Final Impressions / First Impressions / Monogatari Series

「ひたぎエンド其ノ陸」 (Hitagi Endo So no Roku)
“Hitagi End Part Six”

It’s been a damn good ride everyone. As another well known anime character has loosely said, to live is to lose. And even with this chapter of Monogatari coming to a close, there’s still a lot more to look forward to over the horizon. But before we even get to that point, let’s talk about this week’s episode shall we?

After getting caught red-handed, I had no idea how Kaiki was going to escape his rather precarious situation. With a river of snakes both holding him down and swirling around him and a red-dress Nadeko just waiting to snap his frail body in half, his chances of survival felt a bit slim. Amazingly though Kaiki’s saving grace came in the form of what Nadeko was hiding inside of her closet.

But really, manga? Or rather, Nadeko’s super clean and well drawn manga? Are you trying to tell me that after such a dramatic scene and subsequent freakout when the topic was brought up was all because of a large stack of well drawn but cheesy manga!? Then again, I suppose I should have expected something as unexpected as this with this show’s track record of taking something ubiquitous and turning it into something special. And as cheesy and the whole thing was, I loved the message that Kaiki managed to attach to the moment. Besides being one of the most satisfying things I’ve heard in quite a while, it did a great job of illustrating just what kind of person he is. While I can’t really put it into words, just listening to him encourage Nadeko to follow her dreams and give up on the things that aren’t good from the bottom of his heart just resonated with mine so perfectly that I couldn’t help but love every moment of it. That and, you just know he’s a good guy inside when he creates something as stupid sounding as a “slug tofu”.

On the other hand, I was so pissed off with Ougi that when the last few seconds of the episode flashed by, I was ready to shove my fist into someone’s face. Carrying over that negative vibe from the end of Hachikuji’s arc, it became even clearer just how much of a bitch she is. They say hindsight is 20/20 but after realizing how much meddling she’s been doing and witnessing the outcome of that meddling, you really have to wonder what she gains from doing all of this! And as much as I’d love to see someone Vampire-Punch her in the face, I am curious to find out just what her plans are. That and, am I the only one who thinks she might be the reason Oshino is missing?!

Possible Spoiler about Kaiki — click if you dare. Show Spoiler ▼

After that crazy cliffhanger last week, this week’s episode did delivered everything that a show like this deserves. Pulling out all the stops and even throwing Araragi back into the fray right at the very end, it once again became clear as day why this show is so popular. With a strong cast and wonderful story that only gets stronger with each episode, what more could you ask for? Continue scrolling down for Final Impressions!

Epilogue:

Final Impressions:

Monogatari Series Second Season has been a wild two-cour roller-coaster that had a lot more ups than downs. While it retained a lot of what it’s known for — long bouts of dialogue and a lot of reading in-between the lines — there were a lot of new elements that helped it stand out from things like Bakemonogatari or Nisemonogatari. One such being the focus on everyone besides Araragi! While I complained about it at first because I missed our lovable buffoon, I must admit that it was a nice change of pace from the standard “throw myself at the problem and figure things out later” pattern. Because once you have Araragi out the way, you can really start to feel things like the thrill of watching Hanekawa discover just how to deal with her inner-problems to the extreme sadness as you cry while watch Hachikuji come to terms with what her existence means. And who can forget the moment when you realize that Kaiki, someone who’s been painted as one of the worst bad guys, is really the good guy in disguise? All of which would have been a lot harder to pull off if we were stuck watching from Araragi’s point of view!

But if I were to pick my favorite arc, it would definitely be Hachikuji’s arc. While I may be a bit biased since she’s one of my favorite characters, there was so much honesty and emotion being thrown about throughout that arc that it hurts a little to even remember — especially when you take into account just how important Hachikuji and Araragi are to each other. But when the last episode of the arc rolled around and the tears started flowing, you couldn’t help but sympathize for the two friends who could never be together with each other. But honestly, this image is so cute as it is heartbreaking that I don’t even know how to describe it in words.

All in all, I would have to say that this production from SHAFT was a complete success. With crisp animation and clean lines filling the screen combined with a compelling story and unique characters, Monogatari definitely nailed the formula while somehow making it even better. But what it also gained from being the sequel of a sequel with OVAs and movies filling in the gaps, was the emotional appeal that the previous seasons lacked. Something that helped certain arcs reach highs that I didn’t even think were possible! To end this, I’ll leave it at this — Monogatari and all of its other derivatives are completely worth watching. While I’m willing to bet this whole Second Series could stand up on its own, there’s definitely something special gained from watching everything in order.

Thanks for reading and following my posts everyone!<3

End Card

112 Comments

    1. Kaiki was such a great protagonist(better than araragi) that when araragi arrived i wanted kaiki tell him some big truths as well, many not obvious things that im sure he would blow my mind telling him. Guys give me examples of what kaiki should have told to araragi.

      retsurai
      Reply

    1. Seconded.
      This is the one case where it’s ok to be spoiled, we don’t even know how much we have to wait for more monogatari. To anyone who may answer, please use the spoiler tag anyway, not everyone would agree with being spoiled.

