7.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
In Bakemonogatari, the story centers on Koyomi Araragi, a third year high school student who has recently survived a vampire attack, and finds himself mixed up with all kinds of apparitions: gods, ghosts, myths, and spirits. However, in Nisemonogatari, we pick up right where we left off and follow Koyomi as the psychological twists delve deeper and deeper…
Starring: Hiroshi Kamiya, Eri Kitamura, Yuka Iguchi, Chiwa Saito, Yui HorieAnime | 100% |
Foreign | 98% |
Comedy | 16% |
Supernatural | 14% |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Japanese: LPCM 2.0
English
25GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (5 BDs)
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
It’s the rare sequel that can live up to the overwhelming success of a lauded first entry in a series. Unfortunately, the mere fact that a first entry was lauded and successful quite often seems to require a sequel, at least in the bean counting world of entertainment. While it’s not unusual for feature film franchises to push sequels far beyond their ostensible shelf life (the Saw films, anyone?), the world of anime is at least a little more restrained. Bakemonogatari was an extremely well received light novel series by Nisio Isin with some incredibly evocative illustrations by Vofan, and it was adapted into an equally well received anime in 2009, part of a larger set of offerings from the Shaft production house which has sought to bring several of Nisio Isin’s pieces out in animated form. The anime drew quite heavily on Vofan’s original stylized drawings and indeed its visual allure was one of the anime’s chief selling points. Nisemonogatari picks up more or less where Bakemonogatari left off, although the series’ hero Koyomi finds himself in desperate straits as this second entry lifts off, a distinct difference from Bakemonogatari, where Koyomi went around rescuing various girls who were suffering from a variety of horrible curses. Nisemonogatari continues the franchise’s frequently dazzling visual style, but this sophomore entry is decidedly talkier, and therefore may not be as viscerally exciting to some viewrs as Bakemonogatari was. In fact had Bakemonogatari not been such a looming presence and so obviously apt for comparison’s sake, Nisemonogatari might indeed have seemed rather revolutionary in at least a couple of ways. But following in the footsteps of its perhaps better constructed elder sibling means that some fans of this franchise are probably going to be wishing for (to paraphrase a tag line from another well known anime) “less filler, more action”.
Nisemonogatari is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Aniplex with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1 (bumpers
for episodes are in a wider aspect ratio which our measuring tool identifies as 2.02:1). This is a gorgeously animated series
that looks rather unusually filmic a lot of the time. Deep, lustrous hues infuse the show at virtually every turn, and the
series tends to exploit a lot of "arty" effects with varying perspective and bizarre close-ups even in supposedly "normal"
dialogue sequences. The image here is beautifully sharp—when it's supposed to be—but also rather soft (again
intentionally) at other times, especially in some of the hazy opening moments of the first arc when Koyomi discovers he's
been kidnapped. Line detail remains very sharp and the animation is excellently fluid, popping really well throughout this
high definition presentation. Very minor banding is apparent now and then but it's fairly negligible. Even with two episodes
on a BD-25, there's more than ample room for everything and therefore compression artifacts are of no great concern.
All of these discs boot right to the first episode on each of them (after the obligatory logos and copyright warnings).
Pressing "Top Menu" on your remote will get you to the Main Menu where you can access the Special Features.
Nisemonogatari follows Bakemonogatari's suit by offering only an uncompressed LPCM 2.0 mix in the original Japanese. That is actually more suitable to this outing than it perhaps was for the first series, for Nisemonogatari tends to have longer, more detailed pure dialogue sequences without quite so many audio effects dotting the aural landscape. Fidelity is excellent, with occasionally nicely splayed stereo effects, and both dialogue and the enjoyable score are reproduced with crispness and no damage of any kind. Dynamic range is perhaps slightly less wide than it was in Bakemonogatari.
Nisemonogatari follows in the footsteps of Bakemonogatari and in fact will make a nice companion set on any collector's shelf. As with the first release, this one comes housed in a sturdy slipcase which holds three Blu-ray keepcases, two of which have two discs and the third which holds a single disc. The slipcase features art by Akio Watanabe. Also like the first set, this one includes a very handsome 36 page glossy booklet which includes episode recaps and character information as well as a glut of illustrations. The on-disc supplements include:
For me personally Nisemonogatari was at least a slight step down from Bakemonogatari. It seems more drawn out, less focused and also has the strange tendency to suddenly go off in weird directions (which actually may recommend it to some viewers). I found it a bit odd that the first arc, supposedly about Karen, and the second arc, supposedly about Tsukihi, spent at least as much time on other, in some cases totally tangential, plot developments that robbed the supposedly "main" storylines of some momentum. All of this said, Nisemonogatari is often very enjoyable, and the gorgeous animation alone is enough to warrant serious consideration from any longtime anime fan. This Blu-ray set is admittedly pretty pricey, and some may question the need for five discs when only eleven episodes are included, but the video and audio quality is outstanding and for those who don't mind spending a pretty penny, Nisemonogatari comes Recommended.
恋物語 | Monogatari Series Season 2 | Limited Edition
2013
化物語 | Limited Edition
2009-2010
猫物語(黒) | Limited Edition
2013
花物語 | Limited Edition
2014
傷物語Ⅱ 熱血篇
2016
傷物語Ⅰ 鉄血篇
2016
傷物語Ⅲ 冷血篇
2017
ノーゲーム・ノーライフ / Nōgēmu Nōraifu
2014
2011
2014-2015
Anime Classics
2011-2012
2011
2009-2011
2010
2014-2015
Essentials / 氷菓
2012
2013
はたらく魔王さま! / Hataraku Maou-sama!
2022
2011-2012
キルラキル
2013-2014