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Synopsis:
Surviving a vampire attack, meeting several girls plagued by supernatural entities, and just trying to get through life are some of the things high school student Koyomi Araragi has had to deal with lately. On top of all this, he wakes up one morning to find himself kidnapped and tied up by his girlfriend Hitagi Senjougahara. Having run afoul of Deishuu Kaiki, a swindler who conned Senjougahara's family, she has taken it upon herself to imprison Araragi to keep him safe from the con man. But when Araragi gets a frantic message from his sister Karen, he learns that the fraud has set his sights on her.
Along with Karen's troubles, his other sister, Tsukihi, is having issues of her own. And when two mysterious women who seem to know more than they should about Araragi and his special group of friends step into their lives, not even he could anticipate their true goals, nor the catastrophic truths soon to be revealed.
Information: 11 episodes Jan 8, 2012 to Mar 18, 2012
genres: Comedy, Mystery, Supernatural, Ecchi
THE STORY
The story of Nisemonogatari gets off to a fairly engaging start, promising a potent villain with ties to many members of the cast’s foul conditions. The opening dialogue between Senjougahara and Araragi is snappy, well presented and fresh, and their banter stays more or less consistent throughout. However, retaining the status quo of its central romance is Nisemonogatari’s greatest accomplishment with the original cast, as it becomes apparent very early on that Nisemonogatari has no intention of holding the integrity of the other cast members. Nadeko’s only substantially long scene consists almost entirely of her having Araragi act out her fantasies, as though the writers seem determined for her to hold the spot as the worst character thus far (and no, Otorimonogatari doesn’t justify this). Kanbaru, one of Bakemonogatari’s brightest spots, spends close to an entire episode lounging around stark naked in books for absolutely no (logical) reason, which is a step too far for her character, who didn’t suggest any real interest in sexual exposition of this magnitude in the first season, beyond above average sexual confidence. Hanekawa is mostly tossed aside, occasionally sprouting some exposition and reminding the audience that she exists in spite of both of the next two arcs (going by release order) pertaining to her, though her teasing of Araragi goes greatly against her later representations. For a large part of the anime, Araragi’s perverted nature becomes his defining trait, and Hachikuji suffers greatly as a result of being an object for him to get excited over and serving few other purposes. To put it bluntly, while Bakemonogatari contained fan service, Nisemonogatari, for almost all intents and purposes, is fan service.
NIsemonogatari is the first entry in the series that begins to have more pointed meta commentary on stories as they are told in Monogatari. It displays a general awareness and self-critique that reflects upon the stories told thus far, and gestures at those to come. It’s also the first Monogatari entry to have real thematic closure, resolving a section of the story entirely, and it does so spectacularly. In order to do this, it introduces Kaiki—and simultaneously tells the stories of Karen and Tsukihi, exploring their relation to Araragi and the theme of the fake.
THE CHARACTERS
Tsukihi Araragi is the supposed younger sister of both Koyomi Araragi and Karen Araragi, and the youngest member of the Araragi family. She is the younger half of the Tsuganoki Second Junior High School's Fire Sisters. She is unknowingly an offspring of the Shide no Tori, making her a fake human and giving her traits similar to that of a phoenix. She is nicknamed Rara by her childhood friend Nadeko Sengoku. She is the titular protagonist of two main arcs: Tsukihi Phoenix and Tsukihi Undo, and of two minor arcs: Tsukihi Eternal and Tsukihi Brushing. Tsukihi appears to be a young girl in her early teens with black hair and dark gray irises. She wears a sunny side-up egg-shaped hair clip on the side of her hair like her older sister Karen, although Tsukihi has hers on her left side. Like the other Araragi siblings, she has an ahoge. She also has a habit of changing her hairstyle constantly. Her wardrobe almost exclusively consists of bright-colored yukatas and kimonos which vary in length. Unlike her sister Karen, she prefers doing indoor activities. Contrary to her personality, she is short-tempered to the point that Koyomi describes her as having hysteria. Rosokuzawa is mentioned to be Tsukihi's boyfriend by her brother, and she says she's in love with him but has a chaste relationship. Despite being a member of the Fire Sisters, Tsukihi admits that she doesn't have the drive to do things like her older sister, although she says that she shares her siblings' belief in justice. She's also a bit airheaded at times. Also like her sister, she doesn't believe in oddities or the supernatural, despite being one herself.