      Voyager
      Reply

  6. A little reminder for thoose that don’t remember about the guy that attack Kaiki (if I remember correctly) :

    In Bake Araragi met with Sengoku who needed help with an apparition, a restricting Snake.
    That apparition was caused by Kaiki, but ultimately it was a request from Sengoku’s classmate, a young girl that was jealous of Nadeko because one guy (THAT guy) had a crush on Nadeko and not her.

    Nadeko not being really smart started to kill snakes as a sacrifice at that shrine (yes the one where she will become a god), obviously that didn’t worked; it only put her in more situation where her life was in danger forcing her to seek help from Araragi and Oshino.

    During the purification Araragi and Kanbaru noticed that Nadeko was cursed with two snake, one from the jealous girl and one from the guy who got rejected (because Nadeko loved Koyomi). The purification managed to get rid of both snakes but only one of them wasdestroyed, the second one was sent back to his original caster, the guy (that’s why when he attack Kaiki we can see a snake).

    So even though that boy was an asshole and asked Kaiki for a curse, when it backfired he started hating Kaiki, thinking he was the one who caused this.

    Since I don’t read the LN I can’t tell why we don’t see his face, maybe they want to keep it a sectret for a later use or maybe because it was his only purpose in the story and we won’t see him anymore (after all Monogatari is known to show only important characters, I mean there is like 4 male characters ! )

    Sorry for the bad english or the mistakes in the story.

    KTNO
    Reply

    1. I think we cant see him because he was just a small fry. And there is nothing worth knowing more about him.
      Well obviously he attacked Kaiki but the perpetrator was someone else. He just did the act of attacking Kaiki but without Ougi giving him information we wouldnt have seen him ever again.

      dangreg
      Reply

  8. Incredible ending. Just wow… Once again this show lulls me into a false sense of security even though by now I should know better. Kaiki’s end (or is that just a lie?) caught me completely off guard. I must admit, I was a bit disappointed with the “power of manga” solution to the whole thing. Yet somehow Kaiki made even that seem reasonable. I also think that such a mundane, even silly solution made the overall atmosphere less serious which in turn gave the surprise ending even greater impact. At least it did for me.

    Overall, I thought it was a great final episode to a very entertaining arc with a lot of nice little touches to the story to go along with with wrapping up the main plot. One thing I liked was how this episode added to the recent plot line of Araragi’s inability to always save the girl. Shinobu/Kiss-shot can be argued both ways, but he did keep her alive, and as we saw gave her something she never had before – a friend. Someone who cares about her.

    But with Mayoi, he couldn’t save her. Her “passing on” made the blow easier to handle IMO, but still, it’s not the same. Now this plot line is taken one step further. Not only is Araragi unable to save Nadeko, he’s part of the problem. I think losing Mayoi made Araragi realize that he couldn’t save everyone. So if he did want Nadeko to be saved, he had no choice but to trust Kaiki (as hard as that may be). Nice character development there.

    As for Kaiki, it was a “full circle” end for him, but he really made it hard to watch him go in such an unsightly fashion. The man has more layers than an onion as is fascinating to watch for that reason. Just when you form an opinion of him, then some new facet emerges that makes you wonder if you have the guy figured out right after all. Just a great character to state the obvious.

    ——————————————-

    Not that I had any doubts before, but this episode sealed my vote for Monogatari as AOTY. The show started off a bit slow (IMO) with Tsubasa Tiger. That arc wasn’t bad at all, but not quite as strong as the following arcs. From then on, IMO the show delivered constantly good if not great episodes (excluding recaps) one after the other.

    IMO, Mongatari Second Season is a complete anime. Memorable, unique characters with a lot of depth and development (check), action (check), humor (check), complex, intertwined plots which makes a viewer think (check), realistic, non-forced emotional scenes (check). I’m amazed at how a show involving vampires who destroy humanity, time travel/alternate time lines, and a middle-school girl who becomes a saki-guzzling, cat’s-cradle addicted snake god seems so reasonable. I honestly can’t recall having a single major “WTF” moment or spot any in-universe credibility issues.

    This last episode reinforced my view that SHAFT did a fantastic job with adaptation. I think sometimes execution gets overlooked. Sure they had great source material to work with, but that alone is no guarantee the anime adaptation will turn out good let alone great. Pacing was excellent as the stories flowed naturally within and between arcs. Seiyuu performance was good, and at times exceptional (e.g. Mayoi in her last EP *sniff*). Visually, again just spot-on IMO. From subtle things like character facial expressions, to background design, to “camera” angles, lighting, etc. Everything fit the story very well and better yet, added to it. IMO this is adaptation done right.

    Takaii – thank you for taking the time to blog the show. It’s been fun watching the show over the past two seasons then reading reviews and participating in post-ep discussion.

    OH! Almost forgot. Ougi is evil, PURE EVIL! Meme, come back! (or given Kaiki’s comment, did Ougi have something to do with Meme continued disappearance as well?)

    daikama
    Reply

    1. Something probably happened I guess. (never read the novels)
      Else Ougi wouldn’t have taken interest in adopting the Oshino name.
      Even Kaiki monologues to himself that he doesn’t recall Meme having siblings.

