Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we’re diving back into Monogatari’s Off Season, as we explore Nadeko’s continuing efforts to pull herself back together. Having embraced Yotsugi’s brilliant idea of dividing her manga labors between four shikigami doppelgangers, Nadeko swiftly discovered that her old selves are an unruly bunch, and none of them have any interest in practicing drafting. Instead, they’re now rampaging all about the town, causing all manner of havoc for our unfortunate Current Nadeko to clean up.
It’s a pretty classic Monogatari problem: you hide the disliked aspects of yourself for long enough, and eventually they break free and run wild, demanding you acknowledge your full, unflattering identity for what it is. Nadeko’s numerous doppelgangers reflect her tendency to dramatically reinvent herself, to fully reject an old persona and embrace one she believes will make her happier. Given this tendency, it’s little wonder she has trouble truly believing in her current identity either, and was thus so shaken by her parents’ ultimatum. Like so many of Monogatari’s heroes, she must learn to embrace and forgive herself – to acknowledge that all these fragmentary selves are indeed sincere aspects of her identity, and that she should not be ashamed of either previously embodying them or now hoping to move beyond them. With Ougi’s needling “if you were happy, you wouldn’t seek such lofty dreams” and Sodachi’s well-intentioned “the world won’t end if you’re not sure what to do” both ringing in her mind, let’s return to the trials of Sengoku Nadeko!
Episode 4
“Honestly, I didn’t think I would ever come here again.” Nadeko treats every element of her past lives with a finality that speaks to her insecurity regarding their continuing hold over her life. Would it actually be that unusual to at some point visit the house of her friend Tsukihi? Probably not, but she can only cling to the hope that she’s fully reinvented herself by fully rejecting her prior selves, and thereby refusing to acknowledge what aspects of those selves are still true to her personality, and might help guide her forward
“Nowadays, this is a room that I should not be visiting.” Of course, there’s also the secondary influence here of Kaiki, who determined that Nadeko and Koyomi should never meet. Koyomi saves everyone he can, and Nadeko is always looking for permission to be a damsel in distress – it is indeed a toxic mixture, each of their weaknesses flattering the other’s most self-destructive qualities
And they cut into the OP with the same “here goes” that announced Renai Circulation, once again using these musical motifs to emphasize the continuity within Nadeko’s life. In spite of how far she has come, she’s still caught in this familiar musical loop
Araraqi’s room actually harbors Wrath Nadeko, who appears to be waiting with a sharp chisel for whoever enters
Current Nadeko admits she’s not giving these other Nadekos a fair deal. Why would four Nadekos with their own distinct dreams want to dedicate their efforts to her latest preoccupation? To them, Current Nadeko is no different from their parents
I do appreciate all this Wrath Nadeko as Golgo 13 imagery this is facilitating, though
Each Nadeko also comes with their own color scheme. In contrast with Flirty Nadeko’s diverse pastels, Wrath Nadeko is defined by a sharp contrast of red, white, and black
Though we haven’t met God Nadeko yet, a lot of the layouts here are definitely reminiscent of her violent poses, alongside that quasi-lens flare effect for her chisel
“Chisels are creative…” “Creative? Then you’re set on making me work!” Wrath Nadeko was the avatar Nadeko needed at the time, but this conversation is making clear that this persona was only ever capable of destruction – she could shatter Nadeko’s classroom fantasy, but she couldn’t build anything in its wake. Still, this capacity to discard what isn’t working is valuable, even if both this persona and Nadeko as a whole have usually taken it to an unproductive extreme
“You’re reluctantly putting in effort, right? If it’s too much pain, just stop.” Yeah, this Nadeko is all about rejection
Current Nadeko actually uses Wrath’s single-mindedness against her, drawing her into a trap by predicting where she’ll attempt to thrust. Rejection can make you feel powerful, but it’s ultimately more predictable than passion
“Those were Wrath Nadeko’s words. And I’m sure they’re words from my own heart.” Nadeko is starting to understand. Just because she can’t envelop herself completely inside any of these identities doesn’t mean they’re inauthentic – their complaints about her choices are a legitimate part of her, and her total rejection of those voices is part of why she’s having so much trouble moving forward. She can’t just put the past to work slaving away at her current passion; she must learn from these Nadekos, not just harvest their labor
“There’s a mark on the floor, but it’s an unnoticeable size until it’s noticed.” A playful turn of phrase that also echoes Nadeko’s growing awareness to these other Nadekos’ continued presence within her
“I’ll have my self-centered friend Tsukihi explain it all later.”