toothbrush scene ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)
Karen Araragi is the eldest of Koyomi Araragi's sisters and the older half of the Tsuganoki 2nd Middle School Fire Sisters. She is a self-proclaimed "hero of justice" who often imitates the personality and quirks of various characters from tokusatsu series. Despite this, she is completely uninvolved with the supernatural, until she becomes victim to a certain oddity. She is also the narrator of an arc in Wazamonogatari. She is the titular protagonist of two main arcs: Karen Bee and Karen Ogre, and two minor arcs: Karen Arm Leg and Karen Brushing. Despite being younger, Karen is taller than Koyomi — a fact that often dismays him — and is the tallest of the three siblings at 170cm (5'7"). Karen ties her black hair into a ponytail on the right side of her head and uses a similar hair accessory as her sister (both their accessories have a sunny side-up egg design). She also has dark gray irises like her siblings. Reflecting her tomboyish lifestyle and energetic personality, Karen's outfit consists of a yellow hoodie and pants, a black tank top, red socks and white running shoes. Befitting her name, Karen is a hot-blooded girl who acts as if she is a superhero who has the duty of protecting others from danger. When she was in elementary school some of Koyomi's thoughtless words nearly drove her to commit suicide. It was then that she started becoming an ally of justice. She states that it was Koyomi who created the "hatred of evil in her heart". She likes to imitate characters from various tokusatsu live action series like Dekaranger. Fortunately, she manages to pull it off due to her flexibility and quick reflexes, which are a product of her constant exercise and training, which involves practicing karate and capoeira, among other martial arts. Her personality often collides with Koyomi's more laid back personality more recently, especially since Koyomi has developed a certain degree of anxiety over his sisters' safety due to his experiences with the supernatural. In fact, he has called Karen's habit of acting like a superhero alongside her sister a "travesty". Along with her sister, Karen does not believe in the supernatural. At times, she acts like a bit of an air-head.
Koyomi Araragi is a third year high school student who survived a vampire attack during spring break and barely regained his human life in the time that followed as a boy with remnants of vampiric traits. He can see in the dark, his eyes turn red when he gets angry, and he heals incredibly fast. As a result, he questions his lifespan. He remains scared of morning sunlight despite the fact that it no longer has any negative effects on him. Koyomi is a laid-back person whose only real friend at school is Tsubasa Hanekawa. He's a poor student, close to failing every class except math.
Deishuu Kaiki is a conman specializing in imposter oddities and charms. He is known as the first of five con men who swindled the Senjougahara family, as well as selling charms to middle school students. On one occasion he has used the alias Suzuki. He is the narrator and main protagonist of Koimonogatari.
Kaiki is a tall middle aged and pale man with a very gloomy and dark appearance. He is often seen wearing a funeral suit with a red club over the knot of his rather loose necktie. He has an unsmiling face with eyes that either appear indifferent or piercing. His hair is worn back with two bangs hanging down and trying to reach the bridge of his nose. In Koimonogatari he is shown having a cold shower to make his skin deathly blue-pale. In most of Koimonogatari, he wears a typical trench coat with his hair down short and shaggy. In Hanamonogatari, he goes back to his typical hair, but this time with a neatly trimmed goatee-beard combo and glasses.
Kaiki has a very gloomy personality and subscribes to the view that there is nothing in the world that is inherently true. The only absolute in life for him is money, as it is replaceable and can replace any thing. A schemer at heart, Kaiki has an opaque mind to outsiders. He is fluent in the arts of lying and subterfuge, so his reasoning behind what he says is constantly blurred. He explains his name as "Kai" like a mound of clam shells, and "Ki" like a dead tree. Kaiki is an individual who prides himself in having no pride. He openly admits to being a conman and an impostor amongst other things. But this is to his advantage as someone who deceives with wordplay extremely well. His interactions with others are very fluid, and he is willing to give and take in order to maximize the outcome, or cut his losses, in his favor. In Koimonogatari, much more of his character is revealed, especially his own thought process. He keeps his promises despite his lying nature, and has an unexpected system of morals that he adheres to - but only if motivated to do so because he must personally benefit from the situation. Kaiki seems to take warnings or "pieces of advice" as challenges, such as when Gaen and an unknown messenger (later revealed to be Senjougahara) had told him to "pull out" of his current job. Senjougahara explained to him afterwards that she had purposefully did it to motivate him. Despite the fact that he is very scheming, he seems to miss obvious conclusions. When he found the letter in his hotel room, he assumed that some third party (that wasn't Gaen or Senjougahara) had found a way to get in, but it was pointed out by Senjougahara that it could be as simple as throwing the envelope under the door. When trying to deceive Nadeko, he came up with the simple scheme of earning her trust so he can tell her that Araragi and co. were in a traffic accident so that she wouldn't kill them. It is worth mentioning that Kaiki already knew Araragi is almost immortal; and Nadeko had beaten him within an inch of his life many times within a short period, so she would have some idea of how much punishment his body can actually take, making something like a traffic accident seem less than lethal. During a discussion with Hanekawa, she described Nadeko as "snubbing everyone out", never letting others get close to her. Kaiki didn't change his plan despite knowing that she had never trusted others, and subsequently failed at deceiving her.
