Bakemonogatari, and Why Shaft is My New Favorite Studio

I don't know everything.
I just happen to know this.

"Her body was absurdly light..."

Art is subjective. Nobody will disagree with that, but many, including myself, would say that it is also objective. There is good and bad art, and even those who can't appreciate certain types of art can usually point out the "better" ones. Why? Because there are rules to art. There are elements that make a work of art objectively "good" or "bad."

Where is he going with this? I thought this was a blog about anime... Does he have a point?

Yes, I do. Up until recently, my favorite animation studio was Kyoto Animation. I loved their tendency to use real locations for their expertly-painted backgrounds. I loved the adorable way that they portrayed female characters. I loved their clean art, and attention to detail. I still do love all of these things. But what changed? I watched more anime.

Hyouka, one of Kyoto Animation's best works.

Recently I've noticed something about KyoAni. Their art is too perfect. The characters are certainly distinguishable, but they all follow the same template. Their backgrounds are robust, colorful, and just like the real thing, but as much as I hate to play this card, anybody can imitate. There is an increasing level of sameness in their work. When you strip all of the story and heartwarming cute characters away, you're just left with, well, something not so exciting. Don't get me wrong, I love KyoAni. I just think they're limiting their own artistic freedom.

As I laid back in my chair, watching moe characters do moe things, something crept up on me. That something was Puella Magi Madoka Magica. This anime was recommended to me over and over again, so one day, I decided to pull it up and watch it. I think that was the moment that it all shifted for me.

The character of Madoka Magica find out a
horrifying secret.

Without giving too much away, Madoka Magica is not exactly what it seems to be. It's like getting in the car for a gentle ride to your aunt Jill's cottage, and then realizing that it isn't a car, but a wild amusement park ride that you must be five foot tall to ride. It's like sitting on a bench under a tree waiting to meet somebody, and suddenly realizing that you are in hell and will be waiting for all eternity. It was not the first dark/violent anime I had ever seen, nor was it the first Shaft anime I had seen. It was the first anime that got me really thinking about the role of the studio in creating great anime.

There is something distinctly different about anime made by Shaft. They don't use real locations, but they do, sort-of. Their style isn't a style of drawing or animation, it's more of a storytelling style. They don't take themselves seriously, often throwing in photographs and focusing on seemingly random elements in a scene in a way that should shatter the fourth wall, but somehow makes the whole thing more immersive.

Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei

It's no surprise that they used these tactics for Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei. I'm not the biggest fan of that series, personally, but I have a couple volumes of the manga, and it's almost as if the manga was made with an animation by Shaft in mind from the beginning. Abnormal shading, self-awareness and walls of text permeate the pages of the manga similar to the way Shaft constantly reminds you that you are watching an anime.

I had noticed and started to appreciate all of this, but then I discovered Bakemonogatari. Just when I thought I had seen all of the highs and lows of anime, yet another one came along to blow my mind and shift my paradigm. Everything in that anime comes together just flawlessly. I think it's absurd to try and break down anime into its vital components, but Shaft seems to have figured them out and learned how to balance them.

One of my favorite scenes in Bakemonogatari is made great
simply by setting, angles, and interesting dialog.

Bakemonogatari is based on a series of light novels, so lots of credit is due to Nishio Ishin, but you'd have to do some serious reading between the lines to get anything close to the experience Shaft has created. From the very beginning, it shows itself off as an artsy-fartsy amalgamation of sex, violence, epic story, perfect music, and a bunch of other stuff that I didn't even know I wanted.

I have just begun Monogatari Second Season (which isn't really the second season at all), and I am more confused than ever at what really makes an anime "good." But perhaps this is Studio Shaft's strong point. It's like they're trying to confuse the viewer into not caring that they are watching an anime. Maybe the best art is the art that makes you forget that it's art.