Nisemonogatari – 11 (Final)

Episode 11 Final –

Nisemonogatari, for all the crazy fanservice it had in the past few weeks, actually wrapped up in a proper manner that was surprisingly satisfying (though a tad pretentious). I had my doubts as to whether the series would be able to conclude well with only one episode left, but the story did a good job at wrapping up most loose ends. The story resolved the story with the Fire Sisters, brought some closure to Oshino-kun, added more depth to Shinobu’s character, and most importantly, highlighted the resolve that Koyomi has with regards to protecting his family, even if it means lying to them.

What made this episode rather thought-provoking is how it addresses the notion of “fakes”, which has been a theme to this series since the very beginning. Kaiki makes a rather large contribution here here with regards to the conversation about fakes, where he questions as to what is truly “good”. If given the real thing and an indistinguishable fake, which is more “good”? Does one have more value as a “fake” that tries to be good?

These questions were obviously meant to address the situation with Tsukihi and her status as an immortal pheonix, but the same questions also apply to Koyomi’s resolve to protect his “fake” sister, as well as the previous situation with Karen. The show is essentially asserting that true courage comes from being both “fake and evil”, which is something that Araragi vows to become in order for to protect his family. The episode is a bit heavy with it’s idealism and themes, but that’s what made the episode rather thought-provoking.

Another surprise here was the rather brutal fight scene, and although the fight scene was brief, it did highlight the resolve Koyomi had when he confronted the onmyouji. Then there was the involvement of Shinobu, her talk about the pheonix in the beginning of the episode, as well as the chat with Tsukihi after Koyomi kissed her, were all captivating elements to this finale.

In the end, Nisemonogatari ended on a strong note. I do wish that Nisemonogatari was like this finale all the time, as opposed to the extreme levels of fanservice it had from week to week, and I could say for sure that I prefer Bakemonogatari over this series. Nevertheless, Nisemonogatari had quite the adventurous story that was at times daring, at times outrageous, at times thought-provoking, and always dialogue-heavy. While I can’t say I’ll miss the show, I did like how the story wrapped itself up (funny, Bakemonogatari also ended off with a strong finale). Now I just wonder how Kizumonogatari will turn out.

Overall Enjoyment: 4.2/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 10

Episode 10 –

It looks like Nisemongatari will finally be going back to the story format of Bakemongatari’s arcs. That is, focus in on a single heroine who is afflicted by a supernatural phenomenon, and trying to resolve the issue that results from the affliction. Nisemonogatari was a bit more violent here though, with the involvement of some rather brutal onmyouji as opposed to the goofy Oshino. I guess part of the non-violent nature to most of Bakemonogatari was due to Oshino’s non-interventionist stance on the conflicts at hand, so it’s interesting to see the breakdown of such with him no longer being around. Anyways, this episode was by far one of the best buildup episodes we’ve seen out of Nisemonogtari, mainly because the conflict seems to be one where the stakes can get high very quickly, and with potentially devastating results.

Of course, though, the episode had it’s usual silly antics before the more serious twists towards the end of the episode. Mainly, there was the adorable bits where Shinobu negotiated with Koyomi for to get some super-cheap donuts (lol). There was also the strangely surreal scene where Koyomi undressed Tsukihi. As for his reasoning behind doing so, while inspecting a scar could be a legitimate excuse, he took a rather excessive course of action which was far beyond what was called for. So yea, Koyomi might need to see some therapy or something, especially after he briefly groped Tsukihi’s breasts =__=;;

Anyways, the episode itself quickly escalated with a brief appearance of Kaiki. Yea, I didn’t quite expect to ever see him again, but I guess he has a strange fascination with donuts too. His presence was already ominous enough, but then seeing the onmyouji-tsukaima duo blasting Tsukihi’s upper body to smithereens nearly instantaneously was quite the shocker. The onmyouji also showed how ruthless they could be, where they obvious have no intention of holding back at all.

