DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

NOVEL ComedyZoku Owarimonogatari
NOVEL ComedyWazamonogatari
ONA DramaMonogatari Series: Off & Monster Season

REVIEWS

• 

  Kishbokai

  88/100
  The wonderful and enjoyable tale of fools

  Yay, peace peace.

  ---

  First, I would like to dedicate this review to mods of anilist. I'm grateful for to whoever thought of splitting the entries, and doing so despite the complaints of others. Keep up the great work!

  Now onward, to the review! (Spoilers for all of the anime)

  ---

  Sodachi Fiasco:

  This is the a rather interesting one. Not only for how it's the longest in this novel, but it's about a character that didn't have that many episodes in the anime. When she did first appear, she was mostly a tool for Araragi and Ougi's developments and nothing more. I found her character intriguing because of of that role she played. The first girl Araragi ever met with problems that he failed to save twice, and forget about. She not only indirectly sparked his sense of justice, but also destroyed it.
  But, other than that, we left her relatively quickly compared to the other girls in the show, and she was shown again briefly in Zoku Owarimonogatari.

  And then, this came along.

  The story is about Sodachi's journey out of the hikikomori lifestyle, and back into society. Her first step is a new, normal highschool with new, normal classmates. As we know, Sodachi is anything but normal, and her chapter reflects that. Before we even get to the high school, there's already parts of her hating Araragi (3 pages filled with 'I hate him') followed by why she came to hate him. She then dives into self hatred, though not looking for pity, but stating it as an all known fact. She tends to do this a lot where she goes on and on about others, but casually slips insults to herself for a bit to show that she does know is a bag of issues. But she's trying. Just, in the wrong way. Every action she does take upon the views of others seems so random to even the reader because of her inner thoughts. She's so busy thinking and pondering on those thoughts that other people are an after thought to her. Or rather, she can't understand people.

  This is her fool's tale of that. Her failure to understand the positives of people, but her genius to at least understand their flaws.

  In her class, a classmate is being totally isolated. So much so, that she’s invisible or nonexistent to others. Being the selfish girl Sodachi is, she tries to take this as an opportunity to befriend someone.

  She fails many times before chasing her down the hallway.

  Way to go Sodachi, I believe in you.

  However, the actual details of why this is happening to her are very vague and confusing. That’s because, in Sodachi’s eyes, she not only could care less but she doesn’t understand it herself with that awful ability to understand others. It becomes this really fun read of her classmates talking to Sodachi, and trying to keep things the way they are, but Sodachi could care less. In fact, she actually ruins their goodwill many times with her curiousness. She got friends as a bride to not meddle, but she was so shocked by this change, she accidentally ruined it. She kept meddling so much that she even followed one of her classmates to her cram school, and stole a phone from someone.

  Even knowing her thoughts, it’s still wild to think she actually thought this was a good idea that calling her a fool is the correct word.

  But also the wrong one.

  She’s a genius in how she solved this drama so quickly and easily without any read understanding of it. I won’t spoil how she did it, but it’s pretty laughable when you read it.

  In the end, she doesn’t exactly improved in my eyes, but she sticks true to her foolish self. I hope later on, she can find friends one day.

  Sodachi Fiasco: 80/100

  ---

  Suruga Bonehead:

  Despite being the one I was most excited for, it was the one that most disappointed me. I love the characters of Kanberu and Ougi (which will be explained later when I read the Second and Final season novels), and their conversations here are a delight.

  So, what’s the problem then?

  Wel, the plot of it really only works if you understand Japanese and its culture. See, Nisio Isin loves his wordplay but it’s based of Japanese wordplay. I never found a problem in this because the anime can still be enjoyed without knowing his wordplay, and the official english novels translate them so well that the wordplay is explained really well.

  But, you see, this novel (and the novels in Monster and Off season) haven’t been translated yet, and I can see why with this.

  The wordplay is so complex that it involves all of Japan’s writing systems to even guess what the riddle could be. I struggled reading through because I have almost no background knowledge. Though, you can argue that it’s my fault for not knowing Japanese, and reading a fan translation. Which, you would be correct, that’s my fault, but I can’t see how anyone could translate this well enough to an English speaking audience.

  However, the parts that aren’t about that are still pretty fun and give great development to Kanberu’s character.

  Suruga Bonehead: 78/100

  ---

  Tsukihi Undo:

  Not going to lie, this was by far, the best part of this novel.

