Nisemonogatari : DVD Review

While I found the first half of Nisemonogartari entertaining, there were problems with a lack of character development for Araragi’s sister Karen during her own arc and the large amounts of fan service. Sadly similar issues occur in the next arc which slightly affected my overall enjoyment.

These last four episodes contain the arc ‘Tsukihi Phoenix’, which has the same problem as the ‘Karen Bee’ arc in that it suffers from a lack of  Araragi’s younger sister Tsukihi in both appearance and development again. The first two episodes are prime examples of this; in fact they mostly feature Koyami talking to Karen, which is pretty frustrating considering that it would have made more sense to feature it in that last arc.

The final two episodes end up rushing the plot of the arc and feature some new antagonists, Yozuru Kagenui and Yotsugi Ononoki; while both pose a threat, they end up being pretty forgettable, especially compared to Kaiki Deishu.

So, what can I say that’s positive about this box set? I feel that it teases you with way too much with fan service but in ‘Tsukihi Phoenix’ Part 1 there is a certain ‘toothbrush scene’ that takes this to a new level; you will either find it really comical or one of the most uncomfortable scenes you will ever watch, it’s certainly something else, I’ll tell you that.

Plus, much like the first box set, the second half of Nisemonogatari remains great to look at with good background scenery and animation.  

Also, as in most of these arc conclusions, the final episode does a decent job with what little it has to at least give some character motivation to both the protagonists and the antagonists. The animation continues to be very impressive and the soundtrack is great, the last episode is proof of that.

However, it all comes back to this: the ‘Tsukihi Phoenix’ arc is not interesting in the slightest, the dialogue is strong and entertaining but it’s mostly used to comedic effect, and it takes a while to get to the meat of the plot. Nisemonogatari as a whole isn’t a good sequel to Bakemonogatari but there is some good stuff in it, that saves it from becoming forgettable.  

Extras contain multiple Textless OPs and EDs in the DVD release

In Summary

Even if this is the weakest box set of the whole franchise, it holds enough interest to be at least worth purchasing.