Monogatari Series: Second Season - Reviews

Nothing beats this series on my list. I might be an outsider in the filming or animate industry but I love the way the storytelling of this Monogatari series. I am so addicted to the storytelling without alphabetical sequence thus the methodology played by the author and anime team pushed me to a stage that I bought all the novels and DVD to save some time without rewatching the anime online again. (Not even one piece able to attract me to buy its DVD and manga) In the end, I watched the tv-series watched multiple times. I did enjoy the role given by the author to me while watching through the series as I need to link the events according to the timeline and figure the roots or relation between the events happen around the main protagonist by myself after finishing the series. At the same time, Rearrangement of the events sequence has to be done by the audience unless you watch the recap. Monogatari is a masterpiece that not many people will consider to watch and it is not a hot pick for the newcomer to anime. People who watched it might understand my point of view aside from the harem element. I would take this opportunity to thank shaft, the novel author, the amination team, the voice authors and especially the other fans who gave them the financial support on continuing to make this tv-series come true in my life. This masterpiece is worth more than just 10.

I personally believe that you can't take other people's word for what is good anime, so keep that in mind when I say that this season was SO GOOD. I mean it was SO GOOD. Usually after a successful first season all you can really hope for is some okay episodes to go back into their world, and you get to find out some new things. I thought it was like that for Nisemonogatari; it was good, but just not really "fresh." Nekomonogatari surprised me with how good it was as a continuation, and then THIS...

We aren't introduced to many new characters, and they only come in as the story unfolds. This is significant because usually with anime new characters come and go quickly, and we don't connect with the main characters as much.

The plot for this whole season (including Nekomonogatari Black) had an overriding arc told from beginning to end, as opposed to stretching simple plot points with filler episodes. In this way Second Season is also different from the first season, which was split into 2-3 episode arcs. Second Season has arcs, but they are more part of an underlying story being told across the whole season.

Cliches are usually a problem for me, and I don't believe any TV or movies are free of them. In this series, the cliches are somehow a parody of themselves, and somehow they don't bother me. They're self-referential in some way, and honestly I can't understand how they manage to pull it off.

In short, this season as a whole has engaging character development and a well-paced, interesting plot. It even has elements of mystery. This series is refreshing for anyone who's watched a lot of anime and is jaded by how typical they seem to become. Good character development and plot pacing are hard to come by.

I realize that a full rave is pretty much a useless review, but I can't help liking it all the way around. I don't recommend going into it expecting the best thing ever; I recommend watching it without any expectations at all because it has the effect of making you wonder what's going to happen next. That said, this review is a bad idea for anyone who hasn't seen this yet. I just wanted to put this out there.

There's really only one reason why you should watch Monogatari Series: Second Season (Monogatari II).

Figure 1: Mai waifu

In all seriousness, Monogatari II has catapulted the franchise to new heights in terms of its legacy as a post-modern anime. In my opinion, Bakemonogatari on its own was simply an intriguing experiment, an anime that featured unique animation, a quirky set of characters, and way too much dialogue for its own good. I thought it was about on par with other experimental anime such as Cat Soup or FLCL, which, while very good, seemed too inconsistent to place among my favorite anime of all time. Monogatari II, on the other hand, brings a consistency in quality that its predecessor did not. Having a much bigger budget due to the success of the previous series and a certain magical girl franchise doesn't hurt either.

The animation is a step up even from the improvements of the side stories Nisemonogatari and Nekomonogatari. There is a definitive identity to the animation, which seem to take its influences from western modern art as well as Akiyuki Shinbo's personal style. However, the anime continues to experiment with its cinematography, providing angles to shots and stylizing settings like I've never seen before (sometimes for fanservice but usually not). And of course, it doesn't run out of budget at the end, which makes the finale of the series a spectacularly fun watch. It's not my favorite style of animation ever, and it's certainly not for everyone, but I can't deny its creativity.

Figure 2: Mai waifu

The consistent quality that Monogatari II brings is with the story arcs and the development of the characters. The characters that we know and love already are given a chance to grow and show a more rounded side of themselves. Some characters narrate their own arcs, which allows for a more intimate connection with them. However, not all the characters who tell the stories are heroes. In the final arc with Kaiki, who has grown to be one of my favorite villain/anti-heroes I've ever seen in anime, he flat out admits that he's unreliable, and plays games with the viewer as you try to guess just how genuine his intentions are. No character is acting completely morally; most realize that even if they are firm in their principles, sometimes their principles are wrong and they have to change. Other times they have to weigh whether or not abiding by their principles is worth missing an opportunity for some other gain. Still again there are stories that involve characters having to choose between two seemingly equally valuable principles. These are all tropes that have obviously been explored before in media, but I hardly see them tackled with this level of detail (and dare I say maturity) in anime, and the Monogatari series does have its own lessons to teach on the human condition.

Figure 3: Mai waifu

I would love to go into detail about why I enjoyed each and every decision regarding character development in this anime, but it can really be summarized in two ideas. The writing of the second season makes the characters you love even more lovable and turns the characters you hate into characters you love. Since the anime is 26 episodes (minus a few for recaps), the pace doesn't seem rushed, and since the arcs are focused on a certain character's story, the pace doesn't drag at all. The all star cast of seiyus put on their best show yet. Chiwa Saito, Maaya Sakamoto, Yui Horie, Emiri Katou, and Kana Hanazawa are absolutely superb (seriously, look at their pages, these people are all-star veterans of the industry and it shows). When the script calls for a big emotional moment, they deliver, but they also do an excellent job of just speaking the normal dialogue (which, again, there's a lot of) while maintaining their characters.

