Review of Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu-hen

Ah, fucking finally, the one entry that chronologically starts it all, and it focuses a lot on Araragi and Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade, who so far remained mostly a good hearted pedophile with some serious incestuous tendencies, and a tryhard moe donut eater with a seemingly interesting backdrop that was only teased throughout the previous seasons.

It is well known that it should have been released much sooner, since the adaptations pretty much follows the order of the light novels, which also jumps in time a lot. I don’t know why it took them so long to adapt this story but it ended up working for the better, because:

1-It came out after Koyomimonogatari, the absolute worst entry in the franchise, thus the huge leap in quality by comparison works in its favor.

2-If it came out after Bakemonogatari, it would feel like information about the characters was missing. By 2016, Koyomi, Hanekawa and Kiss-Shot were more or less explored or had their backgrounds revealed, especially Tsubasa, so it doesn’t feel like the movie trilogy it’s incomplete. Whatever it covers brings a proper closure of the past of the main cast just fine.

3-It also allowed them to adapt the arc the way they wanted. The entry feels pretty unique within its franchise because of that.
Leaving a proper release date aside, I also have to compliment the format. Although stuff from the novels is missing according to some fans, having the season being three and half hours among three movies feels like the right amount of length, not too short nor too long like some of the previous entries. Plus, the plot structure was very well thought of and distributed when you think about it, with the first film being the introduction, the second the conflict, and the third one the conclusion.

In terms of the actual content, Kizumonogatari has easily the best premise, since it covers the beginning of it all and how some characters are introduced and come to know each other, while it also fleshes out those that desperately needed it.

It is also the one with the most focused plot and pacing thanks to both the limited runtime and the material that’s shown. No meandering, no stupid conversations, no secondary characters stalling the story, and since neither Nadeko nor Hachikuji nor the Fire Sisters nor Ononoki are around, no incestuous nor pedophilic scenes. Everything serves the story or builds up the dynamics among the cast without stretching anything for more time than needed.

It is also the one with the most unique animation. I don’t know why the studio decided to go with something completely different this time, but I welcome the change, as I watched seven seasons of polished but quite same-y visuals. The artwork, coloring, special effects and character figures are distinctive from the rest of the franchise yet just as polished, with the only problem being that Koyomi and Hanekawa should look a bit closer to how they do in Nekomonogatari: Kuro and Bakemonogatari for consistency. In terms of motions, since Kizumonogatari is the most action heavy series of them all, it’s easily the best in that regard, something that expands to even the moments of talking.

Speaking of the action, the sequences are far more violent than what was shown thus far, but thanks to the directing it comes off more as quirky and trippy than edgy. The final fight in the third movie in specific feels like what Madhouse and Yuasa tried to do in Kemonozume, particularly in its ending, yet for some reason they didn’t.

What’s perhaps not as good as it was in previous entries, but still very good, is the backgrounds which are far more normal looking than the surreal ones that we were used to see, and there are not nearly as many quick cuts as there were before. Personally I prefer it this way, I find the directing and overall visuals less pretentious and they don’t give me a headache, while I can more or less guess a reason for the backgrounds in-story, since all the crazy stuff hadn’t happen in the town, school and houses yet for them to be as weird looking.

As a whole I don’t have a single complaint regarding the visuals, besides the characters looking very different than they do in the next entries in the chronological order, and the shadows that sometimes can be seen in their eyes.

What didn’t change at all was the audio department. There are some themes in it that seem to belong in a horror anime, but there are also some pretty common and forgettable ones that bring down the overall quality of the soundtrack, thus still no entry it’s on the same level of Tsukimonogatari in that regard. There is an ending throughout the trilogy which is good but definitely comes off as repetitive for how long it is. Voice acting and special effects are as good as they always were, with the only noticeable difference worth mentioning being the cartoony ones used during the final fight. They fit the quirkiness of the whole thing while somehow not clashing with the overall tone than the season goes for.

Speaking of which, despite some silly and relaxing comical moments here and there, it is the second most serious in the whole franchise, only after Hanamonogatari, although here it is better excused for the events that take place. Plus, the humour is not as in your face as it used to be in previous entries, even during the moments where the artstyle changes for something more chibi or retro like. The reason is simple, there are no references nor fourth wall breaking in here.

The plot is simple but focused and ever moving and without time leaps. This way it doesn’t feel as mysterious as the ones from some previous entries, but it’s alright because it is chronologically the first season of all, thus it is not about making you ask yourself what might come next, but rather just show how it all began in a properly straight forward way.

It shows how Kiss-Shot, Araragi and Hanekawa came to meet and know about each other, and the more complicated aspects of their relationships are finally explained and shown, nor told or referenced vaguely. Now we actually know how close and dependent the first two are from each other, and how screwed the third one truly is, and why and how the protagonist feels so indebted to them and vice versa.

But what’s it about? Araragi gives his own humanity to save Kiss-Shot and fights three executioners that are after her, before he, for plot reasons, fights her and becomes one with her at the end. Unfortunately the antagonists don’t really pose a challenge, but at least there is some battle choreography and planning during the fights.

Aside from that, it also shows a little more of the backdrop of Kiss-Shot than what was told in Second Season, and also the most dramatic dimensions in her character. It also focuses on making clear how Araragi screws up by trying to help, and ends up making everyone carry a burden, while it also makes him grow from an antisocial loner to the kind hearted harem lead that he would be during the rest of the franchise, all while perfectly connecting everything with the next entries in the series.

I overall think the manga version does everything better and it shows it better than this trilogy, but overall it is still pretty good on its own. But I also want to make perfectly clear that it is no masterpiece in the least, since it is still an unrealistic and unbelievable story where a guy with no fighting experience can best three veterans at his first try, characters fight throughout the whole city while breaking everything yet no one notices them, Oshino still appears out of nowhere to save the day, and there is no tension whatsoever since the main characters are immortal and the outcome is known before the beginning thanks to all the previous entries. And although not as much in quantity and not as disgusting as they were before, there are still ecchi and comical moments that could be taken away, improving the whole.

In conclusion, this is the only season in the Monogatari series that I enjoyed and the one with the best executed and most focused plot so far. Going by numbers alone, and heavily influenced by my own enjoyment and the visuals, it would rank at the top of them all, but I still won’t call it the best, because it doesn’t have the messages, theme exploration, psychological aspect and level of characterization of Second Season, which I would rate higher than this one if not for Hachikuji’s arcs. But it is still far better than most of them and a pretty good second place. I rate the first two movies with a 6/10 for doing a decent job at setting up a concept and presenting a conflict respectively, and the third one with a 7/10 for having the most and best content while also doing a good job in connecting the entries with the rest of the franchise.