Kizu stateside you money gouging, wallet killing cun-------; I will forgive you this once for your overpriced blu-rays Aniplex, just this once....

Plus i got a free poster when I watched it in the theater. It's very very nice. So the movie automatically gets a .3 bump, but also automatically loses that .3 bump cause the blu ray will be super expensive (I can't forgive you Aniplex NOOO), but the blu ray will also be all so glorious so it automatically gets a .01 bump. Hence a 9.01 outta 10.

I remember right after watching the first episode of Owarimonogatari that the trailer for this movie had finally been released. It looked really good from what I could see, as expected of Shaft. However, it turned out that Kizumonogatari would be split into three movies which either meant that the studio was trying to do the story justice by giving the full adaptation. Or, that Shaft was simply only trying to milk the series for what it was worth giving the amount of hype built up over the last couple years. After watching the movie, I can gladly say it's more ... of the former than the latter.

Let me start out by talking about the visuals. Given the amount of pain-staking traditional animation, the production is more higher quality than I would expect in a typical anime film. But then again, it's Shaft we're talking about. There was a plethora of subtle motions and unique movement quirks that showcased the characters without relying on dialogue to characterize them, as seen with Kiss-shot's broad, puffy actions, Araragi's more reserved behavior, and Hanekawa's friendly approaches. CG was very well done even though I generally dislike it in other works usually due to how cheap it looks or how it stands out too much, but here it almost seamlessly integrated with the 2D characters creating an asthetic I've never seen from any other anime.

Sound-wise, I don't have much to say. When I left the theatre I was throughly convinced that I needed to get the OST when it comes out. Tracks were very smooth and whimsical and badass in the right places. Also, voice acting was spot-on. Got to give props to Maaya Sakamoto for conveying how desperate Kiss-shot was to preserve her life. Aragi's (sorry, bit my tongue) mortal turmoil was also solidly done.

Onto the direction. Holy hell, the direction. Shinbou and Oishi have done it. There were loads of the visual and audio metaphors many of us are used to from the television series, but now only more nuanced because of the film-budget allowing them to combine high quality animation with their top-tier shot framing. As a result, though, the text flashes that were often used to help characterize the characters were practically nonexistent. And I guess for the better because of the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words or something. I really didn't get the random French that appeared from time to time, but what the hell, it looked cool stylistically.

Plot was perhaps the weakest aspect of the movie given how some parts seemed like they lasted a tiny bit too long, but it didn't detract from my enjoyment because I was too immersed in the direction to notice how little of the novel the first part actually adapted. At the very least, it did a great job setting up for the next movie.

Overall, it was absolutely worth ditching hanging out with friends to go see an anime movie. Everything about it was pretty damn solid, aside from the thin plot. I'd go see it again in a heartbeat if I could, but that would mean traveling again. Anyway, I really can't wait for the second movie to come out!

8/10, B+, according to my scale.

Bloody Brilliant – Kizumonogatari Part 1

“SHAFT is perfect and creates nothing but masterpieces. Anyone who disagrees is wrong.”

Noir

I could watch this movie without any dialogue whatsoever and still be kept thoroughly engaged from beginning to end. That’s my untested hypothesis, of course. Needless to say, Kizumonogatari is visually stunning. Gorgeous. Magnificent. Ravishing. Sensational. Out of this world. I just want to keep listing off words to describe how fucking beautiful this movie looked. As is the SHAFT guarantee, there’s never a dull moment. Whether it be the playfully unique changing of camera angles to the cuts of text, or how it manages to take ... us from location to location to location in a matter of seconds, the monogatari series has always been something that encourages keeping your eyes glued, otherwise you just might miss it.

The character art is fantastic, and even more mesmerizing in motion. What’s even more fun is how the camera moves with the character it’s following. It’s an interesting view to, walking behind Araragi. Or in front. Or to the sides. Or to any angle imaginable, which is basically what Kizumonogatari is trying to accomplish. Look good, in every possible way. And from scenery to character art to motion, it succeeds.

As for the character’s interactions, they’re absolutely wonderful...but succinct. It seems like there’s much less dialogue in this movie than in any of the other monogataris. For the first five to ten minutes (roughly) not even a single word is spoken. Now, I’m not one of those asshol- erhm, “special people” who like to criticize a movie through comparison with the novel it was based on. They’re different mediums, and it’s an adaption, so there’s no need to get our knickers in a twist. However, the book does hold quite a lot over the movie in terms of dialogue and Araragi’s inner thoughts, and it might’ve been nice for SHAFT pull more from it. Still, the movie still manages to be witty and profound without it.

Without getting too far into the issue of runtime, I will say that Kizumonogatari ends in a...strange place. A weird way to end a movie, that doesn’t really offer up much of a conclusion nor cliffhanger. Even the final line wasn’t much to go off of. It’s...a little disappointing, considering the film as a whole was bloody brilliant. But I think I’ll write about the story being cut up into three parts another time, so for now I’ll just leave you with these words: Bloody brilliant. Excessively excellent. Splendid masterpiece. Impeccable piece of art. Epitome of film. Fucking amazing.
Thanks for reading!

(note: Review also posted on my blog, was not stolen https://theregoesmykokoro.wordpress.com/2016/03/12/bloody-brilliant-kizumonogatari-part-1/ )

(8.5/10)

"Welcome to a world of darkness," Shinobu tells Araragi as he just discovers his combustible vampirism.

In the first film of the trilogy, we explore the backstory of Araragi and Shinobu. Its been a long time coming, too, since their backstory has forever been teased but never fully fleshed out until this was released.

