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REVIEW: Nekomonogatari White Sub.Blu-Ray


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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
Posts: 5407
Location: Iscandar
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 11:58 am Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
But I also find that the more exposure I get to the -monogatari Universe, the less I like it. There was stuff I enjoyed in Nisemonogatari, for example, but it didn't even come close to the enjoyment I derived from Bake.


The way I look at it, Bakemonogatari is a perfectly self-contained universe that is a very satisfying watch. If you are only interesting in seeing a visually inventive anime with an unorthodox, but effective, way of telling a story and like quirky characters, Bakemonogatari has you covered.

I decided to continue exploring the Monogatari universe because I wanted to know what direction the story could take. I have scratched my head a few times with certain decisions, but overall I have been satisfied with the material in Nisemonogatari and the Second Season. I hope the last season is also satisfying to me.

In short, if you only want a taste of this strange and creative franchise, watch the excellent Bakemonogatari. If you want to watch more, do it knowing that it will be a mix bag of good and bad things.
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Exaar



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 279
Location: Delaware
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:18 pm Reply with quote
Being a huge Monogatari fan, I just wanted to chime in on the issue of Araragi's appearance at the end of this arc.

One of the previous posted mentioned that, despite the adage 'you can only save yourself' getting tossed around lot, it never quite actually happens that way, and he's right; usually, in past arcs, Araragi has tried to save someone, failed miserably, and ended up getting saved by someone else. This is sort of a theme- Araragi is the 'hero', but he rarely actually succeeds. It's more the intent to help despite near-assured failure which is important. Anyway, my point is just that it was nice to see him actually help for once, because usually he doesn't succeed.

But even that is really superficial- I think he /had/ to show up at the end, for a simple but very important reason. spoiler[ Kako was Hanekawa's envy. She was envious of Araragi and Senjougahara's relationship. Araragi may have implied that his sword killed the beast, but that wasn't the true resolution. In order to really defeat/bring Kako back into herself, Hanekawa had to resolve/overcome her jealousy, or at least take responsibility for it. Since Araragi was the source of her jealousy, he had to be there so she could confess her feelings to him. It was this act, her doomed confession, that really defeated Kako, not Araragi and his sword.]
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Exaar



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 279
Location: Delaware
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 12:27 pm Reply with quote
angelmcazares wrote:
I absolutely loved this arc. I think it is the best stuff in the Monogatari franchise since Bakemonogatari. I am pleased to hear that Carl liked the packaging; I thought I was the only one who did not hate this packaging and release strategy.

I do not see what is the big deal in sectioning the releases in individual arcs and the lack of chipboard boxes.


Also wanted to comment: I thought almost all of the 2nd Season arcs were brilliant and a huge step up from Nisemonogatari, which, while good, strayed a bit too far into the realm of silliness to be at the top of the pile for me.

That said, the next two after Neko:White are IMO the two best arcs in the franchise thus far: Kabukimonogatari and Otorimonogatari. (Koimonogatari comes in a very close third, because spoiler[kaiki indeed best girl])
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 1:57 pm Reply with quote
Exaar wrote:
That said, the next two after Neko:White are IMO the two best arcs in the franchise thus far: Kabukimonogatari and Otorimonogatari. (Koimonogatari comes in a very close third, because spoiler[kaiki indeed best girl])


If I were to rank the 6 arcs from the Second Season, this would be my order:


1. Nekomonogatari White - spoiler[loved the way Hanekawa's story arc was concluded]

2. Otorimonogatari - spoiler[who knew that airhead Nadeko could be that interesting and cunning]

3. Hanamonogatari - spoiler[A more subtle approach that really worked on Kanbaru]

4. Onimonogatari - spoiler[a very heart felt departure of Mayoi, and apparently the plot of Monogatari thickens]

5. Kabukimonogatari - spoiler[aside from grown-up Mayoi and little Hanekawa, this plot was mostly pointless]

6. Koimonogatari - spoiler[I am still amazed that an arc with my favorite Monogatari character, Senjōgahara, was this dull ]
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Exaar



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 279
Location: Delaware
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 2:12 pm Reply with quote
With a series as complex and convoluted as this one, people are going to like different things for different reasons. My ranking for the 6 arcs of 2nd season would be:

Otorimonogatari - spoiler[ This arc single-handedly made the least interesting character into one of the most interesting. The revelation/implication that Nadko was essentially schizophrenic was brilliant and brilliantly done]

Kabukimonogatari - spoiler[Anything involving time travel and causality interests me, but the reason I like this arc so much is its really the first time we get to dig with any real gusto into Shinobu's personality]

Koimonogatari - spoiler[Kaiki. No other reason needed. Best character in series. Making him POV was brilliant.]

Neko White - spoiler[ Excellent conclusion to Hanekawa's arcs. FIrst non-Araragi POV arc, which is a great departure.]

