(L) Monogatari Series Light Novel discussion

[Kreion]

Originally Posted by RJ TAYLER

When too much Mind-you-know-what is never enough, you know you are reading Niso!

Spoiler:

FYI it is not unheard of for a man or even a half-vampire to be a long term widower, real life case in point George Burns lived without his wife Gracie for over thirty years

Spoiler:

True...but 30 years is not eternity xD Some people re-marry and some don't, it comes down to the person at the end of the day. Also when I read your comment I was a bit confused as I didn't read 'man' the first time, so thought you had a real-life example of a half-vampire haha.

[Rost-Light]

So, thay say "curiosity killed the cat", but I can't wait any longer.
Pi-face and I have revised a lot of japanese spoilers and reviews, but with my zero and his not-so-well-as-wanted knowledge of japanese we can't provide solid summary. Things are so vague, a lot of emotions and much less facts there.
Here there are only things in which we are almost confident.

Spoiler for spoilers:

Spoiler for now, really spoilers:

- At the first sight the "world in the mirror" looks like a world where all Araragi's regrets and failures were corrected (Is this a Ougi's final goal or not? I'm not sure). For example Sodachi is the happy genki girl here, Mayoi is the adult but still a God. Even Kisshot now is a lady with charisma which reverses the suicide intentions in people (yeah, yeah, " Princess Beauty", damn you, Nisio). She is NOT a vampire.
- Shinobu is not there, because "vampires don't reflect in the mirror"
- Gaen Tooe is confirmed (and MILF-scene with her O_o )
- Rainy Devil is confirmed
- Black Hanekawa is confirmed.
- Nadeko is here, may be she is still possessed by the Snake. It is the most vague in all spoilers, but it seems her hair is gray now.
- Water in Kambaru's "bath" plays a great role in the main plot.

Yeah, short stories are totally irrelevant, fan-service only... damn you again, Nisio.

[mugimugi]

I read like 3 chapters, thank to incomplete scans someone gave me as a "preview", the rest is just spoilers I can't confirm yet. I don't know anything about the ending/revelation/solution at the end of the book.

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Some parts of the book can be read with a mirror. It takes place right after Owari Down, 20-ish days before Hana.
So apparently the mirror reflects the "truth" according to the snake, and show and inverted version of people's underlying personality or something like that.
Explaining why the women in that world are so perverted...
Kanbaru still has the Devil's Paw at that point so her other side is entirely the Rainy Devil, trying to kill Araragi.
Shinobu has a castle and her aura causes people to commit suicide (or prevents it in rare cases I guess)
Sodachi and Araragi sleep in one bed, and she strips before him. (She also invites to bath him...) I implies that she had indeed hopes for herself and Araragi being together?
Mayoi is 21, and behaves like a slug. Also tries to seduce Araragi.
Araragi tries to confirm that Hanekawa's right breast is bigger her left one but B-Hanekawa denies him to do that...
Serpent Nadeko and Mayoi are friends. They get drunk together apparently.
Shinobu's laugh is now relevant.
Tsukihi doesn't change because she doesn't have an underlying personality.
Araragi witnesses Nadeko true self in this world.
Karen is there as a loli, I think. Most likely because she wants to be treated more as a little sister by Araragi.
There are apparently two Ougi's in the world now, one being the male from Hana.
Araragi meets Tooe both being naked, they bath together....
The way she is displayed is mostly because that's how Kanbaru remembers her. She seems to be like Izuko, knowing everything but doesn't care. She also explain it by saying that Izuko knows everything because she gets rid of everything she doesn't know with the things she knows. And Hanekawa balances the things she doesn't know and what she knows. Tooe claims that Izuko and Hanekawa know things that are false, to further prove her point.
Tooe says that "knowing" doesn't matter but "understanding" is important. She offers to sleep with Araragi....
Tooe carves a message in Araragi's back, stating that all she is, is a whining devil or something like that.
Araragi does indeed cross-dress and it's acknowledged that Nisio made that a common theme in his books...
No idea about what's happening at the end, Ougi mentions everything that occurred since Araragi split with Sodachi and raises the question if everything might have been a dream.
Hitagi is fine at the end, and confirms her love him with several awkward sentences, such as being proud of him (referring to the entrance exam results) and wanting to call him "father" because of it and that the fact that he's always so close to cheating on her but doesn't do it, turns her on even more.

