On-going Thoughts: Nisemonogatari 4/12

Actually a full analysis. Took two hours. Let’s not do this type again.

Nisemonogatari is ridiculously difficult to review. It’s just so dialogue-heavy, it’s much easier to review something that’s plot driven. Most of these explanations are primarily speculative, I can’t feign for complete accuracy, feel free to correct me.

On-going Thoughts: Episode

It appears that he’s home with his sisters and Tsubasa now. He gives a lecture to his sisters on how they shouldn’t pretend to put on a false veil of strength if they don’t have it, it’s not brave, it’s foolish. It’s pretending to be a hero without actually being one.

Tsubasa tells Aragagi how he cares about her much differently than he does about the rest of his friends. She says it’s a bit more “desperate”. I’m assuming it means that Aragagi is frustrated that he can’t help her, unlike his other friends which he can help. It probably has to deal with her situation at home. She implies that he paralleled his earlier lecture towards his sisters as the manifestations of his thoughts; he’s frustrated towards his sisters not because of them, but because he’s exactly like them. He retorts her claims by saying that she barely knows his sister; there isn’t a concrete indisputable base for her theory. Aragagi begins to explain that he’s known his sisters for primarily their entire lives, he knows them “better”. She jokingly retorts on how he calls them by the honorific “chan”, which usually implies a particular fondness, or cuteness. The conversation shifts to playful bickering.

Anyhow, the conversation shifts to the situation at hand. His sisters began the search for the charm that was in circulation among the middle school kids, as initially told to him by Sengoku. He explains the fame of his sisters, and how news surrounding them tends to spread like wildfire. Tsubasa deduces that their initial conception of the circulation was just a hunch. He questions her on her affiliation with them, on how much she’s aided them. She states that she isn’t actively helping them, they only go to her for aid once in a while. He then accuses her of being the one that initially helped them, the one who tipped them off, the one who probably inevitable got them into the “situation at hand”. He deduces that the phone call that Karen received back then [In that prior episode, where she stated that she’ll have news at dinner], was undoubtedly from her.

He goes on to mention how her biggest strength is her intelligence, which Oshino Meme from Bakemonogatari forewarned. He admits that his sisters and him must accept their “weakness”, just as she must accept her “strength”. He shifts back to the problem at hand, he questions her on whether or not Karen went to talk to the suspect. She confirms this, however, she was occupied with something and arrived only much later. She regrets not being there earlier, so she could help her. The suspect is confirmed to be Kaiki Deishuu, the coated man from the last episode (also the one that hexed Senjougahara prior to Bakemonogatari). The conversation ends there.

Anyhow the scene shifts to a flashback, he questions her on how she managed to persuade Senjougahara into letting him go. “If you won’t be a good girl, I’ll persuade Aragagi-kun to be my boyfriend”. Holy shit that’s cold. But ironically, extremely effective.

The flashback ends, and he’s back in his bath, he’s “cooling” off after leaving his sisters in the care of Tsubasa. A wild nude Shinobu appears. Her voice wasn’t exactly as anticipated, she initiates some playful bickering. She addresses him as “my master”, and goes on to explain on how she always had the innate ability to talk, she just didn’t feel like it until she appeared nude in front of him. He thanks her for cutting the chains, from what I remember, Shinobu is always “with” him, in his shadow I believe. Or I’m confusing that mechanic with some other anime, not sure. Basically, the annihilated chains from the previous episode wasn’t due to fervent brotherly love, but in fact, the workings of Shinobu. She then proceeds to eat the rest of his handcuffs, probably builds fiber… and character. She states that there isn’t a need for thanks, she just did whatever she felt like, just as she’s always done (most likely related to her misadventures in Kizumonogatari). She states that her feeling like it was mere coincidence.

Aragagi attempts to talk to her while washing her hair. She stops him saying that whatever he’s going to say is most likely futile. She’ll never forgive him, and he’ll never forgive her, and that’s fine. She says that they can’t merely forget the past, but that doesn’t mean that they “can’t come together”. She asks him on his thoughts about that, he says that he’s surprised about her reaction. She goes onto mention that he’s come to his own conclusion. She goes onto explain how she can’t stay such a gloomy person forever, she’s not that “small”. She states how she needs to tell him this; she doesn’t believe that he could come up with that conclusion on his own. The scene then ends with a transition to playful banter.

“A wreathe fire bee, a supernatural variant of the Asian giant hornet.” She confirms that the hornet’s the “monster” that’s afflicting his older sister. It appears that her knowledge of this bee wasn’t due to research, but in fact, forced lectures from Meme. She goes onto to explain how the bee dates back to the 14th to 15th century, and how it’s a type of infectious disease without a known source. The disease begins with a fever so high that it inhibits the movement of the victim, lasting until the victim’s expiration. The disease proceeded for a while, killing hundreds of victims, it was stopped by a famous onmyoji, which translates to a practitioner of a mix of nature science and occultism. He narrates how Karen’s the type of person to never feign weakness, relating back to the lecture of false strength. However, she didn’t attempt to put up a facade, she was clearly struggling. He then deduces that Kaiki poisoned his sister with a supernatural monster; however, according to Senjougahara, Kaiki was a fake, and a conman. Aragagi goes onto suggest that perhaps by fake, it insinuated being unskilled, rather than the complete lack of ability. She then mentions how a human wouldn’t act like that, the perpetrator would have to be supernatural.

He then asks Shinobu to eat the disease. She mentions that the disease is just a result, she could eat the Bee, but that would prove useless. Then it shifts to playful banter, awesome banter.

Needless to say, Shinobu barely escaped her untimely death. And more playful banter continues, this is how you should relieve a series of “serious scenes”.

She then questions him on how long he intends to live, he’s human still, but he’s also half-vampire. His resilience reverts to that of a human, but his lifespan could still very well be that of a vampire. She essentially questions him on whether or not he has to will to live past the death of his family, his friends, and his lover. She goes on to say regardless of the connections he makes, they’ll all die out, except his eternal relation with her. She then prepositions him to kill her to revert his lifespan into that of a human’s. He retorts her suggestion. They live until they die, and that’s the end of that argument.

On-going Thoughts: Concluding Thoughts

Great episode. I’m exhausted. Yeah.