The thing I’ve fallen for hardest this year is this goddamn bulbous Monogatari franchise.
Continue reading “Twelve Days of Anime 2015 Part 12: Monogats”
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Podcast: Bakemonogatari Part 3
It’s the third and final part of my guest appearance on Josh Dunham‘s Senpai Coast to Coast podcast. We finish up our discussion of Bakemonogatari by delving into the Tsubasa Cat arc, paying special attention to the series’ twelfth episode. I truly enjoyed doing this podcast with Josh. He was an absolute pleasure to work with, and I hope he’ll have me back in the future.
Senpai Coast to Coast Page | Direct Download | iTunes | Stitcher
Listen to Part 1 | Listen to Part 2
Show Notes after the jump
Who Is Hanekawa Tsubasa?
Nekomonogatari Kuro is a prequel OAV that tells the story of what happens during the Golden Week immediately prior to the events of Bakemonogatari. The focus here is all on Hanekawa Tsubasa and her original synthesis with the cat demon Sawari Neko. Throughout the final two episodes, the characters (including Tsubasa herself) attempt to suss out her nature and her motivations via a whole lot of expository dialogue. However, it is my contention that, rather than getting a clearer picture of who Tsubasa actually is, we get a couple of competing ideas of who the characters (including Tsubasa herself) think she is. I happen to think that these constructed identities ignore crucial information and, therefore, are inaccurate. In this piece, I will illustrate the casts’ interpretations of her character, and then I will provide my own thoughts on who Tsubasa Hanekawa is.
Spoilers, I guess.
***DISCLAIMER: THIS POST REPRESENTS MY VIEWS AFTER SEEING ONLY BAKE, NISE AND NEKO.***
Suggested Soundtrack for Reading – Jamie Cullum & Gregory Porter “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood”
Podcast: Bakemonogatari Part 2
This is the second part of my guest appearance on the Senpai Coast to Coast podcast, hosted Josh Dunham. We are talking Bakemonogatari, and in this ninety-ish minutes we cover both the Suruga Monkey and Nadeko Snake arcs.
Senpai Coast to Coast Page | Direct Download | iTunes | Stitcher
Show Notes after the jump
Conflict in Early Monogatari Anime
Conflict is an important concept in Monogatari. Humans clash with supernatural beings. Words and bodies collide with one another. Some character relationships can be defined by conflict. However, it is not just a plot device; analysis of the meaning of conflict, distinguishing types of conflict, and commenting on the fallout from conflict are all thematic elements of the story of Monogatari.
The “philosophy of conflict” present in the anime really grabbed me. I decided to follow this theme through the early anime and discuss different kinds of conflict present therein. For each type, I briefly summarize a scene in which the conflict occurs, attempt to define the type and finally consider how the characters are effected by it. There will be tangents.
This article is not meant to be a complete taxonomy of the kinds of conflict in Monogatari. I haven’t seen all the anime in the franchise as of this writing, and the title indicates that the piece only covers the early productions (by this I mean Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari). That said, I stand by the entries in this taxonomy, incomplete though it may be.
Spoilers Ahoy!
Suggested Soundtrack for Reading – Future Islands “Seasons”
Podcast: Bakemonogatari Part 1
Josh Dunham was kind enough to allow me to be a guest on episode thirteen of his Senpai Coast to Coast podcast. We talked at great length (4+ hours to be precise) about Bakemonogatari. There are spoilers. Our dive was so deep that the final edit of the show is split into several parts, so look for those in the coming days/weeks. For now, enjoy this hour of discussion about the first two arcs of the show and maybe read my show notes below.
Senpai Coast to Coast Page | Direct Download | iTunes | Stitcher
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