Admittedly, I was a little sad going into the film knowing it won't be a continuation of the jaw-dropping conclusion Koyomimonogatari had; but my sadness quickly vanished. Here we get the unreliably narrated first part of a story about Araragi meeting our favorite donut-loving vampire loli.

_________________________________

[PART 1] : An Explosive ... Tale


This is distinctly Monogatari. From the bout of fanservice to the beautiful art direction, what i'm watching is definitely Monogatari. However, there have been a few changes.

In the film, Studio Shaft employs a new style of animation to the show. While everything is as slick as it always was and every character is distinctly recognizable, we do receive females with rosier cheeks and noses; as well as a less-polished look.

Mind you, this less-polished look is on purpose. I'll get to the actual animation later, but needless to say, this new look fits the tone of the show perfectly.

The story fits the tone, the tone fits the story, and the new art-style fits both.

...

Araragi is painted as a loner. Not just painted, but exposited as one by a pleasant Hanekawa cameo. He doesn't want to make friends, but not really for the reasons he says.

Needless to say, Araragi is trying hard to be an edgy and cliche anime protagonist. However, once he does make a friend, it quickly shows that he's still the koyomi we know.

At first I was hesitant on Hanekawa's scene, however, once I thought about everything it did, I look back at it with fondness. It did a solid job of establishing everything we need to know about Araragi.

...

This leads its way to the main story and it's kept nice and simple so far. To avoid spoilers, Araragi needs to help the famous vampire known as Kiss-shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade. From here, we meet our three antagonists and the story unfolds.

While the visual appearance of the show is similar; this direct form of storytelling is somewhat refreshing, but also a bit strange. We don't get pages and pages of dialogue, and if anything, the exposition through paragraphs is kept to a brisk minimum.

This is because something else takes over for that.

___________________________________

[PART 2] : Story Through Animation


Ah!!! The animation is SO. FUCKING. GOOD.

Now i've always praised the show for being a definite step away from the "anime norm". It's visually representing a Light Novel. So it has to find a way to create two characters standing around talking into engaging scenes... Shaft has always done this incredibly well.

But with Kizu, it's on another level. This is a movie where the studio and director put an absolutely preposterous amount of work into the fluidity of the animation.

Certain stylistic choices were made in regards to using CG 3D imagery more. This was, in my opinion, a choice to portray how much the world has changed. Locations we know look different. It creates a sense of "new", because it is new for Araragi, and the way the first movie plays out, it's currently a story about Araragi. So through his eyes, we experience a new-same world. It's cool.

That and the fact that this has some of the most fluid CG animation i've seen in an anime, plus the fact that when the regular 2D character moves it's absolutely gorgeously imposed onto the 3D as well.

I'm an animation fanatic, I love when something is animated well. This is animated exceedingly well. Some scenes were jaw-droppingly beautiful to look at. I absolutely love the new artstyle and I don't think it's wrong to say that the gorgeous animation was the highlight of this film.

I can't stop praising it enough. It's THAT good. In a perfect world where anime isn't dominated by still-images and pans of characters standing around and talking in a boring way, I'd hope that things like this would take over.

Point is. Monogatari has found a way to be EVEN prettier.

______________________________

[PART 3]: Characters and Progress


As I said, the story is kept simple. It's kept simple because this movie is a feast for the eyes rather than the ears. The characterization is clean and the motivations are (so far) pretty clear.

That's all I really have to say about the story. But, lets talk about cool.

...

What is cool? How is cool something tangible in television or film? Is it something that needs to be there? Is it something that can be done well, in a self-aware way?

Well "cool", in its slang-meaning, is something that's attractive. Something that's "in", something fashionable, something that catches your eye.

Needless to say, a lot of anime tries to be cool. It's a cliche now, for me. Especially in Shounen shows like HunterXHunter, Attack on Titan, Fullmetal Alchemist, etc. The writers have this need to make things "cool", and a lot of the time, unfortunately, it backfires.

While Monogatari is far from a shounen and far from an action show. I've seen just about everything try "cool" before. But what a lot of people, especially writers and directors, don't realize, is that cool isn't something that can be done easily.

For example, these said shounen shows have this annoying thing they do where when they have to introduce a "powerful" character into the story, they go about making him/her cool in the most boring way possible.

1.) They Job. Where they have this said new character beat the ever living fuck out of a previously established "strong" character to make this new character seem EVEN COOLER AND STRONGER!

2.) They have a character say something like, "Ah! He's so strong! I can feel his evil aura!" Or something along those lines.

So one is something that can work once but soon becomes boring and stale. And the second method is just boring. How is exposition something cool? How is telling the viewer something like "Oh shit he's so cool! Please think he's cool!'.... cool? It's not cool. It's not cool at all!

...

So this relates to Monogatari, especially Kizumonogatari, I promise.

With this cliched view on "cool", anime has always been distinctly uncool for me. Sure the idea of some shows are cool, but their execution has been lacking.

Yes you can make a character an archetype for cool. Give him slick hair a leather jacket and an "I don't care" personality. But if you want something to capture the essence of "cool", it requires a delivery that's cool. And what's cool to a lot of people? Being subtle. Not caring. Not screaming "Look how cool I am!" Because doing that is totally NOT cool.

So a character in "X" show can be a cool character for the characters. But if he isn't shown in a cool way... if he's just a cool character because "well, the writers say so!', he's not really that cool, to me anyway.

Yes i'm aware i've used the word cool like a hundred times.

...

