Nisemonogatari discussion thread

[something]

偽物語

Sequel to the second best selling TV series in the history of anime, Bakemonogatari. The Bake girls return as we get stories for Koyomi's sisters, Karen and Tsukihi.

Airs Saturday, January 7 at 23:59 JST on Tokyo MX

Animation studio: Shaft

ANN Entry (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/anime.php?id=13556)
Official Site (http://www.nisemonogatari-anime.com/)
Crunchyroll stream (http://www.crunchyroll.com/nisemonogatari)


Note
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[russ869]

Just what is the first best selling TV series? Haruhi?

(Firefox tells me I was trying to spell "Harrumph.")

[MelancholicMariya]

Just what is the first best selling TV series? Haruhi?

(Firefox tells me I was trying to spell "Harrumph.")

Neon Genesis Evangelion.


(I originally said Gundam SEED but was obviously wrong, I thought we meant of 2000 - 2010, but even then I would be wrong as it was much lower.)

[TheGreenMan]

Just what is the first best selling TV series? Haruhi?

(Firefox tells me I was trying to spell "Harrumph.")

I'm wondering that too.

Edit: Ah, it's Gundam SEED.
Edit: Okay, it's EVA.

[MelancholicMariya]

Just what is the first best selling TV series? Haruhi?

(Firefox tells me I was trying to spell "Harrumph.")

I wondering that too.

Evangelion. I corrected my last post but it took like 10 minutes because of the forum speed today. I can deal with it. No idea why Gundam SEED was in my head for the best seller of 2000 onwards.

[something]

Just what is the first best selling TV series? Haruhi?
(Firefox tells me I was trying to spell "Harrumph.")
As Mariya said, Evangelion of course. It does depend on how you count to some extent, i.e. do you include later boxsets/rereleases (favors older series released many times) or just the initial run? But Eva is #1 and Bake is #2 either way. First release average is Evangelion (111,558) > Bakemonogatari (78,671) > Madoka (71,005) > SEED Destiny (68,734) > Seed (58,589). Including rereleases it's Evangelion (171,100 w/multiple releases) > Bakemonogatari (101,613 w/BD box) > 1st Gundam (81,730 w/multiple releases) > Seed Destiny (79,127 w/DVD box) > Haruhi (75,038 w/BD box) > Seed (71,134 w/DVD box) > Madoka (71,005 w/no rereleases yet). Haruhi was 41,038 first release and 34,000 BD box.

It remains to be seen whether Nisemonogatari can repeat Bake's feat and join this group as well. I think it has decent odds...

For much more information, sales thread (http://www.mania.com/aodvb/showthread.php?t=109291).

[Westlo]

It remains to be seen whether Nisemonogatari can repeat Bake's feat and join this group as well. I think it has decent odds...

I don't know if Nise will be as good as Bake.. but I do know that it will contain at least 2 scenes that are going to drive the otaku in Japan absolutely crazy. Of course it also depends on how SHAFT do them for the TV run.

[Fencedude]

Karen Bee, Part 1

...does not contain Karen.

It does however have Hitagi, Tsukihi and Mayoi.

Hitagi's apparently decided that she's not going to let the title of "craziest girl in a currently airing anime" go, and is making a bid to take the title back from Gasai Yuno. Though she is rather more endearing about it.

Tsukihi can continue to lounge around in a kimono for the rest of the show. <3

And random conversations with Mayoi are always awesome.

[sickVisionz]

Well, I never saw Bakemono but I decided to check this out anyways. The show has an interesting visual look it with every present bloom lighting. It really colorful yet kinda cold at the same time... I can't really describe it.

Anyways, interesting episode. The guy being a pedo was a bit uncomfy but everything else was really enjoyable and surprisingly understandable. Everyone seems to be wearing their intentions, or rather their history, on their sleeve so it's easy to jump in and get how people connect on a basic level, even if you don't know exactly what caused those connections.

The dialog was crazy at times. It reminded me a lot of the first episode of Katanagatari and Tatami galaxy where it felt that there was a disconnect between the amount of dialog written and the amount of dialog that can be spoken at a reasonable pace given the length of an episode.

[Sly05]

I guess this episode and the next will be dedicated to reintroducing the characters. Hitagi, Mayoi, and Tsukihi this episode and presumably Nadeko, naked Suruga, Tsubasa, and Karen next week.

Hitagi is as crazy as ever though it was Araragi's interactions with Mayoi who made the episode for me. I was giggling the entire sequence. Araragi, a man with the courage to look up the skirts of dead elementary school girls.

Karen Bee, Part 1

...does not contain Karen.

Hitagi even stole the OP from her.

[EmperorBrandon]

Interesting that Mayoi has become the go-to person for Araragi airing his problems. The fourth wall breaking in some of their dialogue was amusing too.

I'll be curious to see what is up with the Hitagi segment (which she was hilarious in), and what will be up with Karen, since it's her arc. Kimono fanservice with the younger sister was nice.

[Westlo]

The dialog was crazy at times. It reminded me a lot of the first episode of Katanagatari and Tatami galaxy where it felt that there was a disconnect between the amount of dialog written and the amount of dialog that can be spoken at a reasonable pace given the length of an episode.

That's definitely the case for Katanagatari and Nise, Nisio's works are always dialogue heavy.. heck I think his WSJ manga Medaka Box is the wordiest manga in the magazine for the last 10 years... that yandere moment was a classic with a 2 page spread filled with 80% dialogue.. more dialogue than 5 chapters of Bleach in just 2 pages.

Anyway for Bakemonogatari SHAFT actually got Nisio in to rewrite/adjust dialogue to fit the scenes, I'm guessing the same is true for Nise.

[superdry]

Not enough Senjougahara in the episode even though the OP was perfect with her - a very concentrated dose of Senjougahara.

The conversations with Tsuhiki and Hachikuji were highly amusing, though.

So far, I think CR did a decent job translating the on-screen signs for the episode. Hopefully, they continue to do a good job when things get more cluttered.

[nakimushi]

Not sure how it happened, considering she cut it at the end of Bake (how long in this show has it been since then?), but I'm very glad Hitagi's hair is long again.

Even with as much fun as his encounter was with Mayoi - the "courage to be" exchange was great - I was still a little disappointed that he never got to Nadeko's house. With the beginning of the episode being what it was, I'm wondering if he ever actually does get there. I guess I'll find out next week.

[strangefour]

-We meet again mister Arararararararagi.
-The crab is as good a torturer as ever.
-These two have the weirdest relationship. I'll feel sorry for their kids. "Mommy, why is daddy hanging from the ceiling in a harness... this time?"
-Wow that's a boring OP. Visually okay but so so bland of a song.
-When you attack a snail, the snail will fight back. Fight for it's life.
-Snail just went meta. Heh.
-Japanese is very simple.
-No loli pan! Pie only.

I think I also feel sorry for Crunchyroll viewers who never saw Bakemonogatari. This most be a vile mixture of confusing and boring to them. For me it was fun coming back to sideways conversations with old friends.

[bear]

That was a mixmaster of scenes.

Hitagi has gone back to her crazy as a loon persona. Araragi's gone back to calling her Senjōgahara again. I hope there's a reasonable explanation for the chaining him up since I like the more stable Hitagi even when she's teasing the hell out of Araragi. Maybe it's due to him going to see Sengoku.


Tsukihi does wear a kimono well. Or doesn't wear it (and that was good too).


Really liked the interaction with Mayoi but I was distracted because I want to know what in the hell is going on with Hitagi. And we haven't even gotten to Karen yet....

[bear]

Well, I never saw Bakemono but I decided to check this out anyways. The show has an interesting visual look it with every present bloom lighting. It really colorful yet kinda cold at the same time... I can't really describe it.

Soooo much back story that you're missing by not having seen Bakemono. Each of the characters except for the sisters have a major part in the previous story.

[sickVisionz]

Soooo much back story that you're missing by not having seen Bakemono. Each of the characters except for the sisters have a major part in the previous story.

I know that backstory would make it cooler but I wasn't confused by anything so I'm good. If they ever put the first series out on streaming or on disc, I'm intrigued enough to give it a shot.

[HitokiriShadow]

Oh, Hitagi and Mayoi, I've missed you so much.

And we finally get to meet Tsukihi. <3

We also get a tiny bit of Nadeko. I wasn't a huge fan of Nadeko in the first series (I liked her, but not nearly as much as everyone else except Tsubasa), but I like her a lot more now that Hanazawa Kana's voice means something to me.

No Karen though (well, technically there was, but 1 second shots with no dialogue really don't count), despite this being the first episode of her arc. Thatfits with how the Bakemonogatari stories (other than Hitagi's, due to being the first girl) were structured though.

Anyway, it was pretty much everything I was hoping it would be. All three of the girl's segments were fantastic. The show definitely still has the same charm and amazing dialogue as the first series.

[something]

Episode 1:

- And we start with Hitagi kidnapping Koyomi and keeping him chained in Meme's old place for days. A little extreme even for her, don't you think?
- Oh how I love Hitagi. This whole opening scene just feels like a love letter to all her fans. I mean, she's not my favorite but I'm definitely a fan.
- HAH. The things she says with a straight face... amazing.
- Ooooooh... I really really like Hitagi's OP. At least I assume it's hers and each girl is getting one again.

- Tsukihi cleavage... glorious. And her hair is short already. Hm.
- Tsukihi panties... The character art this season is just way too good.
- Nadekooooo!!! Oh Koyomi you densely dense densehead. :sd: Doesn't Nadeko know about Hitagi, though? She has to.
- Tsukihi legs... Heh, the sisters are kind of annoyed that Koyomi can't stand up to them anymore. Of course, he has reasons for not getting rough with them.

- MAYOI!! Haha, Koyomi, you're fooling no one. You're utterly delighted to see her.
- Maybe a bit too delighted.
- DEMONIC MAYOI! And... at first I was so devastated that she didn't mispronounce his name, but in the end she didn't let me down. <3
- ...That was some tortured reference there, Koyomi.
- Heh. Meme is part of Koyomi's harem. =D
- Love has been discounted to ¥298!
- Haha, have some respect for the fourth wall, Mayoi.

- Damn, this is the most Mayoi we've gotten since her episodes in Bake. And I am in heaven. I love love love love love love love Mayoi.
- "Courage" showdown!
- ARRRGH I LOVE THIS SHOW! So much Mayoi, so much COURAGE, so much awesome fun witty hilarious dialogue.
- "I've responded to consumer demand and I am wearing kiddy panties, they have a bunny on them!" XD

Oh god... the conversation at the end was incredible. Mayoi is right, she really is one of the only people that Koyomi truly feels comfortable going to with his problems. And you can see just how deeply he really does care about her, and she about him too. Absolutely fantastic. And CR nailed the subs in every way I could have wanted. They didn't go overboard on signs but still typeset a few things as needed, stylistically the translation was spot on, and it just reads really well in general. Hell we even got onii-chan. Fuck yes, this is the best possible news I could have this season. Nise every week on a set schedule with a translation I like at a time I can actually watch it without waiting for days? Am I dreaming?

Hell, this ep was so fantastic I totally forgot until now that Koyomi was chained to some desks in an abandoned building at the start, which didn't get explained! :sd:

This was every bit as great as the best episodes of Bake, at least for a Mayoi lover like me. So hell, it's over, I don't need to watch any other shows to say that we have the show of the season here. There's not a chance in hell of anything touching this.

[Fencedude]

Episode 1:
- Ooooooh... I really really like Hitagi's OP. At least I assume it's hers and each girl is getting one again.

OP: 「二言目」 (Futakotome)

二言目 – The Constant Burden of Some People’s Talk.

Or so says Rikaichan anyway.

[something]

Not sure how it happened, considering she cut it at the end of Bake (how long in this show has it been since then?), but I'm very glad Hitagi's hair is long again.
She didn't cut it in Bake, that's why we were all so surprised to see short hair in Nise promos. It's long in every scene of Bake 15, including the very final scene. Nobody cut their hair in Bake actually, hence it being so strange that no less than three separate girls did so or will do so (Tsukihi already, Tsubasa we haven't seen yet, Hitagi soon I suppose) for Nise.

[something]

Hitagi has gone back to her crazy as a loon persona. Araragi's gone back to calling her Senjōgahara again. I hope there's a reasonable explanation for the chaining him up since I like the more stable Hitagi even when she's teasing the hell out of Araragi. Maybe it's due to him going to see Sengoku.
My immediate assumption based on what we know of their relationship is that he was trying to involve himself in some selfless but extremely dangerous craziness again, and this is her way of keeping him out of it and forcing him to take better care of himself. However, in that case I would kind of have expected it to have come up during their fairly lengthy conversation, or at least for Koyomi to know full well that that's why she did it.

As for her reverting to her old ways, it could be explained as her knowing she "needed" (in her mind anyway) to do this, and so she might as well have some fun with it... hence Ararararyaaaagi saying she seemed to be enjoying it greatly. She's been suppressing her sadistic side for far too long. :sd:

[something]

Oh, I forgot to mention and didn't see anyone else mention... bastards are making us wait until episode two for Naisho no Hanashi, aren't they? I want my Claris!

But that just means even more reason to look forward to the next episode. Even if it can never hope to top Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari, which is only one of the absolute best songs ever written and all.

[Fencedude]

Oh, I forgot to mention and didn't see anyone else mention... bastards are making us wait until episode two for Naisho no Hanashi, aren't they? I want my Claris!

But that just means even more reason to look forward to the next episode. Even if it can never hope to top Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari, which is only one of the absolute best songs ever written and all.

Clearly its punishment for Mayoi's 4th wall breaking.

Though still, THERE HAD BETTER BE DANCING!

[something]

Not sure how it happened, considering she cut it at the end of Bake (how long in this show has it been since then?), but I'm very glad Hitagi's hair is long again.
She didn't cut it in Bake, that's why we were all so surprised to see short hair in Nise promos. It's long in every scene of Bake 15, including the very final scene. Nobody cut their hair in Bake actually, hence it being so strange that no less than three separate girls did so or will do so (Tsukihi already, Tsubasa we haven't seen yet, Hitagi soon I suppose) for Nise.
Ooh, one correction to this: She's barely in it so I didn't remember, but Tsukihi actually did cut her hair some time during Suruga's arc. We mostly see the Araragi imouto team at the end of the first three arcs, and that's about it:

Hitagi's arc: screenshot (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_tsukihi_1-hitagi.jpg)
Mayoi's arc: screenshot (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_tsukihi_2-mayoi.jpg)
Suruga's arc: screenshot (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_tsukihi_3-suruga.jpg)

Never noticed that before.

[something]

Clearly its punishment for Mayoi's 4th wall breaking.
Though still, THERE HAD BETTER BE DANCING!
I am slightly worried about one thing, though... Naisho no Hanashi is, at least from the PVs, a much... "poppier" song than Kimi no Shiranai. The latter worked really, really, really well at starting over the final scenes of episodes to build up the emotional impact of what was going on. I wonder if Naisho can do the same. Well, I'm sure they can make it work.

[nakimushi]

Not sure how it happened, considering she cut it at the end of Bake (how long in this show has it been since then?), but I'm very glad Hitagi's hair is long again.
She didn't cut it in Bake, that's why we were all so surprised to see short hair in Nise promos. It's long in every scene of Bake 15, including the very final scene. Nobody cut their hair in Bake actually, hence it being so strange that no less than three separate girls did so or will do so (Tsukihi already, Tsubasa we haven't seen yet, Hitagi soon I suppose) for Nise.
Ooh, one correction to this: She's barely in it so I didn't remember, but Tsukihi actually did cut her hair some time during Suruga's arc. We mostly see the Araragi imouto team at the end of the first three arcs, and that's about it:

Hitagi's arc: screenshot (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_tsukihi_1-hitagi.jpg)
Mayoi's arc: screenshot (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_tsukihi_2-mayoi.jpg)
Suruga's arc: screenshot (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_tsukihi_3-suruga.jpg)

Never noticed that before.


Well, I just rewatched the second part of the final episode of Tsubasa Cat, and and you are definitely right, Hitagi's hair was still long. I guess maybe I saw something similar to the right image from these promo images of Hitagi (http://img851.imageshack.us/img851/3736/chara03.gif) that made me think she had cut it, but from the other images it seems that she just has it tied up in the back. Or perhaps I was confusing it with these promo images of another character (http://img6.imageshack.us/img6/4637/chara07.gif) - Tsubasa . (Not sure if a hairstyle image counts as a spoiler - but obviously don't click if you want to wait to see it in the show. :) )

Oh, BTW, in the B part of the last episode of Tsubasa Cat, it looks like both sister's hair lengths and styles are similar to the image you posted from Hitagi's arc (Blu-Ray: T 00:44:06 - sorry, I can't do screen shots on my PS3). Perhaps she just has it tied up with that ribbon, in that picture from Suruga?

[bored@lazy]

So I guess the Hitagi/Koyomi scene at the start is the present whilst the rest of the episode is the beginning of the lead-up to it?
If that's true they probably did it this way just so there was some Hitagi in the first episode...

[something]

(Not sure if a hairstyle image counts as a spoiler - but obviously don't click if you want to wait to see it in the show. :) )
Not when she's all over the official site and PVs and such with short hair, so that's fine.

Oh, BTW, in the B part of the last episode of Tsubasa Cat, it looks like both sister's hair lengths and styles are similar to the image you posted from Hitagi's arc (Blu-Ray: T 00:44:06 - sorry, I can't do screen shots on my PS3). Perhaps she just has it tied up with that ribbon, in that picture from Suruga?
Ah yeah it is. Odd though, I considered part of her hair being tied up in the Suruga shot, but where did that short hair in the back come from? I don't know a lot about hair styling but... ohh I guess it could be tied up high in a sort of ponytail and so when it drops back down it's only to that length. I just noticed the subtle line distinguishing the back of her head from the hair coming down.

Okay so yeah it's long all the way through like the other girls and my first impression was right. So we really do have three girls cutting there hair either between seasons (Tsukihi, maybe Tsubasa) or at some point in this season (Hitagi). Odd.

