At last, we arrive at the most acclaimed episode of Monogatari’s first season. Bakemonogatari #12 is a remarkable episode, and I enjoyed it even more upon revisit. This episode basically condenses more chemistry, flirting, and romantic truth into one episode than most dedicated romances manage in a full series, a pretty solid feat for a show that isn’t even really a romance in general. Nice going, Monogatari.
You can check out my full review over at ANN, or my notes below.
“We’re going on a date.”
Senjougahara and Araragi are very comfortably awkward at this point
This sequence is incredibly sexually charged, and so we get these bizarre, invasive, hyper-close shots
The strange angles evoke Araragi’s unease, the closeness evokes the tension
Both of them are very awkward in their own unique ways
And huh, we’re back to Stable Staple
Oh my god, this episode puts us so tightly in his headspace. Tons of perspective shots, a great tactile feel to the progression of shots.
And Senjougahara can’t hold down her smiles
And then they rush into the car with her dad
Hah, they even have the camera pan to her dad and then back while she’s interrogating him on whether he loves her. Full perspective
She gets him to call her by her first name by pretending to be confused about which Senjougahara he’s referring to. She’s also interrogating him on what he loves about her
His emotive ahoge is really good
“What a terrible thing to say in front of my parent.” Oh my god Senjougahara
She is extremely aggressively hitting on him, while also tracing a hand along his inner thigh. Extremely evil
And also clumsy, like everything she does
Senjougahara reflects on the pressure of expectations weighing on Hanekawa
Ah yes, the dirty lines
“Hitagi’s become completely closed off to other people.” This conversation with her father is wonderful. This is also the first time a non-Oshino adult has spoken in the series, and Oshino’s in large part an extension of the supernatural stuff
“For the first time in a long time, she asked me for a favor. She asked me to let her help with my work”
Reach out, and others reach out in kind
“She got through it herself. I was just there with her.” “That’s all she needed. The fact that you were there when she needed help is in itself something she couldn’t be more grateful for”
“This is everything I have to give you.” My god this episode is good