Reviews for Monogatari Series: Second Season (7.44)
Zaku88
Itamura Tomoyuki
Iwasaki Taisuke
Shinbou Akiyuki
Sugiyama Nobuhiro
Tatsuwa Naoyuki
Watanabe Akio
Yase Yuuki
Monogatari SS is a continuation of the forward and backwards traveling Monogatari franchise. This installment takes place after the events in Nisemonogatari and finds Koyomi once again in th...
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13.03.2014 05:29 - direct link
(rs9259)
Monogatari SS is a continuation of the forward and backwards traveling Monogatari franchise. This installment takes place after the events in Nisemonogatari and finds Koyomi once again in the middle of girl trouble. Watching all prior (at least release-date wise) prequels is recommended before tackling this season. This particular series is similar to the original Bakemonogatari in that particular girls have been chosen to be presented in an arc-based fashion. The show focuses on Hanekawa, Hachikuji, Shinobu, and Sengoku. Other previous girls including Senjougahara and the Araragi sisters also return in supporting roles.
If you liked the Shaft approach used in all previous monogataris, then this will be yet another fun and witty helping of the style. If you've grown tired of the rinse and repeat formula and/or don't want to see Sengoku's persona get butchered, feel free to look elsewhere.
Animation:
The animation style hasn't changed one bit from the original bakemonogatari. The show once again takes its famously minimalistic approach with the ceaseless stream of inserted frames and rapid dialogue that will make a beginning sub reader's eyes bleed. The show also once again decides that it doesn't like how most of its characters look. Expect many heroines to now carry very short hair (Black Hanekawa just doesn't work as well). The cast consists of mostly familiar faces with a few new additions including the mysterious Ougi Oshino and strangely all-knowing Izuko Gaen.
Blood galore returns for yet another round as Koyomi is repeatedly butchered, severed, impaled, and otherwise beaten to the verge of death almost as comically as in the protagonist in Beating Angel Dokuro-chan. The show stylistically shows a fair amount of the gore while hiding the rest behind camera pans and colorization of the scenes. There is actually a surprisingly small amount of actual action as the "fights" typically are mostly very short and almost always end up with Koyomi on the losing side. Ecchi is really not the focus here so I wouldn't watch just for the few suggestive comments made during the show.
Sound:
The show has multiple OPs and EDs that line up roughly around each arc. Each heroine sings fittingly themed OPs. The EDs are handled by Luna Haruna and the reformed version of Supercell. Though fair, none of the EDs really match up to previous works by either artist. As in previous series, expect extremely minimalistic BGM mixed with lots of dialogue and sound effects.
The superstar cast returns to give yet another great performance. This show is literally dialogue dominated so be ready for lots of listening/reading. Shinobu, previously the silent girl in the corner, now takes a very vocal role so expect a lot more out of her than in previous series.
Story:
Koyomi's bizarre adventure continues as his previous acquaintances have yet even more trouble with oddities, and new antagonists appear almost haphazardly to influence the story. The first arc deals with Hanekawa as she deals with yet another bout of stress and yet another new hidden emotion, which begets a new oddity. The second arc involves Hachikuji as Shaft toys with time travel in a similar fashion to Steins;Gate. The third arc sees Nadeko's rise (or fall depending on your perspective) to godhood. The fourth arc sheds some much-missing background on Shinobu's fascinating, colored past. And the final arc revisits Nadeko as the gang tries to cure her of her new status, employing a very curious weapon.
Expect plenty of rising action and plot twists in each of the arcs as the story really takes you for a ride. If there is a large failing in my opinion, it's the abrupt and anticlimactic climaxes in many of the arcs. The story often sells a huge upcoming contention only to have everyone shake hands and walk home. A smaller issue that I alluded to earlier is the inclusion of new characters that have little or no explication yet have profound effects on the plot. If you're OK with these shortcomings, then the story is a pretty entertaining watch assuming you can keep up with the dialogue.
Character:
This is by far the hardest category to rate. Certain characterizations are wonderfully done as characters learn and develop. Other characterizations are painful in that the show decides to cast certain characters in a much more negative light than shown in previous seasons. Personalities aside, I can't help but feel that the show is a bit more static than previous incarnations. Koyomi's relationship with practically everyone is fairly static except for his increased verbal interaction with Shinobu. Without the cool, Hawaii-shirt wearing pillar of Oshino, the show has to turn to obscure characters to lend Koyomi a hand in critical moments.