[something]

If that's true they probably did it this way just so there was some Hitagi in the first episode...
I'd think "keeping the audience in suspense with a bizarre unexplained scene so they're eager to see more" had to be part of the consideration too. =P Having it involve Hitagi is a bonus of course.

[TheGreenMan]

So, the Karen Bee arc starts with...no Karen?
So Hitagi has kidnapped Koyomi...to keep him safe? I wonder if this takes place further into the Karen arc.
Tsukihi!
Karen is taller than him?
So, he's stand offish with his sisters because he's afraid of killing them.
Mayoi! The part with Koyomi chucking her in the air and kissing her is hilarious.
I guess he can only talk to her and Shinobu about his problems, because all three are supernatural.
I wonder if this season will have two arcs, one for Karen, and one for Tsukihi.

[Buckeye]

It's great to get back in the thick of things. Here, we get some references to other shows, especially the one where Mayoi called Koyomi Yomiko. All of the goodness of Bakemonogatari is back, where Hitagi is being Hitagi as usual, and Koyomi is using the summer trying to get up to speed on his academics. And then there was the scene where Koyomi was building up the courage. But since this is Karen's segment that I didn't get enough of her. But I think that's going to change in the next episode. I look forward to seeing what happens next.

[something]

I'd read something to this effect before, but this seems like the first official source: http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-6492.html

Nisemonogatari is only 11 episodes. Boo. But I suppose if that's all that is needed to tell the story, it'll be fine. Should also be a little cheaper to buy... here's hoping for 5 volumes, or at least 6 with a discounted volume. Or if they want to do 6-7 and add BD-only episodes, then okay whatever, that's fine too.

The interview also says they'd like to animate all the *monogatari stories. But of course they do. Printing money is fun.

[MelancholicMariya]

I'd read something to this effect before, but this seems like the first official source: http://yaraon.blog109.fc2.com/blog-entry-6492.html

Nisemonogatari is only 11 episodes. Boo. But I suppose if that's all that is needed to tell the story, it'll be fine. Should also be a little cheaper to buy... here's hoping for 5 volumes, or at least 6 with a discounted volume. Or if they want to do 6-7 and add BD-only episodes, then okay whatever, that's fine too.

The interview also says they'd like to animate all the *monogatari stories. But of course they do. Printing money is fun.

Yeah I basically read the end of that interview as

Interviewer: Do you like to make money?
Shinbo: Yes.

That said SHAFT will probably be making Monogatari for a long time depending on Nisemonogatari's sales/success, if Bakemonogatari's success didn't make that clear enough already.

[superdry]

Nisemonogatari is only 11 episodes. Boo. But I suppose if that's all that is needed to tell the story, it'll be fine. Should also be a little cheaper to buy... here's hoping for 5 volumes, or at least 6 with a discounted volume. Or if they want to do 6-7 and add BD-only episodes, then okay whatever, that's fine too.


I feel like 6 with discount volume is how it's going to be solicited. I chuckled a little when the show is going to be 11 episodes - I just have this feeling we might see a couple of web specials down the road.

Speaking of Shaft (decided to look at their wikipedia page) - I had no clue they worked on Jayce and Wheeled Warriors (along with Sunrise and other studios).

[something]

I feel like 6 with discount volume is how it's going to be solicited. I chuckled a little when the show is going to be 11 episodes - I just have this feeling we might see a couple of web specials down the road.
God I hope not. I'd rather have just 11 on-time broadcast episodes than repeat the Bake debacle.

[Westlo]

I feel like 6 with discount volume is how it's going to be solicited. I chuckled a little when the show is going to be 11 episodes - I just have this feeling we might see a couple of web specials down the road.

No you won't see any more since 11 episodes is more than enough to cover Nisemonogatari, I even had some LN readers on suki say that 13 was too much when I was speculating how they can handle the rest of the series.

I can't remember the exact numbers, either Andrew or one of the LN readers on Suki told me, but I think both Bakemonogatari novels are like 500 pages long whereas Nise 2 novels are like 300-350ish. (which is still massive for an LN, which is why this series sells for nearly twice as much as typical LNs). So 1000/15 = 66.6 pages per episode and 700/11 = 63.6 pages per episode.

And I'm not really sure on Kizu but I think it's closer to 400 than 350 so a 2 hour movie (the equivalent of 8 episodes) would be perfect for it. Than again Tsubasa's panty shot is like 4 pages worth of text in Kizu (I've read the opening chapter only) and that took like 20 seconds in the opening scene of Bake... you know what they say a picture is worth a thousand words.

[Westlo]

Though still, THERE HAD BETTER BE DANCING!

Thought it would've been a given but than looking through Andrew's old reviews of the monogatari series I saw that ED dancing line was straight from the novel.

"What's wrong?" Hachikuji asked. "You look like someone who made a lot of self-deprecating jokes about how his work would never be animated and then discovers that, by some freak accident, a deal has actually been made. But don't worry, it's not like you're being forced to write a sequel to an already completed work just because it's being animated. Personally, I'm looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of dance we'll be doing over the end credits."

Besides it's SHAFT anyway, even if the ED was suppose to have dancing in it we wouldn't see that version until Episode 5 or 6 and we'll get a placeholder animation for the next couple of episodes.

[Fencedude]

"What's wrong?" Hachikuji asked. "You look like someone who made a lot of self-deprecating jokes about how his work would never be animated and then discovers that, by some freak accident, a deal has actually been made. But don't worry, it's not like you're being forced to write a sequel to an already completed work just because it's being animated. Personally, I'm looking forward to it. I wonder what kind of dance we'll be doing over the end credits."

This is so super Meta that I think it just looped around backwards and became non-Meta.

[TheGreenMan]

Huh...I just noticed the giant paper airplane flying across the sky during the scene when Koyomi is talking about R.O.D.

[Fencedude]

Karen, Nadeko and Suruga this time. We also get Karen's OP sequence.

Some backstory on the "Fire Sisters" as well, though Koyomi says that they are just "fakes".

Karen demonstrates how to say cool things in uncool poses.

Nadeko really wants to get into Koyomi's pants, but her advances fly right by him.

And then Koyomi and Suruga discuss the finer points of nudity and BL.

[Sly05]

Shock! Shaft delivers on the proper OP and ED this week. They're both pretty good though the animation for the ED isn't as high energy as the song. I wonder if that's more or less the final version or if they will be adding to it as the series progresses?

I was unsure about Nadeko's deko hairstyle in the previews, but it grew on my this episode. Her plans for Araragi are spoiled by the arrival of her mother. Her clothes aren't that revealing though I'm sure mom might having something to say about playing Twister.

Long hair Suruga is love. Her being naked for most the episode was also a plus. Araragi being drawn like Mayoi when Suruga was undressing him at the end was hilarious. That will show him to question her pervertedness.

[EmperorBrandon]

It really seems to me the Game of Life turns up quite often in anime. Guess that's one of the more popular board games in Japan? Heh, it was amusing seeing Nadeko's "Black Scenes". She's really trying to get forward with Koyomi, though she's always going to be foiled... Karen and Suruga were a lot of fun this episode too. Want to see some more of Karen, and Suruga's scenes were full of hotness.

[strangefour]

-Ararararaargi Karen is a fighting game character.
-Ararararagi Tsuhiki is an exhibitionist.
-Imitation flame siblings?
-Much nicer OP this time. I prefer Sistermonogatari.
-Normally I like hairbands and high foreheads. But it doesn't work for the snake for some reason.
-In this world every room in Japan is HUGE.
-Thumbprint doorlock seems needlessly hightech.
-Snake is not wearing panties. Camera angles are flauntingly drawing attention to her nethers.
-Snake's body is very skilled at Twister.
-Cyborg zero zero monkey!
-Moron! Sugura needs more excuses to strip not less.
-Karen trains hard.
-Slayers of a thousand demons. Hell's guard dog. Deka Mastah!
-Monkey has a sexy butt.
-Erotic hair grows faster.
-Sugura in a jersey is hotter than her in tiny cutoffs and a tiny halter top.
-Monkey has a megane fetish.
-W... why is Arararararararagi wearing the snail's pigtails while the monkey molests him?
-Hello filler ending animation. How long will you be with us?

NAKED SUGURA!!!

[superdry]

I see Nadeko has mastered the half-falling off shirt skill that I though only Erio can do. Too bad her mom foiled the fun as I expecting to see the two playing Twister.

I don't remember too much of Karen in Bake, but she has fangs! She is immediately my favorite sister of the two and ratchets up to #2 on character I like in the series.

Yet another episode where not much happens, but it's the dialogue that made the episode extremely entertaining.

[something]

Episode 2:

- Naked sisters, yaaaaaaaay!
- Fuck yeah Karen OP! And it's awesome. So colorful! CR's 1090p stream held up with the intense motion on screen better than I expected too.

- NADEKOOOOO!!!!!!! naDEKO!!!!!! Zettai ryouiki! Gaaaah, she is far far far too cute.
- Nadeko butt!
- And a closet nobody can open. Hmmmmmmmmm.
- She's got an electronic lock on it. :sd: It must be her Koyomi closet.
- ...Nadeko. You're bad at this. And yet oh so good at the same time. Hahaha who the hell put her up to this? It had to be Suruga. Nobody else would teach her such things.
- I CANT HANDLE THIS MUCH NADEKO. !@&*#&!@*^#&*!@&#
- "Aren't you glad I'm such a gentleman?" No, no she's not. She's not glad at all. :sd:

- Oh, plot. Some hints at the Fire Sisters' latest meddling.
- Koyomi is right, this hairstyle is lovely on Nadeko.
- We'd already seen it in a PV or something, but Nadeko doing the backwards head flick is... intimidating, somehow. And oh god, Twister? I won't survive this. ...Really though she does know about Hitagi. Is she trying to seduce him anyway or is something else going on beneath the surface?
- Hahah, oh wow, Nadeko was seriously freaked when she found out her mom was coming back. And THAT POSE. O_O

- Because we clearly haven't had enough sexy in this episode... SURUGAAAAAAAAAAA!!!
- Courtesy dictates that you should be naked while talking on the phone!
- Hahahah, oh how I so desperately missed Suruga's banter with Koyomi. Sawashirooooooo!
- HAHAHA oh god, the grandmother bit... XD
- And Koyomi sprints over as fast as he can with a naughty grin on his face. :sd: He wants ti partake in her misery.

- ...Hey there, Karen.
- She's awesome. And lol camera angles.
- Hasta la vista! Koyomi's relationship with Karen is already quite fascinating. Can't wait to see more.
- TV censorship. ;_; They showed her ass in the CM, but it's covered by books in the broadcast. Why would you do this? Suruga's ass demands to be seen!
- Even so, hearing Miyukichi voice a naked Suruga lounging around on a pile of porn is... ...stimulating.

- Suruga in that tube top. Almost as hot as naked.
- ERO ERO! Ahahaha, what a brilliant non seqiter.
- Throwing out her porn? She'll kill you, Arararagi.
- Koyomi, what are you doing!? Telling suruga she's normal? You are destroying her very identity! ;_;
- Ahahaha he went too far. Also, Koyomi with Mayoi hair... terrifying.
- ...And now he knows what it's like to be on the other end. Heh.

Naisho no Hanashi! It's no Kimi no Shiranai, and I wouldn't really put it above other Claris stuff I've heard either, but it's still a very catchy, very fun song. But as I noted before, I just hope it's up to the task of handling the more dramatic/emotional episode endings.

Overall, brilliant once again. While the Mayoi conversation in ep 1 still tops anything in this episode for me, the sheer overwhelming sexiness of this episode really makes up for it.

[something]

-Hello filler ending animation. How long will you be with us?
Not convinced it is a placeholder, or even that it'll see significant changes. The style is pretty consistent with Bake's EDs. This could well be the final one, although I do expect multiple ED animations to be used, like in Bake.

[TheGreenMan]

In this episode we learn that:

Nadeko is the cutest horny little sister type in anime. I love how she keeps adjusting her straps on her tank top.
Karen is super humanly athletic and cute in her own way. Asta la vista! And her style of dress is truly bee like.
And never question Suruga's pervertness.
And Koyomi can perform a body switch jitsu technique with Mayoi.

[HitokiriShadow]

Now we get to meet Karen. She's lots of fun, but at least for the moment, I'm partial to Tsukihi.

So Karen and Tsukihi are defenders of justice. Not just good guys but goodness itself! And Araragi has a pretty harsh opinion of them.

Wow, Nadeko is going for Koyomi hard. She had no intention of letting Koyomi leave that room with her virginity intact. They're going to play Twister... Oh! I read that doujin.

"I'm speaking to you therefore logic dictates I must be naked." I love how you think, Kanbaru.

[HitokiriShadow]

And oh god, Twister? I won't survive this.

Seriously, there is a doujin about this. Though sadly, it lacks Hanazawa's delicious attempts at seduction.

...Really though she does know about Hitagi. Is she trying to seduce him anyway or is something else going on beneath the surface?How much does she know about Hitagi? I don't recall them ever meeting, so she might not know what Hitagi is like. I'd love to see several *monogatari series of Nadeko trying to seduce Araragi, eventually resulting in an epic Nadeko/Hitagi fight.

- Hahah, oh wow, Nadeko was seriously freaked when she found out her mom was coming back. And THAT POSE. O_O

That looked like a pretty clear sign of a yandere in training to me. Seriously, Nadeko vs. Hitagi. It would be the best catfight ever.

[something]

How much does she know about Hitagi? I don't recall them ever meeting, so she might not know what Hitagi is like. I'd love to see several *monogatari series of Nadeko trying to seduce Araragi, eventually resulting in an epic Nadeko/Hitagi fight.
I don't think she's familiar enough with Hitagi to comprehend the 3,000 different ways she would be killed if Hitagi found out what she did, but I'd be surprised if she didn't know Koyomi was dating someone. But who knows, Koyomi hasn't seen her much since her arc and Nadeko would be more familiar with Shinobu and Suruga than Hitagi, so maybe not.

[bear]

I don't think she's familiar enough with Hitagi to comprehend the 3,000 different ways she would be killed if Hitagi found out what she did, but I'd be surprised if she didn't know Koyomi was dating someone. But who knows, Koyomi hasn't seen her much since her arc and Nadeko would be more familiar with Shinobu and Suruga than Hitagi, so maybe not.
But by now Koyomi should understand how close he is coming to something worse than death by even thinking about fooling around with someone besides Hitagi. Maybe that's why he's chained up. Or maybe it's one of the other girls Hitagi is trying to save him from? (Don't tell me if you know).

Anybody have an idea of how many stories in this cour? Just Karen bee or will there be multiples?

[HitokiriShadow]

But by now Koyomi should understand how close he is coming to something worse than death by even thinking about fooling around with someone besides Hitagi. Maybe that's why he's chained up. Or maybe it's one of the other girls Hitagi is trying to save him from? (Don't tell me if you know).

The dialogue in the scene plus who's arc this is implies it's Karen he's being protected from.

Anybody have an idea of how many stories in this cour? Just Karen bee or will there be multiples?

Just two. Karen Bee and Tsukihi _________.

[something]

Just two. Karen Bee and Tsukihi _________.
Yeah, gotta get both sisters in there, but I don't think we'll see anyone else get a named arc.

I assume we're getting 6 volumes, if no bonus ep to round it out, then a discount on the 6th. The first BD is called 「偽物語」かれんビー（上）, and where there's a 上 there's usually a 中 and 下 (though it can just be 上 and 下), so we can probably assume 3 each. The episode distribution is unclear though. Maybe we can ignore episode 1 and say that they'll each get 5 real episodes, ending Karen at 6 and Tsukihi at 11.

[HitokiriShadow]

The first BD is called 「偽物語」かれんビー（上）, and where there's a 上 there's usually a 中 and 下 (though it can just be 上 and 下), so we can probably assume 3 each.

I've seen them used more often without the 中 (middle) than with.

The episode distribution is unclear though. Maybe we can ignore episode 1 and say that they'll each get 5 real episodes, ending Karen at 6 and Tsukihi at 11.

Pretending episode 1 wasn't actually part of Karen's arc would be odd. The only basis to argue for that is that the first episode didn't have the OP/ED. But it was titled "Karen Bee 1" and the only way this episode was more like a "real" episode was that Karen herself appeared in it. Well, okay, I guess that second point could be used as evidence as well, but it still seems like a very strange distinction to make.

[something]

Pretending episode 1 wasn't actually part of Karen's arc would be odd. The only basis to argue for that is that the first episode didn't have the OP/ED. But it was titled "Karen Bee 1" and the only way this episode was more like a "real" episode was that Karen herself appeared in it. Well, okay, I guess that second point could be used as evidence as well, but it still seems like a very strange distinction to make.
I'm not saying it's not Karen Bee Part 1, I'm saying you cant divide 11 by 2 and get a whole number. So unless there's another arc in the middle or at the end to mix things up, I'm guessing Karen's arc will officially be the six episode one, and Tsukihi's will be the five episode one, but it'll be more or less even since episode one was a Karen episode in name only.

[HitokiriShadow]

I'm not saying it's not Karen Bee Part 1, I'm saying you cant divide 11 by 2 and get a whole number. So unless there's another arc in the middle or at the end to mix things up, I'm guessing Karen's arc is the one that'll score six episodes and Tsukihi will get "only" five, but it'll be basically even since episode one was a Karen episode in name only.

I see what your saying in terms of why you think Karen will be the one to get six episodes. I agree, as they've spent the first two episodes with massive amounts of time spent on the Bake girls and we still haven't gotten to Tsubasa, so it would be odd to give the Karen Bee the smaller episode count.

But I still think its odd to say that episode one was Karen Bee in name only and this one isn't, when the episode's content was pretty much the same. Yes, Karen actually appeared in this one, but both episodes built up the Karen Bee storyline about the same.

[Westlo]

I see what your saying in terms of why you think Karen will be the one to get six episodes. I agree, as they've spent the first two episodes with massive amounts of time spent on the Bake girls and we still haven't gotten to Tsubasa, so it would be odd to give the Karen Bee the smaller episode count.

