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Aug 30 2009

Categories: bakemonogatari, episodic review
Tagged: monogatari

43 Comments »

“Hating people is a part of life.”

I like this scene… the boxes are colorful and some contain dangerous occult toys.

(Why would a mom leave such a dangerous item for her daughter? The cost of imparting these life lessons don’t seem to be on par with the actual usefulness of said life lessons. Wouldn’t it make more sense for the mom to leave behind something more useful, like a trust fund? And, also, how can we be sure that the Rainy Devil didn’t kill her parents?)

Would be awesome if it’s Kiri under those sheets.

(Really, this life lesson is worth four attempted murders and potentially Kanbaru’s eternal soul? This is a worse deal than the AIG bailout combined with the Barry Zito contract with the Hershel Walker trade tossed in.)

Shaft being Shaft in using the typical “pardon the dust” signs for the personification of Kanbaru’s schoolmates. I’m just glad Shaft isn’t animating Geijutsuka Art Class though they could use a few classes themselves.

Ripping off the famous Air Jordan pose… but whatever. I’m going to believe that a short Japanese middle school student can dunk when no one in the WNBA can dunk (no, I don’t count laying the ball in and grabbing the rim afterward as a “dunk”). I really want to know about Japanese grade school basketball… between the 400 combined point School Rumble game and Kanbaru pulling a Dr. J from the free throw line, are the balls filled with helium? Are the rims only seven feet high? Do made baskets count for four points? Are PEDs and HGH involved somehow? This is a bigger stretch than the Russians turning on Drago at the end of Rocky IV.

(Every weekend for the past month, Spike TV’s been running a Rocky marathon… which is great except they run Rocky V. Which is like making you watch the greatest anime series of the decade that featured plenty of fanservice, an interesting premise, and the greatest concert performance ever… followed by eight versions of the same episode. And, yes, Sighs would qualify as the latest Rocky Balboa flick.)

Pre-murderous Senjougahara is pretty hawt too… mmm… actually… was there ever a non-murderous Senjougahara? Do we even want/need/care for a non-murderous Senjougahara? Isn’t that like Diet Caffeine-free Coke… what’s the point?

I like how Araragi is pictured using the blurcles from Real World when two people hook up on that show… yet his ahoge is firm and sharply animated. Maybe Kanbaru will develop an irrational hatred of ahoge because of this.

(Love that lovey-dovey look on Senjougahara… she’s too lost in thought contemplating how she wants to abuse Araragi next.)

Surprising amount of violence in this show… and it’s been six episodes since our last shower scene. How horrible! I do not approve this use of screentime at all.

(And I don’t get why both Araragi and Kanbaru are speaking slightly off-sync during this part… please, one at a time. The goal isn’t the confuse the viewer and make us reach for the rewind button.)

Senjougahara should be wearing a pocket protector. It’s just a slam dunk accessory for her.

(Why do the basketballs look like tennis balls?)

Good to see Shaft finally finishing ambivalent world on the last episode of the arc. Though I like how for Staple Stable, Road Home, and this they used three different OP styles. If they had German or English text fluttering around the background, this could have been ef.

I like all the yuri and basketball imagery in this one, and I like the end of it where Senjougahara slices open Kanbaru. Senjougahara is always more fun when office supplies, violently used, engulf her.

“As a half-baked, comedic kind of authority, I don’t mind lending a hand in this kind of situation.”

Is he describing himself, or my blogging? Half-baked 4tw!

“I won’t help you. I’ll simply lend a hand.”

Hand… get it? Love all the digs at hands and arms in Meme’s dialogue.

So the two solutions are either for Kanbaru to kill Araragi or for Kanbaru’s arm to be sliced off. Just taking stock of the aftermath, if Kanbaru kills Araragi, she can have Senjougahara all for herself. If her arms gets sliced off, she can join the cast of that special needs eroge. Or do they already have the missing limb character stereotype covered? Mmm…

I think it’s funny that Meme is offering to slice off the arm… what else does he do? Sketchy late term abortions? Pinky removal for the yakuza?

(I commend Shaft for not doing Shaft things during this dialogue. The problem with Shaft being Shaft in this series is that the dialogue is actually interesting, unlike, oh, Hidamari Sketch, and I want to focus on the dialogue and not wonder what poisonous toads that the animators were licking.)

“Your face is too close.”

Now that the Mio-dominated C76 is over, I wonder if we’ll see more Meme x Araragi doujinshis than Senjougahara x Kanbaru ones in C77. Oh, who am I kidding… Mayoi will dominate the Bakemonogatari doujinshi scene.