SUMMARY
The first arc sees the exploration of Karen’s character and the concept of fighting for justice. Karen, as pointed out by Hanekawa, reflects a lot of characteristics of Araragi, especially his character before the ending of bake. A desire to help others, to self-sacrifice. It is the very fact that he can see himself, especially his slightly more naïve former self, within Karen that causes him to be so critical and discouraging of her actions. This hypocrisy is Araragi’s core character flaw. He is only capable of viewing things from his own perspective, as the story is told. Therefore, he is able to see the issue in Karen’s actions—she doesn’t take into account those that care about hers’ feelings, Araragi’s feelings, and puts herself in danger anyway. Though, he is unable to see how he still does the same and has convinced himself that he’s moved past the naivety she exhibits. In this arc, Araragi is able to come to terms with his relationship with Karen by seeing the sincerity in her actions despite her lack of strength. She is still a fake, but the deliberate attempt to be real and have a positive effect on others in her fight for justice despite her fakeness is ultimately just as, if not more meaningful than being the real thing anyway.
Karen Bee
Chronology – Two weeks after Tsubasa Cat Koyomi awakes chained in the Cram School, Senjougahara arrives, he begs for release, but she teases him and tells him she did it for his protection, she spends the rest of the morning, although the anime makes it look like days, taking care of him, telling him that she'll take care of his bodily needs, from ingestion to excretion.
In the morning of the day before, Araragi has a fight with Tsukihi about Karen getting in trouble, afterwards he calls Nadeko, deciding to make good on her invitation to come to her house, she nervously answers the phone and says he has to come today, on the way there Araragi meets Hachikuji and assaults her, molesting her, she fights back, and after she recognizes him, they begin a conversation, after talking about money, love, and his secret as a vampire, he tells her that he doesn't think it's right to keep it a secret, but Mayoi tells him it's natural to keep secrets, the conversation leads into a contest about adding the word "courage" to make shameful things sound cool, afterwards she tells him that the supernatural should be kept a secret to protect them, he asks her whether she'll disappear like Oshino, but she asks him for help if she ever gets into a problem and tells him that she's looking for the reason she stayed, and that she'll say goodbye to him when it's time for her to leave.
Koyomi then introduces his younger sisters, Karen, the boyish looking, and aggressive acting practictoner of martial arts, and Tsukihi the feminine looking, but even more agressive younger sister, together they're known as The Fire Sisters, the Allies of Justice, but Koyomi says they're just fakers playing games.
After bidding Hachikuji farewell, Koyomi reaches Nadeko's house, she greets him wearing a skimpy dress, and her usual bangs held with a headband, he notices they're alone in the house, she takes him to her bedroom, she urges him to seat on her bed, and to remove his sweatshirt, she suggest they play the King's Game, he tries to refuse, but she insists, telling him she's fine either giving or taking orders, Koyomi then decides to play The Game of Life, just like they used to play when she came to visit his sisters, Koyomi compliments himself fo not getting dirty thoughts for her, while playing Koyomi asks her wheter there's anything supernatural happening, she says she hears about some charm circulating amongst the middle-schoolers, she worries that the Fire Sisters will try to do something about it and Araragi thinks that he should talk to Karen as soon as possible.
After they finish their game, Nadeko insists on playing Twister, soon her mother gets home and Koyomi has to leave, he thinks her mother "saved something important of his".
After leaving Kanbaru calls him to her home to help clean her room, on his way there Araragi meets Karen doing "community service", she receives a phone call and runs off before Koyomi can interrogate her further.
Koyomi is greeted by a naked Suruga lying on a mountain of books, he urges her to wear clothes, which she obliges, after sorting through the clutter Araragi finds her old basketball jersey, which she feels nostalgic about and a yaoi novel, which after he tells her it's normal for girls to like handsome boys getting together she assaults him throwing him in bed and molesting him, he vows to never do the same to Hachikuji again.
Koyomi is greeted by a naked Suruga lying on a mountain of books, he urges her to wear clothes, which she obliges, after sorting through the clutter Araragi finds her old basketball jersey, which she feels nostalgic about and a yaoi novel, which after he tells her it's normal for girls to like handsome boys getting together she assaults him throwing him in bed and molesting him, he vows to never do the same to Hachikuji again.
After cleaning her room they trade some banter about him being Kanbaru's wife, he tells her that he's afraid Senjougahara might kill her, but she tells him that it's more likely he'll marry Hanekawa, which scares Koyomi, she also tells him that he should be careful not to be too kind to so many women, she tells him that she wouldn't like to ruin their relationship, and Araragi tells her that he feels too indebted to Hanekawa to do anything, much less let her suffer Hitagi's wrath.
Kanbaru tells him that it's being hard to hide he monkey arm from her grandparents, that she lives with, but they are rather indifferent of her due to an incident with her mother, but she will have to hide it until it heals completely.
