Watching Problematic Anime: MONOGATARI | Video Essay

[@wolflink9000]

monogatari is a masterpiece. i only recommend to certain peolpe with a disclaimer but it's such a good piece of art.

[@aarondesuacido1751]

I wholeheartedly agree

[@sirnonapplicable]

Save for the lolicon components, I loved it

[@304Blaise]

Yay monogatari essay! Another person who feels similarly about this disgusting, unreccomendable masterpiece of art is rare for me to find. I pretty much agree with everything you said, although I would personally say it’s one of the best anime of all time simply because the highs are so high they manage to outweigh the lows. In my opinion after finishing the entire thing, it’s an artistic tour-de-force with a really positive message about outgrowing your own flaws and learning to become a better person. I do actually think they hyper-sexualized depictions do at times contribute towards a positive message, and a deconstruction of the male gaze in media. However, your point about the fan base is spot on. Sadly a lot of monogatari “fans” don’t look at the symbolism, don’t take the messages to heart or try to improve themselves, and despite the fact the show is making fun of them to their faces, often times they’re simply too media-illiterate to even realize they’re the butt of the joke. The show itself doesn’t have a problem with this, and seems entirely content to keep taking these people’s money while laughing at them for it. There are some parts that feel like they only exist to please this side of the fandom that frankly doesn’t appreciate what are in my opinion the best aspects of the series, and those elements are really gross. Overall though, I find that the use of “fan service” is usually done in an intentionally uncomfortable way, often with music and art direction that reinforces how gross what it’s doing is, with tense, uncomfortable scoring and harsh, searing colors that almost burn the images into your brain in a very intense way that differs from other shows use of “fan-service.” All that said, whenever I show this series to a friend, my hand is always ready to fast forward through the most off-putting parts simply because I don’t want anyone to think I support or buy into any of this degenerate topics the series is deconstructing. What a complicated anime! Lol. Great video!

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you so so much for your nice comment! I literally agree with everything you said as well and I am so happy to see more monogatari fans with the same perspective (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

[@nirgunawish]

i wish society wasn't like this. i'm trans and i think i recent started being somewhat passable because i've been getting some truly disgusting comments and questions. i don't know how to deal with it. it makes me hide myself at home for days at a time and i started reading into conspiratorial stuff why society is like this. someone told me to get julia serano's new book on this but idk if it'll help

[@Senchi3]

There are actually many of us, we're just hard to find among the sea of coomers

[@mutedups]

Good god I wish YT allowed me to save comments, pretty much exactly how I feel

[@Lin_Eileen]

@@nirgunawish LITERALLY SAME... i am trans too came out a few years ago & like holy.... I am still a huge fan of Monogatari I love it but so much of the fanbase are actually just degenerate scum who can't read between the lines & it makes me sick, it shows a lot about society & I think that's why the series is actually an effective deconstruction & scathing critique of these harmful, problematic & questionable anime tropes... but god forbid you try & discuss the series in any sort of nuance like this to most of it's fans... they will literally just call you a bot & bury you for trying to actually analyze it through a lens they don't find appealing. How is it this hard for people to understand?! The first arc was LITERALLY all about an SA attempt traumatizing a girl & her mother let it happen... the entire series touches on consent & boundaries in relationships & lot it's literally how I learned to be a good & respectful person after years of abuse & neglect... you can take so many good lessons from it but so many people are disgustingly perverted and just want outlets for those sick desires it's why I don't recommend the series lightly to just anyone I talk to cause I don't want yet another person getting questionable ideas from it. Like I get into so many arguments about ppl trying to tell me it's not wrong to be turned on by a drawing or animation and it's like yes ur right... it's not wrong, but when it's an animation or drawing depicting CHILD NUDITY you need to have some goddamn class or it's gonna be seen as EXTREMELY SUS.... like why the hell do I have to even explain this to people 😖

[@Senchi3]

"Part 1: Monogatari is Great" "Part 2: Monogatari is Horrible" Yeah that's a good tldr

[@J.P_Nacho]

Thanks for your video. Recently I've come upon a theory of Kanbaru's sexual flirtation with Araragi was her attempting to prove he wasn't worthy. After the reconcile their issues, it probably continued because they enjoyed it. Yeah, her acting like she wants him is a lie, but who said it those lies are any less valuable?

