is a Japanese

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

series written by

Nisio Isin , stylized as NISIOISIN to emphasize the palindrome, is a pseudonymous Japanese novelist, manga author, and screenplay writer. Nisio debuted in 2002 with the novel ''The Beheading Cycle'' (the first in his '' Zaregoto'' series), which earned hi ...

and illustrated by Vofan. The plot centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who survives a vampire attack and finds himself helping girls involved with a variety of apparitions, deities, ghosts, beasts, spirits, and other supernatural phenomena, which often serve as proxies for their emotional and mental issues. Between November 2006 and August 2021,

Kodansha is a Japanese privately-held publishing company headquartered in Bunkyō, Tokyo. Kodansha is the largest Japanese publishing company, and it produces the manga magazines ''Nakayoshi'', ''Afternoon'', ''Evening'', ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' an ...

published 28 volumes in the series under its

Kodansha Box is the name of a book label published since November 2006 and a division of the major Japanese publishing house, Kodansha. The label published not only novels but also manga and critical review books, advocating a "hybrid label." The label wa ...

imprint Imprint or imprinting may refer to: Entertainment * ''Imprint'' (TV series), Canadian television series * "Imprint" (''Masters of Horror''), episode of TV show ''Masters of Horror'' * ''Imprint'' (film), a 2007 independent drama/thriller film ...

. All of the series' story arcs share the common title suffix . Shaft has animated the ''Monogatari'' series multiple times since 2009. The first season of the

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

adaptation consists of 30 episodes, which were broadcast in Japan between July 2009 and December 2012. The second season consists of 28 episodes broadcast between July and December 2013, and the third and final season consists of 42 episodes broadcast between December 2014 and June 2019. A prequel anime film trilogy, ''

Kizumonogatari is a Japanese anime film trilogy directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and Tatsuya Oishi and produced by Shaft. Together, the films are an adaptation of the 2008 light novel of the same name, which is the second entry in the ''Monogatari'' series writ ...

'', was released in 2016 and 2017. A

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

adaptation, illustrated by

Oh! great , known professionally as Oh! great, is a Japanese manga artist best known for his manga series ''Tenjho Tenge'' (1997–2010) and ''Air Gear'' (2002–2012). In 2006, ''Air Gear'' earned him the Kodansha Manga Award in the '' shōnen'' category. ...

and titled ''

Bakemonogatari is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Vofan. The plot centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who survives a vampire attack and finds himself helping girls involved with a variety ...

'', began serialization in Kodansha's ''

Weekly Shōnen Magazine is a weekly ''shōnen'' manga anthology published on Wednesdays in Japan by Kodansha, first published on March 17, 1959. The magazine is mainly read by an older audience, with a significant portion of its readership falling under the male high ...

'' in March 2018.

Synopsis

Setting

Most heroines have an item that symbolises their spectres, such as Hitagi's stapler (the claw of a crab), Mayoi's backpack (the shell of a snail), Suruga's arm (the arm of a monkey), Nadeko's hat and jacket (the head and skin of a snake), and Karen's black and yellow tracksuit (the colors of a bee). Although it incorporates elements of fantasy, horror, and action, the series primarily focuses on relationships and conversations between its characters, which make heavy use of

's signature

word play Word play or wordplay (also: play-on-words) is a literary technique and a form of wit in which words used become the main subject of the work, primarily for the purpose of intended effect or amusement. Examples of word play include puns, phonet ...

and

metahumor Self-referential humor, also known as self-reflexive humor, self-aware humor, or meta humor, is a type of comedic expression that—either directed toward some other subject, or openly directed toward itself—is self-referential in some way, int ...

Premise

The ''Monogatari'' series revolves around Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who has almost restored his humanity after briefly becoming a vampire during spring break. One day, a classmate of his, the reclusive Hitagi Senjōgahara, falls down a flight of stairs at school into Koyomi's arms. To his surprise, he discovers that Hitagi weighs almost nothing, in defiance of physics. Despite being threatened to keep away, Koyomi offers his help and introduces her to Meme Oshino, a strange middle-aged man living in an abandoned

cram school A cram school, informally called crammer and colloquially also referred to as test-prep or exam factory, is a specialized school that trains its students to achieve particular goals, most commonly to pass the entrance examinations of high schoo ...

