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「こよみデッド」 (Koyomi Deddo)
“Koyomi Dead”
So, who saw this twist coming? Or maybe it’d be faster to ask who didn’t; on my part, I thought that titling the story Koyomi Dead just gave the game away far too easily. It didn’t help that I didn’t much trust Gaen in the first place—she leans more towards Saruman than Gandalf as far as plot-wizards go, if you ask me—so when she started talking about how all pieces were expendable except for the king, the warning sirens started to go off. Don’t get me wrong, the deed itself was still quite the effective scene, but it didn’t pack quite the oomph that a true shocker would have had.
We’ve also already had Hanamonogatari, though, so we also know that Araragi doesn’t actually die, or at least gets better. So having his life flash before his eyes may have been overdoing it. I still wonder, sometimes, why Monogatari has chosen to tell its story out of order. It certainly has an effect on how we everything else. Is it comforting to know that everything more or less works out? Or does it drain tension out of certain climatic twists? Or does it just remind you, ‘hey, Kizumonogatari‘?
I guess we don’t really know what happened to Araragi, just as we don’t really know what happened to Mayoi, just that she’s supposed to be snuffed (again). So the two of them somehow meeting again actually just raises more questions than it answers about Rarabai’s fate. Poor guy. He’s just someone to whom things happen to at this point. Gaen describes a chess game, but Araragi hardly knows who the players are, let alone the stakes, or even the board. Such is the tragedy of Araragi Koyomi; as a piece he is important enough to kill, but not important enough to know what’s going on. If he is not the king, then which piece is he?
Final Impressions
I feel a bit silly even trying to write a ‘final impression’ about a show that ends on a cliffhanger, and was really just a collection of short stories in the first place. Evidently, none of it was really meant to stand alone, with each story being addenda to the main arcs of the Monogatari Series or, in the case of this two-episode finale connects to the rest of Owarimonogatari that we have yet to see. So we’re basically still in the middle of the narrative; what am I doing giving a ‘final’ impression? And in any case, there’s been so much of the Monogatari series by now, and I’ve spent so many words on it, that as long as Koyomimonogatari didn’t deviate too much from the general Monogatari style and writing, that every new season is more or less business as usual.
So, yeah, we’re basically stuck here until the next season of Owarimonogatari, whenever that may be. Everything here may as well be a giant tease. In particular, we finally get to see Oshino after what seems to be forever (or, since earlier in the season, if we don’t go by in-story chronology), proving that he’s still alive and still only has that one shirt. I was actually pretty glad, last week, that signs were that Koyomimonogatari will end with something heavier than just the side stories. Sure, those were amusing distractions and arguably necessary character development for the titular Araragi Koyomi, but something meatier would have been nice to give Koyomimonogatari its own identity as a series. I suppose we got something of the like here, but again, cliffhanger! I suppose there’s nothing to do than to wait for more. I wouldn’t argue against more Monogatari, but I also do want to see how it actually ends, after all this time circling around the ending, so I really hope we actually get there one day. When it happens, I’ll probably still be here. and we can do this dance again.
Welp. If only there was a scene where Senjougahara witnessed/learned about what Gaen did to Araragi. I’m pretty sure she would have murdered Gaen right there and then. That would have been fun!
I was actually thinking, I would watch a Monogatari spinoff that was just Senjougahara methodically hunting people down using nothing but office supplies. Perhaps we may get something like that yet.
As fun as it would be to watch something like that (please, pretty please, do it), I think that in the end Senjougahara can’t do much.
She’s strong against those who can’t or won’t fight back. Even Oshino has a soft spot for her. But Gaen? I don’t think she would be fazed in the slightest.
It’s precisely that Senjougahara would be so outmatched that would make it fun to watch. I always root for David to take out Goliath.
Crab dying the most painful of deaths would be good to watch indeed.
I dare say that Gaen only need her pinky finger and 1 second to end Hitagi. This is stupid to even compare both of them strength vise.
I can almost imagine Ougi in the background saying: “I told you, Araragi-senpai”.
In the final episode of Owarimonogatari (well, the anime season of the same name), she argued that Gaen had probably stolen the vampire hunter’s armor to make her own demon-killing sword. Alas, Araragi wasn’t convinced. Now we know she was right. Again, I might add.
By this time, it’s pretty obvious that Ougi is the other player Gaen mentions but never names. The sougi example works to warn about the impending murder and the problem of not having a god in the shrine, but also to showcase that Gaen is losing the match. Too many pieces lost. For once, she didn’t have a clever reply at hand when Araragi pointed out that if she did really know everything, she wouldn’t be taken by surprise.
