Bakemonogatari part 2 is the second (and final) volume of this lo-fi horror (or new wave anime*) series about an ex-vampire named Koyomi Araragi trying to live a normal life but gets anything but.  During a trip to a shrine with his friend Suruga to deliver something important they see a girl running in the opposite direction and Koyomi starts to wonder who she was as she looked very familiar to him.  When they deliver the item to the shrine they see what seems to be a ritualistic slaughter of snakes and suspect that something is up and they start to look for the girl that ran past them because they think that she has something to do with it.  Koyomi and Suruga meet up with the girl from the shrine steps and they find out that she was doing a ritual to get rid of a curse she has.  Koyomi feels bad and decides to help her get rid of the curse.  That's not all as Koyomi has a really big problem of his own and the problem is that his psycho girlfriend (downgraded from suicidal, homicidal, genocidal bitch and no, he isn't dating the wrestler Sabu) named Hitagi wants to go out on a date.  I wonder how this first date will turn out for this delightful (not making a joke there) couple.  (To see the full review click "Read More").


Story is told really well with a really great atmosphere that consists of a mixture of psychedelic and creepy.  This show also oddly feels like a modern day version of the X-Files with its heavy focus on investigating and that also builds up some great suspense and keeps you on the edge of your seats wondering what's going to happen next but unlike the X-Files you do get to see the demons they are researching.  The characters are also really great with a ton of charm, relatable and slightly insane yet down to earth all at the same time so you'd be mad if you don't like these characters.  One thing that took me by surprise is the violence, it's really bloody and always sudden adding a little bit of friendly (AKA not overly offensive) shock value to it that's sort of like a jump scare but not as shit.

Art-work is really great with well designed characters with some very smooth animation and there is a lot of variety in art-styles ranging from really cartoony all the way to photo realistic.  The scenery is very artistic like I'm looking at a museum art-piece which also adds a creepy element to the shows atmosphere.  Animation in the credits feel very unique and are very over the top and it adds a lot of fun to the show.  The credit sequences also change every story-arc which always gets you something to look forward to.  The Japanese dub worked with the characters pretty well but it felt like there was something missing which could of made this dub amazing but for some reason I can't seem to put my finger on it.

Same type of special features in this volume as we had with volume one, promotional videos, a ton of text-less credit sequences (which is a really good thing as they were very good), and cast commentary on every episode.  Also like volume one the DVDs come in a hardback book full of art and info of the characters that are pure candy for the eyeballs.  Overall this show is not only a must watch but it's also one of those shows that can be watched over repeatedly over and over again.  Highly recommended watch this one is (*Yoda growl* mmmm).

*Note: Read the review to Bakemonogatari Part 1 to find the original "New Wave" comment.

Title: Bakemonogatari Part 2 [Limited Edition]
animation Studio: Shaft
Genre: Animation/Anime, Drama, Romance, Black Comedy, Horror/Supernatural
Running Time: 168 Minutes (7 Episodes)
Distributor: Hanabee Entertainment (http://www.hanabee.com.au/)
Rating: MA15+ (Strong sexual themes, Infrequent animated violence )
Price: $49.99
Recommended: Yes