Bakemonogatari. At first glance one might think it is a romantic comedy with fantasy/supernatural elements. But, thanks to hints given by translators like that the character for crab also can be read as (emotional) burden, I assume that everything in this Anime, dialogues, props, actions, even colors can be seen as symbolic. Wikipedia claims that Senjōgahara´s stapler symbolizes the claw of a crab. Actually Senjōgahara uses a whole range of writing and drawing instruments in my opinion symbolizing her sharpest weapons: Her intellect and her rhetoric abilities.
Somebody posted on an Anime forum: “I think you need to be Japanese to really understand Bakemonogatari”. Somebody replied: “Don´t sweat it, even we Japanese do not really understand Bakemonogatari.”
Or, to quote from Wikipedia:
Christopher Smith's article "The Text Inside Us: Text on Screen and the Intertextual Self in Bakemonogatari" examines how the anime Bakemonogatari uses disruptive on-screen text to create a Brechtian alienation effect, emphasizing the intertextual nature of the characters' thoughts, memories, and desires. By employing archaic Japanese orthography and integrating text deeply into the narrative, the anime not only highlights the constructedness of its story but also situates its themes within Japan's modern historical context. Smith argues that Bakemonogatari serves as a self-reflexive commentary on subjectivity in the postmodern world, suggesting that identity is not an authentic, isolated construct but rather an intertextual creation shaped by social and historical forces.
From the first two episodes:
And the official trailer
