Forum - View topicNekomonogatari: Kuro (TV).
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Stark700
 Posts: 11762 Location: Earth |
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Nekomonogatari: Kuro Type: TV Episodes: 4 Producers: Shaft Genres: Comedy, Supernatural
All four episodes aired today on Tokyo MX and it was a very entertaining watch imo with heavy dialogue. spoiler[ The first two episodes were pretty entertaining with apparent talking regarding "H-san". Oh, and I'm glad Karen has her ponytail hair back.] I missed that. spoiler[Shinobu returns in the second episode and it was nice seeing her eat and talk. Such a cute little vampire  ]
The third episode...wow, spoiler[dat fan service with Hanekawa in the classroom, Shaft style baby]. The series spoiler[finishes off apparently in the finale with an epic "battle" and a badass Shinobu] which I enjoyed watching. Overall, I found these four episodes quite entertaining. With the movie coming up soon and season 2 announced earlier today, this was definitely a good way to kick off New Years. |
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DuskyPredator
 Posts: 15477 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Just watched the first two episodes, and despite being a prequel it definetly gave the feeling of the other series being possible required reading, although at the same time is a little weird for what order they are meant to be. The opening bit actually went on a run of Koyomi looking at the things he did in Bakemonogatari, and saying that he was thinking back.
Episode 1 was definetly sexy with Koyomi spoiler[asking his sisters if he is love with them being in fanservice shots. The decision that he was just sexually frustrated sounded a little sus to me, I don't think she took everything into account that he may have had a crush. We also got some more sexy shots with Tsubasa], the situation was mentioned in the last arc of Bakemono. Tsubasa was spoiler[hit by her father and she confided in Koyomi, I did not realize as much that he really is a strange one. Also did not know that both her parents are unrelated to her, sounds really messed that she stayed with her biological mother's husband's second wife, with the scond husband being the father.] Episode 2 had Koyomi finding that Shinobu has a sudden love for donuts, she resorts to acting like a dog just for him to give her some ring shaped goodness. We got some shots to Kizumonogatari here and some allusions to the events of the movie, similar to what we got in Nisemonogatari. Meme asks some questions and Meme quickly thinks something is up with Tsubasa, apparently he thinks that Tsubasa is a big reason for problems, she is not normal. A decision to share works backfires as cat Tsubasa without much hesitation, and little clothing (sexy underwear) litterely bites Koyomi's arm off after telling him to deal with Tsubasa's parents. It was not really clear but a discusion with Meme seems to signify that the spoiler[cursed cat is particulary bad for poor Koyomi, she nulified some of his vampire powers. Koyomi is told to go home as he can't help, and his sisters are probably going to kill him for being gone for so long, the phrase sounds scarey when you consider his sisters, one thought putting a crowbar through his pillow was being sadistic]. Oh, we also found that apparently Shinobu is spoiler[partially influenced by Koyomi's perception of her], Meme seemed to allude that Shinobu likes him. |
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Yttrbio
 Posts: 3652 |
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I think my favorite visual gag had to be showing that spoiler[Koyomi's constantly moving ahoge has phalanges.]
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getchman
 Space CowboyPosts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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I certainly wasn't expecting spoiler[loss of body parts] so early. That caught me off guard. I realize that Karen is some sort of superhuman since Nise showed us she can easily destroy a highway overpass just by throwing someone at it, but holy shit that was a lot of spoiler[sweat]. When does Bake start after Neko ends?
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15477 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Episode 3
Koyomi tried to check out her home life, but what he saw made him run away in fear as if he saw some Lovecraftian horror. spoiler[He found out that despite there being 6 rooms, none of them were Tsubasa's, and her own belongings seem to be the bare minimum, likely an insight into what dark feelings could be fuelling Tsubasa]. We know now why she doesn't stay home in the other series, spoiler[there really is not much there for her]. Koyomi spoiler[tricked his sisters into sleeping with him (not the dirty way) to keep them from running into the cat Tsubasa]. Tsubasa did spoiler[not turn up to school, and Koyomi decded to go check Meme, the sight there was not pretty, it looked like the cat was thoroughly beating him]. We did finally get some explanations, apparently the cat is spoiler[actually rather weak and should be easilly beaten, but Tsubasa is a genius, a genius of such a level that she created a dangerous fusion. The cat could access Tsubasa's knowledge of tactics and can apparently go from being a very low tier to beating an specialist and rivaling vampires]. We did get a small shot of Hitagi, but is was not much of the girl Koyomi will fall for, instead we got spoiler[him licking Tsubasa's desk. The cat then shows up, and despite it all, it looks like the cat is a bit of a mess, it has changed a bit from its] usual behavoir and its actual reasoning actually sounded kind of odd. It is not spoiler[helping Tsubasa because she had shown compasion in the funeral actually she had no compassion at all and was purely following her idea of normal girl], this is a theme I have liked in some late anime which made appearance in Nisemonogatari and Kokoro Connect. Not entirely sure if it was entirely the cat's reasoning, or it may be Tsubasa partially responsible. |
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Rhyono
Posts: 1039 |
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I found this to be on par with the other two seasons, but I've only ever considered this to be "Very Good."
