[Review] Kizumonogatari 傷物語 The Movie On Araragi and Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade

 Finally complete the Film Kizumonogatari which tells us the prequel of the Bakemonogatari series. The past, of Araragi and Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade only seen in small flashes. Their story that joins the meeting with Tsubasa Hanekawa. The film was divided into 3 episodes which made their appearance in Japanese theaters at different times, in different years, one could say given the duration of the series.

The first episode, entitled "Tekketsu", released in Japanese theaters in January 2016, for a duration of 64 minutes, directed by Akiyuki Shinbo and Tatsuya Oishi, recounts the two encounters of our protagonist, Koyomi Araragi, which will mark his vision, for better or for worse.
The meeting with the dying 500-year-old Vampire who asks him to save her; The meeting with the buxom and curious Tsubasa Hanekawa. I won't go further in the plot so as not to give you too many spoilers :)

The second episode, entitled "Nekketsu", released in Japanese theaters in August 2016, also about 64 minutes long and kept the same directors, shows us Araragi's first steps as a vampire, certainly not easy since he has to fight 3 vampire hunters (human, demi-human and vampire) to help his "master" recover his power.

The third episode titled "Reiketsu", you see the directors themselves managing the film, but the duration is longer, also because the final events needed more time to be explained and its release in Japanese cinemas dates back to January 2017.
In this last episode Araragi has to collide with his "teacher" Kiss-Shot, a very pulp battle, long and with an ending that .... Well! no spoilers ;)

Although we had to be patient, patience paid off in my opinion. I was very satisfied with the series for several reasons.

The very first is having finally covered that narrative void that had just been mentioned with very brief flashes in the first episode of Bakemonogatari. Understanding what happened to Araragi, how events unfolded in that short period in which he was vampirized was very interesting, as was his meeting with Kiss-Shot and the buxom Hanekawa. About the latter in the three episodes there is a lot of fan service, especially in the last movie :D

The graphics and the plot embroider that of the anime series that we associate with, so in the narration it is sometimes difficult to follow the various rapid and descriptive sequences, even if they do not provide important information. I appreciated this continuity, it's easier to reconnect to the series that has already come out and carries on the Saga of this story. Just as the drawings are very well cared for, following them is pleasing to the eye.

If you are a fan of this series for sure it is worth seeing the 3 episodes. At the moment you can find the first 2 with Italian subs while the 3rd episode (the bluray has just been released in Japan) is only available with English subs. I leave you with some photos taken from the booklet of the special edition of the films that you find in the blu-rays.

You can find more reviews about Japanese animation on our main page, if you are a fan you can't miss them :)