Making Sense of Monogatari

This is my favorite series of nearly any media, let alone anime. I’m super interested on hearing someone else’s interpretation. This show literally changed how I interact with other people in my real life, and made me a more kind person in general. It’s no exaggeration to say this show made my life better after viewing.

Monogatari really wouldnt be difficult to follow if they didnt throw the narrative into a blender

I've always valued how the Monogatari series highlights the perspectives of adolescence compared to adulthood and how teenagers grow through life. Every non-adult character sees their world through fairly black and white lenses, while the perspectives we get from Kaiki and Oshino are nuanced, grey, and not always correct but broadly consistent, the way most adults live. Kaiki and Oshino both live consistently with their own values (Kaiki toward skepticism, egoism, and perspectivism and Oshino toward harmony, self-determination, and respect), but aren't so rigid to them. Kaiki's involvement in the story highlights this best, as he's seen by Araragi and Senjougahara as a petty fake villain, when he's truly just a middle-aged shabby (tsundere) conman. He genuinely tried to help Senjougahara by (though this is more implied) bringing the crab diety to her to help a young girl endure a terrible life. This ends up being a blunder on his part, but he then succeeds when he helps Sengoku move on from the life she's imposed on herself. He didn't really change across the series so much as we just saw more of who he really was. However, we see all the adolescent characters gradually change and mature in how they view the world as they have more experiences, yet they always maintain that teenage stubborn self-righteousness. It's so realistic to how teenagers actually think and develop mentally, where most anime or young adult series fail to, either by making teenagers think and act like irrational adults, or portraying them like overemotional simplistic caricatures. Also SHAFT is based in general, making a HEAVILY dialogue-driven series constantly look gorgeous and keep your attention.

You... You did it. This is the first time I've seen someone talk about monogatari series so smooth and persuasive. Truly best video to describe this masterpiece story love it

A retrospective on the Monogatari series as a whole ? That's an instant sub my guy

We need a “making sense of Monogatari part 2” for the 2nd season - Owarimonogatari seasons

You know…when I first started this video I did not think it was the series with THAT scene….

I have lost so much helping others out of a selfish self-loathing. This anime is cheaper than therapy.

This show’s about so much more than saving cute girls…but it’s also totally about cute girls and some uncomfortable situations. It’s like the show throws creepy fan service in your face, leaving it up to you to be mature enough to see the big picture. I love the show -and the fan service, but it’s awkward to recommend.

holy, you weren't kidding. You really did make sense of monogatari

people die when they are killed.

My god please continue this, I love how you presented the flow of the story that mainly confuses on the narrative importance. Monogatari series in my perspective is like watching a book being read to the viewer and this video covers the important story beats that makes its story interesting. For the others who wants to watch the series itself, just go do that cause this video focused on the story but the show is action packed and hilarious if you know the Japanese word play and joke beats/references.

I have watched every installment of the monogatori series including movies in release order and got very frustrated with the pacing, koyomi's perverted acts, lengthy monologues and fan service after the first season and really fell out of love with the series for many years after finishing it. I want to say this video essay, distilled like this and in chronological order has brought me back to realize it actually is a really interesting anime adaptation with worthwhile things to say about mental health, peoples personal motivations, flaws, and how they relate to others. Loved this video thank you so much!

I would say "You do not know how hard it is to explain or onboard other people to this anime" but you know exactly that pain my brother. Thank you for this focused explanation i can only hope more give this series a chance.

I have had an issue trying to stay on track with watching this series for years. Watching your video in tandem with each season gave me a lot of clarity and understanding without giving the entirety of the story away. Thanks for giving me the chance to fully get to experience the story by myself 😊

Thank you very much for tackling this huge task of an anime. It really isn't easy trying to follow the main plot and timeline of this anime but that's what I love about it. It's very EVERYWHERE and jumps around all over the place. I love how unique it truly is on telling whatever story it's telling and the way they went about it. I know alot of people hated this anime and kinda story telling, but I always felt memorized and in entranced about the whole thing. Thx again for part 1 and I can't wait for part 2.

I remember binging through this series in one fell swoop during the pandemic, and I fell in love with the art, music and story. I remember reading through chapters of Kizu before tackling each of the movies, and that hit like nothing else Since you started this series of videos, I was wondering when you’d tackle this especially since I knew you had a lot to say already from your previous videos, and I think you did a phenomenal job. Keep up the great work, guy. Can’t wait for the rest of the series. Also Hanekawa is best girl I will die on that hill

I'm glad you're still talking about this series. I'm currently on my 3rd/4th rewatch, this time I got a friend to watch it with me and he's enjoyed it. I watched your vids from years ago then noticed you put out this video a few days ago. Super well put together, thanks for making this. Also I'm a bit out of the loop - I don't really know what Off or Monster Season is about but I'm excited nonetheless

Thank you so much for this. I was at rock bottom of my life when I watched this series. My life is on track now. This just gives me nostalgia.

After viewing, I wanna add that I loved it. You do a great job of approaching each story at levels of interpretation that it was could potentially mean, then drawing all those narratives into a conclusion. Especially near Kaiki arc where you delve into the nuances of him being a pseudo antagonist. I loved it, I hope this blows up so more people watch this show.