Bakemonogatari, up through episode 7.
Watch this, all of you.
It's an Akiyuki Shinbo show.
I'm not really sure how I feel about it. The art and direction are fabulous in all aspects. Everything about the show is fabulous, really, but there are some rough parts where ironically the goodness serves to point out that it has even more unrealized potential.
Not really sure I buy the best-dialogue-ever hype. It's good, yes, but it's not spectacular (a couple of memorable zingers per episode, but it doesn't have the "I can remember an entire conversation" level of quality going for it), and most of the really good lines only work because of the art and direction going on around them at the time. I think the main fault to be found here is in the voice acting - the dialogue itself could work with a lot of different intonations, but the actors deliver almost everything in a steady deadpan that doesn't add anything. Ararararagi's VA is the same guy who did Nozumo from SZS, and he's doing... the exact same voice, almost, which invites some unflattering comparisons between the two shows.
First episode bait and switch is also in heavy effect here. EP1 was gorgeous, shockingly so, and it's not really too surprising that later episodes have had obviously less art budget. Fortunately, Shinbo-style makes up for it.
EP1 also, however, made out like this was going to be a show with a continuing and at least semi-serious dramatic plot. There was foreshadowing, there were fight scenes and people getting their hearts ripped out, there were character dynamics starting. All that got dropped almost instantly in favor of short episodic arcs... and then the arcs themselves seem to be getting wrapped down further, as the basketball girl didn't even get her own OP like Mayoi did. We've seen this before, too, in SZS, and SZS did it better than what we've seen here so far (for one thing, it wasn't nearly this formulaic (problem->talk to Meme->solution turns out to be family/relationship drama)). If we wind up getting nothing but a bunch of short arcs introducing an ever expanding cast of oneoff characters I'll be rather disappointed. Buuut it's still only about halfway through the season, so I'm still holding out hope for a central plot to pick up.
Even with those flaws this is probably the best show of the last couple years by far and everyone needs to watch it. Shinbo seriously needs to win some sort of award for direction, and the artists and graphic designers (it's clearly not ALL Shinbo's work) should get a lot of praise too.
Episode 3 should be required viewing for anyone even remotely interested in theatre or media.
Watch this.
