Audience reviews
20 · Sample from the first available page, separate from the total number of ratings.
Daydra96
Many times while watching the Monogatari series I felt like dropping it. The constant double-meaning and fanservice scenes were overwhelming, and Araragi increasingly came across simply as a pervert. But I'm glad I didn't give up, all thanks to Second Season.
This time the creators present six main story arcs, each centered around a different heroine. As a result, we get a much deeper look into characters who had previously played mostly supporting roles. This shift makes the season not only entertaining but also genuinely thought-provoking. The emotional weight is immense, and the character development is clearly stronger than in the earlier installments.
Two stories in particular left the biggest impact on me. The first is Hanekawa's arc, which deals with the necessity of accepting one…
Read at the sourceCruzer969
Non-chronological narration, oppressive editing that screams "watch me!" and subsequent puzzles of this puzzle – this is how you can sum up Monogatari Series: Second Season.
Each of the five arcs turned out to be a rollercoaster of emotions, although I will remember the one dedicated to Mayoi the most (and I'm not saying that, because the opening and music for this part were absolutely wonderfully charming!). Tsubasa's storyline was very interesting to me at first – more sisterhood! – but its ending was very disappointing. Here comes Araragi and as usual, he solves everything on his own, oh how wonderful he is. I understand that this is a pattern beloved by creators of Japanese pop culture, but in such a postmodern series I expected more reversals of popular tropes.
Unfortunately, once a…
Read at the sourceSomnus_
TLDR; Overall up to this point in Monogatari, this season is by far the best since it builds off what was already established from the previous 5 seasons excellently, and elevates the side characters even further. Its an amazing payoff that respects the viewers intellect by introducing more and more mysteries, character conundrums and witty dialogue that you can come to expect from Monogatari, but now at its peak.
STORY
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Monogatari Season 2 is the culmination of everything that makes the Monogatari series so captivating, featuring the most interesting, thought provoking arcs up to this point. The foundation and tiniest plot points from Bake, Kizu, Nise, Neko and Hanamonogatari are so well integrated into all the arcs in this season that it gives it a WHOLE new layer of character…
Read at the sourcesupersmash1580
Depth, depth, and more depth.
In the modern day, the most popular anime always tend to be action-packed, balls-to-the-walls, extremely well-animated shows like Demon Slayer, JJK, etc. But I've truly never seen an anime like Monogatari. If I went back in time and told myself: "Hey, watch this anime about talking and walking around a city." I would've immediately told myself that I was crazy for being entertained by that, but here we are, hundreds of episodes later and I absolutely love everything about the Monogatari series. The characters are the most well-defined characters I've personally seen in any anime. Each character gets their time to shine eventually, and despite the huge cast, it always feels like each character gets just enough time for them to be memorable enough to remember,…
Read at the sourcearifandi13
Alright, let's talk about the anime Monogatari Series Second Season (2013). This anime takes me back to my high school graduation days. It's quite unique compared to other entries in the Monogatari Series. What's unusual is that the 26 episodes are divided into five arcs or different stories, and these stories are not in chronological order. This might be confusing for some new viewers. So, I think if you watch this anime in the episode order, you might get confused. Therefore, I want to give a little help to friends who want to watch this anime in chronological order.
Before watching Monogatari Series Second Season (2013), it's best to start with the previous timelines: Kizumonogatari (2017), Nekomonogatari Kuro (2012), Bakemonogatari (2009), and Nisemonogatari (2012). After that, you ca…
Read at the sourceNandoveira
The supernatural part of the whole story is undoubtedly great, the journeys of self-discovery, the engaging narratives, the monologues, are all well constructed. As for the animation itself, most of the episodes have incredible color palettes, scenarios full of details, while others were done in a rush.
My criticism goes mainly to the romantic part; there was the entire romantic development of Hanekawa - there were three arcs - a girl who falls in love naturally, faces danger to save her "prince", faces her fears to be with him, but in return what she gets is a "no"; Senjougahara appeared out of nowhere, just because she was saved she fell victim to the "suspension bridge effect" and asked the boy she barely knew to date her, Senjougahara herself admitted that whoever had saved her would…
Read at the sourceCaptainKenshiro
The first thing to mention about this season is the naming of it, which is the same as its source material but it’s actually the fourth in the anime. I will include Nekomonogatari: Kuro as part of it as it’s clearly part of it even if was released separately.
The second thing to mention about this season is how the plot structure is a rehash of Bakemonogatari, as it also consists of five arcs, and all of them are based around the same girls from that season.
