#tsubasa cat

[amenouzumeshi]

[hahafebruary]

𝑩𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒐𝒈𝒂𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒊 (化物語) 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒑𝒕𝒆𝒓 181 𝒃𝒚 𝒏𝒊𝒔𝒊𝑶𝒊𝒔𝒊𝒏 & 𝑶𝒉! 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒕.

[fzzr]

Monogatari Read-Along Re-Watch — Tsubasa Cat

Previously.

Novel

First we check in with Nadeko. She is actually a bit more talkative this time around, relying on references to old anime and manga to provide something for Koyomi to bounce off off. Notably, she's the only person in the series who treats Koyomi almost entirely without criticism. Her overly accommodating manner and excessive inclination to apologize and agree with everything are the main defining features of her dialogue. Koyomi doesn't pick up on it, but seems like there's a whole other Nadeko hidden behind her bangs.

Tsubasa returns at first in her perfect-class-president-with-some-snark form. Her heart has been in it less and less since Mayoi Snail, and it doesn't quite make it to the end of the conversation this time. As usual, Koyomi doesn't see how she uses her gentle critiques to covertly hint at her feelings for him. Even the near kiss in Nadeko Snake didn't do it. Reading Kizumonogatari and seeing her at her snarkiest before Bake changes how that decline comes through, and I'm not sure if that's good or bad.

Oh man, the date with Hitagi. This is one of my favorite sequences in all of Monogatari and it's still so good. It uses a setup-punchline pattern where important lines are said first in jest and then later with feeling. My favorite is Hitagi's father starting and ending his conversation with Koyomi with the traditional line for entrusting his daughter to an approved suitor, first to break the tension and the second time with sincerity. Hitagi using the same lines to list what she loves about Koyomi as a break in the banter and in full sincerity beneath the stars is pretty damn effective too. The way she builds and builds the tension to keep Koyomi on edge while simultaneously demonstrating her love for him is peak Hitagi for sure.

Once Black Hanekawa starts to emerge, Koyomi goes from merely inattentive to the way others feel about him to utterly dense. His last chance to understand the cause of the situation was when she all but admitted to trying to hurt him with the dishonest theory about him having vampire charm. When she says "I don'tt know anything" rather than the usual "I only know what I know" line, she's giving him one last chance to understand the severity of the situation. I can't even call it willful blindness, he really does see her as she normally presents herself.

As the intensity of the story escalates in we get to see the fruits of Koyomi's actions throughout the novels when Hhe calls on all four previous ladies. Mayoi, Suruga, and Nadeko have each met Tsubasa only superficially — they're actually answering Koyomi's call because of the trust they have built with him over the course of the series. Hitagi helps in her own contrary but meaningful way, making sure that no matter what happens, Tsubasa's will not leave a mess for everyone else, her duties unfulfilled. Hitagi thus reminds Koyomi that while he may be the one putting out the call, he can't lose sight of what Tsubasa needs as a whole person. Unfortunately, he still falls short.

I think it's reasonable to say that Koyomi's blindness to how Tsubasa feels about him is the reason this arc is the least resolved of all of Bakemonogatari. Tsubasa does not complete her change, so the solution is deferred and only gets that far thanks to Black Hanekawa leaving open the specific opportunity needed to make that happen. Instead we see Koyomi's first step toward addressing his own great flow of self-destructiveness, when he asks for help for himself for the first time.

Anime

The rearranging this time was once again well chosen. Moving the flashback to Golden Week to the beginning of the first episode makes it clear that this is an arc for Tsubasa, even though very little to do with her will happen until two episodes later. It also sets up for the echo of Koyomi saying he cares more about his debt to Tsubasa than their friendship.

I am glad dedicated the entire second episode of the arc, and the last of the regular season, to the date with Hitagi. It's such a powerful sequence that placing it at the end of cour boundary is an excellent punctuation mark for the series. They even changed the OP for that episode back to Staple Stable. This is an important choice, because along with Senjougahara Tore in the stargazing scene it firmly establishes the pattern that the OPs are not just themes for the arcs but also for the girls. I'll talk more about this in my eventual post(s) about the music of Monogatari.

They really pulled out the stops toward the in a different way from the date. You're often not meant to take the visuals in Monogatari literally, but in the confrontation with Black Hanekawa they get almost Utena with it. When they depict the conversation in the classroom where Tsubasa and Koyomi spend time alone together, they also make the words come out of non-oddity Tsubasa's mouth. This is a great way to make it clear that though the mind and body seem to be transformed by the sawarineko it's still Tsubasa underneath, and saves on the narration that implies that in the novel.

One detail I didn't catch the significance of one previous watches is once Black Hanekawa pounces on Koyomi and starts to drain him, her hair becomes grey rather than white. This matches up with the novel, where she says that she feels herself fading away, as killing him would solve the problem she represents.