      Techim
      Reply

      1. Read most of the translated LN (in terms of the overall series), but I tried to limit my reading for this season so I wouldn’t be spoiled (glad I did that). I didn’t read Shinobu-time or Hitagi End.

        FWIW, my impression is that Ougi isn’t who she claims to be (Meme’s niece). Still think she’s pure evil regardless. I also think Araragi is starting to suspect something is off about her.

        daikama
        Reply

      3. KTNO: Well isn’t obvious that Ougi is the “Darkness”?

        I’d say it’s fairly obvious Ougi has some association with the “Darkness” rather she actually is the “Darkness”. Maybe she can call it forth/bring it into this world, or she’s some “Miko of Darkness”. IDK. Under your theory, we have a 400+ year old, dark nebulous blob who decides to take the form of a freshman HS girl and even goes as far as to attend class. Kind of pushing it IMO even for this series. At the very least, your statement means that Ougi is the oldest HS freshman ever at 400+ years old and knew Kiss-shot in her “god-hood” days. You might be right, but I’m just not completely convinced at this point. If that is true, then Ougi should have no problems acing her Japanese history classes. 😛

        As for my “PURE EVIL” comment, a bit hard to explain, but I meant it as an expression (i.e. an “evil women”) rather than taken literally (i.e. “the essence of evil/evil in matter form”). At any rate, I do think she’s an evil (insert expletive) who caused a lot of misery for a number of people with out any explanation. Just thought about this – If she is literally the “Darkness”, given what we know (anime in my case – LN on the reading list :D), wouldn’t setting up Nadeko as a god run counter to her purpose of erasing lies & fakes (I forget the exact phrase)? IDK maybe Nadeko “acted” like a god so it was OK, but that still doesn’t explain why Ougi set all this in motion if she’s the “Darkness”. Seems like that going beyond that entity’s scope of duty.

        If anyone wants to shed some light on this, please do so, but remember to use spoiler tags where appropriate.

        daikama
        Reply

      4. I think Ougi is the representation of nature ‘as-it-should-be’. She is the prime opponent of Gaen, Oshino and co. because their action disrupts and changes the nature from ‘how-it-should-be’. As a being that has existed long enough to know Kiss-shot from her ‘playing god’ days, she has enough wisdom and foresight to play the long game. I would figure that the reason she prevented Gaen from making a god out of Shinobu was because it was against how ‘things-should-be’. However, she’s willing to deceive Nadeko into becoming a god herself because she expected someone would remove Nadeko’s godhood and return things to the way ‘it-should-be’. Besides, if Shinobu became a god, it would be very, very difficult to remove her godhood. Dealing with a middle schooler is alot easier than dealing with a centuries-old vampire, even if they are both gods. This demonstrate foresight which can only be cultivated from many centuries of existence.

        Mincemaker
        Reply

  9. Introduced as a villain.
    Progressed into an anti-hero.
    His endeavours make the main character’s efforts look like child’s play.
    Sort of involved in a love story.
    Dealt a critical blow by a character strongly associated with snake.
    Became a favourite character after the MC (heck, even hope he surpasses or becomes the MC).

    With all this, I would like to say that Kaiki Deishuu is an anime homage of Severus Snape.

    Techim
    Reply

      1. mm I haven’t really kept up with the manga… but there is any snake associated with accelerator?

        OTOH: lol “severus” fits so well!

        -both reason for doing “good” is simply “love” (wait for hanamonogatari!)
        -both “lost” their loved ones Show Spoiler ▼

        -both their attitude is mean even when doing “good” (helping people)

        omg how I didn’t see this before!!!!!

        Inanis
        Reply

      2. I can’t see anything specifically snake-related in the guy who critically wounds Accelerator, Amai Ao, but he did implant a worm into the Misaka Network. The English word “worm” was historically used for snakes too, and the kanji “虫” has a similar function, occurring in Japanese words relating to both snakes and worms. So yes, stretching the point a lot, but not implausibly so.

        Angelus
        Reply

  10. Remember that Kaiki himself stated that he is an unreliable narrator. Take that as a hint or not, but it’s shown many times in this arc how some of his narration is him telling half-truths.

