Nisemonogatari

Shaft has been on a pretty good run for the last few years churning out some extremely popular and perhaps over-hyped series. Now they have brought us Nisemonogatari, a show that I was looking forward to quite a bit. This is partly because I just generally find their work interesting but also because I did enjoy its predecessor. Now while I would not classify myself as a huge fan of the original show I did enjoy the characters, quirky story, and fabulous artwork. However Nisemonogatari is a pointless and directionless mess that feels more like a cash grab that takeseverything good about the original and turns it to crap. I am sure people will accuse me of being excessively harsh when I say Nise's story... is one of the five worst things I have ever seen. Maybe that’s because there isn’t any story to speak of. What this series promised us was a story about Araragi's younger sisters and their encounter with the black swindler. It also promised some fill in the blanks of some of some of the other story arcs from Bakemono. I was particularly interested in seeing more on how Senjougahara ended up cursed. What we got instead is what I would consider to be a full length DVD extra putting the various girls in the cast in compromising situations and in assorted states of undress. The anime plods along aimlessly, taking us nowhere substantive. When they do finally get around to something other than panties or erotic tooth brushing, it is crammed in to an episode and a half and then quickly buried to get back to what’s really important. What’s too bad is that when they do bother to tell some story I do find myself interested in it. But also I was pissed off that it was all I got. To be honest the entire "story" could have been more productively told with a 2 episode OVA than an entire TV season. (cough: money grab) Now I am not going to sit here and rail against service in anime, what’s the point? I am not even offended by it and I find it pretty amusing most of the time. Bakemono certainly had its pervy undertones but it didn't revolve around them or beat you over the head with them either. Nise seems to have just taken those elements and decided to make an anime around them. Frankly what offends me the most about the way the service is presented is that it takes itself way to seriously. It’s like somebody at Shaft just discovered you can put this kind of thing in anime and just completely lost their heads. Then have the nerve to act like it’s somehow smarter than anything we have ever seen before. Just because you inserted some witty dialogue and clever puns in between the breast fondling and skirt flipping doesn't turn it into high art. Second only to the horrible story is what they did to the series cast of characters. Say what you will about Araragi's but for a harem lead (yes fanboys, Bakemono was a harem anime. Deal with it. It’s not a bad word), he managed to be a pretty interesting and compelling character. Well you can throw all of that out the window after viewing this series. He is a shell of his former self as he has been relegated to an immature perverted lolicon and pedophile who would be a registered sex offender in every developed nation in the world. His world view is that of a 10 year old boy, not a high school senior who is a borderline adult. People might try to say he is being ironic or sarcastic or maybe he's just a bully or a clown. But seriously who in high school, particularly a senior still goes around flipping the skirts of elementary school girls? The rest of the cast fairs no better. The girls get little in the way of character development and are only treated as objects and tools for service. While you may initially feel some nostalgia as the previous cast is reintroduced and it feels like reacquainting yourself with old friends. However, if you went into this show like I did, wanting to see and learn more about Araragi's two sisters Karen and Tsukihi, then you’re in for a rude awakening. (Unless that is you wanted to learn more about their bust size and figures) For a series that was supposedly based around the two of them they have shockingly little actual screen time. Well it’s not all bad. As expected from Shaft, the shows artwork and animation is absolutely fabulous. As is customary of their productions the screen is full visual overload of information with innumerable references and puns if you’re able to catch or comprehend them. The styling of the show is very much like its predecessor and has a very unique original feeling about the entire production. Even though the artwork is undeniably stunning, I did not always care for it. Another annoyance would be why they decided to cut the hair of every girl in the show. By the end of the series everyone looks the same. I mean... why? If they had changed their hair colors I wouldn't have even known who some of them were. But if you’re just a general fan of art and animation there is a whole lot to love about this show. The music and voice acting is also equally brilliant. I honestly think this is the one thing Shaft almost never fails at, is picking appropriate music and animation to open and close their anime titles. Like Bakemono, Nise uses the voice cast to sing the various OP songs but it was the show's ED song which stands out the most. ClariS' "Naisho no Hanashi" is by far the duo's best single to date. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because it meant the episode was over? Overall only the most ardent Bakemono and Shaft fanboys need apply when it comes to watching this show. Though if you were truly a fan of Bakemono I don’t know how you could not end up being disappointed. The lack of any kind of coherent story mars any sensory satisfaction you may get out of the shows artwork and audio track. You can pour and entire bottle of perfume on a pile of crap but in the end its still, crap.