I don't think we'll see Tsubasa in Karen Bee... IIRC the day that we're currently @ she's busy since she canceled her tutoring session... and Hitagi "kidnaps" Koyomi at the end of that night?

[nakimushi]

That was by far the most unexpected apology that I have ever seen. Both in who offered it, and even more so, why it was offered. :)

It was also set up beautifully by Suruga's earlier comment.

[Fencedude]

Well. The plot just arrived at full speed.

Really want to know whats up with Hitagi and Tsubasa. Just how did Tsubasa manage to out-alpha Hitagi?

[strangefour]

-Literary sculpture garden.
-Hahaha. Suruga is playing Marry/Fuck/Kill with Arararagi's life.
-KOI KOI! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nlS8KU6p4o)
-Staple. Staple. Bleed. Karen's OP is better.
-Mister dead tree. Kay. Now old men are flirting with Arararagi?
-Crab is the best horrible girlfriend ever.
-Senjogahara has five evil ex-conmen that Arararagi must defeat.
-Imouto danger. Ararararararararararagi Powah!

Well that was odd. But ~gatara is always odd in a fun way.

[HitokiriShadow]

Kanbaru's mother? I remember Hitagi having issues with her mother, but I don't remember anything about Kanbaru's mother coming up in Bake.

Lot's of wonderful Hitagi in this episode. Most of it is Hitagi.... well, being Hitagi. And its awesome. But near the end, we get something truly special (even by Hitagi standards): she shows her rare, glorious dere (kind of) side.

Then Hitagi has a very bizarre phone conversation that causes her to act very.... not like herself. At all. She was..... docile. Submissive. The person on the other end of the line was in completely in control of the conversation. It's possible Hitagi was just putting on an act for some reason, but it sure didn't seem like it.

And that person is..... Tsubasa!?!? What. the. Fuck.


Oh, and the plot comes in full force this episode. Hitagi wasn't protecting Araragi from Karen, she was trying to protect him from the creepy and clearly dangerous man that he met in front of Kanbaru's house. And Hitagi has a history with him.

[something]

Episode 3:

- Ahahaha, romance is complicated. Koyomi will dump Hitagi, marry Tsubasa, take Suruga and Nadeko as mistresses, and that will all mean he loves Mayoi. XD
- That shot of Suruga's head on top of Koyomi's. o_O
- Suruga in that tube top is beautiful. ;_;
- Anyway she drops a pretty interesting line about Tsubasa and Hitagi. Hmmmmmmmmm.
- Ohhhhh you can just hear the pity and disdain in Suruga's voice when Koyomi obliviously talks about playing Twister with Nadeko. And those shots of Nadeko... [1] (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_nadeko_ep3_cr_01.jpg), [2] (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_nadeko_ep3_cr_02.jpg), [3] (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_nadeko_ep3_cr_03.jpg), [4] (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/bake_nadeko_ep3_cr_04.jpg), woooow. 1 and 3 especially. ..."Last Boss" indeed. Or the last boss is Koyomi's obliviousness. :sd:
- Ahaha, oh hey Shaft, finished Hitagi's OP, did you? Assuming this even is finished... And jeeze, poor Karen, gets the OP 1 out of 3 times so far in her own show.

- ...Suruga talking about hiding her arm, and the distance from her family, is kind of depressing. ;_; But it does fit in with Koyomi's attempts to determine what he should and shouldn't say to his family about what's happened to him.

- Enter Kaiki. That is one gloomy guy. Also a name drop for that guy from the Bake ep 1 prologue. Need to wait for Kizu for that I assume.

- Hitagi! Koyomi totally pulls an Akira-like bike brake maneuver.
- Haha, Hitagi steals Mayoi's schtick. And she's sure laying into Koyomi. As usual.
- Hitagi can tell all the girls you've met today. "Danger Zone" indeed, Ararararagi-kun.
- Ohhhhhhh the tension. Hitagi, you're truly amazing. (Even if I like Mayoi more!)

- Here we go! This is why Gahara-san chained Koyomi up. She heard the name "Kaiki" and that was that.
- Oh shit. Hitagi indeed has a relationship to him... he's one of the "frauds" that failed to help her before Koyomi and Meme succeeded.
- This was an interesting moment. Koyomi rejects the same label he puts on his sisters. But isn't that hypocritical? He sticks his neck out and meddles in others' affairs, no matter how well-intentioned, all the time. It's intresting that he doesn't see the double standard there.
- Ffffffffffff holy shit. We always knew that, deep down, Koyomi really loved his sisters. But this is a hell of a way of driving that home. The second he hears they're in trouble... wow. That was cool.
- Ffffffffffff*2. Someone who can make Hitagi wilt in seconds and become obedient. Kaiki is too easy a guess, so it can't be that. Which only leaves... Tsubasa.

And that's who it was. I am more fascinated than ever to explore Hitagi and Tsubasa's relationship.

Wow... to be perfectly honest, I feel like Nise is exciting in ways that Bake never was. Bake had its own charms, and appealed in some ways Nise doesn't, but with more episodes to develop a storyline (not just 2-3 per girl) I feel like Nise is setting up something... grander, something more explosive. Even if not in delivery, at least in set-up. And while it kills me to have to wait another week to find out more, it'll be so utterly worth it.

Yep. Unquestionably still #1 of Winter.

[Fencedude]

Episode 3:

- Ffffffffffff*2. Someone who can make Hitagi wilt in seconds and become obedient. Kaiki is too easy a guess, so it can't be that. Which only leaves... Tsubasa.

This is one of those moments where you have to reevaluate everything you know about a character.

...have Tsubasa and Hitagi actually been on screen together at all?

[something]

...have Tsubasa and Hitagi actually been on screen together at all?
Only scene that comes to mind is in the very ending of Bake, when Koyomi, Suruga, Tsubasa, and Hitagi are walking around town together after they realize Meme has left. And then it ends back at school with this (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/Coalgirls-pem_Bakemonogatari_15_1920x1080_Blu-Ray_FLAC_2231473E05-07-01.jpg).

[Fencedude]

...have Tsubasa and Hitagi actually been on screen together at all?
Only scene that comes to mind is in the very ending of Bake, when Koyomi, Suruga, Tsubasa, and Hitagi are walking around town together after they realize Meme has left. And then it ends back at school with this (http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t299/anon09876/Coalgirls-pem_Bakemonogatari_15_1920x1080_Blu-Ray_FLAC_2231473E05-07-01.jpg).

...

I just realized the thematic significance of Hitagi's staplers.

[Westlo]

- Ahaha, oh hey Shaft, finished Hitagi's OP, did you? Assuming this even is finished... And jeeze, poor Karen, gets the OP 1 out of 3 times so far in her own show.

She'll probably get the OP for the rest of her arc, unless we have another heavy Hitagi episode. I would like to see a Shinobu OP down the line if possible because Maaya is easily the best singer of the female seiyuus in this show. Maybe the Kizumonogatari theme will be a supercell song with Maaya as the vocalist, actually that would be pretty damn awesome.

[Fencedude]

She'll probably get the OP for the rest of her arc, unless we have another heavy Hitagi episode. I would like to see a Shinobu OP down the line if possible because Maaya is easily the best singer of the female seiyuus in this show. Maybe the Kizumonogatari theme will be a supercell song with Maaya as the vocalist, actually that would be pretty damn awesome.

I'm amazed by how many times Maaya is in a show but doesn't do any singing (why yes, Gundam Seed Destiny, I'm really looking at you here), at least Mizuki Nana generally does at least one song for the shows she's in.

[Westlo]

She'll probably get the OP for the rest of her arc, unless we have another heavy Hitagi episode. I would like to see a Shinobu OP down the line if possible because Maaya is easily the best singer of the female seiyuus in this show. Maybe the Kizumonogatari theme will be a supercell song with Maaya as the vocalist, actually that would be pretty damn awesome.

I'm amazed by how many times Maaya is in a show but doesn't do any singing (why yes, Gundam Seed Destiny, I'm really looking at you here), at least Mizuki Nana generally does at least one song for the shows she's in.

Well I would guess that is because Mizuki is just about a legit jpop starlet these days while Maaya is still really a singing seiyuu, though in her own class in that regard imo.

At least she's doing the theme for the Code Geass Akito OVAs. It's RahXephon all over again, Maaya Sakomoto OP composed by Yoko Kanno with the score composed by Ichiko Hashimoto. Hemisphere is probably my fav Maaya and Kanno team up... (and by default that makes it my fav Maaya song) hopefully this is half as good...

[Fencedude]

Hemisphere is probably my fav Maaya and Kanno team up... (and by default that makes it my fav Maaya song) hopefully this is half as good...

Hemisphere is still her best song.

Though Kiseki no Umi gives it a good run, but it also floats a bit on the strength of its animation.

[HitokiriShadow]

Hemisphere is probably my fav Maaya and Kanno team up... (and by default that makes it my fav Maaya song) hopefully this is half as good...

Hemisphere is still her best song.

Though Kiseki no Umi gives it a good run, but it also floats a bit on the strength of its animation.

Kiseki no Umi? *investigates* Oh, I never saw Record of the Lodoss War though I had wanted to many years ago. Its a nice song, but I think Hemisphere beats it by a long shot.

[TheGreenMan]

Nadeko might be the final boss...but Tsubasa is the alpha female.

[Damius]

So I’m watching the first episode of the show I will import this season! Let’s see!

- " Oh, you are awake…I was afraid you might have died!"
- Well…that’s a unique way to give water isn’t it, Hitagi?
- Oh wow…just wow…this was awesome… Best opening scene of the current season… You were awesome Hitagi!
- So now Tsukihi is back! And yeah…her first scene was way too good…cleavage…panties and Kimono!
- And now Sengoku voice! Lovely!
- And again…beautiful shots of Tsukihi… ^_^
- And here is Mayoi!!!
- Koyomi, you aren’t the only one who missed Mayoi! No doubt!
- Ok…this is quite an introduction…
- Mad Mayoi Mode!
- Yeah…Mayoi is way too awesome!
- Challenge accepted!
- They know how to end episode…WOW!

And yeah this is what I will import this season! I can’t wait to watch more of it.

[Sly05]

What? Shinobu talks! Just as surprising is how talkative she turns out to be and she spends half the episode talking to Araragi in the bath (and naked). Tsukihi walking in on them and then coming back armed with a knife was gold.

For all the Fire Sister's talk of being justice, its cute that they both basically want to be like their older brother. I am hoping we get to see more scenes with Araragi interacting with them directly and not using Tsubasa as an intermediary.

I much prefer the new animation in the ED. I think it fits the energy of the music much better.

[Fencedude]

Haha. Wow. Shinobu. Was not expecting that. That being said, she talks exactly like I'd expect.

Tsubasa's new hairstyle still takes some getting used to though.

[EmperorBrandon]

Given the seiyuu announcement, I wasn't surprised that Shinobu started talking, but I was more surprised that once she started, she went on the whole rest of the episode with Araragi and never seemed to stop. Some pretty awesome and intriguing stuff with her too. The moment with Tsukihi catching them in the bath was hilarious too.

[strangefour]

-Tsubasa cut her hair and got contacts? I don't like Tsubasa anymore.
-The fire sisters are fake heroes.
-Damn Kaiki.
-Hello loli vamp. Why are you naked?
-She talks! Did she just eat a whole box of Crispie Creams?
-Metal donuts. Heh. Of course Ararararagi couldn't have broken those chains by himself.
-400 years without a bath... eww.
_Kah-kah!
-Little little sister was about to become homocidal. *gulp*
-Oh ho! Welcome to the life of an immortal Aarararagi.

That was more naked little vampire girl than I could ever be prepared for.

[bear]

Can someone clear up a cultural question for me? Tsubasa was ragging on Araragi about using -chan with the girls names. Was it because he started using it and he hadn't before, or is that something a brother wouldn't do?

[Westlo]

Shinobu = straight to the top, really glad they got Maaya.. now I really can't wait for Kizu... I think this scene will take on a whole new dimension after watching Kizu.

Can someone clear up a cultural question for me? Tsubasa was ragging on Araragi about using -chan with the girls names. Was it because he started using it and he hadn't before, or is that something a brother wouldn't do?

It's more how he was talking to them and than how he thought of them. He speaks to them like

"I'll ask once more bigger little sister".

But when he talked to Tsubasa he let his guard down was calling them Karen-chan etc, in other words that how he thinks about them but when talking to them he puts up this front. Also shown when he was talking to Shinobu.

"The problem is how to get her... Well I suppose there's no point in being faking this in front of you.. Karen-chan.

[HitokiriShadow]

Whoa, I barely recognized Tsubasa. Tsubasa giving Koyomi grief for calling his sisters "Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan" was pretty funny. And Tsubasa sure was quite intimate with Karen in that shot of them when Koyomi was talking about the phone call.

Tsubasa seems very different from Bake. But then, I realize that I really don't remember much of her from Bake.

And then, Shinobu! Holy shit, she talks!!! A LOT. And she's awesome. Ka ka!

For some strange reason, my interest in seeing Kizumonogatari has skyrocketed...

[something]

Episode 4:

- Tsubasa!!! ...Who was actually my least favorite Bake girl by far. Not bad, just nowhere near the others. But, short hair alpha-female Tsubasa, who makes Koyomi shit his pants and has Hitagi totally whipped, I have a feeling I'm going to like her quite a lot more.
- And this is obviously immediately after the last ep since Koyomi still has the broken handcuffs on.
- I'm starting to think Tsubasa got the best result out of the major haircuts (Tsukihi, Tsubasa and Hitagi). I didn't think I'd like it much at all, but it suits her.
- Man, Koyomi is getting destroyed. Everyone is playing every side in a manner to totally neutralize him.
- No OP. Karen's arc will be over in 1 or 2 more eps, and she's had one OP. :sd:

- BANANA CHAIR.
- Ahahah, Tsubasa scores a critical hit. Tsukihi-chan! Karen-chan! Koyomi is revealed as the imouto-loving oniichan he is. Awww.
- His excuses are futile. Tsubasa knows all. =D Yeah, I like her so much more right now.
- Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan! Karen-chan and Tsukihi-chan!
- Oh that shot of TSubasa helping Karen with useful information... delicious.
- And of course it's Kaiki Karen ran into.
- That's one hell of a bathroom.
- HAH, so that's how Tsubasa tamed Hitagi. She basically threatened to steal her boyfriend. And Hitagi, confident woman though she may be, wasn't confident enough that she could compete with Tsubasa... Damn, you play dirty, Tsubasa.

- SUDDENLY SHINOBU! NAKED SHINOBU! And she TALKS! A lot! And has a Horo-type accent! And a personality! WHAT IS GOING ON MY WORLD IS TURNING UPSIDE DOWN AND I'M LIKING IT VERY MUCH. Shionbu is instantly my second favorite *monogatari girl after Mayoi.
- Ahhh, Shinobu cut the handcuffs/chains surrounding Koyomi, it wasn't just his vampire strength. Or well, she is his vampire strength I guess.
- Nakedness is wonderful. It adds this layer of intense intimacy to Koyomi and Shinobu's relationship that really sells the idea that they're inextricably bound in so many ways. She lives in his shadow, of all things. And he doesn't freak out either. Hell, he's standing there, naked, washing her hair. That's pretty damn intimate. Epic skinship.
- (PS: Nise totally doesn't have blatant fanservice for the sake of fanservice! Nope, not one bit! loooool. Seriously, there's more fanservice per minute in this show that virtually anything I've seen in my life. It gets away with it because it's just incredibly sexy, inventive, well-executed fanservice that works alongside the brilliant writing, not replaces the need for it in the creators' minds. But pretending 95% of this isn't intended to make otaku go crazy and buy the BDs is the most laughably naive thing in the world.)
- Hahaha, Araragi Koyomi, LOLIMASTER. He can go hang out with Hei. Watching Shinobu tease him is too fun.

- HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! I didn't think Tsukihi would be able to see Shinobu. Well, she clearly can. Fucking brilliant.
- And she comes back with a knife. XDDDDD
- Jeeze, Shinobu has cute feet. I don't like feet, they weird me out most of the time, but I guess SHionbu is a rare exception. Also, I have to wonder how much the BDs will dial back the censorship. Probably not much, I mean, there's not a lot of need to. Not much is left to the imagination already, but there's no need to go full-on nipples or anything.
- Well there goes a mindfuck for Koyomi. He hadn't considered that he might live for centuries. And all he'll have is Shinobu after everyone else dies. Well, Mayoi should still be around. She's already dead. Lolimaster indeed.

Like half an episode of a conversation with a loli vampire in the bathtub. How fucking epic is that. Goddamn.

And so incredibly effective. In one episode, everything that was only hinted at previously about Koyomi and Shinobu's relationship was fully developed. I don't mean in terms of plot, we still don't know how they came to be together (Kizuuuuuuu) or what the exact history since then was. But in terms of a character dynamic. As phenomenally bursting with fanservice as this episode was, there was little sexual (sexy, but not sexual) about it between them. It was incredibly, deeply, profoundly intimate. And now the relationship between Koyomi and Shinobu is something truly amazing, fascinating, intriguing. Karen may be getting almost completely ignored in her own arc, but they're using the time to such gorgeously executed effect for all the other girls that I just cannot complain at all.

Still show of the season. Nothing else compares, and there are a lot of ridiculously great shows this season.

(Edit: Oh, and Shaft decided to finish the ED, lol)

[Fencedude]

I think it would have been pretty interesting to hear Hirano Aya in this role...

Anyway, Shinobu sounds very much like Mina Tepes, unsurprisingly, there is a certain way blonde, loli vampires have to sound, after all.

And now I'm imagining a tea party between Shinobu, Mina Tepes and Evangeline A.K. McDowell.

[something]

But when he talked to Tsubasa he let his guard down was calling them Karen-chan etc, in other words that how he thinks about them but when talking to them he puts up this front. Also shown when he was talking to Shinobu.
"The problem is how to get her... Well I suppose there's no point in being faking this in front of you.. Karen-chan.
Right, it's not anything inherently weird for him to use -chan with them, but it does contradict the tough, emotionally distant facade he keeps up around them. It's also why translators should leave the damn honorifics in, so fuck yeah Nise translator. Whoever he is, he's my hero so far. Every episode has read beautifully and the billions of lines of dialogue have been easy to read and comprehend.