Visually, Nekomonogatari: Kuro is a step back from Nisemonogatari for some reason, despite coming out later and being far shorter. The artwork is not as polished and although it had the action scenes that the previous season lacked, they weren’t as well made as the ones from the first. Second Season is the best one yet in that regar…
Read at the sourceBabyGirl06301
This season (full of various Monogatari adaptations) has definitely turned out to be my favorite thus far; it wasn't overwhelmed with action or depravity like previous seasons have been, and yet, I feel more connected to these characters than ever. Which is pretty wild considering two of the narrators this season were characters that have only showed up a select few times thus far.
Why do I feel more connected to this season? Well, even though there's usually commentary about these characters' ways of viewing the world or how they're handling the stressors in their lives, this season felt like it touched on a lot of the more unfavorable sides of these characters. I liked processing these characters in a new way, by watching them admit to the worst parts of themselves. Conversely, there wa…
Read at the sourceLukazu
The Monogatari series is a story that makes you laugh, cry, and hard.
Story: 9
The show has an amazing story and each arc tells an interesting story. This season had the most interesting stories and also it made them more exciting. I loved that they did more crazy things in this season and they really made everything more interesting and it showed a bit more of the world of the Monogatari series. My only complaint which was not that bad in my opinion was that the arcs are not arranged in chronological order so it might get a bit confusing sometimes. I was feeling more tired whenever watching this so it was a bit hard for me to pay attention so I recommend not basically switching your brain off for this show. Brilliant story though even though it was a bit confusing.
Art: 10
Monogatari i…
Read at the sourcerealSolBadguy
Note: I highly, HIGHLY recommend you to watch ALL of the first season(s) before Second Season
(Bakemonogatari, Kizumonogatari, Nisemonogatari, and Nekomonogatari in that order).
It is best experienced with prior knowledge.
Upon finding myself inflicted with an (un)healthy obsession towards a certain seasonal anime known best as Bunny Girl Senpai, I began my short journey in an attempt to find something even remotely close in design or similar to in concept of said seasonal. I needed more. Of course, as anyone would, I landed on the beloved Monogatari series, and thank god I did. So, I suppose I shall now attempt to write about it. That being said, I do wholeheartedly encourage you to watch / read for yourself and create your own opinions, just as what I write here is simply my own opini…
Read at the sourceKararagi
Monogatari Second Season has many of the emotional highlights of the Monogatari series and as such is my favorite season of the franchise. With the exception of Kizumonogatari's ending, nothing in the other entries comes close to the bittersweet sadness of this season's key moments. Without spoiling anything, the ending to one of the story arcs actually managed to make me cry and I felt depressed for a couple days afterwards.
If I had to think of criticisms for Monogatari Second Season, I'd say that the main character, Koyomi Araragi, is surprisingly under-utilized in the first and last story arc. I know that those story arcs aren't strictly about him, but as he is the main character that we've been following up to this point, it feels a little frustrating to not see things from his persp…
Read at the sourceBlueCicada
Monogatari Series: Second Season is one of the more critically acclaimed instalments of the Monogatari series and for a good reason. It continues the story and the character arcs in very compelling, and sometimes highly unexpected ways.
THE STRUCTURE:
Each arc of Second Season takes the characters, and gradually unravels them over the course of their respective arcs in a very engaging, elegant way. Mainly through immensely entertaining, odd and expertly crafted dialogue, which tends to lead into a very rewarding climax, whether it would be exciting, emotional or a mix of both. It is the sort of storytelling that makes Monogatari so satisfying and immersive to watch. Pretty much every arc of Second Season uses this structure masterfully and utilising it for some great character developmen…
Read at the sourceNoitora33
Yeah, I don't have a "It literally means..." line for this one.
But man oh man. Was it a blast! Monogatari Series: Second Season exceeded all my expectations. I will try to make this review as much spoiler-free as possible. I will also give a sort of episode guide. So bear with me, please.
Monogatari Series: Second Season is based on 5 NisioIsin novels. This means within 23 episodes, there are five different arcs. I said 23 because there are 3 recap episodes in the total of 26 episodes. So the anime actually has 23 legit episodes. Let's discuss the story by arcs.
1. Tsubasa Tiger (Based on Nekomonogatari 2nd volume): Episode 01-05
Remember how Hanekawa used to turn into a cat demon because of all the stress in her life? Well, there is a new demon in the town this time and it is a tig…
Read at the sourceTheAceAttorney
I'm just going to cut to the chase: Monogatari Second Season is absolutely fantastic and has several arcs, ranging from great to incredible. I'll be sure to mention them in the order they appear. 3/5 of the arcs have someone else as the protagonist, instead of Koyomi, and I really enjoy seeing how certain characters think (Particularly, Kaiki). My main complaint stems from the fact that Hanamonogatari should have been the 3rd arc, before Otorimonogatari not separate from the Second Season, but just watch Hana before Otori and you'll be fine.
