Synopsis
“From the past to the future, their story continues.”
Now that he has graduated from high school, Koyomi Araragi’s story ends here. His story is truly over now, but the stories of the girls Koyomi saved – their stories – are not over yet.
This is the prequel or sequel to their stories and their struggles.
(Source: Monogatari Series USA Official Website)
Comments
Alif Naufal H. (The Indonesian Anime Times)
It has been six years since Zoku Owarimonogatari aired. Finally, after all of those years, Monogatari series is back. We are so back.
What makes it better is that it feels like we never left in the first place. Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season‘s premiere episode successfully proved to me that even with a new director in charge and a slightly different team from previous entries in the series, the episode showcased the unique visual style the Monogatari series has been famous for, keeping its visual identity intact all the way through. It’s entertaining to watch despite the episode being jam-packed with monologues and exposition (as the series has been known for) due to the really fun delivery via its use of visual metaphors.
An example of this can be seen right away in the first minute of the episode: It starts with the shot of a real egg and continues with its bird imageries as Yotsugi rambles about her recent activities in observing Tsukihi, who is an oddity in a form of an immortal bird. Then it ends with the shadow of various Tsukihis forming the kanji for ‘oddity’ (怪異).
The entire episode is full of really fun and entertaining shots like this to help accompany and compliment the story’s delivery, which has always been the series’ strongest suit. Things like the nose of Yotsugi’s shadow growing as she’s compared to Pinnochio by Tsukihi, the usage of manga panels and manga volumes to visualize Nadeko’s daily life and growth over the years, and the list goes on. This article would be too long if I mention all of the visual quirks the first episode itself has shown, but in short: it’s still the Monogatari I and many others have loved, and I’m so glad that I’m able to watch something like this again in my lifetime.
Narratively, I really like what the current arc is going for. Off Season starts with Tsukihi Undo, set after the events of Owarimonogatari, where Yotsugi Ononoki is now residing in the Araragi family’s house as Tsukihi’s doll. Unfortunately, she blew her cover as Tsukihi discovers her moving while eating ice cream, leading to a… somewhat ridiculous set of events as Yotsugi tries her best to convince Tsukihi that she’s just a doll.
The first episode goes into the nature of Tsukihi as an offspring of the Shide no Tori—the immortal bird—and how that aspect of her prevents her from truly growing as a person. As the powers of the immortal bird heal her from any kind of wound, even mental ones, she completely forgets about every trauma she experienced before, making her life easy, and thus she never learns from her past mistakes. As Yotsugi would put it, she’s exhaustively repeating. This aspect of her character is also paralleled with Nadeko, who since the events of Hitagi End, has been growing even more as a person exactly because of the hardships she has experienced in life; to the point that she herself says that she’s glad that life is not all easy. Overall, I’m really intrigued by the themes Tsukihi Undo is trying to talk about; more often than not stories that talk extensively about self-growth and growing as a person because of trauma are stories that would really affect me if done right, and I’m excited to see where it goes from here.
To close things off, I’m just really glad that one of my favorite anime series is finally back, maybe better than ever before. Monogatari Series: Off & Monster Season‘s premiere is my absolute favorite compared to all the other anime that’s airing this season, and I’m not seeing that changing soon.
Facts and Figures
| Source material | Light Novel by NISIOISIN |
| Casts | Yuka Iguchi as Tsukihi Araragi Kana Hanazawa as Nadeko Sengoku Saori Hayami as Yotsugi Ononoki Kaori Mizuhashi as Ougi Oshino Chiwa Saitou as Hitagi Senjougahara Emiri Katou as Mayoi Hachikuji Miyuki Sawashiro as Suruga Kanbaru Maaya Sakamoto as Shinobu Oshino Marina Inoue as Sodachi Oikura |
| Director | Midori Yoshizawa (RWBY: Ice Queendom, Owarimonogatari, March comes like a lion) |
| Scenario | Akiyuki Shinbou (Pretty Boy Detective Club, Owarimonogatari, March comes like a lion) |
| Character Design | Akio Watanabe (The World God Only Knows, RUMBLE GARANNDOLL, Higurashi: When They Cry – SOTSU) |
| Opening theme | – |
| Ending theme | “UNDEAD” by YOASOBI |
| Studio | Shaft |
| Official site | https://www.monogatari-series.com/oms |
| @nisioisin_anime | |
| Broadcast date | 6 July 2024 (1300 GMT/ 2000 WIT/ 2200 JST) |
Screenshots and Trailer
The Indonesian Anime Times