I like the twist on the Monkey’s Paw… we all are at least familiar with Jacob’s original story about wishes being warped (also a popular theme in being careful of what you wish for)… but for this paw to grant the actual wishes and have the user try to justify it as an undesired side effect/consequence is fantastic. Kanbaru believed she wished to go fast… but she really wanted revenge. Just like how she believed she wished to be close to Senjougahara when she just wants Araragi beaten up. I like this twist. Nisio Isin is doing an excellent job.

(Andohbytheway, the Wikipedia entry for hadaka apron references He Is My Master and not Bakemonogatari. Should I be more surprised that there’s an entry on nakkid apron? Or that the entry isn’t longer and more detailed?)

I’m pretty sure that, if you count them all, there’s like half a million desks in this room. Meme dresses in fancy Hawaiian shirts (not cheap) yet can’t afford a better place to live? At the very least, carve out a sleeping area or something.

Wait… what? How did we get from a panel discussion on Kanbaru’s violent and jealous tendencies to a loli vampire riding cowgirl on Araragi?

Shaft needs to go back and properly continue Tsukuyomi: Moon Phase. No clue why I’m reminded of that with this scene…

(Shaft’s upcoming project? Dance in the Vampire Bund… which, you guessed it, features loli vampires.)

(Is Shaft involved in the new Mahoro series? Part of me wants them to be… meido, loli vampires, and office supplies are Shaft’s staples.)

“Took you longer than expected.”

Mmm… I wonder what Meme was implying there. Though I have a great idea: an anime version of Twilight. Except I’d replace all the brooding male vampires and werewolves with loli vampires like Shinobu. This can’t miss. We’ll make millions.

(Similar idea for Harry Potter… except we’ll replace Harry Potter with Nanoha and Fate rip-offs! And maybe even a loli vampire for good measure. This can’t miss either. We’ll make billions.)

Shinobu looks like a shoe-in for Becky-sensei. I can’t wait for more Pani Poni Dash because you know Shaft won’t be able to resist the comparison then… on a scale from 1-10, how excited would you be for sequels for the following Shaft series? Bakemonogatari, Maria+Holic, Negima, REC, and Pani Poni Dash. I think I would be… 100, 10, -1, 1, 5.

First Araragi trusted Meme with his girlfriend and now his bag… Meme sure has an aura of trust and believability for a dude who specializes in the occult, resides in an abandoned school, and has a pet loli vampire who gets doughnut rage.

“Hating people is a part of life.”

Araragi is just such a nice person. The only animated doormat nicer? Yep… the one, the only, Mr. Ned Flanders.

(He also likes butting into other people’s business and solving mysterious… mmm… can’t you imagine a time skip Ghostory sequel like fifteen years later when Senjougahara tragically dies and becomes a spirit that follows Araragi around the world as he solves paranormal mysteries? It’ll have a dash of Mushishi and a slight flavoring of Asura Cryin’.)

Yes, I screwed up earlier by not mentioning the Taotaka reference. Though the effect is opposite on me… I don’t think of Kanbaru as Taotaka… I think of Kanbaru when I play against Taotaka.

(And, yes, Rachel would be Shinobu… is that the appeal of loli vampires? They look twelve, yet they’re really a thousand years old…)

The fight scene is good enough that I really am beginning to think that Kanbaru is Taotaka. Also, Rainy Devil going against Araragi is like Gundam 00 going up against Screech Powers.

I like how in exactly ten seconds, Araragi goes from “I think I can win!” mode to “Wait, she really does want me dead!” mode. Fantastic. Needless to say, Kanbaru is the Ohio State to Mayoi’s San Jose State.

Pretty sure that the CG guy at Shaft can only draw school desks. I mean… it’s like the same CG desk from Negima to Maria+Holic to Hidamari Sketch to this. The school desk is to Shaft what Gundam is to Sunrise?

“I must break you. You will lose. If he dies, he dies.”

Oh sorry, that was from Rocky IV that I’m watching now… but I find Drago vs. Rocky to be ridiculously apt. Drago just punching the hell out of Rocky as Rocky rallies back time after time after time. Awesome facial expressions on both Stallone and on Araragi. Just fantastic.

(But even Drago’s 1,850 PSI punch didn’t do this much damage as Kanbaru is doing to Araragi… then again, I don’t think Drago can dunk from the free throw line.)

A lot of Meme screenshots this episode… probably not a good thing. Though I can’t wait for Koyomi Vamp after learning about Shinobu’s katana. Can’t wait for Tsubasa Cat either. Wealth of riches me friends… wealth of riches.

(If you think I’d toss in a Haruhi Suzumiya joke here, well, that’ll just be too predictable. Ah… screw it. How’s Sigh or Endless Eight going again?)

