Nisemonogatari

Koyomi Araragi has recently survived a vampire attack and met several girls plagued by supernatural entities. On top of all this, he wakes up one morning to find himself kidnapped and tied up by his girlfriend Hitagi Senjougahara. Araragi's sister Karen has run afoul of Deishuu Kaiki, a swindler who once conned Senjougahara's family. As a result, Senjougahara has imprisoned Araragi to keep him safe from the devious Kaiki. But when Araragi receives a frantic message from Karen, he sets out to rescue her.

Along with Karen's troubles, Tsukihi, Araragi's other server, faces issues of her own. And when two mysterious women step into their lives, not even Araragi can anticipate their true goals, nor the catastrophic truths about his family soon to be revealed.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Oshino, Shinobu Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Araragi, Koyomi Main

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Araragi, Karen Main

Kitamura, Eri Japanese

Araragi, Tsukihi Main

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Senjougahara, Hitagi Supporting

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Kaiki, Deishuu Supporting

Miki, Shinichiro Japanese

Hanekawa, Tsubasa Supporting

Horie, Yui Japanese

Hachikuji, Mayoi Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Kanbaru, Suruga Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Sengoku, Nadeko Supporting

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Iwakami, Atsuhiro Producer

Kubota, Mitsutoshi Producer

Matsushita, Takuya Producer

Ooshima, Miku Assistant Producer

Reviews

Aug 17, 2012

Veronin

Recommended

Fanservice has always been a bit of a controversial issue. Some love it, some hate all instances of it. There's really no feasible way to please everybody when the reaction can often be likened to a dichotomy, split between 'too much' and 'not enough'. While Bakemonogatari is a series known by most for its unique art direction and character interaction, to say that it's removed itself entirely from sexual themes would be a flat-out lie. It's not much of a surprise then, that these elements are even more prolific in Nisemonogatari, for both better and for worse.

The first thing that should be recognized ... before watching Nisemonogatari is this very change and shift in focus. It wouldn't be much an exaggeration to say that at times it can feel like a different series, and certainly not all fans are going to approve of the change in tone and theme.

Despite this though, things are not all that unlike either.

Being that this is the sequel to one of SHAFT's most successful anime, it would be incomprehensible for them to suddenly remove the unique style and flavor that the series became so known for in the first place. Head tilts are still prominent, the scenery is highly stylized, the characters will frequently engage in a playful diatribe and critique of Araragi, and surrealism remains a pervasive aspect in the presentation and overall experience. This is Bakemonogatari in much of its glory, but with the story itself becoming something of less importance than the characters and their interaction with each other.

Probably the largest addition to Nisemonogatari is the new role of Araragi's two younger sisters, Karen and Tsukihi. Both of them form a group known as the 'Fire Sisters', and together they create the main focus of the entire show. Tsukihi is a sharply sarcastic and disapproving sister while Karen, voiced by the beloved Kitamura Eri, behaves as a bit of a tomboy and energetic character who strives to fight for justice and what she feels is the right thing.

These ideals of justice create an interesting problem for Karen as she comes into contact with the antagonist, Kaiki, a con artist exploiting teenage girls out of their money which quickly escalates into a conflict between the two, with Karen focusing on protecting the innocent and Kaiki on using them for his own avaricious goals. Kaiki as a character is quite unique and interesting as he never falls into a generic and stereotyped 'bad guy' persona, instead adopting a very grey morality where neither good nor bad exists. He cares for little else than money, and money is something he aims to attain regardless of who loses out for it. Surprisingly, he doesn't antagonize the main characters very much outside of their first few encounters with each other. As long as they don't complicate matters for him, he generally has no issue. The way his departure is handled is also very surprising and refreshing when compared to the usual conventions in storytelling. It's just disappointing that he loses his role as a main character in the second half and falls much to the side, since his scenes are without a doubt the most memorable and engaging in the entire show. Being a character that stands out so much in a series full of unique characters is a very hard feat to achieve but Kaiki managed to pull it off.

Of course, Nisemonogatari wouldn't be the same without the cast from the previous season playing a prominent role in the story. All of the main characters from Bakemonogatari retain a large role in Nisemonogatari each with their own unique scenes, though unfortunately most of them don't appear anywhere near as much as they did in Bakemonogatari. Senjougahara in particular is largely missing from the first half of the series until becoming a large focus of the story again, which may be a bit disappointing at first for fans of her character. Thankfully, the episodes before that focus on an excellent blend of new and old characters and concepts, bringing just enough to the table to make the series fresh again while maintaining enough of the old that fans will still feel mostly at home when watching.

