Owarimonogatari – 10
“OMG is Gaen still talking?!!!”
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Oh, goodness but she goes on and on. She might have even given us something of a story to chew on. Basically, Shrine suck up negative juice and get rid of before bad things happen. Meme tried to keep other bad things happen. Time travel may have screwed it up, but maybe not? Talky talky jokey jokey… |
Shuuketsu
…Pull it in and Push it out…
So instead of bemoaning (Hiniku no Tan) about the dark parts of this episode, I’ll take the thing and spin it. Gaen, instead of being seen as some busy-body, talkative, stuffed up twat – thou honestly don’t go far away from that assessment please – can be seen as something approaching a Bond villain. I mean, this really felt, on at least one funny little metaphorical level, like she was explaining how and why she came to be, why she has a masterstroke to begin with, what that masterstroke it, when she wants to pull the trigger, and why she expects Mr. Bond to die. Hell, she even leaves before the final plan is unfurled. Leaving us to wonder, “Uh, why did you need Kanbaru with you in the first place?”. Yeah, I’m reaching there. But that’s part of the fun.
But to make a long story short, if the Big Black Ball of Banishment, or the Oddity Hoover, as I called it back in the days Shinobu Time was airing, punishes the lies, then the North Shirahebi Shrine is the reason why it shouldn’t be around in the first place. Gaen rather took the long way around to get to the point, but I think that was to push the rubes around to do what she wants them to do. Why would she even mention Yotusugi as part of the plan to dispatch anything? She’s a shikigami…she sees dead things stay dead….Oh…..
She did catch Shinobu in her snare, but I think that’s because the little LOLi that can wants to put this part of her history behind her. At this point I’m not buying totally into the fact that Araragi has a responsibility to all this; it’s pretty easy to trigger his white knight syndrome, which Gaen did. But I think the most practical part of that scene was Shinobu reminding him that jealousy is cute, but any more is unbecoming. After all, negative emotions do have impact on Oddities.
Brutal Garçon Huff Huffs a Half-Blood Boy
I cannot help but think that a ton of clues for the arc have been given in this scene. That is obviously Kaiki on the cover, and he is the Brutal Garçon in question. But after poking around a bit (say during the Neko: Shiro arc) that is Episode that is in his clutches, and that one is a half-blood (spoiler spoiler spoiler) something or other and you’ll have to read/see Kizu to get it. Still, it’s a neat way to give us some foreshadowing…
But this joke is just way to obvious to my eyes. He knows he isn’t fooling anyone, why would he do this? Why did the cover models look so much like Gaen? That means that Gaen is making a sandwich with a soon to be dead (at this point in the story…mabye, he might not be dead) con-artist and a vampire hunter as the meat. So do we call this foreshadowing? Does Gaen want to try to give Araragi and Shinobu the sneaky business? Have them do one thing while she pulls the trigger elsewhere with another weapon. Say….a Kanbaru shaped gun? Someone in the family? A family that has a long line of folk that may be employed in say, the operating a small and compact shrine that screwed the pooch around fifteen years ago?
Of course the First One just has to mess with everything in the end. That’s a sly bit of gender-bending, or am I missing something?It does rather imitate Karen old hair cut rather well, with her athletic build. But if the First One is the end all be all of the arc, then what will they need to do to dispatch him? As long as he only holds the sword that brings Oddities back to life, what can he do when that gets out of hand?
It’s the Kanbaru and Shinobu Show!
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Well in other news I picked this weekend to end a nearly 25 year long stint of tobacco smoking. I’m crabby, irritable, will gladly insult a bus of nuns and orphans to relieve the tedium, and am feeling generally mean-spirited, so push off and stow it in yer face! In other words, not bad at all. I said I could quit any time. But I still enjoyed this episode if only to watch Shinobu squirm and recover.
We’ve got two maybe three more episodes to tell the rest of Shinobu Time, and they’ve barely felt like they’ve wound up. I wouldn’t mind if Gaen dissipated for good. If they need an exposition character for later, just have Shinobu do it, as I like hearing Maaya Sakamoto speak much better anyway. This arc needs to start hitting it hard and give us something that can at least rival both Time and Mayoi Jiangshi. But that’s just me, and that’s just the lack of nicotine making me impatient. Or not….but we’ll see what happens next time…
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
Think of it as a sacrifice. Now you can spend money on Chino-day. :3 Though I’m a bit scared that people actually do it..
I wonder if Shinobu actually wears any pantsu… *tries to remember from earlier on…*
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Irony of ironies, I associate coffee and cigarettes like some do salt and pepper. It’s been pretty hard facing my morning cup o’ joe these past three mornings without his burning white stick companion. But, I do have an espresso machine, so perhaps I could take up foam art to keep me hands busy?
Shinobu is an adhesive bandage enthusiast, you know this…
POWUH: iLurker with 8 comments
Why did I not notice that was Episode? -_-;
But yeah, I’m so so glad that Gaen decided to shut up and disappear, and stop turning Araragi into mush when it really was not his fault to begin with.
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
Well, it’s been awhile since he’s been around….
I’m not giving Gaen to much credit for being about to lure him into lifting her heavy weight for her. As I said, it’s not all that hard to trip his white knight syndrome; it’s like, does it have a pulse? yeah? I’m doing the white knight? oh, it doesn’t have a pulse! F&ck it! I’m going to white knight anyway!
POWUH: Metanorn Regular with 107 comments
You got it all wrong. Gaen’s not a Bond villain. She’s God and the Director spilling stuff from the script to make the pieces go her away. Even last episodes visuals made it pretty clear with the cardboard cutouts she controls. It fits with her knowing everything too considering the Director knows the plot and God is all knowing.
So what you should be saying is that God’s a bitch and the director needs to get off the stage!
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
I have to say, I think you are completely wrong about your assessment of Gaen! Completely, Horribly, Terribly Wrong! But I still like the cut of your jibe! Please, bring more…
POWUH: and LOLi Defender with 10998 comments
…meanwhile, in the best version of Monogatari ever…
POWUH: Meta Team and Meta-Analyst with 3844 comments
Hmm… Delicious Legal LOLi cosplay…