    Raine
    Reply

  12. I’d love to see someone Flamenco-Punch her in the face

    you got it wrong, it’s vampire-punch 😛

    anyway, I do not know how to digest such end…godamit. is that really over?and like that?
    RIP Kaiki. but why?? I didn’t like him much in Nisemono but this season, in this arc, he was amazing.
    best guy girl of the year XD.
    (for the record, I know he is probably alive and got himself out of purgatory by deceiving death or something XD. kidding. but seriously, if he is dead..how else he would be the narrator :P)

    no doubt, monogatari as a whole is masterpiece.
    but this season proved why it’s the best monogatari so far IMHO.
    true, it was wild roller-coaster – Hanekawa facing her problems, future Hachkuji, crazy Nadeko, Hachkuji’s farewell and Kaiki. full of surprised, emotions, mysteries..everything that is need for it to be best monogatari.

    unlike Bakemono, which only presents the characters and their problems, this season we had a lot more of crossing interactions between variety of characters – Hanekawa and Hitagi, Ononoki and Ougi jumped to visit almost every arc, Ougi and the Nadeko or in Shinobu’s story (the holy loli trinity – shinobu,hachkuji and ononoki),even Gaen was presented from time to time. I really liked that the characters got some independence and they can interact with each other without Araragi.
    not only that, this season fixed a lot of wrong impressions, mainly on Kaiki and Nadeko but bringing side of others like ononoki, Gaen and even Hachkuji. this development in characters is based on what I said above – the characters had much more freedom in interacting, not via Araragi.

    in the matter of Kaiki and Nadeko, the last arc and ep brought us a perfect contrasting between Senjougahara and Nadeko and how Araragi is somewhat in the middle of it.
    of course, Kaiki is in the loop too. I really liked how they combined everything together – Kaiki’s nature as con-man, his past with Senjou, the contrast to Senjou and Koyomi..it was all set perfectly as a whole complex and we see that throughout all this arc with their conversations, actions, inner-monologue..everything.

    not only characters made this season so special.
    Ougi’s role, Shinobu’s past and Nadeko’s case shed light on the big picture which is starting to become clearer. or so we think. what’s between Gaen and Ougi?what happened, is happening and will happen to this town?why is it like at first place? and where is the great Oshino. Kaiki wouldn’t mention him if it wasn’t important. the bastard may foresaw through all of it LOL.
    well, this is why I like monogatari so much – because of its mysterious and enigmatic nature. every detail is like an extensive network of connections and we are far from understanding every thing.

    if I regret something in this season..?well not regret. but I feel like 2 things are missing for this to be 100% perfect (don’t worry it’s still 99.99% AKA 100 LOL).
    (A)we didn’t have enough of Hitagi, only the beginning and end. and I wished I had seen her more, especially with Araragi. I feel like this season missed the special chemistry and bizarre but lovely romance between Hitagi and Araragi as was presented in Bakemono and even Nisemono.
    (B) Fire sisters were totally missing in this season. only a single interaction with Tsukhi in Nadeko’s arc…I really miss their wildness as was in Nisemono.
    same for Kanbaro which was missing. well, that because Hanamono was delayed for 2014.
    speaking of which, preview for Hanamono. not much, but hearing the fire sisters made my day.
    I really wanted fire sisters and Kanbaro instead of those wasted recaps.
    well, I’ll wait for 2014. I guess it’ll be some sort of special like Nekomono kuro.

    despite that, it was really an amazing season. definitely one of the top in AOTY.

    Takaii, huge thanks for blogging us monogatari.
    I enjoyed reading your posts.

    thedarktower
    Reply

    1. I’ve not read any of the novels, but I won’t be killing off Kaiki just yet. The ending seemed rather open, and there’s still the issue of his unexplained relationship with Gaen and Kanbaru to dwell upon.

      echykr
      Reply

      1. Aww man, that’s a shame, I should have come to read your post earlier on the topic of Kaiki’s fate before your edit. After the final episode of Shinobu Time, I bet that must be your second most painful blow this season of Monogatari manages to deliver.

        Just visit
        Reply

    3. Read spoilers above if you want to find out whether Kaiki is dead or what. But while reading the book and realizing Kaiki’s going to die, I suddenly thought:

      The book starts with “This is Kaiki Deishu. You thought Senjougahara’s going to narrate this volume from the description and the cover pic? The lesson you should take from this is that you never trust the cover.”

      The book is called Koimonogatari.

      It’s about how Kaiki helped Senjougahara and how she somewhat loved him back then.

      Kaiki dies in the end. (supposedly)

      What if at the last page there’s going to be:

      “So, I died. If you’re going to ask how could I write this book after being killed, this is because I didn’t. This is not Kaiki. This is in fact Senjougahara, just like the cover promised. I’m writing in his style as a gesture of gratitude towards the man who saved my life. The lesson you should take from this, as he would say, but unfortunately I don’t really know what lesson he would say we should take from this.”

      This would even explain why Kaiki looks so fabulous in the book: Because he’s seen through the eyes of Senjougahara, who admired him at one time.