[SPOILERS]
Tsubasa Tiger (Nekomonogatari: Shiro): 9/10
Takes place around the same time as Kabuki, after Nise. Tsubasa Hanekawa
Mayoi Hell (Kabukimonogatari): 8/10
Takes place around the same time as Neko: Shiro, after Nise. Araragi
Nadeko Medusa…
Read at the sourcelrk2136
The harem genre is the trashiest of anime genres. Monogatari is a harem anime. The show is so good that despite this handicap it is still one of the best works in the medium.
Sound - The show has five different openings over 26 episodes. Mousou Express and Kogarashi Sentiment are bangers. Voice acting is top-notch.
Art - You could write an essay analyzing the art style of Monogatari. Backgrounds are abstracted and constantly shifting to match the tone of conversations. The use of color is exceptional. The series’ scene composition borrows elements from the French New Wave. There are other shows with larger budgets to throw at animation quality but the creativity here is off the chain.
Characters - Like how Evangelion explores the psychological trauma a 12yr old child would face when b…
Read at the sourceFlexySpagoot
[some spoilers]
Monogatari Series: Second Season was a wonderful return to form for me, discounting the Kizumonogatari trilogy (which I ended up watching right before this because I watched things slightly out of order). I found Nekomonogatari and Nisemonogatari, while not bad shows, to be inferior to the original. I can appreciate some good fanservice every now and then, but Nisemonogatari went a bit too far in that regard. I wasn't watching the series just to see Karen and Tsukihi sleeping together naked, or for extremely weird toothbrush scenes. Although looking back on it and looking at it for what it is I find it kind of funny. Except for the siblings element of it, that's still weird. In any case, I found Monogatari Series: Second Season (from here on referred to as Second Season) t…
Read at the sourcecameronkells
I am going to be totally honest Monogatari is so frustrating because as soon as I begin to hate on it after a couple of bad episodes they drop a season like this. If all of Monogatari had been written like this except for the amazing kizomonogatari and owarimonogatari I think everyone could agree this is the best anime of all time even surpassing one piece. But with that said it did not so for now One piece is still the GOAT. I also think that this show can be weird at sometimes but them fight scenes had be praying the gods for blessing my eyes
Read at the sourceArtdoroki
As a watcher of the previous seasons of Monogatari, in my opinion, Second Season is the best season ever made of Monogatari Series.
Story: 9/10
The story focuses too much on the main protagonists like Araragi and Shinobu, giving more references and details of stories from past seasons, in addition to having a good relationship between different characters, making the story very interesting to watch. Also, Second Season gives more details for new seasons in the future and besides being very detailed, but it is kind of limited in some aspects even.
Art: 10/10
The art of the Second Season of Monogatari Series is perfect, as well as many of the seasons, which brings the essence of anime as well. The art is very fluid and very interesting for other viewers, in addition to having great animato…
Read at the sourcehexashadow13
tl;dr: A very diverse range of stories that are pretty messy, but manage to flesh out characters incredibly well and deliver really strong high points.
Monogatari Series: Second Season is labelled a bit different from the other releases up to it. The other releases were released in installments that used the naming of the original source material. For example, the Bakemonogatari novels were adapted in a single anime season called Bakemonogatari, the Kizumonogatari novel was adapted as a series of films called Kizumonogatari. etc. This release however suddenly uses the name of the franchise and calls it second season. This may seem a bit strange, as it very much isn’t the second anime season. However, what it is referring to is what the original author dubbed seasons of the novel. Bakemono…
Read at the sourcereu_2d
Man, do i need to say more
2nd Season is a damn good show, its the longest of the monogatari series with 26 episodes, its probally one of the most enjoyable times that ive watched an anime
The show really and i mean REALLY digged the characters lore really deep, (again i dont want to spoil anything) the show made me love every character in it.
The first 1 to 14 episodes were one of the best episodes in the entirely of the monogatari series, it was really enjoyable to watch it, the rest of the episodes were pretty okay, i didnt get invested to the last arcs however,
while yes it may had a huge impact, in sight it was just a minor change to a specific character's development in the arc that i dont wanna name cause spoilers.
I cant think of any critism other than maybe the second half of…
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