[Reckoner]

Originally Posted by Shikijin

Tsukihi did throw the remote, and Araragi catched it and put it back on the table. Sengoku did bolt the door. Araragi commented she was reliable enough in crime prevention. This as part of a series of comments where he viewed Sengoku as a child. Mind that Sengoku also locked even the door of her room. By the way, she even hid Araragi's shoes just in case so her parents wouldn't find out.

What was invented was the "cream pie" of the previous episode. Araragi simply recognized he had gone too far and got up.
You didn't notice, but the story actually advanced even in this episode. Nadeko mentioned that the matter the Fire Sisters are involved with is the "charms" Nadeko suffered from, and that they were searching for the one who spread the charms around. Nadeko was objectively the best character Araragi could get this info from. All the rest was something funny to fill the chapter.

Then we saw Karen, and we learned that the matter would be over by evening, implying they had found the person they were searching for. Araragi being slightly worried is an ominous foreshadowing.

It is still early for the viewer to get the importance of visiting Kanbaru, but there is one, I assure you. All the pieces of the puzzle are falling in line.

As you can see the story progressed solidly. There is indeed a lot of fanservice, even more than Bake, but you got rosy memories if you think Bake didn't have any. This was also in line with the characters, as Nadeko for example liked being seen with a swimsuit by Araragi, and Kanbaru as a self-styled pervert had to walk the talk eventually. The part with Nadeko was even more funny in the novel, as Araragi was superdense and there are all his thoughts about how he viewed Nadeko as a child.

And by the way, the fanservice has nothing to do with the worth of an anime. This is an immature thought even I had years ago. The fact is that you are not deep, wise and mature because of the things you watch, but because of who you are. The Monogatari series is actually well written, and I say this after reading the novels.

Originally Posted by monir

I agree with you! I've resisted all temptation to read the novel, but from watching the TV show I've yet to have problem with following the story. Episode 2, I thought was very clear with its intent. "Fanservice" shouldn't have created any distraction considering the tid-bits of information that are well placed. I understand it may be easy to get distracted with the sideshow (fanservice), but most of us here have already watched Bakemonogatari, so Isin's style of storytelling should be the main part of the discussion rather than the frivolous emphasis on fanservice. By concentrating on the "fanservice" the focus of the story is being shifted and as a result the clues are masking themselves from those fans. Perhaps, that's why some fans may not have been enjoying the series unlike Bakemonogatari. As far as I'm concerned, I didn't fail to recognize that the story is in full motion... that things are happening already, and how this might be connected to why Araragi was being held by Senjougahara in such fashion. Dialogue-wise, this episode was very good.

Well first I must thank you both for not freaking the fuck out like some people seem to like to about criticism.

I'm quite aware of how Nisio Isin operates. I have recently rewatched Bake in the last few months so I don't have a particularly rosy memory about it.

I really am a very very big fan of everything Nisio Isin I've seen up to this point. Honestly, I'm quite shocked to find myself being critical of Nise so early.

Even in this episode I could tell things were moving, with Nadeko explaining something about his sisters and the charm, as well as the introduction scene of Karen. But that wasn't exactly my complaint.

I guess a lot of what missed the mark for me in this episode is that the character interactions were jarringly made more extreme in nature. Kanbaru was already very perverted, but she was like 30x more perverted in this episode. Nadeko was already trying to gain Koyomi's atttention, but in this peisode she practically was throwing her body at him.

So the dialogue just felt like a rehash but this time they just amplified certain things we already know and have seen and expected us to like it all the more. I guess this is not something i necessarily want to see in Monogatari. I don't want things to simply become more extreme in order to catch my attention but to try and keep everything fresher and new. That's why I didn't think the usual wit or quality in the dialogue was present. It almost felt lazy.

I also had problems with how they seem to have discarded Nadeko's original appeal. I thought she was supposed to be the cute, shy girl with a crush who bravely is trying to act on it in a clandestine manner... But in this episode she was practically throwing herself at him, her personality was almost completely different. I also just don't like her new character design haha.

As for the fanservice. Well, yes there has been tons of overt fanservice before. But I guess I felt it was already pushing the border of being fun and now it just feels like they want to completely make this an ecchi show or something. There's a limit to how much fanservice I am willing to tolerate in a series (It really isn't one of the reasons I enjoyed Bake, but I tolerated it), but for me this is pushing my comfort level.

Originally Posted by Kanon

That's nothing new. She's always been a rather perverted girl underneath her pure and innocent facade. I'm not sure perverted is the right word, she's just aware of her sex appeal and is using it to get what she wants (which is love, not dick). That's part of why we love her so much: she isn't a typical moe blob. It's simply becoming more apparent now that she has decided to be more aggressive.

Perhaps I didn't pay well enough attention then... Maybe I just want the hat back xD.