Focusing on the aforementioned Kaiki as the antagonist, the story itself is largely about his exploits and the characters' resulting intervention for the first half of the story. It picks up further towards the end into a galvanizing climax and battle between Araragi and the two new antagonists, one of which being a character from the previous season. Fans of Bakemonogatari will find something enjoyable in that respect once things start to pick up, but the story itself is not so much the focus of Nisemonogatari as it is what gives a way for the audience to see the characters interact in a variety of new and different situations.

This brings us to the main problem — fanservice.

Do you like fanservice? Do you want fanservice? If not, you probably won't enjoy Nisemonogatari too much. It's not nearly as oppressive or prominent as some screenshots would lead to believe but it's very easily a defining and inherent part of the experience. Characters will frequently try to seduce Araragi which leads to some amusing scenes with him on the verge of cheating on his beloved girlfriend and paying dearly for it. There's also fanservice for the female viewers, with long shots gawking deeply at Araragi's chest. Nude scenes are not too uncommon and the series often plays more with sexual feelings than it does with its witty dialogue and stylized presentation. Though these common elements still do remain a large part of the experience, all one needs to do is take a look at the infamous toothbrush scene to have a good understanding of how Nisemonogatari is often presented.

Whether or not the viewer will approve of these changes comes down to personal taste and what they primarily enjoy the series for. It would be a lie to say that I didn't enjoy the frequent fanservice and sexual themes at least somewhat, but it's just that, perhaps, Nisio Isin and SHAFT went slightly overboard and forgot a little bit about what made the series so highly respected in the first place. It's enjoyable in smaller and occasional doses but being that it's the forefront of the entire experience, it sometimes detract from what is an otherwise very engaging and unique story. Subtle or even suggestive fanservice would have been preferable to the ubiquitous butt-shots and nude scenes.

It doesn't help matters much when the pacing of the anime is negatively impacted by the fanservice as well. As a result of much of the screentime being spent on trying to make the viewer erect, it often feels like the main conflict surrounding Kaiki and the later two antagonists is a bit rushed. Certainly, more time could have been spent developing those characters and the main plotline. Things often shift haphazardly between fanservice and important story events and it feels a bit unwieldy and awkward for that reason. It's hard to appreciate the fanservice much when there's a serious and interesting story going on in the background, and conversely it's also hard to fully appreciate the story when the next scene will transition into more of the fanservice and silly interaction. Had SHAFT and Nisio Isin focused primarily on the story instead of these sexual themes, the main story could easily have been something equal to or even greater than Bakemonogatari. Which is a real shame.

Fortunately, thanks to the success of Bakemonogatari from a few years earlier, a large budget increase is very evident with the quality of animation. This really is one of the best-looking TV anime on the market and the fluidity in each frame is something truly stunning at times. The way the characters move and jump around so freely is something unique to the series when compared to the previous season which relied primarily on transitions and stills. While some complained about the lack of animation and movement in Bakemonogatari -- often comparisons to a slideshow -- this is definitely not the case with Nisemonogatari. This is just as much a visual presentation as it is a verbal one

Nisemonogatari can often verge on the surreal with its artwork. SHAFT loves to play with their scenery in highly creative and interesting ways which serves to immerse the viewer and give personality to the artwork and the area that the characters live and interact in. It wouldn't be strange to see a colorless cityscape with a bright blue-green sky looming above, a room filled with mountains upon mountains of same-colored books, a sudden letterbox effect in the image, a home bathroom with stained-glass windows reminiscent of a medieval church, or a gloomy thicket dyed beneath a red sunset. It's this stylized presentation which creates much of the atmosphere of Nisemonogatari and what makes the viewer feel like they're in a very different place. There's really nothing out there that looks or feels the same way.

And with more effort spent on the series, positive improvement comes to the music and soundtrack as well. The usage of songs and music is a perfect fit for the scenes they are used in, especially those involving Kaiki. They may not all be songs that will stick in your mind and be reminisced for long after, but when used in the anime itself they are an excellent fit. And much like Bakemonogatari, a variety of unique opening sequences are performed by the seiyuu and each styled with their own unique theme. While there's nothing quite on the same level as 'Renai Circulation' here, all three of the openings are very catchy and memorable. In particular, the second opening 'Marshmallow Justice' was something that I felt perfectly represented the series as a whole and its theme. Disregarding my own love towards Kitamura Eri as a seiyuu, it's quite a pleasant song that mixes the quirkiness of the series with the energy of the characters.