So where does Monogatari come in? Well, I think Monogatari has a very perfect way of showing "cool". Especially since the show is fairly blunt in it's parody, it's very eager to point things out. If Hachikuji is acting cute, Araragi won't hesitate to yell "Kawaiiiii!"

But the show doesn't do that with cool, and i reckon that's because the director and writer knows exactly what being cool is.

Kizumonogatari delivers that in spades. While characters like Kagenui, Episode, Oshino, Ononoki, etc. have always been cool characters, Kizu dramatizes that.

When Monogatari does cool it's subtle. It's intense. It's a character looking at you. It's right.

I can't emphasize how great this is for me, as a lover of cool. I love getting that tingling sensation down your spine when some badass just does something fucking awesome.

Kizu does that with the introduction of its antagonists. It doesn't job, it doesn't explain what makes them cool. You get it. They're cool. They're cool because they're aberration-slaying bad-asses. One of them wields a giant god damn cross. He doesn't need to explain why. You see it and you are like "Damn son, that's fucking sick!"

That's the essence of cool!

One of them is named Dramaturgy! Which is a hilariously self-aware way of saying "Hell yeah, this dude is awesome."

And this is all done in a scene with literally no dialogue! This is all done in a way where when there IS dialogue, it's purposefully muted over. They know cool!

____________________________________

[EPILOGUE]: Life of Problems


So after that massive rant, I'll wind things down. Kizu is part one out of three. It's literally the build up. In fact, the "climax" of this episode still serves as a buildup.

It has an incredibly unique and awesome new animation style that fits the theme of the show.

While the overall theme of the show, Romance, isn't quite present yet, it's still really entertaining to see a long-gone world where Shinobu and Araragi don't quite know each-other yet.

It's like the first part of the first Star Wars, almost. It's you beginning to grip the edges of your seat in anticipation for whats to come. Knowing the creator and writers, whats to come is sure to be cool, funny, dramatic, subversive, and most likely a little fanservicey.

While the story is simple so far, it was an absolute blast to watch this glorious animation unfold before me. It was an absolute blast to see the old-world. It was an absolute blast to meet old and new characters.

I'm eagerly awaiting the continuation.

Kizumonogatari is, in short, "A story where no-one ends up happy.".

If you follow a Monogatari watch-guide, it'll tell you to either watch Kizumonogatari either after Bakemonogatari, the 1st season, or after Owarimonogatari, the 7th season. I personally chose the former, as this was the intended order for the story. And I do not regret that decision in any way.

Kizumonogatari, if I had to make an analogy, is the Cherry on top of an Ice-cream sundae, with that Ice-cream sundae being Bakemonogatari. There's just something about the grimness and style shown in Kizu, that just works so well in contrast to the dream-like, care-freeness of Bake. ... Kizu takes what little horror that was shown in Bake, and amplifies it by 100%, but still manages to retain the charm that Bake had. Kizu also answers the many questions I had after finishing Bake, and to top it off, beautifully wraps up the entire narrative of the story.

One of the best anime movies I've seen. Whether it's the stunning art, to the amazing music, the Kizumonogatari Trilogy is absolutely worth the praise it receives.

SO YEAH. I've watched the Kizumonogatari series. Not in the Cinema. Or brought the DVD from the DVD store and shit. But I've watched it on kissanime today, July 30 2016.

And due to seeing people getting extremely disappointed with the film for being too short, for having only 7-10 things happening in the first film, and in the entire 1 hour and 3 min. In term of the scenario, situation, or the interaction scene between characters. It's justifiable for those to criticize this movie for being mediocre, or slow pacing to the point where you would feel like the long wait for the kizumonogatari series ... was just a joke.

And let me start off by saying this. The pivotal components of this film itself is the cinematic techniques that was used in this movie. And we could clearly sees that this is just the exposition of the other parts of the kizumonogatari movie and that's why it's called part one. And the pacing of it is extremely slow as well because that's just how it's. And from what I've seen. This Kizumonogatari movie contains both parts of the plot-line. The exposition and in the progress of undergoing a rising action. And in term of the cinematic technique that was used within this movie. I would say, this is prolly one of the best cinematic technique that was used in an anime ever. One of the many things that it did, is to build up its atmospheric environment, atmosphere, setting, the sound tracks, and the symbolism involvement with the voices of other external correlated things (baby crying, sounds of someone stepping on a door etc.). That created a kind of cinematic moment which is considered to be called as, "noir". And other term during the flashcard thing that usually appear when you watch the monogatari was a film contextual words. That was "noir", and "rouge".

And this is what "noir" means, a movie about crime that uses dark shadows and lighting to show the complicated moral nature of the subject; also : this style of film. And it was delivering this kind of cinematic "noir" in the movie so well. And the atmospheric environment are that of a realistic images of an actual place. As well as the background setting that was used in the anime as well. And the application of various sources of imagery and animation in the film is pretty interesting as well. And based from what I've seen in this movie, the director seem to spend most of his time to create an extremely less repetitive frame of animation to each scene, or body movement to make it look even more realistic. This though, is at the opportunity cost of some of its character design texture, intricate lines on them, details, and the welly drawn entirety of the character in motion. This is probably because their budget for this movie isn't really as much as the fate zero franchise.

And certain character's interaction aren't really that logical. Maybe because of the time constraint of how long the movie gotta be with their current budget for the movie itself. Or the fact that this is how it's done in the light novel already. But the characters, especially Hanekawa. And here's my character analysis of Hanekawa in the movie. She was pretty clingy, show no certain kind of disturbance or faze when she show her panties to Araragi when they first met with one another, and actually talk. Then they started talking like they were very close despite them only being just a stranger, and they began to hang out with one another. This includes other form of other character's interaction within this kizumonogatari when we get to see Araragi interacting with them. And that shit makes no sense. But the character is pretty likable enough, they have a very good voice cast, etc. So I'm not going to say that the character in this show was illogical and bad. But they're likable enough (coz, moe) to be able to enjoy the story and the character interaction nontheless.

