Kizumonogatari I - Blut und Eisen

All I knew about "Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-Hen" when I sat down to watch it here in 2024, was that it was a vampire-themed Anime of sorts. I had never heard about it prior to sitting down to watch it, so I didn't really know what I was in for. I was initially lured into picking this up and giving it a chance based on the movie's cover, as it was interesting enough to catch my attention.

The storyline was bland and far from interesting, so writers Akiyuki Shinbô, Yukito Kizawa, Muneo Nakamoto and Fuyashi Tô failed to deliver something that captured my interest, much less actually entertained me. And while I am not familiar with the novel from Nisio Isin, upon which this Anime is based, then I don't know how true to the animation was to the novel.

I have to say that it got really, really annoying that the movie was interrupted by a black screen with the word "Noir" over and over.

The mixture of old-fashioned hand-drawn Anime, CGI rendered images and actual live footage was a bitter pill to swallow. I didn't enjoy that mixture one bit. In my opinion, they should have picked one or the other and stuck with just one style of presentation.

It was quite a struggle to sit through part one, so I am not even going to bother with parts two and three, as directors Tatsuya Oishi and Akiyuki Shinbô failed to entertain me with part one.

This was a swing and a miss of a vampire-themed Anime, if there ever was one.

My rating of "Kizumonogatari I: Tekketsu-Hen" lands on a generous two out of ten stars.

Kizumonogatari part 1 tekketsu received great interest from viewers in the anime world. This film offers Monogatari series fans an in-depth look into the past of their favorite characters. With its dark and mysterious atmosphere, impressive visual design, and character development, this production captivates its audience. Araragi Koyomi's encounter with vampires and his inner conflicts during this process add depth to the story. In this first part of Kizumonogatari, viewers witness both action-packed scenes and emotional moments. The animation style is unique and visually stunning. The plot was a little on the weird side but the animation makes for it.

For those who've not read the Manga the story told in this trilogy fills in many of the gaps and helps explain the unrequited love that is one of the sub-plots in Bakemonogatri. Each of the three is a solid entry in the world and is worth the watch.

Rating: 6.9

For some reason, I felt like this could've been condensed. A lot of times there would be nothing happening, not even inner monologues. This made the pacing feel very slow. Overall it was ok and served its purpose in setting up the next two parts.