[@gaharajoke]

that sounds like something Kanbaru would do. I don't mind the flirtation as much as I mind the constant nudity (but that's an overall issue with monogatari). I also know that the nudity shows that Kanbaru is only comfortable to be herself around Araragi. He seems to be the only character that knows she likes BL, and that helps her clean her room. But yeah I don't always mind Kanbaru and Araragi's relationship, just the few moments where she is overly sexualised and appears to be more forceful. :)

[@IllegalContractor]

This was a very informative video :) I remember watching the Monogatari series in high school up until the end of Owarimonogatari which took me a LONG TIME to realize that I actually didn't like the series and I had only watched it out of obligation. I think you did a very great job at pointing out the things the series did and the flaws it had without going into spoiler territory or being redundant (though I think you could make a separate video that breaks down why certain aspects are problematic throughout the series if you wanted to get to the nitty gritty of things, just my opinion).

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you for nice comment 🫶🏼 I completely agree! I would love to make another video that is more detailed. I watched monogatari when I was a teenager and then again as an adult, and while I ended up enjoying it, I was also very aware of how horrible some moments were in the show. It makes for an ... interesting watching experience. 😂

[@sillyindividual_]

this is a great video! i have recently finished monogatari and while i did enjoy the series for the same reasons you did, those harmful scenes made me feel less connected to the story and it's characters, even the ones that are narrative important. Also, i'm glad you talked about kanbaru. As a lesbian, it makes me really happy to see a character who say with all the words that she is a lesbian and that is treated equally, but those scenes with araragi really pass some harmful stereotypes about queer women and especially lesbians. (sorry for the long comment, but your video is really good!)

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you for your lovely comment! I'm so happy to interact with people who enjoy monogatari the same way I do :'))) xx

[@damascar3639]

Amazing video !! Really refreshing to see an actual -discussion- on the problematic parts of monogatari rather than just a blind defense or hate of it, from someone who loves the series but find themselves in a really odd place when it comes to recommending it to ppl . What I want to add to this discussion is that, regardless of the matter of how tasteful ( or more often not tasteful ) Araragi's interactions with the characters are, and if it's ok or not to make jokes about it, it's also very interesting how more often than not Araragi's interaction with the various girls is only *really* flirty or sexually charged with Hanekawa before meeting Senjougahara, Senjo herself , and the adult form of Kiss Shot. This is evident in my opinion with Nadeko, with her trying really hard to look "adult" and to seduce Araragi, to which he responds with indifference, and to a lesser extend with every interactions with Hajikuji or his sisters , interactions who are brought to an extreme goofy cartoony vibe.

[@Limenologica]

I'm vibin with this when I saw your subs count I really thought that my youtube had a problem and forgot like at least two zeros. I mean this is just a solid video essay, I'm deffinitly staying for more :>

[@gaharajoke]

thank you sm for your nice comment and for liking my content ♡ :')

[@serenan2d]

Thank you for such a mature and honest video on Monogatari! I can’t wait to see more videos from you ☺️✨

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you so much! 💕✨Next video is gonna be on an entirely new topic from me :)))

[@justinjustin7224]