And the weight, or the dialogue itself were render short within this film. And my guess would probably be because this is just the exposition to the entirety of the Kizumonogatari story.

But the much more intellectual, maybe containing puns, philosophical arguments, uses of English words, English puns, hardcore symbolism with its visuals, or structuring their arguments of any of the related topics in a logical sequence (Premise, Premise, Premise... all of those premise will support the Conclusion. Which makes them valid and sound). We will probably see those in the upcoming film, or either of the part 2 and 3 of the kizumonogatari. And because the film itself was concentrating more on the cinematic techniques, and the uses of "noir". I still find the kizumonogatari as enjoyable, or even more enjoyable than their usual ways of compiling all of their dialogue within their visual novels, into a single episode of the their monogatari episodes. But in the overall sense, I'm cool with the lack of dialogue within Kizumonogatari for part 1 of its entirety, because of the cinematic technique that was used, and interesting animations within it.

But on the side note, each episode of Fate zero cost around $200,000-350,000+USD. And imagine how much does this movie even cost to make in the first place. Based from the quality of the art, the high level of animation, and the editing, OST, voice cast, staff payment etc. I would prolly think that this movie cost as much as 2 or 4 episode of Fate zero, approximately.


And I'm not gonna lie here, I was laughing my ass off on a scene that wasn't intended to be funny several times. Maybe because of the silliness of over exaggerated animation, the lack of gravity/physics, and the somewhat sloppy art-style during character's body movement, boobs physic/boob size xD, or when the characters is moving in general. But nonetheless, I fully enjoyed the movie because of the cinematic techniques that was used in the film in a very professional manner, the variation of jazzy, chill, suspense/intense, dramatic, majestic and friendly OST. And the light hearted, cute, comedy like art scene/parody of some other comedic work in the manga industries. I would probably recommend this to many of you to check it out. This review may be pretty long to read, but to get the overall idea of what the objectives of this Kizumonogatari is. I would recommend you to skim it over just to get the overall idea of what to expect while you are watching the film :)

Okay, I'll start by saying that there is a lot to say about this movie because it is so vastly different from everything else in the Monogatari series:

First thing you'll definitely notice - The animation:

Character designs:
The character designs in this movie very much resemble those in Mekakucity Actors, in the way that they lose their sheen and smooth polish used in the anime series. Personally I think this is actually pretty neat, there isn't much change from the characters characteristics apart from Hanekawa being even more well-endowed (if you think this is a problem you're lying to yourself). The only complaint I had was the ... very brief scenes where 3D animation was used to animate characters. While the models were very detailed, the movements were very robotic.

Background/Setpieces:
There are a lot more live action images and film inserts in both the backgrounds and structures in the film than in any previous Monogatari series. Even structures you've seen before such as the cram school and Araragi's high school look entirely different in this movie. The rotoscopes and live action images are so well done that they're indistinguishable from each other. It blends well with the new character designs so it all works to give it a new fresh look. Whether or not it works is all personal preference, I think it worked quite well.

Next up is the story:

Story:
This is the prequel of the Monogatari series explaining Araragi's first encounter with the supernatural, namely Shinobu. This being the first part of a trilogy and me not wanting to spoil anything, I can't give a complete overview of the plot so I'll leave it at this.

Faithfulness to source material:
I have not read Kizumonogatari, however from what I heard from the friend I went with whom has read Kizumonogatari, this movie did adapt about a third of the book. However there are some moments that do seem stretched in order to make it long enough to be a film (though the film is only 60 minutes long). According to my friend some events receive clearer explainations in the book, however there was nothing altered too much.

Dialogue:
To my suprise this movie had the least amount of speaking in any installation of the Monogatari series. This is mainly due to the stretched scenes I referred to earlier, but it actually didn't bother me much. I think if there was too much dialogue I wouldn't be able to take in the new style of artwork displayed in the series, also the dialogue that was present was very good.

Humor:
I'm especially making a section on humor because this movie has some of the best I've seen in the Monogatari series in a long time. The first half of the movie has some of the best visual humor and witty dialogue that made me and the rest of the audience laugh out loud at its sheer ridiculousness and snark (including what I now know as the epitome of the world's most glorious panty shot, you'll see what I mean).

And finally, Overall enjoyment:

This was honestly a treat to watch on the big screen and hope to see the next two in theaters as well. What made Bakemonogatari so great was that it was like nothing anyone had seen before, however after multiple seasons and specials proving that it could be replicated it was really nice to see such jurassic changes to the film, making it seem like you're watching something totally new. Overall, this was a great film and I highly recommend watching it as soon as you can.

Final Score: 9/10

Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-hen. This review will be based on the movie itself, in it's entirety, as a movie. Not it's production studio, nor the sexual themes that everyone loves to talk about. Yes, Kizumonogatari people, and I'll try to keep this short.

