News stories are spreading like some sort of fire (a wild one I presume) that initial sales of the Bakemonogatari DVDs and BluRay discs have not only outsold the disastrous and missed opportunity that was the second season of Haruhi, but even K-On! In real terms outselling Haruhi didn’t surprise me, but beating the K-On with its huge impact on popular culture (sales of musical instruments, shimapan bowls and whatnot) was quite an achievement.
If I could come up with a witty opening line to discuss an episode of Bakemonogatari where something advertised didn’t happen and instead we were treated to a cute date episode, I’d probably put it here. In lieu of this, the above sentence will have to suffice. Forgive me for sounding distracted, I’m wearing a jumper and it’s actually quite warm out today.
Despite the internet only being down at our home for a relatively short period of time, it managed to get me completely out of sync with Bakemonogatari Ghost Storyness. Episode 12 is already out, and I only just finished with episode 11!
Bakemonogatari continues to be a series that defies all accepted conventions and refuses to be pigeon holed. I don’t know how you would literally pigeon hole a series, I assume you’d simply slip the optical disk into a letterbox and be done with it without much trouble at all, in which case the analogy in this example is flawed. I talk myself into corners without anyone else assisting.
You all remember that computer game Lemmings? I’m talking about the original one that was released for the Amiga and DOS. We had the original version and I remember this one level that had dark green trees and spooky music, both of which weren’t featured on any other level. In a spooky way (well, it is a Ghost Story!) this episode of Bakemonogatari kept reminding me of it.
Currently I’m watching both K-On and Bakemonogatari at the same time. Both and at the same time, you’d better believe it! If I needed further contrast between the two, Bakemonogatari delivered it yesterday with the closing episode of the Suruga Monkey story arc. This episode was intense!
After the relatively slow pace and harmlessness of the Mayoi Snail story arc of Bakemonogatari, this first episode of the Suruga Monkey arc seemed to return to the more surreal, darker theme of the earlier episodes that I’d expected the entire series to be. Perhaps it’s an alternating thing; heck as long as they don’t pull an Endless Eight I’ll be happy.
Sitting down and reviewing an anime episode I’ve timed takes the same amount of time as three to four regular posts here, even if they’re something obscure like a fun fact nobody cares about. Busy, but back to business. That sentence had some fancy alliteration.
Well after the token effort by Koyomi to help Mayoi in episode three of Bakemonogatari we finally spend some time with them all walking around the neighbourhood looking for what we later find out is Mayoi’s mum’s house. I’d forgotten for the first few minutes that this was a part two and didn’t understand the significance until I remembered it was Mothers Day. I’m not slow I’m just… wait, did you just call me… slow?
"Absolutely insane"
You may recall last week I reviewed the third episode of Bakemonogatari and that I made the comment that Hitagi got so many head shots that I lost count after 14. Well I had a brilliant idea to use all those superflous eye frames (didn’t realise that was kind of a pun until after I wrote it) to make an entire long-winded series about being able to tell Hitagi moods, but today I had a sudden onset of "better judgement" and decided this will be the last one.
I'm Ruben Schade, welcome to my labour of love mix of tech, anime, thoughts and nonsense from Singapore and Australia. Thanks for stopping by.
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