The overall conflict this week already holds a much more powerful allure than the one with Kaiki, primarily because I could see the situation easily become extremely messy and violent. The onmyouji involved aren’t afraid to use whatever methods are at their disposal, and it seems that Koyomi and Shinobu have little chance at defending against such an attack anyways. Meanwhile, addressing the pheonix that is inhabiting Tsukihi will also be an equally impossible endeavor to overcome, especially with less than a day before the onmyouji return. Perhaps Oshino will come around to save the day, but aside from that, this arc could turn out to be rather intense. Then again, the monogatari series also has the strange tendency to be anti-climactic at times, and that possibility does still exist here.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.7/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 09

Episode 09 –

Hrm, well now that Karen’s arc is officially over, I’ve been curious as to who exactly would be the new villain here. Instead of introducing a villain, though, Nisemonogatari has opted to introduce two very enigmatic characters, and it’s unknown as to exactly what their intentions are. They obviously hold some connection with the supernatural, but it isn’t really fully elaborated upon this week. Thus, you could say that this was a build-up episode, though it was an episode also padded with a ton of random dialogue between Koyomi and his random companions.

Of course, Nisemonogatari just wouldn’t be the same without a strange situation every week, and this episode obliged with Koyomi hitching a ride on Karen’s shoulders. It was certainly a bit of a surreal (and uncomfortable to watch) experience, and does make me wonder if the writer to Nisemonogatari is intentionally trying to push the established norms of society. It’s a strange way to think about it, but the writer might be trying to throw out whatever preconceptions we have of the world. Either that, or I’m just overanalyzing the story in an attempt to find some meaning in everything that happens. Meh, who knows. ヽ（´ー｀）┌

As I already mentioned, this episode is pretty much a buildup episode. Two supernatural-related people have coincidentally shown up in Koyomi’s town on the same day, both searching for the same location. The added bonus of the location being Oshino’s previous temporary residence increases my suspicions of the situation even more. Even without Kaiki around to get the situation riled up and tense, the newly introduced duo hold a presence similar to him in the sense that they are complete enigmas. We don’t quite know or understand their reasoning behind their arrival, nor do we know their precise motivations or train of thought. Obviously Tsukihi will get involved with these two somehow, but I find it difficult to imagine how.

Anyways, Nisemonogatari is once again in buildup mode, complete with tons of random (and wacky) dialogue that sometimes gets slightly uncomfortable to listen to. With only two episodes or so left to this series, I wonder how Shaft plans on wrapping this arc up. It’s an especially important question if you think about how Karen’s arc was about 7 episodes long. It’s impossible to fit in another 7 episodes into an 11 episode series, so we’ll have to see if the story increases in pacing or removes much of the fluff that Karen’s arc had.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 08

Episode 08 –

…. If someone was able to keep on a straight face during the entire episode, that person deserves some kudos or something. Because seriously, this episode was the most outrageously wacky anime episode I’ve seen in a long, long time. Nisemonogatari sure as hell didn’t wimp out of the fanservice here, going all out with it’s incest vibes and crazy toothbrush action, all resulting in a ridiculously absurd, cringeworthy, hilarious plot.

This epiosde was really daring in the sense that it threw cultural conventions out the window, and went all out with incest vibes in a way I never could have imagined. The toothbrush scene was a huge part of that, and was ridiculously weird in every single way imaginable. In a way, the scene was a form of “dark humor”, where the comedy is derived from a subject matter that is considered taboo. In this case, the incest vibes came from the erotic presentation of Karen to her brother, and god damn was that nuts. I do believe the original light novel story had this scene too, but SHAFT sure didn’t hold back in animating it in the most crazy of fashions. The icing on the cake was Karen requesting another “brushing”, which just got my eyes rolling.