Nisemonogatari was certainly one of the more interesting anime of the season, not least for its trait of dividing viewers down the middle in terms of who enjoyed it and who didn't; this show, being the continuation of a well-known franchise, has attracted plenty of vitriol in the last eleven weeks, even though many people have been outspoken in its defence. But now that broadcasting is finished (even if the argument over whether it is masterpiece or merely the latest victim of too-high expectations has plenty of fuel still left to burn), I'm afraid to say that I couldn’t resist the lure dangling sotemptingly in front of me, and so it’s time to tackle Nisemonogatari and hopefully wring a definitive conclusion out of it. Story-8 Now, the main sticking point with Nisemonogatari has been the storyline, which was quite slow in its progression; if you’ve recently read about the ‘fast-paced, clever storyline’, and are quite surprised by this assertion, then I shall elaborate; the first three episodes reintroduced characters from the first series, and while the Karen Bee arc was supposedly seven episodes long, it really did drag at points. In addition to that, the resolutions of each arc felt way too easy, and while we’re on it, the almost-complete absence of Tsukihi from the first two episodes of her own arc was bizarre. Although it initially wasn't promising, the story did become more interesting as the series went on, although I believe there will be further episode releases post-broadcast, because not everything came to a conclusion within the eleven episodes (and the Japanese equivalent of 'to be continued' seen at the end of the final episode is a confirmation that we'll be getting more Monogatari one way or another). I think the best way to see Nisemonogatari is as the bridging point which sets everything up nicely for a third series (and if the director is to believed, several more series after that), and in terms of introducing characters who will probably play a part in these later series, it does a pretty good job. Contrary to the impression I might have made, I did enjoy watching this, but I do think it could have been better. Art-10 The art style is extremely effective. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything quite like it before (except in Bakemonogatari, to state the obvious for the resident pedants here). The background art is most striking, with the use of colour co-ordinated objects and scenery to create scenes which immediately grab the viewer’s attention. The much-debated black and red scenes seem to have been cut down on since Bakemonogatari, now only making a couple of appearances per episode, but the use of talking heads is still common. The background sets the atmosphere much more effectively than a show which is constrained by realism; just watch Kaiki Deishuu’s first screen appearance, and the shadows of the trees stretching out towards Koyomi, and you will realise the brilliance of this art style. And now, the fanservice; how do they handle it? Well, what’s happening on screen and the progression of the storyline are almost completely separate from one another, for starters. It’s nothing compared to an actual ecchi series, and the characters are wearing clothes (cough… most of the time), it’s just the choice of shot and where it focuses on the character’s body that makes it fanservice. And when there are no clothes present, any details are obscured by the production team, preventing the need for masking or other censorship. That was incredibly awkward to write. Moving on… Sound- 9 The sound hasn’t changed drastically from the first series; the episodes start with a blast of heavily distorted electric guitar, and a catchy pop-song opening, which is reminiscent of Staple Stable, to say the least. The lack of background music in Nisemonogatari compared to other series is noticeable, with only the occasional piano melody from the opening or ending slipped in at appropriate moments, but with the amount of dialogue that it has, this is actually a good thing; it would be pointless including any more soundtrack, as it would just either pass completely over our heads or make it incredibly difficult to listen to. The ending is a pop-rock four-chord number which will probably get stuck in your head on an endless loop at some stage, and no amount of purging your memory with your own music collection will dislodge it. If you liked Bakemonogatari’s Staple Stable and Renai Circulation, then this is definitely worth a listen. Characters- 9 The characters from the first series remain as they are for the most part, with the exception of Hanekawa Tsubasa, who is now short-haired. Hitagi Senjougahara, self-diagnosed tsundere of the highest order, seems to have been relegated to a supporting role in Nisemonogatari, having only made three or so appearances in seven episodes; however, Araragi’s sisters, Karen and Tsukihi, step into the breach, so we have a net gain of characters. Connoisseur of Hawaiian t-shirts and supernatural phenomena Oshino Meme has disappeared, and the role of ‘sole adult in the series’ has gone to the much more evil, scheming Deishuu Kaiki, who looks like one of the creepier film incarnations of Dracula. It’s