who helped reverse his vampirism. Once Koyomi helps solve Hitagi's problem, she decides to become his girlfriend. As the series progresses, Koyomi finds himself involved with other girls afflicted by : a child named Mayoi Hachikuji; his underclassman Suruga Kanbaru; Nadeko Sengoku, a friend of his sisters; his classmate Tsubasa Hanekawa; and his own younger sisters Karen and Tsukihi. To deal with the apparitions, which feed on human emotions and often take forms symbolically represented by animals, Koyomi relies on supernatural guidance from Oshino and, later, from Shinobu, the once-powerful blonde vampire who attacked him and later assumed the appearance of an eight-year-old girl.

Production

As Nisio Isin's previous work, the ''

Zaregoto is a Japanese light novel series written by Nisio Isin and illustrated by Take. The series was published in Japan between February 2002 and November 2005 by Kodansha Books in nine volumes. Celebrating the twentieth anniversary of Nisio's de ...

'' series, had been accepted as a light novel, he decided to write the first ''Monogatari'' short story, "Hitagi Crab", with a more formal approach in mind. It was not a simple transition from light novels to formal literature, but rather an experiment to see if he could write a light novel without illustrations. However, by the series' third story, "Suruga Monkey", it was decided that illustrations would be included in publication, and he changed his approach accordingly. He has stated that the atmosphere between ''Kizumonogatari'' and ''Nisemonogatari'' differed due to his knowledge that the latter would be adapted as an anime.

Media

Light novels

The ''Monogatari'' series was first written by

as a series of short stories without illustrations for

's literary magazine ''Mephisto''. The first three stories were printed in the magazine's September 2005, January 2006, and May 2006 issues, respectively; they were later collected in a light novel volume entitled on November 2, 2006. A second volume of ''Bakemonogatari'', containing two new chapters, was released in December 2006. Both volumes were published under the

and featured original art by Taiwanese illustrator Vofan, who would illustrate all following releases. A prequel story to ''Bakemonogatari'' entitled was published in the February 2008 issue of ''

Pandora In Greek mythology, Pandora (Greek: , derived from , ''pān'', i.e. "all" and , ''dōron'', i.e. "gift", thus "the all-endowed", "all-gifted" or "all-giving") was the first human woman created by Hephaestus on the instructions of Zeus. As Hes ...

'' magazine. It was later released as a light novel volume entitled in May 2008. The next story arc, , was released as two volumes in September 2008 and June 2009. The first volume of , subtitled , was released in July 2010, and consists of a prequel story to ''Bakemonogatari'' entitled . The second ''Monogatari'' saga, referred to as the "Second Season", released between 2010 and 2011, delves further into Koyomi's relationship with each of the heroines. The second volume of ''Nekomonogatari'', subtitled , was released in October 2010. It was followed by five story arcs published in five volumes: in December 2010, in March 2011, in June 2011, in September 2011, and in December 2011. The third ''Monogatari'' saga, referred to as the "Final Season", released between 2012 and 2014, deepens the history of the character Ōgi Oshino, a supposed relative of Meme Oshino. It is composed of four story arcs published in six volumes: in September 2012, a collection of 12 short stories entitled in May 2013, three volumes of in October 2013, January 2014, and April 2014, and in September 2014. The fourth ''Monogatari'' saga, referred to as "Off Season", released between 2015 and 2017, contains side stories focusing on various characters. It is composed of four story arcs published in four volumes: in October 2015, in January 2016, in July 2016, and in January 2017. The fifth ''Monogatari'' saga, referred to as "Monster Season", released between 2017 and 2021, follows Koyomi's life as a university student. It is composed of six story arcs published in six volumes: in July 2017, in June 2018, in April 2019, in October 2020, and two volumes of in August 2021. In 2015,

Vertical Vertical is a geometric term of location which may refer to: * Vertical direction, the direction aligned with the direction of the force of gravity, up or down * Vertical (angles), a pair of angles opposite each other, formed by two intersecting s ...

licensed the novel series for English release. The company began its paperback line with ''Kizumonogatari'' on December 15, 2015, and later released the ''Bakemonogatari'' novels in three volumes: the first in December 2016, the second in February 2017, and the third in April 2017. As of December 2020, the novels in the series up to ''Zoku Owarimonogatari'' have been translated. The English audiobook version of ''Kizumonogatari'' was released on May 25, 2016 by

