What Nisemonogatari is all about (Series Review)

(Also) Series Review: Nisemonogatari

Am I going overboard with these images? But I do think that they do correctly depict what the series is all about. Wait, you didn't think that Nisemonogatari was about the story, did you?

To put things in perspective, I could summarize all of the story in all 11 episodes in a single paragraph, and still not spoil the show for you. This isn't really an exaggeration; quite a number of episodes have nothing to do with the plot of the Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix arc, and those that does are mostly filled with dialogue, Nisio Isin style. Leaning on Bakemonogatari's success, I suppose Shaft realized that the fans don't need the story; they want the beautiful synergy between the animating genius of Shinbo and creative narrative of Nisio Isin.

I've gotta say, if it's the story you're looking for, you're in for a disappointment. The length of the story itself is one thing, but the endings to the two arcs are extremely anti-climatic. And I could also draw a lot of similarities from the arc endings in Bakemonogatari, too. There is actually a single moment where I find our protagonist Koyomi really cool, but other than that, there's not much to offer in this area.

So in place of story, what did we get? If the above pic haven't gave you an answer, it's fan-service. Lots and lots of fan-service. In fact, fan-service is the answer to the question in the post title. The scenes above are just a small bit of what you'll expect in the show, and the amount is outrageous enough to spawn the term "pornomonogatari" (I can't remember where I've heard this term, though).

Depending on your tastes, the fan-service can be quite a treat. Unlike the blatant in-your-face fan-service of Queen's Blade and Qwaser no Seikon (which I met with disgust), Nisemonogatari has been very... clever in their deliverance. A lot of them does this without even stripping the clothes of the females; a style I would like to call "suggestive fan-service"; and the infamous episode 8 is a good example of that. I actually think that Nisemonogatari is a bid for Shinbo to see how much of his creative juice he can work into this "suggestive fan-service", and judging from its reception, there's no doubt it worked.

Unfortunately, like some of the others, I can't hide that I find the show pretty objectionable. It feels that the direction of the show implies that it's totally okay for Koyomi flirting around and groping other girls while actually remaining faithful to his girlfriend. Kanbaru actually has no problem being naked in front of a guy, and Hachikuji actually wants to be groped? Well, at least that's a far cry from the fact that Koyomi actually did kiss both his sisters, groped one of them (without consequences) and (suggested that he) went too far with the other. Not that I don't get the thing Japanese people had for incest forbidden love, but what feels wrong is that all of these seemed completely normal in the show. Perhaps they wanted the controversy to be part of how unique Nisemonogatari is, but come on, if these are true, I'm returning to Japan and never coming back.

But still, Shaft delivered entertainment that probably only KyoAni's over-budgeted productions can hope to match. I feel like such a sheep for liking a fan-service anime, but you know what?

Plot/Concept: Ingenious!
Story Style: Excellent!
Audio/Visual: Excellent!
Value: 8

Dafuq? Nisemonogatari Ep8 (+comic)

...that was all that was left in my head at the end of the episode. (Seriously, I don't know why everyone has so much to talk about)

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Araragi just bang Senjougahara last episode? Now he's having incest sex while thinking of Tsubasa as the ideal women.

Damn Araragi. I don't know if I love you or hate you.

P.S.
I'm now totally convinced that ANYTHING + SHAFT = PROFIT. They might as well make the Daily life of Araragi Koyomi. It will sell. I guarantee it.

January Summary/First Impressions Part 3 (Mouretsu Pirates, Rinne no Lagrange, Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!, Senki Zesshou Symphogear, Nisemonogatari)

Mouretsu Pirates

3 Episodes

I'm not sure about this one. We're supposed to see our cute main lead commandeer the pirate ship Bentenmaru, but we have yet to even see the said ship. Hell, we haven't seen most of the crew yet, unless "most of the crew" are all the supporting characters that has already appeared. Hell, we don't even know what "pirating" actually means in this universe. Hell, we haven't even seen the main character taking any initiation towards anything. I guess what I'm trying to say here is that Mouretsu Pirates is getting off a really slow start.

