Well, it’s just about decision time with Mononogatari. Which matters to me and the three of you who seem to be watching it. It didn’t win the Patron Pick poll (this time), but I’ve been on this train for 17 episodes now and part of me rebels at the idea of hopping off now. And it’s not as if the series is getting worse or anything – on balance I’d say this cour has been pretty good. But the interest in the show is pretty minimal, clearly, and it’s never quite worked its way into my top tier. I guess I’ll see how I feel after next week.
With Hyouma and the Nagatsuki gang holed up at Casa Kadamori, they’re more or less at his mercy. She wakes up seemingly undamaged, which is obviously good. But with Kushige out of commission she’s a thread to herself and others as far as the Saenome are concerned. And she – or her tsukumogami – have no power to refuse Kadamori’s terms. She’ll stay under his protection, take a leave from the university, and he’ll follow whatever orders he receives from above. He also lets Haori know that she and her group have been summoned to appear before one of the three great Saenome families, the Yachimata, to present their case for not being relieved of the duty of safeguarding her.
Meanwhile, Hyouma relays what happened to his grandfather. He gives the lad some advice – it’s time for him to “face his own power”. The meaning isn’t immediately clear, but it turns out he’s been using the door pulls he got from his late brother and sister rather than his own. For understandable reasons, but this keeps him from fully realizing his own power. Hyouma retrieves his door pulls from the ruined Nagatsuki estate, and sets about reacquainting himself with them after what’s clearly been a very long time.
The other thread here is Tsubaki’s continued efforts to seduce Hyouma. The key question is just what sort of seduction Tsubaki is attempting here, and I really don’t think it’s romantic. Not that I know exactly what she’s after, but she just strikes me as someone who’s all about the power. Of course that and the other may not be unrelated – I could see marrying Hyouma as being a shrewd move for her in many ways. Having to leave her behind it’s Botan the bridal trousseau is worried about (the Bureau of traditional Music steps up to take the mantle in their absence), but it might actually be Hyouma who’s under more of a threat.
SeijiSensei
August 1, 2023 at 10:38 pmI still like this show, though this episode was mostly setup. Hyouma and the Bureau teaming up to protect Botan could prove interesting.
Nicc
August 3, 2023 at 5:37 amThere are dozens of us watching this show… Dozens! Okay, there’s probably more than that, but I have watched some shows that I figured there were only a handful of other people watching in the same time zone…
As SeijiSensei mentioned, this episode was mostly set-up. Taiju looks irritated about the whole thing and I can’t say that I blame him considering he’s aware how potentially dangerous the situation could become. At the very least, it seems that Botan will have freedom of movement within the Kadamori compound, but going out is a no-no. She does eventually wake up and looks no worse for wear. However, she then learns about what happened with Kushige. It seems that he was a grandfather figure to her.
Speaking of grandfathers, it’s the first time we’ve seen Hyouma’s grandfather in a while as he Hyouma lets him know what’s going on. We learn that he has his own set of door pulls that he has not been using. He’s been borrowing the door pulls of his deceased siblings so that he won’t forget his revenge. However, that means he’s not tapping into his own powers and grandpa lets him know if he wants the power to protect instead of getting revenge, he’s got to switch things up. Since it’s been so long, he has to rebuild the trust with his door pulls.
And, yes, the Nagatsukis’ have been summoned by one of the three great families and it’s not something that they can refuse. At least the Music Society will step in to watch over Botan while they’re away. One of the three great families includes the Kunato family, which Hyouma is going to be the heir to. The thing about the three families is somehow news to him… It seems that he could use the occasional dope slap.
Right, Tsubaki keeps on trying to get closer to Hyouma. As the next head of the Kadamori family, a marriage to him would be very advantageous to her. It’s possible that it could be genuine affection, but that may compel her to do something about Botan as she and Hyouma get ever so closer. Judging from the next episode preview, the Nagatsukis’ head off to the meeting while Hyouma continues his training with his door pulls. I want to see what new techniques he may learn.
Guardian Enzo
August 3, 2023 at 6:42 amOK, let’s compromise and say “tens of you”.