Bang Zoom! Entertainment Bang Zoom! Entertainment is an audio post-production studio with its headquarters in Burbank, California, in Greater Los Angeles. It has worked on anime, video games, television series, feature films, and original animation projects. Their work ...

with narration done by Keith Silverstein, Eric Kimerer, and Cristina Vee. The audiobook for ''Nekomonogatari (White)'' was released on April 9, 2019 with narration done by Cristina Vee, Eric Kimerer, and Erica Mendez. The audiobook for the three volumes of ''Bakemonogatari'' were released on March 24, 2020 with narration done by Eric Kimerer, Cristina Vee, Erica Mendez, and Keith Silverstein. The Japanese

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sc ...

version of the entire series began release by

via

Audible Audible may refer to: * Audible (service), an online audiobook store * Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks * ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player * Audible finish or rush ...

in February 17, 2021. Each novel features narration by the voice actors/actresses of the anime adaptation. It will be released one novel each month until June 16, 2023 with the second volume of ''Shinomonogatari''.

Anime

An anime adaptation of ''Bakemonogatari'' was announced in April 2008 and broadcast between July 3 and September 25, 2009 on

Tokyo MX JOMX-DTV, branded as Tokyo MX (officially stylized as TOKYO MX), is an independent television station in Tokyo, Japan, owned by the . It is the only television station that exclusively serves the city. It competes with Nippon TV, TV Asahi, NH ...

. The 15-episode series was animated by Shaft and directed by

Akiyuki Shinbo is a Japanese animator, director, writer, and storyboard artist. Best known for his works with Shaft (company), Shaft, he has attained international recognition with the studio for his unique visual style and storytelling methods. Born in Koor ...

and series director Tatsuya Oishi, with series composition by Shinbo and Shaft staff under the collective pen name of Fuyashi Tō, character designs by

Akio Watanabe is a Japanese animator, illustrator, character designer, supervisor, director, dōjin artist and a member of the circle . His pseudonym is . He worked with Akiyuki Shinbo at Shaft. His representative works include key animation for ''Popotan'' ...

based on Vofan's original concepts, and scripts edited by Yukito Kizawa and Muneo Nakamoto. The music for the series was composed by

Satoru Kōsaki is a Japanese music composer and arranger. He is best known for his work on anime, including '' Lucky Star'', ''The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya'', ''Monogatari'' and ''Beastars''. He worked at Namco, where he primarily composed soundtracks for ...

. Only the first 12 episodes were broadcast on television; the remaining three episodes were distributed on the anime's website between November 3, 2009 and June 25, 2010. At

Sakura-Con Sakura-Con is an annual three-day anime convention held during March or April at the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, Washington. The convention, which is traditionally held over Easter weekend, is the largest anime convention in the ...

2012,

Aniplex of America Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an anime and music production company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, with the goal o ...

announced that it had acquired ''Bakemonogatari'' for release in North America. All 15 episodes were released on

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of sto ...

with English subtitles on November 20, 2012. An 11-episode anime adaptation of ''Nisemonogatari'' aired from January 8 to March 18, 2012, produced by the same staff as ''Bakemonogatari'', but with

Tomoyuki Itamura is a Japanese director, animator, and storyboard artist. He joined OLM in 2002 as an in-between animator and left in 2007 to join Shaft. Itamura took over the ''Monogatari'' series from Tatsuya Oishi as his television directorial debut with ' ...

replacing Tatsuya Oishi as director. A four-episode anime television series adaptation of aired back-to-back on December 31, 2012. Two Blu-ray and DVD compilation volumes were released: the first on March 6, 2013 and the second on April 3, 2013. A 26-episode anime television series titled ''Monogatari Series Second Season'', spanning five of the six novels from to ''Koimonogatari'', aired between July 7 and December 29, 2013.