I greatly appreciate your views on this series. How you take the time to actually consider the potential narrative importance in the more fanservice centric parts of the series, despite your disdain for the tropes, is both understandable and respectable. I've looked through several of the sources you listed, particularly regarding lolicon's cultural impact and the under-reporting of sexual assault. I can see how the under-reporting of SA potentially undermines one of the points in Galbraith's paper regarding lolicon content not contributing to higher cases of CSA. However, I wasn't able to access the full papers on under-reporting of SA, so there are questions that I have regarding whether they actually bring forward evidence that would more strongly discount Galbraith's claim. For example, did they calculate how much under-reporting there has been for individual years? If so, how many years are covered? Is there enough data to show a shift in how much under-reporting has occured over the years? If it can be determined that under-reporting of CSA had increased during the time when lolicon content became more prevalent in Japan, then that would be pretty strong evidence against Galbraith's point. Though, on the other hand, if the rate of CSA being unreported did not increase, then Galbraith's point would still stand. That said, I'm guessing that the data within the papers on under-reporting aren't sufficient to suggest one way or another, which is a shame, as knowing that data would be huge for meaningfully progressing the conversation on whether allowing or censoring lolicon content is more beneficial for reducing harm. All of that said, I look forward to more of your content in the future.

[@gaharajoke]

First of all, thank you so much for your kind comment. I'm very glad that my intention with this video was not misconstrued and that you enjoyed the video! :) xx Regarding your questions: You are right to assume that underreporting is very difficult to measure as people tend to generally stay quiet about crimes committed against them. Usually we measure underreporting by using surveys that go directly to people (not police stations). In Japan the most recent one I believe was released in 2022. This is a link of an article regarding the survey (I'm linking the article as it is in English and I was able to read it) www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/06/17/national/sexual-violence-cabinet-survey/ . Obviously it's never certain how often these surveys will come out, as not all of them are funded by the government and it is generally very inconsistent (for example, you might not have one come out every single year). It's unfortunate that we cannot measure underreporting better, but the current data indicate it is very high (in many countries and not just Japan, of course). Also this academic article can shed some light on reasons people do not report SA (i know it's a bit old but some of the reasons might still be relevant) "Dussich, J., Fujiwara, Y. and Sagisaka, A., 1996. Decisions not to report sexual assault in Japan. In AIC Conference Proceedings (pp. 35-40). Australian Institute of Criminology.". Now in terms of the loli and SA debate. Japanese academia rarely examines SA and lolis, or if they do I cannot find them cause they have not been translated (I would love it if a person fluent in Japanese could confirm whether such literature exists). My information of the loli + SA comes from international research on SA + enforcing deviant fantasies (such as watching "grape korn" or anything involving children). People argue there are differences, and I do not dispute that, but a lot of lolis are put in "naughty" scenarios and imagery, such as exposed clothing and suggestive poses. When you see them on body pillows, it becomes pretty clear what the intentions are with such characters. I will leave some more articles on the topic of fantasies, and how they might encourage or increase the likelihood of SA (possibly but not always, of course, because humans are all different and unpredictable sometimes). Of course, the scientific debate is still ongoing due to lack of studies examining the role fantasies play. Usually because people do not want to participate in such studies or feel ashamed due to the taboo nature of the topic. That's why my opinions are never extreme, but I certainly lean towards one side of the argument a little bit more. Cantor, J.M. and McPhail, I.V., 2016. Non-offending pedophiles. Current Sexual Health Reports, 8, pp.121-128. Russell, D.E. and Purcell, N.J., 2006. Exposure to pornography as a cause of child sexual victimization. Handbook of children, culture, and violence, pp.59-84. There are other issues relating to loli culture, besides the possible role of fantasising about kids. Some loli otaku might never harm children and of course, I recognise that. However, a lot of actual offenders use loli content to groom children. I made a video about this on my tiktok and a lot of people opened up in my comments about their experiences being shown loli anime at a young age from their groomers. Anyway, sorry for the long comment. I found your questions very interesting and thought provoking! :) xx

[@porquenadielopidio1913]

Bless to the people that put explanation on the subtitles

[@gito625]

monogatari without fanservice would be one of the best animes of all time the use of visual metaphor instead of dialogue explanation is so well done that it's sad I can't recommend it ps: I think Kanbaru thinks of Araragi like one of "the boys" and flirts with him in a playful way like some boys do

[@mysmallnoman]

No lol, the story is the exact same with or without fanservice, so it wouldn't be better

[@gaharajoke]

I personally love Kanbaru and Araragi cause my friends and I do the same jokes (although we don't get completely naked in front of each other 😂)

[@arturdemedeiros4131]

​@@mysmallnoman The fanservice absolutely changes the story. Araragi sexuallt assaulting Hachikuji is something that makes the viewer understand him better. And that's just a fact. Despite you liking it or not.