      But alas, this isn’t how it was.

      himselfv
      Reply

      1. It’s about how Kaiki helped Senjougahara and how she somewhat loved him back then.

        what you’re saying is right. not for nothing this is called KoiMonogatari (“love story”). also, the opening is quite aiming to this direction. in fact everything in this arc revolves around it. there is full system of contrasts and parallels here about this. and it’s not only Senjou and Kaiki. for example, Senjou actually loves Araragi and she is willing to do every thing for that love, and it came in contrast to her past about Kaiki (which is left in dark what really is truth, I think we’ll never know and it’s better off that way. it was probably a complicated situation that everyone sought to do the right thing for the other but POV is something subjective after all).

        p.s
        LOL, would be funny if that was the last page. but it isn’t. however, you wrote that in really nice style. (:
        as for Kaiki…well as I said, I do believe he managed to escape death narrowly. simply because it’s Kaiki. maybe the fact that he is the narrator affects me to think that way too..but mostly because I think NisioIsin won’t dispose of great character like Kaiki just like that.
        both Kaiki and Hachkuji…a season with casualties 😛

        thedarktower
        Reply

  13. I loved how Kaiki managed to pinpoint Nadeko’s weakness like that – because despite being a god, she used to be a human, and though she didn’t care about everyone around her anymore, he did find the one that did snap her back to being humanlike. Cheesy romance manga, of all things. Still nearly got him killed, but I give him props for managing to talk her out of that.

    But that ending…damn you, Ougi. I don’t think there’s much of a doubt anymore that she’s a villain, and not the ‘can talk her out of being a villain type’ because that…thing…might not even be human. And yeah, maybe she really does have something to do with Oshino’s dissapearance. Even Kaiki thought it odd how he didn’t show up even once since way back when after all. I also wonder how Gaen factors into all this.

    Either way, this was a wonderful season, and after the fun-but-somewhat-lacking Nisemonogatari, was the Monogatari series returning to full strength. From a time-travel story to a journey to become a villain, it had it all, and in three of them, Araragi wasn’t even the main character, which actually worked out pretty well (goddamn Kaiki is awesome). And yeah, nothing this season hit me with an emotional sledgehammer as much as Hachikuji’s arc – not something I expected when I started out with this.

    It’s no surprise then that this show ends up being one of my favourite shows this year. Now the long wait for a sequel…and that freaking movie, of course.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  14. Did anybody shed a tear at Kaiki’s (supposed) end?

    Reason
    No family.
    He doesn’t really have friends; more to acquaintances who rarely keep in touch.
    The only person who cares about him positively isn’t even human but a familiar.
    Not much in life he could call memories other than scamming people.
    No way of calling for help since he’s in an isolated area & destroyed his cell-phone SIM card.

    Alone with no friendly figure in sight,
    & massively bleeding in the cold while losing consciousness,
    thinking about his core principle in life before closing his eyes..
    That’s a sad way to go.

    *I would consider Hachikuji’s departure sad too, but in her case she left peacefully & voluntarily.

    Techim
    Reply

      1. To be fair, Araragi is acting under very limited information. The only impression he’s got from Kaiki is that the guy is a conman. It’s understandable there would be misunderstandings. It also didn’t help that Kaiki played the bad guy before Araragi to save Senjougahara some dignity.

        Mincemaker
        Reply

  18. Not having read the LNs, I feel free to make some suggestions for all the doujinshi out there, so here’s two alternative extensions of this arc:
    1. Kaiki gets the shrine. Didn’t Ononoki say they had been grooming Shinobu for the job of god of that shrine, but Araragi messed it up, so they got Nadeko? What better way to make use of a money-loving con man than to give him a job as the patron deity of the local shrine?
    2. Kaiki gets the girl. It’s pretty obvious that Kaiki is in love with Senjōgahara, and there were signs all the way back in Nise- that she once had a thing for him, and does the lady doth protest too much in Second Season? Would that mean that Araragi has to settle for Hanekawa?

    Eadwacer
    Reply

    1. 1) what?

      2) no , he isn’t. SHE used to be “in love” (a crush) but it was never really reciprocated.. he said even so in the anime.. he likened Sengoku’s relationship to the one Hitagi had with him… AKA bad ones (a crush)

      PS: I found it interesting he never mentioned WHO he wanted xD (we would see that in hanamonogatari… IIRC)

      Inanis
      Reply

      2. Kaiki loves someone but he said she was dead. Here’s my guess. Kaiki and Gaian’s sister (Kanbaru’s mum, who is dead/missing) were an item, and Kaiki is Kanbaru’s dad. If you remember the very start of this arc he had to ‘con’ himself to help, and the final reason he chose was Kanbura. The fact that Senjōgahara was Kanbaru’s friend may be the very reason why he tried to help her with the crab against his nature

        Make no mistake Kaiki is a bad guy. He loves money more than anything and is a skilled fraudster. But like every bad guy he has a different side.

        Scruffy
        Reply

  21. I’m confused about Araragi. How did he become all super powered and use his sword to own Tsubasa Tiger? He looked pretty normal when he saw Kaiki in this one… And whatever happened already happened because her hair is white and black

    Alex
    Reply

      2. Airas is totally right on this.

        The whole balance that revolves around blood-drinking is explained in Kizumono (prequel to Bakemono. namely – the story about how Araragi met shinobu and become a vampire).
        speaking of Kizu..I hope shaft will finally release this movie in the upcoming year of 2014. it’s about time after all….

        thedarktower
        Reply

  24. Well, too many things to digest, starting from the first episode of Monogatari…but since most of you guys did that already, imma just give my holy tribute to Kaiki.