Aniplex USA Aniplex of America Inc. or Aniplex USA is the U.S. distribution enterprise of Aniplex, an anime and music production company owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. It was established in March 2005 in Santa Monica, California, with the goal of ...

later released the Blu-ray on April 22, and June 24, 2014. ''Kabukimonogatari'' and ''Onimonogatari'' featured

Naoyuki Tatsuwa is a Japanese animator. He worked as an in-between animator at Studio Giants. In 2004, he joined Shaft, where he worked as a director for 11 years. In 2015, he went freelance. Career Tatsuwa joined the sub-contracting animation firm Studio Gia ...

and

Yuki Yase is a Japanese director and storyboard artist. He joined Satelight in 2005 as a production manager. In 2010, Yase joined Shaft as an episode director, and made his series directorial debut with '' Hidamari Sketch x Honeycomb''. Career Yase beg ...

as series directors for those respective arcs under Itamura and Shinbo. Five episodes of Monogatari Second Season, adapting the ''Hanamonogatari'' story arc from the novels, were delayed from the original broadcast due to production issues and aired as a marathon on August 16, 2014, A four-episode adaptation of the first novel of the third series, ''Tsukimonogatari'', aired in a marathon on December 31, 2014. A 13-episode anime television series adapting two more novels of the third series, titled ''Owarimonogatari'', aired between October 3 and December 19, 2015. A series of three films adapting the prequel novel ''Kizumonogatari'' were produced, with the first one, ''Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu'', premiering on January 8, 2016, the second film, ''Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu'', premiering on August 19, 2016, and the third and final film, ''Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu'', premiering on January 6, 2017. A web anime series adapting ''Koyomimonogatari'' became available for download on the

App Store An App Store (or app marketplace) is a type of digital distribution platform for computer software called applications, often in a mobile context. Apps provide a specific set of functions which, by definition, do not include the running of the co ...

and

Google Play Google Play, also known as the Google Play Store and formerly the Android Market, is a digital distribution service operated and developed by Google. It serves as the official app store for certified devices running on the Android (operating sys ...

from January 9, 2016. A seven-episode anime television series, an adaptation of the third ''Owarimonogatari'' novel, aired on August 12 and 13, 2017. An adaptation of ''Zoku Owarimonogatari'' was released in theaters on November 10, 2018 and as two Blu-ray and DVD volumes on February 27, 2019 and March 27, 2019. It aired on TV as six episodes between May 18 and June 22, 2019. The anime adaptation does not follow the order of the novels. ''Kizumonogatari'' was planned to be released in 2012 after ''Bakemonogatari'', but due to production issues, it was delayed until 2016. ''Hanamonogatari'' was originally planned to be animated in its original place from the novels, but it got postponed to air after ''Monogatari Series Second Season''. In the Blu-ray box set of ''Monogatari Series Second Season'' though, ''Hanamonogatari'' is listed as the third arc. ''Koyomimonogatari'' in the novels was released before ''Owarimonogatari'', but in the anime adaptation, it was released on the

and

app after ''Kizumonogatari I'' and ''Owarimonogatari''.

Music

The several opening themes were written by

Meg Rock is a Japanese singer, lyricist, composer and musician. Biography Megumi Hinata began learning to play the piano at the age of four, and said she first became interested in music in the latter half of elementary school, which she spent in the Un ...

and composed by

and

Mito Mito may refer to: Places *Mito, Ibaraki, capital city of Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan *Mito, Aichi, a Japanese town *Mito, Shimane, a Japanese town * Mitō, Yamaguchi, a Japanese town * Mito District, a district in the province of Concepción, Per ...

, featuring vocals of the main characters. The ending theme for ''Bakemonogatari'', , was produced by

Supercell A supercell is a thunderstorm characterized by the presence of a mesocyclone: a deep, persistently rotating updraft. Due to this, these storms are sometimes referred to as rotating thunderstorms. Of the four classifications of thunderstorms (s ...

and released on August 12, 2009 featuring vocals

Nagi Yanagi , stylized as , is a Japanese singer and songwriter from Osaka Prefecture who is signed to NBCUniversal Entertainment Japan. After becoming interested with music in her childhood, she began singing and writing original songs. In 2006, she began ...

, and peaked at No. 5 in the

Oricon , established in 1999, is the holding company at the head of a Japanese corporate group that supplies statistics and information on music and the music industry in Japan and Western music. It started as, which was founded by Sōkō Koike in Nov ...

singles charts. The ending theme for ''Nisemonogatari'' is sung by

ClariS Claris International Inc., formerly FileMaker Inc., is a computer software development company formed as a subsidiary company of Apple Computer (now Apple Inc.) in 1987. It was given the source code and copyrights to several programs that were ...

and written by Ryo of Supercell. The ending theme for ''Nekomonogatari (Black)'' is , written by Saori Kodama, composed by Satoru Kōsaki and performed by

Marina Kawano is a Japanese singer from Kasuga, Fukuoka who is signed to Sony Music Entertainment Japan, SME Records. She started her singing career after winning the 4th Animax All-Japan Anisong Grand Prix in 2010. Biography Kawano's interest in music began ...