Honestly speaking, if your even thinking of watching this at all, the most likely reason would be that you enjoyed Monogatari series. This movie stays true to the visual enigma it has been through various adaptations. For me, it has the best visuals out of all the other adaptations to date. The character design was excellent, still looked like the good ol' characters we ... knew and loved all while looking more refined and intricate. Animation was good enough for movie standards. Voice Actors are the same as the other adaptations, so I have nothing to say there. Background music eluded me a bit though. It didn't have any noticeable BGM for me. Dialogue-wise, it was fine. The same endearing banters, the same long winding monologues:D. The visual transitions, parallelism, repetitions,.... (etc) are all still there. Without it, this film wouldn't be Monogatari otherwise. The CGI was kind of underwhelming. Background movement didn't mesh well with the subject's movement, or CG characters moving a bit rigidly. I say it was underwhelming, but it can pass off as unnoticeable.

Overall, I enjoyed my experience with Kizumonogatari I. I'd definetly recommend this to all Monogatari fans out there. I was a bit disappointed though, given the time the film was in development. This movie would have been an easy 8, but since Shinobu is my waifu, I'm giving this a 9 XD.

I’m in a unique position, in relation to how people usually view this franchise. I’ve seen pretty much nothing of Monogatari as a series, sans a few early episodes of Bakemonogatari. All I know is that Kizu takes place at the very start of the series, and features a somewhat different style and approach the series overall. I'd heard about how good the Kizumonogatari films were meant to be, and I've always been a little drawn to anime films rather then TV series - so, I dove in, expecting just a feature-length version of what I'd seen in Bakemonogatari.

Man, Kizumonogatari is really something different.

The biggest ... thing I took out of the first Kizu movie is it’s depiction of it’s visuals - I am in love with how this film looks. My first thought as I was watching the film was that having a near totally CGI backgrounds would look cheap and out of place, but it does so much to create this weird, eerie atmosphere. I’ve been critical of SHAFT’s attempts of CG in the past, but I think they did amazing work utilizing what I’d say is a shortcoming in their other series to amazing effect in the film. The animation is also nothing short of superb in this film, not once dropping below a spectacular standard - Araragi’s immolation is probably the standout moment of the film. It’s just this nightmarish situation that goes on just long enough that it feels like it’ll never end for our poor protagonist.Character animations can range from being incredibly realistic and fluid, to an almost hyper-cartoonish and silly. Maybe the most wonderful thing about that though is that it all flows together perfectly, never really breaking up the important scenes of the film.

Honestly, the story isn’t that unique - normal high school student Araragi runs into the dying body of an obscenely powerful vampire lady, offers his blood to restore her life, and the plot unfolds from there. Like I said, it isn’t particularly new territory for any media, but it’s the way they outline the plot, the way the characters act - especially Araragi, who’s complicated feelings in regards to the people he meets (like Hanekawa) or the sheer terror, yet need to help, Heart-Under-Blade, in what felt like turning the ‘protagonist's sacrifice’ trope turned on its head. The ending of the story sets up a lot of cool places Kizumonogatari could go, none of which really bodes well for Araragi, and gets me excited for some more animation-heavy content, especially after seeing SHAFT flex their animaton muscles in a lot of more mundane situations in this film.

I know dialogue is the standout feature of the Monogatari series, but I feel the general lack of constant dialogue made the scenes of character interaction stand out that much more. I adored pretty much all of the interactions between Araragi and Hanekawa, with all their little movements and mannerisms that I haven’t really seen captured in most films of this level, a further testament to just how far SHAFT went on developing this film series. Even with such a different style to the series (at least from what I can tell), the lifeblood of Monogatari is still utterly present within it, which I think would've made this something the fans didn’t celebrate as much as they have since it’s release.

I think it's been a while since I watched something we're pretty much every character on screen was so utterly fighting for the spotlight. I wasn’t sure if it was the writing, their visuals, or the stellar voice acting (which, my god, is probably the most objectively perfect thing in this entire film). At first, Araragi and Hanekawa’s interactions were simply divine, but then Araragi’s encounter with Kiss-Shot and what follows had me at a loss for what I enjoyed more. Every character feels so distinct and utterly different from each other, and I legitimately feel they’re all perfect for the role they play in this film. Though, with a gun to my head, I’d have to say Hanekawa - all her little movements and playful, bubbly energy was like an arrow into me, and I was legitimately sad when (due to events in the film) she wasn’t a major player. Thankfully, I’ve got two more films worth of content with this simply divine cast of characters.

I will go back to how I mentioned how good the atmosphere of this film was. During the opening scene, of Aragragi climbing the building, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. Silent, eerie, bleak - it all combines to create this world that I couldn’t tear my eyes away from. There were a lot of moments in this film, especially in its first half, that felt like I was watching someone else’s nightmare. Honestly, there are some situations I could imagine watching this film and actually be a little creeped out by the vibe it throws out at times. Atmosphere has always been key to my enjoyment of a lot of shows, and I can’t really think of many other anime that have nailed that atmosphere as well as Kizumonogatari.

With an incredibly strong start, Kizumonogatari has got me raring to watch the rest of the film trilogy, and dive into Monogatari as a greater franchise. With amazing voice acting, visuals, and mood to cover a slightly ho-hum story, Kizumonogatari I is a feast for the eyes, and required viewing for pretty much anyone who’s got a hungering for some top tier animation. It’s weird, it’s eerie, and it’s all kinds of crazy, but damn, Kizumonogatari feels like something special that only SHAFT could do.

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.

Just so you know this is going to ge an extremly one-sided review

That beeing said, let me start:

As a person, who has already seen the other seasons of the monogatari franchise, I could already kind of guess what will come to me.
Plus I had already read the book.
First I was a bit sad by the fact that there will be 3 Films and thought they will strech the story, but that was a completly unreasonable fear. They pretty much put every scene of the book, well... around the first 3rd of it, into that anime.
Of course they had adjusted it here and there, so it ... made an even better movie.