Nisio thanks everyone for reading a book they didn't need to read at the end...

[Guernsey]

Originally Posted by Vallen Chaos Valiant

More like he enjoys the power of words, especially words that are not reflecting reality. After all, if words are true, they don't really matter; it is only when lies are spoken that they have the power to alter human society.

He seems to enjoy the power of words considering how every conflict in the series (or just about any of his works for that matter) are resolved through words. Still, I wonder if he likes Jungian philosophy as it seems though the characters all seem to have something repressed in them.

[FelynxTiger]

Originally Posted by mugimugi

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Some parts of the book can be read with a mirror.

You mean like this?

[Rost-Light]

Originally Posted by FelynxTiger

You mean like this?

Like this, I guess.

Spoiler for image:

[Marcus H.]

I just read some spoilers about it.



WHAT WAS THAT ALL ABOUT?

[Pi-face]

Originally Posted by mugimugi

I read like 3 chapters, thank to incomplete scans someone gave me as a "preview", the rest is just spoilers I can't confirm yet. I don't know anything about the ending/revelation/solution at the end of the book.

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Some parts of the book can be read with a mirror. It takes place right after Owari Down, 20-ish days before Hana.
So apparently the mirror reflects the "truth" according to the snake, and show and inverted version of people's underlying personality or something like that.
Explaining why the women in that world are so perverted...
Kanbaru still has the Devil's Paw at that point so her other side is entirely the Rainy Devil, trying to kill Araragi.
Shinobu has a castle and her aura causes people to commit suicide (or prevents it in rare cases I guess)
Sodachi and Araragi sleep in one bed, and she strips before him. (She also invites to bath him...) I implies that she had indeed hopes for herself and Araragi being together?
Mayoi is 21, and behaves like a slug. Also tries to seduce Araragi.
Araragi tries to confirm that Hanekawa's right breast is bigger her left one but B-Hanekawa denies him to do that...
Serpent Nadeko and Mayoi are friends. They get drunk together apparently.
Shinobu's laugh is now relevant.
Tsukihi doesn't change because she doesn't have an underlying personality.
Araragi witnesses Nadeko true self in this world.
Karen is there as a loli, I think. Most likely because she wants to be treated more as a little sister by Araragi.
There are apparently two Ougi's in the world now, one being the male from Hana.
Araragi meets Tooe both being naked, they bath together....
The way she is displayed is mostly because that's how Kanbaru remembers her. She seems to be like Izuko, knowing everything but doesn't care. She also explain it by saying that Izuko knows everything because she gets rid of everything she doesn't know with the things she knows. And Hanekawa balances the things she doesn't know and what she knows. Tooe claims that Izuko and Hanekawa know things that are false, to further prove her point.
Tooe says that "knowing" doesn't matter but "understanding" is important. She offers to sleep with Araragi....
Tooe carves a message in Araragi's back, stating that all she is, is a whining devil or something like that.
Araragi does indeed cross-dress and it's acknowledged that Nisio made that a common theme in his books...
No idea about what's happening at the end, Ougi mentions everything that occurred since Araragi split with Sodachi and raises the question if everything might have been a dream.
Hitagi is fine at the end, and confirms her love him with several awkward sentences, such as being proud of him (referring to the entrance exam results) and wanting to call him "father" because of it and that the fact that he's always so close to cheating on her but doesn't do it, turns her on even more.

Thank you for spoilers!

That was... disappointing. I mean - what was that all about? I thought that Nisio will save some good epilogue for Araragi's adventures, but... not like that. We already have "Nisemonogatari 2" in Tsukimonogatari novel, now this (though I am not considering Nise as a weak novel, but there is still too much of fanservice) I mean - what was the point of this story? To show us how Araragi perverted? We already knew that. And why is this story called "Koyomi book"? Main thing in the plot is mirror, not a book... Why "book" then?
I pretty sure that in full length this novel is much better and consistent, but for now... it doesnt hold up. At all. There is supposed to be some explained ending and purpose of this story. I knew that this novel would be not as good, considering reviews from Japan but... wow, Nisio. These stuff like mirror reading is awesome. But everything else... I hate those kind of stories that was weird, but author just failed to explain them and said "it was illusion or it was a dream". Pretty weak for author of your level, Nisio.

Originally Posted by mugimugi

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Nisio thanks everyone for reading a book they didn't need to read at the end...

