The second instalment in the Monogatari series is a divisive one. It has been labelled by many as the franchise’s least interesting entry, more concerned with fanservice than with interesting storytelling or compelling characterization. It does however have its fair share of fans, willing to defend it as a misunderstood gem. Personally, I love Nisemonogatari…up until a certain point.
As opposed to Bakemonogatari’s five, Nise is comprised of two arcs. Those being Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix, each one focusing on one of Koyomi Araragi’s siblings, the Fire Sisters. Two girls whose goal it is to bring justice wherever they go seemingly having a similar fixation on helping those in need as their brother, even though, unlike him, they don’t try to hide that.
I’ll say right out of the gate that I think Karen’s arc leaves nothing to be desired. It is an interesting, well structure arc with, I would argue, great character writing and development.
Nise’s primary theme is that of fakes. The show explores topics such as personas, masks that people put on and how those differ from our real selves. Now Monogatari has already touched something similar before, mainly in Tsubasa Cat. That said, Karen Bee puts its own spin on it by bringing up the question of how much it really matters if the personas that we put on are not completely true to our real self. After all, is it really so bad to be a little bit of a fake?
The arc explores these intriguing themes masterfully through the incredibly interesting new characters in the form of Karen and the arc’s villain, Deishuu Kaiki, as well as the returning Koyomi Araragi and Hitagi Senjougahara (I know Karen was briefly in Bake but still “new” to the spotlight).
So far, I have done nothing but shower Nisemonogatari with praise. Unfortunately however, this stops here. As I've mentioned before, I only really love this season up until a certain point. In my opinion, the second arc, Tsukihi Phoenix, is thoroughly underwhelming.
As you would expect of Monogatari, the arc mainly consists of interactions between characters. However, with the exceptions of a few moments (the toothbrush scene anyone?), those interactions lack the series' usual level of wit and come off as significantly more dry. They are not...tedious per se, as some interesting stuff is being brought up in them, but they do feel like they are more concerned with building-up to the arc's climax than they are with being entertaining while they last. So is the climax worth it at least? No, not really. It's a simplistic action sequence without any particularly exciting choreography, resolved in a rather unconvincing manner, involving a certain character making a confusing, very sudden 180.
The other characters are not any better here. The arc introduces us to Yozuru Kagenui and Yotsugi Ononoki, and both come off as rather one-note and unmemorable.
Yozuru has some personality with her mix of eccentricity and the feeling of intensity that she gives off, but the attempts at giving her depth fall flat, as her views and thought processes that we learn about are not as interesting as the show thinks they are. The fact that it was her who was responsible for the previously mentioned confusing 180 doesn’t help. As for Yotsugi, while she does become a more interesting character in The Second Season, here she is only really defined by a single joke in the form of her odd, deadpan demeanour and way of speaking. She is mildly amusing, but this doesn’t exactly make for the most compelling character introduction.
This arc doesn’t do any disservice to Koyomi and Shinobu. That said, they are both very static throughout it, so they don’t do much to make up for the flatness of Tsukihi or the lacklustre first impressions left by Yozuru and Yotsugi.
Thematically, I don’t think this arc adds a whole lot either. The stuff it brings up feels like a rehash of what was already sufficiently covered in Karen Bee, just with a less engaging story and weaker character writing.
Much like Bake, Nise is very well done from the technical stand-point. The visuals keep all of their energetic flare and trippy creativity, and the new OPs are easily on pair with those of the first series. Marshmallow Justice and Platinum Disco are show stealers, but I quite enjoy the more calm tunes of Futakotone too. Something that I always enjoyed about Monogatari’s visuals is that some arcs kind of seem to have their own unique colour pallet, and it’s especially on display in Nise. Karen Bee is vibrant and warm, with all its yellows and oranges, while Tsukihi Phoenix goes for a colder pallet, with plenty of soothing blues, whites and greys.
Voice acting-wise, the returning cast knock it out of the part once again, and the newcomers are excellent as well. Eri Kitamura perfectly encapsulates Karen’s energy and fierceness and Yuka Iguchi’s performance as Tsukihi, is oddly charming in how equal parts mature and childish sounding it comes off. Maaya Sakamoto, Schinichiro Miki, Ryouko Shiraishi and Saori Hayami, are also all fantastic matches for their respective characters’ personalities and unique quirks.
Okay, I’ve managed to not talk about fan service even once in my Bakemonogatari review, but considering how famous Nise is for it, I should probably address it here. Yes, this one turns the fan service up to 11. But in all seriousness, I don’t mind. Much like Bake sometimes did, I think Nise does an excellent job using fan service to better get across the characters’ emotions and dynamics (e.g. the conversation between Koyomi and Nadeko). Not to mention, sometimes it can get so ridiculous that it’s honestly just really funny to me (e.g. the toothbrush scene).
Nisemonogatari is a strange part of the Monogatari series. It’s a masterpiece until it isn’t. But while I may have come off as harsh in some parts of this review, I actually like Nise quite a bit. Sure, I’m not crazy about one of its two arcs, but that arc is ultimately just four episodes, with the first seven being the exact kind of Monogatari goodness that I fell in love with in Bakemonogatari. So, would I side more with Nise’s detractors or defenders? Honestly? I’m leaning pretty heavily towards the “defender” side overall. While it’s nowhere near the highest point of Monogatari for me, it still has plenty of the kind of stuff that makes me love this series as much as I do.