Koyomi leaves the house and is greeted by a crimson sky and a suspicious man, he introduces himself as Kaiki Deishuu, he tells him that he's not interested in Kanbaru's house only in a certain Gaen's child who lives nearby, Koyomi realizes that he's referring to Kanbaru's mother's maiden name, he leaves after telling him that he only feels a third of an aura and that there's no money to be made there, Koyomi is reminded of Guillotine Cutter by him, so he decides to follow him despite feeling like it's a bad idea to get involved with the ominous man.
He meets Senjougahara on his way, she berates him for slacking on his studies and playing around with other women, he pleads her to calm down and starts to accompany her, he soon mentions the man he met, but is knocked out after uttering his name.
Back to the cram school, on the next day's morning, Senjougahara tells Araragi that Kaiki is a dangerous man, he was the first of five conmen who swindled money from her family, using the effects of the Crab, Araragi intends to help her, but she insists on keeping him chained until he leaves tow, while she prepares herself to kill Kaiki if he approaches Koyomi again.
Koyomi receives a message from his sister, Hitagi shows the message to him, it reads "Help Me", he bursts out of the chains, he tells Hitagi that he needs to go home, she allows but tells him that she wouldn't hesitate to fight him, despite being her boyfriend and having a vampire's strength, he replies that's why he loves her, she then gets a call from Koyomi's phone and starts acting submissively before handing him his phone and apologizing, before telling him it was Hanekawa calling Koyomi to his house.
At his house he meets Hanekawa who was helping Karen with her "mission", Karen is in bed with a fever, Araragi gets angry at her but leaves to talk with Tsubasa, she tells him that she thinks she likes his sisters, despite his denial, the topic shifts to the issue of the rumour about charms circulating with the middle-schoolers, Hanekawa tells him that Nadeko wasn't the only one affected by them, only the greatest case, she reveals that she's helping the Fire Sisters track the culprit, she tells him that it was Kaiki who was the culprit and caused her fever, Koyomi afterwards asks her how did she manage to threaten Senjougahara, and she tells him that she threatened to asks Koyomi to be her boyfriend.
Koyomi goes take a bath to be alone but is interrupted by Shinobu who emerges in his shadow, she talks to him energetically, much unlike the listless girl at Meme's room, as he washes her hair she reminds him of the aversion they feel towards each other, but she still thinks they're inseparable, she asks him to indulge her with donuts, when they finish bathing he asks her about Karen's fever, she tells him that she knows of an oddity called the Wreath-Fire Bee, who would kill it's victims with an intense fever in the 15th century, Shinobu is suspicious of how Kaiki, a conman would obtain this oddity, Koyomi asks her if she can consume the bee, but she denies it, telling him that only Meme may be able to counteract the poison, she teases him for looking at her body and tries to blackmail donuts out of him but he replies that she can't do anything being bound to him, to her admiration.
Tsukihi then barges in, sees Shinobu and leaves, Shinobu hides when Tsukihi comes back with a knife, but Koyomi manages to convince her that there wansn't any girl in the bath with him, Shinobu leaves the water and tells him that he might outlive her, as well as everyone he loves, due to his vampire blood, she suggests he should kill her, but he refuses telling him that they still don't forgive each other and that's all there is to it, she tells him that she's just waiting to kill him, but he just strokes her hair and smiles.
After the bath Koyomi confronts Tsukihi about the Fire Sisters activities, the discussion escalates and Tsubasa comes down to scold them, Hanekawa explains that Karen faced Kaiki, but he broke her down despite her determination, he refused to stop conning the children until reaching his goal earnings, she attacks him, but he stopped her by touching her forehead, which put her on the ground in fever, and quietly left after stealing Karen's money.
Koyomi then takes Hanekawa home, she comments on the similarity between him and the Fire Sisters, along the way they talk about Meme, the reason why he left and Shinobu, she thanks him with a coupon to touch her breasts, but tells him she'll hate him if he ever uses it, down the road Koyomi lends her his bike and goes home.
Koyomi returns home and meets Karen who's now awake, he decides to wipe down her body's sweat, she defends her actions, and declares she will do what's necessary no matter the outcome, outside of her room Koyomi asks Shinobu if he could take on Karen's fever on to his regenerating body, Shinobu confirms it, but she suggests he better not, regardless Koyomi goes into the bedroom and takes part of her fever by kissing her.
The following day Araragi leaves his house and sees Hachikuji, he decides to greet her normally, she angrily calls him boring and walks away, he explains that he stopped molesting her due to her protests, to which she answers that she meant the opposite with those, and that if he stops molesting her, there's nothing left of his personality.
Koyomi then takes Hanekawa home, she comments on the similarity between him and the Fire Sisters, along the way they talk about Meme, the reason why he left and Shinobu, she thanks him with a coupon to touch her breasts, but tells him she'll hate him if he ever uses it, down the road Koyomi lends her his bike and goes home.