But seriously speaking, this was by far the most strangely entertaining episode of Nisemonogatari so far. My personal feelings about this episode are actually rather mixed. Incest themes isn’t exactly something new in anime, but Nisemonogatari has performed the most eccentric, intriguing, memorable interpretation of the overused trope. It was a really fun interpretation, yet at the same time is rather uncomfortable to think about. After all, when you sit down and think about it, you realize that “holy @#%$, Koyomi might have actually sexually assaulted his younger sister”.

I guess there’s at least one aspect to this series that’s a noticeable improvement over Bakemonogatari; the animation is by far more consistent and superior. The story is still being padded too much with fanservice, but Nisemonogatari somehow still remains strangely entrancing with it’s crazy levels of trippy dialogue with quirky animation.

Overall Enjoyment: O_o;;

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 07

Episode 07 –

Hrm, it seems that the overtly wordy nature to this series is really starting to hurt the overall plot. The dialogue does still have a bite too it, but it doesn’t work very well when trying to reach a climactic moment of any sort. I mean, sure, the long conversations between Karen and Koyomi, as well as the discussion between Senjougahara, Koyomi, and Kaiki, were enlightening to some degree. However, in terms of creating an intense climactic moment, I’d have to say that this episode disappointed. After 7 episodes or so of buildup, you would figure that the climax would have had more of an impact than merely everybody having an intense chat.

The part about this episode that was peculiar to some degree was the fight between Koyomi and Karen. The random breaking of highways, pavement, roads, concrete, etc, was quite surreal. I honestly didn’t really see the point behind the over-the-top fight aside from saying “yea, Karen is really beating up Koyomi”. But of course, considering her pedigree in the martial arts, that should have come as no surprise. The fight wasn’t the best way to transition into the climactic showdown with Kaiki, especially when it put my notions of “suspension of disbelief” to the test.

On the plus side, while the “final battle” wasn’t as intense as expected, it did provide some rather interesting insights into both Senjougahara and Kaiki, more so for Kaiki than Senjougahara. For Kaiki, it’s the realization that he himself has no direct connection to supernatural phenomena. Or to be more exact, he isn’t aware of their existence, thus doesn’t believe he is directly connected. So the implication here is that Kaiki is an existence who naturally has some affinity with the supernatural, though he himself is completely unaware of such. It’s a fascinating idea, though it looks like it won’t be explored much with him leaving town. As for Senjougahara, we get a good look at the repercussions to her emotionless state back in the 1st season; that is, the insecurities that arose from her afflicted state back then. It’s intriguing to see how Senjougahara, a very strong-headed and forceful girl, does in fact also struggle with herself at times. It was evident in Bakemonogatari’s episode 12, and it was just as evident here.

In the end, this episode was a mix of things. A bit too absurd with action, a ton of dialogue, some character introspection, and a bunch of fanservice. However, being a good climactic episode wasn’t exactly one of the traits to this conclusion to Karen’s arc. Rather, it felt almost like a transition away from a phase of some sort, where all the characters are now on better terms as a result. Nevertheless, I guess this sort of episode is something I should have anticipated from Shaft; it was the same old traits that made Bakemonogatari the series that it is.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.1/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 06

Episode 06 –

Woahhh, hang on, did I seriously see no fanservice in an episode of Nisemonogatari? Considering how almost every episode up until this point has been loaded with fanservice, the lack of virtually any comes as a huge surprise. I guess Shaft might have finally shifted away from the fanservice overload for now.

Silly observations aside, I’m somewhat astounded that this series will be pushing Araragi Karen’s arc by another episode. In case you were wondering, we’re already on the 7th episode to her arc, and it still hasn’t been resolved. And remember, this is an 11 episode series; at this rate, we might not even fully cover Tsukihi’s troubles after the end of Karen’s arc. To be fair,  those first 4 episodes probably shouldn’t even count as Karen episodes, mainly considering how they merely reintroduced the previous members of the cast. If you think about it that way, it will be 3-4 episodes for reintroductions, 3-4 episodes for Karen, and 3-4 episodes for Tsukihi. The math might add up, but that really depends on where the story goes next week.

