It's been four years now and the Monogatari  s eries train still shows no sign of stopping any time soon. With the continuing story of Koyomi Araragi and co. still airing, it's time to go back in time and take a look at the first instalment in franchise's prequel material. Get your cat puns at the ready, because it's time for Nekomonogatari (Kuro) . This four-part short series is a direct prequel to Bakemonogatari , explaining the events of the Golden Week that is frequently mentioned in the franchise. With his brief transformation into a vampire still fresh in his mind, Koyomi Araragi continues to adjust to his new abilities before coming across another supernatural apparition in the form of class president and love-interest Tsubasa Hanekawa. Tsubasa has been possessed by a dangerous apparition known as the Meddlecat, which has been relieving its host's stress by attacking people in the city. Koyomi enlists the help of Meme Oshino and the remains of his v...

It's not very often that a series as good as Bakemonogatari comes along, and being only 15 episodes long its easy to be left wanting more from it. So it's just as well Shaft  decided to continue animating the light novel franchise, continuing with the sequel Nisemonogatari (which translates as "Fake story", or "Impostory" if you still want a clever pun out of it) in 2012. The show ran for a total of 11 episodes. Our fire sisters: Tsuhiki & Karen Continuing on some time after the events of Bakemonogatari , Nisemonogatari picks up with two new arcs concerning the two characters we saw little of in the first season - Koyomi's younger sisters Karen and Tsuhiki. Nicknamed the "Fire Sisters" at school, the hot-headed Karen and short-tempered Tsukihi are a duo and perform deeds in the name of justice. When this of justice lands Karen in trouble with a conman named Deishū Kaiki, as usual its up to Koyomi to save the day and deal with...

Based on a series of light novels by Nisio Isin ( Medaka Box ) and animated by the studio Shaft (who also worked on Puella Magi Madoka Magica , among other things), the Monogatari series is arguably one of the most popular anime franchises that's around at the moment. It's also one that's taken me far too long to actually give a try. The first in the series, entitled Bakemonogatari (a clever pun that works in Japanese and English, as it translates to "Ghostory") ran for a total of 15 episodes (the final three released as ONAs) back in 2009. The crab. Bakemonogatari tells the story of Koyomi Araragi, a third-year high school student who partly human again after becoming a vampire in events prior to the series. One day, his classmate Hitagi Senjōgahara, falls down the stairs into his arms. He discovers that Hitagi unnaturally weighs next to nothing. Despite being threatened by her to keep away, Koyomi offers his help and introduces her to Meme Oshino, th...