. ''Monogatari Series Second Season'' features four ending songs: , produced by Jin (Shizen no Teki-P) and performed by

Luna Haruna , better known by her stage name is a Japanese singer and fashion model from Tokyo. Biography Luna Haruna was interested in anime and music from a young age. In her first year of junior high school, she became obsessed with Gothic Lolita manga ...

for ''Nekomonogatari (White)'' and ''Kabukimonogatari''; by Kawano for ''Otorimonogatari'' and ''Onimonogatari''; "snowdrop" by both Haruna and Kawano for ''Koimonogatari''; and by Kawano for ''Hanamonogatari''. For ''Monogatari Series Third and Final Season'', it features five ending songs: "Border" by ClariS for ''Tsukimonogatari'', by

Alisa Takigawa is a Japanese musician from Tokyo who is signed to SME Records. She made her music debut in 2015 with the release of her first single "Season", the title track of which was used as an ending theme to the anime series ''The Seven Deadly Sins''. H ...

for the first season of ''Owarimonogatari'', "whiz" by

TrySail A trysail (also known as a spencer) is a small triangular or square fore-and-aft rigged sail hoisted in place of a larger mainsail when winds are very high. The trysail provides enough thrust to maintain control of the ship, e.g. to avoid ship ...

for ''Koyomimonogatari'', "Shiori" by ClariS for the second season of ''Owarimonogatari'', and "azure" by TrySail for ''Zoku Owarimonogatari''.

Utamonogatari

The collection of theme songs, , released on January 6, 2016, ranked at No. 1 on

's weekly album chart at the time selling over 66,000 copies. It was the fifth anime theme song collection to top the Oricon's weekly album chart since 2010's ''

One Piece ''One Piece'' (stylized in all caps) is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Eiichiro Oda. It has been serialized in Shueisha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''Weekly Shōnen Jump'' since July 1997, with its individual chapte ...

Memorial Best'' album. It also sold over 100,000 copies and was certified as a

Gold Disc Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by Japan Record Association. Disc 1 feature the opening and ending themes for ''Monogatari First Season'': ''Bakemonogatari'', ''Nisemonogatari'', and ''Nekomonogatari (Black)''. Disc 2 feature the opening and ending themes for ''Monogatari Second Season'': ''Nekomonogatari (White)'', ''Kabukimonogatari'', ''Hanamonogatari'', ''Otorimonogatari'', ''Onimonogatari'', and ''Koimonogatari''.

Utamonogatari 2

The second collection of theme songs, , released on May 10, 2019, sold over 16,000 copies in its first week and was ranked at No. 1 on Oricon's weekly album chart. It feature the opening and ending themes of ''Monogatari Final Season'': ''Tsukimonogatari'', ''Owarimonogatari I'' and ''II'', and ''Zoku Owarimonogatari''. It also feature the ending theme of ''Koyomimonogatari'', the two ending themes of the ''

s trilogy and the opening theme for the mobile game ''PucPuc''.

Manga

adaptation of the series, illustrated by

, started in Kodansha's ''shōnen'' manga magazine ''

'' on March 14, 2018.

began releasing the manga in North America in October 2019.

Other media

drama CD Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine ...

titled , a reference to the parlor game ''

Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai was a popular didactic Buddhist-inspired parlour game during the Edo period in Japan. Play The game was played as night fell upon the region using three separate rooms. In preparation, participants would light 100 andon in the third room and p ...

'', was released on August 3, 2009. The script was written by Nisio Isin and is bundled with the CD. A

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

visual novel A , often abbreviated as VN, is a form of digital semi-interactive fiction. Visual novels are often associated with and used in the medium of video games, but are not always labeled as such themselves. They combine a textual narrative with sta ...

titled developed by

Bandai Namco Games is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are resp ...

was released on August 23, 2012.

