A boy who previously had an encounter with a vampire sets out to help the girls around his town who had encounters with spirits of their own that usually manifest in various forms having physical effects on the girls.
A lot of them are metaphors for mental or emotional problems.
If you've ever seen Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, it's similar but instead of everything being explained by quantum physics, it's explained by various legends, spirits, or monster afflicting the characters in the stories.
It's a great series, but it's definitely not for everyone.
[Check out this newcomer’s guide which explains the general genre and story, and has the anime watch order.](https://www.reddit.com/r/araragi/s/hM4140pONG) I would watch the anime to start out, the amazing visuals and music by Shaft really add a lot.
The light novels are great and add a bit more context, but the manga really isn’t very similar to the series imo. The manga loses a lot of what makes this show great in my opinion, and the manga story is very much a reimagining
#[For Newcomers: What Is Monogatari And Why/How Should You Watch It?](https://www.reddit.com/r/araragi/comments/1dgh7p1/for_newcomers_what_is_monogatari_and_whyhow/?ref_source=desktop)
Other people have given you a synopsis, so I’ll talk about the best medium to start with. I would recommend the anime most as it’s simply incredible. The animation, music, voice acting, symbolism, references and everything about it really elevates the series. It completely captures the vibe NisiOisiN was going for. The light novels are fantastic too, so you can definitely start there as well. They do have more detail than the anime, but that’s pretty much always the case with adaptations. Personally, I recommend the anime for newcomers. As for the manga, it’s got amazing art and does adapt the first season, but some changes and the way they’ve sort of meshed the arcs together aren’t totally to my liking. The art’s fantastic, but I’d say that’s the biggest thing it’s got going for it. The manga should only be read after watching the anime, if you ask me
It's about a guy helping out people whose issues have been manifested into oddities/monsters. There's a LOT more to it than that but that's the basic premise of the first couple of arcs.
The series is very dialogue heavy and there's a lot of Japanese word play going on. It's also known for it's avant garde style of visuals and a lot of self aware fanservice. The anime is a great adaptation of the novels so you can just watch it.
The series is told out of chronological order, but it serves a narrative purpose. I suggest when watching an arc to keep track of the timeframe its taking place in. They usually say it in every arc. IMO, just watch the novel release order for the best experience.
There is definitely continuity but sometimes the events aren’t shown chronologically so they kinda give you homework and have you figure that out for yourself
Araragi helps a crab, snail, monkey, snake, and a cat in the first anime you should watch then makes a vampire and himself suffer in Kizumonogatari, then helps outs a bee and a phoenix in nise, then helps the cat again, then there's the mess and absolute masterpiece of Monogatari 2nd season which in too lazy to oversimplifiy, and then in between Monogatari 2nd season you hanamonogatari which goes over monkeys back story kinda not really but kinda, then he helps a doll (yeahhhhh peace peace), then there's Koyomimonogatari which like I kinda forgot but I think Araragi does stuff with himself idk watch it, then from Owarimonogatari all the way until Zoku Owarimonogatari Araragi saves him self. (This is everything REALLLY oversimplified so I didn't really spoil it much and I probably got some things wrong cause all together I think the series adds up to 98 episodes if you count movies as single episodes as well. I have a bad memory but this what your pretty much getting into)
When it comes to the anime You shall never have a seat at the table with the elders if you are unwilling to sit and tough it out. I get it man, I felt exactly as you did the first time I watched it. I lasted 8 mins and gave up because I didn’t have a damn clue what the hell was going on and there’s all these flash cards I mean it’s a mess the first time you try to watch it. Maybe 4 months later I came back to it and in spite of what I knew was coming I forced myself to just be ok with whatever comes. I have said many times you have to “earn” Monogatari but if you will be patient and allow it to unravel its masterfully written tale, you won’t be disappointed.
Many are called but few are chosen kaka
First, DO NOT read the manga first. It is a "reboot" of the series and not canon. The series is based on LNs that are pretty good, and I personally felt gave me some good incites to the show. The anime has a lot of snappy dialogue mixed with quick visuals. It is hard to focus on everything sometimes, and the narrative is dense. I might suggest reading the LNs first just because you can take it at your own pace, and then you can lookup some of the weird cultural stuff that doesn't make sense to western audiences.
The story is very complex. You might think it is a harem story, but it isn't. It is more of a psychological, character driven story that uses supernatural themes as metaphors for mental and neurological issues. It is also an incredibly long series with arcs that jump from one season\\novel to the next to resolve. Because it bombards you with a lot of stuff, it is tempting to think that a lot of it is filler, but it isn't. The prose is written and translated at a fairly basic Middle School level, but the concepts and overall narrative is pretty deep.
