Summary:

Earlier in the day, before meeting Nadeko and Tsubasa, Koyomi had lunch with Hitagi and had been surprised when she invited him on what would be their first date. When he finally gets to her house that evening though, she drags him into a car where her father is waiting, and he drives the two to their date. This latter fact bothers Koyomi greatly, and it doesn’t help either that Hitagi uses this chance to ask him if he likes her and to get him to start addressing her by her given name. The two also talk about how he did well on an aptitude test, and Hitagi wants him to study at her house every day. On the topic of intelligent people, Koyomi brings up Tsubasa, and Hitagi thinks that Tsubasa is much smarter than them, but under a lot of pressure and stress. They then discuss Suruga’s perverted nature, and Hitagi tries to shake up Koyomi’s judgment on what’s perverted by talking super dirty towards him. She even bites his ear in the process.

The car eventually pulls into a parking lot, and Hitagi gets out first to go make some preparations. That leaves Koyomi in the car with her father, and her father explains how he doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with his daughter because of how much he works. It’s been a long time since he’s seen her this happy though, and he’s grateful for what Koyomi has done for her. He ends by asking Koyomi to take care of her, and Koyomi respectfully refers to him as “father.” Hitagi then returns and takes Koyomi into the nearby woods, but she keeps his head down to prevent him from seeing what she wants to show him. When they reach the spot where she’s laid out a blanket, Hitagi has Koyomi close his eyes and lie down, and when he finally is allowed to open his eyes, he sees a beautiful night sky filled with stars.

Lying beside him, Hitagi points out all the individual stars, and she feels that this marks everything that she has and all that she can offer him. She remembers that there’s also her own body, but because of what happened in her past, she’s afraid to do with Koyomi what that low-life guy tried to do with her. She’s afraid as well that she’ll hate him and that she’ll lose him, and at this point Koyomi takes her hand with his. This leads to Hitagi saying that, even though her life hasn’t been so happy, she’s glad that her unhappiness was able to attract his attention. She used to come to this spot with her parents when she was little, so these stars are her treasure. Finally, Hitagi asks Koyomi if he loves her, and the two talk about what they like about each other. Hitagi then stumbles through an invitation to kiss, and Koyomi notes that this is how it became a day to remember.

Preview

For a non-finale, this would have made an amazing final episode. It caught me completely off guard too because I was expecting more Tsubasa, yet this was entirely a Hitagi episode. That didn’t end up being a problem though because, frankly, I loved it. Actually, at first I had been a little disappointed over how there wasn’t a new opening sequence (I had thought that since this was the end of the broadcast run, they might have a new one ready), but that disappointment quickly turned to great amusement as I watched Hitagi verbally torture Koyomi in the presence of her father. She’s so delightfully manipulative, and it’s so easy to love her character because of how awesome she can be (like in the entire scene she talks dirty to Koyomi).

The latter half of the episode was great because it showed the culmination of Koyomi and Hitagi’s relationship, with Hitagi’s father liking Koyomi and with the couple having a very heart-to-heart talk under the stars. The piano music that entire scene was wonderful in setting the mood, and I loved as well how all the star stuff connected with the lyrics of the ending song. For someone like me who always enjoys a good relationship drama, this was perfectly executed. They didn’t even need to show the kiss at the end because all the stuff leading up to it had been so emotionally powerful.

To be honest, I’m not sure they can top this episode in any of the remaining Tsubasa episodes. This was just too good of a final episode, even though it’s not the finale. Regardless, the official site now has the preview for the next web-only episode, and it also notes that there’ll be news in the upcoming days about how they’re going to distribute the final three episodes. It’s definitely something more to look forward to as we move into the new season.

And before anyone asks, the fall preview is almost done and will be posted probably Monday.

90 Comments

  1. I didn’t really see Hitagi and Koyomi as a couple before. However, this episode sort of hit a homer in terms of relationship development. This episode did tastefully in a few minutes what a few animes fail to do the entire series, which I find quite amazing. I found it quite amusing how Hitagi despite being the one to confess first manages to force Koyomi to tell her he loves her twice in a row before reciprocating a response.

    She’s a tsundere, kuudere, and yandere seemingly mixed into one strangely enough. On another note, I find Koyomi’s jabs by Hiroshi Kamiya quite amusing. The delivery oddly enough sort reminds me of Tomokazu Sugita’s kyon.

