Unbeknownst to me, there were two short story entries from Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari. As the self-proclaimed "Biggest Monogatari fan," I felt a tiny wave of shame for not knowing about it.
Nevertheless, I will be reading both, along with Nademonogatari as a celebration of the announcement for the Off & Monster season anime adaptation. I promised to finish them sooner, but things don't work out sometimes. (I should really stop making promises).
Enough rambling. Let's begin
Note: Spoilers for all of the first season of Monogatari and slight spoilers for Nekomonogatari (White) and Otorimonogatari (They're a part of the second season)
Hitagi Buffet:
Araragi and Senjougahara go on a date.
At least, I think it's a date. I'm not exactly sure because it's never said they're on a date, but judging from how they talk about Kanberu, I'll say it's a date.
All that happens is funny banter between the two where Araragi makes the grave mistake of asking about Senjougahra's weight and nearly dying in the process. She then explains how girls don't get fat, but "only grow." Although, she gets jealous about how Araragi can't become fat because of his vampire powers.
It's really just a cute story where if your favourite character is Senjougahara, you'll love it.
I'm not the biggest fan of her, but I like her enough to enjoy this one
Hitagi Buffet: 75/100
Mayoi Room:
Araragi kidnaps Hachikuji into his home.
...
God damn it Araragi, I can only defend you so much.
But really, not even he knows why. Araragi was going about his day, cycling around and found the snail girl herself.
Then blacks out (Which is super concerning), ties her to his bike and brings her home.
...Truly, he's not helping his case at all.
In fact, I would say he has no case and any lawyer that would have to defend him in court would lose on the basis they're defending Koyomi Araragi.
Either way, it's a lot of funny banter between the two, involving some wordplay and a more light-hearted version of the scene in Nadeko Snake, where Kanberu and Araragi are with Nadeko, who changes into a swimsuit.
Whereas here, Hackhikuji changes into her pyjamas while Araragi is in the room, facing away.
...
Would wholesome be the correct choice of words or more concerning?
It's a really funny story where if you love the conversations between Araragi and Hackikuji, you'll love this.
I for one, love those parts.
Mayoi Room: 85/100
Suruga Court:
Araragi challenges the star ace of basketball to, wouldn't you know it, basketball and gets absolutely wrecked.
Because, of course he would.
He does so in a very formal Japanese way, whereas Kanberu responds in a very informal Japanese way.
Araragi sends a letter with traditional, hand-inked writing and Kanberu shows up in gothic lolita fashion.
He still gets beaten hard, even though he cheated by getting some of his vampire powers out.
There's not much to write about as writing any more would ruin the hilarity of the situation.
It's a really enjoyable story where if your favourite character is Kanberu, you'll love it.
I am someone who loves her a ton, so of course I love it.
_Suruga Court: 90/100 _
Nadeko Pool:
Araragi goes to the pool with Nadeko.
Though, to be more exact, he's there to teach Nadeko how to swim.
But it quickly turns into a scene like when he meets with Nadeko at her house where it is her attempting to seduce Araragi.
With the tiniest string bikini known to mankind.
Now, I'm not the biggest Nadeko fan. She's probably the least interesting to me out of the whole cast. But I always do find Araragi's reaction to her interesting. Not once in this story does he think of her in a sexual sense. He even goes as far as to call the sight "pitiable"
It shows a layer of depth to Araragi that is misunderstood but a layer of depth that's hard to grasp by anyone, including me. Quite honestly, it deserves its own section in another review, but it's something that I will touch upon one of these days.
In short, it's pretty dull other than that nice piece of character work.
It's a pitiable story, but if you're a fan of Nadeko, you'll be sure to love it.
For me, I found it quite boring.
Nadeko Pool: 60/100
Tsubasa Song:
Araragi thinks that Hanekawa asked him out on a date, but it was only a friendly hangout at a Karaoke place.
In some ways, this is like an added DLC to Tsubasa Cat and Tsubasa Tiger. It is about Hanekawa's inability to let go of stress, but also be normal. Her lack of normality worries her so much that she memorised and sang every song to perfection because that's what she thought was normal.
Which, in turn, is what only makes her so abnormal.
Hanekawa is a character that is best to be analysed in another review, but for now, this is a wonderful bonus for anyone who has finished Monogatari, or even rereading it.
A clarifying side note if you will.
The ending as well is also something so heartbreaking to read, yet it is done so causally in the story.
It's a really amazing story that any Hanekawa fan would love.
And, in turn, it's my favourite story of the five.
Tsubasa Song: 95/100
In conclusion:
Reading these stories felt like a wave of nostalgia for the simpler times in the overall story of Monogatari. You get to see where all the characters used to be, and how they used to act, which for me, who has almost caught up with the novels, is a very wild sight to see. These characters have grown so much that their initial starting place has a sorrowful feel as I read through it all.
Granted, these stories aren't mindblowing and rereading/rewatching Bakemonogatari would give me that same feeling, yet it's nice that I got to read something completely new.
Overall, they're all nice short stories that I enjoyed from beginning to end.
Have a good day and keep trying to enjoy life
-Kishbokai
P.S. Thank you Shaft for making more Monogatari anime.
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