interesting that they’ve gone for a central villain, rather than having different problems which are unrelated in cause, as per Bakemonogatari. It must be mentioned that in this series, the characters do not merely lean on the fourth wall, they've practically installed a revolving door in it for their convenience. Even the creation of the anime was slipped a thinly veiled reference in one of the characters' metaphors. I quite like it, but you will need to know at least a little bit about the Monogatari franchise to get some of it. It should probably be mentioned that Nisemonogatari will make some of its audience feel uncomfortable at certain points. Aside from the various Lolita characters, there are incestuous overtones involving Araragi and his sisters, including the now-infamous ‘toothbrush scene’. And I know that people will say “Oh, it’s only here in the West that we’ve got a problem with it, but in Japan, those scenes are seen as the funniest part of the show.” Aside from not wishing to read anything into these peoples’ apparent attempts to justify having relationships with underage girls or members of their own family, they might have a point; our moral values here don’t let us see the funny side. If we look at the source of all this trouble, Vladimir Nabokov’s now-infamous novel, half the time he is mocking us and our values; are SHAFT doing the same thing? Quite possibly. Just be prepared to ignore the screams of moral outrage you might occasionally feel welling up inside you while you’re watching this show, make sure your parents/partner/siblings/friends aren’t going to walk in at an awkward moment and then spend the next three weeks not talking to you, and you should be able to cope. Overall- 9 So, Nisemonogatari does indeed have all the elements that Bakemonogatari was praised for, and at the same time features fanservice, which Bakemonogatari, if I remember correctly, did also have a certain amount of. I don’t think it is possible that it has ruined the series, as some people claim; these claims probably would have been made regardless of the actual nature of the series, and were sparked by its mere existence. Unfortunately for those claims and the people making them, Akiyuki Shinbo, the animation director, has apparently stated his intention to animate every single Monogatari novel, of which there are (or will be, to be entirely accurate) twelve. Now, if the first one came out in 2009, and the second in 2012, I think we can safely say that this series will continue for a while. For my part, I'm looking forward to it, and I hope that it may continue to be as innovative and interesting as it has been up to this point!

WAIT. Read. I didn't just unilaterally give Nisemonogatari a 1 because I didn't like the show and I'm thoughtless and spiteful like that. I want to start this review out with a bit of a preface. I've never written a review of something that I've given a 1 before, and that's because I usually don't finish watching them. Why would I? If something is terrible, I turn it off. However, Nisemonogatari is completely unlike any of the other shows I would usually give 1s, and is also the sequel to Bakemonogatari, a show that I am very enthusiastic about. I want to make that veryclear first: this is not an attack on the Monogatari series as a whole, but merely a single part of it. A part of it I very much feel it could have done without. So why did I give Nisemonogatari a 1? Is it because it has absolutely no merits, a void of any sort of intelligence or engagement? No. Not at all. Nise is actually an incredibly smart show, and there were aspects of it that I appreciated immensely. The backgrounds are stunning, the references are great, the humor is oftentimes on-point and a good portion of the dialogue is insightful and meaningful. There were several episodes (3 in total) that I actually enjoyed from start to finish. The reason I gave Nisemonogatari a 1 is that it aptly fits my description of a 1: It negatively impacted me as an individual and I feel as though it is an unhealthy, detracting experience for people in general. It promotes toxic ideals and actively helps to make the world a worse place. If you aren't aware already, Nisemonogatari is famous for its fanservice. The entire Monogatari series is, actually, but I wouldn't even call it fanservice in the rest of the series. In Bakemonogatari, for instance, the camera is used effectively as a lense for the protagonist Araragi to show what he is focused on. When he is having lewd thoughts about a person, it will portray them sexually. This is only the case, however, when it actually fits with what is going through his head, and regardless of how Araragi may VIEW various characters, this doesn't change what actually HAPPENS. This is because he is a human not a god and regardless of what his fantasies may be the world is not going to conform around them. Instead, he is often chastised for his perverse thoughts and it's something he eventually has to deal with. In Nisemonogatari, this changes. Araragi suddenly becomes the focal point of the world, with every straight girl inevitably seeking to erotically seduce him and even the lesbian character wants to tear off his clothes and