  It’s so random, yet fits in theme of this novel so well that it’s an absolutely joy. It is basically a short story about Ononoki’s cover as a doll finally being blown by Tsukihi by seeing Ononoki enjoying some ice cream. It dissolves into Ononoki fooling her that she’s a magical girl sent here to stop evil monsters from attacking (Which we also learn that Araragi’s favourite anime is Precure series…). It works all too well when Tsukihi wants to see an anime fight in real life,a nd Ononoki has to figure this all out before anyone finds out.

  It’s interesting to see that Ononoki’s genius and what makes her a fool is her human side to connect to others. If she fully commit to being a doll, she won’t have to been caught, but she wants to be human. She wants to enjoy her ice cream damn it, and no ‘darkness’ will take that away from her.

  We also get some Sengoku development of her enjoying life’s difficulties, and being happy with that.

  I won’t say too much since this was is more of a blast reading than me trying to explain to it.

  Just know that it’s fun as hell, and you read this novel.

  Tsukihi Undo: 85/100

  ---

  In conclusion:
  
  This novel technically has no need to exist. The series wrapped in a really nice place, solving every plot thread it had. But, just like the author, I love this story not for its story, but characters. More Monogatari is something I will always love to see since it’s just a lot of fun.

  If you were completely satisfied with the anime or the final season, no need to read these. But if you want even more Monogatari, then read these away as well.

  I'm going to read them and then review them all since I love this series too damn much!

  Have a good day and keep trying to enjoy life
  -Kishbokai

  P.S. Please Shaft, make more Monogatari

  <- Bakemonogatari Anime Complete Guidebook

  [Wazamonogatari review ->](https://anilist.co/review/16864)

  Continue on AniList
• 

  inspirashamul

  90/100
  Even fools try their hardest to not be understood

  Orokamonogatari is a wild introductory start for Off Season. Although those of us who read the short stories have already been exposed to a Sodachi POV with the one attached to Zoku Owaimonogatari: Sodachi Mirror (even Ononoki makes her meta remark that her little observation tale at the end was supposed to just be a short story). But even that doesn’t prepare you at all for Sodachi Fiasco. It is depressingly overwhelming at first so much so that after reading a few chapters, it would literally put me in a weird mood for the rest of the day.

  Self-deprecating

  Self-destructive

  Self-harming

  Self-indulgent

  Self-ish

  Sodachi, Kanbaru, and Tsukihi can be described as such.
  What an interesting start. These arcs felt really similar to what we have gotten from previous seasons of Monogatari but so far no Araragi which is both a blessing and a curse. It reminds me of the Second Season times of interesting POVs while with Off Season, we get so many nods to Araragi in varying degrees that I longed for compared to the joy I felt when Araragi wasn’t present in Second Season. Here, his absence is missed both by me and the characters involved themselves. Sodachi loves to hate him but Araragi is her defying way of life and we see it go to incredible strides. Kanbaru fears to lose him to adulthood as she takes on the senior role with a "problematic" junior who is just Araragi. Ononoki steals the show and ice cream just to realize how much of a delicate balance Araragi maintains for the sake of his sisters.

  Sodachi Fiasco parallels incredibly well with Ougi Formula. At first I thought it was like a Rouka situation where the chick was a ghost. But I should've known from Sodachi's moments in Owarimonogatari that her tale, while a fool, is simply human without any aberrations involved. I should've known that while Araragi's challenge was facing his past, Sodachi's is facing her present. No matter how much she hates him, she uses him for better or for worse to make the world around her a hell for herself. For her sake. For her sanity. Maybe a lack of it as well...

  Suruga Board obviously parallels or moreso extends Suruga Devil. My initial Rouka situation from Fiasco was thrown literally in my face here which honestly was funny as Gaen pulled up. I will admit that this arc I was the most detached from the entire Monogatari series so far because of the heavy reliance on wordplay way more so than I remember. I just let that shit go one ear and out the other and screamed "Ougi Kanbaru dynamics are too good" and moved on with my life.

  Tsukihi Undo parallels with nothing tbh but instead pulls from everything and everywhere as Ononoki struggles to keep it together. With a little taste for Ononoki in Yotsugi Stress or even the emotional faced Ononoki in Zoku Owarimonogatari, but to really see how expressive, vindictive, and just funny Ononoki's inner monologue goes when picturing that unmoving face is such as amazing dichotomy. With guest appearances of a god, a manga artist, and so many more, this final stretch of Orokamonogatari flooded the saltiness of these tales with even more fools than expected. I am super excited for the rest of Off Season.

  For those that saw my review of Zoku before it got taken down, you are the real ones (did this review have enough padding when my experience about the entry itself should be valid Anilist-san?). I'll see you in Wazamonogatari.

  Continue on AniList

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