First Impressions / Monogatari Series

「まよいキョンシー其ノ參」 (Mayoi Kyonshi/Jiangshi – So no San)
“Mayoi Jiangshi – Part Three”

It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this emotionally attached to anything related to the Monogatari series. Besides the touching scene between Araragi and Senjougahara on their first date (with Supercell providing a spectacular backtrack for the whole thing) nothing else comes to mind when I try to put the words “Monogatari” and “Touching” together — except maybe that toothbrush scene but I think I may be using the word “Touching” in the wrong way…

Jumping straight into the thick of it, it would seem that our genius protagonist may actually understand the basic concept of time travel! While it’s hard to say whether or not I feel bad for him for belittling the power of the Butterfly Effect, I will give it to him that the scale of the changes definitely makes things a bit tougher to swallow. I mean with the world’s population replaced with zombie-esque creatures sounds ridiculous doesn’t it? But what probably was even harder to believe was just how scary the old Shinbou could be! Or rather, just how attached she’s become to Araragi. And while I want to be careful about how I phrase this since I have no idea what actually happened during their fateful encounter (Until Kizumonogatari comes out over here!), it would seem that two deeply care for one another to the point that I might even say they love each other. Because after Shinobu’s quick refresher behind their awkward pairing together, it became pretty apparent that both of them have perfectly objective reasons to kill the other. But instead of acting on those intents, it seems that the two are happy enough just being together — which in my book definitely sounds like love to me!

At this point, it feels like Mayoi’s name in the arc was a typo for Shinbou. Besides seeing her officially ONCE throughout this whole thing it’s really starting to feel like that this arc was designed entirely for Shinobu! But as I was typing this last paragraph, I started actually watching (ie: paying attention) the ending sequence. And if I’m not mistaken, it looks like the whole thing is an abstract representation of what’s going to happen throughout this arc! And if it really is foreshadowing, it looks like that there may actually some kind of connection between Shinbou and Mayoi! Meaning maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally get to see her next week!

 

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75 Comments

  2. Since I only read summaries and didn’t read the (still untranslated) book I didn’t feel the intended impact until now. I’m seeing strong similarities to The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya.

    In both cases we have the following:

    Show Spoiler ▼

    It creates a great sense of shock and gives a chance to completely force the story into an unusual setting.

    Grant
    Reply

    1. Alright, anyone who thought my comment was bad actually got the guts to go on record and say why they think it was bad? Or are you just trolls who can’t do anything creative, so you spend your time voting down comments?

      Grant
      Reply

      1. So no one’s willing to actually give a single reason for why they decided to vote these comments down and no one else is willing to call these people out on their behavior. This comment system isn’t very good.

        Grant
        Reply

      2. Erm… No, I think comparing this season to HSnY is what they(we) dont like. A lot of us here have a sweet but very bitter experience on it. And the “Disappearance” was the last bit of hope we had for it. Mah, dont mind them I guess. They are just being sentimental (like me?). I didnt vote you down though. -shrugs-

        Fraye
        Reply

      1. whats a goku?

        also on a 4 vrs 1? mebe .. in kizu there was a group of pro vampire hunters after her and they didnt manage to kill her (even when deep down she wanted to die) .. lol vamp-kyo was able to kill those 3 pro vampire hunters by himself.

        IOW: mebe yeh those college budies could do something about her.. but dunno. none of them seemed really “really” strong .. (then again i havent read till the last LN)

        inanis
        Reply

  7. Is this happening before, during or after the Tsubaba Tiger incident? I remember Hanekawa said she felt like she hadn’t seen Araragi for hundreds of years when he stopped the tiger so I’m guessing this is happening before that as Araragi went through an apocalyptic world first before getting there?

    gawrshness
    Reply

    1. Mayoi Jiangshi happens at the same time as Tsubasa Tiger as far as Monogatari’s timeline is concerned. That’s why it was mentioned that Araragi cannot be contacted, and was handling a bigger incident, during the events of TT.

      When Araragi showed up in the final events of TT he is shown wearing the ragged red hoodie he’s wearing during the events of MJ.

      Raine
      Reply

  8. Who would have thought saving Mayoi would have triggered off such a massive butterfly? Nishio Ishin is a genius for thinking this far.

    And credit to Shaft and Shinbo for replicating that 28 Days Later, I Am Legend (the abandoned streets) and Dawn of the Dead (the Costco scene) feel often found in zombie flicks.

    Poor Shinobu, don’t blame yourself, the culprit may share your past, but she’s an alternate version of you.