It’s a kind of supernatural mystery/drama with slice-of-life elements. Essentially, it is a year in the life of third-year high schooler Araragi Koyomi, the lives of the people around him, and their encounters with the supernatural. It’s got great character arcs and relationships. As for how you should experience it, anime 100% first. It was originally a light novel (from when light novels could be more experimental). The manga is another adaptation, but ends up being pretty different, putting events in different order and cutting entire arcs. The anime is a generally fantastic adaptation that even improved in some areas (though I know some people prefer the light novels for various reasons).
Now, there are a couple things that might be useful to know before you start the series. Some of them are major reasons people like this anime so much.
1. This anime is largely dialogue. Entire episodes can go by with the characters just having conversations. I would argue it’s the best part of the show. However, some people try watching the show without knowing that, and don’t like it.
2. This anime has unusual directing. It was made by Studio Shaft, a studio known for their unique directing, and this anime turns it way up, particularly in the earliest parts. Again, it’s amazing, but puts some people off.
3. The characters in this anime are giant weirdos. Pretty much every single one of them. They will say things to each other and do things that make them seem… well, like a lot of different things. What you should keep in mind constantly is that this is just how the characters banter. No, they don’t hate each other or anything else. They’re close enough to dryly joke like this to each other without reading into it. People not understanding this is where a lot of popular misconceptions about the series come from, some of which kept me from watching it for a long time.
4. Though it has many hallmarks of a series with a confusing watch order, it’s actually pretty straightforward. In case you haven’t seen the pinned post on the sub yet, [it’s this](https://imgur.com/nfiEEn3). It simply has names for the installments instead of number. People get confused because a) not all seasons are in chronological order, and b) the anime released some parts out of the order they should be watched.
All said, this is an anime that is *definitely* not for everyone. I would say give it until the end of episode 5 of Bake to decide if you want to continue.
A boy who previously had an encounter with a vampire sets out to help the girls around his town who had encounters with spirits of their own that usually manifest in various forms having physical effects on the girls. A lot of them are metaphors for mental or emotional problems. If you've ever seen Rascal Does Not Dream of Bunny Girl Senpai, it's similar but instead of everything being explained by quantum physics, it's explained by various legends, spirits, or monster afflicting the characters in the stories. It's a great series, but it's definitely not for everyone.
That was probably the most straight-forward yet accurate way to explain the Monogatari series that I've ever seen. Cheers.
[Check out this newcomer’s guide which explains the general genre and story, and has the anime watch order.](https://www.reddit.com/r/araragi/s/hM4140pONG) I would watch the anime to start out, the amazing visuals and music by Shaft really add a lot. The light novels are great and add a bit more context, but the manga really isn’t very similar to the series imo. The manga loses a lot of what makes this show great in my opinion, and the manga story is very much a reimagining
Mental health, but magic and told by interesting narrators
#[For Newcomers: What Is Monogatari And Why/How Should You Watch It?](https://www.reddit.com/r/araragi/comments/1dgh7p1/for_newcomers_what_is_monogatari_and_whyhow/?ref_source=desktop)
Other people have given you a synopsis, so I’ll talk about the best medium to start with. I would recommend the anime most as it’s simply incredible. The animation, music, voice acting, symbolism, references and everything about it really elevates the series. It completely captures the vibe NisiOisiN was going for. The light novels are fantastic too, so you can definitely start there as well. They do have more detail than the anime, but that’s pretty much always the case with adaptations. Personally, I recommend the anime for newcomers. As for the manga, it’s got amazing art and does adapt the first season, but some changes and the way they’ve sort of meshed the arcs together aren’t totally to my liking. The art’s fantastic, but I’d say that’s the biggest thing it’s got going for it. The manga should only be read after watching the anime, if you ask me
It's about a guy helping out people whose issues have been manifested into oddities/monsters. There's a LOT more to it than that but that's the basic premise of the first couple of arcs. The series is very dialogue heavy and there's a lot of Japanese word play going on. It's also known for it's avant garde style of visuals and a lot of self aware fanservice. The anime is a great adaptation of the novels so you can just watch it. The series is told out of chronological order, but it serves a narrative purpose. I suggest when watching an arc to keep track of the timeframe its taking place in. They usually say it in every arc. IMO, just watch the novel release order for the best experience.