And dang, I’ve already mentioned this in an earlier post, but the plot is seriously moving at a glacial (almost snail-like) pace. But as usual, the slow pacing is well hidden with tons of clever dialogue, especially with Senjougahara stealing the spotlight this episode. The bantering was, as usual, fun to watch. And as things tend to go with Senjougahara, the conversations with the eccentric girl were fascinating yet puzzling. If there’s one thing that Nisemonogatari has inherited from Bakemonogatari, it’s the very precise and quirky dialogue. It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that the dialogue takes precedence over the plot, or so it seems with Nisemonogatari.

Nevertheless, it seems that we’ll finally be seeing a big confrontation next week, possibly between Karen, Koyomi, Senjougahara, and Kaiki. The show has at least had the courtesy to develop upon each character’s conflict with the antagonist, Kaiki. Karen obviously wishes to satisfy her sense of justice, while Senjougahara wants revenge for Kaiki tearing apart her family. And of course, Koyomi is out to protect these two girls, which by default makes him an enemy of Kaiki. The character relationships are more complex and multilayered than I had expected, which is turning out to be a pleasant surprise.

Now then, will Nisemonogatari finally have some sort of resolution to the conflict at hand? Or will it continue to drag on in terms of plot? Considering we are well past the half-way point of this series, if Shaft doesn’t start wrapping some issues up, I get the feeling there may not even be enough episodes to properly conclude the story. The last thing we need is a rushed, crammed ending to this show. And no, I’d prefer to not have the “online only” episode shenanigans that Bakemonogatari went through.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 05

Episode 05 –

…Yea, this is starting to get a bit too ridiculous. What was a huge strength to Bakemonogatari, this series’ predecessor, was how it had conflicts condensed into short 2-3 episode segments. Thus, a lot of the superfluous information was condensed, and there was an overall streamlined plot. Nisemonogatari, however, only has two primary heroines that are in conflict (the Araragi sisters). Thus, it seems that each arc to this series is going to be padded with tons, and tons, of fanservice. It’s an equation that probably works out well for sales in Japan, but it certainly does not help with regards to plot and pacing.

As usual, the slower pacing to the story is disguised by the clever bits of spontaneous dialogue throughout this episode. But still, the story is moving at a glacial pace to say the least. After all, when you think about it, the only important scene in this episode was the one where Koyomi decided on taking action to remove Karen’s illness from her. There were some interesting bits of dialogue that reflected upon Koyomi and Karen’s personalities, but aside from that, this episode accomplished virtually nothing.

If anything else, I guess this series has maintained it’s ability to be mesmerizing with some very strange and abstract visuals, coupled with a ton of spontaneous talking. It’s a pretty potent combination, though the added fanservice detracts from the experience in the long term. This is especially notable with this week’s episode, where the very iffy Karen fanservice wasn’t exactly something I had expected.

In the end, while it seems that there is finally a conflict to address, this series sure is taking it’s time to address it. Up until now, you could argue that the series has been mixing in some slow build-up with lots of filler scenes. The overall slowness to the main plot is really hurting this show, and I suspect it will continue to do so while there are only two main heroines to this series.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.0/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 04

Episode 04 –

Thank god that there’s finally a sign of a main conflict coming into play. Up until now, while Nisemonogatari has had some bits of foreshadowing, a vast majority of the screentime has been devoted to in-your-face fanservice. Sure, the fanservice served as a way to reintroduce the entire cast, but it has been extremely blatant in the most recent episodes (this one included). But like I said, it looks like we’re finally seeing signs of a conflict involving the antagonist introduced not too long ago. Based on the episode titles, it’s been pretty obvious that the main focus here is supposed to be Koyomi’s sister, Karen, but it’s only now where it really feels like she’s become a main focus.