And I just can't belive that he said something like this to his readers. Sure, he is a troll, but not the lowest kind of troll. In every single of his Monogatari novels he said that he just wrote them for fun. But this did not meant that these books are "books readers didn't need to read at the end".

[mugimugi]

The spoilers are not representative of the book. I did not mention anything about the purpose of it or anything like that. When was the last time you could take the spoilers as 1:1 example of one of the books? The Owari novels turned out to be some of my favourites after being really underwhelmed by the spoilers I read before.

The book is called Koyomi Invert or something like that now. He changed the title because of Koyomimonogatari.
The last third of the book is pretty much about what's going on in Zoku Owari, and it's a talk with Ougi. Ougi is as always cryptic, and not easy to understand so didn't want to spoil anything about it, especially after having not even read the entire book yet. I pretty much just summed up the appearance of characters in the book and how they are affected by the change. Of course this book has no effect on the overall series or ending, we already saw the ending with Hana. I too expected some weird thing happening with Hitagi for example, because it was set up to be. But that's also just playing with our expectations.

Nisio didn't mean the last bit a trolling bit. The "at the end" part was me saying "at the end of the book".

And again, people seem to be upset about Hitagi AGAIN (tumblr). Why no one understand the purpose of her is freaking hilarious. First of all, it's been already made a joke that Hitagi has a father complex, hence the "father" comment which is a joke, also most of what she says is intentionally done to startle (and amuse) her "partner" (anyone she talks to) and the reader.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

Originally Posted by Rost-Light

Spoiler for now, really spoilers:

- Gaen Tooe is confirmed (and MILF-scene with her O_o )

Why couldn't it be Gaen Izuko getting naked and all that good stuff :c ;_;
My favorite characters never get the good treatment...

[Rost-Light]

Originally Posted by DorkingtonPugsly

My favorite characters never get the good treatment...

Nah, you shouldn't say so, when talking about character created by Nisio. Izuko is comparatively well now. She knows everything, she makes fun even of Hanekawa and she is pretty awesome. "Just as planned" may become her catchphrase. She hasn't so much time in the novels, but it isn't big deal.
For example, my favourite character (but from another Nisio's series) was awesome too and could plan everything, but Nisio brutally killed her after her second appearance. In the same novel. He revealed her great potential as a character and... zig-zag.
Nisio knows every way to break hearts of his fans. So, the fact that Izuko hasn't fun-service scene yet is not a big deal. May be in next WhateverEvenAfterGatari? Who knows?

[Pi-face]

Originally Posted by mugimugi

The spoilers are not representative of the book. I did not mention anything about the purpose of it or anything like that. When was the last time you could take the spoilers as 1:1 example of one of the books? The Owari novels turned out to be some of my favourites after being really underwhelmed by the spoilers I read before.

I agree with that. Only after detailed spoilers I understood the whole plot and realised that despite of pretty messy impressions from japanese colleagues and short spoilers (which was not clear to me) this trilogy is actually pretty good and solid conclusion for the series. I wanted to point out that for now - it looks even messier than Owari spoilers plus fanservice - so I don't know what to expect from this book in the end

Originally Posted by mugimugi

The book is called Koyomi Invert or something like that now. He changed the title because of Koyomimonogatari.

Hmm, this is much more logical, I am glad that Nisio changed this title.

Originally Posted by mugimugi

The last third of the book is pretty much about what's going on in Zoku Owari, and it's a talk with Ougi. Ougi is as always cryptic, and not easy to understand so didn't want to spoil anything about it, especially after having not even read the entire book yet. I pretty much just summed up the appearance of characters in the book and how they are affected by the change. Of course this book has no effect on the overall series or ending, we already saw the ending with Hana. I too expected some weird thing happening with Hitagi for example, because it was set up to be. But that's also just playing with our expectations.

Really glad to hear that there will be a lot of explanations. Author always makes them so... elegant, to the point when you actually want to take a lot of quotes from it.

Originally Posted by mugimugi

And again, people seem to be upset about Hitagi AGAIN (tumblr). Why no one understand the purpose of her is freaking hilarious. First of all, it's been already made a joke that Hitagi has a father complex, hence the "father" comment which is a joke, also most of what she says is intentionally done to startle (and amuse) her "partner" (anyone she talks to) and the reader.