The art-style btw is something at least I haven't seen before, it is obviously pretty "shaft-looking" but they had, what I guess, CG-Background but the characters where animated by hand.
This is usualy something that would turn me off, IF the CG was bad, which it ISN'T!
Short: the animation is beautifull and gorgeous.

I really loved it 10/10.

What can I possibly say about this movie? As a monogatari fan, this movie (as well as the other 2 parts of kizu) was absolutely amazing from start to finish in different ways, from the story, characters, animation and music
I've been watching the monogatari series for over a month now and I was really anticipated to watch the movie trilogy, as I was watching from anime release order. Even though I'm making a review of the first movie, some stuff I'm going to say will also count for the other kizu movies as well, as the other movies are also amazing in the same viewpoints ...
Story: One of the things I love about monogatari series is the stories it tells to thw audience, and kizumonogatari is no exception. To simply summarise the plot of kizumonogatari, it takes place in spring break between March and April, where the main character, Araragi Koyomi, who is perceived to be person with no friends until he meets the class prez Tsubasa Hanekawa, becomes a vampire after finding the vampire Shinoby lying almost dead in a train station, where Araragi technically tries to commit suicide by giving Shinobu his blood. Unfortunately, Araragi ends up becoming a vampire and wants to become human again, but unfortunately again for his situation, in order for him to become human again, Shinobu will need to have her limps she had removed back from the people called Dramaturgy, Epiosde and Guilotinnecutter, so Araragi ends up fighting against those three in order to get Shinobu's limps back

Characters: There are amazing characters introduced in this movie that are great both design wise and personality wise. One of my favourite characters in the movie(s) is Araragi Koyomi. At the start he is introduced as an everyday human who is perceived to have no friends, and from there his character starts to grow more and more, as he meets new people like Hanekawa, Shinobu, and Meme Oshino that help Araragi appreciate and value his life more, even if he becomes a vampire.

Music: I'm gonna be honest. Satorou Kousaki is a legend when it comes to music This movie has literally one of my favourite OSTs in all anime I've watched. It may be an exaggeration on my part, but I feel like a lost of the osts have been consistently great as they convey different messages and emotions on their own way of structuring. There are two main types of soundtracks in the kizu movies, Classical vs Jazz, which illustrates the distinction between the Shinobu's era and the modern era, as Shinobu is a vampire over 500 years old that is still alive in the modern era. More overly, I love how certain osts are conveyed to a specific scene and atmosphere. Let's take the first 3 mins of Kizu Part 1. We see Araragi wandering on a building checking rooms while there's just around 5 beats in each bar playing in a low volume to create a sense of mystery in the audience perspective, which is more overly demonstrated as there's no inner monologue in the scene which tastes the audience's perspect on Araragi's viewpoint in his situation. As Ararragi goes up on the roof he is welcomed by dark shadows covering the sky and hundreds if not thousands of crows looking at Araragi. The music in that scene creates a sense of darkness around Araragi, who ignores the crowd as he keeps walking, which makes the audience wonder what's about to happen to Araragi. (Personal favourite music in kizu is etoile et toi which is the ending theme fro kizu part 2)

Animation: Studio Shaft did an outstanding in animating and directing all the 3 movies. The animation is really smooth, the art style makes the overall series look better than it was before and the visual presentation in different areas is just amazing. There are times where there are 2d characters in a 3d environment, and even if people dont like cg in anime at all, I think that Shaft managed to implement those 2 things together really well without making look too weird for an anime, it's simply outstanding.

To finish off, even if you're a fan of the monogatari series or not, I think that you should at least give the Kizu movie trilogy a try as it is an outstanding adaptation of the novels and the monogatari series as a whole, as it does an amazing job in explaining the past between the characters in the show (as kizu is a prequel to the first monogatari, bakemonogatari)

This story is set before Bakemonagatari and gives us the fresh backstory behind our main character, and gives us new connections to already established characters.


The story 9: While with not a lot of time to develop uses it time wisely to create an engaging narrative giving us an insight to more of the characters and world of this story. Showing what's to come in the later movies and mostly being a setup for them.

The art 10: The art is visually stunning a mix between a more real looking background with shafts art just melt together into some of the most beautiful scenes I've scene, Its ... of one of a kind.

The sound 9:The sound is just as good if not better than Bakemongatari with smaller more meaningful music tracks, and just overall the sound design brings it all together with the story and artstyle.

The characters 10: The characters are my favorite part of this series, they are so unique in there own right and all interact with each other in different and unique ways there is not a single bad character in this series.

The enjoyment 8:The enjoyment in this movie was fun but just lacked in some areas where Bakemongatarai strived, It definitely picked up towards the end and got you ready for the next one, but with the limited run time and less character interaction there was less enjoyment.

Overall 9: I think this movie is awesome from being visually stunning to great dialogue and setup it really shows how over the top Monogatarai can get without losing its momentum.

Oh man, where do I even begin with this...

Art: 10

If i could go above 10, I would. The detailing and animation of the characters is out of this world. The effects are very well done as well. This is truly a unique experience to watch. Even if the story doesn't resonate with you, I feel that the art style alone would compensate at least some. The usage of 2d animation on 3d backdrops is very well done, and adds a level of depth and character to every scene. The artists use of color provokes certain moods in scenes. All around the art style comes off ... as well thought out, and it's just plain beautiful to look at.

Story: 9

It's as unique as a vampire thriller can get. The way the story is told is refreshing from the usual vampire story. It almost feels segmented, and leaves some things to the imagination, which I was a big fan of.

