First Impressions / Monogatari Series

「つばさタイガ – 其ノ貳」 (Tsubasa Taiga – So no Ni)
“Tsubasa Tiger – Part Two”

Even though there was a distinct lack of Araragi in this second episode, I have to hand it to SHAFT for never letting my focus stray. Because even before I started to watch, I was afraid I’d be bombarded with a bunch of dialogue with nothing fancy to back it up. But boy, who would have thought that an episode that focused mostly on Senjougahara and Hanekawa talking with each other could get so interesting? Sure a good chunk of it really focused on just how creative our imaginations could get but when the hard hitting topics started rolling, it really got me to rethink how I look at both characters.

Starting with the star of this arc, Hanekawa, I completely lost that “perfect” ideal I had of her. I suppose the monologue at the beginning of the first episode could be considered really good foreshadowing about what was going to happen but really experiencing it makes all the difference. I mean, when you’re the type of person who doesn’t have distinct dislikes or likes, how can you differentiate between what you believe and what you choose to believe? And even less than that, how can you truly know what you do or don’t have feelings for? But then to watch Senjougahara drive the point home by drilling her about how this could effect her feelings for Araragi really blew me away. Sure Senjougahara may not harbor any ill will toward Hanekawa about her innate feelings for him but I’m sure she’d take on a completely different stance if she was harboring fake feelings for her boyfriend. But after watching how her tone and body language started to quickly shift as things got tenser, could you imagine the old Senjougahara coming back out? The one who would stop for nothing and nobody to achieve what she wants?

Besides all the girl-talk that went out throughout this episode, I loved how there was almost no focus on the overarching problem. Besides watching Black Hanekawa and the Tiger somewhat talk things out, I loved how SHAFT left figuring everything out up to us. If I were to make a guess, I’d assume that the Tiger is just a bigger version of the Cursed Cat. In that it causes extreme misfortune to those who cross it’s path (kind of like a giant black white cat!). Then again, you’d have to wonder why the Tiger kept saying that things are already in motion when Hanekawa’s house had already burned down.

And with that, we all have to wait another week until we get some answers. Hopefully by then though, Araragi will be riding down on his trusty bike ready to take on whatever aberration is wreaking havoc on our two main ladies. But if that doesn’t happen, I’d totally be fine with another toothbrush-esque scene!

End Card

61 Comments

  3. This is the true Hanekawa development arc. Everything else before was an Araragi story, but here we see the true naked inner workings of the perfect “Iinchou” that even terrifies Oshino.

    Also….THANK GOD FOR ANIMATING THAT BATH SCENE!!

    Ptolemaios00
    Reply

  5. Well folks…. 2 things that Monogatari series taught us thus far are that 1) oral hygiene is important. So brush your teeth and 2) it is IMPORTANT to keep yourself clean. One way to do it is by taking showers.

    Monogatari series, improving personal hygiene one fanservice at a time.

    cruiser2710
    Reply

  6. Honestly, I had hoped you would prove me wrong, but this post is just as bad as last week’s, if not worse! No image links, no full-lengths, sloppy writing, everything about it is horrible!
    Want to know why this is bad? Just compare it to Verdant’s post https://randomc.net/2013/01/10/nekomonogatari-kuro/
    I come to RC for quality posts and this is just disappointing. I wish Divine and some of the old writers will come back, that was when RC was good!

    Sukinayo
    Reply

    1. I wont’t comment much on the writing but there has been a noticeable decline of full lengths lately.

      Still, kudos to the writers for the timely and objective episode reviews

      cruiser2710
      Reply

      1. Just a quick explanation regarding the full lengths… generally the thing is they take a bit of extra time to do, and a vast majority of the writers at the moment are extremely busy as is. So many of us have been forced to stop doing them in order to ensure we can get the post out in a timely manner, which is our ultimate priority, as it doesn’t make much sense to potentially delay a post a day or two for some full lengths. Some of us are also not as proficient at PS either, which also contributes to this. As much as we’d like to give a bunch of FL to each post, it’s just sadly not something we can really do at this moment.

        Zephyr
        Reply

    3. Well, talk about rude.

      First of all, I’m glad that the times are over when 70% of an article consisted of summaries of an episode. This took incredible amounts of work, yet added nothing worthwhile to those who were already able to watch an episode. And since most anime is available subbed within 24 hours, this work could be saved (like a majority of readers wanted, based on the last poll on this issue).

      What remains is a summary, and here, I have no complaints. Naturally, your mileage may vary, but what you’re doing here isn’t helpful in the least, and highly disrespectful towards the people who invest a lot of time and effort for our enjoyment.

      Please either get a grip or leave to greener pastures. I wouldn’t miss you.

      Mentar
      Reply

      1. Hear Hear.

        People don’t seem to appreciate the ridiculous amount of effort writers take from their own time to cover every episode. Moreover, it is exactly the large effort that Verdant was required to make EVERY WEEK that compelled him to go into early retirement. It is simply too much work for one unpaid writer doing it out of his interest.

        And here we have people complaining about the blog post being too short when they’ve made the effort to even write about it.

