Alright my interest in Shinobu came back in an instant. A bit late, maybe too late, but still, that was great. But the one who really made this episode for me wasn't her, but Kanbaru. She read through Shinobu so well, and that's because she can relate to her first subject. She wanted for Senjougahara to tell her she didn't love her, and when she actually did, as painful as it was, it's what gave Kanbaru the possibility to move on. Well, of course. How could have she if Senjougahara kept her in the dark ? She needed a closure, and that was the only way for her to get it.
And what's particularly great is that this reminds me a lot of the Sodachi arc's message. The context was different, but in the end what Oikura needed was for Araragi to tell her the truth, as painful as it was. That's a truth she probably didn't want to hear (which is confirmed if you take a look at Mathemagic's lyrics), but in the end that was the best thing to do, she couldn't just be left like that forever.
And the parallel is even more interesting if you take a look at Decent Black's lyrics, and at one line in particular : "The lies mixed with kindness are still lies covered with kindness, right ?". I brought up this specific line because that whole "lies mixed with kindness" thing perfectly goes along with one of Shinobu's arguments, and at the same time the "are still lies covered with kindness" part completely destroys it. It is easy to say you want to protect the other person, that you don't want them to get hurt. But the truth is that you are hurting them even more by hiding the truth from them. Giving false hopes that you know will get destroyed one day or another is a very unhealthy thing to do, even if the intention is noble.
But that's what separates Shinobu from Araragi : it is that Shinobu doesn't actually hide the truth because of a fear to hurt her subject, but because of a fear to hurt herself. She runs away, she hides, all because she doesn't want to admit anything, just because she doesn't want to face the problem. And by doing so, she is running away from her responsabilities.
Even if Kanbaru's words were harsh, she was right about everything. What Shinobu is doing here is giving the impression that every single one of her relationships will be unstable. If she is unable to discuss a problem, if she is unable to say out loud how she feels about the persons involved, if she doesn't consider them worthy of hearing the truth, then it's almost as if they weren't important enough to her, and that includes Araragi. If Shinobu is unable to state in front of the 1st that someone else has become the 1st, it's just as if she were saying she isn't certain Araragi is the real 1st, and actually she stated it herself. And in that case, yes, the truth has to be uncovered, even if said truth is that she still cares more about her old subject than about Araragi.
Because that's the thing : in a relationship, there are at least two persons involved. You can't just think about how you, and you alone feel. The other person's feelings are just as important. And the most important thing, in any relationship of any kind, is dialogue. Discussing the problem might sound scary, it is scary, but running away will do absolutely no good on the long term, whereas telling the truth will.
Also, Kanbaru's advice to Araragi was great. "Do Your Best", that becomes "Do It Yourself". I have a feeling this line impacted a lot of Araragi's actions in the Sodachi arcs. Actually, that even probably explains his finale decision to go and talk to Oikura face to face, without anyone else involved. Ougi herself admitted she underestimated him, and for her to say something like that, that means Araragi must have considerably surpassed himself. And to do that, he probably remembered the words "Do It Yourself" right when he took his decision. That's why he didn't answer to Ougi at this moment. Because at this very moment, he realized that he couldn't just rely on someone else all the time. At this very moment, it was him who had to take actions, without anyone else involved.
Seriously the messages are so good and I love how everything seems connected, this season might become my favorite from Monogatari. |