Koyomi returns home and meets Karen who's now awake, he decides to wipe down her body's sweat, she defends her actions, and declares she will do what's necessary no matter the outcome, outside of her room Koyomi asks Shinobu if he could take on Karen's fever on to his regenerating body, Shinobu confirms it, but she suggests he better not, regardless Koyomi goes into the bedroom and takes part of her fever by kissing her.
The following day Araragi leaves his house and sees Hachikuji, he decides to greet her normally, she angrily calls him boring and walks away, he explains that he stopped molesting her due to her protests, to which she answers that she meant the opposite with those, and that if he stops molesting her, there's nothing left of his personality.
After Koyomi follows her she notices his preoccupation, he then tells her of the problems with his sisters, he complains about them putting themselves in harm's way, Hachikuji jokes that Koyomi might be the same,and tells him that it's possible that they might have helped a lot of people, but Koyomi still considers them children, which leads into a conversation about what's considered an adult, Hachikuji tells him that she considers an adult someone who underwent the process of time, which makes Koyomi realize that his sisters childish behavior is natural, he shifts to topic to Hachikuji, asking her if she's an adult and she compares herself to Detective Conan (A manga detective who gets turned into a little boy with his adult mind).
Koyomi arrives at Senjougahara's house and is greeted by the sound of wood being chipped, she had sharpened 100 pencils, and asks him if "accidentally" stabbing someone with pencils is murder, terrified Koyomi confirms which only makes her more decisive, she reveals that she plans to murder Kaiki to protect him, Koyomi protests her definition of protection and mentions talking to Hanekawa, Senjougahara turns defensive, telling him that "Hanekawa-sama" wasn't bullying her.
The conversation soon goes back to Kaiki, Hitagi had aranjed a meeting with the conman and Araragi decides to go along, she tries to threaten him, but he insists, she tells him that he's the man who destroyed her family, even though she knows her family would likely have the same end regardless, and she's likely to blame for resisting the cult member's abuse and causing her mother to leave, she still blames him for being the cause, and Koyomi wonders how fake can he be, considering he knew about the crab despite being a supposed conman, she replies that it makes it even worse, because not only did he take her father's money without solving the problem, and for being a fake with more power than the real thing, he's even more dangerous than a regular conman.
She keeps on protesting Araragi's involvement, saying that all he has is being right, which makes him strong against hypocrites, but weak against the truly evil, but Hitagi concedes after he declares his love, telling her that even though he'd visit her in jail, he'd prefer to be by her side, saying that he's determined to protect her, she concedes under the condition that he obeys the conditions she'll reveal once they meet Kaiki, she also tells him that she loves him and that he should to go home and rest before meeting Kaiki.
Upon arrival, Tsukihi meets Araragi and tells him that Karen went missing, Koyomi goes after her, Shinobu appears and comments on the similar recklessness between Koyomi and Karen, he asks her for help, she reminds him of their relationship, but concedes since "she cannot refuse his orders", Koyomi refuses to order her around which prompts her to tell him she's willing to help, she quickly tracks Karen down using Koyomi's blood's smell.
Koyomi finds Karen, she refuses to back down, they get into a fight, Koyomi doesn't attack her, which prompts Shinobu to tell him that she's ready to fight back, but he refuses, with Koyomi still standing Karen confronts Araragi about his lectures about "justice", when he would them them that they may be right but weren't strong, she tells him that justice always wins, and as the Fire Sisters of Justice, they always win, he tells her that physical strength is not the only important thing, but a strong mind, he tells her her sense of justice is flawed and that she shouldn't only rely on the pleas of others and instead do what she actually wants to do, they aren't heroes of justice, but children pretending, mere impostors.
She refuses to back down, using Hanekawa, "who knows everything", but Koyomi tells her that she "only knows what she knows", and he adds she's not ready for "self-sacrifice" and "justice", he then hugs her and she yields, allowing him to carry her home.
Koyomi and Hitagi meet Kaiki, he says that he she's lost her shine, that before she was someone worth deceiving, he interrupts them and reveals that he knew why she wanted to meet him, he tells them that he'll stop deceiving children, and that Karen will recover soon, he had just hypnotized her, and he apologizes for what happened with Senjougahara' mother, and tells her that he'll return the money he's stolen from her family, Senjougahara doesn't believe him, and he pretends to be repentant with a straight face, Hitagi tells him that despite her anger she won't harm him, he tells her that "the old her" wouldn't hesitate, she says she won't ask for her money back since it won't return he family, to his relief since he already had spent all of it, she retorts that he needs to leave this city, he agrees to her condition, but proceeds to provoke Araragi with his sister, telling him that the only mistake she made was not coming after him with a numerical advantage, he tells Araragi he's thankful for weak girls like his sister, who keep him in business.