Overall, while I really enjoyed the in depth character discoveries and expanded role for Shinobu, I was equally disappointed by the new cast and lack of movement in relationships. A fair category overall though lacking compared to previous monogataris.
Value:
I can't really gauge how important this season is as; despite large events taking place, the story still only taunts about great prequels to come and adds additional mysteries around new characters. The interactions overall were on par with previous series though I absolutely loathe what they did to Sengoku. If you've watched all the monogataris to date, then unless you're tired of the pattern I'd go for it. However, be warned that while there are some pretty good points in the show, there are likewise areas that could use improvement.
If you liked the Shaft approach used in all previous monogataris, then this will be yet another fun and witty helping of the style. If you've grown tired of the rinse and repeat formula and/or don't want to see Sengoku's persona get butchered, feel free to look elsewhere.
Animation:
The animation style hasn't changed one bit from the original bakemonogatari. The show once again takes its famously minimalistic approach with the ceaseless stream of inserted frames and rapid dialogue that will make a beginning sub reader's eyes bleed. The show also once again decides that it doesn't like how most of its characters look. Expect many heroines to now carry very short hair (Black Hanekawa just doesn't work as well). The cast consists of mostly familiar faces with a few new additions including the mysterious Ougi Oshino and strangely all-knowing Izuko Gaen.
Blood galore returns for yet another round as Koyomi is repeatedly butchered, severed, impaled, and otherwise beaten to the verge of death almost as comically as in the protagonist in Beating Angel Dokuro-chan. The show stylistically shows a fair amount of the gore while hiding the rest behind camera pans and colorization of the scenes. There is actually a surprisingly small amount of actual action as the "fights" typically are mostly very short and almost always end up with Koyomi on the losing side. Ecchi is really not the focus here so I wouldn't watch just for the few suggestive comments made during the show.
Sound:
The show has multiple OPs and EDs that line up roughly around each arc. Each heroine sings fittingly themed OPs. The EDs are handled by Luna Haruna and the reformed version of Supercell. Though fair, none of the EDs really match up to previous works by either artist. As in previous series, expect extremely minimalistic BGM mixed with lots of dialogue and sound effects.
The superstar cast returns to give yet another great performance. This show is literally dialogue dominated so be ready for lots of listening/reading. Shinobu, previously the silent girl in the corner, now takes a very vocal role so expect a lot more out of her than in previous series.
Story:
Koyomi's bizarre adventure continues as his previous acquaintances have yet even more trouble with oddities, and new antagonists appear almost haphazardly to influence the story. The first arc deals with Hanekawa as she deals with yet another bout of stress and yet another new hidden emotion, which begets a new oddity. The second arc involves Hachikuji as Shaft toys with time travel in a similar fashion to Steins;Gate. The third arc sees Nadeko's rise (or fall depending on your perspective) to godhood. The fourth arc sheds some much-missing background on Shinobu's fascinating, colored past. And the final arc revisits Nadeko as the gang tries to cure her of her new status, employing a very curious weapon.
Expect plenty of rising action and plot twists in each of the arcs as the story really takes you for a ride. If there is a large failing in my opinion, it's the abrupt and anticlimactic climaxes in many of the arcs. The story often sells a huge upcoming contention only to have everyone shake hands and walk home. A smaller issue that I alluded to earlier is the inclusion of new characters that have little or no explication yet have profound effects on the plot. If you're OK with these shortcomings, then the story is a pretty entertaining watch assuming you can keep up with the dialogue.
Character:
This is by far the hardest category to rate. Certain characterizations are wonderfully done as characters learn and develop. Other characterizations are painful in that the show decides to cast certain characters in a much more negative light than shown in previous seasons. Personalities aside, I can't help but feel that the show is a bit more static than previous incarnations. Koyomi's relationship with practically everyone is fairly static except for his increased verbal interaction with Shinobu. Without the cool, Hawaii-shirt wearing pillar of Oshino, the show has to turn to obscure characters to lend Koyomi a hand in critical moments.
Overall, while I really enjoyed the in depth character discoveries and expanded role for Shinobu, I was equally disappointed by the new cast and lack of movement in relationships. A fair category overall though lacking compared to previous monogataris.
Value:
I can't really gauge how important this season is as; despite large events taking place, the story still only taunts about great prequels to come and adds additional mysteries around new characters. The interactions overall were on par with previous series though I absolutely loathe what they did to Sengoku. If you've watched all the monogataris to date, then unless you're tired of the pattern I'd go for it. However, be warned that while there are some pretty good points in the show, there are likewise areas that could use improvement.