Well, I guess it was right that this series was needed first before the season’s upcoming grand finale. Still, it was nice to see in this final episode a glimpse of almost every important character in the setting. There was one left, but the epilogue saved the best for last.
Well, of course Ougi’s right. She’s basically the counterpart of Gaen, except she lies about it 😉
And one also has to wonder which pieces they are,
For some reason, Gaen seems to think that Araragi is a fundamental piece. According to her words, both sides were waiting for Araragi to act or not act, until Gaen made her move. Is that a way to force Araragi to act? Is that a way to stop Araragi from acting?
Depending on the answer, Araragi can be either Ougi’s or Gaen’s trump card. Or maybe he’s that for both of them. After all, Gaen was talking about the need to sacrifice your own pieces except the king to win. And he sacrificed Araragi.
My understanding is that Gaen very much didn’t want Araragi to act, which was why she left Yotsugi with him. From Tsukimonogatari, Araragi was neither human enough nor vampire enough, which is the kind of half-measure that prompts action from ‘the other side’, so Gaen would have much rather Araragi stopped messing around. But ‘the other side’ would like an excuse to do its thing in the name of balance, and so removed Kagenui to deactivate Yotsugi. Gaen then felt forced to simplify, by killing Araragi.
Of course, the fundamental question is still, ‘why all this?’ but I guess they’ll get to that in the rest of Owarimonogatari.
That feeling when so many anime ends in random curiosity
And then so many anime will begin! It’s the circle of life.
This episode is the one that seals the deal, honestly a 10/10.
After lowering our defense from all the light-hearted, irrelevant stories in the series, we get send right smack to the continuation of the last episode of Owarimonogatari. It was really nice to see the entire cast for one final time, even Nadeko who probably has nothing ever to do with Araragi again.
What I don’t get though, is that is it really important for the shrine to have a god?
(and heh, so that mysterious person with the spiky tied-up hair turned out to be Araragi’s mom)
It’s something about balance. Oshino did fine without a god at the shrine, but the high number of oddity related incidents in the town is attributed to the empty shrine. Also, the ‘other side’ seems to get upset when the shrine is not filled.
WHAT THE LITERAL SHITFUCK JUST HAPPENED?!
See: episode title.
Don’t worry, he gets better.
Isn’t that like the tagline to Crank 2?
“He died…but then he got better.”
It seems that, often, death is just a temporary inconvenience.
No comment on Kagenui? Will we ever find out what happened? Has she really been snuffed out?
I was assuming that Kagenui was removed from play like Mayoi was and, like Mayoi, will probably be back.
Interestingly Gean implied that it was she who took out Kagenui. Maybe omniscient Gean is manipulated by Ougi(?) to decimate the ranks of the oddity experts. I wonder what the stakes are, if she is willing to turn against her own companions.
BTW: the sword which killed Araragi has a counterpart Show Spoiler ▼
I guess it plays a role to revive him.
Hmm, I missed that implication. I was under the impression that Kagenui was removed by the ‘other side’ to deactivate Yotsugi.
In my understanding the ‘other side’ was passive and waited for Araragis move. Gaen had to setup a situation which allows her to kill Araragi. It my get lost by her lengthy explanation, she made so that Araragi had not to die unprepared.
Sorry, but I’m not seeing it. Gaen says that she hoped putting Yotsugi near him would work as a restraint. If it doesn’t, it’s because her master was taken out. Why would Gaen sabotage herself?
Unless Gaen has split personality disorder, she can’t agree with Yotsugi’s mission and be the “someone” who didn’t like it and went after her master at the same time. Also, she’s been shown to be basically Kagenui’s and Yotsugi’s superior; it would be far easier for Gaen to tell them to stop watching over Araragi instead of removing Kagenui just to render Yotsugi useless.
Show Spoiler ▼
Wait didn’t we learn that Araragie dead = Shinobu running Amok and extinguishing the human race? Guess Gaen failed badly.
After Shinobu herself witness that ending in Mayoi Jiangshi. She determines not to repeat the same mistake. So no, even after koyomin’s dead humanity is safe.
Who’s the king?
Gaen claims that, right now, it’s an empty throne.
So if as the title suggest, will Shinobu turn into a 100% vampire?
I think the biggest WTF with this series is that it was only officially available via an app. And that low res video? Man. Oh well.
So at the end of this season or story he dies but the question is does he stay dead. In another movie that takes place after this araragi appears with long hair and a car?????