[@4nikki21]

It's always so nice to hear from another female Monogatari fan! Despite how many elements of the series I dislike, I love seeing female characters whose stuggles I can relate too. Also, as for Kanbaru's portrayal, I always took the flirting with Araragi as just playful banter with a friend. I haven't read all of the novels, but from the ones I have, I can tell she isn't very comfortable with her sexuality as a whole. I think having a close friend that she's out to allows her to feel comfortable with sexuality as a whole. And with the Senjougahara and Hanekawa shower scene... I will say there were a few lines in the novel that implied some sort of deeper intimate feeling on Hanekawa's part, at least. But unfortunately, some of the nuance of the girls' sexuality was left out of Neko Shiro's adaptation.

[@gr3enland593]

great video, im currently still watching mono (just finished the second to last arc in second season) and overall i agree with all of your points. the show was so disgusting at times especially with Mayoi and Nadeko that i really wanted to drop it but at the same time its becoming one of my favorite anime. its strange really

[@Sapphsy]

i totally agree with ur points as i watched bakemonogatari and nearly dropped it after the weirdly sexualized snake scene on episode 10. btw these videos are entertaining and im excited for more!! your accent sounds cool :)

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you for so much! (⁠人⁠ ⁠•͈⁠ᴗ⁠•͈⁠)

[@JustGooby861]

that scene is actually a representation of the second snake, the curse that was casted by the boy who asked Sengoku out and his desires he has for her, one that is sexually assaulting her and one that is strangling her

[@hachikuji_mayoi]

Honestly I find the problematic aspects of monogatari to improve it as a whole. Taking them out would lose a fundamental part of its identity because it is so closely tied to anime culture. So to call them flaws is something I disagree with. You kinda have to include the degenerate parts to properly parody it, and the absurdity of how monogatari does it is why I'm able to enjoy parts of it that I would absolutely find creepy in a different series. The two or so shows aimed at actual lolicons that I've seen were some of the most difficult things to watch and they weren't even nsfw at any point. While monogatari shows a lot, to me it always feels like they're simply aiming to be as over the top as possible rather than excite the viewer, because that's how the novels are written. They cut out a ton of the monologue that describes the scenes to a comedic amount of detail, and instead present it visually. Especially the hachikuji scenes are just pure shock value and I love that so much about them. I've watched quite a few reactions to the series on youtube just because I love seeing the reactions to how unhinged they get. Obviously some people do take it the wrong way, and that's where the issue comes from. The issue with parody in general is how the line between that and the real thing is very fine. That being said, there are points at which I wish it was toned down. Nadeko's first arc is extremely uncomfortable to watch for me and I just have to skip past some of the scenes like when it gets to the point of literal tentacle r***. Maybe that was the intended reaction to it, but I'd still rather not see it. I'm also not fine with araragi assaulting hachikuji before it was even known she was a ghost, because that just hurts araragi's character. Like am I supposed to take that as just a joke and not think of it too much, or is araragi really into actual kids the whole time? After bakemonogatari the series at least didn't do that kind of stuff again fortunately. Edit: about bake, I also disliked how some parts of kanbaru's character were handled, but I felt those came more from author's lack of knowledge about handling a lesbian character than intention. Felt a bit tacky but not malicious.

[@hachikuji_mayoi]

Also, though I disagree with a bit of it, (as if disagreeing was bad anyway) I did enjoy the video a lot and I think your videos do justice to the depth of the topics discussed.