Senjougahara then asks him why is he conceding, he tells her that she has a wrong image of him, that he's just a petty middle-aged conman, and not a monster like she thinks, she calls him a impostor and he agrees, telling her she's right, and that there's nothing special or dramatic about neither of the two, but he asks whether there's anything special about Araragi, he says he feels something from Araragi's shadow and that he took half of his sister's disease, Araragi questions him about his knowledge, he tells him that while he's not someone who believes in the supernatural, he understands those who do.
He gives an example, telling him that the Wreathe-Fire Bee was just a story created in the 18th century, a fake tale created by an author, Araragi decides that Kaiki is not only a fake, but a proud one, Kaiki continues telling him that since he took his sister's curse, it seems like they'll never get along, comparing the two to water and rubidium(a material that catches on fire in contact with water), Hitagi takes Kaiki's cell phone and breaks it, the disappointed Kaiki tells her that it's a shame that the kids won't be deceived anymore, to Araragi's surprise, she retorts that she's not an ally of justice, just an enemy of evil, that it was the children's fault for being tricked.
Kaiki agrees telling her that money is just a matter of profit not morals, he continues to insult her calling the current her boring and heavy, she retorts that he shouldn't try to attack the current her, since Araragi loves her, he's surprised and refuses to interfere in their relationship, since it won't bring him money, and quietly decides to leave, before that he tells her that the man who tried to rape her simply died in a car accident, the lesson for her is "not to expect anything dramatic from life", she calls his lie out, telling him that he couldn't have know about it since he had forgotten her until this morning, he tells her that that could have been a lie too, to her surprise, he tells her that it doesn't matter which is a lie, since there's no such thing as truth in the world, and that the fact that she was in love with him doesn't count as cheating on her current lover, he continues telling her that there's no value in catching up to the past and that she shouldn't bind herself with emotions before vanishing.
Araragi questions her about him, but she denies being in love with him, she explains that she felt something positive towards him, since he was the first to offer her some hope about her condition, but she would fall in love with anyone who saved her, but she's glad Araragi was the one to do so, before going home Araragi asks her about the condition he had agreed to, she tells him that the issue was settled, she asks for a compliment and tells him that she was hurt by the conman's words, she pulls him and asks him to "be gentle with her tonight", three days later, Karen recovered, and he explains that Kaiki left town, soon the Fire Sisters leave the house to solve Kaiki's leftover problems while Araragi smiles at the two fakes.
Tsukihi Phoenix
Chronology – Two weeks after Karen Bee
Koyomi begins introducing his younger sister, Tsukihi, 14 years old, his hysteric, sly, and immortal sister.
Koyomi is studying in his room when he's interrupted by Karen who insistis on helping him, he discovers that she's wearing Tsukihi's feminine clothes, he's shocked and asks her if anyone is bullying her, she points out that he's the one who bullied her, and that's why she was suicidal during elementary school, and that's why she's the tomboyish today.
She continues asking if her clothes look cute, she forces him to say yes, which rejoices her, she then asks to meet Kanbaru, the famous basketball ace, she pleads, and offers her virginity to him, so he kicks her in the head, he comments on her different personality at home and outside, and she tells him it's because of the reputation she maintains, but she finds Tsukihi's clothes uncomfortable, she tells him that she knows about his relation to Kanbaru through the pictures released by Kanbaru's fan club, and that she thinks he's some sort of mentor for her.
She again asks to meet Suruga, but Koyomi refuses, afraid of Kanbaru's sexuality and usual demeanor, despite Karen's pleads and threats he still refuses, until he proposes a challenge, he brings her toothbrush, she's confused, but he tells her that if she can tolerate a person's intimate touch, by brushing her teeth for five minutes, he'd allow her to meet Kanbaru, reasoning that she'd be able to endure Kanbaru's abuse, Koyomi brushes her teeth slowly coming closer to her when inches away from her breasts Tsukihi barges in.
The two explain themselves and Tsukihi goes to the convenience store to buy an awl to arm herself, after she leaves the two notice that the time' up, he admits defeat, but she tells him that the last minute was invalid because of the interruption, folling that morning the two sibling's relationship grows closer.
As they go to Kanbaru's house Karen suggests that they play rock-paper-scissors to decide who is going to carry the other on their shoulders, she tries to cheat by playing before him, he calls her out and she decides to carry him, he finds her ponytail unconfortable and she suddently chops it off, to his shock, he tries riding on her shoulders but begs to be let down, while Karen remarks that his crotch is pressing against her head.
They continue bickering on the way until they're interrupted by a woman atop of a mailbox, who asks them about the location of the Eikou Cram School, Koyomi questions whether he, riding on his sister's shoulders, or she perched on top of a mailbox is weirder, she introduces herself as Yozuru Kagenui, and calls the two "hornet sister" and "devil boy", but she changes topic quickly, she asks about the Eikou school again and Koyomi decides to call Hanekawa to ask, she tells him that it's the building Meme had lived in, Araragi explains the location to her, after telling him that a small girl will ask the same she leaves jumping on top of the fences on her way.