Tsubasa seems very different from Bake. But then, I realize that I really don't remember much of her from Bake.
She spent most of Bake either being hit by her dad, possessed by a cat demon, and just generally not in a position to really project a confident exterior. Since hers was the last arc, we never really got a "post-arc" Tsubasa to see what she's like when she's not dealing with a huge amount of stress and its supernatural side effects. And what do ya know, she turns out to be the scariest one. :sd: Sometimes a smile and a quick wit can be more threatening than a stapler.

[something]

I think it would have been pretty interesting to hear Hirano Aya in this role...
Anyway, Shinobu sounds very much like Mina Tepes, unsurprisingly, there is a certain way blonde, loli vampires have to sound, after all.
Yeah, Aya would have done perfectly fine. It would have been different, but it would have been different with any good seiyuu, and I can pretty much hear a voice in my head like what she should have used, and I like it. But what we got worked really damn well too so it's all good. I'm looking forward to her talking a lot more. I wonder how the voice might change for Kizu...

[HitokiriShadow]

And now I'm imagining a tea party between Shinobu, Mina Tepes and Evangeline A.K. McDowell.

As I was reading a comment somewhere, I just realized that all three of those had been animated by Shaft (at least at some point, as Eva also has a non-Shaft version, but Shaft has done most of it at this point). And Shaft animated Tsukuyomi Moon Phase as well. I guess Shinbo has a thing for vampire lolis, particularly blonde ones.



Tsubasa seems very different from Bake. But then, I realize that I really don't remember much of her from Bake.
She spent most of Bake either being hit by her dad, possessed by a cat demon, and just generally not in a position to really project a confident exterior. Since hers was the last arc, we never really got a "post-arc" Tsubasa to see what she's like when she's not dealing with a huge amount of stress and its supernatural side effects. And what do ya know, she turns out to be the scariest one. :sd: Sometimes a smile and a quick wit can be more threatening than a stapler.

Ah, right, I had forgotten about the father issue, which is the kind of thing that might cause someone to behave much differently than usual and result in her being very depressed and reserved in Bake even if that wasn't what she was normally like. Though when I made that post, I didn't even remember her being depressed, I just vaguely remembered some scenes of her, primarily helping Koyomi study, in which she was... just kind of there, reserved and low-key, and just not making much of an impact in terms of personality, at least that I could remember.

But yeah, the father stuff and that more or less being dealt with, at least for now, would certainly explain a personality shift.

[Damius]

- Nice shots of both sisters! You can never go wrong with them!
- Karen OP! Love all the colors and how they work with them in it. Awesomeness!!
- Yeah…we finaly meet Nadeko!!
- Nadeko…how far will you go…with the…poses?
- And now we meet Suruga…
- Suruga…and like if the sexiness level was not high enough already…we have Suruga stripping already…
- Suruga was seen by her grandmother!?!
- And here is, Karen!!!
- She is just too awesome! Flexible…
- I want to listen to that heroic tale!
- See you later Karen!
- Welcome back Suruga!!
- Booo…to the censorship! Want the BDs NOW!
- Damn…the level of sexiness in this episode is off the chart!
- Suruga: “By that theory, how many girls would you need to marry?” LOL!
- Koyomi…don’t talk like that to Suruga!!!
- Koyomi, you see what is happening when you speak about Suruga like that? You should have known!

Another awesome episode we have here!! This show is just something else… We also learned more about the Fire Sisters!

[Suwako Moriya]

Are we sure Hitagi isn't a villain? Oh, wait she's a yandere. Or maybe something else. Either way she's becoming creepier than I remember.

It's so nice to see the return of Mayoi.

Seems like the relationship with the sisters is mixed.

In some ways this feels more like a character re-introduction episode than the start of an arc.

[Suwako Moriya]

I'd watch a series about the adventures of Karen and Tsukihi

Nadeko has "convinced" me of how glorious she really is. The choice of outfit and the poses. They say everything that needs to be said. I'm surprised anyone can resist.

[Westlo]

From what I heard the Shinobu scene was 99% fully adapted from the Light Novel, not counting inner monologues which you rarely see adapted in anime. The missing part? Shinobu will no longer be wearing that helmet, because it's lame.

I think it would have been pretty interesting to hear Hirano Aya in this role...
Anyway, Shinobu sounds very much like Mina Tepes, unsurprisingly, there is a certain way blonde, loli vampires have to sound, after all.
Yeah, Aya would have done perfectly fine. It would have been different, but it would have been different with any good seiyuu, and I can pretty much hear a voice in my head like what she should have used, and I like it. But what we got worked really damn well too so it's all good. I'm looking forward to her talking a lot more. I wonder how the voice might change for Kizu...

I personally thought Maaya's Shinobu was channeling Ami Koshimizu's Holo pretty hardcore, but I guess it makes sense considering the age of those characters.

Also Aya Hirano would've done an acceptable Shinobu we saw here, the problem most people had with her role casting was for Kizumonogatari. She is definitely not going to sound the same as she did in this episode.... an 8 year old kid to late twenties/eraly thirties from the looks of the Bake OP for Episode 1.

I think Maaya got the gig because when it comes to tough/mature sounding women these days, Maaya is the go to girl for not only Aniplex but also Square Enix. I would say that had more to do with the recasting than any issues Aya had or fan unrest.

Personally I'm happy with how things turned out, Maaya's been a fav of mine since Escaflowne which was one of my first anime titles. I also think she is hands down a superior seiyuu and singer and not many in the industry are anywhere near her level when you combine those two facets.

[Fencedude]

I personally thought Maaya's Shinobu was channeling Ami Koshimizu's Holo pretty hardcore, but I guess it makes sense considering the age of those characters.

To the extent that Horo uses the same accent as Mina and Shinobu, sure, but Mina is a much closer comparison on every level, and I wouldn't be surprised if Ao-chan's Mina was used as a baseline for what they were shooting for in terms of vocal range.

[superdry]

Whoa. That was Tsubasa? Didn't full recognize her until her name was mentioned. She looks young and spry with that haircut and no glasses - I think it suits her better than what she had (I do dread the episode where Senjougahara has her haircut...if that actually happens). And, she's pretty scary even as a normal person....

Shinobu! talks....a lot. The whole conversation was fun even though it was half the episode.

I loved when Tsuhiki came back to the bathroom with a knife. =D

What kind of place does Araragi live in? That's one crazy, big house.

[sickVisionz]

I've got a quick question about the story.

At the end of episode 3 Araragi gets a text saying that his sister needs help. Am I correct in assuming that almost everything that happens in episode 4, with the exception of the 3 second flashback to Karen being sick, takes place after the situation with his sister has been dealt with and that the problem and the solution to it were never shown?

[Westlo]

I've got a quick question about the story.

At the end of episode 3 Araragi gets a text saying that his sister needs help. Am I correct in assuming that almost everything that happens in episode 4, with the exception of the 3 second flashback to Karen being sick, takes place after the situation with his sister has been dealt with and that the problem and the solution to it were never shown?

Light novel order.

-Araragi asked Senjougahara where she left his bycicle, and she told him she parked it right next to a dump site. Araragi was a bit upset at the way the Valhalla Combi treats his bikes. He still was gentleman enough to escort her home though.
-"I'm right" is really the first thing Karen said. The conversation starts here

As you can see nothing was skipped in regards to Karen. I don't know who messaged Koyomi but as you can see in the flashbacks Karen was pretty sick so I'm guessing it was Tsukihi. By the time Koyomi got back home though Karen recovered enough to be able to put that front up.

Don't forget that the entire issue with Karen is the fire bee or whatever, hasn't been resolved yet.

[Westlo]

The second volume is solicited and it has 3 episodes and is Karen Bee Middle... so the 3rd disc will probably have 2 episodes and finish the arc off.

So 7 for Karen Bee
4 for the second book.

I'm guessing Nise 2 had quite a few pages less than Nise 1 than...

[ultimatemegax]

The second volume is solicited and it has 3 episodes and is Karen Bee Middle... so the 3rd disc will probably have 2 episodes and finish the arc off.

So 7 for Karen Bee
4 for the second book.

I'm guessing Nise 2 had quite a few pages less than Nise 1 than...

Nise 1 (http://www.bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=2836793): 322 pgs
Nise 2 (http://www.bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=2837021): 324 pgs

For reference:
Bake 1 (http://www.bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=2836025): 446 pgs (8 episodes;55.75 pgs/episode)
Bake 2 (http://www.bookclub.kodansha.co.jp/bc2_bc/search_view.jsp?b=2836076): 402 pgs (7 episodes;57.42 pgs/episode)
If we go by around 56 pgs an episode that Bake did, we'd get 5.75 episodes for each Nise novel, so the 6/5 split would not be unexpected. But that begs the question why Aniplex put three episodes of Karen on one disc.

[Fencedude]

Karen's not nearly as good at verbal sparring as her brother is.

And now Koyomi has to kiss her!

[strangefour]

-"I regret having no regrets." :\
-Towel. Aaaaah~
-Violence versus verbal sparring? You never stood a chance Karen.
-Oh no you didn't. Never insult the Jersey club!
-Bosom ticket!
-RIP naked Karen.
-Kiss. I knew it was going to come to that.

Somehow this makes incest uninteresting.

[HitokiriShadow]

Now, in episode 5 of Karen Bee, we finally have an episode that contains a good amount of Karen.

It also has delicious half-dressed Karen fanservice. At this point, I'd expect nothing less.

[something]

Episode 5:

- Koyomi, why didn't you put clothes on before talking to your sister?
- And man she is doing everything she can to derail the conversation.
- Hahaha man he was totally outmaneuvered by Tsukihi in the friends discussion. :sd:
- HAH, there was no way that towel was staying on forever. But it wasn't until Tsubasa walked in that its time ran out.
- Karen's OP again!

- Hooray. Time for the second Karen-centric scene of the first five episodes of her arc. That sounds so weird to say.
- Karen vs Kaiki. Karen... is utterly defeated. She never stood a chance.
- He even takes the $50 in her wallet. Damn.

- Really digging Tsubasa's new look more and more. I think I already like it more than the old.
- Koyomi just got a free ticket to touch Tsubasa's boobs. IT WAS ALL WORTH IT! (Except that he'd be killed immediately by a certain someone.)
- "But if you use it I'll hate you forever." Hahhaaha.
- Yes! Koyomi and Tsubasa did their "I don't know everything" bit. I missed that.

- Yay, more Karen. Hair down, niiiiice!
- Karenservice. In the form of her brother wiping her half mostly unclothed body down.
- Loving this scene. One of my only complaints so far is that Koyomi's dealings with the Fire Sisters have been a little one-sided. He lectures them, and they don't get to tell their side. It's not that he's not justified. They're getting involved in a very dangerous game and his harsh words come purely from his concern for them. But to them it's not just a game. We knew this, but it's not until Karen really argues her position here that we get to hear them say it clearly.
- Heh. Karen does have very nice boobs, don't compare them to Tsubasa's! That's not fair. ;_;

- Toilet Shinobu!
- Oh my, what is Koyomi going to have to do...
- ...Kiss. Shinobu made it sound like it was going to be even worse. Not that it's going to be easy for Koyomi to make out with his sister. :sd:

Karen! I love you! And yeah we really do have to be going to 7 episodes for Karen. So long as Tsukihi's story continues as just a different perspective for the same general story, I guess they can do hers in four, but... hm. If the two Nise novels are divided up as Karen and Tsukihi, and the second novel is just as long... er. Just don't do anything dumb, Shaft. So far Nise has been perfect.

[superdry]

I didn't really like Hanekawa too much in Bake, but in Nise she's a pretty fun character. I loved the tease with touching her breasts part.

Seeing Karen half-clothed was a nicety in the episode. And, with her hair down.

Karen's not nearly as good at verbal sparring as her brother is.


Too bad she's not healthy due to the curse, but I would have preferred to see the two physically spar while she's half-clothed. That would have been fun.

[strangefour]

-Arararararararagi-kun goes right from kissing his sister to happily skipping towards the underpants of a grade schooler... You have sunk so low.
-Araragi-san you are boring. :(
-Mount Fuji is a save point. Heh.
-Welcome to Venice.
-Great detective Hachikujinan.
-Now an Opening?
-Pencil sharpening has rarely been so menacing.
-Senjogahara is afraid of Hanekawa-sama and her horrible new haircut.
-Who ya gonna call? Not Kaiki. That's a horrible business card. Bet his commercials aren't even funny.
-We're all glad you are a woman, Senjogahara.
-*telescope envy*
-Karen ran away from home. :\
-I miss Shinobu's hat.
-Kakaka~

Stupid sexy vampire loli and sexy strutting crab.

[Fencedude]

Between Hitagi and Shinobu this episode was rather overloaded with tsundere. Also, it seems "tsundere" is now a verb.

But seriously, I hope at some point we get to see Hitagi and Shinobu interact. That would be amazing.

[bear]

-Arararararararagi-kun goes right from kissing his sister to happily skipping towards the underpants of a grade schooler... You have sunk so low.

And how dare he not molest her! Has he no shame?

Now that Shinobu is talking she's really amped it up (ka ka). Hitagi, Shinobu,and even Mayori made for a great episode even if it was sort of marking time.

[HitokiriShadow]

"No doesn't really mean no!" LOL Mayoi.

"Malice is something I have a monopoly on." I love you, Hitagi.

So not only does Mayoi *like* Araragi's molestation greetings, she gets angry when he greets her normally instead.

Oh man, Hitagi calls Tsubasa "Hanekawa-sama". And Master. Her reaction to hearing her name the first time is adorable. Almost as adorable as when Araragi told her how much he loved her. And I loved her posing with the pencils. That may well have been the best Hitagi scene yet.

And then we find out just how much of a tsundere Shinobu really is.

In addition to a glorious Hitagi scene, Mayoi and Shinobu both had strong scenes. I don't think I could possibly pick a favorite episode of the *monogatari shows, but this episode would certainly be a strong contender.

[superdry]

That was some good banter between Araragi and the three girls. Loved it that Senjougahara had a good amount of screen time this episode.

And I loved her posing with the pencils. That may well have been the best Hitagi scene yet.


Senjougahara mid-riff. mmm....

[something]

Episode 6:

- ...And so we're going to skip addressing the cliffhanger directly. :sd:
- Mayoi! Koyomi... greets her normally. And she says his name normally. WHAT IS THIS TRAVESTY?
- Hah, Mayoi is genuinely disappointed that he didn't greet her in a wholly inappropriate way.
- Haha, daaaaaamn. Koyomi without sexual harassment is NOTHING.

- "Oh? I told you to disappear. Why are you still here?" Harrrrrrsh! This is why Mayoi is my favorite. No matter how amazing the other girls are, Mayoi is just special. Not just to me, but to Koyomi too. He repeatedly makes it clear to us and even to Mayoi that she's not like the others. His relationship with her is different.
- Boy if there were any other human beings in his town, Koyomi would look pretty crazy walking along talking to an invisible little girl.
- Hah, nice. The tables are turned. Pleeeeeeease give us a Koyomi "Kamimamita!"
- Oh Koyomi you bastard. He does that "foreboding monologue" bit about Mayoi and I start getting all worried. But he was making it up. :sd:

- Yes, Gahara-san. It's very common for a hundred sharp pencils to end up embedded in someone else. By accident.
- "Hanekawa-sama." ...That new power dynamic is still one of the most awesome things about Nise. Even if I like Hitagi more than Tsubasa.
- Pencil gun!
- Oooh... new Staple Stable-remix BGM.
- Gahara is damn serious about taking Kaiki down.
- And so is Koyomi. They have such a loving relationship. You just need to look through the tsuntsun and threats of violence...
- "Goshujin"... god she is terrified. :sd:
- Well that whole scene was just full of incredibly Hitagi character art. And pencils.

- Karen went out on her own. Tsukihi is so distraught. ;_; Koyomi even lets "Tsukihi-chan" slip out in the confusion.
- I don't trust you. But I worry. I like how that's put.
- Shinobuuuuuuuuu!
- Koyomi, you should be better at understanding tsundere behavior by now.

There won't be any episodes left for Tsukihi at this point, but it's all so god damn good that I can't really complain.

More Mayoi, sexy Gahara, tsundere Shinobu. Still the #1 show of the season, for damn sure.

[something]

even if it was sort of marking time.
Which is kinda crazy, given that we only have 5 episodes left and have covered less than half of the written material of the Nise novels. Hell at this rate it feels like they could give a whole cour to each... not that I'd have a problem with that. It's going to take some tricky writing - or lots of bonus eps (very mixed feeligss there) - to make it work.

I mean, the girls in Bake got 2-3 eps, so even if Tsukihi only gets 4 that's not a problem in itself. But the Nise novels seem, so far, to be about a whole lot more than just Karen and Tsukihi. Compare that to the Bake arcs, which had a much more condensed focus on one girl at a time, though it did a great job keeping the others on screen. Nise's stories seem broader in scope, and Kaiki's presence impacts Hitagi at least as much as Karen. There's also the connection to Nadeko's Bake arc.

[HitokiriShadow]

And I loved her posing with the pencils. That may well have been the best Hitagi scene yet.


Senjougahara mid-riff. mmm....

That was very nice, but I actually liked some of her less revealing, more "action-y" ones more, which were what I was referring to.

[Damius]

- Koyomi skills for cleaning sure are awesome… but how long will it stays like that?
- Yup…that dialogue about marriage, love, relationships is just too good!
- The face Suruga makes when she is playing cards made me laugh!
- I find it quite surprising to have a Hitagi's OP again.
- It sure was touching when Suruga explains about her arm…

- Hmm… Kaiki…who is that guy exactly?
- Good intuition Koyomi, you should not get involved with that guy…

- Nice to see you again Hitagi!
- Her scene was at her level! Fantastic!
- And yeah…this show is still the best at camera angle! They sure know how to have the best shot!