    Rawr
  2. Homer is the right way to put it. It really knocked it out of the park. And it was the finale. There are just going to be more episodes coming after it. Oxymoron, I know, but I think a show is entitled to more than one finale. Like Someday in the Rain and part 6 both being finales to the first season of The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya. Or the Sighs part 5 being a finale to Haruhi S2.

    But anyway, this episode was just… beautiful. It almost left me in tears. I’m still working through my drafts for my blogpost, but putting the feeling I got from this episode to words is not easy.

  3. Muy mal, todos esperaban que Koyomi mandara a cagar a Hitagi y desvirgase a Nadeko, pero bueno, todos los animes son monótonos y siguen la fórmula del amour a primera vista.

    Mahmoud Ahmadineyad
  4. Best show of the season if not the whole year; ‘Kimi ga shiranai monogatari’ is slowly climbing up the list of my favorite songs of all time, <_< it even made its way to become my new cellphone ring tone.

    I still feel bad for Hanekawa though…she’s the first character to be cut out from one of her own arc’s episodes <_<.

    dmo
  5. Hitagi: Araragi-kun, we’re going to kiss. No, that isn’t right. Could you…kiss me? How about we…kiss? Let’s kiss, Araragi-kun. lol

    What a great episode. The more I listen to the instrumental of “staple stable,” the more I like it. This episode alone makes up for all of the time during which Hitagi was offscreen.

    pierce
  6. OH MY GOD THIS IS SUCH AN AWESOME EPISODE, I HAVE NOT SEEN SUCH A SATISFYING EPISODE IN A LONG LONG LONG LONG TIME

    LOVE EVERY BIT OF IT

    The amount of Hitagi development is so huge. It’s simple, it’s effecitve, and it’s absolutely adoring. So brilliant.

    Moocow
  7. y’know, this is one of the few shows I actually come here and spoil myself and read the posts early before my preferred fansub group has it ready.I would think spoiling the ep with screencaps and summaries would ruin for me.nope,not this series. now I totally just wanna get to watch this episode sooner.and I kinda agree with lvlln. more than 1 finale? I guess it could be viewed as multiple finales or extra epilogues.or an encore,heh.If the studio decided to do a sequel season or ova, they could totally do the koyomi-vamp arc. I think I read somewhere that the koyomi-vamp story was part of a seperate manga that led to other volumes which the current season shows.( at least I think that’s true,it would explain the whole 1st ep quicky summary we all saw. separate materials?)crossed fingers,do the koyomi-vamp arc,shaft!!!>_<!

  8. This was definitely a strong episode. I was a little concerned when they reused Staple Stable again, but there wasn’t anything to be disappointed about. The comedy and the drama were both well-executed.

    m
  9. Chibi, remember that she was almost raped by the head of the cult? My interpretation is that she’s still scared of having sex at the moment, but at this moment is willing to kiss Koyumi etc. That was during the bits with the stars etc.

    Anomnom
  10. I definitely agree with you on this Omni! Definitely the best finale for the show (although not technically), but it is the finale for the broadcast run which was very appropriate. So I guess the web cast would just be to wrap things up with Tsubasa.

    I heard about Kizumonogatari, any news if that would be animated or plan to be animated?

    X
  11. This episode reminded me of the Haruhi (broadcast lineup) finale “Someday in the Rain” in that it was very mellow and slow paced compared to the rest of the series. Though I would take Bakemonogatari over Haruhi any day, and I’m even a Haruhiist by heart.

    The past few episodes had been devoid of Hitagi and then they break out an entire episode on her. I really enjoyed the execution and setup, plus Hitagi and her sharpness and quick wit.

    I love this series for its animation and dialogue. There aren’t many series that can make it on heavy handed dialogue to get the story through but Bakemonogatari pulls it off sweetly and surely. I’m reminded of Kare Kano for its dialogue and depth of story, even though Gainax never finished it.

    Very much looking forward to the online episodes but for a broadcast finale this one took the cake.

    Horus
  12. I’m considering getting into this show, but I have a quick question.

    In the relationship between Koyomi and Hitagi (I’m assuming this is “the” relationship pairing), does Koyomi at all contribute to the relationship? I mean, typically, these shounen romance animes/manga/jap-novels solely consist of the heroine contributing the relationship (ie teasing, acting cute, whatever) and then the male just acts embarrassed or frustrated–only reacting instead of being proactive. I find this frustrating and tiring, so I’d like to know if this is the case (which it usually is in this romance stuff) before I get into it.

    asdfffdsa
  13. This was an amazing “ending”. Im not normally a fan of long episodes with talking for many anime but, this was completely different. Its beautiful, and it has senjougahara. My new favourite anime.

