Bakemonogatari

The basic concept of Bake, in my eyes, uses the tried and tested 'Monster of the Week' formula but in such ways that it is not until after the final ed plays in ep 15 that you realise it was nothing but a light framework that is used to propel all the other phenomenal parts of Bake further still.

The dialogue. Damn its good. It is critical when creating characters that aim to have a sense of relatability in them that the studio prevents it being ‘cringey’, as the majority of characters in Bake are around a school or college age we viewers (having experienced the trials of school ourself) are hyper aware of when a character would say and when said dialogue is out of place. Bake just excels in the delivery, the pacing and the content, overall, the sometimes flirty, sometimes serious all the time witty speech is one of the strongest aspects of the show and really enhances the experiences. It got to the point where from mid-way through I had a notebook and pen on standby just to record some of the awesome exchanges.

The cinematography, animation and art are honestly breathtaking I have yet to find a show that replicates the level of unique style that Bake brings. Each shots composition is so purposeful that the positioning of characters and the environment are treated with equal if not the same level of respect then the characters (actions, emotions etc) themselves. The unique style also uses blank shots from the LN to really bring impact to the scene at hand. I really enjoyed this touch as I felt like it enabled the Studio to really breakdown situations and make sure the viewer had a grasp of what was going on (even if you don’t read all the title shots, which you won’t in a normal viewing as in some scenes they are rapidly fired on to the screen for half a second but that in itself I feel is the Studio letting the viewer know that these shots aren’t paramount they are more and aid for the overall atmosphere).

I really struggled with this anime to prevent myself from trying to persuade my non-anime-watching friends to watch it and if I am to state one drawback it is that this anime is not one to recommend to someone who doesn’t yet understand anime ‘culture’(it pained me to type that sentence). For example, within the first opening scene we are greeted with dramatic music and… a panty shot. It’s scenes like this that show that Bake isn’t taking it self ultra seriously and that for all the philosophical and existential concepts it bases itself off, it is to be enjoyed. However back to the first point it does lean on some fetishes that perhaps are more digestible for a anime veteran than a first timer, that’s not to say a first timer won’t enjoy Bake but I think some of the tropes take a little bit of otaku knowledge to understand that the show might be using irony in a few scenes rather than aggressively sexualizing certain characters. The show does have light harem aspects, one single MC surrounded by a multitude of girls, but it would naïve to view Bake as harem and I think personally these scenes amount to a small % of the total Bake experience.

In conclusion I would recommend Bake to any veteran anime fan, fans of smooth, stylistic animation who enjoy immersive experiences and those who just want to enjoy a really well-rounded show, and for newcomers I would say to wack it on the planning to watch list but definitely get round to it after a couple of laps of the gate-way animes.