Bakemonogatari Manga Has 22 Volumes — And the Series Is Complete
The BAKEMONOGATARI manga (化物語) runs 22 volumes total, and the series is fully complete. No cliffhangers with missing volumes, no indefinite publication pauses — it’s all here.
Here are the key details:
- Writer: NISIOISIN
- Artist: Oh!Great
- English Publisher: Vertical Comics (the company that prints and distributes the English edition)
- Japanese Publisher: Kodansha
- Japanese Publication: June 2018 – May 2023
- English Volumes: 22 (matching the full Japanese run)
For anyone unfamiliar with the names: NISIOISIN is the novelist behind the entire Monogatari franchise — the light novels, the anime adaptations, all of it. The word “Monogatari” means “story” in Japanese, and Bakemonogatari (“Monster Tale”) is the first entry in a much larger series of interconnected novels. A light novel, for those unfamiliar, is a short Japanese novel — typically around 200–250 pages — often with a few illustrations. They’re a distinct format from manga, which tells its story primarily through sequential artwork and dialogue. Oh!Great is the illustrator who adapted the story into manga form, and his art style is a huge part of why this version stands on its own.
The manga adapts the original Bakemonogatari light novel into a visual format. But this isn’t a quick retelling. Oh!Great stretched the story across 22 volumes with lavish, hyper-detailed artwork that gives the supernatural elements a completely different feel than either the novels or the anime. (Anime, for the uninitiated, refers to Japanese animated television series and films — Bakemonogatari has a well-known anime adaptation produced by Studio Shaft.)
If you’ve been eyeing the series and wondering whether to wait for more volumes — don’t wait. It’s all out there.
Key Bakemonogatari Manga Volumes and Story Arcs
The Bakemonogatari manga follows high schooler Koyomi Araragi as he encounters people afflicted by supernatural aberrations — strange entities born from emotional turmoil, trauma, and spiritual weakness. Think of aberrations as monsters that attach themselves to people who are suffering; each one takes a different form depending on the person’s pain. Each story arc — meaning a self-contained storyline within the larger series — typically focuses on a different character and their particular aberration, blending horror, comedy, and surprisingly deep character work.
The Bakemonogatari manga follows the five main story arcs from the original novel — but a note on structure: Oh!Great received permission from the author to insert adapted Kizumonogatari material between the Nadeko Snake and Tsubasa Cat arcs, so the manga contains content beyond these five novel arcs. The arc names below come from the original Bakemonogatari novel arcs and are useful for tracking the main story threads across the 22 volumes:
| Arc Name | Volumes | What to Expect |
|---|---|---|
| Hitagi Crab | Vol. 1–3 | The series opens with Araragi catching a classmate, Hitagi Senjougahara, who weighs almost nothing — literally. Her “weight” has been stolen by a crab-like aberration. This arc introduces the world of aberrations, the tone of the series, and the sharp dialogue that defines the franchise. |
| Mayoi Snail | Vol. 4–6 | Araragi encounters a lost girl named Mayoi Hachikuji who can never seem to reach her destination. The supernatural mystery deepens, and the emotional stakes start hitting harder as the connection between aberrations and personal suffering becomes clearer. |
| Suruga Monkey | Vol. 7–10 | An underclassman’s wish-granting aberration takes a violent, physical form. Oh!Great’s art becomes increasingly ambitious here, and the horror elements escalate significantly. The monkey’s paw theme gives this arc a darker edge. |
| Nadeko Snake | Vol. 11–14 | A younger girl is cursed by a snake aberration, and the supernatural threat feels more menacing and harder to resolve. The psychological toll on Araragi and the people around him becomes more visible as the arcs progress. |
| Tsubasa Cat | Vol. 15–22 | The longest arc covers the story of Tsubasa Hanekawa, whose repressed emotions manifest as a dangerous cat aberration. This arc brings the major character threads together and pushes the supernatural darkness to its peak before the story reaches its conclusion in Vol. 22. |
A few things worth noting: Oh!Great takes creative liberties with the visual presentation throughout. Conversations that were purely dialogue-driven in the novel (and stylistically abstracted in the anime) become full-blown visual spectacles here. The pacing is deliberately expansive — which is why a single light novel stretches across 22 manga volumes.
How Dark Does Bakemonogatari Get?
This is the section that matters most if you’re coming from a dark fantasy angle — and the answer is: darker than you might expect from the franchise’s reputation.