In the end it becomes very easy to see where the complaints and negativity surrounding Nisemonogatari come from. While there is truth to be found in the complaints of there being too much fanservice, it's also evident that some are focusing too much on this one aspect instead of fully seeing what it accomplished and did well. It's not quite as good as its predecessor, but Nisemonogatari still manages to be a solid entry to the series and one that paints its own unique character as well. It's certainly different, and different in a way that will be either a bad or a good thing depending on the feelings and tastes of the individual.

Hopefully, with the next animated installment of the Monogatari series these fanservice elements will be toned down a bit. We (well, some of us) have had our fun, and now it's time for the series to go back to its roots. Small change can often be beneficial but in cases like these it's best to know when to leave well enough alone.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Mar 21, 2012

Skadi

Mixed Feelings

Shaft has been on a pretty good run for the last few years churning out some extremely popular and perhaps over-hyped series. Now they have brought us Nisemonogatari, a show that I was looking forward to quite a bit. This is partly because I just generally find their work interesting but also because I did enjoy its predecessor. Now while I would not classify myself as a huge fan of the original show I did enjoy the characters, quirky story, and fabulous artwork. However Nisemonogatari is a pointless and directionless mess that feels more like a cash grab that takes ... everything good about the original and turns it to crap.

I am sure people will accuse me of being excessively harsh when I say Nise's story... is one of the five worst things I have ever seen. Maybe that’s because there isn’t any story to speak of. What this series promised us was a story about Araragi's younger sisters and their encounter with the black swindler. It also promised some fill in the blanks of some of some of the other story arcs from Bakemono. I was particularly interested in seeing more on how Senjougahara ended up cursed. What we got instead is what I would consider to be a full length DVD extra putting the various girls in the cast in compromising situations and in assorted states of undress. The anime plods along aimlessly, taking us nowhere substantive. When they do finally get around to something other than panties or erotic tooth brushing, it is crammed in to an episode and a half and then quickly buried to get back to what’s really important. What’s too bad is that when they do bother to tell some story I do find myself interested in it. But also I was pissed off that it was all I got. To be honest the entire "story" could have been more productively told with a 2 episode OVA than an entire TV season. (cough: money grab)

Now I am not going to sit here and rail against service in anime, what’s the point? I am not even offended by it and I find it pretty amusing most of the time. Bakemono certainly had its pervy undertones but it didn't revolve around them or beat you over the head with them either. Nise seems to have just taken those elements and decided to make an anime around them. Frankly what offends me the most about the way the service is presented is that it takes itself way to seriously. It’s like somebody at Shaft just discovered you can put this kind of thing in anime and just completely lost their heads. Then have the nerve to act like it’s somehow smarter than anything we have ever seen before. Just because you inserted some witty dialogue and clever puns in between the breast fondling and skirt flipping doesn't turn it into high art.

Second only to the horrible story is what they did to the series cast of characters. Say what you will about Araragi's but for a harem lead (yes fanboys, Bakemono was a harem anime. Deal with it. It’s not a bad word), he managed to be a pretty interesting and compelling character. Well you can throw all of that out the window after viewing this series. He is a shell of his former self as he has been relegated to an immature perverted lolicon and pedophile who would be a registered sex offender in every developed nation in the world. His world view is that of a 10 year old boy, not a high school senior who is a borderline adult. People might try to say he is being ironic or sarcastic or maybe he's just a bully or a clown. But seriously who in high school, particularly a senior still goes around flipping the skirts of elementary school girls?

The rest of the cast fairs no better. The girls get little in the way of character development and are only treated as objects and tools for service. While you may initially feel some nostalgia as the previous cast is reintroduced and it feels like reacquainting yourself with old friends. However, if you went into this show like I did, wanting to see and learn more about Araragi's two sisters Karen and Tsukihi, then you’re in for a rude awakening. (Unless that is you wanted to learn more about their bust size and figures) For a series that was supposedly based around the two of them they have shockingly little actual screen time.

Well it’s not all bad. As expected from Shaft, the shows artwork and animation is absolutely fabulous. As is customary of their productions the screen is full visual overload of information with innumerable references and puns if you’re able to catch or comprehend them. The styling of the show is very much like its predecessor and has a very unique original feeling about the entire production. Even though the artwork is undeniably stunning, I did not always care for it. Another annoyance would be why they decided to cut the hair of every girl in the show. By the end of the series everyone looks the same. I mean... why? If they had changed their hair colors I wouldn't have even known who some of them were. But if you’re just a general fan of art and animation there is a whole lot to love about this show.

