Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season

Koyomi Araragi spent his last year of high school helping girls in his town resolve various supernatural afflictions. But now Araragi has departed for university, leaving his friends to fend for themselves against new problems and curses that plague them. Yotsugi Ononoki, once a human corpse and now a living doll, takes residence in Araragi's home, keeping watch over his sister Tsukihi, a girl harboring a mystical secret of her own. As part of her duties, Yotsugi fills Araragi's vacated role as occult expert, assisting others in town with their issues.

One of these girls, middle school student Nadeko Sengoku, slowly recovers from her own recent brushes with the paranormal. She avoids returning to school, instead spending time alone in her room and pursuing her dream of becoming a professional manga artist. In order to speed up Nadeko's quest for mastery of her craft, Yotsugi convinces her to create four copies of herself, each representing a distinct aspect of Nadeko's personality. However, the clones refuse to help Nadeko, instead escaping into the town and creating a chaotic mess. Now forced to grapple with her own fractured sense of identity, Nadeko sets out to capture them and resolve her inner conflict.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Oshino, Shinobu Main

Sakamoto, Maaya Japanese

Araragi, Koyomi Main

Kamiya, Hiroshi Japanese

Kanbaru, Suruga Main

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Sengoku, Nadeko Main

Hanazawa, Kana Japanese

Oshino, Ougi Main

Mizuhashi, Kaori Japanese

Ononoki, Yotsugi Main

Hayami, Saori Japanese

Araragi, Tsukihi Main

Iguchi, Yuka Japanese

Oikura, Sodachi Main

Inoue, Marina Japanese

Senjougahara, Hitagi Supporting

Saitou, Chiwa Japanese

Hachikuji, Mayoi Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Shioya, Yoshiyuki Producer

Yodo, Akiko Producer

Ishikawa, Tatsuya Producer

Nishibe, Maho Producer

Reviews

Jul 20, 2024

apinzunime_

Recommended

Preliminary (3/? eps)

Highly recommended. This season is very good, with new animation and continued innovation from the studio making Monogatari more modern as the era progresses and doesn't look out of date. In the end, all the stories in Monogatari are very enjoyable to enjoy with animation that is adaptive from time to time without changing the characteristics and plot of Monogatari. Once you become a monogatari fan, you will definitely love everything about monogatari even without the presence of the MC (koyokoyo) and your waifu. Because, all the characters in this series are classy, and not easy to hate them. Good job Nisio Isin, Vofan, Shaft, ... and all the staff who worked on this series.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Aug 23, 2024

joemaamah

Mixed Feelings

Preliminary (6/? eps)

Can Monogatari really be Monogatari without Koyomi-kun? After binging this arc, I would have to say no. So far, the season feels like little more than a mid spin-off.

I don't get the decision to take one of the most boring characters from the franchise, and waste a whole half season on her. While there was some development, it seemed there should have been more to this than the writers actually presented. OK, she can now draw some shikigami. OK, she is less a victim and more a participant. Is she really a better person? Is she a worse person? I'm not feeling either. ... She's still about as shallow a person as can be. Ononoki-chan, who is a freaking corpse, has more depth, and is better rounded. And the Ougi plot device is back. 😒

Not only was the character writing at issue, so was the narrative. It blundered along constantly. And this 6th ep was so poorly done. 5 minutes of story and 18 minutes of filler epilogue. It was so lazy, as to leave me disdainful. Never thought I'd ever say that about anything Monogatari.

Not everything is a complete travesty though. We get some very nicely rendered artwork, as per the franchise. I think they may have made Segoku and Ononoki a little too cutesy, but that's just my taste. I could have done with a lot less of the completely gratuitous and sophmoric fanservice. The director should have wielded it like a fencing foil, not a battle axe. The animation was not quite up to par with what I have come to expect from the franchine. The hand drawn stuff was fine, but way too many instances of cheaply done 2D and 3D CGI. I've seen a lot worse (looking at you Stampede) but I still found it distracting.

I will give props to the VAs, who help hold this arc up nicely. Both Sengoku and Ononoki were skillfully done. Good use of his cast by the director. Almost enough to make up for the writing and animation flaws.

I'm finding this season kind of off. It's not unwatchable, but I can't help but think this should have been much better. If I was grading, I'd give this 78/100; a C+. But I am used to Monogatari stuff being in the B+ to A- range. This is firmly in the disappointment camp. I can only recommend this to the hard core Monogatari freaks out there.

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Sep 4, 2024

alexnorette

Not Recommended

Preliminary (1/? eps)

If you're a fan of the Monogatari Series and looking forward to the Off Season and Monster Season, I hate to say it, but these two arcs are a serious letdown compared to the earlier parts of the franchise.

First, the storytelling feels unnecessarily convoluted in Off Season. The narrative jumps around in ways that feel more disjointed than clever. While the original series thrived on its dialogue-heavy scenes and quirky style, Off Season often feels like it’s trying too hard to recapture that magic, but without the emotional or thematic depth to back it up. The pacing drags on, with some story arcs feeling like ... filler content that don’t add much to the overall story.

As for Monster Season, what started out with the potential for a fresh narrative thread with Ougi's return and Araragi's next stage in life quickly loses steam. The charm of seeing familiar characters evolve is bogged down by a lack of focus. It feels like the series is constantly going in circles, revisiting the same themes without adding anything new or compelling to them. The novelty of the original cast has worn thin, and even fan-favorites like Senjougahara or Hanekawa seem sidelined or underdeveloped in this continuation.

Moreover, the trademark wit and playfulness of Nisio Isin’s writing feel like they've taken a nosedive into being overly cryptic and self-indulgent. The series often spirals into monologues that seem to be philosophizing for the sake of it, without any real payoff. It's no longer the sharp and engaging dialogue that used to hook readers but feels like fluff masking the lack of direction.

Overall, Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season feels like it’s overstayed its welcome. What was once a refreshing, genre-defying narrative has become bloated and unfocused. If you’re looking for the same wit, charm, and emotional depth that the earlier series brought, these seasons might leave you disappointed.

Reviewer’s Rating: 4

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