[@gaharajoke]

First of all, thank you for your constructive comment and I'm glad you enjoyed the video. :D Reading your comment, I must say that I agree with your point of view. When I first watched monogatari, I interpreted some of these scenes as shock value that actually satirised the over-sexualisation of women and girls. Like when Senjougahara is naked in Hitagi crab and Araragi says that she must want to show off her body, but in reality clothes are heavy for her so it's difficult to dress up. I saw it as commentary to how women's nudity is seen as a taboo and we immediately assume that their nakedness is an invitation to be sexualised. I loved that stance against objectification. I agree that some of the messaging would be gone if monogatari was PG. But yeah, I believe when you look at how normalised loli culture is in Japan and Internationally, then more care should be put in what is portrayed. Some shows try to satirise something but end up exploiting it. Monogatari crosses the line in a few of its scenes and that's what mostly bothered me. So yeah, thank you for your view on this!

[@Revealingstorm.]

You guys will go through crazy crazy lengths to justify the crappy parts of anime you like. It's ok to admit that the show has problematic and unjustifiable parts to it.

[@gaharajoke]

I don't think we justified anything. It's different to acknowledge what the creator wants to convey and to "justify" it. I still criticise the way it was done but I understand that the author and animator wanted to portray another message.

[@Revealingstorm.]

@@gaharajoke I was talking more about the other person

[@herbertwalter8693]

watching the toothbrush scene: cringing uncomfortably reading the toothbrush scene: scared by the fact how realisticly(?) written the escalation of the situation is

[@Knuts_n]

I love monogatari so im probably better than most at making excuses for media i love. One aspect I probably overanalyzed is the contrast between how Araragi interacts with Mayoi versus Shinobu and even Kanbarus nudity. Araragis lack of emphasis on Shinobus sexualization helps characterize the two as a pair conjoined at the hip. They aren't lovers and they aren't friends, they are the consequence of the other.

[@mandatoryentertainment6333]

I really appreciate your videos, even if we don’t always agree. I like that you’re honest about the context of your criticisms and about how loose or damning it makes them, and you even talk about possible solutions. As a feminist who is also trying to produce original media, I hate a lot of feminist media critique. It enrages me how often it’s someone stretching feminist talking points as broadly as possible while choosing the most negative possible interpretation of whatever they’re analysing, regardless of context. It all feels completely deaf to art itself. It’s always assumed that art should be made primarily to say progressive things and denounce problematic things. So it’s always assumed that if something is being depicted at all, it is therefore being endorsed. Some are more generous and say that you can show something bad so long as you explicitly denounce it for being bad. But where does that leave flawed characters or sad endings? Are those just off limits? It actually hurts me that I know I’m trying to make something interesting and positive, but at every step, I know that the same people I’m politically supporting will just tear it apart anyway. Since I feel like you actually care, I wonder what you think. You indicated that Kambaru sexualising herself in front of Araragi a problem in itself. But since she is acting with full agency to do that, isn’t that just slut shaming or sex negativity? To say that it’s bad when a woman sexualizes themselves, even by their own agency to a man? TBH, I’m generally confused by how feminists who aren’t SWERFs are sex-positive when it comes to reality and combat the idea that sexuality degrades a woman’s character, but the moment we’re talking about media, suddenly we expect women to be chaste and modestly dressed and never sexual because that would be degrading and sexist. Maybe I’m just missing something, but I’ve never had this explained to me properly despite always being willing to learn.

[@gaharajoke]