Koyomi asks his sister why was she silent, and she answers that she felt that she was at least as strong as her mentor, Koyomi calls her cowardly, but she replies that she has the ability of determining the strength of those not evil, although she's not sure of the lady's inclination.
After dropping Karen of at Suruga's, Koyomi goes back home and meets Hachikuji, he sprints towards her but Shinobu trips him, Koyomi and Hachikuji start a conversation but are interrupten by a blue haired girl who intruduces herself as Yotsugi Ononoki, she asks, with a posed look, the adress of the school and leaves, then Koyomi notices that she addressed them as "Snail girl" and "Devil boy", and that Kagenui had called his Karen "Hornet Sister", then Mayoi tells him that she felt Ononoki was at least a strong as her mentor, Araragi tells her she doesn't have one.
Koyomi gets home but is asked by Shinobu to go out and buy her donuts, she returns to his shadow to avoid the sun, which she still finds unpleasant despite not being a vampire anymore, Koyomi meets Tsukihi downstairs and she voices her distinction from Karen, unlike Karen and Koyomi she doesn't have such a belief in justice, she just goes along with them, admitting her justice is fake, because of that she considers disbanding the Fire Sisters since she'll be separated from Karen once she goes to High School, she's fearful of Karen being bullied, but Koyomi tells her that she's safe having him as a helpful older brother, although he considers whether erotically brushing her teeth is helpful.
Koyomi then decides to set up a farewell party to the Fire Sisters, he tells her to stay at home and wait for her and avoid leaving the house in a yukata, he decides to pull of her robes down, and finds that her scars that, according to the doctor, were permanent, she explains to him that they simply healed away, like all scars do, he lets her go and she tells him not to return, but he tells he'll return on her heart.
At the Mr. Donut, Koyomi asks Shinobu about the two women he met, Shinobu tells him that Yotsugi was an oddity, and that she must be bound to Kagenui(who shares a kanji in name), like Meme bound her, naming her after himself, Koyomi wonders how he'll get information on her, but Shinobu points to a man behind them, Koyomi is shocked to see Kaiki eating donuts.
He confronts Kaiki about him leaving town, but he explains that he's just finishing some business and preparing to leave, since he doesn't want to see Koyomi again, but he agrees to reveal information about Kagenui for 10 thousand yen.
According to him, they're specialists, like him, but unlike him, they specializa in onmyodo (TraditionalJapanese occultism), and more importantly, immortal Oddities.
Koyomi wonders whether he and Shinobu are their targets, Shinobu doubts it, they soon reach home and find the specialist pair ringing the doorbell, Koyomi asks them whether they came to kill the immortal vampire and her servant, but they deny it, since the issue with Heart-Under-Blade has been resolved.
Tsukihi then opens the door, furious with the constant ringing of the doorbell despite her atempts to pretend to be absent, Yotsugi then attacks her by expanding her finger, destroying the front of the house along with Tsukihi's upper half.
Araragi goes berserk and attacks her, but Kagenui restrains him, they explains that Tsukihi is not his sister, but an immortal phoenix oddity, and points out the unconscious but unharmed Tsukihi lying on the floor, Shinobu threatens then into leaving, but she calls out the former vampire's for her current state, Shinobu answers that she could drain Ononoki and regain enough strength to defeat Kagenui, she then decides to pretend to fall for the bluff, out of respect for Shinobu, and to leave a day for Araragi to deal with the fact that his sister is a fake deceiver of humans, and as such, she can't allow a fake like that to exist, being Allies of Justice.
Araragi takes his sister inside, Shinobu explains to him that the Dying Bird is an oddity like the cuckoo, that reincarnates by taking the place of the child in the mother's womb, it's a harmless oddity that blesses the victim with health and the ability to heal wounds until it dies of old age.
Karen gets home and Araragi tells her that a truck hit the house, she believes him, and decides to watch the house from the porch, he asks her wheter she'd die for her siblings, she confirms it, saying she'd do it smiling, reassured Koyomi goes to Tsukihi's bedroom and kisses her, she wakes up enraged that her first kiss was stolen, but he fells relieved that she is truly his sister, he tells her of the time before his sisters where born, when he wasn't their brother, he also reassures her by saying the kiss doesn't count since they're family and they said they're getting married when they were little, he says he'd still marry both of them, which makes her mad.
At night he leaves for the school, leaving Karen in charge of the house, Shinobu decides to help him, she drinks his blood, empowering both of them and turning her into a teenager before heading to the abandoned school.