Good Smile Company is a Japanese manufacturer of hobby products such as the Nendoroid and figma product lines, as well as scale figures. In addition to production and manufacturing, its business includes design, marketing and distribution. Its products are usuall ...

has made several

nendoroid The series is a brand of plastic figures created by the Japanese Good Smile Company in 2006. They typically depict characters from anime, manga or video games and are designed with a large head and smaller body to give them a cute appearance. T ...

petit figures for the series, releasing them as separate sets. The first set contains the characters Koyomi Araragi, Hitagi Senjōgahara and Tsubasa Hanekawa. The second set contains Suruga Kanbaru, Mayoi Hachikuji and Nadeko Sengoku and the third set contains the Araragi sisters Karen and Tsukihi, as well as Shinobu Oshino. The company also made a line of separate, 1/8 scale figures of Hitagi Senjōgahara, Suruga Kanbaru, Nadeko Sengoku, Tsubasa Hanekawa, Mayoi Hachikuji, Karen Araragi, Tsukihi Araragi, Shinobu Oshino, Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade (from ''

''), Nadeko Sengoku in her Medusa form, and Yotsugi Ononoki. They have also made figma figures of several of the characters: Koyomi Araragi, Hitagi Senjōgahara, Mayoi Hachikuji, Suruga Kanbaru, Nadeko Sengoku, and Tsubasa Hanekawa. They have planned to make the Araragi sisters, Karen and Tsukihi. Alter, Bandai, Kotobukiya, and others have made figures of some of the other characters as well.

Reception

The light novel series ranked sixth in the 2009 issue of the light novel guidebook '' This Light Novel is Amazing!'' published by

Takarajimasha is a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It is known for publishing subculture-oriented fashion magazines aimed at teens, fashion magazines in general, as well as guide books. History The company was founded on September 22, ...

. It later went on to rank as high as second in 2010, and 2017 issue, with the latter in the ''

tankōbon is the Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or cultur ...

'' category. In the 2019 issue, in the ''tankōbon'' category, the series ranked third. In the 2020 issue it was revealed the top 10 light novels of the past decade, and the series ranked in the 10th place. Koyomi Araragi ranked sixth in the Best Male Character in 2009, second in 2010, seventh in 2011, third in 2012, and sixth in 2013. Meanwhile, Hitagi Senjōgahara ranked seventh in the Best Female Character in 2009, fourth in 2010, eighth in 2011, and seventh in 2012. The anime adaptation won the Users' Special Award in the 2nd annual DEG Japan Awards/Blu-ray Prizes. Over one million DVDs and BDs of ''Bakemonogatari'' and ''Nisemonogatari'' have been sold combined as of September 2012. Across its 27 volumes, the series has sold over two million DVDs and BDs as of October 2015. The

Tokyo Anime Award Festival The Tokyo Anime Awards started in 2002, but was named in 2005. The first, second and third award ceremonies were simply named 'Competition'. The award ceremonies were held at the Tokyo International Anime Fair (TAF) until 2013. In 2014, after the ...

held in 2017 selected ''Bakemonogatari'' as the best anime released in 2009. According to CBR, the series is "one of the most interesting and unusual series" to come out in the 2010s and praised the series for standing out "from other supernatural vampire series in the anime space." CBR further said that the characters, the music, dialogue, experimentation, and animation, have aged well, while the interactions between Koyomi and the children, Suruga Kanbaru as a lesbian stereotype, women needing to be saved by a man, its resemblance of

harem anime is a genre of light novels, manga, anime, hentai, and video games originating in Japan in the 1970s but exploding late 1980s and 1990s with dating simulator games and focused on polygynous or polyandrous relationships, where a protagonist ...

, and fan service have not.

References

Notes

Citations

External links

''Bakemonogatari''
at

''Monogatari Series'' anime official website

''Monogatari Series Second Season''
at Aniplex USA
''Bakemonogatari Portable'' official website
* {{Navboxes, list= {{Nisio Isin {{Shaft Animation Studio {{Shaft films {{Akiyuki Shinbo {{Tatsuya Oishi {{Tomoyuki Itamura {{Naoyuki Tatsuwa {{Yuki Yase

Monogatari is a literary form in traditional Japanese literature – an extended prose narrative tale comparable to the epic novel. ''Monogatari'' is closely tied to aspects of the oral tradition, and almost always relates a fictional or fictionalized st ...

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