Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu (2016)
★★½ — Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu (2016)
Released in 2016 as the second of three theatrical films adapting Nisio Isin's light novel of the same name, Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu sits at the middle point of a project that had already been a long time coming. The Kizumonogatari novel had been published in 2008, serving as a prequel to the wider Monogatari series, and fans had been waiting years for an animated version before production finally got underway. This second part picks up from the bloodsoaked, visually aggressive opening chapter (you can find that review here) and follows Koyomi Araragi as he attempts to reclaim the severed limbs of the legendary vampire Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-blade from three formidable hunters, each confrontation forming its own set piece. The title, Nekketsu, translates roughly as "hot blood," which signals fairly clearly that this chapter is where the action comes to the foreground.
The film runs at a lean 68 minutes and was produced by SHAFT, the Tokyo-based animation studio whose reputation for stylistic excess and unconventional visual grammar is well established within anime circles. Co-directed by Tatsuya Oishi and Akiyuki Shinbo, the pair brought the same sensibility they applied to the first film and would carry through to the concluding chapter. Oishi and Shinbo are no strangers to the Monogatari universe, having worked extensively on the television series that preceded these films, and that familiarity shows in the confidence of the visual approach, even where the storytelling choices may divide opinion.
The principal voice cast is as polished as the production values suggest. Hiroshi Kamiya, who has built a substantial career in anime voice work and can also be heard in the quiet, understated romance Dou Kyu Sei: Classmates, leads as Koyomi Araragi, bringing a nervous, self-deprecating energy to a character caught between humanity and something far more dangerous. Yui Horie voices Kiss-shot, the ancient and enfeebled vampire whose recovery depends entirely on Araragi's willingness to fight on her behalf. Maaya Sakamoto, Takahiro Sakurai and Masashi Ebara round out a supporting cast that is, by any measure, well equipped for the material. Whether the material makes the most of them is, of course, a separate question entirely.
Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu (2016) doubles down on what made the first instalment both mesmerising and frustrating: breathtaking animation paired with a narrative that feels wilfully opaque. Shaft Studio's visual artistry remains the trilogy's undeniable triumph with fluid action sequences, surreal colour palettes, and inventive framing turn vampire confrontations into moving paintings. The core concept, Koyomi Araragi's transformation into a vampire and his fraught alliance with the enigmatic Kiss-shot, holds genuine intrigue, and there are flashes of the wordplay-heavy wit that defines the Monogatari series at its best. Yet for all its stylistic bravado, Nekketsu drags. The pacing slackens noticeably compared to Tekketsu, lingering on protracted dialogue exchanges and internal monologues that add little emotional or narrative momentum. Characters debate philosophy and power dynamics at length, but without the grounding of relatable stakes or clearer character motivation, it becomes easy to disengage. The film assumes familiarity with (and patience for) a very particular storytelling rhythm that prioritises atmosphere and abstraction over propulsion. A visually sumptuous but narratively inert middle chapter. It neither collapses nor ascends; it simply is. Beautiful to look at, difficult to connect with. For Monogatari devotees, it's essential connective tissue. For the average viewer, it's a gorgeous, slow-moving puzzle missing a few crucial pieces.
For what it's worth, that sense of beautiful disconnection is something I find harder to shake with repeat viewings rather than easier. There's no question that SHAFT have produced something that rewards a paused screenshot more than it does sustained attention, and I can appreciate the craftsmanship involved while still feeling like the film is holding me at arm's length. Middle chapters in trilogies always carry a structural burden, but the best of them find a way to make that connective weight feel earned rather than obligatory. Whether the final film manages to pull the threads together is a conversation for another page. For now, Nekketsu is exactly what it looks like: gorgeous, cool to the touch.
Rating: ★★½ | Year: 2016 | Watched: 2026-04-02
Trailer
▶ Watch the official trailer for Kizumonogatari Part 2: Nekketsu (2016) on YouTube
Where to watch
Watch in the US
Rent: Amazon Video
Buy: Amazon Video
Physical: Amazon US
Affiliate disclosure: Movies With Macca may earn a small commission on purchases or subscriptions started via these links. It costs you nothing extra.
Related on Movies With Macca
More from Tatsuya Oishi: Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu (2017) · Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu (2016)
More with Hiroshi Kamiya: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu (2017) · Kizumonogatari Part 1: Tekketsu (2016)
More from Japan: Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025) · Blue (1993) · The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
More from the 2010s: Wonder (2017) · Beautiful Boy (2018) · The Witch (2015) · What We Do in the Shadows (2014)
More animation: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
More fantasy: Viy (1967) · Alice in Wonderland (1951) · Mononoke the Movie: The Phantom in the Rain (2024) · Mononoke the Movie: Chapter II - The Ashes of Rage (2025)