    Now that the abandoned shrine has been sucked dry of its spiritual energy, where will Shinobu obtain the energy needed to open another time portal so that they can go back in time and have Mayoi properly killed-off? There’s still the option of sucking Araragi’s blood and gaining back her original form in order to do so, but there’s always the risk of her reverting to her treacherous personality and betray Araragi, as she herself has noted.

    Kawaii Shinobu-chan pic of the week:
    https://randomc.net/image/Monogatari/Monogatari%20Second%20Season%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2031.jpg

    echykr
    Reply

    1. The spiritual energy is still there, but the talisman prevents Shinobu from using it, and neither she nor Araragi can remove it.
      Show Spoiler ▼

      turin
      Reply

      1. Show Spoiler ▼

        Geoff
        Reply

  9. @Takaii – could not agree with you more regarding Kimino Shiranai Monogatari. It still remains one of my very favorite songs even though I primarily listen to guitar based rock. IMO the song was a perfect match for the Araragi-Senjougahara date (which is one of my favorite Monogatari scenes/episodes as well).

    As I mentioned last EP – Shinobu is definitely stealing the show which is perfectly fine with me. I was also surprised at how attached Shinobu was to Araragi-kun at that point in time, though they do have a pretty strong foundation if you read Kizumonogatari LN.

    I’ll have to rewatch (*cough* pay attention) to the ED now that you mention it. I’m sure Mayoi has to factor into all of this (i.e. show up) at some point though I’m not quite sure how or when. It’s been a lot of fun watching the show “spoiler-free” for a change. Will they be able to go back to June 14/15th and help the “past Araragi” find Shinobu, thus preventing the end of the world (and also allow Araragi to “save” Mayoi as well), or is everything dependent upon Mayoi becoming a spirit/aberration?

    Another unresolved question was asked in the arc’s first episode – how does Mayoi feel about her fate? One would think she would rather not be “dead” (i.e an aberration), but then again, one would think that neither Araragi nor Shinobu would be happy with their current situation.

    I’m really looking forward to see how everything gets resolved. This show is so good waiting a week for the next episode seems like a month.

    daikama
    Reply

    1. I rewatched the episodes of Tusbasa Cat that Shinobu referenced. The cat makes reference to Hanekawa loving Araragi and refers to why Shinobu may have left. Ararari’s fumbling attempts to determine why Shinobu left are given a disdainful retort of “dense” by the cat. After the comments Shinobu made (and didn’t make) about her leaving, it seems obvious that she’s in love with Ararargi and is jealous of the other girls. That makes for an interesting dynamic with Senjougahara if true.

      Bear
      Reply

      1. Thanks for the info. That does set the stage a little better.

        That makes for an interesting dynamic with Senjougahara if true.

        I think it’s pretty clear at this point that Shinobu has some sort of love-love interest with Araragi. Funny thing is that as powerful as Shinobu is (even in loli form), I wouldn’t count Senjougahra out by any means. She’s a frightening opponent. All bets off though if Shinobu copies Hanekawa and exploits Senjougahara’s one real weakness.

        daikama
        Reply

  11. Okaaay,this arc is turning out to be…um,interesting but it also reached some ridiculous levels here.I mean,what the hell?Shinobu’s a vampire(even if a legendary one),not some kind of god.

    MgMaster
    Reply

    1. Shinobu (or vampires in general) is/are referred as “king of kaii” in the series. The crab god which afflicted Hitagi is also a kaii. So this indeed makes her a being higher than at least lower-level gods.

      Nipah
      Reply

    2. Shinobu didn’t destroy the world, only humanity. And literally, all she did was turning some humans into her servants and they did the rest of the work by multiplying themselves. Doesn’t take a God to do that, just being a legendary vampire is enough.

      Takurannyan
      Reply

      1. Agree 100%. IIRC the show even said it works by geometric progression. While watching it, the analogy which came to mind was a pandemic disease. Shinobu “infected” a relatively very small number of people, but after that it spread wildly since there was no containment method.

        Frankly, I was more surprised that they turned into “zombies” rather than just die (or be cured, but that would defeat the purpose here) once the “master vampire” was dead. Vampire -> zombie is a new twist for me.

        daikama
        Reply

      2. Daikama, the twist is related to the chapter title “Mayoi Jinagshi”. A jiangshi, at least in modern depictions, shares the traits of vampires (blood sucking) and zombies (living dead, behavior).

        Nipah
        Reply

      1. I am prett sure that it states at Kizumonogatari that Oshino just got “lucky” when dealing with Heart-under-blade. Show Spoiler ▼

        And after the event he also said that he cant do the same trick twice to her.

        Fraye
        Reply

  14. Don’t hate me guys, I found Shinobu annoying in the beginning of the season, her condescending attitude towards Black Hanekawa kinda rubbed me the wrong way.

