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「こよみシード」 (Koyomi Shīdo)
“Koyomi Seed”
Once again, I have to start with an apology this week. Two, actually. First, ugly watermarks; I have no ability to clean those. Maybe draw a smiley face over them in MS Paint, but no. Second, I found it really hard to pay attention to much of the episode because the first half was mostly YAY and the second was… wah? Hanekawa’s right about Ononoki and Araragi’s search being deliberately conspicuous, but not because of Araragi’s visibility. The way he stands just boggles the mind. Look, he’s not standing on either feet! She’s balancing the gap between his shoes on her finger. It wasn’t right, and also very, very distracting. I had thought that Kagenui just had a very good sense of balance, but it turns out it was crazy zombie magic all along.
From what I could tell of the episode, Koyomi Seed is right before Tsukimonogatari. Also, not about a seed at all. It’s moral, as the Hanekawa of your nightmares would have you know in a completely unsubtle manner, seems to be to pick at the Oshino Meme motto of having to save yourself as opposed to relying on someone else to save you. This is as about a good a time to do it, I suppose, as the Nadeko Murder Clock is counting down and meanwhile, unbeknownst to Araragi, a great many people are working to save his life (not just his, of course; it’s a package deal). Ononoki’s watching out for him in Koyomi Seed, of course, but meanwhile a certain con man is trying to trick a god, and he had just gotten a cash injection in a roundabout manner from Gaen, and he wouldn’t be there in the first place if Senjougahara hadn’t secretly commissioned his aid. In the end, Araragi is saved without any input on his part.
Of course, there’s counterexamples as well. For starters, Araragi never seems to put much priority on saving himself in the first place. One gets the feeling he continued trying to un-god Nadeko for her own sake as much as anything else. And one of the most striking scenes of Nadeko Medusa in my opinion, is when Kaiki and Araragi finally meet again. And Kaiki tells him, there was nothing he could do for Nadeko. Him trying to save her was a futile, even counterproductive effort.
Since it’s mostly philosophical, Meme’s principle is likely intended to be vague and inconclusive like this. I doubt Monogatari is going to fall on either extreme, at least not at this stage. The most useful thing is that Araragi continues to learn, one way or another. Remember, he started as a person who neither accepted help from others, nor helped himself. Whatever one’s interpretation of Meme’s life advice, Araragi had room to grow.
Supernatural stories just don’t work with individuals who are the apex of all things that isn’t normal in the first place, hence it makes sense that the remainder of episodes are life lessons for Araragi (who probably got brainwashed by Ougi to never question anything).
I really enjoy Araragi’s and Ononoki’s interactions, it’s like a milder version of Mayoi, with half the pervs.
Yes, I think the same about Ononoki, she inherits a bit of Mayoi’s role. Well, Ononoki was even in her last scene, supporting her (literally) …
But Ononoki has her own way to interact with Koyomi, and that’s a good thing. Moreover, best girl ever Hachikuji can’t be replaced.
Yes, I do think this episode seemed to question Meme’s mantra. This was discussed in the comments for episode 6. I still think that Araragi relies too much on that motto, if not in actions, in conversation. Sometimes, I wonder if his devotion to Meme’s line was because, at first, it provided him with a philosophical excuse to persist in not accepting other people’s help. But he’s learning.
“Remember, he started as a person who neither accepted help from others, nor helped himself.”
We can safely confirm that Araragi has overcome the first problem. The later, however, is still a fault of his. Or at least a fault according to Monogatari.
Koyomi’s seed IS ALWAYS with Hanekawa
So basically; the reason why Ononoki does this are to 1) prevent Araragi to get attacked by certain snake god and b) make him stand out enough for certain con man to do his job. Think more about this though; I am more convinced that the reason Ononoki took Araragi out is simply just for him to not have any time for study; so he would fail on his exam; thus he would not graduate and as a result he won’t get killed ^^. What a tricky girl!!