Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re returning to Monogatari’s Off Season, as Isin continues to explore the wandering lives of Araragi’s various associates. Isin has clearly found an effective way to have his cake and eat it too, as Monogatari already arrived at a thematically cohesive conclusion back during Final Season, yet charting these continuing adventures nonetheless also fits within the show’s general philosophy. After all, one of the major points of Monogatari is that people are not fixed points, and our psychological development does not comprise clean, conclusive emotional arcs. We are all works in progress, liable to backslide or be stymied by new challenges, and exploring these Hanamonogatari-esque further hurdles has given the franchise life beyond its original protagonist.
With Yotsugi’s self-inflicted crisis now presumably handled, it seems we are turning to Nadeko, who has become something of a shut-in now that she’s found a passion worth pursuing, a source of pride that embodies her chosen identity, rather than the persona initially foisted upon her. Though Kaiki did a magnificent job back in Hitagi End, one push in the right direction does not a self-actualized person make, so I’m guessing we’ll still be grappling with Nadeko’s relatively unmoored sense of self. Let’s see how our passionate young mangaka is faring!