The music and voice acting is also equally brilliant. I honestly think this is the one thing Shaft almost never fails at, is picking appropriate music and animation to open and close their anime titles. Like Bakemono, Nise uses the voice cast to sing the various OP songs but it was the show's ED song which stands out the most. ClariS' "Naisho no Hanashi" is by far the duo's best single to date. Maybe I enjoyed it so much because it meant the episode was over?

Overall only the most ardent Bakemono and Shaft fanboys need apply when it comes to watching this show. Though if you were truly a fan of Bakemono I don’t know how you could not end up being disappointed. The lack of any kind of coherent story mars any sensory satisfaction you may get out of the shows artwork and audio track. You can pour and entire bottle of perfume on a pile of crap but in the end its still, crap.

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 16, 2015

ChrissyKay

Not Recommended

WAIT. Read. I didn't just unilaterally give Nisemonogatari a 1 because I didn't like the show and I'm thoughtless and spiteful like that. I want to start this review out with a bit of a preface. I've never written a review of something that I've given a 1 before, and that's because I usually don't finish watching them. Why would I? If something is terrible, I turn it off. However, Nisemonogatari is completely unlike any of the other shows I would usually give 1s, and is also the sequel to Bakemonogatari, a show that I am very enthusiastic about. I want to make that very ... clear first: this is not an attack on the Monogatari series as a whole, but merely a single part of it. A part of it I very much feel it could have done without.

So why did I give Nisemonogatari a 1? Is it because it has absolutely no merits, a void of any sort of intelligence or engagement? No. Not at all. Nise is actually an incredibly smart show, and there were aspects of it that I appreciated immensely. The backgrounds are stunning, the references are great, the humor is oftentimes on-point and a good portion of the dialogue is insightful and meaningful. There were several episodes (3 in total) that I actually enjoyed from start to finish. The reason I gave Nisemonogatari a 1 is that it aptly fits my description of a 1: It negatively impacted me as an individual and I feel as though it is an unhealthy, detracting experience for people in general. It promotes toxic ideals and actively helps to make the world a worse place.

If you aren't aware already, Nisemonogatari is famous for its fanservice. The entire Monogatari series is, actually, but I wouldn't even call it fanservice in the rest of the series. In Bakemonogatari, for instance, the camera is used effectively as a lense for the protagonist Araragi to show what he is focused on. When he is having lewd thoughts about a person, it will portray them sexually. This is only the case, however, when it actually fits with what is going through his head, and regardless of how Araragi may VIEW various characters, this doesn't change what actually HAPPENS. This is because he is a human not a god and regardless of what his fantasies may be the world is not going to conform around them. Instead, he is often chastised for his perverse thoughts and it's something he eventually has to deal with.

In Nisemonogatari, this changes. Araragi suddenly becomes the focal point of the world, with every straight girl inevitably seeking to erotically seduce him and even the lesbian character wants to tear off his clothes and roll around naked with him. Even if there is no spontaneous sexual tension between Araragi and a character, the show still devises plenty of ways to put them in absurd compromising positions with each other, liking having Hanekawa roll around on his bed or Shinobu take a bath with him. Now I've heard plenty an educated argument for Nisemonogatari, claiming that it actually hates fanservice and is demonstrating the incredible potential of the camera to portray a character's intentions or emotions, and I would agree that the directing work is masterful. There are two scenes; one towards the beginning and one towards the end of the series in which Araragi's sister receives a crotch-shot. The first one is completely un-sexual, demonstrating the lack of tension in their relationship, while the last one is the exact opposite, showing how that has changed. It's extremely well-done. However, that doesn't change the fact that it's just an intelligent way of fan-pandering. This argument can be applied to nearly all of Nisemonogatari: yes, Nise hates fan service; or rather, Nise hates the uncreative and unenlightened way in which most fan service is done. It wants to demonstrate how it can be done more effectively, setting up moments of situational and emotional softcore porn as opposed to just making some tits & ass wobble. It's extremely good at it, too: if your evaluation of a show is ambition vs. result, than Nise is a roaring success. However, it's not the execution for which I condemn Nise, its for what its goals are and therefore what its effect on its audience is.

Fanservice is annoying. At least, that's how I feel. But fanservice alone, ironic or no, is not enough for me to write off a show. Sure it can get irritating at times and it's a little insulting, but I don't consider it normally capable of single-handedly sabotaging a show. It's usually the case that shows that rely on fanservice to entertain their audience do so because they don't hold a great deal of respect for themselves in the first place or because they don't feel as though they have anything especially original to do or say, causing them to fall back on basic, shallow means of engaging their viewers. This isn't always the case, though: Code Geass and Haruhi Suzumiya stand out as examples to the contrary. Nise's not like that though: it takes pride in its ability to absorb its viewers in its carefully-crafted pandering, and that makes it all the more poisonous.