Sound: 8

Nothing out of this world. The sound design isn't bad by any standards, and the lack of music in a lot of areas is clearly an artistic choice.

Character: 10

The characters all feel unique and fresh, but that might be due to the narrative of the story being inherently unique as well. Either way, I found myself enjoying the characters and their design. As stated above, the design on these characters is fresh and unique, and I am a huge fan of it.

Enjoyment: 10

It's so unique I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. I honestly found it hard to predict what was going to happen next, and was left wanting more. At least there's two movies after this!

Overall: 10

This is the first 10 rating I've ever given on an anime/movie. I honestly believe it deserves it. With how unique the storytelling and art is, Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-hen is one of my new favorites.

tl;dr - Work of art, worth a watch

Not going to lie, this movie came as a big surprise to my initial expectations. If you have watched some of the anime TV seasons, you should have a general expectation of a monogatari anime. Normally there are multiple plots, each with a new theme and with a different female lead, kind of like spice and wolf. All the plots are pretty enjoyable, and they have themes that are generally relatable and are well established. In each plot, it generally takes one or two episodes to set up the setting, issue at hand, and atmosphere. Then, we see some different opinions or initial thoughts on ... the issue by the characters. Towards the end of each plot, we see the characters realize something that lets them see the issue in a new light or we are introduced to a new philosophy that changes the meaning of the issue, allowing for the theme to become really apparent. Then the plot leaves on a sort of unspoken note that asks In what ways doesn't this issue or theme apply to you the viewer.

This is not Kizumonogatari I.

This movie is almost the exact opposite in storytelling philosophy. Bakemonogatari and it's sequels take a sort of narrow lense on a pretty broad subject, showing very little piece of the story and present issue, before piecing it together. For me, this left a sense of both having thoroughly understood the plot and there being so much more to discover based on how you look at it. Kizumonogatari takes a wide lense on a very specific subject. Now, having only watched the first two movies, I can only guess as to what the final theme is, which I would say the meaning of humanity. However, with such a bold and narrow question like this, there is very little the viewer can relate to on a personal level.

Now, on to the actual story and character quality. They were bad. For an hour long movie, there were way too many scenes that didn't make sense, character choices that felt stupid, plot elements that seem to exist just to advance the story, and the characters felt bland. Some of the reasons why I liked the characters from the TV series so much was because they were not only lovable, but they were relatable. They were humans with faults, not idealized 2D self inserts like half other anime characters. Each had their own unique philosophy and each had the conviction to support it (except maybe miss cuckoo). In Kizumonogatari, Hanekawa feels like an idealized female lead and Araragi felt so generic. And in addition to that, there never feels any weight to the ongoing issue as the setting was sort of rushed over. With all of this, I came out of viewing this movie sort of confused and very unfulfilled.

All in all, I think this is probably the worst monogatari anime I have seen. But that doesn't mean it isn't worth watching. I'd rather take the worst of monogatari than the best of to Love-ru or SAO any day. But in terms of what it is, it was definitely a letdown.

Should you watch this?
If you like origin stories, go ahead, you'll probably get a good kick out of it. But if you want a methodical story like bakemonogatari, this one falls flatter than Araragi's grades.

I just finished watching this... and I can only say "Oh, wow". I'm impressed. Given the large amount of anime I saw in my life, it probably means something.

Long story short, it is incredibly close to a "masterpiece" level and reminded me of Ghost in the Shell, Ghost in the Shell 2.0 and "Urusei Yatsura: Beautiful Dreamer" directed by Oshii. Meaning, it is very high quality.

Details are below.

You know how monogatari series have a lot of abstract scenes where you see geometric patterns, short color frames, words quickly flashing, and sometimes you might wonder whether there's actually a lot of deep meaning here or they ... just really like filiming CG school desks being moved around?

Well, this anime is different from all that. Long portion of anime has no dialogue. Character's feelings are expressed via art, animation and music. They don't say much. When there's dialogue (there are dialogue scenes), it is to the point, without walking around in circles. Those "geometric patterns" scenes magically transformed in beautiful scenery shots (which reminded me of that long CG in Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence). Text frames make more sense, they are displayed for enough time, so you can actually read them. Humor is more funny, when it is present.
There are scenes that are genuinely dark/violent. I don't remember a lot of this since "Bakemonogatari". Completely "abstract" scenes from previous monogatari series, transformed into just hint of surrealism, which adds nicely to the atmosphere and reminded me of movies by Oshii.

Music and sound deserves speicial attention, because musical score perfectly matches visuals, and adds great deals to atmosphere in pretty much every scene.

Speaking of art, characters are more detailed and less "simplistic" compared to other monogatari series. The style is a bit more realistic this time, although it isn't incredibly different from usual monogatari style, characters are more detailed.

The only reason why it isn't "10" points is because later part of the anime has less impact, and in a very few scenes when characters are displayed from distance you might notice that they were cg animateed (in those scenes only, in every other scene characters appear to be fully hand-drawn). There is a very small number of those "someone walks in distance" scenes, and their total duration is probably less than 30 seconds.

So, overall, if you saw previous monogatari, it is highly recommended to watch this one.

This the prequel to the infamous Monogatari series.
The tale starts with Araragi being a normal introverted teen and delving into the supernatural as well as Araragi's personality and his inability to resist a damsel in distress. The rest of the movie, and indeed the following movies that will be released, tell the story of how Araragi will learn about the unknown world of the supernatural and set him on his journey to help lolis in the future.

