Monogatari Series Second Season - Anime News & Speculation (No Spoilers)

[Altima of the Gates]

Shaft's top animators from Bake aren't here. Shinbo's presence really can't be felt either, especially compared to, say, Sasami-san.
While sure, the overall creative staff is unchanged, I don't think you can tell me Monogatari S2 is as interesting to look at, even though they're more on top of things than they were during Bakemonogatari's production.
I just don't feel as though they're trying as hard. It's routine at this point.

I can still feel they are trying yes, but if you've seen a lot of their work, their "creative style" probably seems pretentious and old hat to some. But no, I can't say S2 is less interesting to look at than Bake or Nise was. I still give the staff due credit when they score, and critique when they mess it up. Out of all the arcs, only Kabuki's beginning and end really stuck out as lacking. Plus we get more meaty story now that the key points of the overarching story come into play, which is one of the things I like better.

People ragged on Nise for "having fanservice" (as though Bake didn't) because they're complete idiots. It looked much, much better than S2 and a hell of a lot more consistent than Bake.

I can't argue that in some cases the animation quality in Nise was better, Shaft had hiccups there as well, and we've already passed Nise and Bake's episode count, so they are really going the distance. And yes, plot consistency was slightly better in Nise, but I think that was because they focused on two stories instead of five.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

You know what I noticed about Nise? Araragi's eyes were drawn thinner and sharper than in bake. And though in the blurays some of that seemed to have been fixed, it kinda stayed. But then when Neko kuro came along and his eyes were drawn normally again I was happy. And it's been generally okay in s2.

[zato_1one]

Originally Posted by Altima of the Gates

It is an observation I mostly get from fandoms mostly. You may 'like' other characters, but if you find yourself too often asking, "I wish Hitagi were here" in the back of your mind, you can't really say it doesn't affect your enjoyment of the story even if it is a preference. People have preferences for sure, but we have to ask whether that clouds us from enjoying other aspects of the show.

For instance, the relative lack of viewer feedback in this season would be what I am getting at. Some would say, "it doesn't feel like Bake" or something along those lines. If I asked the question, "what is Bake to you?" it is doubtful that I would get answers that weren't keyed toward a character or pairing, which is okay. However, I feel that is also the cause of the relative lack of viewer feedback at this stage of the game.

That can be said for any characters. I can explain why I believe she is a great character. But I guess people will see it as a fandom worship anyway. I don't intend to convince anyone because I think that people who have watched the series till this point have already decided what they like or don't like. I'd say that the most attractive elements in monogatari series are its characters and the dialogues. So, I think that it's a legit reason to say that you like it because of the characters. The dialogues may not feel engaging all the time but I still like most of it. I believe that characters do have impact on the enjoyment. It's always more pleasure to see your favorite character, IMO.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

Shinobu time last part preview panels.

[FelynxTiger]

No recap this week *v*
Kaikimonogatari here we go!

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by FelynxTiger

No recap this week *v*
Kaikimonogatari here we go!

I suspect that either means the show will end on the 22nd (25 episodes, if you count the three recaps), or they'll have something else to air on the 29th (maybe a recap of all the episodes we just saw? ). This arc will almost certainly be five-episodes long (to mirror the first arc and bookend the series).

(It'd be fun if they could air a preview of the missing arc and the movie on the 29th, but we'll see...)

[DorkingtonPugsly]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

(It'd be fun if they could air a preview of the missing arc and the movie on the 29th, but we'll see...)

I'd love that. That'd probably be one of the more exciting things to happen recently (for me) with this series in terms of the anime.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

Kabuki Vol.1 cover art.

[omimon]

Originally Posted by DorkingtonPugsly

Kabuki Vol.1 cover art.

Spoiler for Latest anime episode:

Too soon damn it.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by omimon

Spoiler for Latest anime episode:

Too soon damn it.

Spoiler for Latest Anime Episode Reference:

Actually, they timed the release of that cover art rather expertly...

[DorkingtonPugsly]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

Spoiler for Latest Anime Episode Reference:

Actually, they timed the release of that cover art rather expertly...

Yeah really... haha...

I think she looks slightly different in the face then normal but I don't know.

[relentlessflame]

Originally Posted by DorkingtonPugsly

I think she looks slightly different in the face then normal but I don't know.

I think it's mostly just the interpretation of the different key artists in the anime (they do let the designs vary a fair bit, particularly on TV), but this is an illustration by the main anime character designer, Akio Watanabe.

[shinyaNakagawa]

That leg proportion seems weird.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

Originally Posted by relentlessflame

I think it's mostly just the interpretation of the different key artists in the anime (they do let the designs vary a fair bit, particularly on TV), but this is an illustration by the main anime character designer, Akio Watanabe.

No I know it's Watanbe but it just didn't seem like the kind of face he draws at first glance, I don't know. Maybe he's just trying new stuff.

[DevilBlaze]

So I know this isn't going to happen but, I would love to hear a OP sung by Kaiki for koimono (I would laugh so hard...yes I'm weird leave me alone.)

Is it confirmed that senjougahara's VA will being singing it though? (As in the OP for Koimono)

[Chi*po-kun]

Originally Posted by DevilBlaze

So I know this isn't going to happen but, I would love to hear a OP sung by Kaiki for koimono (I would laugh so hard...yes I'm weird leave me alone.)

Is it confirmed that senjougahara's VA will being singing it though? (As in the OP for Koimono)

Confirmed: Renai Circulation by Kaiki’s VA.

[ultimate_noob]

According to amazon japan stats, koimonogatari is six episodes. Could it be...? Anime original episode...? There's no way that thing could fit on six eps.....

[relentlessflame]

Yeah, we'll have to wait for the official site to confirm, but the listings on Amazon definitely say there'll be 6 episodes for this arc. I think it's unlikely that the missing arc was going to be 3 episodes since it was going to be on two discs like the rest... so yeah, maybe they added an episode, or maybe they were originally planning on having a disc-only finale or something.

[DorkingtonPugsly]

6 seems a bit excessive, we'll have to see... And just want to confirm is tomorrow gonna be the first episode?

[FelynxTiger]

Originally Posted by DorkingtonPugsly

6 seems a bit excessive, we'll have to see... And just want to confirm is tomorrow gonna be the first episode?

yes it is vuv

Koi PV1: http://www.monogatari-series.com/2nd.../koi_pv01.html

that new ED =w=