Nisemonogatari – 03
Getting groped by Senjougahara is undoubtedly a hair-raising experience.
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One game I like to play, knowing that Shaft is adapting Nisemonogatari pretty much straight-up, is predicting how much will be covered in each episode. I was quite a bit off in the previous episode, thinking that it would end with Koyomi talking with Karen and leave the scenes with Kanbaru for this one. With this one, I predicted it would end at… well, maybe I’m starting to get the hang of this. |
After his rather harrowing (but valuable learning) experience about sexual harrassment with Suruga, Koyomi finishes helping her clean her room. In her now pristine room, the two talk a bit, the conversation turns to Koyomi’s harem, much like it did when he was talking with Mayoi a couple episodes back. There’s also more talk about keeping secrets, as he asks her how she’s dealing with the secret of her arm from her family. Then they whip out some hanafuda cards that they found in the mess, and Koyomi proceeds to whip Suruga at the game.
Kanbaru does not like losing. Unfortunately, her luck stat is apparently 0.
It’s on his way out that Koyomi runs into the first all-new character in the series, a man by the name of Kaiki. Koyomi immediately notices a weird aura about him. Kaiki first asks if he’s a resident of Kanbaru’s home, and he mentions that he had heard that the child of Gaen – Suruga’s now-dead mother – was there. Turns out the “aura” he felt from the Kanbaru home wasn’t as strong as he expected, so he has no business there. When hearing Koyomi Araragi’s name, Kaiki casually mentions that Araragi was a name he’d heard before, and also makes a little pun on their names relating to trees (that’s actually a reference to a couple events in Kizumonogatari). Kaiki leaves, and, feeling suspicious, Koyomi tries to follow him, but something compels him to turn right back around and go home.
Reminds you of Meme Oshino? You don’t say!
On his way back home, Koyomi thinks to himself that Kaiki reminded him a lot of Meme Oshino as well as Guillotine Cutter. Now, Oshino should be familiar to anyone who’s watched Bakemonogatari, but Guillotine Cutter is a character who only appeared in Kizumonogatari (I won’t spoil anything, but he was one of the antagonists, and Koyomi took him down in a way that I can’t wait to see animated!). But before he can dwell on it too much, he runs into none other than his girlfriend, Hitagi Senjougahara, making her first appearance since that wicked cold open to the series! Plenty more Senjougahara service here, as per usual. Their conversation turns to their (abusive) relationship, as Hitagi warns him again never to cheat on her and also displays her supernatural power to detect how many females Koyomi has interacted with that day. Eventually, Koyomi has to tell her where he’s been, and mentions that he met Kaiki, which takes us…
Eyes of a woman you don’t want to get on the wrong side of.
At least she was kind enough to bandage him up. After hitting him 2 or 3 or 6 times to knock him out first.
Right back to where we were at the open of the 1st episode. Yup, the moment Hitagi heard that name, she knocked Koyomi out and dragged him to this abandoned school where he sits shackled now. She reveals that Kaiki was the 1st of the 5 scam artists she had gone to in order to fix her weight problem before Oshino solved it during the events of Bakemonogatari. So much is she scared of this man that she’s prepared to “protect” Koyomi by keeping him tied up here until Kaiki leaves town. And if he decides to move here? Well, Hitagi’s gonna need a lot more diapers, that’s for sure!
But things never go quite as planned, do they? Koyomi receives an email, and Hitagi is kind enough to open his phone and show it to him (not without copping a feel, of course!). The contents are simple: “Help Me” from Younger Little Sister. Seeing this, Koyomi effortlessly breaks the chains on his handcuffs and tells Hitagi that he’s going home. Hitagi is impressed but still unwilling to let him go, but she then receives another call – still on Koyomi’s phone – which leads to a conversation in which she’s very meek, flustered, and accomodating for once. She tosses the phone back to Koyomi who is now free to leave, and when asked who was on the other end of the conversation, she responds, “Hanekawa.”
Koyomi shows what he’s capable of (not really) when he means business.
“Go-… gomen… gomena…sai” Aww, Hitagi learns to speak her first apology.
New OP! Sort of!
We get to see Hitagi in all her non-blacked-out glory.