I appreciate your comment because most of the characters I enjoy would not do well on a mainstream girlboss feminism score (because they are flawed human beings and not beacons of morality). I agree with your perspective and flawed characters should not be politically criticised when the writing handles them correctly!!! That is deffo not what I'm trying to do, as most Mono characters are not PC, yet I love them and find them very relatable and human. When it comes to Kanbaru, it's not about the sexualisation of oneself (as I too make the exact same jokes with my friends as she makes with Araragi because we are comfortable and sex-positive). The issue stems mostly from the media stereotype of the overly sexual lesbian who does naughty things with straight men. I will fully support that Kanbaru DOESN'T act like that stereotype and when she interacts with girls, we get wonderfully human portrayals of teenage love and attraction, so I do think that Nisio Isin loved and appreciated her character. When she makes those sexual jokes with Araragi, I find them funny cause that's how I act with my friends (although I don't get naked of course lol), but I can't ignore how many lesbian characters are forced to do fan service with male characters in shows to appeal to the male gaze/fantasy of "turning" a lesbian (another example I can think of is from Doctor Who, where the doctor fully kisses an openly lesbian woman for laughs). That's really the issue and I don't think it would have been that bad if Kanbaru wasn't butt-naked so often, but we all know Monogatari 😂 I do not want perfect "feminist" model characters because feminism is about equality among all people, not perfect women or whatever. But Monogatari's insertion of fan service in a lot of scenes, such as Kanbaru and Araragi's scenes, creates this extra layer that needs to be discussed (like it's not just about their friendship anymore, now we gotta discuss why the animators think a naked lesbian and a straight boy are appealing to people). Overall, I hope you can tell that I love Monogatari and all of its flawed characters. It's not really the character I have an issue with and I find her sexual humour realistic and charming, but I can't help but question what the animators intention was when they put Kanbaru in some situations as an openly queer woman. Thank you for your comment! I love these discussions and I hope I answered to your question. As you said, we don't always need to agree on things to appreciate people's perspective and critiques. (⁠ ⁠◜⁠‿⁠◝⁠ ⁠)⁠♡

[@mandatoryentertainment6333]

@@gaharajoke Thank you so much for your reply and your patience. :) I realize I dumped a lot and apologize. I've had a rough time trying to figure everything out. Your answer actually helps a lot with understanding what you meant and I can definitely agree with that, and the fact that there are real world consequences of that messaging that really suck for lesbians. :/ If it's alright to ask another question, am I right in understanding that often these kind of criticisms aren't about forbidding certain things outright, but rather explaining the harm done by it being overly prevalent to where it's indicative of a problematic culture? For example, characters that resemble a certain stereotype - it's inevitable that sometimes a character or real person just happens to be stereotypical, but the issue would be the over-representation of such characters as their stereotype.

[@jbird-l3u]

I haven't watched monogatari but all the pros mentioned in this video remind me heavily of Mars Red...it does follow a linear story line but nonetheless the characters and the themes are much more important than the plot itself. It also has beautiful animation, and makes use of its four main colour palettes to set the scene, has beautifully composed western-romantic-era-classical-inspired music. So just putting this recommendation out there for those interested.

[@hearthstone4572]

gahara joke did you based your channels name on that ? XD love it

[@gaharajoke]

gahara jokes are my favourite jokes 😌 xx

[@binkiebrew]

I've just experienced most painful cramps and listening to your videos made me feel better. Thanks

[@bogwitchburke]

This is such a high quality and well researched video essay!!!

[@forest6008]

About the toothbrush scene, if you have to look up a analysis of it before it has any kind of meaning is there any point to it to the majority of people who watch it who do not like the "sister complex" tropes besides making them uncomfortable and possibly even dropping it, while at the same time attracting unsavory people to the show.

[@gaharajoke]

I completely agree

[@chrisk9001]

Loli based

[@chipsalancienne3080]

Peak video, I think I've found a very good channel You explained very well the strenghts of the Monogatari Series (my fav anime btw 🙏) and critiziced the fanservice aspect, acknowledging it's more than just fanservice unlike like certain people while also not being a fool either and admitting that it's still fanservice and that explaining something isn't always justifying it A lot of people I debated with tried to tell me that loli stuff isn't a problem, it's not real, it's just fictional etc but as you said the issue is that this "fictional" fetish has irl consequences and honestly it just tells a lot about you if you fetishize characters that litteraly look like children to begin with That's a pretty based video imo with good understanding of the show, I'll be there for your next uploads