They meet the specialist pair, Kagenui mocks them by imitating Meme's usual greeting, but they're unswayed, Kagenui sets up the fight, pairing up the humans and the oddities against each other, and Shinobu takes Ononoki to a different floor, Ononoki agrees insulting Shinobu's age, with the two alone, Araragi asks her about her relation to the aloha shirt-wearing man, she's surprised that he still dresses the same since collegem she tells Koyomi that she, Kaiki and Oshino were classmates and clubmates, they used to hang out with another upperclassman in the occult research club, and that she discovered Tsukihi's location due to Kaiki.
Koyomi reiterates that he's on his sister's side, that he loves her even more for not being his real sister, calling it "hot", she says that since she's an Ally of Justice she can't forgive him and unlike her classmates, she can only talk with her fists, she brutally beats Araragi, while questioning whether his family would accept having a monster as a sister, she continues to beat him until she punches them into the floor Shinobu was using, Shinobu is surprised by the mostly dead Araragi, and Kagenui offers to fight Shinobu since Ononoki was beaten, she laughs and refuses because Araragi hasn't been beaten yet, Kagenui tells him not to force his ideals on other people, but Araragi refuse telling her that he'll lie, deceive and owe his family however much it takes, he tells her that he'll shoulder the evil of being fake.
Kagenui talks about the theories of fundamental good, that humans are fundamentally good, and fundamental evil, that humans are born evil, she calls the former an ideal, but the latter simple realism, she says that if a person is born evil, to do good, is by definition a lie, and a deception, due to hypocrisy, a fake, so all good is a deliberate lie, and thus humans should make a deliberate attempt to be good. She tells of her discussions with Kaiki about the worth of the real thing against the fake, she believes the real has more value, Oshino says they're equal, but Kaiki's argument was that the fake has greater value, in it's deliberate attempt to be real it's more "real" than the real thing, and "that's the lesson for us here" replicating Kaiki's phrase, she then decides to leave, she mentions her "Unlimited Rulebook", in which she declares Tsukihi as one of it's many exceptions.
Before leaving she tells him that she was disappointed that he wasn't committed to fighting her, but he answers that he was thankful for her for treating him like a human, telling her that he felt like he was facing Oshino, to differentiate herself from Oshino she says goodbye to Araragi.
He goes home and tells Tsukihi that he just fought a Human-like monster, and a Monster-like human, and tells Tsukihi that he'll introduce his sisters to his girlfriend
Animation and Sound
Nisemonogatari is a less outgoing with its visual directing compared to Bakemonogatari. It has a lot less abstract imagery and experimental sequences. However, it maintains that trademark Monogatari aesthetic. It utilizes clever visual and sound editing to deliver its jokes, it has fantastic and aesthetically pleasing shot compositions, and constantly utilizes symbolism and color to transmit information through its visuals rather than its dialogue.The most notable uses of symbolism (in my opinion) are the introduction of Kaiki, the bee outfit of Karen, and Tsukihi's egg. Even if Tsukihi's origin is that of a phoenix she is still molded by her family and is more than just a fake sister, the same way an egg is cooked by a flame, she is who she is because of the Fire Sisters. Might I also add that is the best.There is nothing much to criticize here apart from the increase in "fan-service" and decrease in the surreal stylistic direction of Bakemonogatari. The explicit sexual imagery and near incestuous relationships can disturb some viewers, but it serves a purpose, at least most of the time. Sexuality is a medium used by the creators to define the relationships Araragi has with the girls around him. Hanekawa being glorified for its body, Sengoku trying to seduce Araragi but failing, Kanbaru having a more dominant role over Araragi, Senjougahara being uncertain of having a more intimate relationship with Araragi as expressed by her in the last episodes of Bake but finally giving in during Nise. However the most important uses of sexuality in Nise are the relationships between Araragi with his sisters, and Shinobu. Araragi finally loves his sisters as represented by the toothbrush scene and the kiss that Araragi gave Tsukihi. Just the way Tsukihi and Karen have a strong bond between each other (and sleep together naked), Araragi uses his sexuality to demonstrate his new feelings for his sisters. In the same way Shinobu and Araragi forgive each other, at least a little bit, with one another through a very intimate bath scene.
Platinum Disco >>> Renai Circulation. fight me : p
Conclusion
Nisemonogatari suffers from slow pacing, cryptic dialogue, less astounding visuals, excessive fan-service, and a lack of a reason for the audience to care about what is happening on screen. It can feel tiring at times to have to watch Nisemonogatari, as scenes often go for longer than they should without much happening. However with all of these flaws, upon further inspection there is a lot to appreciate here. If you are new to the franchise (start with Bakemonogatari), and when you reach Nise try not to pay much attention to the fan-service if you are not into stuff like this. If you are a fan of the Monogatari series and dislike Nise, I would like you to re-watch it with a different perspective.Monogatari watch order and where to watch
