Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari 2nd Season

This anime suffers from trying to draw things out too much. You sit and wait for the thing which you know is going to happen for 6 episodes only to NOT have it happen - WAIT TILL S3 - and stay interested is the money-grubber's plan. The premise, the enemies, the relationships, etc. have stayed ENTIRELY the same since ep1s1. If you threw in some kind of new info that changed things, or additional chars that actually added something you didn't know then you could justify the lagging story. Sad truth is, though, the entire story is just a tease. It is setting up a"moment" viewers want, and then constantly denying them that gratification so they keep watching. There is no real story or plan, just bait to make you watch more. Its gimmicky, its pathetic, and its a sign of writers and a studio who only care about money and not story or their fans. PLEASE STOP WATCHING THIS!

I liked S1 and rated it 8/10. Season 2 though is underwhelming garbage. First 6 episodes is just a lot of useless talk just to give some minor character growth, they really should have done it more interesting way. Second half of season is a Naruto fight, but Mononogatari doesn't have 500 episodes to afford dumb and sluggish fight like that, it wasn't even entertaining or cool. "minor spoilers" Besides awful pacing there are also major plotholes: 1. Nobody is protecting Nagatsuki(female MC) when she leaves the mansion. in Season 1 she gets attacked by the monster and gets saved by MC randomly, in Season 2 exactly sameshit happens, saved by the MC instead of her literal spirit-guardians. 2. By the way. her guardian-spirits knowing that there is a bad guy that capable of beating their strongest comrade, they decide that they all should go on a meeting with some exorcist clan head which is like 100 miles away, and leave Nagatsuki at home almost by herself. I really expected more from this anime, it was really disappointing.

Oh Mono-NO-gatari, have you become the Monogatari that can finally be appreciated by the (lowly) masses? Apparently...yes and no. Mangaka Onigunsou's anime adaptation continues where we left off with Part 1 back in Winter, and I'm not gonna lie, it felt like a work that was awfully dated by the time the anime adaptation came out almost a full decade since the start of the manga (almost 9 years to be precise). The story of spirits crossing over to the human world and possessing objects to gain its physical form to become tsukumogami, and a boy whose life was scarred by the evil ones so muchthat to try living with a tsukumogami-laden family to learn his control of hatred. That was the evolution of the main protagonist Hyoma Kunato, the son of the Kunato Saenome faction and his relationship with the young woman that would change his life forever: Botan Nagatsuki of the Nagatsuki House of tsukumogami, being possessed by a marebito that's the target of all Saenome factions. It's safe to say that Part 2 here will feel more of the same if you have seen Part 1 back in Winter, so if the anime didn't grasp your attention from the get-go, then you can stop reading this review here. For the few who did venture out for more of what's to come, Part 2 basically ups the ante of the relationship between Hyoma and Botan, as well as the various groups and enemies that become a major factor of the show as it wears on. Hyoma, at this point, still wears his hatred of tsukumogami on the heart of his sleeve, though thanks to Botan, aside from the various giggles that their relationship is taken to the next level, he becomes better at his craft of mastering the ways of the Saenome, as well as learning to trust the family, which in turn, acts as the Nagatsuki Bridal Trousseau against the evil-doers who thwart their path onto unleashing Botan's marebito capability as the god of all tsukumogami and spirits. Of course, the action accompanies the intensity of facing new characters like the Bureau of Traditional Music through Tsumabiki, Fukie and Tsuzumi, as well as the paper umbrella tsukumogami that have their sights on Botan, as well as Hyoma for getting revenge on them for the killing of his well-capable siblings at a young age. The good thing is that with Botan being the target, there is the fear mongering that she is truly in danger as Hyoma and the Nagatsuki House fight to keep her survival against strong enemies, but that is coupled with the same production values that follow from Part 1, though it feels polished, albeit with the same inconsistencies that's the case for Bandai Namco Pictures's standards. Other than that, the OST for Part 2, it was a downgrade over what Part 1 had with ARCANA PROJECT's somewhat good OP and TRUE's beautiful ED, replacing it with Megatera Zero's somewhat fitting Shonen-feelish OP and Azusa Tadakoro's low-key feel good-ish ED. Even after another season of Mono-NO-gatari, am I convinced that mangaka Onigunsou's work is good? Probably not, it's just as forgettable as Part 1 comes, though even with the heavy action of Part 2 that delivers big time as a redemption arc of sorts, the entire product still feels mediocre at best. I've said in my review of Part 1 that if this show's anime adaptation would've come a lot earlier, say the mid to late 2010s, it would at least have a cult following, but in 2023 where tropes have been repeated to soulless repetition, I'm sorry to say that Mono-NO-gatari just didn't really stand out amongst the crowded pack of AniManga. It definitely is a redemption of an ugly duckling, but still, this certainly, and cohesively, is no swan.

Fighting An Umbrella, Ella, Ella, Ay, Ay, Ay. I never got around to writing a review for the first season of Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari, but if I had I don’t think my opinion would be too different now that if sat and enjoyed season 2. But for a summary of my feelings on the first season: Mononogatari is a solid show with a wonderful cast of characters, good writing and an interesting plot and power system which is sorely let down by its overall art and animation. That, and it fails to stand out in a sea of anime and manga about secret or public organisationsfighting with and/or against malevolent spiritual beings living and sometimes working among the populous of which greats such as JJK and Chainsaw Man are a part of and lead the pack. The story continues with Hyouma learning to be a little less angry and racist towards Tsukumogami as he lives with them and learns from them in his task to protect Botan and the sealed god within her. Unfortunately, sweet doki-doki moments the two of them awkwardly share, usually to the delight (or frustration in Yuu’s case) of the Bridal Trousseau members, can’t last forever as the nemesis Hyouma has been hunting for to take revenge for the murder of his brother and sister is about to make its move. This season's primary focus was on Botan and Hyouma’s relationship. I like Hyouma’s straightforward, honest yet, completely dense personality which has opened up throughout the story and even works to subvert a lot of Shonen-battle story tropes. Botan is also well-fleshed out this season. Her status as this ticking time bomb anomaly is slowly reformed amongst hard-stance exorcists as they come to realise that she's just an adorable marshmallow who's trying her best and isn’t defined by the malevolent god sealed in her. I also enjoyed the introduction of the new Tsukumogami faction, the Bureau of Traditional Music and their eccentric personalities as they live only for rock and roll. They’re very funny and their philosophy leads to a very interesting turn of events. Like season one, the animation is unfortunately the main factor that holds Mononogatari back. The art can waver between looking good or flat and bland with character's faces falling off-model. There are times when the animation can look fine, sometimes even good, but fights sometimes lack the weight, energy and frames needed to pull off a satisfying brawl. Overall it’s subpar. Malevolent Spirits: Mononogatari has the potential to be an 8 or even a 9 out of 10 if it wasn’t held back by its production. I suppose it depends on how much you value animation over a story, but whilst its story is great Mononogatari is the kind of show that needed some “Oomf” in its animation to get people turning heads. I’d understand if you’re someone who looked at Mononogatari and brushed it aside, but if you have some space on your watch list, I recommend giving it a chance. 7/10 Good.