    Damn it Kaiki. You have no idea how much i looovee this you already! If only he was a bit younger, I dont mind pairing Gahara with him! The way he made Araragi understand the whole thing about not taking some random “responsibility”, that really made me respect that man so much. This is what you call wisdom comes with age. I dont really like how Araragi tries to solve everything. And Kaiki just made him understand that…”There is nothing you can do.” Seriously remind me about Hikki!

    I wouldnt be all surprised if Gahara has some feeling for him. Who wont? if you’ve seen this side of Kaiki. I think she knew this already, as well as how Kaiki knew her before she has some personality twist. Reading their last conversation and Kaiki’s epic moment, my view about him changed 360 degree. I love this man.

    Too bad he got stabbed. Shit! Though i’m not really sure about this, Kaiki deserves to be Monogatari’s best male cast. Second goes to Oshino.

    Monogatari was great, especially Hanekawa’s Arc. It was a good ride, thank you SHAFT, thank you NisiOisiN…:)

    Clock Work
    Reply

  25. A preview of Nadeko’s manga “Kimi to Nadekko” will be available in next month’s Monogatari character special issue on Nadeko by Aniplex and Kodansha. With story by NisioIsin and illustration by Toyama Ema.

    http://animeanime.jp/article/2013/12/29/16899.html

    With artwork like that, Nadeko could consider doing doujinshis for a start, as a way to practice even further. 🙂

    That was some awesome reverse psychology that Senjougahara and Gaen played on Kaiki, knowing he would do exactly the opposite when told to back off.

    Ougi thought she had her bases covered, believing Nadeko to be beyond Kaiki’s help, but did not expect Kaiki to actually pull it off, for even she had neglected Nadeko’s hidden manga, which turned out to be the key to everything. It’s clear she sent that middle schooler to strike at Kaiki in retaliation for ruining her plans, though I don’t know what else that achieves besides soothing her anger.

    In other words, Ougi, Kaiki has pwned you, regardless of him being alive or dead.

    Speaking of which, where IS Oshino indeed when everyone needed him most? Did he somehow run into Ougi, leading to her assuming his surname? And what fate befell him if he did?

    echykr
    Reply

  26. https://randomc.net/image/Monogatari/Monogatari%20Second%20Season%20-%2026%20-%20Large%20End%20Card.jpg
    End Card illustration is Watanabe Akio, the series character designer.

    http://www.monogatari-series.com/2ndseason/movie/hana_yokoku01.html

    And a good choice in picking Ononoki-chan and Kanbaru, for Shaft has announced the making of Kanbaru’s story, the Hanamonogatari OVA.

    That’s the least Kanbaru deserves, as she hardly had any screentime, yet still played an important role throughout this season due to her relationship with Gaen Izuko and Kaiki.

    echykr
    Reply

  28. This arc really won my heart again with the Monogatari Series. It had everything I loved about the series back in Bake such as the great convos, the wit, the humor, the interesting monologues, and the stills. Tsubasa Tiger was a little slow for me and I wasn’t used to no Araragi narration for a whole arc yet so this was a good way to end the second season with someone like Kaiki. Back in Nise I wouldn’t have given a damn about what Kaiki was up to and how he thought but Koi has been such a game changer and I fell in love with his character. I can’t believe how hurt I felt when Senjougahara said they would only speak together one more time, breaking the SIM card, then meeting an unfortunate end by some butt hurt pubescent middle schooler. I love our reluctant hero of a narrator this arc and will definitely miss him. His words to Araragi were great too… letting him know that Araragi was in no position to do a thing to help. Sometimes you just gotta back off.

    He’s never broken any promises, so even if he does somehow make it through, does that mean that we won’t see him interacting with anyone we know since he promised to never set foot in the town again? If he doesn’t return, then I’m fine with a backstory too…

    It’s kinda funny that this ending is just a cliffhanger to the oncoming season with all the Ougi mystery and who she really is, taking Oshino’s name and all even though he has no family…

    Can’t wait for Hana because I missed Kanbaru’s quirks this season.

    Jel
    Reply

  29. PERFECT HUSBANDOOOOOOOOOOO

    WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

    But it was interesting finally seeing Gahara-san’s side of the relationship. We knew from Neko that Bakaragi chose Gahara because he was afraid of his deep, serious feelings for Hanekawa, so he chose a girl who he could have fun with and that, for all of her snark, would put up with him running around with other girls and being an idiot.

    Likewise, Gahara chose Raggers because he reminded her of Kaiki, the first man she ever loved (and that she still might love, if their phone conversation is anything to go by).

    and of course, it also explains why Kaiki and Shuraragi don’t like each other. They remind themselves of each other, and they both admit that they’re well-intentioned villains in the end. Kaiki never tried to hide it and Araragi admitted it to Kagenui in Nise.

    Hell of a ride.

    EmD
    Reply

      1. Debatable. Not saying you’re wrong about Gahara, but the entire point of Nise was Kagenui telling Araragi that he’s a pretend hero and his ‘justice’ is just as fake as that of Karen and Tsukihi, which actually makes him a villain because he pretends to be a hero and a human when he’s neither.