roll around naked with him. Even if there is no spontaneous sexual tension between Araragi and a character, the show still devises plenty of ways to put them in absurd compromising positions with each other, liking having Hanekawa roll around on his bed or Shinobu take a bath with him. Now I've heard plenty an educated argument for Nisemonogatari, claiming that it actually hates fanservice and is demonstrating the incredible potential of the camera to portray a character's intentions or emotions, and I would agree that the directing work is masterful. There are two scenes; one towards the beginning and one towards the end of the series in which Araragi's sister receives a crotch-shot. The first one is completely un-sexual, demonstrating the lack of tension in their relationship, while the last one is the exact opposite, showing how that has changed. It's extremely well-done. However, that doesn't change the fact that it's just an intelligent way of fan-pandering. This argument can be applied to nearly all of Nisemonogatari: yes, Nise hates fan service; or rather, Nise hates the uncreative and unenlightened way in which most fan service is done. It wants to demonstrate how it can be done more effectively, setting up moments of situational and emotional softcore porn as opposed to just making some tits & ass wobble. It's extremely good at it, too: if your evaluation of a show is ambition vs. result, than Nise is a roaring success. However, it's not the execution for which I condemn Nise, its for what its goals are and therefore what its effect on its audience is. Fanservice is annoying. At least, that's how I feel. But fanservice alone, ironic or no, is not enough for me to write off a show. Sure it can get irritating at times and it's a little insulting, but I don't consider it normally capable of single-handedly sabotaging a show. It's usually the case that shows that rely on fanservice to entertain their audience do so because they don't hold a great deal of respect for themselves in the first place or because they don't feel as though they have anything especially original to do or say, causing them to fall back on basic, shallow means of engaging their viewers. This isn't always the case, though: Code Geass and Haruhi Suzumiya stand out as examples to the contrary. Nise's not like that though: it takes pride in its ability to absorb its viewers in its carefully-crafted pandering, and that makes it all the more poisonous. There are three major reasons why I abhor Nisemonogatari. They are as follows. 1. The fan-service actively detracts from, and oftentimes takes the place of the plot and characters. The show constantly goes out of its way to create appealing situations, turning its characters from the previously multi-dimensional beings that they were into absurd blobs of either hormones or obliviousness. Characters are made conveniently unaware of their situation to allow other characters to up their advances, taking the believability out of them. Entire episodes are spent on contrived erotic situations that devour any meaningful character interactions and replace them with characters making excuses to the audience to touch each other and calling it development. The actual story is condensed to the ends of arcs, becoming rushed and crammed into single episodes of extremely belated exposition rammed back-to-back with resolutions. This makes the show itself far more simple than it could have been, substituting the difficult truths of Bakemonogatari for childish moral taglines and replacing the meaningful personal revelations that were a result of conflict that was internal with physical villains who are either stupidly irredeemable or blatantly hypocritical. This is a very steep and very sickening price to pay for the constant fan-service. 2. Nisemonogatari is part of the Monogatari series. As a stand-alone, it could just be written off or dropped. However, as is, Nise is an active part of a pretty incredible series, one that it actively detracts from. It would be one thing if it were merely boring or slow, but it's more than that. No one's character motivations are consistent: Hitagi, who used to be over-protective and possessive of Araragi, suddenly decides instead that she's fine with him sleeping with whoever he wants as long as he loves her. Suruga, who used to be many things: athletic, energetic, envious, self-loathing; becomes defined exclusively by the trait "she is horny". Hanegawa, who was previously sharp with Araragi for being perverse despite her feelings for him, starts cracking jokes about him feeling her up. Araragi himself is the worst offender. While initially he was characterized as selfless to a fault, self-aware, and endearingly thoughtful of people's feelings, he's now decided to be conveniently oblivious and remorseless as he tramples on whoever-the-fucks emotions to cop a feel whenever possible. What once were entirely believable fantasies have manifested themselves in far-less believable actions. It's a lot easier to control what we do than what we think, and Araragi has aptly demonstrated an incredible willpower many a time. That he would so casually revert to this without any sort of triggering event or internal conflict is entirely unbelievable. All of this is a result of the show warping its characters to create the erotic situations it wants to, and it bends everything too far. Nisemonogatari breaks the illusion of the Monogatari world. Its inconsistencies, indulgent depravity and unfortunate placing in the middle of the series cause it to do hefty and irrevocable damage to the series as a whole. With a series as generally impressive as Monogatari, this is a real tragedy. 