Owarimonogatari – 08
Oh, yeah, she’s back!
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…in which Araragi is hesitant to involve Kanbaru after all, Ononoki continues her quest for the boy’s pectorals, Kanbaru becomes involved anyway, and we see the semi-triumphant return of the best LOLi in the known universe…. |
All Doll’d Up…
They have a lot to catch up on…
At the outset, the first third of this episode seemed pretty much like catch-up, but there were a few bits and pieces worth taking a second look at, especially if we consider the some of the themes that Owarimonogatari as a whole is trying to explore; namely Araragi’s hesitancy to tell a fully honest story about himself. In that we see how much he hesitates in getting Kanbaru involved in the latest caper, with him failing to realize just how much she already is. As the rest of the story develops, he looks to be second guessing the scope of what Gaen’s ultimate plan is, not that anyone can blame him, as we can only hope to make very hazard guesses at this point. But that doesn’t mean I don’t have one!
…marking her “territory”…
I love the sense of drama that comes so very front loaded with Yotsugi. She’s a puppet on Gaen’s strings, that is for sure, but that doesn’t mean she doesn’t know how to call that sort of dance herself. It wasn’t so much simply advising Araragi, in a consigliere like manner, not to avoid fulfilling the promise he made to Gaen, but that the situation was already being played out whether he liked it or not. This served a double duty or cementing that he had to finish what he started, but also of letting us in on that fact that he does have the capacity to become a supporting character in his own story if he doesn’t take the lead; which might not be the best place for him to be. Plus, she relished her chance to not only make more pec jokes, but to “mark” him in her own special way. She’s a couple of pages ahead in the script than he is….enough to go reconnoiter the much talked about suit of crazy Armor they have to deal with….
Is she putty in his hands?
The Return of Mayoi…
Get him and keep him while you can, monkey…
So whether you call it Rouhaku or Naimishiro, the meeting point of Kanaru and Gaen is the “central” park if you will of the whole franchise. We saw Araragi become entangled with Mayoi there, and we also saw some definitive activities that propel Tsubasa on one of her own quests happen there as well, along with certain declarations of love; but for this story it is the Lost Snail/Cow that has become the most important. I rather loved how much Kanbaru took advantage of the piggyback ride he was giving her. It solidified how much she was in her hands, but her confidence in him never in doubt, was it? The callback to the Northern Snake temple was just some creepy icing on the cake at this point.
…let the Monkey do it…
But, as I said, it was the Lost aspect which made this feature of the episode most important. The last time this happened, Araragi needed to depend on the perspective of another to see his way through the ordeal. That time it was Hitagi, someone who was out of the loop for Mayoi’s situation, but still carried the touch of the Oddity with her. In this situation it is Kanbaru that he has to rely upon; different person, similar spirit of place. I rather love how much she is still in “monkey’ mode when it comes to her actions. We’ve seen her do this quite a bit, in addition to Yotsugi’s very doll like manner, in the previous segment; lots of characters playing very much to type. But by playing it her way, traveling the “road” not traveled by anyone, they are able to reach their destination.
The Triumphant Return!
I agree, that was horribly cute…almost like she did it on purpose…
So, “what in the world is going on in this town right now?”. Well, as Shinobu says, “…it was the competition you’d dream of, in all sorts of ways.” Which makes us wonder, what they heck went down with the “other” monkey, and the cat with the bat playing along…I wonder how much Araragi is getting wrong in the assumptions. Why would he figure that Gaen was also a victim to the Lost Snail/Cow? Why didn’t he figure it was Tsubasa’s cat, right off the bat? It’s a story for another time, I guess. But it looks like Yotusi is still in action with her body-horror defining Unlimited Rulebook, and she loves playing Shinobu for a sucker. “I’ve saved you, and I got to stomp on your guy”. No wonder the Bat was so miffed with the Doll when Tsukimonogatari came rolling around.
So, what do you bait an Araragi trap with?
But we get more ties to the loose ends that Shinobu Time left us with. Not that the timing of the episode left them with enough room to breathe. Besides missing what sounds like an epic battle, we also miss that Gaen, perhaps through Yotsugi, was able to get Shinobu back from wherever she was, and bring her back to the city. It’s important to note that immediate safety wan’t of the least concerns, as she was put smack into, not only, one battle to begin with but another one in the making.
Well, this one has a claw….so Samurai Armor Upgrade….or something else?
Since it was a promise left in the air that Gaen could officially reunite “master” with “master”, Shinobu with Araragi, I cannot help but think the timing here is very much on purpose. The participants, with Araragi missing out due to Lost Cow Syndrome, were also on purpose as well. Would he let Tsubasa as the cat go into battle if he could prevent it? What about the “other” monkey? And why is Shinobu playing coy with this information? I guess she’s just in a jealous snit….but Gaen is behind most of these strings….
…as always, more to go on…
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It’s been a long time coming, but my favorite character, not only of the whole franchise, but in all of anime, has made her return; and here I am to cover it. I can cross one more item of my blogger bucket list. Since we’ve got ourselves a six, maybe seven, episode arc, I was prepared for this one to be mostly set up for the rest of the story, and set up it was in more than one way. My theory on Gaen is pretty far reaching, but I’ll save it for later, as it’s just so much speculation right now. If pressed in comments, I might play along. As for now, I’m looking forward to the next episode, to see all sort of righteous ass-kicking. It’s been awhile since Shinobu has been able to flex those muscles. I hope I won’t be let down.
About skylion
All around nerd that enjoys just about any anime genre. I love history, politics, public policy, the sciences, literature, arts...pretty much anything can make me geeky...except sports. Follow me @theskylion
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Oh the sweet amounts of pettan this season! Delicious Shinobu.
POWUH: Meta Team and PreCure Mastah with 9203 comments
Well you got your wish with Shinobu Returning!
Finally Monogatari returns the fanservice to make things funny in between all the talking bits and I never realized Kanbaru never met Shinobu before or has she in the past series? I can’t recall! I think the only one from the harem who hasn’t met her is Senjougahara and the Araragi sisters…
I was thinking is the new monster at the end a combination of all the oddities Araragi helped defeat in the past? Like the one at the end might be monkey+crab+somethin else?
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Yes, I did!
I was gonna say this is the first time we’ve seen Shinbou and Kanbaru meet, but, given her excitement, it’s a first time for everyone! Hitagi has acknowledged Shinobu, but it happened during one of talking bits. Karen hasn’t met her AFAIK, but Tsuhiki has, only briefly…very briefly.
Oh a combo monster would be really weird. This is the type of show to make a joke about the final boss…