        As someone pointed out to me recently:

        Araragi agreed and said he’s a villain because his brand of justice is “I see a problem and I’m going to fix it how I want it to regardless of how the people in need of help feel about it” which goes against Oshino’s message that only the people in question can save themselves. Araragi helps people to satisfy himself, primarily. That’s not to say he doesn’t care about the people he’s saving, but their feelings come second to his own.

        Funnily enough, none of his solutions did much. He drove Nadeko to insanity, Suruga is still cursed, Hanekawa developed ANOTHER oddity because of him, Hachikuji failed to move on because of him (and he ended the world by trying to save her without asking her), Tsukihi still thinks she’s human, etc. The only person he truly saved was Gahara. But by saving her, now she’s stuck with all of his problems and all of his half-hearted cheating.

        So he’s far from a hero of justice. He’s a warped version of one, if anything. Just like Kaiki.

        Now, the debatable part is whether Gahara realizes this, but I’d like to think she does to some extent, which is why she went to Kaiki in the first place.

        EmD
        Reply

      2. Araragi didn’t save Hitagi. She saved herself, in part because Oshino had a direct hand in it. If he didn’t, I imagine Arag would have tried to do everything for her. Araragi only took her to Oshino who then set up the conditions in which she became able to save herself. After her inital failure, Oshino decided he and Arag would have to fight it (in which case, they would might have saved her, but likely not). She stopped them and did what she needed to do. She gives him too much credit fir saving her and not enough for putting up with her back then!

        In my observation, she’s the only girl who saved herself (having had help doesn’t change this) and this is the key reason she’s the only one who became free of her affliction on the first try. Oshino did not directly interact with the other girls except for black hanekawa, and thus was unable to help them help themselves. Obviously, it’s the only way to force Arag to learn better. , allowing him to fail and keep dealing with it.

        Danny the dog
        Reply

    3. All these misinterpretations. First of all, saying that Senjougahara choosed Araragi because he reminds her of Kaiki is bullshit. If you had paid attention to the Snail arc, you would know that Senjougahara didn’t love Araragi because he “saved” her (which is not even true since Senjougahara is the only girl who saved herself with the little help of Meme), but she fell for him because Araragi is a whiteknight, who would save EVERYONE, regardless who the person in . Kaiki is the opposite, he only saves people when 1.) he would profit by it or 2.) when he has a special connection to the person in need. Second point is why took the job in Hitagi End. His big appreciation towards Senjougahara and his connection to Kanbaru and the Gaen family in general were his reasons. So saying that Senjougahara choosed Koyomi because him=Kaiki is nonsense.

      Jimbo
      Reply

  30. surprised at the “cliffhanger” ending.

    still entertaining to watch. lol those expressions of Nadeko.

    heh .. for arc based on “koi” (love) it lacked Hitagi + Araragi! (tho we got to see Hitagi + Kaiki… kinda? lol after seeing that OPing that comb sounds ok too!)

    I liked this second season.. hope the 3rd one doesn’t come out too late.

    PS: things I “regret”:
    -no OP song by Shinobu
    -too little Mayoi (RIP)
    -too little fire sisters
    -no cookies end for Koimonogatari (I really liked to see how they would animate Hitagi’s reaction from the LNs… seems they choose to skip it all!)

    PS2: damn… am I the only one that dark, red dressed Nadeko looked cute there?.. right before she went all OMG! over the manga issue hehe

    PS3: Cliffhanger! … really? Show Spoiler ▼

    Inanis
    Reply

      1. mm your right … well if that scene was not in Koimonogatari then is on tsukimonogatari … really wanna see that one cus explores more into the Hitagi+Araragi relationship.

        PS: actually im starting to think it was tsukimonogatari , sorry my bad … been a while….

        Inanis
        Reply

  31. I’ve watched all Bakemonogatari anime except this one but I disliked all of them. The reason I keep coming back is because of the consistent art quality and because it always gets hyped. I decided to resist watching it this time until it ended to ask this: Do you think this season is any better than the previous ones? or do you think I’ll also dislike this one if I disliked the previous ones?

    dxb_blackwolf
    Reply

    1. All I can say, is that if you didn’t like Bakemonogatari or Nisemonogatari, you MIGHT like this one. As I said in my post, Araragi isn’t the main focus per se throughout the entire two seasons. Which means the narrative is done by different people allowing you to see things from different perspectives.

      That said, there’s still a lot of dialogue and a lot of crazy things going on. But if you’ve watched everything else, I think watching would be worth your time.

