Monogatari (series)

Setting Most heroines have an item that symbolizes 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 Nisio Isin's signature wordplay and metahumor. 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 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 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 Nisio Isin as a series of short stories without illustrations for Kodansha's literary magazine Mephisto. A second volume of Bakemonogatari, containing two new chapters, was released in December 2006. Both volumes were published under the Kodansha Box imprint 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 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. The sixth Monogatari saga, referred to as "Family Season", began in 2023. So far, only two volumes have been published: in May 2023, and in October 2025. Tsugimonogatari had initially been announced for release in 2015, as part of Off Season. Two further novels, and , have been announced, with no release date given yet. In 2015, Vertical 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 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 was released on March 24, 2020, with narration done by Eric Kimerer, Cristina Vee, Erica Mendez, and Keith Silverstein. The Japanese audiobook version of the entire series began release by Kodansha via Audible on February 17, 2021. Each novel features narration by the voice actors/actresses of the anime adaptation. It 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. The 15-episode series was animated by Shaft and directed by Akiyuki Shinbo 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 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. At Sakura-Con 2012, Aniplex of America announced that it had acquired Bakemonogatari for release in North America. All 15 episodes were released on Blu-ray 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 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. aired between July 7 and December 29, 2013. Aniplex USA later released the Blu-ray on April 22, and June 24, 2014. Kabukimonogatari and Onimonogatari featured Naoyuki Tatsuwa and Yuki Yase as series directors for those respective arcs under Itamura and Shinbo. Five episodes of the 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 and Google Play 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. In January 2024, an adaptation of both "Off Season" and "Monster Season" was announced, with chief director Shinbo, character designer Watanabe, and studio Shaft returning. Midori Yoshizawa is directing. It aired on Abema from July 6 to October 19, 2024. Crunchyroll licensed the series. New episodes of Off & Monster Season were announced in July 2025. 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, 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 App Store and Google Play app after Kizumonogatari I and Owarimonogatari. Music The several opening themes were written by Meg Rock and composed by Satoru Kōsaki and Mito, featuring vocals of the main characters. and peaked at No. 5 in the Oricon singles charts. The ending theme for Nisemonogatari is sung by ClariS 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. Monogatari Series Second Season features four ending songs: , produced by Jin (Shizen no Teki-P) and performed by Luna Haruna for Nekomonogatari (White) and Kabukimonogatari; by Kawano for Otorimonogatari and Onimonogatari; "snowdrop" by both Haruna and Kawano for Koimonogatari; and by Kawano for Hanamonogatari. Monogatari Series Final Season features five ending songs: "Border" by ClariS for Tsukimonogatari, by Alisa Takigawa for the first season of Owarimonogatari, "whiz" by TrySail for Koyomimonogatari, "Shiori" by ClariS for the second season of Owarimonogatari, and "azure" by TrySail for Zoku Owarimonogatari. The ending theme song for Monogatari Series Off & Monster Season is "Undead" by Yoasobi. Utamonogatari The collection of theme songs, , released on January 6, 2016, ranked at No. 1 on Oricon'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 Memorial Best album. It also sold over 100,000 copies and was certified as a Gold Disc by Japan Record Association. Disc 1 features the opening and ending themes for Monogatari First Season: Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, and Nekomonogatari (Black). Disc 2 features 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. Vertical began releasing the manga in North America in October 2019. The manga concluded on March 15, 2023, and released its 22nd and final tankōbon volume in Japan on May 17. The final English-language volume was released on August 20, 2024. Other media A drama CD titled , a reference to the parlor game Hyakumonogatari Kaidankai, was released on August 3, 2009. The script was written by Nisio Isin and is bundled with the CD. A PlayStation Portable visual novel titled developed by Bandai Namco Games was released on August 23, 2012. Good Smile Company has made several nendoroid 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 Kizumonogatari), 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 Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi! published by Takarajimasha. It later went on to rank as high as second in 2010, and 2017 issues, with the latter in the tankōbon 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, third in 2012, and sixth in 2013. Meanwhile, Hitagi Senjōgahara ranked seventh in the Best Female Character in 2009, 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 held in 2017 selected Bakemonogatari as the best anime released in 2009. Barbara Greene in her article "Haunted Psychologies: The Specter of Postmodern Trauma in Bakemonogatari" states that the series critiques otaku consumption and the objectification inherent in consumer capitalism, using its fragmented narrative and visual style to reflect the collapse of traditional narratives in postmodernity. Otaku are drawn to moe-kyara, stylized characters that allow for personal meaning-making, but this consumption ultimately perpetuates a cycle of suffering without resolution. She concludes saying that Bakemonogatari portrays a world where meaning is constructed but never truly fulfilled, serving as both a product of and a commentary on the traumas of postmodern consumer culture. Christopher Smith's article "The Text Inside Us: Text on Screen and the Intertextual Self in Bakemonogatari" examines how the anime Bakemonogatari uses disruptive on-screen text to create a Brechtian alienation effect, emphasizing the intertextual nature of the characters' thoughts, memories, and desires. By employing archaic Japanese orthography and integrating text deeply into the narrative, the anime not only highlights the constructedness of its story but also situates its themes within Japan's modern historical context. Smith argues that Bakemonogatari serves as a self-reflexive commentary on subjectivity in the postmodern world, suggesting that identity is not an authentic, isolated construct but rather an intertextual creation shaped by social and historical forces. ==References==