Conclusion

Way to go NISIOISON and SHAFT for wrapping up Bakemonogatari on a high note! Next up, a big retro on the five chapters collectively.

[mamangasick]

Bakemonogatari

Nisio Isin Oh! Great

[animeglitch]

[214c]

trc warrior cats au

[downinsomanyfandoms]

RyuTsu with Ryuuga as cat like and bothering Tsubasa as he tries to work. But unlike cat he has the audacity and capability to actually kidnap Tsubasa from his work

Say good bye to your tax papers brid

[lavender-tea-dragon]

*turns your precures into cats*

[penzyart]

“I don’t know everything. I just know what I know.”

[haine-kleine]

This genre of characters

[rayar32]

Today I woke up wanting to draw Ignite Gears but slightly feral—

So I did with the three Symphogirls I don't draw nearly enough of because yeah!

[gladosluver]

yall make me feel like im living in a teenage dream. the way yall like my posts i cant sleep. lets run away and dont ever look back dont ever look back

[thefigureresource]

Black Hanekawa & Tsubasa Hanekawa [Nekomonogatari Black] non scale figure from Union Creative will be re-released January 2025.

[nyxx-shade13]

The range I have.

((I also have 4 volumes of Tarot Cafe but they are in my mother's room and I couldn't be bothered with getting them.))

[completeoveranalysis]

[11]

Oh now THIS is gorgeous

Kurogane alone in darkness, framed in trappings of his own room in the world he fought so hard to return too, moon shining brightly overhead, and all he can do is sit awake and think about Sakura in Acid Tokyo specifically. Just incredible all around.

OOOH IT GETS BETTER

The memories split into shards of glass, like they’ve done quite a few times throughout the series. Kurogane remembers a lot of her earlier moments, like Piffle, and Outo, and Jade. But then the lower the page gets the more we transition into Fai doing the same thing, but standing alone above the water, looking down at it in silence. We can see the moon reflected back at him, and we can also see his own reflection looking back. And GOD what a gut punch that could be on its own - a mirror of himself, just like the twin he’s finally put to rest, just like the Sakura he fought so hard to save but failed. And we can see the memories he recalls too - but he’s thinking of times further into their journey, specifically Acid Tokyo and Infinity, and the moments he shared with her where they were their closest. Sakura’s determination, Fai swearing his loyalty to her, and Sakura’s final words of comfort to him as she died the first time due to his curse.

Eventually he DOES look up at the sky - perhaps done dwelling on the moments that hurt him the most, or perhaps galvanised in his own determination to save her even more than before. 

Meanwhile the shards of memory all turn to ones between Sakura and Syaoran, which makes me think Lava Lamp must be on the next page - even though, like, these moments weren’t specifically with HIM in them, I suppose he did second hand live them all the same. Outo and Hanshin and Piffle - oh and Infinity! That one WAS him. 

Lava Lamp’s head must be a mess after all this. 

OOP YEAH THERE HE IS, ALONE ON THE ROOF. WITH HIS BACK TO THE MOON ENTIRELY. And this page is entirely memories of moments between Sakura and Syaoran (Outo, Koryo, Hanshin, Jade, Shara, etc) - specifically not Lava Lamp, though he definitely appears to have felt the moments in the same way. Even though THIS Sakura has turned him down, and left him for the other Sakura. The other Sakura who, specifically, lived through NONE of these moments, and won’t remember any of them at all, and he knows this now, so he must be thinking uniquely of Clone Sakura in this moment. 

Clone Sakura who quite deliberately is not Real Sakura, but based on these memories I’d LOVE to untangle Lava Lamp’s thoughts about who he has feelings for, and how much of them are based on something they didn’t do and moments neither of them shared.

See also: Evil Wolverine is now also claiming that Real Sakura was accidentally incinerated in chapter 1 and doesn't even exist anymore BUT SURELY NOT, RIGHT??? SURELY SOMEONE WOULD HAVE HAD A VISION OF THAT????????

I'm conflicted so I'm pretending he didn't say anything

OOP AND THEN WE CIRCLE ALL THE WAY BACK TO CLOW, AND THE BEGINNING OF THEIR STORY - OR

SPECIFICALLY

REAL SAKURA’S MOMENTS WITH CLONE SYAORAN, WHILE REAL SYAORAN WATCHED, WHICH CLONE SAKURA DOESN’T REMEMBER, AND MAY NEVER REMEMBER, AND MAY OR MAY NOT BE SOUL DEAD, AND REAL SAKURA MAY OR MAY NOT BE DOUBLE DEAD, BUT....?

RELATIONSHIP STATUS: COMPLICATED

[turbomnstr]

ALPHA 2 OUT NOW !!!!