      Takaii
      Reply

  32. looks like I wasnt the only one who thought ougi may have done in meme and taken his family name… otherwise dont you think she’s got some big ball for pretending to be his niece when he could come back to clear it up?
    man monogatari has really done well. I hope kaiki is alright.

    also to help provide some light since ive read in some sites the confusion on how araragi was bad for nadeko, lets compare kaiki’s influence to be “tough love”(ground), araragi’s attention to be “affection love”(water). then lets say the girls represent flowers.

    for senjougahara, she had a lot of tough love(ground) with her broken up family and being required to “grow up” from it, causing her to have too much tough(ground) but thirsty of affection(water). then there’s nadeko, who grew up with so much affection(water) that she’s drowning, hasnt really been given any tough love(ground).

    then this is where the 2 guys end up being good for them. while kaiki had good intentions, his methods werent what gahara needed/wanted, while for nadeko she didnt need anymore affection(water) from araragi.
    that’s why as it was said in the show, araragi needed to leave nadeko alone for her to be able to grow, and that he was good for gahara to grow. thats why kaiki also couldnt help senjougahara anymore, he would be bad influence on her, yet someone like nadeko who keeps getting pampered can really learn a thing or two from kaiki who’s always by himself.

    amado
    Reply

  33. OMG that was an amazing ride, after watching bakemonogatari and nisemonogatari, I thought the 2nd season won’t be able to pull any fast ones on me but damn am I wrong, this series just continuously keep getting better and better, and you know, until Kaiki actually commented on Oshino’s disappearance, I actually never put much thought into this but damn, I really hope Kaiki and Oshino is alive 0.0 they are 2 of my fave character out of the amazing cast monogatari series has :3

    TrapMaster
    Reply

  36. I’m really glad this arc exists and that Kaiki is it’s protagonist. It’s pretty much what renewed my interest in this season of Monogatari after the Shinobu/Mayoi arcs which I found quite lacking. Nadeko’s arc was interesting but I only really started appreciating after Hitagi’s.Hanekawa’s was decent,I guess.

    Despite my mixed feelings towards this season, I still consider Monogatari a great franchise and will definitely be looking forward to the next adaptation.

    MgMaster
    Reply

  39. Great end to the series.

    Kaiki definitely gets my nomination for “Best Supporting Character”

    I got to say, he handled the situation superbly and his narration as he walked into the sunset was rather bitterwseet. Him destroying his phone and SIM card…. Symbolises that his job is done and he severs all connections to the past. That made me shed a tear

    c2710
    Reply

  42. Having watched all of the Episodes of Monogatari, and also rewatching the important parts of the whole series, though not always ending up in perfection, Monogatari Series is a masterpiece in its own right; heck, this show is already legendary. Reading your blogs and the readers’ comments help me put bits of information in place, and the different perspectives I get from you guys help in analyzing those trifling situations that this show portrays.

    It ended in a Monogatari fashion. AOTY for me.

    Senjougahara Hitagi
    Reply

  43. Was I the only person disappointed by the hair this season? I don’t like Senjogahara with short hair, and Hanekawa’s black and white do is extremely iffy. I liked her twin tails from season 1.

    Jack Spicer
    Reply

  44. How great this was. One awesome emotion roller-coaster. And you know a death in anime is well-executed when you actually wish the character SURVIVES it… I don’t know what to think. I just know that the hype for Hanamonogatari will get to epic levels.

    lorenzo
    Reply

  45. The whole “manga dream” wasn’t really out of left field at all. Yes it was trivial and could have been just about anything, but it was mentioned that it was nothing big in there. Also mentioned that Nadeko is so backwards that she doesn’t care when people do horrible things to her, but gets overly riled up by small things (I.E. someone finding out about her dream).

    MAVMAN
    Reply

  49. I dont really give a damn that Araragi failed to save Shinobu instead, as I just dont get why people started hating him after he failed to do so, cuz did u guys forget what the hell she did to him and Shinobu? Also after he desperately tried to save Mayoi but ultimately failed and that reminiscing tale he told in Shinobu time where he said that those he loved are starting to leave him and finally said farewell to Mayoi, that moment for me cant possibly be beat by his failure to save Nadeko.

    It’s just not the same thing at all as Mayoi has always been the only girl (before Shinobu and him reconciled) he can say his problems and anything on his mind too, and she has always help him in more ways than one, in fact the reason why he found Shinobu and how they are amiable now is because of her. Mayoi was so much more valuable and precious to him than Nadeko which was why it broke his heart when he failed to save her, and that farewell scene was one of the best in any farewell or death scenes in anime.

    Mayoi>>>>>>>>>>>Nadeko in a lot of ways, cuter, funnier, and certainly more interesting. I was disappointed that Monogatari chose to end her character but I was also equally disappointed that they ended the series with how Araragi failed to save Nadeko (thus showing his incompetency leading to some people to hate him) as the series shouldve ended when Mayoi said her farewell as it was such a more emotion inducing than Nadeko’s arc and Hitagi end.

    Oh well just voicing my opinion again after rewatching the series in bluray, and I think it’s quite stupid for people to start hating on Araragi for reacting like that towards Kaiki and failing to save Nadeko, as this was nothing compared to his desperate struggles to save Mayoi but ultimately failed to do so. In this case, it’s justified that he shouldnt be the one to do it, since she practically killed him and Shinobu many times over and she still intends to do so, while in Mayoi’s case was just plain sad because both of them wanted to still be together but has no choice but to let go as that stupid dark force cant be stop by any of them (frikin Ougi).

    Ryner
    Reply

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