    PS. Anyone know the name of the song for the piano scene?

    Canti
  14. Ooh masterpiece! awesomnessss! Oh yeah, sure! You guys just have ham in front of your eyes. So finally you had your dose of that …”nice”… char Hitagi is. Hope you’re happy.
    Man, i mean, it’s so obvious she’s depicted as the typical girl who likes to play with their boyfriends like a cat does with their little preys! Koyomy is nothing for her if not a toy to break. What’s beautiful in this? Is it so fun? For real? Would you really like a girlfriend like that? There are sure better chars in this story, but they hardly had scrren time. Poor Tsubasa, she even didn’t get a chance to have her own story resolved before the end of the anime.

    Solaris
  15. @Solaris

    I’m sensing some personal history here…

    In any case, a character doesn’t need to be a good person to be a good character. Certainly, the relationship between Hitagi and Koyomi is somewhat abusive. But that doesn’t make it any less interesting. A love story where all the characters are nice and good to each other is a very boring one.

  16. I thought this was a wonderful episode. It appears to me the relationship between Hitagi and Koyomi is far beyond their banter. It’s almost like we are not privy to an inside joke as they tease each other. Now, I could take it all literal but that would take away the deep feelings they obviously have for each other.

    Irie
  17. @lvlln. Well i don’t mix personal experiences with an anime. I was really wondering why a negative char like that would be so liked by folks.
    Anyway you’re right i can’t say the story is bad made or is not interesting this time. After all stories aren’t flawed here in bakemonogatari. I have to admit it.

    Solaris
  18. @Solaris

    I think that you only looked at the surface of Hitagi, and that is her teasing/verbal abuse. Like her father said, she usually shuns herself from the rest of the world, so her sharp tongue is a way for her to protect herself from the rest of the world (and staplers, many, many staplers). So in episode 2, she didn’t want to get too close to Koyomi because she’s afraid of being hurt again, so she tries to talk trash to him so that he wouldn’t get closer to her. But as things turns out, Koyomi just took it all in, and that was probably when she developed an interest in him, a person who will accept her, she felt the security. And now the teasing is just part of their routine because, let’s face it, she is the S and he is the M (just like how in this episode Koyomi didn’t look that pleased when Hitagi forced the date on him, but secretly he couldn’t wait for it to happen). But beyond that, Hitagi really loves Koyomi, she even said that she’s willing to kill Kanbaru, whom she treasures as one of the few things she have. (Which brings me to another point. When Kanbaru tried to help out Hitagi, she rejected her out of her personal defensive system, to which Kanbaru just accepted. Had Kanbaru followed through and solved her problem(not by the rainy devil, of course), this could be a very different anime right now)

    Marisa
  19. Epic episode. Started a tad dull but really picked up with the dialogue which just carried it through for the home run with an amazing scene at the end when Senjouhahara opens up and you have the nice piano piece under the stars. Shame we didn’t get the kiss to top it off but we still have the web exclusive eps which will be something to look forward to.
    I also hope they animate the prequel to this which is supposed to be really good.
    Overall, well done SHAFT. They are gradually becoming one of the leading animation studios.

    blinx01
  20. This was an alright episode by my standards. Drama/romance anime arent my thing; I initially started to watch this because of the action packed OP in the first episode. I knew nothing of the novels at the time so I got fooled into thinking the whole series was gonna be like that.

    Still, this was a great series I enjoyed, but not loved (except for the Suruga fight which made my jaw drop). I just wish the web-only episodes were the Araragi as a vampire arc, instead of the Tsubasa Cat arc.

    damian
  21. i really love the part where Hitagi pointed out the star, i realize each horoscope actually reflect the the story of each character. They done a very good job (i hv to say) on the dirty talk and thigh rubbing scene by Hitagi, oh Araragi……Sometimes i found Hitagi is kindda “strong” character, the harsh thing she did to Araragi, i really hope to see her more of her soft side, you know, normal couple thing, which by the end the anime had delivered, and it’s perfect. I mean who wouldn’t be touched if your bg/gf brought you to view the star while lying side by side plus intimate conversation? I love this anime, can’t wait to see Tsubasa episode too

    treble89
  22. I’m speechless. So many praises I can’t top it. I was left in tears. Two Vega sightings this season: Sora no mani mani and Bakemongatari. I just can’t look at the stars the same way anymore…..