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EmbraceMe
 Posts: 2014 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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It took me two seasons of the -monogatari series to realize that Araragi is a sexual deviant. The Shinbo style is strong in this series as it is with the other works he directed; I can see the symbolism that Shinbo puts out through his directing. In one particular scene in which Araragi and Hanekawa are walking together, it shows spoiler[Hanekawa speeding up when Araragi asks her about her family problems; I took this as a representation of Hanekawa walking away from her problems and trying to escape what was affecting her.] I found this to be a great prequel-interlude of Bakemonogatari. It fills us in on the story of Hanekawa, which I was particularly interested about with the tidbits Bakemonogatari provided, and I've missed the -monogatari series. Its animation and art remain strong and is always pleasant to watch; being a fan of the Shinbo-style increases my enjoyment of the show, too. The different camera angles, shots of background, and various references are as fun as ever; I find the dialogue, specifically some of Araragi's monologues, to be a great way to follow the narrative. I don't know what to say about the fanservice other than the fact I did enjoy it but it feels strange to see it as part of the plot -- maybe cause Nekomonogatari is a serious (?) and intriguing show with its usage of fanservice. And with Araragi being the sexual deviant he is, his spoiler[licking the desk scene was a bit creepy but funny, too.] I wasn't a bit fan of Hanekawa in Bakemonogatari and I don't think I am now, either, but I can say that I'm far more sympathetic towards her because how much this the Black arc adds onto her character (and maybe how much clothing it removed from her).
Rating: I'm unsure now but it's no less than a Very Good; I'm leaning towards an Excellent. Edit: I completely forgot about the Shinobu bits but those were an excellent addition: spoiler[her donut obsession is brought into light.]  Anyhow, the more important thing is the spoiler[love] conversation that occurred in the beginning of the episode; I don't think that spoiler[Araragi is in love with Hanekawa; Tsukihi described it as lust and it seemed that way but the later episodes reveal it is different. It's more like what Oshino described -- it's sympathy for Hanekawa that drives Araragi to help her; I think Araragi's philosophy was described in Bakemonogatari. This arc further develops his philosophy and his reasoning for aiding the girls he did in Bake-.]
Last edited by EmbraceMe on Fri Jan 04, 2013 1:56 am; edited 1 time in total |
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DuskyPredator
Posts: 15477 Location: Brisbane, Australia |
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Episode 4 (final)
So Koyomi had a plan, well a hope. His plan was spoiler[useing Shinobu's sword to cut the cat by hiding it in his body, making Tsubasa angry and having her hurt Koyomi to the point the sword will cut her, the hope being that Tsubasa was unfamiliar with the sword]. It was a pretty crazy plan, and I guess highlights the stupid thing he did compared to the Tsubasa Cat arc. And we again we learned a little about the relation between Tsubasa and the cat. An observant watcher will realize straight away that Tsubasa was not talking like the cat, meaning that Tsubasa was in control within this part. It actually followed a feeling that I had in the other episodes that Tsubasa was actually much more in control then the cat had us believe, we later learned that Tsubasa was actually forceing the cat to stay. Tsubasa looked quite frightening when the cat seemed get rather agressive over her body when inflicted by the blade, apparently Tsubasa twisted into something, Meme refered to her as a Black Hanekawa. Anyway Shinobu spoiler[ended saving the day by giving Koyomi back his legs, and stopping the cat the way we are familiar with, and out of it she got her helmet and goggles, partially by apparently throwing a tantrum.] Apparently Koyomi came to the conclusion that he was spoiler[not in love with Tsubasa, and he claims that he never will be, but said that he will probably be someday thanks to Tsubasa]. That was interesting as we got some shots of things like the Tsubasa in a classroom, and the road that he saw the panties (both parts from the beginning of Bakemonogatari). And then right before the credits we got him saying spoiler[that he was climbing the stairs, a symbolism of life, but we also saw the silhouette of a certain girl standing on a stair way, the catalyst of his love relationship]. Then we get one last little piece of treasure, a beautiful shot of him spoiler[catching the falling Hitagi, but as he does the music goes from being nice and soft, to Black Hanekawa talking about being a Cat, the music then becomes very distressed, we get still shots of various characters and quotes from newer arcs]. Looks like we are getting a season 2 in 2013, or is it 3/4? Maybe they consider Nisemono a fake season 2. Looks like this might be the year of Monogatari, with this at the begginning, the movie some time, the company Hanabee will be releasing Bakemonogatari, and a new season later. I will rate this 4 episode series as "Very Good" as it is a don't miss it kind of thing, especially if you have watched the others, the first I rated a Masterpiece, but this was nothing really breakthrough. |
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Rhyono
Posts: 1039 |
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@EmbraceMe I agree that spoiler[he isn't in love with her (and does later get in a relationship with someone else), but I think it is more than just lust and pity. However, he really had to work on convincing himself that what he felt wasn't love. When you compare the way he acts towards her and the way he acts towards his sisters: I think he does love her, just not as a love interest.]
