Anime Hajime Review: Owarimonogatari

***Warning, the following may contain spoilers for Owarimonogatari and all previous entries in the Monogatari series. The following may contain spoilers from the previous entries.***

Series Synopsis

Only a few short months have passed since that fateful spring which briefly turned Koyomi Araragi (voiced by Hiroshi Kamiya) into a vampire. He has since saved many from devastating and potential fatal encounters with the shadowy entities known as oddities. Yet the details of his own past have largely remained a mystery.

Weather out of preference or happenstance, Koyomi has not faced the demons of his younger years. That changes the day Ogi Oshino (voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi) came into his life.

Ogi is a strange, eccentric girl who claims to be the niece of Koyomi’s old mentor, Meme Oshino. Nothing ever seems to bother her and she knows a lot of details concerning Koyomi’s past exploits. Possessing a keen detective sense, she can fully ascertain almost any situation nearly instantaneously. Always with a plan and always with a smile, Ogi is never without an ace up her sleeve.

This is only the beginning for Koyomi must finally address his relationship with the powerful vampire, Shinobu Oshino (voiced by Maaya Sakamoto). The hardships of many, many centuries are about to boil over and everything is on the line.

While there are many against Koyomi, there are also an equal number people whose agendas are unknown. The answers are waiting to be found and despite the daunting task before him, Koyomi has the support and friendship of some truly indispensable allies.

Series Positives

Ogi Oshino

This has been one hell of a ride. Luckily its not yet over, but we are running out. After very extensive research (a.k.a. a five minute glance through Wikipedia), I gathered that there are still volumes of the Monogatari story that have not seen an anime adaptation.

Yet as of writing this review, Owarimonogatari is the latest in the Monogatari series to see a television release; Koyomimonogatari was released as an O.V.A. in early 2016, but that's a review for another time.

So where does that leave us with this instalment?

Owarimonogatari is one of the better entries in the entire anime franchise; it was quite good. But what really put it over the top and what made me really enjoy it was that there was finally closure for the lingering story lines we saw way back in Second Season.

The visuals are once again amazing. The dialogue is once again enthralling. This is still Monogatari, that brand gives no hint of dying out. If you’ve liked any of the others, you’re going to like this one too. Plus there are things in this instalment that make it stand apart from the others.

Ogi

My favorite characters, for awhile now, have been Hitagi Senjogahara (voiced by Chiwa Saito) and Tsubasa Hanakeawa (voiced by Yui Horie). These two’s have maintained dominance over many other great characters of Monogatari; including, but not limited to, Koyomi, Shinobu, and Suruga Kanbaru (voiced Miyuki Sawashiro). Suddenly, the power balance has shifted.

Ogi Oshino is an amazing character and is the best thing about Owarimonogatari. Both Hitagi and Tsubasa are in this instalment, albeit I would have liked to see more of Hitagi, but Ogi is the ultimate scene stealer.

This is a character that has existed in other Monogatari seasons, but always stayed outside the spotlight. But even then, there was something about her that grabbed my attention. Of all the answers I wanted the most, she was one of the big ones. I was looking forward to Owarimonogatari and I was not disappointed.

Ogi is every bit as mysterious, every bit as strange, and every bit as fascinating as I expected. Like all the other great Monogatari characters, she’s articulate, brilliant, and sharp. But what separates her, and what completely took me off guard, is she scares the s@#$ out of me.

You never know what Ogi’s thinking; she's pure unpredictability. I can’t place her, I can’t figure out what's going in her head. At times it seems like she’s two steps ahead of everybody, but I’m almost convinced she’s often pulling stuff out of her ass. I simply don’t know with her.

It’s amazing, it’s great. With everyone else, including Hitagi and Tsubasa, I have a pretty good grasp of their motivations. Any character I think is even a little bit shady, I assume they're lying and I’m usually right. I can’t do that with Ogi.

Is she truly helping Koyomi or is she f@#$ing with him? Both scenarios are equally possible. I don’t trust her, but I also don’t disregard her insight. Who the hell is Ogi Oshino? I can’t answer that, but whenever she's on screen I'm drawn to her. I would even go so far as to say she's my new favorite character.

Series Negatives

Owarimonogatari is split in two. The first half focuses on a girl from Koyomi’s past, Sodachi Oikura (voiced by Marina Inoue) and Ogi is heavily involved here. The second fills in the last major gap left from Second Season and explains the time where Koyomi suddenly appeared looking completely badass and wielding a giant sword.

Both halves are good, both halves are worth watching. However, Ogi doesn’t play that big of a role in the second half and since I just went over why she’s great, the later episodes aren’t as interesting in comparison. I can't believe I said that since this was a story arc I've been waiting to see for a while now.

Sodachi Oikura

Resolution

On occasion, Monogatari does have a big climatic fight. More often than not though, conflicts are settled through words. Owarimonogatari has both and does them well.

Once again, the dialogue is at the level we've come to expect; long, deep, and sometimes confusing as s@#$. When this happens, the show usually does a decent job of clarifying itself. You might have to put in a little extra thought, but I would argue that adds to the fun of the series.

I can’t really say that for Owarimonogatari, particularly when it came to the resolution of it's story arcs. They end happily yes, but only because that’s what the plot told us. Why it’s a happy ending is something I’m having a little trouble wrapping my mind around.

You'd think I'm referring to the second story arc, but I’m not. The problem sits with the first, which was overall a lot better; but what happened at the end?

There’s a great dialogue battle between Tsubasa and Ogi; pitting their logic against each other. In the end, Ogi conceded that the fight resulted in her lost. Is that really what happened though? As I saw it, they tied; one didn’t disprove the other. In fact, both girls came to the same conclusion and were in agreement.

I guess you could see it as Ogi thinking Koyomi was going to do one thing, but ended up doing the opposite and this unexpected reaction was what led to Ogi’s defeat. I don’t buy because Tsubasa also believed Koyomi wasn’t going to do what he ended up doing.

Normally I can piece together some kind of answer; not always great, but at least existing. I’m having a bit of trouble this time around.

Final Thoughts

There's still the previously mentioned Koyomimonogatari as well as the planned film trilogy to look forward to, so Monogatari isn’t going away quite yet.

If this is your entry into the story, you've made a very poor decision. On the other hand, if you've been following along, Owarimonogatari is another solid addition to an already outstanding series. Great dialogue, visuals, and all the rest return; making this a welcomed continuation.

Plus there’s the added bonus of Monogatari not only revealing some much-needed insight into past installments but finally looking into who is perhaps the best characters of the entire series. Owarimonogatari certainly carries on what we have come to expect from this show.