The Ultimate Guide to Watching the Monogatari Series

The Monogatari series has become a cult hit among the anime community, in the past few years. What initially started as a humble adaptation of Nisio Isin’s light novel of the same name, Monogatari’s anime quickly exceeded animation studio Shaft’s expectations. This led the studio to adapt most volumes of the original light novel.

However, since the series comprises of many similarly-named arcs, the timeline of events can get a bit complex especially for newcomers of the series. If you’re a newcomer to the series yourself, you’ve come to the right place. In this post, you will learn how to watch Monogatari the way it was intended.

However, before we get into the meat of it, let’s get somethings straight. Firstly, the story in the Monogatari novels and anime is often made up of either one main narrative or a number of different short ones focusing on the many different characters of the series. A lot of the times, these stories occupy different time periods and this can make watching the series in chronological order quite difficult. Therefore, watching the series in chronological order is not recommended for first-time watchers(it can be fun, however for people who have already seen the series before).

So, what is the best way for getting into the series? Well, the actual release order. Although sometimes you might be left scratching your head about when and where some story is taking place, it all comes around perfectly in the end.

Watch the Monogatari series in its release order

• Bakemonogatari - This series contains the following arcs: Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Snail, Suruga Monkey, Nadeko Snake, and Tsubasa Cat.

• Nekomongatari: Kuro - Tells the Tsubasa Family story .

Where does the Kizumonogatari trilogy fit in?

Kizumonogatari is the prequel of “Bakemonogatari”, however, it’s based on the second book in the light novel series.

So there are two main ways of watching it, either before or after “Bakemonogatari”.

Watching the series in chronological order 

This watch order is ideal for people who have already experienced the story before. But watching it in chronological order can be tricky as you might have to be jumping from series to series.

• Kizumonogatari (takes place between March and April)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Stone episode 
• Nekomonogatari: Kuro(takes place between April-May)
• Bakemonogatari(takes place May-June)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Flower, Koyomi Sand, Koyomi Water episodes
• Nisemonogatari (July-August)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Wind episode
• Monogatari Series – Mayoi Jiangshi 
• Monogatari Series – Shinobu Time
• Nekomonogatari: Shiro - Tsubasa Tiger(during August)
• Owarimonogatari - Shinobu Mail (October)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Tree and Koyomi Tea episodes
• Owarimonogatari - Ogi Formula, Sodachi Riddle, Sodachi Lost(October)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Torus episode
• Monogatari Series – Nadeko Medusa(October-November)
• Monogatari Series – Hitagi End(January)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Seed episode
• Tsukimonogatari(February)
• Koyomimonogatari - Koyomi Nothing and Koyomi Dead episodes
• Owarimonogatari (Second Season) (March)

• Hanamonogatari (April)