- So we are back at the scene where Koyomi is chained! And they explained why he was!
- Hitagi legs!
- And we now know more about Kaiki…
- This scene is still epic!
- Little sister in danger=the easiest way for Koyomi to get unchained.
- And the conversation between Hitagi and Koyomi after that…wow just wow…I’m out of words…
- What was the call Hitagi received and by who?????
- So it was Tusbasa!

This show is still fantastic just at another level… Wow…and only 3 episodes done?

[HitokiriShadow]

o_0 Holy shit, Karen. She really would have killed Koyomi if he didn't have his vampiric healing abilities.

So after an epic fight between brother and sister, the confrontation with Kaiki ends up just being a conversation in which Kaiki agrees to leave the city. The only violence is inflicted on his cell phone. Then Karen recovers the ne-

OH. MY. GOD. Karen and Tsukihi are lying together, completely naked..... and in what is unquestionably a lover's embrace.

Koyomi's reaction, him calling them yuri sisters and the very deliberate focus on how they held hands (in a way that only lovers do in anime) as they left makes it very, very clear that that was not just sexed up scene of them sleeping together that we can choose to interpret as them being lesbians (or not) as we please. They ARE, undeniably, lovers. God bless you, Nisioisin.

Which explains Karen's non-reaction to Koyomi kissing her. She's not exactly bothered by the idea of incest.

Oh, and there was a very cute Hitagi/Koyomi scene after they finished with Kaiki. I'd be disappointed that the show cut out like that, but, uh, I think I can bring myself to forgive it in light of the epic surprise yuri incest that followed.

[strangefour]

-No OP? Damn it there better be serious combat to make up for that.
-That's better.
-Shinobu feels pain... Kick your sister's ass for that Arararararagi!
-Buy Shinobu some panties!
-"My fists hurt. So I'm going to stop punching you." This is some good old kung fu movie style dialog here.
-Spinning Bee Kick!
-Ararararagi is a cruel but proud brother.
-Kaiki you fool. Senjogahara is far from a normal girl.
-Kaiki is a very reasonable conman... kay.
-Go go Power Rangers.
-Attempted rape?
-Love? Huh!?
-Senjogahara is probably the best crazy girlfriend ever.
-Aww the fire sisters fell asleep in each othe-- *head explodes*
-
-
-

Dear SHAFT.
I love how you animate fight scenes. Such beautiful kicks. You are the best. Please make a Street Fighter anime starring Juri Han. You can make her a lesbian too if you want. I'm okay with that.
Love,
strangefour

[Fencedude]

Huh. Well, that went several places I wasn't quite expecting.

That was certainly something, wasn't it?

Also, do yourself a favor and look up this episode's End Card, since the CR stream doesn't have it...

[Ashyukun]

I love how this show completely defies how most others would go about things... it has a huge, epic (one-sided for the most part) battle between the siblings that destroys large amounts of infrastructure, and then... the 'battle' with Kaiki is entirely verbal, with him largely on the defensive the entire time. He should have gotten punched a few times though for insulting Hitagi.

I do have to wonder if things are completely through with him... though Hitagi DID say there were still others she had to deal with (and it's obviously unknown whether what he said about the man who had assaulted her was true or not). The scene with the two of them after Kaiki left was great- she is easily one of my favorite female characters, and only really has competition for favorite Tsundere in the form of Taiga...

As for that scene... I'll definitely say this for SHAFT, they have a definite eye for drawing nudes. Kind of makes me wonder who all knows about the two of them... I'm sure there's lots Nadeko could learn from them. :P

Also, do yourself a favor and look up this episode's End Card, since the CR stream doesn't have it...
Yikes.... that almost looks like Ume-sensei's style. Rather tame though after the episode itself. :P

[bear]

Great episode, but Isin's conversations give me a headache trying to make sense of everything that he has his characters saying. The only think I can say about Kaiki is that when he's talking he's lying. Even when he's telling the truth somehow it's a lie.

Karen is one kick ass fighter. When she was described as a martial artist, I didn't think they meant that level (they'd have to make up a new black belt level for it).

Karen and Tsukihi in bed almost caused me to sprain an eyeball.

And did Hitagi's request really mean what I think it means (gulp)? :nosebleed:

[TheGreenMan]

*Wakes up*
Hey guys, what's happening...all I remember is watching Nisenmonogatari episode 7 until the part where Karen and Tsukihi are sleeping naked together and I fainted...

What's all this blood doing here?

Well...I guess there's nothing yuri about two girls sleeping together nude and embracing each other...nah...nothing yuri about it.

I wonder if that ED image is some kind of fuck you to the male fans who got a kick out of the scene. It's almost like they're saying "Ecchi! Hentai!"

[Damius]

- Welcome back Tsubasa! And you have short hairs!!!
- Strange we have no OP this time.
- Don’t try to avoid it Koyomi you really called the two of them –chan! Tsubasa got you there!
- Oh! So that is how Tsubasa made Hitagi act like that!
- Naked Shinobu!!! Awesome! And she is really talkative! And have quite a personality! AWESOME!
- You want your handcuffs remove? No problem! You just need Shinobu around!
- Koyomi washing Shinobu’s hairs and of course they are both naked!
- And yeah now Koyomi and Shinobu in the same bath! Wow just WOW!
- Oh… Tsukihi sees Koyomi with Shinobu in the bath…and goes away.
- And she comes back with a knife! Shinobu left just in time…
- Shinobu is back!! Incredible!
- I sure love the personality of Shinobu! And how talkative she is! She is awesome! There is no word to describe how she is!

This show is WAY too fantastic!!!

[HitokiriShadow]

I do have to wonder if things are completely through with him...

No likely, I think. He may not be involved in Tsukihi's arc, but I'd be surprised if he never shows up again. In particular, he's hinted at something with Kanbaru both times he met Koyomi.

[something]

Episode 7:

- Karen vs Koyomi, FIGHT!
- ...Karen wins. Heh.
- Haha, woooooow. Well, I suppose this is nothing compared to what Suruga did to him. But it looks painful.
- XD This is one of the most amusing fights I've seen in a long time. And great interlude with panty-less Shinobu. "Why didn't you say that when you were in your adult version?!" XD
- ...This is so fucking over the top and I love every second of it.

- Man. She really is as tall as Koyomi. But awwww, it's nice to see him showing such open affection for her. And her returning it.
- "Wearing a bra is a pain, so I'm not." XD Wtf Koyomi.
- Time for the showdown. Koyomi and Hitagi vs Kaiki. GO!
- Heh. Kaiki you are a first rate bastard.
- I like the way he turns the whole "supernatural" thing on Koyomi.
- Maaaaaan. He acts like he doesn't care, yet manages to get all sorts of cheap shots in. Like revealing that Hitagi once loved him. o_O
- Well, not quite. More like admired him as a savior. Before she realized he was a con.
- Oh Koyomi. Can't you tell that "emotionally vulnerable" Hitagi looks just the same as "murder mode" Hitagi?
- ...Did Koyomi just score? =D

- VERY VERY NAKED HUGGING YURI FIRE SISTERS! FUUUUUUUUUCK YES!

Haha, love the ED image.

Amazing... now Tsukihi in just four episodes. I wonder how the hell that's going to be paced.

[something]

Also, do yourself a favor and look up this episode's End Card, since the CR stream doesn't have it...
Yikes.... that almost looks like Ume-sensei's style.
That's because it is. Ume-tentei = epic yuri fangirl.

The image, if anyone is wondering: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1099750

Oh and a stitch of the YURI SISTERS scene as a bonus: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1100301

[TheGreenMan]

"Make sure you don't fall in love. It'll be incestuous."
"I'm already in love, Nii-chan."

Yeah...

Heh...I didn't pick up on Koyomi's teasing of his sisters either. No retort from either of them too...

[Ashyukun]

That's because it is. Ume-tentei = epic yuri fangirl.
I can't say I'm surprised- OR disappointed. :cool:


Oh and a stitch of the YURI SISTERS scene as a bonus: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1100301
*scratches head* OK, I'm a bit confused as how that gets a 'bad anatomy' tag...

[something]

*scratches head* OK, I'm a bit confused as how that gets a 'bad anatomy' tag...
Tagger who didn't know what they were doing I suppose. Seemed to be someone with relatively few edits.

[MelancholicMariya]

Oh and a stitch of the YURI SISTERS scene as a bonus: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1100301
*scratches head* OK, I'm a bit confused as how that gets a 'bad anatomy' tag...

It's not bad anatomy, but Karen's shin does seem to be overlapping Tsukihi's shin sooner than it naturally should be.

Maybe it's just the perspective but that's the only thing that seems "off" to me. Other than them having very toned bodies for their age-- Well Karen I can understand, but not Tsukihi.

This looks like it will more than likely be touched up for the BD release ever so slightly.

[TheGreenMan]

I really hope Toweringman comes out with a picture of these two. Please?

Edit: Damn...Toweringman has quit drawing.

[Ashyukun]

Oh and a stitch of the YURI SISTERS scene as a bonus: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1100301
*scratches head* OK, I'm a bit confused as how that gets a 'bad anatomy' tag...

It's not bad anatomy, but Karen's shin does seem to be overlapping Tsukihi's shin sooner than it naturally should be.

Maybe it's just the perspective but that's the only thing that seems "off" to me. Other than them having very toned bodies for their age-- Well Karen I can understand, but not Tsukihi.

This looks like it will more than likely be touched up for the BD release ever so slightly.
The comments clear it up more, and I think they're right- it looks like Karen has two left feet, and it does look like Tsukihi's leg should be on top of Karen's instead of Karen's looking to pass right though it.

It was the muscle tone- and the detail to it- that most stood out to me though.

Have to chuckle a bit about the 'SHAFT should just outright start doing porn' comment though... and we think they have a difficult time making deadlines NOW... :P

[HitokiriShadow]

It was the muscle tone- and the detail to it- that most stood out to me though.

I had to look at Karen's back and butt several times before I decided that it actually was okay and there wasn't something really weird going on with the way they connected.

Have to chuckle a bit about the 'SHAFT should just outright start doing porn' comment though... and we think they have a difficult time making deadlines NOW... :P

Well, Shinbo did direct some porn many years ago. Don't remember the name (one of them was something about sister or step sister) but its reeeeeeally obviously him if you watch it.

[superdry]

Damn...Karen is really good. I wish the fight wasn't so one-sided though.

The end with Kaiki was a little anti-climatic with the long talk, but it actually worked. No need for anything grand, just lots of talking. Too bad Senjougahara didn't unleash her 100000 sharpened pencils at Kaiki.


OH. MY. GOD. Karen and Tsukihi are lying together, completely naked..... and in what is unquestionably a lover's embrace.


That was a quite a sight. Quite an amazing sight.

[EmperorBrandon]

Well, Shinbo did direct some porn many years ago. Don't remember the name (one of them was something about sister or step sister) but its reeeeeeally obviously him if you watch it.
His ero-anime pseudonym is Minamizawa Juuhachi (http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=43323).

[bear]

OMG, I need a cold shower or something. I don't know who's worse Nisio Isin for coming up with this, the artists for drawing it, or me for enjoying it. So we're in Tsukihi's story and the first episode is almost entirely Karen. That was hilarious, especially the end. I laughed my ass off when Karen went for two out of three. Who knew tooth decay prevention could be so erotic? Someone's bound to create an eroge with this as a theme.

OMG, I wonder what Shinobu was experiencing/thinking?

[Fencedude]

Oh god what.

Just. OMG.

Also, there is something very strange with Tsukihi's hair. And a Phoenix?

[Mafty Allegro]

It's been nearly six hours and I'm still stammered by what I saw. I…I mean, it was so utterly and completely twisted and beyond total comprehension. Never have I witnessed such a steep fall down the slippery slope of morality. It was like the perfect trainwreck--you don't want to watch it, but you are too stunned to look away. Seriously, WHAT THE **** DID I JUST WATCH?!

Oh, and it was perfectly executed. Just the right imagery, the right setup, the right score--it played out alllll too well from beginning to end. It was as artistically brilliant as it was repulsive. Bravo, you #%$*@ bastards at SHAFT, brav-!%@^&$-o.

The toothbrush, nor toothbrushing, shall ever regain their mundane statuses ever again.

That aside, and it was still a great episode. I liked the (mostly clean) interaction between *stops and goes into a corner to sob* Karen and Koyomi in the first half. I've always thought that her meeting Kanbaru would be a monumental disaster in the making, but after "that", I'm not even sure if it's even more so now or that she can actually take it (that or she's already been "pre-corrupted"?). Tsukihi's intrusion and her Looney Tunes exit were just the right capstones on the whole episode, but the "immortality" part on her lost in all of the tomfoolery was quite interesting, especially with her brother's own situation…

[Ashyukun]

Also, there is something very strange with Tsukihi's hair. And a Phoenix?
My long-shot prediction: Tsukihi is 'immortal' in the same sense as the Phoenix- she's reborn over and over again from her own ashes (or something of the likes... I'm HOPING at least that's not literal...). As such, the Tsukihi's in the (very cute and fun- yet another SHAFT OP of which I approve...) OP with different length hair are different incarnations of her...

Speaking of which on the other end of things, ClariS's ED theme- while far inferior to Kimi no Shiranai Monogatari (owing to the fact that the if it's NOT my #1 AniSong ever, it's a DAMN close #2...)- is definitely growing on me.

[strangefour]

Time for anime on the PS3 experiment #2. This time in SD on HDtv.

-Wtf! Karen in a skirt! You have betrayed the Jersey club!
-Karen stop teasing Ararararagi with the incest we know he can't have.
-Karen will do anything to meet Sugaru. Even give up her virginity. Stop teasing. :(
-Heh. I like the shadow of the string while Ararararagi is floating upsidedown.
-Oh hell. Karen is going to give up her (oral) virginity. Kinky.
-Oh. My.
-Is it getting warmer in here. *closes the blinds*
-AH! Tsukihi! This isn't what it looks like. It's far far sexier.
-Shining radiant phallic zeppelin thrusts proudly.
-OMG seconds.

That was one of the hottest episodes of anything I have ever seen. In the form of a one act play in one room about hot hot incest. I'm gonna go brush my teeth now. *cough*

[HitokiriShadow]

Oh, yeah, I had heard something about a toothbrush scene.

..............

What the fuck. I just watched incestuous erotic toothbrushing. And it was amazing. And I think multiple Araragis got laid two episodes in a row.

But amongst the incest, we heard a bit of internal dialogue from Koyomi about his romantic preferences, and it has some highly troubling implications for his relationship with Hitagi.

Oh, and Tsukihi is immortal. Considering the arc title, its presumably a much more inherently unpleasant immortality than the one granted to Koyomi.

[Fencedude]

Oh, yeah, I had heard something about a toothbrush scene.

..............

What the fuck. I just watched incestuous erotic toothbrushing. And it was amazing. And I think multiple Araragis got laid two episodes in a row.

Its amusing imagining that your avatar is of Kuroneko having just finished the episode.

[TheGreenMan]

Tsukihi is a phoenix?
OMG...Karen is a tight tank top and skirt? Who are you and what have done to Karen?
Karen and Kanbaru? That would be epic..not as epic and Hitagi and Shinobu having a conversation.
Toothbrush in Karen's butt? Not as erotic as in her mouth.
Goddamn...
Holy shit...
OMG...
Then Tsukihi busts in and finds her waifu in bed with her brother.. Hilarity insues.
Yes...Tsukihi...go buy a owl...What? Is this some Japanese cultural thing, or saying?
Nii-chan, I want to do it again.
Two awesome episodes in a row!

[bored@lazy]

The subtitles actually said Awl, as in this... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awl)

[strangefour]

Toothbrush in Karen's butt? Not as erotic as in her mouth.

I forgot about that scene. The rest of the episode was so erotic I didn't remember the anal violation implications. Oh Arararagi family your every action is a form of sexual harassment.

Yes...Tsukihi...go buy a owl...What? Is this some Japanese cultural thing, or saying?

Awl. It's a wood working tool. It's basically just an icepick.

[TheGreenMan]

The subtitles actually said Awl, as in this... (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Awl)

Ah...I need my eyesight checked. I thought owl didn't make any sense. I guess Tsukihi didn't have her butcher knife from several episodes ago handy.

[Damius]

- Was it an emergency to speak to your sister, Koyomi? You don't even had the time to put some clothes!
- Yup, Koyomi have 5 friends! Only girls!
- Towel doesn’t hold (we all predict that right?) and it was when Tsubasa enters!
- Another Karen’s OP this time!
- So, yup! This episode will have another story with Karen!!
- I find the effect with the waves quite nice!
- Boo….Karen lost…her fight against Kaiki and 4,000 Yen too… Boo… Better luck next time Karen!
- Koyomi got a ticket entitles him to touch Tsubasa boobs!
- But Tsubasa would hate him forever if he uses it! LOL!
- Karen with her hair down!
- Oh and Koyomi wiping Karen sweats!
- Hello there Shinobu! Nice to see you again!
- Kiss?!?! So that is what he needs to do?? It was what Shinobu doesn’t recommend!

Yup! That was the Karen episode! Fantastic!

[something]

Episode 8:

- ..."And immortal too." Just slips that one in at the end like it's nothing. :sd:
- Oh wooooooow, Tsukihi's OP is adorable.

- Karen is a helpful giant imouto!
- Karen in a skirt! What is this development?
- The character art in this show continues to be absolutely out of this world. I mean holy shit it's gorgeous.
- Damn, Koyomi. :sd: Talk about being hurtful while trying to be helpful. Karen is a sexy girl too!