But why to be upset? They wanted her death or turning into kaii so badly? (I know people who wanted )
Nisio just deceived our expectations again, as usual
Yeah, she had a father complex - she mentioned it during Bake and Neko White and character commentaries for Bake anime (she likes to blindfold herself with father's necktie or something). But when SHE always the one who mentions this - you can't help but start to think that this is not only joke, but deliberate provocation from her. Or this case is like Tsukushi's "I love my brother". It's a shame Shaft never put on screen a brilliant scene from Otori when she told Nadeko how her boyfriend conquered her heart.

Spoiler:

‘Oh, it’s not something to let bother you. Back when I was in elementary school, when a boy asked me out I’d tell him: “I love my brother,” to turn him down.’
‘…Th-That might have dissuaded them in a different sense…’
By the way, Tsukihi-chan was supposed to have someone she was dating an older boy, as Nadeko recalls.
Mizudori-kun or Rousokuzawa-kun…
Which was which?
And Nadeko wonders.
That boyfriend does Tsukihi-chan love him more than Koyomi Oniichan?
‘It’s not something to let bother you, but…’
Tsukihi-chan continues, completely ignoring Nadeko’s quip (feels cold).
‘But with that kinda thing, I wonder. Maybe you can’t blame people if they think you’re putting on a cutesy act.’
She says.
‘…A-Act?’
‘Maybe not. I suppose Nadeko-chan’s doing it naturally, so it’s not an act, huh. Right, no—Nadeko-chan is cute’
‘……’
‘But if you say you’re in love with a guy you call “Onii-chan” then it’s not actually very convincing at all.’
That’s what I was told by Rousokuzawa-kun.
Tsukihi-chan adds.
So it was Rousokuzawa-kun.
‘And that was why I started going out with him.’

I hope Araragi have courage to tell her that now he is her "daddy" But it seems Hitagi already did this

When I find raw for this book I will send it to you.

Originally Posted by Rost-Light

Nisio knows every way to break hearts of his fans. So, the fact that Izuko hasn't fun-service scene yet is not a big deal. May be in next WhateverEvenAfterGatari? Who knows?

Could be in new novel IF this is spin-off about certain ghostbusters. And I recall that in Neko White she said something dirty while playing with words.

[Rost-Light]

There are only two things about Hitagi that can upset me.
First - the fact that she is support character now. I am not only one, who want to see her and her and Koyomi relationship. But even with this in mind I can't deny Nisio's brilliance here. We don't know anything, because... there is nothing to talking about! There is no story here - everything is fine: Hitagi is not Oddity anymore and lives comparatively normal life, there is no conflict, there is no problem which can move the plot forward (Koimonogatari aside). Therefore Araragi doesn't talk about it. And it is their private life after all.

Spoiler for :mad: two minutes of hatred: this words can hurt someone feelings, please, don't read them:

I really hate people who shout out "We want solid confirmation that Hitagi and Araragi have sex! Give SAO-Chapter-16.5-only-in-monogatari to us!" I hope one day they just have killed themselfs or even worse - will be reading only SAO-like novels for the rest of their life!

Only one phrase "I'm in Araragi's house now. My dad is here too" wipes out all doubts about their relationship. This simple words mean much more than three kisses in Onimonogatari (yeah, I know, Shinobu is debatable). And I like the way Nisio shows this to us. But... I just want to read the novel about Hitagi once more.
Yeah, and the second thing. People, who doesn't acknowledge "Hitagi and Koyomi relationship" at all. We have some novels now, we saw Koimonogatari, but a lot of speculations like "Koyomi loves ONLY Hanekawa! He start dating with Hitagi only because she force him to do so! He hasn't any feelings for her!" still remain. And it is not only someone's opinion in discussions - you can find something like that even in different wiki and information portals.
I can understand why this opinion spread through people who saw only anime. Koyomi feelings is not obvious here and Hanekawa is much purer than in novels.
But Koyomi's feelings became totally clear for me after I read Mayoi Snail and for now his love toward Hitagi only became deeper. We have a lot of moments about it in novels. Not so obvious like fun-service and "Araragi-is-just-a-pervert"-things, but still... I am not in rage, but it is sad that people don't see this...

And I recall that in Neko White she said something dirty while playing with words.

Yeah, she is Tooe's sister after all.

