Look, the arc’s damn title is “Shinobu Time.” I don’t care if Shinobu already stole Mayoi’s actual title arc. Shinobu’s just a way better character than Mayoi, and if Mayoi ends up stealing this one, I will not be pleased. I don’t watch Monogatari for Mayoi/Araragi’s rambling, pointless conversations or “haha Araragi’s a pedophile” jokes – shit like that almost had me dropping Bake right in the middle of Snail, and has always been the centerpiece of the “in spite of…” list that silently follows any “Monogatari is fantastic” statements by me. Yeah, I know some people like it – they have that right. Personally, I’m hoping even Isin isn’t troll enough to name the arc Shinobu Time and then screw me like this.

Super mad about cartoons! Alright, let’s watch some damn Monogatari.

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That’s three top-tier arcs in a row. Monogatari, I don’t know what they’ve put in your drinking water, but I like it. This arc is ostensibly about Shinobu, who’s one of my favorite characters, but I’ve heard it’s actually heavy on Mayoi, my least favorite, so I guess we’ll see if they keep it up. But this season has given me no reason to expect disappointment – Monogatari is one of the most compelling anime of the last few years, and S2 has been far and away the strongest set of episodes. Bring on Shinobu Time.

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Man. I’ve always thought Monogatari was an extremely interesting and generally compelling show, but this season…this season you guys. Absurd jump in quality. Neko Shiro is probably my favorite arc of anything in the series, Zombies versus Vampires From the Future Past was one of the most entertaining, and this one’s keeping up the hits. Great direction, a powerful portrayal and subsequent breakdown of Nadeko’s personality, and HanaKana going all pissed-off delinquent on us. And now here we are at the showdown – Nadeko’s been caught red-handed with a personality and desires of her own, something she’s only been moderately successful at hiding so far. We kind of already know how this discussion ends, but I’m game to see how we get there.

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This weekend is gonna kill me you guys. I have written so many words. I have so many words left to write. C3-bu. TWGOK. Gatchaman. Uchouten. Titan. Why am I doing this to myself?!?

Alright, that’s not Monogatari’s fault. In fact, Monogatari’s the nice show, the one that isn’t piling on the mountain of reviews I’ve foolishly assigned myself. So let’s take it easy, Monogatari. Maybe just have an episode of pretty backgrounds I can cap and say “hey look at this pretty background” to. Please don’t get thematically dense on me here.

That seems pretty unlikely, though – between the snake and Ougi, this arc has already firmly declared it will be about the Fallacy of Victimhood, and how Nadeko uses her alleged helplessness as a defense mechanism even as she pursues selfish and potentially damaging ends. Given her desire to direct dissatisfaction outwards and minimal ability to express herself, Nadeko is possibly our most unreliable narrator yet, which in the context of Monogatari is really saying something. Let’s get to it.

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New arc! Man has this season been some good Monogatari. I think Neko Shiro is probably my single favorite arc of the show to date, and Araragi-Shinobu: Time-Traveling Zombie-Fighting Buddy Cops isn’t far behind. I’ve written more about this goddamn series than any other by a fairly significant margin, but it’s generally been a show I found more interesting than fully coherent – the style of storytelling was very unique, and the tricks of direction were extremely compelling, but it didn’t necessarily gel into a cohesive production. This season has blown that complaint away, telling vivid and compelling stories that don’t lean on either Isin’s wordplay or Shinbo’s cinematography, but instead make best use of each of their strengths in tandem. And now we have the Nadeko arc.

This is gonna be interesting. In Bake, I felt her arc was basically a biting, caustic comment by Shinbo, but Nadeko herself didn’t really have any presence. These first two arcs have been well-written and well-directed, but they’ve also had the benefit of leaning on two of the Monogatari universe’s strongest variables, Hanekawa herself and the Araragi-Shinobu relationship. Since Nadeko is so loosely define, this arc could go basically anywhere. So let’s go on an adventure.

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