        With due respect Sukinayo, I’m quite disappointed so many people actually subscribe your views much akin to that of a leecher demanding fansubbers to release an episode per week, as though it is their divine right when it is more of a privilege.

        echykr
        Reply

      2. I doubt that so many people subscribe to his view. When I wrote my reply, he already had 35 thumbs-ups, yet only 5 thumbs-down. Ever since, he only received 1 more thumbs-ups and 18 thumbs-downs. Which feels much more likely.

        So either he managed to convince a trollblog community to boost him or he used other means of manipulating the numbers. I strongly question their validity.

        Mentar
        Reply

    4. @Sukinayo – If there’s one thing I believe in, it’s that everyone’s entitled to their own opinion.

      With that said though, even if that’s the case, there are some things that there’s no point in saying, and your comment is one such thing. Generally, there’s literally no point in you saying what you did, because it contributes nothing to the discussion and argues for a solution that cannot be implemented. In the meanwhile, you also disrespect all the writers that spend hours of their time each week writing these posts (and dozens of hours for things such as the Season Previews) without pay and without expectation of anything in return.

      You’re free to dislike Takaii, me, or whichever other writer(s) you also dislike, but if you’re going to continue posting here, you should at least still be respectful and recognize the effort being put into a respective post regardless of what you think of the content. And if you don’t like it, then at least give some effort into giving something remotely resembling constructive criticism.

      Asking for past writers to return doesn’t help anyone, and honestly, while you think you might be giving praise to the writers you liked that aren’t here anymore, you’re actually doing the opposite because you’re representing them as their fans. Not to mention you’re also spitting on the efforts of authors they worked with previously (many of whom they are still friends of) and their efforts too, because you obviously don’t respect the time they gave to each post.

      If you still feel like posting comments like this, then by all means, go ahead. Just know that you’re not doing any favors either to yourself, the writers you liked/like, and/or the site to which the authors you like/liked dedicated so much effort to keeping alive.

      Zephyr
      Reply

    5. I’m reading RC blog ever since the age of eclipse/static/shinsen subs/a.f.k, and if I remember correctly there’s someone like this who is looking for what you called “quality” post and just made me smirk for.

      For me here’s why I’m reading an anime blog.

      1) Picture
      2) Summary
      3) Personal Impression
      4) Rant/Flame/Trolling/Comments

      The only missing about this one is summary though I knew there are several reasons why the post is as short as this, this is not a paid article, this is only a hobby of a writer so looking for such a quality article is mistake so he/she can do whatever he/she want to do.

      So IMO if you’re looking for such a post, you can just click the new tab or the url button type google or antenna animeblogger and search for it right? Not being rude but it’s an ethical way to do than ranting a writer who you never knew.

      Chiaki
      Reply

  7. Holy f……

    At the end of last episode I just thought: “Eh, I wish they had shown the shower scene…”.

    Lol and behold, how does the episode open?

    ALL HAIL THE HENTAI GOD SHINBOU!!!

    PS: seriously, the only scenes they didn’t show are the kiss and the implied night together between Araragi e Senjougahara, i.e., the two romantic occasions. It seems that the probability of a scene being shown is directly proportional to its level of perversion :).

    Steelman
    Reply

  8. The storyline is as intriguing as you say, Takaii. Though I doubt it’ll be the end of Nekomonogatari (Shiro) next week. It is a 2-cour series, & the recent announced removal of Hanamonogatari puts this arc most likely to last about 5 episodes.
    Heard somewhere that they’ll be putting Hana- in after Koimonogatari, possibly as OVA or ONAs & making the season smooth chronologically.

    Ohh..frm this episode alone, I’m sensing the appearance of Yurimonogatari doujinshis in the future. :p

    Hitagi’s multiple cooking costumes was amusing, & also the scene where Hanekawa spat out her food when Hitagi said they had similar tastes in men.

    Wait…this episode has an end card? What about the first one?

    Techim
    Reply

    1. The deal with Hanamonogatari is that Show Spoiler ▼

      . Literally. While it’s the third story published in the Second season of Monogatari, it does pose a challenge to SHAFT in adapting it.

      BigFire
      Reply

  9. I thought it was a nice touch of SHAFT to make Hanekawa’s commenting on the chapter skipping turning out to be when the Cat takes over. I thought they were just trying to make a joke out of the fact that they weren’t animating all the chapters, and I was getting a little annoyed until the Cat scene.

    Jel
    Reply

  11. Araragi’s currently dealing with another issue. This story is mostly Hanekawa’s. But don’t be sad Takaii, we get some more interesting interactions (probably in the next episode).

    Anyway, it is rare to see a show where just two people taking can keep you entranced*.

    Some more strange art for Gahara, I wonder if that’s deliberate or if they’re just low on budget and animators (fortunately nothing as bad as the Nadeko episodes where entire scenes were missing). Considering the much better animation for the Tiger and the Meddlesome Cat (Meddlesome, not Curse, Commiesubs!) I wouldn’t think that’s the case, but I can’t think of anything else to explain it.

    Anyway, Hanekawa’s remark about being the first to see Senjougahara’s sleeping face makes me wonder if she either has, for once, been unable to read Araragi, if they didn’t go all the way after facing off with Kaiki or if there’s another meaning that got lost in translation.

