Your hand in mine (the best first date ever)
There’s been a lot said about Bakemonogatari just lately, which makes me worry about whether I have anything new and valuable to say. I’d been relatively quiet about it for other reasons too: one being how the middle section of the show left me with mixed feelings. Another is that, as I mentioned in my comment to Gaguri’s excellent recent post, the overall experience of dialogue and visuals combined is so overwhelming that I’ll need a rewatch to appreciate it fully.
Where’s a Reaction Guys-style celebration when you need one?
The problems with the middle episodes were minor ones: mostly the general absence of Hitagi, plus the ‘higher class of fanservice’ (as I clumsily called it) starting to feel a bit exploitative. Fortunately episode #12 made up for whatever I’d felt unsure about earlier on with the only remaining concern being that of the final three episodes. As in, how could anything follow on from this without feeling like a let-down? It was as fitting as it was surprising – I wouldn’t have minded too much if the series ended there and then.
The Mayoi Snail arc had an excellent twist to it; both Suruga Monkey and Nadeko Snake were enjoyable too but the fact remains that I consider Hitagi and Koyomi to be the main characters. The supporting ones shouldn’t take a prominent role: each offers valuable bits of information or moments of character development but I felt they took centre stage for too long. Looking back, I can see that they were actually worth sitting through to get this far.
An important moment for me in this Hitagi-free period was a conversation Koyomi had with Tsubasa in the bookshop during the Nadeko Snake arc; namely her warning about how he wasn’t giving Hitagi the attention she deserved. This part of the series showed the flaws in Koyomi’s character quite well, although there is that exploitation aspect: I’m not comfortable with the way that Nadeko was portrayed. It made me feel distinctly uncomfortable, but maybe that’s just me. Mayoi was less so, mainly because she teased Koyomi nearly as much as Hitagi did.
Then came the masterful twelfth episode. Sometimes the best moments are those that portray the chemistry between the characters; not the most obvious thing to get all enthused over when you consider how Shinbo’s (in)famous for his imagery but remember that in Hidamari Sketch so much of the magic comes from scenes of dialogue where very little happens events-wise. This instalment of Bakemonogatari works in the same way. If it wasn’t for the final outing of Eve no Jikan I’d call it the most all-round enjoyable anime episode of recent months. It was just two people interacting…but I loved it.
One inescapable fact about their dynamic is that it’s wholly unconventional. Granted, I love romance stories that are unconventional or just plain messed-up but the way that theirs has progressed is an especially refreshing change. Right from the moment where Hitagi takes the initiative and plans everything, we see her work around her insecurities to open her heart for the first time. There’s more going on here than the dere-dere breakdown and thoughtful pauses, and I don’t mean just the quirky visuals either.
What I found interesting was the place Hitagi chose for the time they spent together: a private and precious memory from a time before her mother’s illness and her father’s work-induced absence. I found it so poignant that she identified an impressive number of stars and constellations then modestly declared that this number was all she could do – highlighting, ironically, that she’s an intelligent and perceptive individual who does in fact know a lot and has a lot to give. The fact that she helped Koyomi with his studying meant something to her too, as much as her tsunderisms tried to play it down.
It was a bit frustrating to see Koyomi stumbling through, not delivering even his usual retorts to her put-downs or giving an answer to the “what do you like about me?” question that was as open and honest as hers. Still, his short conversation with her father was great. I suppose it’s natural to assume he didn’t do anything outwardly significant but this scene proves that it isn’t the case at all: he did just about enough, and that alone is worth congratulating him for.
Yes, those are twintails. Just saying
I guess Koyomi was just there for her, and the reasons why she first caught his eye way back then won’t alter the special and precious nature of the present moment. She’s just grateful that it happened at all; equally Koyomi is glad he put up with her eccentricities, again past caring how he did it. He’s just happy that it happened the way it did.
The way they went from that trippy first encounter to their hand-in-hand evening under the night sky is a well-paced piece of storytelling in that it didn’t follow the hackneyed old tropes like blushed confessions and montages of days and evenings out that the animated romance genre is so often tied to; the cementing of the mutual attraction crept up gradually, taking both they and the viewer by surprise. It felt so natural and lifelike I couldn’t not feel happy for them and hopeful that things will somehow work out.
We were shown an intimate and private moment between two human beings, yet it didn’t feel voyeuristic or intrusive. I thought it was a wise move to leave the consummation out of the equation too, because Hitagi’s problems left emotional damage that will take time to heal. Any attempt to ignore this in order to move the story along would never have sat right with me, so I was absolutely overjoyed that it ended how it did. As for the three episodes that follow? It’s weird; I don’t expect to be disappointed, but if the series were left as it is here I’d say it was as perfect an ending as you could wish for.
I definitely think Bakemonogatari is one of those multi-layered stuffs that can be second time. For example, we might first assume that Senjougahara was acting like she was disgusted with Araragi for fighting a kid, but actually she acted like that because she couldn’t see the snail girl, which makes the twist that much awesome because all the hints dropped here and there hits you like a running train.
I had some problems with Hitag-less episodes too. The supporting characters simply can’t compete with the level of intrigue of Hitagi. I mean, take CotS for example. It’s okay to side track for a moment and focus on different commanders/chief of staffs (instead of lafiel/jinto), because all their characters are soooo interesting and their chemistry just delicious. In Bakemonogatari, I’d have to say only Hitagi/Koyomi is at that level of complexity and intrigue, and the rest just…well, I wouldn’t say bad, but definitely not as uniquely crafted I suppose.