[Kreion]

Originally Posted by Rost-Light

There are only two things about Hitagi that can upset me.
First - the fact that she is support character now. I am not only one, who want to see her and her and Koyomi relationship. But even with this in mind I can't deny Nisio's brilliance here. We don't know anything, because... there is nothing to talking about! There is no story here - everything is fine: Hitagi is not Oddity anymore and lives comparatively normal life, there is no conflict, there is no problem which can move the plot forward (Koimonogatari aside). Therefore Araragi doesn't talk about it. And it is their private life after all.

Spoiler for :mad: two minutes of hatred: this words can hurt someone feelings, please, don't read them:

I really hate people who shout out "We want solid confirmation that Hitagi and Araragi have sex! Give SAO-Chapter-16.5-only-in-monogatari to us!" I hope one day they just have killed themselfs or even worse - will be reading only SAO-like novels for the rest of their life!

Only one phrase "I'm in Araragi's house now. My dad is here too" wipes out all doubts about their relationship. This simple words mean much more than three kisses in Onimonogatari (yeah, I know, Shinobu is debatable). And I like the way Nisio shows this to us. But... I just want to read the novel about Hitagi once more.
Yeah, and the second thing. People, who doesn't acknowledge "Hitagi and Koyomi relationship" at all. We have some novels now, we saw Koimonogatari, but a lot of speculations like "Koyomi loves ONLY Hanekawa! He start dating with Hitagi only because she force him to do so! He hasn't any feelings for her!" still remain. And it is not only someone's opinion in discussions - you can find something like that even in different wiki and information portals.
I can understand why this opinion spread through people who saw only anime. Koyomi feelings is not obvious here and Hanekawa is much purer than in novels.
But Koyomi's feelings became totally clear for me after I read Mayoi Snail and for now his love toward Hitagi only became deeper. We have a lot of moments about it in novels. Not so obvious like fun-service and "Araragi-is-just-a-pervert"-things, but still... I am not in rage, but it is sad that people don't see this...

Yeah, she is Tooe's sister after all.

I agree about Hitagi - she's very clearly the woman that Araragi loves and that has been reinforced multiple times. It's also clear that she loves him because of the lengths she goes to in order to support him.

I would argue that there are three people who are 'closest' to Araragi. Hitagi, you've already covered and we all know (those of us who aren't blind) what's going on there.

Shinobu is a bit more complex and falls more into the realms of 'what-if'. There's clearly a very strong connection and understanding there so maybe after a hundred years or so when it's just the two of them something might happen between them. But their relationship seems more akin to soul-mates - though not necessarily romantically inclined. As I said, that relationship is really one which comes down to a lot of speculation and guesswork about the future - it may never be romantic.

Hanekawa was shut out pretty quickly. I'd argue that Karen has a better chance of getting with Araragi than her, since not only in Kizu, but in Neko and other points is that relationship shot down. As long as you understand that his desire for her was based on a lust then there's not much to go over there - Neko:Shiro is a good rebirth of their relationship into something more stable than a hidden, unrequited love.

All the other characters seem to be pretty out of it(from the books I've read), though as I said Nisio does like to tease Karen over and over.

[Pi-face]

Originally Posted by Kreion

As long as you understand that his desire for her was based on a lust then there's not much to go over there - Neko:Shiro is a good rebirth of their relationship into something more stable than a hidden, unrequited love.

There is not only lust - but admiration of her. As she said herself - for Araragi she was like a goddess. But there is still something hidden, one peculiar thing

Spoiler for spoiler for ones who have not read Owarimonogatari yet:

- considering Ougi's true identity it's fun to see that she is actually... despised her. She tries to troll her, she tries to prick her about how she is. We saw it in Owari 1 and in short stories. Maybe, just maybe, deep inside Araragi did not really liked her and wanted to expose to Hanekawa her true self, her behavior and what person she is?

And Nisio, marry Hanekawa on damn Kaiki These poor souls deserve each other.

But who is another person, which is pretty close to Araragi? Right, this is

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Goddess of the White Snake Shrine

Hachikuji Mayoi.

Spoiler for More Spoilers:

Basically she is the second competitor for Shinobu (of course after Hitagi), because she is also immortal. And in good terms with him (with occasional sexual harassments from both sides). In theory, being the goddess she can actually change her appearance to adult, like in Zokuowari which is considerable advantage against loli Nobu-chan. Though, this is arguable.
But, as I remember, Araragi and Hitagi studying in University in a different city, so no Mayoi on the horizon.