- Huh. Suruga's name sure got a rise out of Karen.
- Oooh she wants to meet her. PLEEEEEEEASE make that happen! They would be fucking unstoppable!
- Ahaha this is the most bizarre brother/sister relationship I've ever seen, and it's amazing.
- Oh they'e Tsukihi's clothes. Explains the odd (but sexy) tight fit.
- Kanbaru Suruga fanclub? Heh.
- Dos diplomacy fail? Resort immediately to violence! =D
- Suddenly Koyomi becomes a Precure. o_O

- Finally. I've been seeing "brushing Karen's teeth" fanart for ages and then it never came up once in her arc, which confused me greatly. I guess this is it.
- Haha, Koyomi is trying to act tough, but Karen's imagination is far worse than anything he can come up with.
- Although it turns out brushing is... erotic.
- And turns Koyomi into an epic siscon. =D
- ...This is going way farther than I expected. :sd: Can't wait for Tsukihi to walk in.
- RIGHT ON CUE. Absolutely perfect. Now you two need to flee the country before she gets back. :sd:

- "We could go best two out of three." The incest is strong in this one. Hahaha, just, wow.

And that was one of the most bizarre and most amazing episodes of anime I have seen.

Just, like...

::mind blown::

Fucking respect, Shaft, Shinbou and Nishio.

[superdry]

Like everyone else, what did I just watch? But, it was absolutely amazing.

So much glorious Karen-service in the episode. She looks really good in the skirt. The tight sleeveless shirt, not so much. Still damn good though.

The toothbrush scene was bizarre, but hilarious. Oh, Karen you have wincest down pact between your brother and sister. I love you.

Tsukihi walking in was perfect and the two trying to cover it up.

Best two out three? Karen <3.


And that was one of the most bizarre and most amazing episodes of anime I have seen.


It's probably the best episode of anime I've seen in a while.

[bear]

Tsukihi walking in was perfect and the two trying to cover it up.

That's the second time she's walked in on Koyomi and a girl in a compromising position. I think she's just mad she wasn't invited. :devil:

[something]

http://cowboybibimbop.soup.io/post/234840746/She-says-she-had-a-toothbrush-in Expand the "Original Post" link for the video.

So apparently Kitamura Eri (Karen's seiyuu) actually had a toothbrush in her mouth while acting out that scene, hahah. I'm glad to know they value realism so highly.

[Ashyukun]

http://cowboybibimbop.soup.io/post/234840746/She-says-she-had-a-toothbrush-in Expand the "Original Post" link for the video.

So apparently Kitamura Eri (Karen's seiyuu) actually had a toothbrush in her mouth while acting out that scene, hahah. I'm glad to know they value realism so highly.
Wow, that's going the extra mile for realism.

Of course, this makes me wonder all the more: was Ogame Asuka wrapped up in a futon for Erio's futon-speak? :p

[HitokiriShadow]

More naked Kanbaru! Alas, she can't bring herself to take Karen's virginity. Though its kind of a non-issue since Tsukihi has already taken it.

I love Karen's new outfit. Ni-shi-shi!

This episode is really fond of Karen's ass. I most certainly cannot complain about that.

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! !
Karen cut off her ponytail!! ;_; .... Man, this is one of the worse haircut downgrades ever, holy crap.

Karen wants to cut off Koyomi's penis. Ni-shi-shi!

And now a new character appears. Some woman named Yozuru, looking for a cram school.

You and Karen are definitely the weirder ones here, Koyomi.

Hanekawa time!

"Say hi to Kanbaru for me." Ahaha, oh fuck.

Huh, she doesn't seem to be looking for the school because Oshino was there, she wants it for a "base of operations". Is there something special about that location?

Looooooooove Kanbaru's outfit when she's introduced to Karen. And that hair is adorable. Karen is notably taller than Kanbaru, which seems odd.

And then he leaves immediately after introducing them. I was hoping for a several minute scene with Karen and Kanbaru together.

On the upside, we get to see Mayoi. So how will Koyomi greet her this time?

Haha, Shinobu trips him.

"I stuttered. I smiled!" "Half of you motivation is boobs. The other half is my hot, curvy body." <3 Mayoi.

"Failure as a human being" Yep.

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.

Most adorable Mayoi bite ever.

Now another new character, the short girl Yozuru mentioned. And she comes with a Misaka-imouto-style self-descriptive speech pattern, though she uses it a bit less frequently.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Most tragic *monogatari episode ever. Karen's hair, why did you have to die? WHYYYYY!!!!!!!!?

Two more episodes reeeeeeally doesn't feel like enough.

I'm really glad I don't have to worry about getting enough sequels to get the whole story though. It will be fascinating to watch the Koyomi/Hitagi/Tsubasa relationship play out and it would be terribly depressing if I didn't get to see how that ended.

[bear]

Two episodes into Tsukihi's story and we've barely seen her except in the OP. Like her dance though.

Karen, are you trying to give us all heart attacks by cutting off your hair? :depressed:

Hanekawa you are as scary as you are beautiful. But then, which one of the girls isn't?

Shinobu taking Koyomi down was just out of sight hilarious.

Damn, you said you love Senjougahara but now you say you love Hanekawa and want to marry Mayoi. How can you live with yourself for cheating on your sisters? :)

[nakimushi]

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.




Hanakawa's rise in status during Nisemonogatari has been mentioned by almost everyone so far, so I guess I'm not completely surprised that Araragi finally joined in the chorus by saying that she is actually on the top of his list. Although I cannot say I'm completely satisfied that this change has been explained either.

Hanakawa's (apparently actual) high status was meant to be a surprise back in episode 3 when it was first revealed, and although it was surprising, knowing what we knew of Hanakawa, it didn't seem completely unreasonable that the other girls would respect her. Even though, Senjougahara's servile deference to her in the next episode was still rather shocking.

However, even as fickle in his attentions as Araragi is, having him suddenly state that he loves Hanakawa more than Senjougahara, still seemed like too big of a jump to me.

Was there any hint of this in Bake? The impression that I got during Bake, was that Hanakawa was similar to Sengoku, in that they both liked Araragi, but he was seemingly oblivious to their feelings. Obviously, in the Tsubasa Cat Arc Araragi learned more about Hanakawa's true feelings than he had known previously, but it did not appear that Hanakawa made any actual progress in getting him to reciprocate.

Not that he has officially made a choice in Nise either, but just having him say what he did, seemed too abrupt. Perhaps it will be explained more satisfactorily eventually.

[superdry]

I love Karen's new outfit. Ni-shi-shi!

This episode is really fond of Karen's ass. I most certainly cannot complain about that.

Karen, ni-shi-shi <3. I personally liked the clothes she stole from Tsukihi. I was hoping she would have taken Koyomi shopping for more feminine clothing. I think that would be rather amusing.

She definitely has a very nice body for a tall, athletic girl. I can't complain about the ass shots in the episode.


NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!! !
Karen cut off her ponytail!! ;_; .... Man, this is one of the worse haircut downgrades ever, holy crap.

Agreed. That was terrible. I still love her, but, but her hair is gone. Ugh...damn you Koyomi! He should won the rock-paper-scissor game to avoid this terrible travesty.


Karen wants to cut off Koyomi's penis. Ni-shi-shi!

She found it awkward, but she probably enjoyed his crotch on her neck. hehe.


Huh, she doesn't seem to be looking for the school because Oshino was there, she wants it for a "base of operations". Is there something special about that location?

I want to say that Oshino or someone else explained this back in Bake? For some reason, I'm thinking that place has a strong connection to the supernatural. I wonder what the two new characters are going to be doing.

Karen is notably taller than Kanbaru, which seems odd.

Odd? She's a friggin' giant of a middle-school girl. I'm not surprised she's as tall or taller than most characters in the series. And, here I thought Kirino was freakishly tall for a Japanese middle-school girl.

[bear]

However, even as fickle in his attentions as Araragi is, having him suddenly state that he loves Hanakawa more than Senjougahara, still seemed like too big of a jump to me.
Was there any hint of this in Bake? The impression that I got during Bake, was that Hanakawa was similar to Sengoku, in that they both liked Araragi, but he was seemingly oblivious to their feelings. Obviously, in the Tsubasa Cat Arc Araragi learned more about Hanakawa's true feelings than he had known previously, but it did not appear that Hanakawa made any actual progress in getting him to reciprocate.
My understanding was that Tsubasa Cat was, in part, due to the stress from her feelings for Koyomi. I was also under the impression that she had a great deal with saving him when he turned into a vampire. His feelings seemed to always be that of respect and admiration for her and a friendship rather than romantic love. He has many times stated that he loved Senjougahara but that's the first that I remember that he's said it about Hanakawa. Of course, you have to take what he says with a grain (or bag) of salt. Consider how he says he hates his sisters and Mayoi. Yeah, right. He also loves to mess with Mayoi or try to.

It goes by too fast for me, but did he say 好き　(suki) or　大好き (daisuki) or did he use some other term when he was referring to Hanakawa?

[Fencedude]

Shoulder length hair Tsukihi is the best Tsukihi.

...and she isn't even in this episode.

Still awesome episode, other than the butchery done to Karen's hair. What the fuck.

[Ashyukun]

Shoulder length hair Tsukihi is the best Tsukihi.

...and she isn't even in this episode.

Still awesome episode, other than the butchery done to Karen's hair. What the fuck.
They DO seem to be aiming heavily for all of the girls to end up with short hair by the end of the season, don't they?

For that matter, we haven't seen Hitagi since this arc started... O_O

[HitokiriShadow]

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.




Hanakawa's rise in status during Nisemonogatari has been mentioned by almost everyone so far, so I guess I'm not completely surprised that Araragi finally joined in the chorus by saying that she is actually on the top of his list. Although I cannot say I'm completely satisfied that this change has been explained either.

I wasn't surprised either. In addition to everyone else mentioning, he had made a number of comments implying his actual preference was Hanekawa, particularly during the toothbrush scene last time. This was just the firs time he explicitly stated it.


Was there any hint of this in Bake?


My memories of Bake are pretty vague at this point. I'm pretty sure he had expressed attraction to her, but I was under the impression he had genuine feelings for Hitagi and that she was his #1. Mainly just because I remember episode 12, the TV ending, being focused entirely on them and being absolutely beautiful, emotionally. I don't remember anything from that point or in the subsequent episodes of the Tsubasa arc, indicating he preferred Hanekawa.

Everything about Hanekawa in Nise makes me want to rewatch Bake sooner rather than later


Not that he has officially made a choice in Nise either, but just having him say what he did, seemed too abrupt. Perhaps it will be explained more satisfactorily eventually.

It would have bothered me if this happened in episode 1 or 2. At this point, its been heavily implied to the point that it barely counts as "implied" so its hardly sudden, so it doesn't bother me at all. Though I'm firmly in the Hitagi camp and want him to ultimately stick with her. I would like some better insight into why he chose to date Hitagi if his heart was with someone else though.

[HitokiriShadow]

Huh, she doesn't seem to be looking for the school because Oshino was there, she wants it for a "base of operations". Is there something special about that location?I want to say that Oshino or someone else explained this back in Bake? For some reason, I'm thinking that place has a strong connection to the supernatural.

I'm assuming its something onmyouji related.

[strangefour]

-I am surprised there is not a larger grouping of impalement around the groin. Or atleast an outline of a toothbrush. *blush*
-Suruga is always naked. Always! Especially when preparing to take a young girl's virginity. :blush:
-Or Arararararagi incest is fine too. :x
-Almost wish I was a Star Trek nerd. Which model of the Enterprise is that?
-NO KYUBEYS!
-Niishiishii~
-Who is this beautiful new vixen!? Shame Ararararagi won't sleep with her. She's not related. :\
-Good girl Shinobu. :catgirl:
-A girl who never poses says everything in a posed look... Pardon me while I pike up chunks of my mind that just popped because of meta recursion (https://www.google.com/search?q=recursion)s.

Sometimes this show is too clever for it's own good. But I don't care. Yozuru is hot. Everyone else in this got demoted when she showed up.

[something]

Episode 9:

- Suruga, there would be nothing at all wrong with you taking Karen's virginity. But then, the Araragis like to keep it in the family. Karen is aken by Koyomi and Tsukihi.
- And I love her hair tied off in the back. Sexy sexy naked Suruga.
- Absolutely loving Tsukihi's OP. Hell I think it might be my favorite Monogatari OP sequence. Though Staple Stable is probably still my favorite purely by song.

- Nishishi~
- I like her outfit. And how she cheats at janken.
- ...WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?! What what who whyyyyyyyy!? Who has four female characters cut their hair from one book to the next? Holy crap what the fuck. I was not expecting that at all. I've never seen an image of short-haired Karen. Just... wow. A woman with long hair must have done terrible, terrible thing to Nishio at some point in his life.
- So like... Karen is now Kikuchi Makoto.
- Haha I knew his crotch was going to get brought up.
- More Nishishi. Are we sure Asuma Kana isn't pinch-acting?

- Oh, hello new character.
- Speakin of short hair, I like Tsubasa's more every time I see it. I already like it more than the long hair and glasses. The cut of it frames her face beautifully.
- Kagenui skips off. Koyomi finally gets off his sister's shoulders. And we don't see Suruga and Karen's time together. ;_;

- BUT WE GET MAYOI!! That is more han worthy a replacement. Mayoi is still the best girl!
- Hahahah, totally trolled by Shinobu. Nice.
- Kawaii sugiru indeed, Koyomi.
- Koyomi dates Hitagi, loves Tsubasa, and will marry Mayoi! But how can he bet on her future boobs when she's never going to age? There is a flaw in your plan, Koyomi!

- New character #2, wow that design looks totally out of place. It's the hair color. And she talks all Misaka-imouto-like.

Mooooooore Mayoi! So Tsukihi sure is set to get a lot less focus than Karen this season, even acounting for all the Karen eps that really weren't.

And it feels like a lot of ED stuff changed... let's compare. Yep, this one starts with Tsukihi, while ep 9 started with Karen. And Karen has short hair in this ED. And some other things changed.

[something]

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.However, even as fickle in his attentions as Araragi is, having him suddenly state that he loves Hanakawa more than Senjougahara, still seemed like too big of a jump to me.
Mmmm, did he really phrase it quite like "I am dating Hitagi but love Tsubasa"? Or "I'm dating Senjougahara and I love (daisuki) Tsubasa, but...". The nuance is subtle but absoluetly critical.

What I (more or less, might flub some particles) heard: "Boku wa Senjougahara to tsukiatterushi, Hanekawa no koto ga daisuki da keredo, kekkon suru nara, omae da omoteru ze...". I don't think any direct connection between the first two causes was implied. I assumed the keredo there was setting up the Mayoi clause not contrasting the Tsubasa and Hitagi clauses. He was listing off girls he cared deeply about in order to hype up the "proposal" he subsequently made to Mayoi. And "daisuki" can cover a range of emotions based on context.

Describing Tsubasa as his ideal woman in episode 8 didn't change anything for me either. If we were discussing hypothetical ideals, the smart, hard-working, gentle but firm, beautiful (and busty) Tsubasa would probably top a hell of a lot more "perfect ideal woman" lists than the acerbic, emotionally abusive, and physically dangerous Hitagi. But sometimes perfection isn't the best partner. Why do most of us (myself included) like Hitagi better than Tsubasa? I would bet Koyomi doesn't feel all that differently.

It's a complex relationship dynamic, for sure. I'd bet anything that tensions surrounding it are central to some of the later novels. But so far I have seen nothing that makes me feel like Koyomi is betraying the core meaning of the words he said to Hitagi while they laid under the stars together. Rewatch that scene (which still makes me cry), I feel like it says absoluetly everything about who he and Hitagi really are to each other. She offers herself, her everything to him. It's not much. A cute kouhai, taciturn father, a starry sky, and of course a sharp, spiteful tongue. She can't offer him womanly perfection, and I'm not sure he really wants it. He accepts all that she is, and isn't.

Tsubasa may be his ideal, but only that - an ideal, not his reality. Hitagi is his world.

[nakimushi]

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.However, even as fickle in his attentions as Araragi is, having him suddenly state that he loves Hanakawa more than Senjougahara, still seemed like too big of a jump to me.
Mmmm, did he really phrase it quite like "I am dating Hitagi but love Tsubasa"? Or "I'm dating Senjougahara and I love (daisuki) Tsubasa, but...". The nuance is subtle but absoluetly critical.

What I (more or less, might flub some particles) heard: "Boku wa Senjougahara to tsukiatterushi, Hanekawa no koto ga daisuki da keredo, kekkon suru nara, omae da omoteru ze...". I don't think any direct connection between the first two causes was implied. I assumed the keredo there was setting up the Mayoi clause not contrasting the Tsubasa and Hitagi clauses. He was listing off girls he cared deeply about in order to hype up the "proposal" he subsequently made to Mayoi. And "daisuki" can cover a range of emotions based on context.

Describing Tsubasa as his ideal woman in episode 8 didn't change anything for me either. If we were discussing hypothetical ideals, the smart, hard-working, gentle but firm, beautiful (and busty) Tsubasa would probably top a hell of a lot more "perfect ideal woman" lists than the acerbic, emotionally abusive, and physically dangerous Hitagi. But sometimes perfection isn't the best partner. Why do most of us (myself included) like Hitagi better than Tsubasa? I would bet Koyomi doesn't feel all that differently.

It's a complex relationship dynamic, for sure. I'd bet anything that tensions surrounding it are central to some of the later novels. But so far I have seen nothing that makes me feel like Koyomi is betraying the core meaning of the words he said to Hitagi while they laid under the stars together. Rewatch that scene (which still makes me cry), I feel like it says absoluetly everything about who he and Hitagi really are to each other. She offers herself, her everything to him. It's not much. A cute kouhai, taciturn father, a starry sky, and of course a sharp, spiteful tongue. She can't offer him womanly perfection, and I'm not sure he really wants it. He accepts all that she is, and isn't.

Tsubasa may be his ideal, but only that - an ideal, not his reality. Hitagi is his world.

Yep, you are right, he did NOT say, "I'm dating Senjougahara BUT I love Hanakawa. You definitely got all the words correct. The ending "shi" is used for listing things, so the CR translation "I'm dating Senjougahara AND I love Hanakawa" is correct.

Also, even taking into account the potential vagueness of "koto ga daisuki" (which has caused many misunderstandings in many other shows, not to mention that even in English, "Love" has more than one meaning), if Koyomi did actually mean to say that he does love Tsubasa (in a romantic way), with everything we've seen so far, I do not think that he meant that he loves her to the exclusion of all the other girls.