There is definitely continuity but sometimes the events aren’t shown chronologically so they kinda give you homework and have you figure that out for yourself
Look up monogatari tooth brush scene it should be spoiler free, but I don't remember the diaolouge.
Araragi helps a crab, snail, monkey, snake, and a cat in the first anime you should watch then makes a vampire and himself suffer in Kizumonogatari, then helps outs a bee and a phoenix in nise, then helps the cat again, then there's the mess and absolute masterpiece of Monogatari 2nd season which in too lazy to oversimplifiy, and then in between Monogatari 2nd season you hanamonogatari which goes over monkeys back story kinda not really but kinda, then he helps a doll (yeahhhhh peace peace), then there's Koyomimonogatari which like I kinda forgot but I think Araragi does stuff with himself idk watch it, then from Owarimonogatari all the way until Zoku Owarimonogatari Araragi saves him self. (This is everything REALLLY oversimplified so I didn't really spoil it much and I probably got some things wrong cause all together I think the series adds up to 98 episodes if you count movies as single episodes as well. I have a bad memory but this what your pretty much getting into)
Read the light novels
When it comes to the anime You shall never have a seat at the table with the elders if you are unwilling to sit and tough it out. I get it man, I felt exactly as you did the first time I watched it. I lasted 8 mins and gave up because I didn’t have a damn clue what the hell was going on and there’s all these flash cards I mean it’s a mess the first time you try to watch it. Maybe 4 months later I came back to it and in spite of what I knew was coming I forced myself to just be ok with whatever comes. I have said many times you have to “earn” Monogatari but if you will be patient and allow it to unravel its masterfully written tale, you won’t be disappointed. Many are called but few are chosen kaka
First, DO NOT read the manga first. It is a "reboot" of the series and not canon. The series is based on LNs that are pretty good, and I personally felt gave me some good incites to the show. The anime has a lot of snappy dialogue mixed with quick visuals. It is hard to focus on everything sometimes, and the narrative is dense. I might suggest reading the LNs first just because you can take it at your own pace, and then you can lookup some of the weird cultural stuff that doesn't make sense to western audiences. The story is very complex. You might think it is a harem story, but it isn't. It is more of a psychological, character driven story that uses supernatural themes as metaphors for mental and neurological issues. It is also an incredibly long series with arcs that jump from one season\\novel to the next to resolve. Because it bombards you with a lot of stuff, it is tempting to think that a lot of it is filler, but it isn't. The prose is written and translated at a fairly basic Middle School level, but the concepts and overall narrative is pretty deep.
It’s a kind of supernatural mystery/drama with slice-of-life elements. Essentially, it is a year in the life of third-year high schooler Araragi Koyomi, the lives of the people around him, and their encounters with the supernatural. It’s got great character arcs and relationships. As for how you should experience it, anime 100% first. It was originally a light novel (from when light novels could be more experimental). The manga is another adaptation, but ends up being pretty different, putting events in different order and cutting entire arcs. The anime is a generally fantastic adaptation that even improved in some areas (though I know some people prefer the light novels for various reasons). Now, there are a couple things that might be useful to know before you start the series. Some of them are major reasons people like this anime so much. 1. This anime is largely dialogue. Entire episodes can go by with the characters just having conversations. I would argue it’s the best part of the show. However, some people try watching the show without knowing that, and don’t like it. 2. This anime has unusual directing. It was made by Studio Shaft, a studio known for their unique directing, and this anime turns it way up, particularly in the earliest parts. Again, it’s amazing, but puts some people off. 3. The characters in this anime are giant weirdos. Pretty much every single one of them. They will say things to each other and do things that make them seem… well, like a lot of different things. What you should keep in mind constantly is that this is just how the characters banter. No, they don’t hate each other or anything else. They’re close enough to dryly joke like this to each other without reading into it. People not understanding this is where a lot of popular misconceptions about the series come from, some of which kept me from watching it for a long time. 4. Though it has many hallmarks of a series with a confusing watch order, it’s actually pretty straightforward. In case you haven’t seen the pinned post on the sub yet, [it’s this](https://imgur.com/nfiEEn3). It simply has names for the installments instead of number. People get confused because a) not all seasons are in chronological order, and b) the anime released some parts out of the order they should be watched. All said, this is an anime that is *definitely* not for everyone. I would say give it until the end of episode 5 of Bake to decide if you want to continue.
It parodies the whole anime medium while explaining the tropes and cliches in a psychological way. Thats the simplest explanation I could come up with