The Monogatari anime is known for its unconventional visual style, witty dialogue, and artistic abstraction. The manga goes in a completely different direction. Oh!Great renders the supernatural horror with visceral, detailed body horror — a term for horror that focuses on disturbing transformations, distortions, and violations of the human body — that makes the aberrations genuinely unsettling.
A note on fan-service before you buy: Oh!Great’s art includes fan-service throughout the series, meaning sexualized depictions of characters — often female characters in revealing poses or situations. If this is something that bothers you or would be a dealbreaker, it’s worth flipping through a preview of Volume 1 before committing. The fan-service is present alongside the horror elements from early in the series and doesn’t diminish as the story progresses.
Now, here’s what to be ready for on the horror and darkness side:
- Aberrations as nightmarish creatures. In the anime, many aberrations are presented abstractly or even minimally. In the manga, Oh!Great draws them as grotesque, fleshy, physically imposing monsters. The visual intensity is dramatically higher.
- Vampirism and spiritual possession. Core plot elements involve characters being drained, transformed, or controlled by supernatural forces. The manga doesn’t shy away from showing what that looks like up close.
- Psychological torment. Several arcs deal with characters whose aberrations are born from trauma, self-destructive tendencies, or emotional suffering — the aberration is essentially a physical manifestation of something the person can’t process or escape on their own. The manga treats these themes with weight, though they can be intense.
- Graphic violence. Fight scenes and confrontations with aberrations involve blood, injury, and body horror rendered in Oh!Great’s highly detailed art style. This is significantly more graphic than the anime adaptation.
For dark fantasy readers specifically, the appeal here is the combination: you get supernatural horror with deep character writing. Each arc isn’t just “fight the monster” — it’s “understand why this person’s pain created this monster, and figure out how to help them.” The horror serves the emotional story rather than existing for shock value alone.
If you enjoy series that blend psychological depth with genuinely creepy supernatural imagery, this manga delivers that in a way the anime adaptation simply doesn’t attempt.
Is the Bakemonogatari Manga Finished?
Yes, completely finished. The final Japanese volume (Vol. 22) was released in May 2023, and all 22 volumes have been published in English by Vertical Comics.
This means:
- The full story is available to read from start to finish with no gaps
- You won’t hit a point where you’re waiting for translations to catch up
- There’s no sequel manga announced — the Bakemonogatari manga tells its complete story and ends
Now, the broader Monogatari franchise is a different conversation. NISIOISIN’s light novel series continues well beyond the Bakemonogatari storyline, covering dozens of additional arcs and characters. But this specific manga adaptation covers the Bakemonogatari portion and wraps it up cleanly.
For readers who specifically want a finished dark supernatural series they can collect and read without open-ended frustration, this delivers exactly that. Twenty-two volumes is a substantial read — long enough to feel like a real journey, and a manageable set to collect.
Where to Buy the Bakemonogatari Manga Volumes in English
All 22 volumes are published in English by Vertical Comics and available through major retailers. The standard format is individual single volumes — each one containing a chunk of Oh!Great’s incredibly detailed artwork.
Each volume is individually priced — check your preferred retailer for current pricing. Collecting all 22 volumes adds up — plan your budget if you’re aiming for the full run at once.
A few practical notes for buying:
- Starting point: Volume 1 is the only place to start. The series is narrative-driven with arcs that build on each other, so jumping in mid-series won’t work well.
- Complete set buying: Since the series is finished at 22 volumes, you can plan your purchase from the start. Some readers prefer buying a few volumes at a time to test whether the style clicks before committing to the full run.
- Format: The English release consists of standard manga singles. As of the information available, there are no omnibus editions (multiple volumes collected into one thicker book), deluxe editions, or box sets for the English release — so individual volumes are the way to go.
If you’re ready to start collecting, Volume 1 is the natural entry point — it sets up Araragi’s world, introduces the concept of aberrations, and gives you a clear taste of Oh!Great’s art style so you’ll know quickly whether this series is for you.
For readers who want to grab the final volume to complete their collection — or who are working backward from the ending — Volume 22 wraps the story and is available in English.
BAKEMONOGATARI (manga), Vol. 22 (final volume)
The Bakemonogatari manga occupies a unique spot: it’s a completed supernatural horror series with gorgeous (and often disturbing) art, backed by one of Japan’s most acclaimed modern novelists. Whether you’re a Monogatari fan curious about the manga adaptation or a dark fantasy reader looking for something with both teeth and heart, those 22 volumes are well worth your shelf space.