3. This is the big one. So far, I've described why I believe the show is bad, but internal sabotage and series sabotage are not enough to warrant a series a 1. What makes Nise so irredeemable is the impact is has on society's perception of sexuality. There is already enough of a problem with media portraying sex as very different than it actually is, glorifying it, creating false expectations of what it is supposed to be like, and taking the messiness and humanity out of it. This is actively damaging to impressionable youths and has a negative impact on social behavior and body image. Nise actively promotes these portrayals, portraying characters as young as 14 in erotic situations in ways that are meant to, as obvious by the expert camerawork, glorify it. This creates a false impression of what sex is like and pushes people to feel as though this sort of behavior is what is expected of them. If they aren't indulging in it too, they're missing out. Look how fucking hot it is, right? This is not to mention the fact that she show uses incest and a vampire trapped in an 8-year-old's body to draw out the appeal of a 'forbidden love' in its viewers. The worst part of all this is the way that Araragi is portrayed: not as the sleazy womanizer that he is, but as a gallant hero who all men should aspire to be like. He's shown as a kind, protective, morally-sound guy who gets to fool around with lots of girls as a result because he's earned all of their affections. In addition to this, unlike similar shows Nise has a very intellectual and mellow vibe to it that makes it much easier to justify enjoying. It's not in-your-face trashy. If you're looking for ways to make entitled monsters out of lonely and insecure young boys, then you've found a pretty sound bet in Araragi. Inevitably, the show's final flaw is that it never addresses any of its choices. For a season that's essentially about fanservice, it sure never tries to make any contrasting points about why perhaps this kind of media and the ideas that it fosters are unhealthy. No, right up to the end Nisemonogatari is detrimental to itself, detrimental to the Monogatari series, and detrimental to society as a whole. For all of its gorgeous art and witty conversation, I can't think of anything I've actually finished that has been more deserving of a score of 1.

Nisemonogatari is the sequel to Shaft's 2009 hit Bakemonogatari. It features much of the same cast as the first show, but it includes many new characters as well. The particular focus is on Araragi's sisters, Karen and Tsukihi this time around. The first show broke sales records and this one is looking to do incredibly well as well. However, if you were expecting more of Bakemonogatari you might be in for a surprise. There is always an issue with sequels when it comes to the story. They always seem to never really live up to their predecessors and sadly Nisemonogatari suffers from this issue as well.While the story is both interesting and engaging, it just lacks that overall “wow” factor that Bakemonogatari had. This pattern is especially prevalent in Shaft's other sequels other than maybe Hidamari Sketch but that's probably due to me needing a nutbladder replacement every time I watch another one of those. However, that is not to say that the story is not good. It is actually very good but it just lacks that special feeling that the first series had. When it comes to the actual story, it is a similar format to the first series where Araragi goes around messing with the various females in his life and unraveling mysteries. In Nisemonogatari the focus is on his two younger sisters and their issues though. However, instead of spending a significant amount of time on the mysteries themselves the sequel focuses more on character development and character interaction. I will not say that it's particularly a “bad thing” but the overall pace and tone of the story is definitely different from the first series and I'm not completely sold on those changes. Without spoiling everything, if you enjoyed the setup of Bakemonogatari and you enjoyed the characters of the first series you'll most likely enjoy the sequel. There really isn't much to say on the story just because if you're watching this, you must have watched Bakemonogatari as well so I would just be reiterating the facts that you already know. What I must point out is one of the flaws and distractions that was present in the sequel though. Nisemonogatari essentially translates into “Falsestory” or “Impostory”. However, it should be translated into “Fanservicestory”. If I were to say Bakemonogatari didn't feature a significant amount of fanservice I would be lying, but they really did go overboard with the sequel. They must have put a significant