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Jul 15 2013

Categories: episodic review, monogatari
Tagged: monogatari

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“To have something you detest is about as important as having something you love.”

OH HEAVENS SHAFT! My gosh. Mother of pearl. You delivered! I didn’t think Shinbo would pass up a chance to animate a Senjougahara and Hanekawa shower scene, and he sure didn’t. This scene is probably Shinbo’s crowning achievement. Name one scene he’s done better. Toothbrushing? Nah. Anything from Zetsubou Sensei? Haha. Hidamari Sketch? Yeah, sure. I mean, I’m trying to pre-order the BD right now. You just printed money.

(Best part of this scene is probably how parts were left “lightened up” as so one could be led to believe that they would be “unlightened” for the BD release. Needless to say, where can I pre-order this BD?!)

(Now it’s Kyoto’s turn to retaliate… and they won’t. They’re chicken. They’re not in the same class as Shaft anymore when it comes to fanservice… what happened to the studio that didn’t blink in showing Mikuru being stripped?! Nonetheless, a shower scene with Rin and Haru would be an appropriate counterattack.)

“We fooled around in the shower for thirty minutes, and, feeling refreshed, we moved into the bedroom.”

I would be 100% okay with just a fanservice episode. I mean, at this point in the plot, we could use a break and slow things down a bit. And I’m sure Hanekawa’s and Senjougahara’s thirty minute shower has hit the same doujinshi potential as Nia’s and Simon’s seven days.

(Okay, so one of the many things that impressed me about Pacific Rim was the lack of fanservice. Not that I didn’t appreciate the admiral’s daughter randomly stripping in Star Trek Into Darkness, but movies these days always feel like they need to include one gratuitous fanservice scene just because. Either go big a la this episode of Monogatari Second Season or go home. Pacific Rim could have played the fanservice game, but it wisely avoided it. Instead, it just focused on out Independence Day-ing Independence Day. Even towards the end of Pacific Rim, I was thinking, “They really need a motivation speech to– okay, that’ll do.” It hits all the same beats as Independence Day– alien invasion for our resources, alien mind meld, flying a weapon into a beam of light– but it does it better. Del Toro does world-building with Pacific Rim, whereas Independence Day was more of world-destruction. It’s like an underdog sports anime pretending to be a giant robot/kaiju movie. And I especially enjoyed the dog… between this movie and Skyfall, the bulldog is in season. And how could you not like delightfully written dialogue like, “Welcome to the Shatterdome,” and “Aishitemasu, sensei.”)

(Not everything is rosy for Pacific Rim. While I can live with the plot holes, and, really, what Hollywood movie isn’t swiss cheese of plot holes, the movie does suffer a bit from Del Toro-itis, which I didn’t remember until after the movie… I was like, “Shit, he did the same thing in Blade II when he introduced the Hunter Pack or whatchamacallit and killed them off in the next ten minutes.” I would have loved to see Crimson Typhoon actually do something with its triple arms. I would have loved, loved, loved if the Russian jaegar just spouted lines from Rocky IV… “I will break you!” I mean, if my major complaint is that the Russian giant robot isn’t acting like Drogo… well… that says something about the movie.)

“I’m high-strung, so I’m usually a light sleeper, but somehow I slept really deeply.”

I feel like in addition to her 42lbs of spite, Senjougahara has the best writing backing her for this series. She seems like Nisio Isin’s favorite character just because her lines feel crafted and deliberate. I mean, that’s also her character where everything she says has a subtle context, but it’s also written with care that way. It’s the opposite of Pacific Rim’s, “Today we are canceling the apocalypse!” Wait, nevermind, that line is fucking awesome. I mean, she says this line before we know about her meeting with Black Hanekawa, and the reason she slept so soundly was because her light sleepiness made it possible to meet Black Hanekawa who drained her energy.

“Maybe I had a good pillow…”

Another example. Then again, she probably just misses her dad as it seems to be like three days, and he still hasn’t come home. Anime parents, in general, are probably the worst parents ever in any fictional medium.

“Thinking of the sheer weight of everything she’s overcome recently…”

The writing in general is just better than Nisemonogatari. I like the clever word choices that can be easily missed.