    *I remember being bored to tears when the action/horror/thriller/what the hell I don’t even know Kara no Kyoukai had an extra episode that was basically on Shiki’s personalities giving an extremely long bit of exposition on metaphysics. Conversation’s aren’t easy to do.

    Grant
    Reply

  12. I’m loving the interaction between Senjougahara and Hanekawa! That’s what was missing from the previous series, the girls actually interacting with each other. They did a little bit in the first season, but most of the interactions were mostly between Arargi and one of the girls. These two characters are such interesting personalities that I really wouldn’t mind if season just focused on them trying to solve their problems together and not having Araragi around. A testament to this series excellent characterizations when it can stay engrossing even without its main lead around. The one down side of this series is that while the art is still stunning, the animation is not quite as good as Nisiemonogatari, or Nekomonogatari Kuro. I’m wondering if this is because this 2nd season is 2 cours, thus resources are being saved to make the animation consistent, or if they are emulating a style which is more reminiscent of the first season. Guess I was just spoiled by the godly animation in the previous the two previous series, but whatever, I’m still lovin’ this 🙂

    Smiledie
    Reply

    1. Agreed 100%

      It’s good to see how things happen behind the scenes.
      I always got the vibe that they were friends, but we never got to see how they actually interacted with one another alone.

      Geoff
      Reply

  13. “Hanekawa-san, I can’t possibly let you sleep in my father’s mattress, as it wouldn’t feel right for a young girl like you to sleep in a middle-aged man’s matteress. So sleep with me in my mattress instead.”

    “If that’s the case, why couldn’t you just sleep in your father’s mattress instead?”

    “Then I wouldn’t be able to share the mattress with you.”

    LOL

    Of course, there’s also the PHWOAR shower scene.

    https://randomc.net/image/Monogatari/Monogatari%20Second%20Season%20-%2002%20-%20Large%20End%20Card.jpg

    Araragi’s reaction is most likely like that if he ever does return right now.

    echykr
    Reply

  14. Fell in love with Hanekawa’s Cat-persona, instaNYANtly!
    Watching the series without knowledege of previous arcs is less of PURRoblem than I thought.
    Also: that bath scene!

    ewok40k
    Reply

  17. OK big bad white tiger spirit thing that can crush rock just by looking…this is going to be a challenge. Ah man Hanekawa is the definition of tragic character…I really wish for her to finally find a proper happy ending, a definitive closure that ends with a positive note.

    gawrshness
    Reply

  18. Hopefully by then though, Araragi will be riding down on his trusty bike ready to take on whatever aberration is wreaking havoc on our two main ladies

    To be honest,if he’s gonna attempt to solve that problem by getting torn to shreds or beaten up to death while always relying on his vampire powers to heal him without leaving a scratch like he usually does,I wouldn’t mind his absence for a while longer.That’s the part of Araragi,and the entire franchise that I now find kind of annoying & dull.I enjoyed it the 1st time sure,but they abused it way too much,it’s like he never thinks what would happen if he didn’t have those regenerating powers.Therefore I’m hoping for as little of that as possible.

    MgMaster
    Reply

    1. It’s just Senjougahara being too much of a try hard when she doesn’t suffer anymore from her past trauma. The other girls will make the rest of this arc fresher. Kabuki can’t come soon enough.

      Ananas
      Reply

    2. I don’t know about that,his absence allows Hitagi & Hanekawa to be better fleshed out and their conversations are pretty entertaining – most credit goes to Hitagi.Even as the “newly improved Senjougahara” she does more than just mess around,she moves things forward.She’s also not a love interest nor a hero to save Hanekawa whenever she’s in need(might be debatable) but a friend who can help out a little and a love rival that doesn’t beat around the bush too much.

      I’ve said it before on the 1st ep,but I think his absence(just for a couple of episodes of course) is a great thing.

      MgMaster
      Reply

      1. Oh… I just love Senjougahara Hitagi, for me she is the best girl from Monogatari Series. I like the others too, but Hitagi has this “thing” hard to explain, out of the ordinary… the others are beautiful, funny, badass, perverts, cutes… but Hitagi flees from script.

        vane
        Reply

  20. Am i the only one who realized a Nisekoi nod when Senjougahara made a pun on “Bean Sprout Kid?”

    Sharp. Shaft is sometimes really sensitive about these things.

    KingofConquerors
    Reply

  23. As someone who generally (but not exclusively) abstains from sauces and seasonings I can relate with Hanekawa. Although a do have a weakness for honey mustard sauce on chicken and mayo on sandwiches. Sometimes you have enjoy salads for what they are and not tranform them with a 1/2 cup of ranch dressing. I never thought about how that reflects on my personality though.

    Absaroka
    Reply

    1. Well, yours is because of a personal preference to not add sauces and seasonings on what you eat. For Hanekawa, she doesn’t even have a preference, or an opinion, that she would ‘force’ on another person via the way she prepares food. Hitagi, on the other hand, wanted to see how Hanekawa’s preferences were in an attempt to ‘gauge’ her ‘rival’.

      Arakan7
      Reply

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