As for the remaining three episodes, it’s really weird. I heard the remaining three episodes are all going to be ‘missing’ episodes between episode 11 and 12 (Tsubasa arc), and episode 12 is actually the final episode. Or maybe I got that entirely wrong, can someone more informed correct this? Anyway, I thought episode 12 was, and felt like, final episode, so I just wrote my article away to heart’s content ^_^b
I too had some issue with the exploitation in the middle episodes, but I appropriated them in my reading of the text as a commentary on Arararagi as viewer representative. It’s not unlike how harem leads are viewer avatars, but it’s not the same either.
There is both condemnation and compassion for him in the narrative, and therefore to us. This may seem condescending, but instead it comes off to me like Hitagi herself. She IS condescending, but she can’t be reduced to that.
Bakemonogatari did all these things perhaps, but it’s just a love story, some interesting fanservice, teasing about shinto and spirit stuff, and a bunch of cute songs that lead to one about the summer triangle and love. There’s Hitagi to fap to… but we may end up hating it for pandering to us and I don’t want to lose this love I have for it…
You get where I’m going with this ;)
I’m with ghostlighting on the purpose of the mid-section of this series – The Nadeko Snake arc in particular was, in truth, all about Araragi, and although it wasn’t as compelling as the other arcs I think it was important if only to nudge viewers away from seeing him as the outright “hero” of the piece. The same could be said to a lesser extent of the Suruga Monkey arc but… well, I really liked Kanbaru as a character too, so I’m biased. ;)
I can only agree whole-heartedly however that this final TV broadcast episode was near-perfection in so many ways – It made me laugh repeatedly throughout Hitagi and Koyomi’s car journey, yet still had enough energy left in it to turn things towards a genuinely touching finale.
Thinking about the series as a whole, I felt that Hitagi’s opening up to Koyomi in that final scene was almost a counterpoint to episode two where she wandered around naked and in her underwear in front of him. That time she basically opened herself up to him due to a perceived lack of any self-worth and importance, yet come the end of the series we see a subtle shift in that – She now understands that she does have something to give and is thus a “worthy” person to that degree, yet she still feels herself as not having worth enough. It was a nice little example of character development in my book.
Somehow, despite managing to make for a decidedly quirky relationship, there’s still a real underpinning of realism in this couple’s teenage love, from Hitagi’s teasing right down to Koyomi’s insincere “I like everything about you” response to her. It all adds to this feeling that what we’ve seen in something beautiful yet intensely fragile, and something that may well not last that long after all… yet despite that, it really doesn’t matter, because it’s what’s right in front of them that moment that’s really important.
I don’t know how much more virtual ink I can spill concerning Bakemonogatari’s 12th episode, just that I agree with Gaguri about how a bit of a letdown the Monkey and Snake arcs were (and any CotS reference will win instant points from me), but somehow worked anyway in making that final episode floor me all the more. The hazy fog before the sunrise, as it were.
The difference, I feel, between this “finale” and Time of Eve’s is that I felt Time of Eve had much more story to tell, and left me wanting more (sequel likely), but Bakemonogatari’s last episode gave me everything I ever wanted from it, done fittingly and with such finality, that anything other than a true sequel season featuring the main pair is going to feel like an afterthought.
I… still not have not watched this show, amazingly enough. (It’s crazy, I know!) But I was still wondering if the title of the posting is a reference to the Explosions in the Sky song. I totally love that song, by the way.
@Gaguri: the Mayoi Snail arc will lend itself particularly well to a rewatch, just to be in awe of the little details that the writers managed to slip past me without my noticing. And yeah, CotS is a wonderful example of memorable supporting characters; I finished the novels recently actually, so will try to write a post about them in the next week or two.
@ghostlightning: it’s heartening to know I’m not the only one who thought that way about those episodes! I wasn’t too impressed with them at the time, but afterwards I understood why certain plot points and characters were shown in the way they were. It’s…it’s not like I’m a Hitagi fanboy or anything! No, wait… OTL
@Hanners: good observation on the episode 2 vs 12 parallel – I must admit I never made the connection at the time. For all the supernatural stuff, the natural and convincing way their chemistry comes across is still the most memorable aspect of the storytelling for me, directorial quirks aside.
@kadian1364: absolutely! I’m actually concerned that the next three episodes will not only be unecessary, but by adding events that go after episode 12, they might detract attention away from what I found to be a satisfactory moment of closure. I’m hoping Gaguri’s theory of ‘missing’ episodes is right in this case. [sigh] another CotS fan, eh? Gives me even more reason to write about it then…
@Sasa: if the new season seems as short on the ‘must watch’ shows to you as it does to me, I’m sure you’ll find the time to watch it. And yeah, well spotted on the EitS reference – I’ve been listening to a lot of their stuff lately. The Earth Is Not a Cold Dead Place is a wonderful record!
I really liked this series, and I found Araragi’s and Hitagi’s first date to be very emotional and sweet. But, I’m kind of getting tired of watching 16-18 year old anime characters having dating and relationship experiences that are equivalent to what real world 7-8 grade students would have, their date was something like a couple of dates I had when I was in 7-8 grade.
I would like to see more anime show what I would consider to be a more realistic dating/relationship experience, kind of like Yukino’s and Soichiro’s relationship in Kare Kano, I always get a good laugh when characters pine of each other for years, have their first kiss at around age 18, and maybe have sex at marriage or age 30, whatever comes later.
The final 3 episodes are being released online at their website starting Oct. 28th, from what I heard.