Highlights
- Monogatari Series back with 10 new volumes, starting with Orokamonogatari. Easy to find most of the series on Crunchyroll.
- Anime sensation based on novel series by Nisio Isin, divided into multiple “Seasons”. Story evolves with focus on female characters.
- Legal streaming options limited, missing key episodes & arcs. Monogatari Blu-ray collections expensive. Crunchyroll releasing Final Season set.
The Monogatari Series is back this year with an adaptation of the Off Season and Monster Season (10 volumes total), starting with Orokamonogatari. With almost 15 years having passed since the anime started, there’s a lot of ground to cover for those eager to hop on the bandwagon, and thankfully, it’s pretty easy to find most of the series.
Based on the novel series by Nisio Isin, this supernatural mystery was a sensation that became more so after 2009’s Bakemonogatari by Studio Shaft and directors Akiyuki Shinbo and Tatsuya Oishi. Although the anime has received 10 previous anime adaptations before now, the story is divided into “Seasons,” named First, Second, Final, Off, Monster, and Family, respectively. The series first follows Koyomi Araragi, a half-human, half-vampire who finds his life entangled with a group of young women, all afflicted by apparitions that prey on their traumas and insecurities. As the franchise has progressed, these women and the supporting cast, in general, have taken center stage more often, evolving the franchise in unexpected ways.
Where Can You Watch It?
First Season
The majority of the Monogatari Seriesis readily available on Crunchyroll. From the First Season, fans can check out Bakemonogatari, followed by one’s choice of either its prequel, Nekomonogatari: Black, or the sequel, Nisemonogatari. The only missing piece from this season is the film trilogy for Kizumonogatari, which technically should come right after Bake and tells the very beginning of Araragi’s story.
Second Season
Monogatari Series: Second Season is pretty self-explanatory. Across 26 episodes, it covers five novels from this era of the franchise. The sixth and final novel from this season, Hanamonogatari, was given a TV special a year later that can be found on the same page as the Second Season on Crunchyroll. That makes this the only season of Monogatari that can be seen in full on the streaming platform.
Final Season
Despite what the name might suggest, Owarimonogatari is not the first or only entry in the Final Season. It actually begins with the four-part special Tsukimonogatari. After that, there are two seasons of Owari (not to be confused with the seasonal structure of the franchise), but that is the extent of Monogatari‘s presence on Crunchyroll.
Where’s the Rest of It?
The trouble with finding legal avenues through which to watch the full Monogatari Series is that it’s not a matter of where else you can watch it. Depending on one’s region, it might be available for rental or purchase through Amazon, but in North America, Crunchyroll is the only streaming home for this series, and it’s missing some major points in the story.
Kizumonogatari has never been made available to stream, nor has Zoku Owarimonogatari. This is particularly amusing, seeing as how the former is the very beginning of the story, while the latter is the conclusion of Owari and the Final Season as a whole. There’s also Koyomimonogatari, a series of shorter stories, but one no less crucial for how its final story sets up the second half of Owari.
But perhaps the most baffling of these absences is that Bake is still missing its last three episodes after all these years. When the show originally aired, there were only 12 episodes and the last three were released later. Crunchyroll has never added them, nor replaced what episodes are already there with anything higher than 480p quality. So, one of the best and most important parts of the franchise is only available legally in the worst quality.
Funnily enough, Funimation – back when it was still active – made a point of assuring subscribers that they acquired all 15 episodes back when they added the series to their library. They even streamed Koyomimonogatari. Unfortunately, even with Funimation gone now, Crunchyroll has yet to update its Monogatari library as of the time of writing, which means episodes 13-15 of Bake and all of Koyomi are unavailable to stream.
Can You Purchase the Series?
Monogatari is an Aniplex property, so while it is available on Blu-ray, these collections can be quite expensive. RightStufAnime previously was the exclusive distributor of Monogatari on home video, a title now held by Crunchyroll. Judging by the listings on their store, however, not all of them are available. Not even Bakemonogatari is available for purchase currently, though the reason for this might be simpler than one might think.
This month, Aniplex is releasing a Blu-ray set of the entire Final Season, similar to what was done with the release of the Second Season some years back. Previously released smaller Blu-rays for individual arcs are being discontinued in favor of bigger, more expensive sets containing the entire seasons. This means that there could be a First Season complete set in the near future, with Bake, Nise, Neko, and Kizu.
An Extensive Breakdown
|
Title |
Available to Stream |
Available to Buy |
Price to Buy |
|
First Season |
X |
X |
X |
|
Crunchyroll (Missing Episodes 13-15) |
No (Not listed as of 4/8/2024) |
N/A |
|
Crunchyroll |
Yes (But Sold Out as of 4/8/2024) |
USD 119.98 |
|
Crunchyroll |
No (Not listed as of 4/8/2024) |
N/A |
|
N/A |
|
|
|
Second Season |
Yes (Complete Set) |
USD 219.98 |
|
|
Crunchyroll |
X |
X |
|
Crunchyroll |
X |
X |
|
Final Season |
Yes (Complete Set) |
USD 343.98 (Available 4/23/2024) |
|
|
Crunchyroll |
X |
X |
|
Crunchyroll |
X |
X |
|
N/A |
Yes (But Sold Out as of 4/8/2024) |
USD 69.98 |
|
N/A |
Yes (But Sold Out as of 4/8/2024) |
USD 59.98 |
Monogatari carries a unique prestige within the medium, it being both a financial hit yet also a high mark for aesthetics and storytelling that would typically be reserved for the most niche of properties. It’s a fascinating franchise, the hype of which is nothing to scoff at. For that reason, this is the perfect time for Crunchyroll to capitalize on its return and truly embrace being its “streaming home,” rather than merely happening to be the only one providing it.
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