Part of the lack of focus probably had to do with the excessively long amounts of screentime devoted to reintroducing the cast. Sure, I’m glad the entire cast was reintroduced here, but at the same time, it becomes tough to distinguish who and what is really important in all of this. Karen might be the character in the episode titles, but I’d say that Karen and Tsukihi have gotten the least amount of screentime out of everybody so far. Koyomi has been mentioning how he feels worried about his younger sisters, but it is this episode that finally makes Koyomi’s feelings seem important. Up until now, it’s felt more like the standard uncomfortable family relationship.

That being said, Nisemonogatari is finally getting into what was a crucial part of it’s predecessor; that is, the story is starting to focus in on some bizarre supernatural afflictions affecting the heroine of the week. It’s been a bit strange seeing how this series hasn’t shown a serious conflict up until now, so the introduction of the fire bee is a welcomed surprise. I am definitely curious as to how Koyomi will approach this problem without the help of Oshino, though I guess Shinobu might end up playing the role of a guidance counselor of sorts. The twist where the episode focused on the bizarre, yet tense, relationship between Koyomi and Shinobu also took me by surprise. They give off the vibe of having a very complex history together, which makes me even more curious about the prequel to this series, Kizumonogatari.

In the end, Nisemonogatari might be really upping the ante in terms of fanservice, but it’s also finally gotten into an actual conflict of sorts. And, of course, this conflict manages to tie in with the overarching villain at hand, whom seems to be quite the powerful figure amidst the shadows. The pacing and overarching tone to the story so far has been quite good at keeping things compelling, or at least, intriguing. That might have to do with the very strange manner in which the story is told, all results of stylistic directing from Shinbou. The dialogue remains trippy in many ways, and certainly doesn’t hold back in trying to be on the clever side, but I guess that’s part of what defines this series.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.3/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 03

Episode 03 –

Thankfully this time around the fanservice was much less noticeable, and instead we got the beginnings to a more concrete conflict on our hands. Nisemonogatari’s previous episodes were much more about reintroducing characters, as well as setting the foundation for the tensions and uncertainties within the Araragi family. This episode, on the other hand, was much more direct with the conflict; there is a bad guy in town, and Senjougahara wants to protect Araragi from it. It’s a very simple premise, but one that holds a lot of weight when you consider how Senjougahara is extremely worried about this threat. Senjougahara has always been an extremely abnormal (but awesome) character, so anything she is worried about must be equally as abnormal. There are already strong signs that this threat is deeply connected to Senjougahara’s dark past, and now it looks like Koyomi will be dragged into the fray as well.

While I did say the fanservice was less noticeable, it was definitely still there. It seems that Shinbou has this fascination with fanservice, and is quite evident in the actual series so far. Luckily, it manages to mesh in enough intriguing (and at times, slightly bizarre) plot points to delegate the fanservice to the backburner.

Senjougahara, the main heroine from Bakemonogatari, once again steals the spotlight with a mesmerizing performance. She has always had a rather eccentric personality, which made her a very strange but captivating person. Or at least, she teases Araragi to no end with her usual sarcasm, mixed in with a hint of sadism and love. What makes this episode feel somewhat surreal is that Senjougahara, this girl who is just downright strange by many standards, seemed to be deathly scared of whoever this threat may be. It’s obviously something that is supernatural, and one that must be quite fearsome if even Senjougahara is wary of him. I actually think this is the first time I’ve seen her openly show her hostility towards somebody to this degree.

In the end, what makes this episode interesting is how it introduces a villain that is evidently quite the dangerous man. The slower buildup this series has had so far is beginning to become more prominent, and is continuously building a nefarious reputation around this opponent. At the same time, the series also tied in the relationships between the Araragi siblings, which further complicates the matter by forcing Koyomi to enter the fray of this potentially messy battle. And one thing that has definitely stuck out here is the theme of “being fake”, which is referenced as “Nisemono” several times so far. Araragi applied the term to his younger sisters, and it also showed up in conversations with the rest of the cast. How does the theme of being fake fit into all of this? I guess only time will tell.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5

Screenshots are later in the post.

