Third Recommendation

Alright. I've had a bit of trouble in deciding what to recommend. I've seen a lot of anime, and some of them have almost completely been forgotten. But I've finally figured out what to write about. One of the most simultaneously awesome and frustrating series I have ever watched.

Bakemonogatari.

I'll explain myself. Bakemonogatari was an anime by studio Shaft based on a light novel of the same name, written by master of the portmanteau Nisio Isin, that debuted July 3, 2009. 15 episodes were supposed to air on TV, but the last three were hosted on the official website instead. And great Cthulu, those last three took forever to come out! And I'm not just whining about a week or two. Episode 13 came out on the site November 3, 2009. Episode 14 didn't come out until February 23, 2010! And even worse, episode 15 came out 4 months later on June 25! By that point, I had forgotten I had even been waiting for the episode and randomly stumbled across it.

Scheduling aside, Bakemonogatari is actually a pretty good anime. The main character is Koyomi Araragi,

a third year high school student, whose life changes when he meets a certain girl. It's a prevalent cliche, I know. But hear me out. That cliche is actually how every story arc starts. Koyomi helps girls who all have certain problems. Those problems being related to the supernatural. For you see, Koyomi is actually an ex-vampire, but he still has certain powers, including the ability to regenerate and the ability to see things in slow motion (Used in episode 1 to see a girl's panties when the wind blows her skirt up. Our protagonist ladies and gentlemen!). He was cured by, and still receives occasional assistance from, Meme Oshino,

a middle-aged master of the supernatural who lives in an abandoned school building with the cause of Koyomi's former vampirism, Shinobu Oshino, a seemingly mute blonde little girl... er, I mean, an evil vampire!

Terrifying

Another thing to talk about is the style, which has got to be the one of most unique I have seen. It's up there with FLCL in terms of uniqueness. I can't really describe it well, so you'll just have to watch it to find out. Examples:

The opening and closing themes are also pretty good. The opening theme, Staple Stable, is pretty memorable.   The ending, Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari, is one of my personal favorites because of both the song, and the artwork. Bakemonogatari also has this thing where when a new arc starts, there'll sometimes be a new opening based on the new female character. But only for the episode she makes her appearance in.

Since it hasn't been dubbed yet, I can't recommend dubs or subs.

Oh yeah, there are scenes of mild nudity, shots of panties, bondage, and slight sexual humor, so if you're a prude, close your eyes withing the first few seconds of episode one.

Now, I've decided to do something new in all of my future posts. From now on, I'm going to include the first episode of the anime I'm recommending for your viewing pleasure, lawsuits be damned! So, here it is, the first episode of Bakemonogatari!: