[miaou5]

Aww, that .gif is adorable. It's a shame that no character has ever been able to defeat the Designated Main Heroine trope except for Shuffle.

For the above posts discussing Araragi's feelings for the girls...

From reading the books, Araragi was never in love with Hitagi from the start. He kind of just went with it when she asked him out (since it was the first time he had ever been confessed to), although he really did fall in love with her later on (around episode 12 in Bake).

As for Hanekawa, it's really complicated....I had to ask one of my friends studying literature in Kyoto how to interpret the books, since Nisio Isin writes things in a really roundabout way. Basically, after Kizu, he wasn't sure if he had a crush on her or not, since she was the first outside girl that he ever really valued. During the later part of Neko: Kuro, he realizes that his feelings have already exceeded love, and that he actually wants to die for her. And then, at the end of the last fight, he says--

"It's all right, Hanekawa. We are not altogether up to scratch, but...... we are supremely unhappy, absurdly unappreciated, broken beyond all repair, but...... we'll be like this our whole life, but it's all right!"

Released by the vampire little girl, Hanekawa had completely turned back as before, and while lying down as if sleeping, still in her underwear.

"No way that's all right."

She said, as if she was having a nightmare.

Ah.

You are right. You are always right.


This is when he realizes he can never be with her, because she could never accept him with all his faults--she wants everything to be beautiful, untainted, perfect. And this is why at the end he says he had his heart broken for the very first time.

Ironically, this is the very thing she overcomes now, but it's too late. Really sad....if she had realized this in Kuro then she probably would have ended up with Araragi and maybe wouldn't have had to go through so many issues later on. :/

[That was super long, sorry!! /text wall]