The most intriguing part of this movie is how the mood is so similar and actually even better than Bakemonogatari(the first season) at setting the tense ... and horrific mood Araragi finds himself in. While it isn't a disgustingly, grotesque style of horror, it IS a taste of walking from a modern day city into a parallel empty world where only the supernatural and its hunters exist. In short, the world is clean and empty. There is nowhere for Araragi to run.

Music is one of the most unique OSTs I've ever heard. including both poppy, joyful melodies; and horror, tension-filled orchestral tracks.

The art style is completely unique. Tons of CGI backgrounds that starkly contrast with the highly detailed hand-drawn style of the characters. In my opinion it doesn't really help improve the story-telling or the atmosphere, but by the end I had gotten used to it and sometimes it slightly gave me an uneasy feeling which was probably the point, it just wasn't utilized too effectively. The preview for the next movie gave me the feeling the art style will be utilized better since it's at night and in a much less clean environment.

I look forward to the next movie because this has some solid framework for the story, and I have no idea what direction the movies will go in even though I know what the general outcome will be and that's sounds great to me!

Vampire. A word in our society whose meaning has shifted from vicious blood-thirsty, garlic and sun intolerant beings of the night to cheesy, glittery, fanfictiony angsty teenagers who do not want to resort to violence and became vegeterian. This word has been ever evolving towards the latter meaning after the Twilight phase. An example is Vampire Diaries which is another romance between a female human and an angsty vempire teenager with his rebellious snarky older brother, who makes the show much more decent than it is and his name is almost written like Demon. I thought vampires are forever doomed to be young adult novel ... fodder and we would never see vampires just like the ones in Hellsing and Count Dracula. Well, I was not exactly right because the Monogatari series came in and made a nuclear explosion in my brain. Kizumono I has this ability to depict the vampires both as blood-thirsty vicious creatures and as fanserivcy, emotional people. It does not go to the shit fodder level as Vampire Diaries and True Blood, but does not quite reach the level of goodness of Count Dracula.

Kizumono I is the beginning of the Monogatari Series (aka Haremonogatari). As a person who likes to see a story in its chronological order, Kizumonogatari Part I is the only, so far, installment in the franchise I have seen. I especially did a lot of research in order to find the correct order to watch Haremonogatari and after finally finding the order, I decided to watch with my roommate the three Kizumono movies.

The story is not something over-complicated, but it is not exactly the most amazing concept you will see. In terms of plot progression, there is close to zero progression and things have not got real yet. It is true that Kizumono I is a dialogue movie which means that if you do not like movies with close to zero action, this will not be to your taste. What I have heard from the Monogatari series is that they are filled with dialogue and that is the main point with it. And to the most part, I did not find myself bored since the mannerisms of the characters kept me interested above the minimum level.

Speaking of characters, they are actually the weakest point in the whole movie. Araragi is at least interesting as a character but the way they did some scenes were so over-the-top that the character starts to lose credibility about his personality. However, the shafty visuals helped bring more realistic expressions to his character. Hanekawa is barely introduced in this movie and she will be a main love interest in the future. Her reaction is totally pretentious since I do not think a girl would normally react like that if a boy stared at her panties. As for the vampires, the only one that stands out is Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-under-blade (Kiss-shot for short). She is suprisingly snarky and manipulative to a certain degree and learning more about her would interest me a lot since we barely are introduced to the characters in this movie.

As for art and direction, Shaft shafted like the never shafted before and brought this gorgeous yet weird art-piece. I do not get yet the symbolisms in the way the directing is done but I love it. I really like the character designs and the integration of CGI with 2D animation gave it a more realistic look. The background art was beautiful and eerie and it looked to me that the people had devoted a lot of work to make the visuals as shafty as possible.

The soundtrack overall, is really good, but I found it for the most part, unmemorable. Very few songs stood out to me when watching the movie and when I listened to the ost online, only then did I realise how well done the audio was. The voice actors were pretty good at their job as expected and specifically Hiroshi Kamiya who tried to bring life to the character of Koyomi Araragi.

This movie overall was enjoyable but my complain about it was that it was short. One hour is not enough for a series like the Monogatari series to develop characters and progress the story to the juicy parts. A good watch for people not knowing what the hell is going on with the series and a bit more rewarding for people who have seen the other installments that came out earlier.

Overall: 7.66/10

No alternative recommendation, since this anime is in a category of its own.

To begin with, I haven't watched any of gatari series before. I've decided to watch all series chronologically. So well, I started out with this movie.

Story's confusing as well as everything in the show. It creates lots of questions not hurrying with answering to them, if there would be any answers at all. It's a type which you comprehend due to its unique atmosphere. Major part of the movie goes without much of verbal storytelling. It's just visual scenes, some few dialogues, sounds and more visual scenes. It's not what I'm accustomed to. But it's not bad either.

Hard to talk about art. It's ... inconsistent, abrupt, yet very mesmerizing at some parts. I do like it. Especially, when it comes to facial expressions. However, I can totally understand if someone would say it's a total mess. At any rate, it's quite remarkable and unique.

OST-s were good.
It's not all to talk here about. By a chance, do you know any show when you would listen to baby cries while watching a bit of guro scene? Do you? My congratulations, you've just got a reason to watch Tekketsu-hen.

I got only little information about characters. At this point, I can't say very much. I don't know them. It's hard to talk about their personalities, motives etc.
The only thing I may admit, well, Aoyagi seems to be rather funny.

Thanks to the special mood the movie brought upon me, without doubts, I have enjoyed it. It felt very peculiar and strange. I'm willing to know where the story would go further. I have only some bleak suggestions. Something makes me think I wouldn't even nearly guess.