#but yeah like ppl see the oddities as mental illnesses which they are at times

[sinkableruby]

mini meta

spoiler talk for monogatari up til zoku

i wanna talk about oddities in monogatari so im just gonna dump my current thoughts n developing ideas on it rq theyre like the big conceit of the series and i think the most common reading is of them as representing mental illness-- but i dont think it can be simplified to this so easily. they are also things like gods, myths, which suggests to me the idea of God/gods existing in the self. but also they are people a lot of the time too:

the series tends to humanize the oddities, giving them personalities and even often shifting to the perspective of one (noticing this a lot in the light novels esp). so they are subjectified. but at the same time they are objectified: they often act to fulfill a set purpose, what they were created to do, some kind of function, which can be most clearly seen with oddities like kako, the weight crab, the rainy devil. so they flow between subject and object... making me think they represent a kinda abject in a way. abject being something of the Other the "I" recognizes in itself-- and feels horror or disgust in that recognition...

theres also a really interesting aspect to how oddities r connected w the idea of deviant identities-- ppl who are different from the norm and subvert it simply by virtue of being themselves, and are thus Otherized and demonized by society and shunted under the system. clearest example that comes to mind for this is ougi. ougi represents a deviant existence, as they are an "unknown" that gaen sees as dangerous and seeks to get rid of. not to mention their genderqueerness. but i think also notably, they are created as an entity of critique, and as such represent a critique of the norms of society. they r also an oddity composed of ALL oddities (bc of the whole thing with shishirui seishirou), so this is suggesting to me that monogatari is definitely linking oddities with the idea of a deviant or norm-defying identity. i think this is part of why i like them so much. i think this is also where the idea of the darkness could come into play, as a kind of symbol of societal norms and dominant culture subsuming everything. it exists to uphold the Rules but those Rules kinda suck ngl. it absorbs and subsumes everything as a 'nonexistence--' but it IS there. society isnt smth u can touch but it certainly has a heavy impact on everyone. and the oddities have always been societal, existing within people, so it makes sense that the darkness as the judge of oddities would be connected there too. this is kinda another point for ougi in terms of representing identities defying the norm (and therefore, for the idea of oddities in general representing identities defying the norm). ougi is a quasi-darkness, and imitates the role of the darkness, but obv they do not acc share values with the darkness. so in imitating the role of the darkness but not the values, it serves as a critique of the darkness. which is followed up on during ougi dark, where she faces the disapproval of the darkness but ultimately survives the encounter. their whole existence, then, subverts the darkness and critiques it-- literally by continuing to exist it is a statement against the darkness that would have had them erased. in being a quasi-darkness they are a critique of the darkness And a better darkness Than the actual darkness. kaiki is that you lol but that kind of subversion of the norm, of the Rules and Laws, just by existing, is simply incredibly queer. ougi, who in a way represents oddities in general, being this super subversive person and being suggests to me that oddities in general represent the 'oddness' inside a person, the oddness that disrupts the conventions of society.

and that also kinda gets back into the abject too. people are not like, things to be fit into boxes. people are fucking weird, and even if they try to fit into the boxes dictated by their societies, meeting the oddity is undeniable proof of the Other, the subversion of the norm, the deviancy within them. its too late in other words your gender has been transed not my fault! sorry i was too gender for you i guess lol!

um. yeah