Hanamonogatari - spoiler[Very nice to see Kanbaru again, enjoyed how this arc went very dark with its themes.]

Onimonogatari - spoiler[Mayoi's departure was the standout of this arc, and was brilliantly handled. Found the first part of the arc interesting but not terribly exciting.]

In essence, I like them all a lot, I am a huge fanboy of the franchise. It's just a matter of how much I like them, haha.
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Angel M Cazares



Joined: 23 Sep 2010
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 3:21 pm Reply with quote
Exaar wrote:
Kabukimonogatari - spoiler[but the reason I like this arc so much is its really the first time we get to dig with any real gusto into Shinobu's personality]


I also liked that a lot from Kabukimonogatari. Onimonogatari spoiler[also has great stuff on Shinobu].
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traveling



Joined: 23 Apr 2013
Posts: 217
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PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 7:17 pm Reply with quote
Blood- wrote:
I think I watched two, maybe three, eps of NW on CR before stopping since I assumed I'd be buying the release when it came out. I wasn't really grooving on the arc. Tsubasa is my least favourite -monogatari female, so that doesn't help. But I also find that the more exposure I get to the -monogatari Universe, the less I like it. There was stuff I enjoyed in Nisemonogatari, for example, but it didn't even come close to the enjoyment I derived from Bake.


I felt the same way about Tsubasa before watching this arc, but I'd recommend watching Neko White to the end. It gives Hanekawa real character depth by exposing her flaws but it doesn't force you to pity her. The story really reminded me of the kind we saw in Bake.

Second Season is near perfect and far better than Nisemonogatari. Neko White, Otori, and Koi are the best arcs that make the show worth watching. Kabuki is good too. Oni is the only one that I found disappointing because of the slow pace and fanservice.
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FlamingFirewire



Joined: 03 Jun 2013
Posts: 461
PostPosted: Thu Aug 28, 2014 9:11 pm Reply with quote
traveling wrote:
Blood- wrote:
I think I watched two, maybe three, eps of NW on CR before stopping since I assumed I'd be buying the release when it came out. I wasn't really grooving on the arc. Tsubasa is my least favourite -monogatari female, so that doesn't help. But I also find that the more exposure I get to the -monogatari Universe, the less I like it. There was stuff I enjoyed in Nisemonogatari, for example, but it didn't even come close to the enjoyment I derived from Bake.


I felt the same way about Tsubasa before watching this arc, but I'd recommend watching Neko White to the end. It gives Hanekawa real character depth by exposing her flaws but it doesn't force you to pity her. The story really reminded me of the kind we saw in Bake.

Second Season is near perfect and far better than Nisemonogatari. Neko White, Otori, and Koi are the best arcs that make the show worth watching. Kabuki is good too. Oni is the only one that I found disappointing because of the slow pace and fanservice.


Nisemonogatari actually cooled my love for the franchise alot after it aired - I didn't even finish that season at the time even though I really liked Bakemonogatari. When I eventually got around to watching Neko- Black, I thought that the show was still ok... but when I finished watching Neko- White, I was back into the fold. I really loved every single arc of Second Season almost more-so than I enjoyed Bakemonogatari. It seems like the characters are growing closer with each installment and considering where we came from, this is a very, very good thing for the franchise.
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Exaar



Joined: 19 Apr 2006
Posts: 279
Location: Delaware
PostPosted: Fri Aug 29, 2014 7:39 am Reply with quote
I think for me personally the thing that made 2nd Season better than Bake was simply the fact that it had the groundwork of Bake to build on. Bakemonogatari was fantastic, but it was mostly introductions to the characters, and while the arcs were minorly interconnected they were also fairly independent of each other.

While each arc in 2nd Season was its own story, there's a much greater sense of everything being connected- many of the characters are effected by the events of the arcs, even if they never make an appearance. And since we already know all of them to a small extent, it allowed 2nd Season to start really digging into characters to a degree that made it fascinating.

A good example is Nadeko- as I mentioned in an earlier post, after Bakemonogatari, she was my least favorite character, the one I felt was the least interesting and most pointless/simply there for the onii-chan crowd to get a kick out of. I could never have anticipated how her character would be used and improved in Otorimonogatari, and the shift was made all the more impactful /because/ of how weak I felt she had been before. Building on the preconceptions of the previous season to really pull the rug out. Stuff like that is why I love Monogatari.
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EnigmaticSky



Joined: 06 Aug 2011
Posts: 750
PostPosted: Sun Aug 31, 2014 12:56 am Reply with quote
Themaster20000 wrote:
^I feel NIS sets are miles above in quality compared to the sets AoA puts out.

Agreed, higher quality and lower prices. I love them.

I look forward to watching these; I haven't actually seen anything since Nisemonogatari (Which I loved, by the way). Now is probably a good time to catch up.
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