Koyomimonogatari – 11

「こよみナッシング」 (Koyomi Nasshingu)
“Koyomi Nothing”

I guess it’s too much to hope for Koyomimonogatari to make a brand spanking new OP for Kagenui; instead, we’re getting none at all. It’s appropriate, I suppose, for an episode titled Koyomi Nothing. No OP, and there’s not even really a mystery to be solved either. Is it even a Kagenui episode? Sure, we learn some of the backstory of Kagenui, she whose feet must not touch the ground, but this side-story is more notable for what we don’t learn. And the life lesson for Araragi is a simple one, about not prying.

Araragi’s been the kind of character who enjoys butting into other people’s affairs. If you think about it, he’s actually really nosy, but that’s okay because he’s the protagonist and protagonists are supposed to Learn Stuff and Do Stuff. And also because he’s still a ‘child’, as opposed to the ‘adult’ cast, the exorcists. Children can be forgiven of many indiscretions. But ‘adults’, as represented by Kagenui, are not always open nor inviting. Whether that is a good or a bad thing is a different issue. Either way, Araragi will have to accept that there are things he will not know and places where he is not welcome. And, really, although it would be hilarious if Kagenui’s joined Araragi’s harem, the exorcists should be aloof. For a series about the supernatural, it wouldn’t feel right without a certain air of mystique. At least Kagenui isn’t charging for information, like Kaiki.

But now Kagenui is gone, and her relationship with Ononoki remains in the dark less by tact and more by necessity. I wonder if Monogatari is getting her out of the way before something more major happens in the main story line. This was certainly the episode most like a normal arc of Monogatari that we’ve seen of Koyomimonogatari thus far. There’s the usual gags and fanservice and hijinks before the story starts proper, Araragi gets beaten up like usual, ominous foreshadowing. And for one, there’s no punchline. It’d be nice for Koyomimonogatari to close with a two-part grand finale of more serious fare (made more likely by Gaen being the last act). Then again, if Kagenui just pops up again next episode after popping out to grab a cup of coffee, the anticlimax would tickle me pink.