Figure 4: Mai waifu

After all my gushing, what could possibly be wrong with this anime? Two major things come to mind. First, Araragi seems to be left behind by the character development train (so does Kanbaru, but she's getting her own arc soon in an OVA so that's excusable). As a lead character in the series, he seems relatively weak compared to in the previous season and spin offs. He spends significant portions of the series off screen and in those arcs where he just has to show up at the last minute, it's more of a disappointment than anything. One should expect more from the lead male character, especially after the new role he assumed at the end of the previous season. To be fair, this did allow for more focus on the other characters, but I was disappointed with how Araragi developed during the screen time he had. Second, the story can be all over the place at times. While each arc definitely has its focus, there are moments that seem to have no context, characters introduced that seem out of sequence, and of course, plenty of things that happen and were never explained. I presume a lot of this is due to the asequential format of the Monogatari series, but there were many holes left at the end of the season (hopefully indicating a season 3, especially by the ending) which blemish the storytelling.

I would call the Monogatari series the “Clannad After Story” of the franchise. It knew how to take advantage of already established characters. It improved the anime overall in almost every area. I'd go so far as to say that it makes watching the first series worth it for those who didn't really love the first season. Sure, if you can't get past its overall style Monogatari II isn't going to give you something completely different, but it realizes the potential that I believe the first season was trying to reach.

Figure 5: Mai Waifu

This season is a bit darker than the last few seasons in my opinion, the action does feel slower but the face to face conversations are more intense which shows how much the characters care for each other and the situations they're in. The story arcs are focussed on envious apparitions and also what negative impact changing the past can have.

The dialogue in the first story arc between Tsubasa Hanekawa and Hitagi Senjyogahara is pretty brutal but amazing at the same time, where Senjyogahara analyzes everything Hanekawa does while Senjyogahara also took Hanekawa into her home after Hanekawa's home got burned to the ground.

The same goes for the dialogue between Koyomi's sister Karen and Nadeko Sengoku. Karen understands the feelings Nadeko Sengoku is struggling with but tells her that she can't just keep living the way she's living and takes a certain approach that doesn't allow Nadeko Sengoku to hide anymore.

The time travel story arc turned from trying to help a friend into a dark situation and tries to teach Koyomi and Shinobu that messing with the past just ain't a good idea.

The character development is insane, characters we got to enjoy as quiet characters are being pushed to the limit and I'm sure there is a lot more to come.

The last few episodes are the end of a story arc relating to the Nadeko Sengoku arc from earlier in the season, told from mainly Deishuu Kaiki's perspective.

Hitagi Senjyogahara's role is absolutely fucking amazing, she asks Deishuu Kaiki is he can help her to stop Nadeko Sengoku from killing her, Shinobu and Koyomi Araragi. I wasn't a fan of Kaiki when he was first introduced but this story arc developed 'm into a pretty interesting character. The ending was somewhat predictable but it did feel really out of place. Almost like a tribute to another anime that I saw not too long ago.

Overall, the whole season was pretty dark with some amazing character development and some really silly but funny moments.

Yeah, I don't have an "It literally means..." line for this one.

 

But man oh man. Was it a blast! Monogatari Series: Second Season exceeded all my expectations. I will try to make this review as much spoiler-free as possible. I will also give a sort of episode guide. So bear with me, please.

Monogatari Series: Second Season is based on 5 NisioIsin novels. This means within 23 episodes, there are five different arcs. I said 23 because there are 3 recap episodes in the total of 26 episodes. So the anime actually has 23 legit episodes. Let's discuss the story by arcs.

1. Tsubasa Tiger (Based on Nekomonogatari 2nd volume): Episode 01-05

Remember how Hanekawa used to turn into a cat demon because of all the stresses in her life? Well, there is a new demon in the town and this time it is a tiger. In this arc, you will get to get a glimpse of Koyomi's mother. She is a rude bitch. So don't bother. Also, you will get introduced to two new characters.

2. Mayoi Jiangshi (Based on Kabukimonogatari): Episode 07-10

August 21 is the date the school will be opened after summer vacation. But Koyomi has not done a single homework. He curiously asks Shinobu if she could arrange a time travel so that he could have one more day to finish all his homework. Shinobu, being the Godly demon she is, arranges time travel. But instead of a day, they travel backs 10 years in the past. 

3. Nadeko Medusa (Based on Otorimonogatari): Episode 12-14

Now, after watching this arc, I have come to the conclusion that Sengoku Nadeko is indeed the most (or the second most?) complicated character in the franchisee. And who is this Oshino Ougi? Is she really the niece of my Meme-sama? Is she a she? This arc ends with a cliffhanger.

4. Shinobu Time (Based on Onimonogatari): Episode 17-20

A darkness has come to the town. It has come to serve retribution to the oddities that have strayed from their ways. But this is not the first time the darkness as such has come. Shinobu recalls a memory from her Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade days, where she almost got swallowed by the same darkness.

5. Hitagi End (Based on Koimonogatari): Episode 21-26

The story continues from the Nadeko Medusa arc. Senjougahara contacts Kaiki Deishu to save her and Koyomi from Nadeko. After watching Nisemonogatari, I didn't know whether to like Kaiki or not. But trust me, you will definitely love him after you watch this arc. Also, my oh my, Miki-shin did such a great job!!! Though this arc resolves the cliffhanger of Nadeko Medusa, the arc itself ends with a cliffhanger which I am hopeful will be solved in Hanamonogatari.

My Personal disappointment is that there was still no news of my beloved Meme-sama and not enough screen times for the fire sisters.

I would really like to know about Kaiki's past. Lastly, I will say what I have said many times before— Monogatari ending never disappoints you. 

Happy Watching!!!