    Epic

    island esper
  23. wow….i usually dont like this kind of cheesy first date stuff but that was done just perfectly. they really showed the personalities of the two characters perfectly and even though half of this episode was in a car it really kept me glued to the screen. humor and romance was top notch and they managed not to say anything cheesy or ridiculously unrealistic like they do in alot of romance animes and mangas. I also agreed this would’ve made a great finale but i have only one complaint. The fact that araragi had to say he liked everything about her and the fact that they really havent spent that much time together in the anime makes me think this is still a harem manga and it seems like hitagi is the only one with a reason to love him seeing as he spends equal time with al these other girls and has saved all of them much like he did with her, so they never really did explain why hitagi is so special to araragi which i kinda wouldve liked to kno so they could really seperate her from all the other girls and made sure this wasnt a harem (btw i really hate harems)

    sean
  24. Welcome to the world, Sean: this is a harem. At least a harem where the main lead girl takes his prey with force for her own. That’s happening for the first time in harem’s history. This is something to praise indeed.

    Solaris
  25. I just loved the anime more and more with every new episode that was released.
    Animes that are as brilliant as bakemonogatari are rare and it’s definitely going to become one of my most favortie animes.
    This episode even lets me forget how just plain bad the last episode of Phantom ~requiem for the phantom~ was and I’m looking forward to the next episodes, even if they maybe won’t be as enjoyable as this one.

    ROFLMAO
  26. @sean

    Araragi didn’t spend equal time with all girls. You could easily guess that he actually knew Tsubasa long before Hitagi or any other girls from first episode. This is the timeline from novel. Not really a spoiler but just in case…

    Show Spoiler ▼

    Credit: apr@animesuki

    HoHo
  27. @sean

    You should re-watch that scene again. Hitagi said that helping him study, her cute junior, her blunt father and this starry sky are everything she has. That is the meaning of “everything” which Araragi said to Hitagi. IMO 😉

    jj
  28. I couldn’t think of an anime that has an awesomer dialogue that I have watched in my life. Seriously, this is THAT good (the characters can just talk on talking through out the entire episode, and it would still be darn entertaining). May be we should give Nisio Isin the job of writing dialogues for every anime from now on.

    Kaitune
  29. OMG I loved every second of this episode; the bento scene, the car, the father, the stars, the music, the EVERYTHING. I can’t remember the last time I had a big smile on my face at the end of a series (even though this wasn’t the end). I also agree that this would have been the best way to end the series, but I’m still looking forward to the last 3 episodes.

    Siege
  30. What I loved most about Hitagi’s character is that she isn’t the typical love interest sort of girl. She’s not obedient, not shy, not the type that would stand behind a man, staying in the background.

    She’s intelligent, forward-going, and has a sharp wit.

    It’s in my book the type of personality I love in women.

    tokugawa
  31. Anyone else notice the sudden shift in Hitagi’s mood when they started talking about Tsubasa in the car? Her jealousy was entertainment in itself.

    This episode is my favorite Bakemonogatari episode so far, beating episodes 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8… oh wait, all of those have Hitagi in it. XD

    masamune111
  32. I loved this episodde and agree that they did not need to show the kiss. though showing it would in my opinion make for a greater impact.

    I really wanna see the koyomi vamp arc of the story!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    evanblood
  33. This is the best episode in anime EVER. First you think it’s gonna be about Hanekawa since it’s titled Tsubasa Cat 2, but no… you are treated to the best dialogue, story telling, love scene, and music to ever grace an anime episode.

  34. Wow! Bakemonogatari <3 One of my fav animes definitely. Though those “cut” pages throughout the series got quite annoying, i enjoyed it greatly. In fact, the ending song is my fav song of all time! <3333 the piano is amazing, everyone should watch this video.
    youtube.com/watch?v=wE9vcUCMtwI
    This person does a GREAT job of playing this song on piano, i absolutely love it because nobody played the beginning like the real song did. ^^

    One7
  35. Just finished watching the entire series the second time around, and I still enjoy it as much as I did when I was following each episode. Guess I will be watching it again when I got my blu-rays.

    お化け屋敷の主人

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