What Mononogatari lacks in animation quality it makes up for in writing. As I’ve said time and again, I can tolerate poor animation if it’s substituted for a good story and they nail it here.
Season 2, which feels like more of a second cour rather than a completely new season, builds on the firmly established characters and lore from the first 12 episodes. Hyoma’s development continues to be impressive and the season focuses on his evolving relationship with Botan and the bridal trousseau.
For me, this is where the show really shined. Hyoma came off as a really edgy and hateful person in the beginning of the story. Over the first season we saw him start opening his mind and accepting that his biases and prejudices against Tsukumogami were misplaced. Admitting that you were wrong is a hard thing to do and is truly the sign of a mature person. This season takes things further with him not just being open to that possibility, but fully embracing his position as a resident of the Nagatsuki estate. His relationship with Botan and the others goes from one of necessity, to a genuine familiar bond.
This season is also where we really start to see the overarching narrative of the story take shape. Season 1 was good, but a bit disjointed at times story wise. Some episodes felt very monster of the week-y, whereas in this one it’s gradually becomes clear who the real antagonist(s) are culminating in a very satisfying and emotional final battle. Sadly, it feels like the anime ended right as the story was really getting going and I could really go for another season.
The animation is the elephant in the room when it comes to Mononogatari. It’s not very good. Frankly, some of the fight scenes feel so lifeless and devoid of energy. It’s hard to really get into them. Luckily, this isn’t really a show that relies on that. Yea, there’s the big fight in the last 4 or so episodes of the show, but it’s a character driven story about accepting loss, forgiving yourself and opening yourself up to others. The supernatural action stuff is just a bonus for me so I’m not going to knock it severely for that.
Mononogatari is a very solid watch that I think would surprise a lot of people if they gave it a watch. Yes, the mc looks like a dollar store Eren. But he’s much more than that and you’ll quickly find yourself falling in love with these characters. If you’ve even considering watching this season, you’ve obviously seen season 1 and enjoyed it somewhat. You’ll like this one too. Pacing issues and animation aside, it is a very satisfying continuation.
Mononogatari season 2 gets 9, out of 10.
