Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu, Part 2: Nekketsu, and Part 3: Reiketsu (2016–2017) A bizarre, splatter-filled, shamelessly horny and, above all, uncanny story about second–year high schooler Koyomi Araragi and his spring break.

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There’s one thing I want to tell anyone who is about to watch these films: just let yourself sink into them. Above all else, these movies are all about immersion in their world. Try not to overthink the meta side of things – the structure, the scenario, how each part fits together – and instead just bathe in this strange, twisted universe.

From here on, there will be spoilers.

I have not read the original novels. Kizumonogatari is my very first contact with the Monogatari Series. I also have not seen the compilation film “Kizumonogatari: Koyomi Vamp.”

Second–year high school student Koyomi Araragi hears a rumor from his classmate Tsubasa Hanekawa: in this town, people are talking about a “vampire” that appears at night. A monster that sounds like it belongs in a storybook is said to be roaming the streets after dark. The rumor is soon pushed to the back of his mind, though, because right now Koyomi is completely absorbed in the fact that he has just traded contact info with a busty girl from his class. That very night, without knowing it, he is about to meet “her” for real…

Part 1: Tekketsu shows Koyomi’s encounter with the vampiric woman Kiss–Shot Acerola–Orion Heart–Under–Blade. Part 2: Nekketsu depicts his battles with three vampire hunters. Part 3: Reiketsu brings the story to its conclusion, portraying the choice Koyomi makes at the end. And from there, the tales of the oddities surrounding Koyomi Araragi – the Monogatari Series – begin.

As mentioned above, the first thing that grabbed me about this trilogy is its worldbuilding. Shaft, the studio in charge of the animation, constructs that world with obsessive care. Strange meetings and stranger happenings pile up. A dim, nocturnal city stokes your curiosity even as it keeps you on edge. Limbs are severed and blood flies in grotesque splatter scenes. At the same time, there’s a slightly pervy high–school youthfulness in Koyomi’s interactions with his classmates. The more deeply you immerse yourself in all of this, the better a time you’ll have.

There is another element that cannot be separated from these films: the voice cast. Across all three parts, the main roles are played by the following actors:

Koyomi Araragi – Hiroshi Kamiya

Kiss–Shot Acerola–Orion Heart–Under–Blade – Maaya Sakamoto

Tsubasa Hanekawa – Yui Horie

Meme Oshino – Takahiro Sakurai

That’s right – there are only four main cast members. Part 2: Nekketsu brings in three vampire hunters, but for the most part the story is carried by these four alone. When I saw the end credits for Tekketsu, I was surprised by how short the cast list was. Long stretches of quirky, highly stylized dialogue performed by this small group of actors, and the way those lines bounce back and forth between them, give the film a peculiar rhythm that I found oddly satisfying and pleasant.

I’m a fan of Maaya Sakamoto, who plays Kiss–Shot, so I went and looked up interviews and round–table talks with her. Learning how she herself talks about Kiss–Shot’s charm made the films twice as enjoyable for me, so I highly recommend checking those out. In Kizumonogatari, Kiss–Shot is absolutely the heroine.