Well, well, we’re finally starting to get somewhere with the story now, aren’t we? Almost everything is still shrouded in mystery, not the least of whom the con man Kaiki, but the show is starting to pull back the curtains. What we do know at this point is, Kaiki is not a very good guy, and Tsukihi is in trouble, so much so that she’s texting their rather antagonized older brother for help. What about Kaiki makes Hitagi that fearful, enough to pull a Yuno on Yukki Koyomi in order to “protect” him? (They call her tsundere-chan, but she’s actually a yandere, isn’t she?) Just what trouble has Tsukihi gotten into that she needs Koyomi so badly? Why is Tsubasa Hanekawa involved, and how did she gain such leverage over Hitagi? How does that connect to Suruga’s off-hand comment about not getting caught between in the relationship between Tsubasa and Hitagi?
And Koyomi had one hell of a badass moment to close the episode. Just one glance at that text requesting help from his sister, and he breaks through the cuffs and tells Hitagi that playtime is over. The fact that he could’ve done this at any point (actually not the case) and was just humoring her until that point was particularly delicious. Is this the first time he’s taken control from her like that? It sure seemed to turn her on. I’ve said before that I’m not a huge fan of Nisio’s writing, that it can be really hit or miss, and fortunately the writing in this episode managed to hit. I really enjoyed the bits with Hitagi before she knocked him out, the talk of the afterlife (which she doesn’t believe in), and her supernatural jealousy. Her way of turning every bit of a conversation into a chance to insult – even borrowing from Mayoi (whom she has never seen or heard) – is fascinating. One bit from the novel that I was somewhat disappointed they skipped (for pacing/time reasons, no doubt) was Kanbaru service early on, when she decides to play with Koyomi by calling him “onii-chan.” It’s about as perverted as you’d expect coming from her.
I continue to enjoy the visuals. The oppressive red lighting during the initial encounter with Kaiki was very fitting. At this point, you should know what to expect from the cinematography from this show, and it didn’t do anything to veer away from its standard. The production values also don’t show any signs of dropping, with yet another new OP animation, though this was a modified version of the first one, with the Hitagi silhouettes filled in. Within the episode the scene when Koyomi tracked down Hitagi on his bike was animated excellently. Shaft knows their moneymaker franchise, and they’re sparing no expense.
Still no next-episode preview; is Shaft skipping those because Karen and Tsukihi who used to do them in Bakemonogatari are now busy actually being part of the story? So let me fill that role: there will be a few more answers next episode regarding the trouble the Fire Sisters have gotten into, and how it relates to Kaiki. We will see a couple old characters return. And there will be lots more fanservice as well. If Shaft plays it right, it’ll make episode 2 look like child’s play.
About lvlln
A math/science geek and a self-dubbed cynical optimist. I don't care if it's deep, if it can make me feel something or laugh, it's fine in my book. @lvlln
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 209 comments
I have to wonder how powerful this Kaiki person is and his plans for our gang. As much bad mouth he gives to his sister, Koyomi really does care for them.
I expected that since their in the story that Karen and Tsukihi aren’t doing previews but I get the feeling that they weren’t previews in the first.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Wait, sorry, I couldn’t quite parse your last sentence. Would you mind clarifying?
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Hrm hrm, my interpretation is:
“I expected that Karen and Tsukihi would not be doing the previews since they’re the main focus of the story this time around. However I get the feeling that they never intended to do previews in the first place.”
POWUH: 1000-1099 and Pirate King with 1048 comments
What is with the weird cartoony shots? Is it like a nod to some old style animation? They all are pretty funny.
Awesome scene with Kaiki, and Senjou’s quip about the mirror was great. Senjou being Senjou is always a great watch.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Shaft had played around with those old school cartoony shots in the Tsubasa Cat arc of Bakemonogatari. I guess they liked it quite a bit. I’m waiting for the return of the paper cutout visuals. That they used to good effect in Madoka.
POWUH: Lovely-pyon~ with 323 comments
WOWOW ..!!! this is awesome …hell yeah I’m gonna watch this again and again …especially when the part “Go-… gomen… gomena…sai” (¯^¯) thank u god for giving me the chance to witness something awesome !!!