    But by the eighth episode, I started to like her again and this episode, my heart broke for her. The music was great too. It didn’t help the tears.

    Razorstain
    Reply

  16. “It’s been a long time since I’ve felt this emotionally attached to anything related to the Monogatari series.”

    Same here!!! Mayoi Jianshi arc is my second fave… first is hitagi crab arc!!

    Hitagi, Shinobu and Mayoi all of em are my favorite! <3

    ricz
    Reply

  17. While I did like the episode as a whole, Araragi’s behavior just confused me. I mean, I can understand that he isn’t really upset (like he says, the whole human race getting annihilated in one day is just to bizarre to really register), but he should at least look for a way to get back to his time.

    “My master, we can’t use the shrine to return to our time.”
    “No thing. You want to launch some fireworks?”

    Logeres
    Reply

    1. Maybe his many near death (or near undead) experiences since Kizumonogatari had hardened him mentally and taught him how not to freak out and actually being able to relax as he contemplates his next move.

      Oh and plus he’s a lolicon, so being able to play the role of Adam and Eve with the last surviving (undead) loli on Earth must probably be cool for him. XD

      echykr
      Reply

  18. AFA loving Shinobu goes, Araragi loves all the girls (pretty much), each in their own way.

    The alternate solution to undoing Mayori’s survival is to somehow ensure that Araragi finds Shinobu. My only problem with that is no more cute Mayori!, sob!

    Bear
    Reply

  20. Finally, an arc worthy of my time. Just like how the series began, with only Shinobu and Araragi.
    Wish it would end that way too. Would make all the annoyances – Senjo-blah-hara, the irritating sisters, that Gaen woman, and generally every female character that talks too much without actually saying anything – bearable if I at least got an ending I wanted. I suppose one can dream….

    Sol
    Reply

    1. Sorry, but I don’t think so… you speak like a Shinobu fan, not Monogatari Series fan… all girls are important, all girls are special… of course you prefer one more than another, but all of them are special. Araragi is lucky and he loves all girls.

      vane
      Reply

      1. @vane
        Correct, I’m not a *gatari fan. The author’s obviously talented, but he’s far from the genius you people make him out to be – I personally think that most of his tricks are mere on “ass-pull” level – and tends to do way too much navel-glazing. Both Monogatari and Katanagatari started getting really old really fast. Bakemonogatari started out okay, but got bland by the time the nadeko snake arc came snout. The final episodes were like a corny teen romance. Then that Nisemonogatari season was just pointless crap, though I suppose you toothbrush wierdos would disagree. Majority of the girls get really tiring to watch after an episode or two.

        @-.-
        All I’ve been doing lately is press the right arrow button on my keyboard, skipping scenes for the majority of the *monogatari series (Nise was worse, I didn’t even bother watching some episodes, it was that bad). Tsubasa’a arc prior to this was mildly interesting, but this current arc is the only one where I haven’t touched the skip button (aside from the OP), that alone means it’s worthy of my time, and my opinion is the only one that matters to me.

        All I’m waiting for is Kizumonogatari, truth be told.

        Sol
        Reply

      2. gatari series is dialogue heavy.. if you forward it like that then your gonna get 0 from it.

        And dunno… started liking Nishio’s works with katanagatari .. didn’t actually see bakemonogatari but after halfway into katanagatari…. that’s about 18 light novels .. so yeah there is a “chance” is “ass-pull” .. but 18 times? really? lol

        Inanis
        Reply

  21. I agree with you, specially in this part:
    “Besides the touching scene between Araragi and Senjougahara on their first date (with Supercell providing a spectacular backtrack for the whole thing)”

    Until today this is my favorite episode from Monogatari… and Kimi no shiranai monogatari is my favorite supercell’s song. This episode with Shinobu reminded me about Bakemono, episode 12. It was beautiful.

    vane
    Reply

  24. zombie vampire apocalypse!
    didnt see that coming – I was thinking that the problem was Mayoi directly, but we have full power of the butterly effect unnleashed, with one thing leading to another – Mayoi not finding runaway Shinobu, coupled with Shinobu going mad with grief after death of Araragi, and at the same time restored to full power…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  26. “Meaning maybe, just maybe, we’ll finally get to see her next week!”

    Oh boy oh boy, oh boy. You have no idea.

    Good job catching hints from the ED! When I saw it at first, I thought it gave a bit too much away. Ie one might have predicted that a zombie apocalypse was going to happen. But the fine details are obscured enough that it’s not too spoiler-y.

    lvlln
    Reply

    1. Oh, look at me! Look at me, everyone! I said something super cruel and mean to the blog writer and potentially everybody else who enjoys this show, do I get a special cookie now? 😀

      Razorstain
      Reply

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