Review for Nisemonogatari Part 1

Introduction

We’re really being spoiled for anime these days in the UK. We still get the mainstream short run shows that we always did, but today you can also find the long-running shonen anime, which ten years ago would have been a non starter in what was then a single volume, high RRP mentality. Conversely, we’re now getting the niche anime titles that previously would have been the sole province of the multi-region import crowd, buying from territories where sheer volume of numbers could make a release viable where our smaller demographic in the UK could not. Even in the US, those shows today tend to fall to distributors like Aniplex and NISA, who offer exclusive packaging and quality, at premium prices, targeting the dedicated audience that they know will pay above the odds for the title. Not for them the economics of companies like Funimation, who can price them low and sell them hard. Yet we too are getting those select niche titles, and we get the best of both worlds too, we get the titles, and we get them cheaply.


Following hot on the heels of fan favourite Bakemonogatari on DVD and Blu-ray (A subtitle only anime Blu-ray in the UK; now that is niche!); we get the sequel series Nisemonogatari as well, which continues the adventures of reformed vampire Koyomi Araragi, and his harem of oddball female friends. Nisemonogatari is shorter in length than Bakemonogatari at just 11 episodes, but MVM have to follow licensor stipulations in its release, and have it scheduled for two parts, on DVD and Blu-ray, subtitle only again. The follow up series concentrates on Araragi’s younger sisters, Karen and Tsukihi, the Fire Sisters, who appeared occasionally in the background of Bakemonogatari.


In this first part of Nisemonogatari, middle sister Karen Araragi takes centre stage. It follows on from Bakemonogatari, and serves as something of a sequel to the Nadeko snake segment of that show. Sengoku Nadeko is friends with the Fire Sisters, and goes to school with them. In Bakemonogatari, she was afflicted by a charm gone wrong, a problem that Araragi had to deal with. In Nisemonogatari, we learn that she wasn’t the sole victim of that charm, and middle school students around the local area are being preyed upon by an unscrupulous dealer in charms and curses, Kaiki Deishuu. He was also the conman who took advantage of Senjyogahara’s desperation when she had her weight problem. When Karen Araragi discovers who was behind Sengoku’s problem, she goes to confront Kaiki Deishuu, only to fall victim to a curse herself.


The first part of Nisemonogatari on DVD collects the first seven episodes across two discs, one dual and one single layer from MVM.

Disc 1
1. Karen bee, Part 1
2. Karen bee, Part 2
3. Karen bee, Part 3
4. Karen bee, Part 4

Disc 2
5. Karen bee, Part 5
6. Karen bee, Part 6
7. Karen bee, Part 7

Picture

Nisemonogatari gets a very nice 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer, just as Bakemonogatari did. It is native PAL with 4% speed-up courtesy of Australia’s Hanabee. This is a Studio SHAFT production, so it’s obvious from the off that the visuals play a big part in the show, and splitting the episodes 4-3 across 1 dual layer and one single layer disc (no extra features with this release) gives them space to breathe, with very little in the way of visible compression and aliasing. Colour reproduction is strong and even the most frenetic moments, with rapid shifts in image and colour, aren’t hampered by the DVD format. It’s a lot like Bakemonogatari in terms of visual invention and sheer imaginative quirkiness, but if there is something that separates the two series, I’d say that Nisemonogatari’s colour palette tends more towards the bright, primary colours, and the character designs are, for want of a better word, shinier.


It’s great if you watch it on a small screen. Something like a 32 inch television will show off its quirky aspects without issue. I watched it first on an old CRT set and was very impressed. It’s just when I adjourned to my HD panel, and gave it the upscale treatment to 1080 lines of resolution that the slightest hint of edge enhancement reared its head. Of course if you have an HD panel, you’ll be getting the Nisemonogatari Blu-ray release instead.

Sound

Nisemonogatari gets a DD 2.0 Stereo Japanese track, with optional translated subtitles. This is a subtitle only release, and there is no English dub, although when you see just how dense the script is, and how reliant on wordplay and punnage, very culture specific at that, you can understand why dubbing such a show would be a daunting task, impossible to do the show justice. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the audio does a fine job in giving the show some space, and conveying its sound design.