POWUH: 400-499 with 428 comments
Koi koi! Nothing like a game of hanafuda after a serious episode of sexual harassment 😀 and Miki Shinichiro as the new character Kaiki? Did not expect that, but if he’s going to be some kind of crafty con man, his voice fits the character to be pretty well. Oh, Senjougahara, why are you so harsh yet so irresistible at the same time? But, in the end, Araragi being Araragi, when his little sister calls for his help, he must go. Seems like he gets a power up whenever that happens…:) Cannot wait for next week!
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Hahaha. He’d marry Senjougahara but Araragi would still have other lovers on standby? That lucky perverted harem bastard!!!
Senjougahara is way more of a yandere than a tsundere but she can’t compete with Mirai Nikki’s Yuno. Either way, she may be cruel but she’s extremely irresistible. Dating her comes at a steep price. The part where she was trying to apalogize was priceless.
That creeper Kaiki looks like the dark side of Oshino. Even his tone of voice is enough to make you shake in your boots.
POWUH: iLurker with 1 comments
[…] is staying in the past tense because my research revealed something about […]
POWUH: Metanorn Lover with 199 comments
Finally plot appeared. I love the scene with a bad guy – it has totally different mood than rest of the episode, it’s even directed somewhat differently. Really cool scene (have to watch it again).
Also Senjogafara is really cute. She is not a bad person, only doesn’t know where to stop playing with her insults. It was funny how easily Araragi broke the chains – it was not really like he was coffined. He just played along (this is what he does all the time after all).
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
The thing about Araragi breaking the chains… it wasn’t all as it seemed. Still made for an excellent moment and first real challenge from him to Senjougahara.
POWUH: Meta Resident and Yōko Fanboy with 1246 comments
HNNNNNNGGG~~!!!!!! Senjougahara blushing is fricken ADORABLE~!!!! AND WITH A SMILE TOO!!! <3 <3 x3 I can't get over it~ It's… it's too much for me! KYAAA~ x3
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
So much Senjougahara this week! <3 <3 <3 and her blush? DAMN that is one killer expression on her...Hooray! New bad guy for everyone to kick around.
Araragai so bamf! Breaking those chains damn...epic! xD
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
Yeah, she sure knows how to be hot and possibly murderous. I love it when she’s threatening Araragi and tormenting him with all manner of shameless and underhanded means of physical and/or mental torture. The groping was hilarious.
Araragi is badass but he rarely shows it. It’s all hidden behind a wall of awkwardness. If one message of distress from his sister was enough to jumpstart his vampire impulses to break those chains, imagine if Senjougahara was involved. She even said she’s not such a coward that she’d hesitate because she’s facing a vampire. If only I could see that awesome situation unfold.
POWUH: iLurker with 18 comments
which leads me to also wonder, in addition to all the other questions that you’ve posed: How did Tsubasa know that she could reach Hitagi through Koyomi’s mobile?
POWUH: Meta Team and Ringleader Extraordinaire~ with 6433 comments
I think, Senjou and Hanekawa both conspired to trap Araragi for a while. So, the call. It all started with Hanekawa cancelling on him in the first place.
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
Enjoyed this episode – though I have a request: is it possible to keep spoilers out or make them black? I started reading the beginning and had to skip past it. I’m not reading the LN translations until after the fact so I don’t spoil myself.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
I’m sorry, I believed I had been careful in avoiding spoilers. To what specifically might you be referring?
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
The first paragraph after the pic where you were stating what you thought the episode would cover.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
You mean the one that ended with:
?
🙂
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1557 comments
That’s the one.
POWUH: 700-799 and Parkouring Fanboy with 776 comments
Well, as you can see, there are no spoilers there…
POWUH: iLurker with 2 comments
[…] However, Suruga was not so good at rocks paper scissors, a clear reference to her bad luck while playing Hanafuda in episode 3 and possibly foreshadowing for Hanamonogatari “Suruga […]
POWUH: iLurker with 3 comments
[…] the other half of the Valhalla Combo). It’s an interesting reversal from Nisemonogatari where Hitagi was clearly the one being bullied by Tsubasa and a reminder of why we fell in love with her in the first […]