Mononogatari 2nd Season

Although Hyouma Kunato has begun to feel comfortable around Botan Nagatsuki and her family of tsukumogami—objects possessed by spirits called marebito—he has not forgotten about his main goal in life: revenge.

Unbeknownst to Hyouma, while he is training in Kyoto under the supervision of the Kadomori family, the Bureau of Traditional Music, a group of three musical instrument tsukumogami, begins to enact its plan. The trio questions Botan's family about their intentions regarding Hyouma's presence near the person embodying the frontier between the human and marebito worlds. Soon after, the paper umbrella tsukumogami that Hyouma had been pursuing for years suddenly reappears and abducts Botan along with her university friends. Rushing to save the one he swore to protect, Hyouma might have to change his priorities if he wants to keep his promise to Botan.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kunato, Hyouma Main

Ootsuka, Takeo Japanese

Nagatsuki, Botan Main

Takada, Yuuki Japanese

Yuu Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Kadomori, Tsubaki Supporting

Oonishi, Saori Japanese

Haori Supporting

Sawashiro, Miyuki Japanese

Kagami Supporting

Tanaka, Aimi Japanese

Nagi Supporting

Kobayashi, Chikahiro Japanese

Kushige Supporting

Ootsuka, Akio Japanese

Kei Supporting

Suyama, Emiri Japanese

Shigure Supporting

Hikasa, Youko Japanese

Oowada, Tomoyuki Producer

Usukura, Ryuutarou Producer

Kimura, Hiroshi Producer

Muroichi, Gouto Producer

Reviews

Sep 18, 2023

Marinate1016

Recommended

Mononogatari is one of the most under appreciated series of the past few years. I like to think of it as a poor man’s JJK with less gore and worse animation, but a way better story. If you’re into occult and supernatural fantasies with well written characters and a genuinely intriguing plot, this is the one for you.

What Mononogatari lacks in animation quality it makes up for in writing. As I’ve said time and again, I can tolerate poor animation if it’s substituted for a good story and they nail it here.

Season 2, which feels like more of a second cour rather than a ... completely new season, builds on the firmly established characters and lore from the first 12 episodes. Hyoma’s development continues to be impressive and the season focuses on his evolving relationship with Botan and the bridal trousseau.

For me, this is where the show really shined. Hyoma came off as a really edgy and hateful person in the beginning of the story. Over the first season we saw him start opening his mind and accepting that his biases and prejudices against Tsukumogami were misplaced. Admitting that you were wrong is a hard thing to do and is truly the sign of a mature person. This season takes things further with him not just being open to that possibility, but fully embracing his position as a resident of the Nagatsuki estate. His relationship with Botan and the others goes from one of necessity, to a genuine familiar bond.

This season is also where we really start to see the overarching narrative of the story take shape. Season 1 was good, but a bit disjointed at times story wise. Some episodes felt very monster of the week-y, whereas in this one it’s gradually becomes clear who the real antagonist(s) are culminating in a very satisfying and emotional final battle. Sadly, it feels like the anime ended right as the story was really getting going and I could really go for another season.

The animation is the elephant in the room when it comes to Mononogatari. It’s not very good. Frankly, some of the fight scenes feel so lifeless and devoid of energy. It’s hard to really get into them. Luckily, this isn’t really a show that relies on that. Yea, there’s the big fight in the last 4 or so episodes of the show, but it’s a character driven story about accepting loss, forgiving yourself and opening yourself up to others. The supernatural action stuff is just a bonus for me so I’m not going to knock it severely for that.

Mononogatari is a very solid watch that I think would surprise a lot of people if they gave it a watch. Yes, the mc looks like a dollar store Eren. But he’s much more than that and you’ll quickly find yourself falling in love with these characters. If you’ve even considering watching this season, you’ve obviously seen season 1 and enjoyed it somewhat. You’ll like this one too. Pacing issues and animation aside, it is a very satisfying continuation.

Mononogatari season 2 gets 9, out of 10.