Nisemonogatari – 02

Episode 02 –

Phew, Nisemonogatari sure isn’t holding back on the fanservice with this episode. Aside from Nadeko acting very risque this week, there was also Kanbaru’s absurdly perverted antics. And of course, it should come as no surprise that the show was littered with tons of dialogue with a lot of seemingly random bantering going on. The very colorful, bizarre backdrops added even more to the sense of craziness to this episode, but surprisingly enough, there was actually some serious foreshadowing going on here. While I do find it a bit absurd how this show is taking over two entire episodes to reintroduce the entire cast (we haven’t even seen Hanekawa yet?!?), Nisemogatari is slowly but surely setting up the foundation for what seems like a very strange, all-encompassing conflict.

The strange thing about all this is that, even though there hasn’t been a conflict formally introduced yet, it’s tough to say that the pacing is actually slow. Normally a lack of conflict equates to a poor pacing or a poorly written story, but that is definitely not the case here. The pacing for each character introduction feels natural, but it’s this same pacing that is making it noticeable how there is no major conflict yet. Sure, there is a conflict brewing, but Nisemonogatari sure is taking it’s sweet precious time in getting to an actual conflict. Even so, the show is good at masking the lack of a major conflict with a lot of entertaining scenes. I’d say that Nisemonogatari is extremely entertaining because of it’s very bizarre tendencies. The mish-mash of colors goes a lot into the presentation of this show, and the color mixed with the heavy dialogue results in a eccentric storytelling style that is captivating in it’s own twisted way. I can’t quite put my finger on how I could properly decribe this show, but “abnormal” is definitely a fitting term to apply here.

Stuff like Nadeko slowly trying to seduce Koyomi Araragi while her parents weren’t home, or seeing Kanbaru going absolutely crazy with trying to seem like “a girl who doesn’t follow the norms”, got a lot of laughs out of me. The episode definitely didn’t hold back on the fanservice, which of course led to a lot of suggestive scenes. However, it was this suggestiveness that made this episode entertaining. That being said, there were plenty of scenes that were also pretty awkward, such as Kanbaru’s nude scene amidst a huge pile of red books, but thankfully the dialogue was still as sharp as witty as ever.

Nevertheless, what I’m finding really interesting with this show is that, masked amongst all this craziness, there are some strong but hidden tensions between Koyomi and his two sisters. It feels like a more complex family matter that’s going on here, where the two sisters don’t want to be treated like a baby by Koyomi, yet Koyomi is also worried for his siblings. At the same time, while Koyomi is worried, he is also wary of the rather stubborn attitude his sisters have towards him. He also dislikes how his sisters are putting themselves in danger, especially in the carefree manner that they’ve displayed so far. In other words, this is your typical brother-sister relationship to some degree, with the only major differences being that there is something very much supernatural involved here.

This family tension is the main focal point to the series so far, but what will probably make this character dynamic extremely important is how there seems to be something supernatural at work here. Nisemonogatari hasn’t exactly specified what this potential threat may be, but based on Senjougahara’s comments back in the beginning of the first episode, it sounds quite serious. Amidst all the absurd, pervy silliness to this episode, there are a bunch of heavy undertones at work in the shadows. As to when this will actually culminate in some significant plot twist, I suspect it will happen within the next week or two. But until then, I guess we should just enjoy the show for what it has been so far; a witty, super-dialogue heavy show with a ton of strange character interactions.

Overall Enjoyment: 3.8/5

Screenshots, OP02 and ED01 are later in the post.

P.S. You know, one thing I’m really curious about here is just how loyal Nisemonogatari so far has been to the original source material. Did the original Light novels take this long to reintroduce everybody? o_o;