I wasn’t exactly excited over Nisemonogatari since I was pretty much expecting already that they’ll really adapt the rest of the Monogatari series given that Tsukihi and Karen haven’t had their respective arcs yet. But right after I saw the trailer, I can’t believe how much I missed the characters, especially Hitagi. The surreal backgrounds and settings, the walls of texts, and the eerie architectural design of the abandoned cram school, to name one, still fascinates me up until now.

The start of the first episode remains to be a mystery but Hitagi is still the same old Hitagi who loves to speak in a cold and condescending manner. And as usual, her actions to show her obsession love for Araragi are still very outlandish. She still has that overbearing and domineering personality. Watching her tease a restrained (because of unknown reasons) Araragi and banter with him totally made me remember why I liked Bakemonogatari.

I don’t know if it was Penguindrum’s influence or just my imagination but it looks like Akiyuki Shinbo has started to project some symbols in the series. I must note that despite the intriguing design of Hitagi’s house, it’s just one of those creative styles used by Shaft. Meanwhile, in the Araragi residence, if one could notice, the ceiling of the lounge where Tsukihi was lying while watching TV is filled with stage spotlights. Rings a bell? In the latter half of the episode, Hachikuji mentions that experiencing reality is like being on the limelight – a stage where everything and anything happens. But on the contrary, witnessing supernatural occurrences  seem to happen only in the back stage. Karen’s absence might be a foreshadowing to what we all know as the Karen Bee arc.

Another thing I noticed were the contradictory statements made by almost all the characters. First, Hitagi’s “Wouldn’t it be better if you died?,” which is obviously a statement made to simply mock Araragi. Then there’s Nadeko’s lie that she’s busy everyday except that day (obvious lie is obvious). Tsukihi’s wordplays on the meaning of trouble, trust and worry, and of course, Hachikuji’s “courage” positivity illusion on phrases. The one that really made an impact to me though would be the dialogue between Hachikuji and Koyomi about family.

Hachikuji mentions that it is rather expected for someone to have at least one secret to his family and that telling it to them means that they’ll be sharing the burden. Koyomi agrees to Hachikuji’s advice that it is proper not to do anything until he can’t hide his secret anymore of being a demi-vampire to his family. Meanwhile, shifting it onto the topic where Koyomi asks if Hachikuji would eventually leave the city, Koyomi mentions that he’ll be angry if ever Hachikuji won’t tell him if ever she ran into trouble. In a way, it’s contradictory that Koyomi decided not to tell his family about his condition even though he prompts other people (Hachikuji) not to hide anything from him once they’ve got trouble and that he’ll gladly share the burden.

I don’t know if the title has something to do with it but I’ve read Kizumonogatari and I don’t think there were situations/statements like these. Then again, it might just be Nisio Isin’s penchant for wordplay in general.

I would have loved to see everyone in the first episode but I guess that was asking for too much. I greatly enjoyed the somehow overview episode for what has happened so far after the events of Bakemonogatari. I was definitely surprised that majority of the first episode’s character development went to Hachikuji considering she’s the least involved to everything. I guess it also builds up my interest on what really happened prior to Koyomi being kidnapped since the first episode ended right at the middle of the flashback.

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image credits: pixiv user こうじ

Senjougahara, based from the beginning of her arc, has quite isolated herself from the rest of the people due to her unique circumstance of losing her weight and if we would probably look back, she has become a cold character, especially if you’ll observe the way she speaks as well as her initial actions when Araragi found out her circumstance. That isolation should have altered some emotional mechanism inside her– but it looks like, it didn’t.

Surprisingly, the latter part of episode 2 of Bakemonogatari shows her rather shocking and fast recovery right after she regained her weight from the crab, wherein she immediately stated she was sorry for all her actions to Araragi up until then. Following her arc was Mayoi Snail wherein we all probably know Senjougahara confessed her feelings for Araragi.

Well, it wasn’t probably that of a fast recovery since it was observed during the Mayoi Snail part that she hesitated to speak out her own perception to that of Araragi’s with regards to Hachikuji but more than that of the fear of knowing that something could be wrong with her again, I’m more concerned with how she was able to cope up that fast with her social skills considering she has decided not to involve herself pretty much after she has gotten herself to that crabby stuff.

What got me to think this would probably KareKano (since I was rewatching the two simultaneously). I was brought back to that certain episode of KareKano (ep.4) wherein Yukino had the difficulty to confess her feelings for Arima. Yukino finally found someone “like” her and since she wasn’t sure if Arima still likes her, she’s caught up in a dilemma of fearing rejection and losing Arima, her first ever “true” friend.

I don’t know if this situation would also hold true for Senjougahara since she wasn’t really isolated before her crabby stuff but I guess there is still this part I’m looking for. How come she didn’t even feel the anxiety of losing Araragi, if ever he rejects her? Considering she finally found someone who could be her friend after that long isolation she went through just so other people won’t know about her secret. After driving away some friends such as Kanbaru, how come she don’t even feel the burden of being alone once again?

I can’t really say Senjougahara is that of a strong person since she did cheat herself which is why she faced the ordeal of losing her weight. If she’s strong, it won’t really matter for her if ever Araragi stops from being friends with her since she could manage all by herself. But that’s not the case, which is why I’m left thinking where did Senjougahara pulled that strength of confessing to Araragi, without even an assurance of her being accepted by him. Or… was it okay for her either way even if she was rejected or not? I don’t think so. By the looks of it, she was thirsty for someone she could share her thoughts to after that long isolation she went through, so she was rather eager to be accepted by Araragi. It could even be represented by how Senjougahara wanted Araragi to clearly say what’s with their relationship quickly after she told her feelings to him. I guess this was a mild inconsistency in her part since I cannot deter by the looks of her action whether she’s really strong-willed or not.