Unless this space opera is all about the exploration of this space pirates concept, I'll have to wait for the first real conflict to arrive before I make further judgements. Not that I've not been entertained so far; the animation is good, the characters are cute, but there's nothing as of yet that I would consider really interesting or funny. Let's see what they've got after they're done with the opening act.

Outlook: Neutral

Rinne no Lagrange

3 episodes

I'm surprised that Xebec, of all studios, could produce one of my favourite titles this season. And decent animaion, on top of that. Perhaps it's the help from Production I.G that made things works out so well.

I might be a little bias, but most of fun comes from the main three characters, especially protagonist Madoka herself. I've always had a soft spot for energetic, genki girls, and I feel that Madoka's energy is what brings the anime to life. Her VA, Ishihara Kaori, is a newbie seiyuu, but she already fits her role as Madoka exceedingly well. Lan (Laffinty, Fin E Ld Si), our other star, has the charm alike Yuki Nagato. The moments where she breaks her icy exterior and shows her very human emotions, despite not being one, makes her very likable. We haven't seen much of Muginami, but she's voiced by Kayano Ai, so there.

For the plot itself, it's yet another "teen becomes a mech pilot in a twist of fate" setup, but at least it's not an angsty male lead. I'm no fan of mecha anime nor I have any idea where this will lead to, but I'm fairly sure the lead characters would be quite enough to make this worthwhile.

Outlook: Positive

Papa no Iukoto wo Kikinasai!

3 Episodes

If you're thinking what I'm thinking, you're afraid that this would venture into the forbidden territory. Some might say, hey, technically they're not blood related right? Well... That's not the issue.

When I first checked out the manga before the start of the season, Papakiki was nothing like the harem the anime suggests. I'll say it's a bit closer to Usagi drop; a older guy taking care of much younger relatives, how they go from strangers to kins (and possible something more?), a lot of emphasis on family values, duties as a guardian, growth of the kids and cohabiting problems. There's a lot of love, but not the romance kind (yet). I think I'd prefer it that way. It's much more unique in the industry, and it'll stop people from thinking that it's yet another harem anime, only one that features an age gap.

Unfortunately, the anime seems to have different ideas. The first two episodes leaves an impression that the various girls simply appears in the protagonist's life out of nowhere, a scenario much like a stereotypical harem show. The fact that the anime highlighted the various attributes, like school beauty and tsundere, places the female characters into bishoujo archetypes and made things worse.

While I have little doubt about the Yuuta x Sora pairing in the end, I think selling the title with that kind of image is a pretty bad decision, judging by the number of people who dropped it already. I haven't read much into the manga yet, but I do hope that they dive deep into the family theme for now. Besides, they couldn't conclude a romance angle if they tried; the manga isn't even complete yet, and I doubt that they want the anime go ahead and stray from the mangaka's direction.

Outlook: Neutral

Senki Zesshou Symphogear

3 episodes

Senki Zesshou Symphogear is a poor man's MSLN. But other than the two big name seiyuus that voices the main characters of the series, Nana Mizuki and Aoi Yuuki, there is little I could give praise for.

Symphogear is like a combination of Macross and the Mahou Shoujo genre. But unlike Macross which based its success on the blend of kick-ass action scenes and awesome songs, Symphogear had the characters does the job of both. It didn't seem like it, but it turn out to be a pretty awful concept. It looks really silly to see the characters singing while getting hit and tossed around at the same time. It's like talking non-stop to a guy who's constantly punching for face. It just isn't going to work.

There's also a sharp dip in the production quality after the first episode. The action scene still does its job fine, and there some pretty cool CG and backgrounds, but some of the simplest scenes looks hilariously bad.

I still get chills whenever Nana Mizuki's character enters the battle with an awesome song, until I saw her singing and attempting to perform complicated maneuvers at the same time. It looks incredibly tiring and even I, the audience, feels breathless for her. Aoi Yuuki's singing hasn't been very impressive so far. Her "rage mode" seems to have potential for interesting developments in the future, but that itself isn't going to keep me watching this.

Outlook: Bad.

Nisemonogatari