Karen

anime is satan

When I went back and watched Bakemono (i was planning on rewatching the whole series), I was disappointed, it wasn't as good as I was expecting. I wouldn't say to skip it, but definitely don't focus on Bakemono too much. The Hachikuji ark might help you get a glimpse of where its charm lies. The flashing text is very poor in Bakemono, by the way. It becomes much more tolerable and tasteful in later seasons.

>its kind of pretentious It's best not to take anything in the series too seriously. If you continue on with the series, the tone/atmosphere becomes much more intense, so much that it turns comical. It is difficult to explain the way to interpret the series, but it becomes more clear with time.