Jun 12, 2019
I was more than happy with the ending of Owarimonogatari, so why continue the ending? I feel as though it wrapped Araragi's story near perfectly and is the clear endpoint for his character. Well, it's Monogatari, so the answer is always fanservice.
The premise is quite intriguing to me, and the story itself turned out to be somewhat fascinating. There's only one problem: it's way too long.
Does it need to be that long? No.
Why is it that long? Constant exposition and recaps of the story and of course, fanservice.
I do not know if this is only a problem in
...
the episodic format (the one I watched), but almost every episode has long exposition or recap scenes. I actually usually enjoy when all the characters explain what is happening from their viewpoint to Araragi, but there are just too many of these scenes in Zoku. He really did not need to travel around and hear nearly every girls' opinion, because ultimately, they all had little impact on the story. Their opinions are certainly all interesting and give an insight into the characters, but they just don't stop. These scenes unfortunately just feel like an excuse to see all the different versions of characters that we probably won't see again, and end up hurting the overall quality and viewing experience of the show.
This is not to say that the fanservice is bad, because a lot of it is really good, even for Monogatari standards. Mayoi Onee-chan is a top tier waifu, my life feels fulfilled after seeing smug Ononoki, and the scene with Senjougahar almost makes up for her absence from the rest of the season, but when all these turn what should have been a 4 episode arc into 6 episodes, there is a problem.
Zoku Owarimonogatari ultimately falls onto the same level as Nisemonogatari: just a vessel to deliver more fanservice. Zoku is less hollow and better executed than Nise, but just not great. Although it did provide some context for Hanamonogatari and made Hana more interesting, it did little to change my perception of the season it is a part of, Owarimonogatari. Of course, you'll you like it if you like Monogatari, but it really does just feel like a bland and forgettable Monogatari arc.
All that said, the good easily outweighs the bad. 7/10
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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