I would love to see a Senjougahara cooking show where she is in a different outfit each episode. She could combine her knowledge of food with her spite. It would be like Good Eats, except with Senjougahara replacing Alton Brown. Hell, if we can get Alton Brown involved in this project, it’s a no-brainer. I really liked how Senjougahara uses food to drive home a point about Hanekawa’s personality. I also like how Senjougahara is analyzing Hanekawa, and she’s doing a good job at it… something Ararararagi never accomplished to do. There’s just a lot to like. This food scene is just fantastic, and it is the second reminder this episode about why I enjoy this franchise this much. Who would have thought that thoughtful character interaction could occur minutes after an epic fanservice shower scene?

(I appreciate Shaft sneaking a crab into this scene.)

Furthermore, I like how Senjougahara is trying to solve this issue the Senjougahara way. She’s not relying on anyone for help. She’s doing it her way. She isn’t trying to become Arararagi or Meme. She knows what she is good at, and she’s using it to her advantage. Bravo. Senjougahara is the friend Hanekawa both needs and deserves right now.

And my favorite one. Senjougahara meido?! Time to pre-order some BDs… oh wait… how many copies have I ordered so far?

(I like the bonus touch that she’s heating the water via a candle.)

“Hanekawa, I have a good idea. Want to hear it?”

I do! What is it! And Hanekawa, not missing a beat, nails the response, “Senjougahara turned a new leaf, and she found a modern dresser her candid personality became slightly more annoying.”

“Even Araragi has yet to hoard this sleeping face all to himself.”

Another great Hanekawa thought and a splendid face. This whole episode is about how Hanekawa keeps her thoughts to herself and accepts everything whereas Senjougahara is almost the opposite… and it even shows in the narration. We don’t need to pop into Senjougahara’s head with asides or text cards to know what she is thinking.

Now that I think about it some more… I don’t think there’s enough fanservice in this episode. Clearly, the plot and source material calls out for more fanservice.

Shaft only needed three seiyuu for this episode. I wonder if there is a major show that had less seiyuu used for an episode. Maybe Binbougama-ga… mmm… this is the insightful analysis that this blog excels at. Quality fanservice and character interaction with only three seiyuu. Can’t beat that. Maybe that’s what allows Shaft to put more production money into the shower scene– money well spent.

60% of the time, Senjougahara’s pillow logic works all the time. I just loved how she so blatantly talks Hanekawa into sleeping with her in her futon. She could have just said, “I thought a girls sleepover would be fun!” but instead in true Hitagi style, she comes up with some mighty circular logic. Hanekawa doesn’t call her out on it, but Hanekawa did call out Arararagi when he tried using similar circular logic during Nisemonogatari in an attempt to carry her bountiful harvest.

And, yeah, Shaft finally lets us know why Hanekawa is wearing frumpy underwear. That would been useful an episode ago. I also don’t understand acceptable code of hygiene for Japanese schoolgirls, but I can’t imagine loaning out lingerie to be an accepted practice. But… glad to know Senjougahara has a drawer full of print undies. Staple stable indeed.

Quality cabbage is… quality? An anime studio spent more than thirty seconds drawing a cabbage? Surely a sign of the non-cancelled apocalypse. I can only imagine Shaft HQ as Shinbo is passing out animation assignments… okay, you get to draw Hanekawa’s boobs… you get to draw Senjougahara’s boobs… and you get to draw cabbage. Uh, thanks?

“Why don’t we talk about things we detest about him?”

“I’m in!”

Witty dialogue and fanservice. That’s when Monogatari is at its best. And then there’s the little things like having both Senjougahara and Hanekawa make breakfast (well, first meal) in their pajamas while wearing an apron but also having the other wash the dishes afterward. It’s like the first half of the episode showed Senjougahara’s control experiment with her cooking, and then the second half showed Hanekawa as the observational experiment as cat girl cooked. Then Senjougahara presents her hypothesis: Hanekawa doesn’t really love Araragi. It’s… like… science and stuff.

Araragi finally shows up in the series. Full Size. Artist.

Three predictions for next episode…

1. Senjougahara’s secret plan is to start a cooking show with Alton Brown. Hanekawa would live on the set as the set elf.
2. Less melonpan will be unleashed.
3. Araragi will make a phone call.