amount of effort into cramming the most amount of fanservice into this 11 episode series and it definitely shows. From the convenient camera angles to half an episode dedicated to a discussion with Shinobu in the bath to the (in)famous “toothbrush scene” you can definitely see that there was a significant amount of work involved. While the novel includes this as well, it certainly is incredibly distracting to the overall tone and mood of the show. This is one of those cases where the source material does not particularly go over well into the adaption. While the original source material did include a lot of fanservice, Shaft also took it a step further with a multitude of compromising camera angles. That is not unexpected of them since it occurs in nearly every one of their shows, but it only adds to the distraction and makes the overall feeling of the show more low brow than the predecessor. Before you get your jimmies rustled, I am not against fanservice. I enjoy fanservice masterpieces such as Queen's Blade after all. I just feel that the second season's fanservice was a bit excessive and detrimental to this show's overall quality. What wasn't detrimental to the overall quality was the art in this show. Shaft generally has a policy where the TV broadcast looks abysmal but they come up with an absolutely stunning Blu Ray release. In the case of Nisemonogatari, the TV version is excellent and they will be hard pressed to do any incredible changes to the Blu Ray release. The animation was for the most part very fluid and the background scenes were beautiful. They really outdid themselves on this show and it looks great. Likewise, the sound was also excellent in this show. The OST was fitting and the various openings were all great as well. Platinum Disco definitely stole the show this time around, like how Ren'ai Circulation stole the show in Bakemonogatari. I have absolutely no complaints when it comes to the art or sound in Nisemonogatari. Shaft went above and beyond my expectations on making an actually presentable TV anime and the sound continued on par with it's predecessor. Overall I feel that this section is much better than Bakemonogatari since you could only really enjoy it if you watched the Blu Rays due to the sheer amount of fixing they did to it. As previously mentioned, Nisemonogatari focuses more on characterization over the mystery solving that was most prevalent in its predecessor. We see several new characters such Kaiki who brings up quite a bit of Hitagi's past and Yozuru and Yotsugi who serve as an exorcist combo. We also see Karen and Tsukihi having actual roles in the story as well. Without going into much detail since that would give away the entire show, I must say that the characters are once again a very strong point for the show. There is little character degradation between both shows and there is quite a bit of development as well (some of which I don't particularly like but I guess it can't be helped after all). The new characters are interesting and enjoyable while the old ones are what you knew and loved from before. The voice acting was once again top notch. The cast is filled with veterans that you have heard many times before. The new characters are also voiced by veterans and are fitting for their respective roles. Even Shinobu gets to talk this time around, however instead of Aya Hirano we have Maaya Sakamoto for obvious reasons. The characters are definitely a strong point for the *monogatari series and it continues on quite well in this sequel. Overall, I must say that I enjoyed this show quite a bit but I was not nearly as impressed with it as I was with Bakemonogatari. Nisemonogatari does well as a sequel since it mostly maintains itself but it just leaves you feeling just a little disappointed. Bakemonogatari is one of my favorite shows due to its interesting dialogue, it's characters, and the overall story of it. Nisemonogatari picks up on much of that but the overall product feels unimpressive compared to Bakemonogatari. I think the issue with this show is that despite being great, it still pales in comparison to Bakemonogatari. The excessive fanservice and some certain “character development” that happened in the last episode really leaves a bad taste in my mouth. That along with some of the previous season's characters getting much less screen time and development also makes me feel somewhat frustrated with this series. I will not say that I am platinum disappointed with this show overall, but I just feel that it is not as good as Bakemonogatari. What is good news is that this particular arc of the story is now over and there are plans to continue this animation project with even more. The Kizumonogatari movie should be coming up soon and a suspicious “to be continued” at the end of the last episode shows that this story is definitely not done with. What I can say is that I am still looking forward to more and I hope that the upcoming projects maintain the overall quality. Surpassing the original will be a difficult feat, but I'm optimistic about the upcoming projects and I can't wait to see more. I just hope to the Space Pope that Shaft doesn't decide to release them as online episodes every 6 months.