Just the fact that Koyomi stated that merely as a introduction to a (playful) proposal to Mayoi, does make it difficult to believe that he was asserting that Tsubasa was now the one and only object of his love. :)


However, even though I also think that Koyomi is still also very much in love with Hitagi, for Hitagi to genuinely fear Tsubasa's threat of taking Koyomi to be her boyfriend, suggests that Hitagi believes that Tsubasa could/would do it. I doubt Hitagi would be intimidated at all if she thought it was just an idle threat.

[strangefour]

- ...WHAT DID YOU JUST DO?! What what who whyyyyyyyy!? Who has four female characters cut their hair from one book to the next? Holy crap what the fuck. I was not expecting that at all. I've never seen an image of short-haired Karen. Just... wow. A woman with long hair must have done terrible, terrible thing to Nishio at some point in his life.

Yeah... It's getting annoying at this point. There's girls getting summer haircuts and then there's hating girls with long hair dude. Before this is done Mayoi will lose her pigtails.

- Oh, hello new character.

I think you meant "hello best character."

[something]

Yeah... It's getting annoying at this point. There's girls getting summer haircuts and then there's hating girls with long hair dude. Before this is done Mayoi will lose her pigtails.
Never. Mayoi's twintails are sacred. But man, it's so weird to think that by the time this season is over, Mayoi, Shinobu and Nadeko will be the only ones left with long hair. Well, I assume they will... >_< I guess only the loli brigade is allowed long hair.

Suruga's is actually growing but had started off really short so it's not enough to be called long yet.

I wish Tsukihi had just gone halfway and stopped at shoulder-length. That's the best of all the OP Tsukihis. The monogatari girls are all still really hot with short hair, and I even count it as an improvement for Tsubasa now, but it's still pretty traumatizing.

[MelancholicMariya]

Yeah... It's getting annoying at this point. There's girls getting summer haircuts and then there's hating girls with long hair dude. Before this is done Mayoi will lose her pigtails.


I don't think that's what Nisioisn is implying with this.

That said I'm not personally affected by the girls cutting their hair. I can see why it would upset some, as it can be a symbol of beauty or a way some identify a character. I'm fine with changing it up.

I also think that this is a way of having a "fresh start" by removing what is old. (in this case it'd be the old hairstyle) Or maybe I'm just thinking into this too much and they're just changing their hair because females tend to change their hair and clothing styles a lot.

[HitokiriShadow]

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.However, even as fickle in his attentions as Araragi is, having him suddenly state that he loves Hanakawa more than Senjougahara, still seemed like too big of a jump to me.
Mmmm, did he really phrase it quite like "I am dating Hitagi but love Tsubasa"? Or "I'm dating Senjougahara and I love (daisuki) Tsubasa, but...". The nuance is subtle but absoluetly critical.

What I (more or less, might flub some particles) heard: "Boku wa Senjougahara to tsukiatterushi, Hanekawa no koto ga daisuki da keredo, kekkon suru nara, omae da omoteru ze...". I don't think any direct connection between the first two causes was implied. I assumed the keredo there was setting up the Mayoi clause not contrasting the Tsubasa and Hitagi clauses. He was listing off girls he cared deeply about in order to hype up the "proposal" he subsequently made to Mayoi. And "daisuki" can cover a range of emotions based on context.

Describing Tsubasa as his ideal woman in episode 8 didn't change anything for me either. If we were discussing hypothetical ideals, the smart, hard-working, gentle but firm, beautiful (and busty) Tsubasa would probably top a hell of a lot more "perfect ideal woman" lists than the acerbic, emotionally abusive, and physically dangerous Hitagi. But sometimes perfection isn't the best partner. Why do most of us (myself included) like Hitagi better than Tsubasa? I would bet Koyomi doesn't feel all that differently.

It's a complex relationship dynamic, for sure. I'd bet anything that tensions surrounding it are central to some of the later novels. But so far I have seen nothing that makes me feel like Koyomi is betraying the core meaning of the words he said to Hitagi while they laid under the stars together. Rewatch that scene (which still makes me cry), I feel like it says absoluetly everything about who he and Hitagi really are to each other. She offers herself, her everything to him. It's not much. A cute kouhai, taciturn father, a starry sky, and of course a sharp, spiteful tongue. She can't offer him womanly perfection, and I'm not sure he really wants it. He accepts all that she is, and isn't.

Tsubasa may be his ideal, but only that - an ideal, not his reality. Hitagi is his world.

Good point, makes a lot sense, can't disagree with any of it.

[HitokiriShadow]

-Suruga is always naked. Always! Especially when preparing to take a young girl's virginity. :blush:


Sadly for Suruga, virginity can only be taken once and Tsukihi has already claimed Karen's.

[HitokiriShadow]

That said I'm not personally affected by the girls cutting their hair. I can see why it would upset some, as it can be a symbol of beauty or a way some identify a character. I'm fine with changing it up.

Our issue with it (well, mine, but I'm pretty sure its the same for everyone else that felt Karen cutting her hair was a horrible tragedy) is just that its almost always a downgrade, usually a big one. And this was a particularly severe one.

I also think that this is a way of having a "fresh start" by removing what is old. (in this case it'd be the old hairstyle) Or maybe I'm just thinking into this too much and they're just changing their hair because females tend to change their hair and clothing styles a lot.

No, you're not overthinking it. That's usually the reason its done, and about half the time its explicitly stated as such and almost every other time its pretty easy to see that that's the reason for it. It almost always happens after some big character event or growth.

[MelancholicMariya]

Our issue with it (well, mine, but I'm pretty sure its the same for everyone else that felt Karen cutting her hair was a horrible tragedy) is just that its almost always a downgrade, usually a big one. And this was a particularly severe one.


Even though it doesn't bother me too much, I will agree that Karen doesn't suit this style of hair all that well. That said they can't change her hair too much from the style she has right now because she'll become almost unidentifiable as Karen, and you don't really want that unless you're doing something really crazy with a character to show that they're not even close to the same person they once were.


No, you're not overthinking it. That's usually the reason its done, and about half the time its explicitly stated as such and almost every other time its pretty easy to see that that's the reason for it. It almost always happens after some big character event or growth.

It is often the reason why a girl suddenly cuts their hair short, but I'm wondering if within the context of this show if it's the same reason for Karen. I watched the episode raw first and I'll be watching it subtitled when I get the chance so I'm not sure if it's explicitly stated here, but the flags are there for her cutting it off for a fresh start.

Though if she were to grow all of her hair back eventually, she should get rid of the ponytail. I think she'd suit just letting it down.

[HitokiriShadow]

It is often the reason why a girl suddenly cuts their hair short, but I'm wondering if within the context of this show if it's the same reason for Karen. I watched the episode raw first and I'll be watching it subtitled when I get the chance so I'm not sure if it's explicitly stated here, but the flags are there for her cutting it off for a fresh start.


What. You watch this raw? While I suppose that would make episode 8 even more WTF, this seems like one of the last shows in the world you'd want to try to watch if you didn't understand 90+% of what was being said.

As for the reason Karen cuts it, this is the rare exception to the rule. She cuts it because its inconvenient and is getting in the way of her brother riding her. It turns out she never liked long hair, though I don't think she answered Koyomi's question as to why she kept it long if she hated it.

[Damius]

But seriously, I hope at some point we get to see Hitagi and Shinobu interact. That would be amazing.

That sure would be amazing! I demand it! Please, don't let me only imagine it!

[Damius]

- Hello, Mayoi!
- If you say he will be fine, Mayoi, so he will be!
- Hitagi turn this time… I think more and more she is my favorite…
- Her parts are always really well done and it looks like she is the one I care the most for. Yeah, she is my favorite.
- Well, they sure both want to take Kaiki down…
- We love each other so much! Let’s protect each other!
- Hitagi, stop teasing us! What is your request?
- Hitagi made a mistake there…calling Hanekawa-san her master! And Koyomi can’t forget that!
- I sure wish you luck Hitagi! You’ll be able to move forward, I’m sure of it!
- Hitagi sure knows how to pose!
- Karen-chan is gone????? Where did she go?
- Koyomi to Tsukihi: “I don’t trust you, but I worry!”
- Shinobu!!! She sure is cute under the sun!

Another amazing episode. And yeah, Hitagi had a lot of screen time!

[William K]

"Platinum Disco" is growing on me. It's just such a great combination of music (with traditional instruments/tones), cute vocals and visuals. Love all the different Tsukihi dances and hand gestures

[MelancholicMariya]

What. You watch this raw? While I suppose that would make episode 8 even more WTF, this seems like one of the last shows in the world you'd want to try to watch if you didn't understand 90+% of what was being said.

It's something I've done with all SHAFT shows for a while now, I watch it as soon as it comes out and then watch the subtitled version after it. It doesn't diminish my enjoyment of it when I watch it subtitled, too, so I'm good. Nisemonogatari is a bit more difficult to understand/interpret raw than a lot of other SHAFT shows, so it's been interesting watching it raw.


As for the reason Karen cuts it, this is the rare exception to the rule. She cuts it because its inconvenient and is getting in the way of her brother riding her. It turns out she never liked long hair, though I don't think she answered Koyomi's question as to why she kept it long if she hated it.

Well that's Nisioisin's way of killing two birds with one stone, I guess. Karen's hair is actually starting to grow on me now, it's not all that bad.

[Ashyukun]

As for the reason Karen cuts it, this is the rare exception to the rule. She cuts it because its inconvenient and is getting in the way of her brother riding her. It turns out she never liked long hair, though I don't think she answered Koyomi's question as to why she kept it long if she hated it.

Well that's Nisioisin's way of killing two birds with one stone, I guess. Karen's hair is actually starting to grow on me now, it's not all that bad.
I actually think that short hair makes a lot more sense for Karen, regardless of what we think about how it looks- she's very physically active and a marital artist, long hair is a lot harder to deal with and would certainly get in the way when doing things like walking around on her hands like she's prone to do...

[superdry]

I wish Tsukihi had just gone halfway and stopped at shoulder-length. That's the best of all the OP Tsukihis. The monogatari girls are all still really hot with short hair, and I even count it as an improvement for Tsubasa now, but it's still pretty traumatizing.

No, no, no...Senjougahara needs to keep her long hair. Don't remind that there is the possibility of seeing her in the last two episodes with short hair.

Tsubasa on the other hand looks fine with short hair.

[HitokiriShadow]

Shinobu!

Mister Donuts is having a sale. Drastic action is required.

"My justice is fake." Well that was blunt. So I guess when Tsukihi needs to give Karen a motivational speech, its something like "I believe in the you that believes in your 'justice'"

Ha, "creative differences"

"I'll invite lots of middle school girls, okay?" Tsukihi sure knows her brother. Or maybe its more that she knows Nadeko....

Surprise imouto strip!

Imouto grope! "It was right in front of me and I just wanted to know how it felt."

"Onii-chan, you touch your little sisters way too much!" "If someone only heard that line, they'd get some really strange ideas about me." No, Koyomi, I think their idea would be pretty accurate, actually. Context doesn't really help you here. If anything, it makes it worse.

ZOMG, Tsukihi and Karen have boyfriends! Scandalous! Or at least I think its both of them. Those lines were a little odd, with Koyomi saying "your (omae) and then Tsukihi talking about Karen's boyfriend, so I'm not entirely sure what to make of Tsukihi's relationship status.

Shinobu really loves donuts.

So Yotsugi isn't even human. Not terribly surprising.

AAAAAHAHAHA, was not expecting him. That was funny.

So Kagenui and Yotsugi specialize in immortal creatures.

OH FUCK, Yotsugi just blew off Tsukihi's entire upper body. And now Yotsugi feels "parody of To Aru Majutsu no Index" was part of her design concept. "Unlimited Rule Book" just feels very Index-ish.

Kagenui is making it sound like Tsukihi is the Phoenix, rather than merely being possessed by or connected to it. If she's being truthful and not deliberately misleading, then only two explanations seem possible: the original Tsukihi died and the Phoenix replaced her, or there was never a real Tsukihi to begin with. Of course, this being *monogatari, there's going to be some twist and its neither. Hmmm, well, I suppose they could have merged or are otherwise considered to be one and the same now.


----------------------------------------------------------

Yay for lots of Shinobu in this episode. I love her so much, I'm so glad she started speaking and has gotten a decent amount of attention in this series. She's definitely up near the top, with Hitagi and Mayoi, for me. Though ranking characters in this show is really hard, because they're all really damn good characters.

So, this arc's shit finally hits the fan at the end. Only one episode left, then we have to wait who knows how long for more *monogatari. ;_;

[Fencedude]

That would have been a bit more shocking if it weren't completely telegraphed, but still, damn.

Kaiki showing up was hilarious.

The gratuitous Shinobu was also appreciated.

As for Tsukihi, if she really is a Phoenix, not just possessed by it, I wonder how much she actually knows. Shinobu sure was interested in protecting her, wasn't she?

[strangefour]

-Oh Shinobu gets more likes? Hooray~
-Quickly to Mister Donut!
-Ararararararararagi can no resist the stripping of the obi.
-No Ararararararagi we know you kind of well and in context that's still dirty.
-The fire sisters have boyfriends? Whaaaaaaaa?
-SO MANY DONUTS! Give them all to Shinobu!
-ONLY THREE!? WTF!
-Only five! Wrong! She requires atleast 20 donuts to survive.
-Kaiki! Hah. Funny place to run into you. He seems completely unmenacing now. Just a weird goth/hipster eating donuts.
-*squee* My favorite girl is back. With her strange demonic familiar.
-"Unlimited Rulebook." Huh she did pose for once. Kinda...
-SHINGING FIIIIIIIIIIIIIINGER! Hehe.
-Brotherly berserker rage! . . . Isn't very effective.
-The fake really is a true fake. Huh.
-Yozuru is too good to step on your filthy ground.

Our main character is more incestuous. His sisters are less so. Shinobu is utterly adorable. But who cares Yozuru is gorgeous. I hope Arararagi makes peace with the fact he will no longer have a sister who was never his sister soon. Or that he enjoys being chewing gum stuck on Yozuru's stiletto sandals.

[something]

Episode 10:

- It's a very serious situation... it must be about donuts.
- It's about donuts. <3 Shinobu.

- Well. A few months must have passed because Tsukihi's hair grew out (or y'know just basic Shaft artistic license). And looks amazing.
- ::lick::
- Brushing teeth and fondling breasts: It's helpful!
- Tsukihi is going to disband the Fire Sisters. ;_;
- Hahaa what the fuck Koyomi. o_O Incest just comes so naturally to him now. "It was right there in front of me so I wondered how it would feel." :sd:
- Boyfriends? Liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiies! An Araragi sister would never go outside the family!
- Oh and I was distracted by the naked. But why did he expect Tsukihi to have scars? Maybe he just means from basic wear-and-tear of being a Fire Sister, but it almost sounded like there was some specific event in the past.

- Shinobu, master donut critic!
- Donut heaven!
- Hahahaha, epic spit-take. Heeeeeey, Kaiki!
- Donut sparkle!
- Immortal creaures. Tsukihi Phoenix. Don't you dare lay your hands on her, Yozuru!

- Yotsugi likes doorbells.
- Yotsugi completely obliterates Tsukihi's body from the waist up. That's mean, Yotsugi. Even though we know Tsukihi will be fine.
- Oh wow, they totally set off Koyomi's MURDER MODE. But he stood no chance.

God I hope Koyomi kicks their asses.

And how do we only have one episode left? ;_;

[superdry]

- Hahaa what the fuck Koyomi. o_O Incest just comes so naturally to him now. "It was right there in front of me so I wondered how it would feel." :sd:

Best part of the episode.


- Oh and I was distracted by the naked. But why did he expect Tsukihi to have scars? Maybe he just means from basic wear-and-tear of being a Fire Sister, but it almost sounded like there was some specific event in the past.

That intrigued me. Then it's sort of explained later in the episode with the whole Phoenix thing.

Kagenui calling Oshino, Oshino-kun - interesting. I wonder about their past (told in a different *monogatari story?)


And how do we only have one episode left? ;_;

I'm intrigued how this Phoenix issue is going to be resolved. Maybe Tsukihi will be left alone since it sounds like she is the Phoenix and not possessed by one?

[bear]

-No Ararararararagi we know you kind of well and in context that's still dirty.

That was the first time his harassment actually bothered me. I agree, that actually was molestation.

[Ashyukun]

-No Ararararararagi we know you kind of well and in context that's still dirty.

That was the first time his harassment actually bothered me. I agree, that actually was molestation.
That should have been another clue that she wasn't the 'real' Tsukihi- a real Arararagi-imouto would have been welcoming it. :sweat:

[TheGreenMan]

Yep...no incest here, folks. Not at all.
Holy SHIT! Shinobu grew and is now REALLY GODDAMNED HOT. 16, 17?
Wow...Koyomi is getting the shit kicked out of him. Really bad.
And of course, Shinobu kicks the Misaki clone's ass. Haha. Wish we could have seen that fight. Damn.
Oh, shit...Koyomi got the shit kicked out him...HARD. His eyes freak me out.
Haha...donut hoodie!
You really shouldn't have told her about Hitagi.
Short haired Hitagi! In fact...Tsubasa, Karen, Kanbaru, Hitagi...there's an epidemic!

[superdry]

Yep...no incest here, folks. Not at all.

LOL at Koyomi saying he didn't feel anything kissing Tsukihi. He totally did. Probably wanted a longer kiss. haha. I wish Karen walked in in the middle of the kiss.


Holy SHIT! Shinobu grew and is now REALLY GODDAMNED HOT. 16, 17?

Dem legs. Those are some nice legs with that super short skirt. Her face looked funny though...maybe SHAFT will fix it in the BD release.


Short haired Hitagi! In fact...Tsubasa, Karen, Kanbaru, Hitagi...there's an epidemic!

What a travesty. Ugh...why Hitagi? Why did you have to cut your hair?

I can't believe the show is over already...it felt like yesterday I just watched the first episode. Time sure flies when watching a fun show even weekly.

[Fencedude]

Fuck yeah teenage Shinobu. She needs to stay like that.

