Nisemonogatari

Title:Nisemonogatari
偽物語
Overall:Rent
Keywords: , , , , , , ,
Notables: Animation - Shaft
HANAZAWA Kana
HAYAMI Saori
HORIE Yui
IGUCHI Yuka
KAMIYA Hiroshi
KATOU Emiri
KITAMURA Eri
MIKI Shinichirou
R1 License - Aniplex of America
R1 License - Subtitled Only
SAITO Chiwa
SAKAMOTO Maaya
SAWASHIRO Miyuki
SHIRAISHI Ryoko
The black swindler Kaiki Deishu, who once deceived Hitagi, returns to town and spreads the incantation which cursed Nadeko before. Koyomi's sisters Karen and Tsukihi try to capture Deishu but...
(Summary Courtesy of MyAnimeList.net)


Aired for 11 episodes starting on January 7, 2012.
Animated by Shaft

偽 ("nise") = imitation, lie, falsehood, deception, sham, bogus; so the title translates to something like "story of deception".
[edit] ↗Bakemonogatari Franchise

Main Series: Prequels:
OverallArtAnimationCharacter Design MusicSeries StoryEpisode StoryReviewer
Rent 8 8 8 7 8 7 Ggultra2764 [series:2514#1552]
This sequel to Bakemonogatari retains the polished animation, clever sexual humor, long conversations and supernatural elements from the hit 2009 series. This time around, the series focuses on Koyomi having to deal with paranormal situations involving his two younger sisters, Karen and Tsukihi. Compared to their cameo appearances seen at points from the previous series, Nisemonogatari offers more focus on the two gals who make for quite the feisty bunch and you get to see the unusual relationship they both share with Koyomi. Nisemonogatari twists in its twisted sexual humor at points to put Koyomi in predicaments with his sisters much like the various gals he helped from Bakemonogatari: some relevant to the plot of an arc, others just to confuse you on whether or not to be turned on. The series also tosses in a couple new plot points that it goes into. Koyomi makes more interaction with vampire Shinobu who serves as Oshino's replacement for the boy to know details on the paranormal situations affecting his sisters and the addition of new character Deishu Kaiki, who has past ties to several of the franchise's prominent characters. Unfortunately, Nisemonogatari does drag out its first arc, Karen Bee, quite a bit (seven episodes compared to the two to five seen from the previous series) where the pacing was a bit too slow and had some episodes which had nothing to do with the plot to the arc and mainly featured Koyomi's awkward and weird interactions with the members of his unwanted harem which while funny, do nothing to advance the arc's plot. Other than this major issue, Nisemonogatari retains all the elements which made Bakemonogatari a fun and unusual ride to check out in 2009 and is worth checking out.

Last updated Saturday, March 17 2012. Created Saturday, March 17 2012.
Unevaluated Stretch [series:2514#628]
(Eight episodes watched):

Bakemonogatari was a highly clever and amusing show... which, for me at least, was extremely difficult to watch. That's because continually pausing to read complex subtitles and catch the sophisticated meanings within them largely wrecked the timing of the jokes and greatly diminished their comic effect. Plus, my eyes were kept too busy to catch all of the visual jokes. The more complex an anime becomes, the less adequate subtitles are to convey its message. Bakemonogatari would be infinitely easier to watch if it had been skillfully dubbed, but that's unlikely to happen anytime soon. It got to the point where I almost dreaded having to watch it. Struggling through an episode was such a chore for me that it almost cancelled out the entertainment effect. So, I went into Nisemonogatari with a good deal of trepidation.

My memory may be flawed, but it seems to me that at least some of the episodes of Nisemonogatari are making more sense and are easier to watch. Plus, they are funny enough to make the extra effort which this show demands worthwhile. But others simply don't seem to make much sense to me at all, and some seem outright boring. Part of me says that all the clever symbolism, imagery and dialogue has to be indicative of a witty, avant-garde show which I ought to be thoroughly enjoying; but another part of me feels that for all the fancy touches that I struggle through in each episode, there isn't a whole lot of satisfaction waiting for me at the end. Watching an episode about one character being detained in a near sadomasochistic manner didn't have me rolling on the floor and laugh-out-louding. Regarding the series as a whole, I can't help asking myself 'what's it all about'? When cheesy shows which clearly employed only a fraction of the sophistication of Nisemonogatari leave me with greater entertainment value, something's got to be wrong somewhere. Is it wrong with Nisemonogatari, or wrong with me?

Last updated Sunday, March 18 2012. Created Monday, January 16 2012.

Other Sites
NameURL
Official Japanese Series Web Site http://www.nisemonogatari-anime.com/

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