As mentioned, the script is dense, there is a lot of dialogue, and the story is one based on wordplay and wit. The subtitles can zip past, and this isn’t a show that you can half watch. You have to give it your full attention. Add to that the prevalence of background text, intertitles and the like, most of which is translated into English by means of on-screen subtitle captions. The Japanese text is on for just a frame or two, and the English translation reflects that. There is hardly any time to register what is written, regardless of whether you read Japanese or English, and these captions are almost Easter Eggs for fans purchasing the discs that have the time to play freely with the pause button and note what is actually written. The all important subtitles are accurately timed and are free of error.

Extras

Both discs present their contents with animated menus. There are no extras on this release, and not even the US release from Aniplex managed to source the Japanese voice actor commentaries that so added value to Bakemonogatari.

You do get some trailers on disc 2, with Kids on the Slope, Bakemonogatari, and Bodacious Space Pirates available from MVM, Hakuouki and Dusk Maiden of Amnesia scheduled for 2014 by MVM, and Hiiro no Kakera and Mystery Girl X (Mysterious Girlfriend X) yet to get UK licenses.

Conclusion

This is where I begin to sound like a broken record. If you’ve read my reviews for Bakemonogatari, then you won’t be surprised at this half-hearted attempt at a review. Just like the earlier series, Nisemonogatari is a show that rewards repeat viewings, and the sort of viewer attention that a reviewer working to a deadline and keeping half an eye on the transfer quality can’t find the time for. Just like Bakemonogatari, this is a show for fans of dense scripts filled with pop-culture references, it’s a show for fans of character development, depth and complexity, and it’s a show for fans of character interaction, who like watching characters spark off each other, engage in witty verbiage, byplay and layered innuendo, and it’s also a show for fans of Studio SHAFT’s particular brand of visual wizardry. This is not a show to watch when lagered up after a night out, or a show to have on in the background. You have to devote yourself to it 100%.


On that record, this would be where I say that it is benefit of the doubt time, that taking it at face value, Nisemonogatari is a worthwhile show, a show that will reward repeat viewings, and will display its ultimate quality once you’ve lived with it a while. That is true enough, but this time I also got enough from the show to make a comparative judgement. Nisemonogatari is not as good as Bakemonogatari, at least when it comes to these first seven episodes.


It really does come off as fan service, especially the first three episodes. It’s self-indulgent playfulness for the sake of the fans of Bakemonogatari. The story begins with a bang, with Araragi chained up and under the questionable ministrations of his girlfriend Senjyogahara, but the following episodes flashback to the start of the day to reveal how Araragi got into this predicament and just why. It starts with the main focus of the series, the Fire Sisters Karen and Tsukihi Araragi, and a fraught conversation they have with their older brother, but what then follows is Koyomi Araragi’s day as he revisits some familiar faces, those girls he helped in Bakemonogatari. It’s a chance to indulge in some more wit, wordplay and silliness as he catches up with Sengoku, Mayoi, and Kanbaru, and little snippets of the actual story are revealed within. But really it is just service for fans of Bakemonogatari, and just has the effect of delaying the actual meat of the first arc, Karen bee, till the middle of the fourth episode.


It certainly starts off as interesting enough, with Araragi’s younger sister afflicted with the sting of a mystical bee, and the culprit being a conman with seemingly supernatural powers, milking the local and gullible students out of their money. There’s added meaning to this storyline when it turns out that he had prior dealings with Senjyogahara’s family, and caused her no little pain. That’s one reason as to why Araragi’s tied up at the start of this series, and why Senjyogahara has an interest in finding this man, Kaiki Deishuu. The thing is that Nisemonogatari plays this storyline for the fan service aspects primarily, and nudity and sexuality abound through its episodes, earning this release an 18 rating from the BBFC. Kaiki is an interesting antagonist certainly, with a very mercenary attitude towards life that makes his interactions, particularly with Senjyogahara interesting to watch.


The problem for me is that the story really ends with a whimper rather than a bang, and as a result this first collection of Nisemonogatari episodes is really unsatisfying and unrewarding a watch. It’s true that not every story arc can be like those in Bakemonogatari, but Karen bee does take up 7 episodes of Nisemonogatari’s 11 episode run. Next month will see the release of the conclusion of Nisemonogatari, the Tsukihi Phoenix arc focusing on Araragi’s youngest sister, and hopefully it will prove to be more engaging than this collection.