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image credits: pixiv user 魚生

2009 is the first year I’ve actually completed to monitor from January to December. Now I can fully assess the anime(s) I’ve watched—and liked from every season. Is 2009, yay or nay?

The anime(s) listed below are not really in any order of preference or such, but these are my final picks for the best shows for the year of 2009. I really didn’t include shows which weren’t done airing yet. Meanwhile, I’ve included a show from 2008 Fall which didn’t finished airing on 2008.

Anyway, I’ve finally finished Persona 4 before the end of the year so expect some sort of a review of the game. It’s partly responsible why the year end post is late.

Toradora! – It was kind of let down that this show not really left that of a heavy impression among the viewers but to tell everyone the truth, Toradora! is one of the shows that really kept me excited every week during the season it was being aired.

I never really liked Taiga at first because she only seems to me a brat, with a Shana-esque voice, spouting baka-inu over and over. It was really Minorin who enticed me in this show. I still remember that scene with Ami whispering to her, whether her feelings of guilt has disappeared or whatnot… Although I also have to agree that Taiga was awesome during this episode as well because of the cat fight.

I just don’t care anymore about the love interest of the characters here in the series. I just really like the character developments made in this show, from Minorin’s guilt, deceit and of course her impulsive character, Ami’s provocative attitude, Yuusaku’s idiotic tendencies, Takasu’s awesomeness, and Taiga’s ill-temper.

Well, I honestly didn’t liked the ending of the series. Seriously, I just don’t know why Toradora suddenly tripped that branch when it’s already about to end. I don’t know if I’m the only one who didn’t like the ending. Adversely, I guess there are also several episodes which I liked, which I think could compensate for the feeble ending.

Spice and Wolf II – The best sequel I’ve seen so far. I think the first season is somewhat shallow because it  simply seemed to me a boy meets girl plot. Season 2 begs to differ because it explored more the relationship between Horo and Lawrence. There have been several situations already where Lawrence was drove into a corner to select from limited options but it has never been the case that Horo has to leave his side, in exchange for something he has desired for long. Season two further tests the strength of the bond formed between Horo and Lawrence after their encounter. It was a good watch because you get to see some substantial character developments from the two primary characters, even if it was in a slow-paced manner. I am highly anticipating a third installment from this series.

Bakemonogatari - Haha, it’s kind of expected already because Bakemonogatari is one of the unique series through out the year. Nisio Isin’s antics were funny, but at the same time, he still didn’t failed to incorporate the story. I fail as a viewer though because I never had the chance to formally write a review for it, but I’ll certainly write one. Someday.

Ugh, I still remember that it was too late for me to realize that Senjogahara’s staplers were sembalnt to that of crab’s pincers. I think I was only able to sumise that after 10 episodes, yes it was a real fail for me for noticing it on the last minute.

The series’ capriciousness is one of its fascinating traits. The characters are pleasing in sense that they are fun and surprising to watch, on how they are going to react to certain situations. I especially liked conversations between Senjogahara and Araragi, since these two are the very embodiment of the descriptions I’ve just said. Araragi’s fun to watch because of his tsukkomi-esque responses while Senjogahara is so enticing to watch as she teases Araragi.

My only qualm though is the walls of texts. Probably, that’s one of the reason I just can’t say that I’ve fully understood the series. Once in a while, I get to see this kanji character of kuro 黒 (black) — which I still don’t comprehend up until now.

Tokyo Magnitude 8.0 – One of the anime(s) that left me dumbstruck after it was finished.

It was a blunt bullet for people who don’t really know how to get past some obstacles in life. It was a realistic portrayal of how Mirai was able to change from that of an annoying teen into a much mature Mirai after all the events. It showcases that commonality among people to take for granted some things that they’d find important once it is lost already. Sometimes though, we just have to overcome that fear in order to advance in our own lives.

I doubt one would still be able to utter “the world should just break” after watching this series.

The final episodes gave such a confusing impression among the viewers though because of the issue regarding Yuuki. Either way, I think witnessing Mirai’s growth through out the story is the true essence of the series.

Zoku Natsume Yuujinchou – A supernatural series that has a subtle atmosphere, but piquant on its own unique way.

Okay, how should I describe this anime? Well, it was interesting on its own right, but I especially liked the portrayal of Natsume’s character. He is an interesting fellow for he does his best to deal with youkais alone. I guess I just can contemplate with his behavior towards the people around him. He seems to be fine around others when he’s actually not often times.

Natsume’s stance between both youkais and humans is of course one of the catch of the anime. Will he be able to keep up with the youkais given his transient life? When will he finally be at his true self around humans? The human-youkai relationship being the focus between Natsume and Madara is also a good watch because it somewhat tells a story of an unrequited relationship between two different entities. Madara’s growing fondness towards Natsume is given already but will the two of them make it given the barriers?

It also has a slow paced manner of story telling but it is worth watching Natsume’s struggles with Madara, as they take that path, nobody knows where it leads.

Also— A third installment as well puh-lease.

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Hmm, probably my runner-ups would be: Aoi Hana, Eden of the East, Birdy Decode 2 and Skip Beat. K-on, Umineko and Valkyria Chronicles just didn’t made it on my cut. There are still lots of anime I’ve watched but I guess those above would be the top 5? Well, I guess this will look like very subjective since I don’t have any formal criteria to assess them, but i really don’t care about crappy animation and sound that much because I give the heavy weight to the story and characters alone while distributing some to my personal enjoyment and the value of the anime itself.

I hope you’ve enjoyed as well these top 5 anime(s) of mine for the year 2009.

Well then, it is again the start of another decade. I hope there would be more good anime(s) which would be produced.

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image credits: pixiv users NPN♥サイト引っ越しました, きぃら～☆, 椿九, 928, Liddle