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EmbraceMe
Posts: 2014 Location: Growing old and jaded. |
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It's a bit tricky to describe their relationship. Perhaps a better description is that spoiler[Araragi respects Hanekawa? I'm not sure how to put it into words but that's how I interpret it. Araragi states that Hanekawa views him as an equal. Maybe this view is mutual for the two of them? In the last minutes of the show, Araragi does a brief monologue of how he won't forget how Hanekawa taught him "sympathy" (he describes it as ""to feel for others"), and that's where I drew the "respect" idea from.] Anyhow, love isn't something you can always describe with words alone and it can exist in various forms -- that's the belief I've held onto for quite some time.
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One-Eye
 Posts: 2261 |
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I don't know it felt to me that Araragi spoiler[ is in love with Hanekawa, but does not think she can return his feelings because he sees her as beyond him. She is described as a genius and almost saint like, so he both loves and admires her. To me in his conversations with Oshino he seemed to be trying to deny it saying it was just lust and other stuff.] He is a bit perverted so he could be spoiler[attracted to both Senjouhara and Hanekawa and have feelings for both.] I could be wrong and looking too deeply into it, but that was my impression.
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Skullface
 Posts: 86 |
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The reason its called 2nd season is because those novels are in the "second season" of the Monogatari novels. Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari, Nekomonogatari, Kizumonogatari are the first season while all the rest are in the 2nd season. |
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getchman
Space Cowboy Posts: 9120 Location: Bedford, NH |
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seems like his sexual deviancy balances out his extreme suicidal behavior. so after watching episodes 3 and 4, I believe i will rate it as Excellent. I laughed a bit at the fact that after being spoiler[violently cut in half and bleeding out, he still managed a head tilt].
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amagee
 Posts: 333 Location: Orlando, FL |
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Unless I'm mistaken (I don't read Japanese so I cannot actually read the novels) the stuff you describe is more or less embellishment added in the animated versions by Shinbo. That's how I understand it, at least. |
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kaydub
 Posts: 318 Location: Cincinnati, OH |
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Decided to wait until I watched the whole thing in one sitting rather than as I finished each episode (so effectively, I ended up watching it twice).
I thought Neko (Black) was great. I had high expectations coming into it, and I felt like they were met. The story was solid and noticeably more focused than in Nise, although that might be due to the fact that Araragi isn't spending his time in Neko (Black) managing his ever-growing harem. We get a lot more insight into Hanekawa, and we get a better understanding of Araragi's relationship with her. And even the implied incest was more funny than creepy this time around; the way spoiler[Araragi was firmly latched on to Tsukihi's chest as she tried to shake him off] was hilarious, and there wasn't a single instance of anyone making daily hygiene completely uncomfortable. Visually it was great; not as eye-catching and bright as Nise, but lots of subtle attention to detail that made for some great eye candy. And of course, lots of sexy lingerie-clad Black Hanekawa that also made for some great eye candy. I liked how the overall style felt rather dark and a little foreboding, it was very reminiscent of the related "Tsubasa Cat" ark of Bake. Lots of contrast between dark and light in many of the scenes helps illustrate the contrast between both sides of Hanekawa's character, something I never quite noticed during Bake. While I really liked Neko (Black), I had a hard time deciding how to rate it. I felt that it was clearly better than Nise - which I had rated as very good - but I wasn't really sure if it was quite good enough to deserve an excellent. However, I felt like my rating of Nise was justified enough that I wasn't willing to lower it in order to accommodate Neko (Black), so I ended up giving it an excellent in the end. On a numerical scale, I'd probably give it an 8.5/10. Better than very good, but not quite excellent. --- Oh, and just wondering, but was anyone else fixated on spoiler[Karen's boobs during the kitchen scene]? Both times I watched, I could not look away. I feel so dirty 
And I'm glad we got to see spoiler[a little bit of Senjougahara], even if it was entirely too brief. ---
The spoiler[ocean of sweat] was actually in the LN; in fact, I believe that scene was actually shortened a bit from the LN (or at least, I remember the conversation being a fair bit longer and perhaps a bit more suggestive). As far as I can tell, the anime have more or less stayed pretty true to the novels without too much embellishment. Most of the embellishment is just visual, like the crazy expressions and SHAFT headtilts and such. |
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