Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp

It’s honestly impressive how editing can change an entire character from soup to nuts. Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp – is an abridged cut of the three Kizumonogatari movies, shrunk down to fit into a theatrical release. Now, what did they cut you might ask? All of Hanekawa’s character development (and horniness). You might say to yourself, “cutting out all the fanservice? That seems to be a great way to reach a new audience.” And, you might be right about that, but unfortunately, if you don’t include all the Hanekawa bits, we really only have this one view of her as a very sympathetic, perfect being, whenin reality, she’s the most screwed up and monstrous thing in the entire series – and understanding her origin is really essential to the plot for the rest of the show (even if that origin includes a certain scene in the gym storage shed). So, if you watch this stand-alone, with no desire to get into Monogatari later on, it might be a nice way to enjoy the cool animation, fights, and story of Kiss-Shot and Araragi’s Scott Pilgrim-esq adventure without all the titillating horny teenage angst, but if you’re planning on trying to really continue to get into Monogatari, skip this and watch the unabridged versions, fan-service and all.

This is NOT something you should watch instead of the original trilogy, so if this is your first rodeo with Kizumonogatari, I strongly advise you to avoid this. I’m adamant about this being exclusively for us completionists out there. May you find fulfillment in your struggles, wherever you are. But no, in all seriousness, this splice of the original films does nothing to serve as a good introduction to the franchise, certainly does not make for a better cinematic experience, and most importantly does not satisfy the needs of a superfan like me. That being said, there wasn’t a single second I didn’t enjoy experiencing this absolutefreak of an arc again, redundant as this re-release might be. I love the Kizumonogatari movies despite the fact that they already suffer heavily from having a substantial amount of content cut from the source material, this entry only accentuating that even more, unfortunately. Also, I'm docking points from this one simply because of the absence of the “2001: A Space Odyssey”-scene.

My biggest criticism of the Kizumonogatari Trilogy was the fact that it was one film unnecessarily split into three. Learning of the compilation film, I had hoped that the idealized version of this story would come to fruition. However, the editors cut too much content, almost a third by my count. The worst of it was that much of Hanekawa's scenes were cut or abridged, which I thought were essential to the story. While I don't disagree with some fanservice cuts for the sake of wider appeal, excising entire scenes diminished Araragi and Hanekawa's relationship to a detrimental degree. Without the clear juxtaposition between Araragi'srelationship with Kiss-shot and Hanekawa, I feel that some subtext was missing from the final product. Hanekawa feels more out of place now than an integral part of Araragi's development. Because Nekketsu-hen felt the most abridged, the driving mission of the story felt more like a checklist than a series of trials to overcome. As a result, it somewhat spoils the impact of the third act. Cutting a lot of slower moments for the sake of the runtime creates a very plot-driven version of the original trilogy, and, in my opinion, an inferior one. The Monogatari series, if anything, is nothing without its characters. To remove scenes that lessen them is to hinder what the series is best at. The quieter, awkward, and pondering moments gives the audience more information about the characters and more reasons to care. If we don't care about the characters, then why would we care about the plot. I believe there is a happy middle in which the trilogy is seamlessly tied together, comes in at a runtime of just under 3 hours, and feels just as fulfilling as the original films. However, what we have is a more convenient but clearly inferior version of Kizumonogatari. I can't say what my opinion on this would be if I hadn't seen the original trilogy. Already knowing that a better version exists dramatically skews my opinion. It's what most of my review is about. I believe if you're diving into the sprawling tale of Monogatari, you as a viewer gain nothing by shaving off an hour of runtime. Might as well take the full plunge and watch the original trilogy. (In the US, the "Koyomi Vamp" version is currently available on Crunchyroll, whose subtitles are sometimes impossible to read. The "Trilogy" versions are available to rent individually on Amazon Prime.)

This is not for everyone, this is for those who like the "whatever-monogatari" series style and pace. Lets begin with how unique it is in some parts and how it feels like it was like an "Evangelion feeling" in others: Everything here is unique, the characters are unique, the environment is unique for the conversation that is happening, and there is some mix of 3D and 2D that makes some scenes great and some that are "ok", but they are unique most of the times and some of them felt that there was a little "Evangelion feeling" with the music, background and conversation combined. "Chaos Theory": Every little pieceof conversation/interaction had some meaning to the whole plot, even if it was not something important or relevant, it was something that created a connection between the characters, even if did nothing to the plot itself at first, but in the end it, it was relevant when and how they had their interactions, it was what made this piece a "monogatari like experience" and, in the end, it made the biggest impact, everything since the beginning came down like an avalanche. Music/soundtracks: I will be short here, the sounds and music are very satisfying, some are funny and they feel like the 80's comedy movies, others are very impactful by applying all types of instruments. Why would I give 10/10? Aside from the "whatever-monogatari" series, there is nothing that you can compare, it is unique and it will be hard to be able to watch something like this in the future, gosh... even the series are different from this in some ways, this felt like a complete experience when compared with the series... my only regret is that this movie gave me a complete different point of view regarding the chronology of everything and made me thing that it would be better watching this first... not because of the plot but how you view the main character interaction with others in the future... if you are reading this, if you like to already know the "value" of the main character while watching the series, then watch this first... but if you like to be in the dark about what he can do and who are involved with his "roots" then watch the series in launching order then come watch this movie... In the end... as someone that like the monogatari style, it was a masterpiece.