Review for Koimonogatari

Introduction

With this disc we come to the end of Monogatari Season 2, itself the fan favourite sequel to the equally fan favourite Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari. There have been one or two minor delays along the way, but we’ve made it through this second season of five discs in relatively short order. But not to worry, there’s plenty more Monogatari out there and the prospect of even more being animated in the near future. It’s a show that works just as well in the OVA format as it does in the series format, and just as we had Nekomonogatari Black, Aniplex US will be releasing the next OVA, Hanamonogatari this month in America. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it come over to the UK in short order, as well as the next OVA, Tsukimonogatari. The possibilities for stories in this fantastic, bizarre, spooky and fan service laden universe are as infinite as the fan fervour for them. It turns out that they really do work well for the UK market, although if you’d have asked anyone five years ago if subtitle only Blu-ray anime discs would fly, you’d have had a lot of coffee spat out in your face.


We’ve had a bit of a wait for the second half of the story that began with Otorimonogatari and Nadeko Medusa. For reasons that are best left to that volume’s review, Nadeko Sengoku became a god, and decided to lay down some scorned wrath on her childhood crush Koyomi Araragi. At the last minute, Araragi’s girlfriend Hitagi Senjyogahara managed to buy some time and delay the inevitable, but now Araragi, the diminutive blonde vampire Shinobu, and Senjyogahara will all be killed by Nadeko on the day of school graduation. At that cliff-hanger, we paused for four episodes to skip back and tell the story of Shinobu Time in Onimonogatari. Now that we return to the second half, it turns out that there has been a significant time skip, which makes that four-episode break seem a little more appropriate.


Only 74 days remain until graduation, 74 days until Sengoku Nadeko unleashes her wrath and kills Araragi, Senjyogahara, and Shinobu, and despite Araragi’s best efforts to convince her otherwise, Nadeko won’t change her mind. At least she’s leaving Araragi alive after each attempt, indicating she’ll stay true to her word. Senjyogahara’s beginning to get desperate, seeking any solution that will save their lives. She’s got to the point where she’s even asking enemies for help. She’s only gone behind Araragi’s back, and asked Kaiki Deishu for help, the same Kaiki Deishu who made her life a misery way back at the start of Bakemonogatari, the same one who caused Araragi’s sister Karen such problems, the one who was inadvertently responsible for all the trouble that they are having with Nadeko right now. Senjyogahara will have to use all her powers of persuasion to get his help, and will the help of a conman even work?


The six concluding episodes of Monogatari Season 2 are presented on this DVD disc from MVM. The title is also available on Blu-ray.

1. Hitagi End, Part 1
2. Hitagi End, Part 2
3. Hitagi End, Part 3
4. Hitagi End, Part 4
5. Hitagi End, Part 5
6. Hitagi End, Part 6

Picture

Koimonogatari gets a 1.78:1 anamorphic transfer in the native PAL format on this DVD. It’s a clear and sharp transfer, rich in detail, with smooth animation, and an absence of artefacts or obvious aliasing. It’s just the image quality you’d expect for a Studio SHAFT animation, one of the Monogatari series. Expect inventive and varied visuals, odd camera angles, lots of characters looking back over their shoulders, and of course the fan service. Also, just like the Bakemonogatari releases Koimonogatari reveals signs of edge enhancement when scaled up to a large HD screen, making the Blu-ray the obvious choice for those who are capable.

Sound

You have a simple DD 2.0 Stereo Japanese track, with a translated (white) subtitles and a signs track. The subtitles are removable, should you wish to take in the imagery without it being marred. There is no English dub to this title, and dubbing that intense verbiage, all those witticisms and puns would be a colossal effort. The dialogue is clear throughout, and the stereo gives a little space for the music and action. The music too is pretty effective; I certainly appreciate the theme songs. Once again all the on screen text is translated, and you’ll spend a fair bit of time manning your pause button to get everything read.

Extras

Koimonogatari presents its content with a static menu.

On the disc you’ll find the textless credit sequences, and you also get the TV Spots for Koimonogatari, running to just over 2 minutes in total.

You’ll also find trailers for Little Busters, Refrain!, Humanity Has Declined, Hakkenden – Eight Dogs of the East, and Familiar of Zero.

The sooner someone in the UK licenses Humanity Has Declined, the better!

Conclusion

Back when Monogatari Season 2 kicked off, I registered my disappointment at the first story arc, Nekomonogatari White, citing the absence of main character Koyomi Araragi for much of the duration a main reason as to why. This release of Koimonogatari marks the conclusion of Monogatari Season 2, and Koyomi Araragi is even less evident in these six episodes. Yet Koimonogatari might just be the best story arc of the whole run. The series certainly ends on a high point for me, and makes me look forward to the next instalment, the Hanamonogatari OVA.


The difference between the start and the end is that for one thing, Nekomonogatari White had to act as a reintroduction to the series, and its story became somewhat diluted by the additional character interludes. The second thing is that for me at any rate, the catgirl shtick of Tsubasa Hanekawa was getting old by this point. Koimonogatari on the other hand is pure story; it certainly doesn’t have to reintroduce the characters and its world. It’s also the most interesting story arc at this point, cliff-hangering over from Otorimonogatari, when Nadeko Sengoku became a god and decided to kill Araragi, Senjyogahara, and Shinobu.


What really makes it interesting is how the story resolves. Senjyogahara goes looking for help, and for reasons that become apparent she has to do it on the sly. She asks the man who tormented her, who caused her so much grief that she wound up in that lightweight state at the start of Bakemonogatari, to help deal with Nadeko. Why she goes to him is obvious when you realise the only way to deal with a god on the warpath is to deceive her, and Kaiki Deishu is a conman who has wrought havoc in their town, causing problems not only for Senjyogahara, but Karen Araragi, most of the students in her school, and indirectly Nadeko Sengoku as well.


And this is Koimonogatari’s masterstroke. It tells its story from Kaiki Deishu’s point of view. All of a sudden, an antagonist that we’ve only see the once, practically the villain of the piece, is now cast as hero, and we get to see his twisted, manipulative worldview as he goes about trying to save Araragi and the others’ lives. Just why would he help the people he had formerly deceived? Well it certainly isn’t out of the goodness of his heart, and it’s probably a story thread which will be explored in Hanamonogatari, but it makes for some great storytelling, and some almost electrifying character interactions. The meeting between Senjyogahara and Kaiki that takes place in the first episode, a conversation laced with what can only be described as playful bitterness is a strong opener, and it only gets better from there. The big draw of the Monogatari universe is the richness of the dialogue, the deeper characterisations, and the thoughtful exploration of motivation, and in this final arc it is as good as I have seen since the original Bakemonogatari.


On top of that, the way that the story is resolved, is wholly unexpected and delightful, a surprise cherry on top of the icing. Monogatari Season 2 may have wavered a bit during its run, but it goes out on a high note, a reminder of just why it is one of the more critically lauded anime franchises coming out of Japan of late. With storytelling like this, Hanamonogatari couldn’t get here soon enough!