Wow... this show went from "supernatural" to "Supernatural Born Killers" pretty danged quick....
A fascinating episode and one that opened my eyes to some interesting stories that I wasn't aware of. Good stuff. My random thoughts about this:
This show DOES look like Utena... Whoever said that I've agreed from the start. VERY stylish. To another member's point, I also agree that the "censoring effect" of the cards was more disturbing than if they had just showed more gore... sort of a Hitchcockian use of storytelling. I actually enjoyed it much more and found the entrails scene more shocking for the use of it...
All of the characters played their parts very well and stayed true to themselves. About Araragi's motivations to keep being beat down even at the possible cost of his life:
Enough has been said about Senjougahara's attitude and responses to the situation. I can only add that everyone has their role to play in life and as a character, she is playing hers perfectly. SO much fun to see what she will do and say each time she takes the screen.
Although the stories are vastly different in theme and tone, I find Shinobu's character of the loli vampire interestingly close to Negima's Evangeline. Just as Evangeline is a defeated vampire who once had vast powers, she is now confined to a small frail body (with blonde hair), and is a shadow of her former self, forced to stay in one general location to survive. I wonder about Shinobu's backstory and if there is more to her than just the short cute blonde vampire-child parallel.
Not so much a harem story, with the addition of Kanbaru there seems to be a sort of dysfunctional family building here... Each has their part in supporting the others in this family and more will likely be swept into it as we move along...
Overall an amazing a chilling, yet amusing series so far.