And the ending was...well, appropriate. There was nothing really that needed to be done about Tsukihi, so Kagenui just needed to be discouraged.

Yotsugi was pretty funny though. She was going to make a come back anytime now!

[strangefour]

Goodbye gorgeous Yozuru. I will miss you so much. :cry:

Oh uh yeah there was more incest, the fight was nice but could have used more contact instead of Red Cards, and hot damn teen Shinobu is smoking hot. Nise deviated from Bake's style with substance into all style over substance. Also damn it every girl (who isn't a shadow dwelling vampire) got their hair cut short! Way too short.

[something]

Done already? ;_;

Episode 11:

- "Would you die for Tsukihi-chan?" "I would. With a smile." <3
- You knew we could rely on Koyomi not to be upset about Karen's identity. Because whoc ares how she was born? She's always been their sister.
- "Platinum mukatsuku!"
- Oh god yes please let there be an awesome Shinobu/Koyomi vs Yozuru/Yotsugi scene.

- ...WTF! Suddenly, a medium-sized order of Shinobu. Oh wow.
- Hmm no, I thought at firstr she had changed to a teenaged version in between Shinobu and Kissshot, but it just looks like Kissshot to me. Anyway, kick Yotsugi's ass, Kissshinobu.

...Really, Shaft? You only needed to get through 11 episodes. This was the last one. I'm sure you must have had adequate budget this time, going by the quality of previous epsiodes. And yet the Koyomi/Yozuru fight is showing trademark signs of Shaft "shit we're not done"-ness. I can see putting some of it down to censorship, but there's way too much for that to explain everything. It's nowhere as bad as the infamous Nadeko Snake debacle, but Koyomi's fight with Karen was far superior.

- In any event, Koyomi got truly and thoroughly fucked up. He never even laid a finger on her.
- Meanwhile Shinobu kicked Yotsugi's ass. Shinobu vs Yozuru? Fuck yes please.
- No. Damnit.
- No fight at all actually. Yozuru just leaves. ...ok.

- Hah Tsukihi didn't know about Hitagi. Yeah you better hope Tsukihi keeps her mouth shut around Hitagi.
- Annnnnnnnd there's short haired Hitagi, almost as an afterthought. She doesn't look good at all. I'm willing to give it some more screentime in a later series to grow on me (like Tsubasa's amazing short hair) but for right now, ugh. I really hope she just grows it out before the next story.

Hmmm. I wonder if all *monogatari series have really underwhelming endings. I was hoping for a great ending to Nise, but this was not that. It wasn't even as good an ending as any of the individual 2-3 episode character arcs in Bake.

Nise was very strange, although in ways that make sense. It played out, from start to finish, like episodes from the middle of a larger show, not as a show itself. And since it is just one piece of a much larger novel sequence, I can understand that. I accepted that and that's why I liked most of it so much. We already know Shinbou wants to animate all the novels, so it's not like Nise needed a clear beginning or a clear end. Or even a very serious overarching plot. It just needed to spotlight two more girls and introduce a couple important characters. For the most part it did that every bit as well as Bake and better in some ways. Besides, the whole season serves, if you ask me, to set up this "occult club" group of Meme, Kaiki and Yozuru (and eventually presumably the 4th one she mentioned). All the rest is just fanservice (in multiple meanings of the term), and since it was so damn entertaining, that's absolutely fine.

But Yozuru... I'm simply not feeling her. Yotsugi had an amusing gimmick at least, and Kaiki is way better than either of them but Yozuru totally does not do it for me. I don't care about her and I don't think she added much to Tsukihi Phoenix. She shows up and beats up Koyomi a bit and then walks away. And Tsukihi herself did less in her arc than any Monogatari girl before her, which was disappointing.

Eh, I'm feeling very conflicted. Just like with Bake, I can't justify a 10/10 rating because of a weak ending, so 9/10 it is, again. There's too much brilliance in dialogue and visual creativity and amazing fanservice/character art to rate it any less. But it falls short of that highest tier in some important ways.

Looks like it should only be a matter of time before Mouretsu takes #1 of Winter for me.

[ultimatemegax]

- ...WTF! Suddenly, a medium-sized order of Shinobu. Oh wow.
- Hmm no, I thought at firstr she had changed to a teenaged version in between Shinobu and Kissshot, but it just looks like Kissshot to me. Anyway, kick Yotsugi's ass, Kissshinobu.

From what I've heard, this was a teenage (medium powered) Shinobu, not KissShot. She only partially received an upgrade from Koyomi. For her to revert to KissShot, it would require all of his blood, turning him fully into a vampire. The lack of blood also caused those powers to amplify during this episode as evidenced by his quicker healing capacity. I won't say anything more for fear of future anime series spoilers.

[something]

From what I've heard, this was a teenage (medium powered) Shinobu, not KissShot.
Yeah guess so, teen is what I thought at first but then something about her just seemed older than that in later scenes. Body older, clothes younger. Hot either way.

[strangefour]

Hmmm. I wonder if all *monogatari series have really underwhelming endings. I was hoping for a great ending to Nise, but this was not that. It wasn't even as good an ending as any of the individual 2-3 episode character arcs in Bake.

Katanagatari. That had the perfect ending. But yeah Bake~s ending was okay
(if you don't count any of the half ass snake stuff just Araragi & Senjogahara under the stars). But Nise~s just kind of rolls to a stop because they rain out of script pages.

But Yozuru... I'm simply not feeling her. Yotsugi had an amusing gimmick at least, and Kaiki is way better than either of them but Yozuru totally does not do it for me. I don't care about her and I don't think she added much to Tsukihi Phoenix. She shows up and beats up Koyomi a bit and then walks away. And Tsukihi herself did less in her arc than any Monogatari girl before her, which was disappointing.

You shut your mouth. Yozuru is the best girl in this show who isn't obsessed with donuts. It was nice to have a girl who didn't care at all about Ararararagi and just kept dismissing him without any seductive word play. Even if this arc was the weakest of all. Cut out the toothbrush and incest fanservice; you're left with 40 minutes of Yozuru perched sexily on things and kicking Arararagi's butt. And donuts. Deliscious enticing donuts.

[something]

Hmmm. I wonder if all *monogatari series have really underwhelming endings. I was hoping for a great ending to Nise, but this was not that. It wasn't even as good an ending as any of the individual 2-3 episode character arcs in Bake.Katanagatari. That had the perfect ending. But yeah Bake~s ending was okay (if you don't count any of the half ass snake stuff just Araragi & Senjogahara under the stars). But Nise~s just kind of rolls to a stop because they rain out of script pages.
I wasn't counting Katanagatari of course. Totally different story universe. I mean Bake, Nise, and the million others of those.

[HitokiriShadow]

So the "Phoenix" is actually a supernatural Cuckoo. The Cuckoo and Tsukihi are one and the same. And they always were. So this really is the real Tsukihi. There was never a different Tsukihi that it replaced (unless maybe there was one that died in the womb; its a bit vague on that point).

"I wasn't always your older brother, but Tsukihi has always been my little sister." Awwww, that was really sweet.

ZOMG, teenager Shibobu!

So it turns out Kaiki is a classmate of Oishino and Kagenui. And Kaiki was the one that told her about Tsukihi. The little rat bastard.

Then things get bloody. And very gory. Possibly moreso than the Suruga Monkey climax, despite the lack of Koyomi being tossed around by his intestines.

Shinobu kicked Yotsugi's ass. Yotsugi was all talk. But she was totally planning an elaborate comeback. Her "don't worry about me, Onee-sama" was cute. X0

"I just went and fought a monster, like a monster, with a monster, all for your sake." "Why thank you, that was very kind of you." "I'm going to introduce you to my girlfriend. We've been dating for months." "WTF, I'm platinum mad!"

I believe we saw Hitagi with her hair cut in the trailer shortly before the season started, but we only just now see her that way in the show, for a total of about five seconds after the ED (and like a quarter second before it).

Hopefully that "To be continued" means we'll get news of the next TV series soon and we'll be able to watch it within the year.

And go Shaft, you managed to finish the series without any of your infamous unfinished episodes. Sure, there were the "red/black scene" screens in this episode but that was almost certainly for reducing the worst of the violence on screen for the broadcast rather than because they couldn't finish the episode on time.

Anyway, Nisemonogatari was fantastic, everything I could have hoped for in a sequel to Bakemonogatari and then some. Well, okay, I take that back. I am disappointed that it seemed to decided that Tsukihi/Karen yuri incest was turned into just a fanservice joke after all. But since the show was fantastic otherwise, I'll forgive it.

[HitokiriShadow]

Holy SHIT! Shinobu grew and is now REALLY GODDAMNED HOT. 16, 17?Dem legs. Those are some nice legs with that super short skirt. Her face looked funny though...maybe SHAFT will fix it in the BD release.

They apparently couldn't decide if she was supposed to look 16 or 25. Might be related to making Kizumonogatari at the same time, and Kisshot always looked like she had the body of someone at least in their mid 20s. Alternatively, standard Shaft animation issues.

[Ashyukun]

- Annnnnnnnd there's short haired Hitagi, almost as an afterthought. She doesn't look good at all. I'm willing to give it some more screentime in a later series to grow on me (like Tsubasa's amazing short hair) but for right now, ugh. I really hope she just grows it out before the next story.

I actually rather like the short-haired Hitagi. It makes her look brighter and less.. well, 'weighed down'. I think it suits her beginning to let go of some of the grudges and weight from her past. I would have minded Tsubasa's haircut as much if she'd kept the glasses...

I did think Nise ended weaker than Bake did, but that's largely because the Hitagi/Koyomi scene under the stars was just perfect. Nise really felt like it just, well, stopped short instead of actually coming to a conclusion... which I'm guessing is reflective of the source material and not the writing of the anime. I still really enjoyed it- but Bake was, for me, stronger.

[something]

Man, the end card (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1121756) was way better than the episode itself but CR's version doesn't include it. Annoying.

Anyway, dead sexy medium-Shinobu image.

[Ashyukun]

Man, the end card (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1121756) was way better than the episode itself but CR's version doesn't include it. Annoying.

Anyway, dead sexy medium-Shinobu image.

One of the best parts of the episode was powered-up Shinobu's donut bomber jacket. It will be interesting to see in Kizu whether she's always had a thing for donuts or if that was a result of her time spent with Oshino...

[Magewolf]

You shut your mouth. Yozuru is the best girl in this show who isn't obsessed with donuts. It was nice to have a girl who didn't care at all about Ararararagi and just kept dismissing him without any seductive word play. Even if this arc was the weakest of all. Cut out the toothbrush and incest fanservice; you're left with 40 minutes of Yozuru perched sexily on things and kicking Arararagi's butt. And donuts. Deliscious enticing donuts.

Did anyone else notice the parallels between Yozuru,Oshino,and Kaiki and Araragi’s family?
Araragi = Oshino The cool one with a big heart
Karen = Yozuru The insanely violent one on a crusade of justice
Tsukihi = Kaiki The fake and the smart one.

[Damius]

The image, if anyone is wondering: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1099750

Oh and a stitch of the YURI SISTERS scene as a bonus: http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1100301

Thanks for saving me the time to look for the end card! And yeah, nice bonus!!!

[Damius]

- Karen wants to fight Koyomi!
- I sure love that fight! Plus we have some screen time for Shinobu, which makes the fight even better!
- Shinobu: "Don’t pat my head, rub my breast…" Koyomi answers: "Why did you say this when you were still an adult…"
- And the discussion afterward was great too.

- So now it’s the turn of the Koyomi and Hitagi vs Kaiki fight!
- That discussion between the three sure was epic, at this series level for sure.
- “Be gentle to me tonight” To where will that lead, Hitagi?
- The fire sisters naked in a bed, hugging each other…just fantastic! YURI!
- Happy ending shot, fire sisters jumping to the sky!

Another fantastic episode…

[Damius]

http://cowboybibimbop.soup.io/post/234840746/She-says-she-had-a-toothbrush-in Expand the "Original Post" link for the video.

So apparently Kitamura Eri (Karen's seiyuu) actually had a toothbrush in her mouth while acting out that scene, hahah. I'm glad to know they value realism so highly.

I fully agree with them wanting to making it even more realist. Wow.

[Damius]

- Tsukihi's OP is really cute.
- Karen is wearing a skirt. Really?
- In Koyomi’s eyes, since Karen-chan is too pretty, someone probably bullying her… Poor Karen-chan…
- I agree. I want Karen to meet Suruga.
- “I’m so honored you’d step on me” Ok…
- “I’ll give you my virginity, Nii-chan!” Yeah, she would go that far.
- Perfect score. This is better than the Olympics.
- Oh, the clothes are at Tsukihi.
- What will be the test?
- He wants to brush Karen-chan’s teeth (well that is way better than what Karen-chan imagined…).
- Wow…the brushing teeth scene is well…way more erotic than I would imagine… Fantastic!
- Tsukihi-chan sure has the best timing here.
- Karen-chan wants to go best out of three?

This episode was…is there even a word to describe it… this is way too amazing to have a word for it…

[Damius]

"I'm dating Senjougahara but I love Hanekawa." Now Araragi explicitly states what has been apparent for a while. And then he proposes to Mayoi.However, even as fickle in his attentions as Araragi is, having him suddenly state that he loves Hanakawa more than Senjougahara, still seemed like too big of a jump to me.
Mmmm, did he really phrase it quite like "I am dating Hitagi but love Tsubasa"? Or "I'm dating Senjougahara and I love (daisuki) Tsubasa, but...". The nuance is subtle but absoluetly critical.

What I (more or less, might flub some particles) heard: "Boku wa Senjougahara to tsukiatterushi, Hanekawa no koto ga daisuki da keredo, kekkon suru nara, omae da omoteru ze...". I don't think any direct connection between the first two causes was implied. I assumed the keredo there was setting up the Mayoi clause not contrasting the Tsubasa and Hitagi clauses. He was listing off girls he cared deeply about in order to hype up the "proposal" he subsequently made to Mayoi. And "daisuki" can cover a range of emotions based on context.

Describing Tsubasa as his ideal woman in episode 8 didn't change anything for me either. If we were discussing hypothetical ideals, the smart, hard-working, gentle but firm, beautiful (and busty) Tsubasa would probably top a hell of a lot more "perfect ideal woman" lists than the acerbic, emotionally abusive, and physically dangerous Hitagi. But sometimes perfection isn't the best partner. Why do most of us (myself included) like Hitagi better than Tsubasa? I would bet Koyomi doesn't feel all that differently.

It's a complex relationship dynamic, for sure. I'd bet anything that tensions surrounding it are central to some of the later novels. But so far I have seen nothing that makes me feel like Koyomi is betraying the core meaning of the words he said to Hitagi while they laid under the stars together. Rewatch that scene (which still makes me cry), I feel like it says absoluetly everything about who he and Hitagi really are to each other. She offers herself, her everything to him. It's not much. A cute kouhai, taciturn father, a starry sky, and of course a sharp, spiteful tongue. She can't offer him womanly perfection, and I'm not sure he really wants it. He accepts all that she is, and isn't.

Tsubasa may be his ideal, but only that - an ideal, not his reality. Hitagi is his world.

This is exactly why watching an anime an reading comments about an episode is truly another experience compare to only watch the episode. This is exactly what I needed to know.

[Damius]

- Naked Suruga is back. Nice to see you again!
- Karen does have a nice new outfit.
- Why Karen, why??? Why???? Did you cut your hair? WHY???
- She speaks about his crotch and she wants to cut it.
- Oh, a new character? Welcome!
- Tsubasa, nice to see you again!
- Would have like a longer scene between Suruga and Karen.
- Well, it’s Mayoi, so it’s great.
- Shinobu is awesome there. Not this time Koyomi.
- Koyomi is dating Hitagi, he loves Tsubasa and wants to marry Mayoi!
- Another new character. Welcome to you as well.

Where is Tsukihi? It’s her arc after all.

[Damius]

- “Can it be later?” Are you seriously asking that to Shinobu?
- It is a serious situation… 100-Yen donut sale.
- Licks ice cream!
- No..no. Tsukihi can stay dress like that.
- “Why did you grab my breast before, getting of me?” “It was right in front of me, so I wondered how it would feel.” Oh, Koyomi…
- Tsukihi’s boyfriend???
- I want to eat donut again too.
- I wonder what would make Shinobu talk…
- Kaiki is there too…
- Don’t take your wallet out in front of Kaiki, Koyomi…you should know that.
- ::Ding dong:: x 15 times or even more.
- They hurt, or anyway tried to hurt Tsukihi. Koyomi…Murder mode! But even in that mode…no chance.
- Boo... to both the new girls…

Well…I really wonder how will be the last episode… Only one episode left…it's not enough. I love Shinobu in that episode.

[Damius]

- Oh and I was distracted by the naked. But why did he expect Tsukihi to have scars? Maybe he just means from basic wear-and-tear of being a Fire Sister, but it almost sounded like there was some specific event in the past.That intrigued me. Then it's sort of explained later in the episode with the whole Phoenix thing.

Yeah, that's probably it. But, I sure want to know more about the whole thing... well, in the time they have left.

[Damius]

Man, the end card (http://danbooru.donmai.us/post/show/1121756) was way better than the episode itself but CR's version doesn't include it. Annoying.

Anyway, dead sexy medium-Shinobu image.

I wonder why CR doesn't have them... This end card is go way too sexy!

[Damius]

- And now Koyomi kissed his sister? Well, he paid for it…
- "Platinum mukatsuku!" Wow, I really like this one. I may use it just for fun.
- Yes! Shinobu scene.
- Shinobu grew! She is HOT!
- And here we have it the Shinobu/Koyomi vs Yozuru/Yotsugi scene. How deep in it will they be able to go?
- That fight had way too many cut scenes…
- There is not even a Shinobu vs Yozuru fight? This is the LAST episode… Come on…
- Hitagi have short hair too now… NOOOO! I don’t approve at all… Why… Why… She is my favorite character…

That’s the end they give us… Oh well… I still have no regrets at all I choice this series as an import, since it’s still an awesome show. I hope we won’t wait too long for the next series.