There’s a lot of nice guys in anime and some bad asses who eventually turn into nice guys. Like even Onizuka wants to be a nice guy (so he can get laid, but still). I think Araragi’s supernatural quality isn’t his Wolverine-like recovery but his compassion and human heart.

Just a fantastic montage of Araragi puking up technicolor blood. But good to see Shaft using colors other than red!

(And, yes, I think Shaft should have used Hanaji as the BGM for this scene.)

Itchy and Scratchy comes to anime!

(I like how Kanbaru used Araragi’s niceness against him. She pretended to want to go through with the arm carving, so they’d think up of this alternate method… but she really, really wants the “Araragi dies; I get Senjougahara to myself” solution. Very sneaky. Never trust girls who wear bike shorts under short skirts. I think that’s the moral of this story.)

Needs more meido guitar, but it’s like Shaft wasn’t done with Maria+Holic‘s OP… they just extended the bloodbath to here.

(Okay, sure, the reason for the bloodbaths were different… but still.)

“Looks like you’ve been enjoying yourself. Having fun by yourself? How unpleasant, Araragi-kun.”

The supportive girlfriend appears!

Enjoy Senjougahara chewing out Araragi even though he’s lying in a puddle of ground. My question… sure, he heals, but how does he get the blood stains out of his clothes? This is like twice in two days he’s been soaked in blood. More importantly… is this why Rainy Devil wears a raincoat? Blood splatter?

“I shall certainly deliver 10,000 deaths to you.”

Mmm… pick one:

A. “15,532” fixed.
B. Supportive girlfriend 4tw!

“If you died, I’d kill Kanbaru no matter what it takes, right?”

Love how Meme engineered the whole scenario by playing everyone off of everyone. He knew that Araragi would go for any solution that harms the least amount of people (except himself), he knew that Kanbaru still wants to lick hot chocolate off of Senjougahara’s body, and he knew that Senjougahara was the key/supportive girlfriend to solve the mess. Meme basically knew that Kanbaru’s logic in wanting Araragi dead was flawed in that there’s no way Senjougahara would go back to Kanbaru even if Araragi died. Just Kanbaru didn’t know it. But she does now.

Woot! She went back to the ponytail!

Screenshot density increases with more Senjougahara screentime. Her hoodies looks a lot like the ones that Bill Belichick always wears.

“Even compared to that devil, [Itsuki] you’re such a magnificent bastard.”

Couldn’t resist.

(Good to see the girlfriend tending to the boyfriend who is soaked in his own blood and missing a few organs. Supportive girlfriend 4tw!)

“Long time no see… have you been well?”

I guess how else are you going to greet your old lesbian stalker friend who employed the supernatural to try to kill your current boyfriend. And how come this wasn’t a haremette or arc in Clannad? Like wouldn’t it have been a lot better for Ryou’s arc if she got jealous of Tomoya spending too much time with Kyou and thusly tried to kill Tomoya until Kyou intervenes and good threesome ending ensues?

“22:04… I was aroused by that.”

Not good enough for YTAMR. Try harder.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

Uh… thanks! Where can I send a thank you letter to Nisio Isin for ending this arc with girl on girl action?

I like Araragi’s “even though I’m bleeding to death and things are getting chilly, this is a mighty fine view” expression. And I don’t know if it’s sarcasm or just apt observation (since, well, maybe she is being supportive) when I go, “Senjougahara is horizontally docking with her old stalker crush… while Koyomi lies in a puddle of cold blood… supportive girlfriend 4tw!”

“Even though I of all people should know how greedy and how much of a sore loser Senjougahara Hitagi is.”

I hate those people who disconnect from a BlazBlue match on XBOX Live rather than take the loss.

And the arc ends with the little sisters waking Koyomi up for another day. Just dawned on me that we probably won’t get the little sister arcs until the next season… which brings my earlier question’s answer to 150 instead of just 100.

(And, yes, it would be 175 if I knew if Senjougahara would just be providing a running commentary of how big of a siscon Araragi is the whole time. Maybe 200 if a beach episode were involved.)

Like her new outfit that does screams either “Lesbian!” or “I’m late for a school girl pr0n shoot!”

Araragi is surround by women significantly stronger than he is. He should make a Charlie’s Angels type of team! Like Senjougahara (the beauty), Kanbaru (the brawn), and Tsuabasa (the brains) wouldn’t match up favorably against Chiko (the brawn), Koito (the brains), and Tome (the beauty). My time skip possible sequel idea with Araragi as a detective seems more plausible… mmm… maybe we won’t kill of Senjougahara and won’t introduce giant mecha.

Mmm… methinks Nisio Isin writes a lot of “=P” in his writing.

Pop quiz 4tw! I have a question for you… crab, snail, monkey, snake… what other animals would you like to see make an appearance?