Nadeko borrows a sporty outfit and cap from Tsukihi’s impressive collection, then is immediately panicked to hear the phone ringing, and ultimately answers with her own name. In spite of it all, she is still Nadeko
Oh god, it’s Senjougahara
Effective use of a bright red-centered color palette and distorted live-action photography to convey Nadeko’s panicked response
“I’m never answering the phone again.” I hear you, Nadeko
Nadeko next heads for North Shirahebi Shrine, where she stumbles across discarded remnants of Yotsugi’s body
Another pointed color palette shift here, as we jump to the deep maroons of old horror manga. Every character in Monogatari envisions the world in a different way, and Nadeko’s perception of the world is clearly filtered through her fascination with a wide array of manga genres
Yotsugi’s dismembered head tasks Nadeko with putting her back together. Just another day at this friggin’ shrine
Oh my god Nadeko, please don’t envision a shoujo meet-cute between yourself and Yotsugi’s severed head. Why are you doing this to us
Nonetheless, Yotsugi acknowledging the worth of her friendship with Nadeko is definitely a step forward for her, considering how loathe she was to admit her fondness for Tsukihi and Nadeko during that last arc. With Koyomi gone, even Yotsugi is developing some healthy friendships with people who are technically her own age
The dethroned god, the immortal phoenix, and the reanimated corpse. What a crew
I like that even though Yotsugi’s arm is severed, it’s still making a peace gesture
And also that her limbs make rubber ducky noises when you squish them back together
Yotsugi explains that she was defeated by God Nadeko and Meek Nadeko working together. So Meek Nadeko was conscripted by the snake god for a second time
Interestingly, Yotsugi’s reflections on tailing Meek Nadeko are conveyed in an old-fashioned 3:4 aspect ratio, perhaps to emphasize the limits of this second-hand retelling
God Nadeko was using Meek Nadeko as a lure, capitalizing on Meek Nadeko’s self-consciously helpless nature to bait Yotsugi into a trap
“From how your limbs are still attached to your body, I’m guessing you haven’t come across God Nadeko.” Sharp deduction, Yotsugi
Yotsugi cautions against involving another specialist – like with the Tsukihi situation, it’s likely they’ll simply erase Nadeko, copies and all. Every subsequent Monogatari adventure makes it all the more clear how lucky Araragi was to find Oshino of all specialists, as he’s basically the only one dedicated to negotiation and rehabilitation rather than outright destruction
The greatest threat is that Meek Nadeko becomes a second God Nadeko. Given the clear fragility of Meek Nadeko’s sense of self, that does seem like a strong possibility. Although of the Nadekos we’ve seen so far, their guiding principle seems to mostly be “I’m not gonna do what I don’t wanna do”
You can tell the relative lushness of this production purely by the embellished detail and color design of the shrine. We’ve seen this shrine so many times, across so many stages of this franchise, that it kinda serves as a visual barometer of production health
Mayoi isn’t here at the moment. “Because of her origins, she’s the kind of god who likes to go on walks.” What a perfect conclusion this story found for our wandering ghost
Between the staggered series of opponents and this sequence of reconstructing a corpse, this whole arc contains shades of Kizu, as well
Nadeko says she cannot fight two other Nadekos alone, but Yotsugi counters that she is not alone – she has Wrath Nadeko and Flirty Nadeko within her. If she can learn to integrate rather than reject her past selves, she can become more powerful than her opponent
And Done
Excellent work, Current Nadeko! While Yotsugi was literally being torn limb from limb, our heroine managed to avoid getting disemboweled and gather up one of her most dangerous past selves, with the last two now close at hand. Yotsugi’s predicament made for a lighter, less interiority-focused episode on the whole than the last two, but that felt like a necessary counterbalance to an arc that’s been striking deeply at Nadeko’s fractured identity right from the start. Her past selves are not embarrassments to be set aside and forgotten, they are aspects of her full self – none of them are her destiny, but they all have stories to tell, mannerisms and ambitions that still ring true to her feelings, and which could possibly guide her to a happier five-Nadeko self. Yotsugi’s words feel like the kindest possible framing of personal development; reinventing yourself doesn’t mean rejecting your past, it simply means there is more of you, a new perspective to join your collective identity. Whatever framing helps you come to forgive and love yourself, seize onto it with all your might!
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