[Kreion]

Originally Posted by Pi-face

There is not only lust - but admiration of her. As she said herself - for Araragi she was like a goddess. But there is still something hidden, one peculiar thing

Spoiler for spoiler for ones who have not read Owarimonogatari yet:

- considering Ougi's true identity it's fun to see that she is actually... despised her. She tries to troll her, she tries to prick her about how she is. We saw it in Owari 1 and in short stories. Maybe, just maybe, deep inside Araragi did not really liked her and wanted to expose to Hanekawa her true self, her behavior and what person she is?

And Nisio, marry Hanekawa on damn Kaiki These poor souls deserve each other.

But who is another person, which is pretty close to Araragi? Right, this is

Spoiler for Spoiler:

Goddess of the White Snake Shrine

Hachikuji Mayoi.

Spoiler for More Spoilers:

Basically she is the second competitor for Shinobu (of course after Hitagi), because she is also immortal. And in good terms with him (with occasional sexual harassments from both sides). In theory, being the goddess she can actually change her appearance to adult, like in Zokuowari which is considerable advantage against loli Nobu-chan. Though, this is arguable.
But, as I remember, Araragi and Hitagi studying in University in a different city, so no Mayoi on the horizon.

I haven't read Owari yet, but what you said doesn't surprise me...

Spoiler for Owari:

Araragi has always been quite hard on on liars and fakes. He's not against people who lie, rather those who lie to themselves and don't act as their true selves. In that sense it does sound like him to dislike her act more than he lets on - again Shiro helps to change her in that respect (at least somewhat).

As for Mayoi, I did think of her given current events haha.

Spoiler for Spoilers:

I agree the two of them are quite close, but I've always seen them more as buddies - but its always going to come down to interpretation at the end of the day. To me she fills a similar spot to Kanbaru, but you're right that in terms of closeness she's been with him a fair bit and he cares for her a lot.


I'm not sure how Shinobu's form would change as he becomes more vampiric...we've seen her get older when she sucks his blood as a result of his diminishing humanity after all. But assuming she's staying a loli, the adult hachikuji might have the advantage their, though considering Araragi's tastes...who knows.

I'm curious though, will Tsuhiki hang around? Considering what she is, will she simply continue to cycle forever?

[mugimugi]

Didn't Araragi mention in Neko Black that Hanekawa disgusts him? Pretty much for the same reason why her father hit her?

It was a meant a bit as a joke, and there's also Kanbaru's sexual orientation, but in Bake they both (Araragi and Kanbaru) said that if Araragi wouldn't have ended up Hitagi then he might have ended up with Kanbaru. But Araragi is pretty easy to fall for the charms of a woman. That's kind of what the toothbrush scene was all about. (Could it be that my sister is the perfect woman??)

[HammerOrNails]

In a nutshell.

[Pi-face]

Originally Posted by HammerOrNails

In a nutshell.

I disagree with this. There are actually no of such "dead ends" in Nisio's novels, no contradiction which was not explained. And still they are mindf*ck. I think he considers every detail, so he deliberately know what to write, so every little detail is part of some big puzzle. And you have no idea what part this is until it would be explained. You can only guess. And this is actually fun! And when it's explained - there are no contradictions. It's like with Hanamonogatari until the release of Owarimonogatari and Zokuowarimonogatari - we have answers on mysteries about the time period of this novel (that this is not some parallel reality and Nadeko did not kill main characters in the end of story) and the reason why Ougi is a boy in this story. And always, this is so wonderful to discover.
So I think that is not appropriate to accuse this author for poor writing. But early spoilers still usualy are mind-blowing and puzzling

Btw, iceburgdragon added his summary for Hitagi fugure short story: http://bakemonogatari.wikia.com/wiki..._Short_Stories (almost at the end of this page)
It was fun, though some people might accuse Nisio for extra advertisment

[Rost-Light]

Yeah, NISIO may be harsh to his readers, but he is still a professional writer. One of the most brilliant part of his stile - references to future events, events which didn't happened yet or reader don't knows anything about them yet. When you re-reading this books and find this references... yeah, it's a wonderful feeling. And this shows us that he planned all main plot lines (Like Mayoi become a God and so on) from the beginning. NISIO is the master of foreshadowing.