There are three major reasons why I abhor Nisemonogatari. They are as follows.

1. The fan-service actively detracts from, and oftentimes takes the place of the plot and characters. The show constantly goes out of its way to create appealing situations, turning its characters from the previously multi-dimensional beings that they were into absurd blobs of either hormones or obliviousness. Characters are made conveniently unaware of their situation to allow other characters to up their advances, taking the believability out of them. Entire episodes are spent on contrived erotic situations that devour any meaningful character interactions and replace them with characters making excuses to the audience to touch each other and calling it development. The actual story is condensed to the ends of arcs, becoming rushed and crammed into single episodes of extremely belated exposition rammed back-to-back with resolutions. This makes the show itself far more simple than it could have been, substituting the difficult truths of Bakemonogatari for childish moral taglines and replacing the meaningful personal revelations that were a result of conflict that was internal with physical villains who are either stupidly irredeemable or blatantly hypocritical. This is a very steep and very sickening price to pay for the constant fan-service.

2. Nisemonogatari is part of the Monogatari series. As a stand-alone, it could just be written off or dropped. However, as is, Nise is an active part of a pretty incredible series, one that it actively detracts from. It would be one thing if it were merely boring or slow, but it's more than that. No one's character motivations are consistent: Hitagi, who used to be over-protective and possessive of Araragi, suddenly decides instead that she's fine with him sleeping with whoever he wants as long as he loves her. Suruga, who used to be many things: athletic, energetic, envious, self-loathing; becomes defined exclusively by the trait "she is horny". Hanegawa, who was previously sharp with Araragi for being perverse despite her feelings for him, starts cracking jokes about him feeling her up. Araragi himself is the worst offender. While initially he was characterized as selfless to a fault, self-aware, and endearingly thoughtful of people's feelings, he's now decided to be conveniently oblivious and remorseless as he tramples on whoever-the-fucks emotions to cop a feel whenever possible. What once were entirely believable fantasies have manifested themselves in far-less believable actions. It's a lot easier to control what we do than what we think, and Araragi has aptly demonstrated an incredible willpower many a time. That he would so casually revert to this without any sort of triggering event or internal conflict is entirely unbelievable. All of this is a result of the show warping its characters to create the erotic situations it wants to, and it bends everything too far. Nisemonogatari breaks the illusion of the Monogatari world. Its inconsistencies, indulgent depravity and unfortunate placing in the middle of the series cause it to do hefty and irrevocable damage to the series as a whole. With a series as generally impressive as Monogatari, this is a real tragedy.

3. This is the big one. So far, I've described why I believe the show is bad, but internal sabotage and series sabotage are not enough to warrant a series a 1. What makes Nise so irredeemable is the impact is has on society's perception of sexuality. There is already enough of a problem with media portraying sex as very different than it actually is, glorifying it, creating false expectations of what it is supposed to be like, and taking the messiness and humanity out of it. This is actively damaging to impressionable youths and has a negative impact on social behavior and body image. Nise actively promotes these portrayals, portraying characters as young as 14 in erotic situations in ways that are meant to, as obvious by the expert camerawork, glorify it. This creates a false impression of what sex is like and pushes people to feel as though this sort of behavior is what is expected of them. If they aren't indulging in it too, they're missing out. Look how fucking hot it is, right? This is not to mention the fact that she show uses incest and a vampire trapped in an 8-year-old's body to draw out the appeal of a 'forbidden love' in its viewers. The worst part of all this is the way that Araragi is portrayed: not as the sleazy womanizer that he is, but as a gallant hero who all men should aspire to be like. He's shown as a kind, protective, morally-sound guy who gets to fool around with lots of girls as a result because he's earned all of their affections. In addition to this, unlike similar shows Nise has a very intellectual and mellow vibe to it that makes it much easier to justify enjoying. It's not in-your-face trashy. If you're looking for ways to make entitled monsters out of lonely and insecure young boys, then you've found a pretty sound bet in Araragi.

Inevitably, the show's final flaw is that it never addresses any of its choices. For a season that's essentially about fanservice, it sure never tries to make any contrasting points about why perhaps this kind of media and the ideas that it fosters are unhealthy. No, right up to the end Nisemonogatari is detrimental to itself, detrimental to the Monogatari series, and detrimental to society as a whole. For all of its gorgeous art and witty conversation, I can't think of anything I've actually finished that has been more deserving of a score of 1.

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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