Introduced early on in the Bakemonogatari anime, Kanbaru is one of the series’ most tenured and well liked characters. The fun loving, upbeat and eager to chat junior has won fans over with her cheery personality and always positive outlook on things.
As far as designs go, Kanbaru sticks out for several reasons. She’s the first heroine introduced with a shorter hair cut and of course, has her entire left hand and forearm bandaged up. Just like most of the characters in the series, Kanbaru has changed look several times. Fan artists have tons of wiggle room when it comes to depicting her in their art, and that results in some amazing work.
10 Crossover Episode – もやしかいじん
Fans of various anime love it when two of their favourite series intersect in some way or another. That’s exactly what もやしかいじん did when they decided to draw Kanbaru, Senjougahara and Hanekawa as Nichijou characters.
The artist did a great job of choosing which role the three would get to play when looking at their Nichijou counterparts. Kanbaru’s energetic nature makes her a perfect fit as Yuko, while Senjougahara’s stoicism makes her a perfect Mai and Hankekawa fits in well as the Mio of the group.
9 Bookworm – yosizo
Though she’s incredibly athletic and talented at basket ball, Kanbaru’s most defining trait is her love of book. Or at least, of a certain genre of novel.
The mountain of books in Kanbaru’s room has become something she’ll always be associated with. Artist yosizo pays homage to the famous 3rd volume Blu-ray & DVD jacket image with their work here. They do a magnificent job of letting their own unique style shine through, while paying tribute to the original design as well.
8 Hazy – IGA
Kanbaru might seem like a cheerful character, but like all the heroines in the Monogatari series, she deals with her own inner conflicts and issues. Her jealousy and possessiveness was something that she had to overcome early on in the series, but not before it manifested into something dangerous.
IGA really captures that side of her character well with their art. The usually happy and upbeat Kanbaru isn’t surrounded by vibrant colors, but instead is drawn with very cold colors.
7 Festival Mood – トーにゃす！？
The complete opposite of the last piece, this work of fan art completely focuses on Kanbaru’s fun loving side. Kanbaru in festival attire is something that fans didn’t get to see in the anime, and トーにゃす！？ did a really nice job with it.
The artists own individual style really shines here, and they do a wonderful job of getting Kanbaru’s fun personality across. The vibrant light colors are a perfect counterpart that help round it all off.
6 Inner Demon – tami
Though all Monogatari characters have some sort of inner demons to work out, Kanbaru’s problems manifested in a pretty dangerous way. The Rainy Devil served as Kanbaru’s method of unleashing her subconscious desires, and it worked for a time.
In this piece, tami brings both designs together in a menacing but amazing way. The anger on Kanbaru’s face is accented with the dark colors and shading throughout the piece.
5 Mad Dash – 泉こうてん
Kanbaru is insanely athletic, and she’s showed off her abilities in the anime often. It’s something that’s helped out in a pinch and a defining characteristic for hers.
泉こうてん captures Kanbaru in motion and it looks great. The lines and shading are reminiscent of a manga panel, and the coloring really makes the sequence pop out in a very prominent way.
4 Monkey Businness – NekoSuta
Kanbaru will always be associated with monkeys in some way due to the monkey’s paw. But while it’s a fairly dark chapter of her life, it doesn’t have to be.
NekoSuta prove that with this adorable work of fan art. He design for Kanbaru looks great here, and her taking hold of the aggressive little monkey can be seen as a visual representation of how she’s moved passed her past issues.
3 Monkey’s Paw – chaagoon
Though the monkey’s paw proved to be more trouble than it was worth, it isn’t something that has to be seen in a negative light. That’s something that chaagoon proves with their great fan art.
A much less menacing Kanbaru looks to be doing just fine here, despite the manifestation of the Rainy Devil. The background is reminiscent of her battle with Araragi in the anime, and the light colors coupled with chaagoon’s art makes what should be a somber image much more cheerful.
2 Rainy Devil – たなし
As previously sated, the Rainy Devil is the accumulation of all of Kanbaru’s subconscious desires. It’s something that manifests in a truly terrifying way.
たなし portrays the oddity well here, showing Kanbaru when she’s most dangerous. The incredible background art fits the chaotic nature of the oddity, and succeeds in recreating the tense atmosphere the Rainy Devil brings.
1 Outline – びびちき
Sometimes the simplest designs are the best. Kanbaru’s design might not be flashy, but there are a lot of small things that go into making it so good.
びびちき gives fans a look into that process with their unique fan art. The grid paper allows you to see just how talented and detail oriented the artist is, and their use of shading makes this simple piece much more poignant as a result.