Reviewer’s Rating: 9

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Sep 18, 2023

KANLen09

Mixed Feelings

Oh Mono-NO-gatari, have you become the Monogatari that can finally be appreciated by the (lowly) masses? Apparently...yes and no.

Mangaka Onigunsou's anime adaptation continues where we left off with Part 1 back in Winter, and I'm not gonna lie, it felt like a work that was awfully dated by the time the anime adaptation came out almost a full decade since the start of the manga (almost 9 years to be precise). The story of spirits crossing over to the human world and possessing objects to gain its physical form to become tsukumogami, and a boy whose life was scarred by the evil ones so much ... that to try living with a tsukumogami-laden family to learn his control of hatred. That was the evolution of the main protagonist Hyoma Kunato, the son of the Kunato Saenome faction and his relationship with the young woman that would change his life forever: Botan Nagatsuki of the Nagatsuki House of tsukumogami, being possessed by a marebito that's the target of all Saenome factions.

It's safe to say that Part 2 here will feel more of the same if you have seen Part 1 back in Winter, so if the anime didn't grasp your attention from the get-go, then you can stop reading this review here. For the few who did venture out for more of what's to come, Part 2 basically ups the ante of the relationship between Hyoma and Botan, as well as the various groups and enemies that become a major factor of the show as it wears on. Hyoma, at this point, still wears his hatred of tsukumogami on the heart of his sleeve, though thanks to Botan, aside from the various giggles that their relationship is taken to the next level, he becomes better at his craft of mastering the ways of the Saenome, as well as learning to trust the family, which in turn, acts as the Nagatsuki Bridal Trousseau against the evil-doers who thwart their path onto unleashing Botan's marebito capability as the god of all tsukumogami and spirits.

Of course, the action accompanies the intensity of facing new characters like the Bureau of Traditional Music through Tsumabiki, Fukie and Tsuzumi, as well as the paper umbrella tsukumogami that have their sights on Botan, as well as Hyoma for getting revenge on them for the killing of his well-capable siblings at a young age. The good thing is that with Botan being the target, there is the fear mongering that she is truly in danger as Hyoma and the Nagatsuki House fight to keep her survival against strong enemies, but that is coupled with the same production values that follow from Part 1, though it feels polished, albeit with the same inconsistencies that's the case for Bandai Namco Pictures's standards.

Other than that, the OST for Part 2, it was a downgrade over what Part 1 had with ARCANA PROJECT's somewhat good OP and TRUE's beautiful ED, replacing it with Megatera Zero's somewhat fitting Shonen-feelish OP and Azusa Tadakoro's low-key feel good-ish ED.

Even after another season of Mono-NO-gatari, am I convinced that mangaka Onigunsou's work is good? Probably not, it's just as forgettable as Part 1 comes, though even with the heavy action of Part 2 that delivers big time as a redemption arc of sorts, the entire product still feels mediocre at best. I've said in my review of Part 1 that if this show's anime adaptation would've come a lot earlier, say the mid to late 2010s, it would at least have a cult following, but in 2023 where tropes have been repeated to soulless repetition, I'm sorry to say that Mono-NO-gatari just didn't really stand out amongst the crowded pack of AniManga.

It definitely is a redemption of an ugly duckling, but still, this certainly, and cohesively, is no swan.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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Mar 27, 2024

tmunee

Not Recommended

Funny

This anime suffers from trying to draw things out too much. You sit and wait for the thing which you know is going to happen for 6 episodes only to NOT have it happen - WAIT TILL S3 - and stay interested is the money-grubber's plan.

The premise, the enemies, the relationships, etc. have stayed ENTIRELY the same since ep1s1. If you threw in some kind of new info that changed things, or additional chars that actually added something you didn't know then you could justify the lagging story. Sad truth is, though, the entire story is just a tease. It is setting up a ... "moment" viewers want, and then constantly denying them that gratification so they keep watching. There is no real story or plan, just bait to make you watch more.

Its gimmicky, its pathetic, and its a sign of writers and a studio who only care about money and not story or their fans. PLEASE STOP WATCHING THIS!

Reviewer’s Rating: 1

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