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you for your lovely comment! I'm very happy this video has drawn in other Mono fans that have the same views on the loli fan service ＼⁠(⁠^⁠o⁠^⁠)⁠／

[@mutedups]

Monogatari is still one of my personal favourite pieces of fiction; in spite of its flaws. For me the flaws don't decrease the overall quality but simply exist alongside the story and characters; a crease in my shirt doesn't make the otherwise fantastic shirt horrid. Although it would be bad for me to ignore the flaws which is why; like most; I give the recommendation to a select few with a disclaimer of it being p r o b l e m a t i c but p e a k nonetheless

[@paskettimalone2121]

This was an excellent video, liked and subscribed!! Monogatari is so frustrating to me. I've only seen Bake but I loved how complex the characters presented were, in particular senjougahara. But the fan service stuff was just so disgusting it took me out of it. I've been contemplating picking it back up and finishing the rest of the series and saw this video pop up in my recommended and decided to watch it to determine if I'll continue. I think I've decided to not watch the rest of it, which feels bad because I do have emotional investment into some of these characters and I wholeheartedly think there are extremely well-done elements to the show, and I'm curious to see where it goes after this, but I just don't think I can put my reservations about it aside. I'm used to anime bullshit and can put up with it usually, but this anime has one of the largest disparities between the non-bullshit being EXCELLENT quality and the bullshit is WAY too far I've ever seen. It's a damn shame but it is what it is. Seriously amazing video, thanks for helping me process my thoughts on this show!

[@BurningRubber454]

That’s dislike to like bar

[@Naoto-kun1085]

I appreciate this video! You are very brave for calling this out, as these kinds of videos often get attacked by gross perverts who think all fanservice is good and harmless no matter what. I find it disgusting how many men love the toothbrush scene and see nothing wrong with it. You always give such good opinions and reviews, and I hope you will continue to make good reviews, regardless of what the "popular" opinions are!

[@gaharajoke]

Thank you for the lovely comment! (⁠◕⁠ᴗ⁠◕⁠✿⁠) The toothbrush scene haunts my dreams for sure and I don't care about the deeper meaning anymore, I skip that episode entirely 😂.

[@Naoto-kun1085]

@@gaharajoke I get that, I hate those kinda things in anime! Your videos are always awesome, love watching them! 😁

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

all fanservice is good and harmless its not real and its hot or funny, the toothbrush scene is good symbolism, entertaining,arousing and memorable.

[@Ginjins]

I watched 10 seconds before stopping to comment. What you said was the first episode is not the first episode. For an "Video Essay" you're off to a poor start. There is 103 episodes that is a nightmare to watch in chronological order but it can be done. Edit after completing viewing your video essay. I have no other nitpicks, thanks for your effort and work on this. I Only watched all the Monogatari series after reading a poor review some fool wrote about Bunny Senpai saying it was a plagiarism of Monogatari. After viewing every arc, I disagree with that opinion strongly.

[@gaharajoke]

It was the first ever episode I watched and the first one to be ever broadcasted in Japan. You can watch it however you like. I can keep up without watching it in chronological order.

[@Ginjins]

@@gaharajoke Thanks for your reply.

[@pikmin4ispeak158]

It is the first episode you nerd

[@akasakasvault7597]

monogatari is a fat burger. it's unhealthy but damn is it good

[@bolihh]

monogatari could've been way way better without all of this loli shit, i get it that they use common anime tropes for building characters, but when you think about it its so bizarre the fact that araragi keeps the SA with hachikuji even after knowing that his own girlfriend was a victim of SA herself. the anime tries to criticize some topics but contradicts itself after. one other thing that bothers me is that araragi could've been such a greater character if he didnt do all of this shitty stuff, and im not just talking about him being more likeable, but just being a better character in general, its so bizarre that after learning about senjougahara's history, he still keep acting in the same disgusting way.

[@Ravewolf24]

Kanbaru may loudly announce she is a lesbian, but her sexuality seems conveniently fluid. I mean, a strictly lesbian gal would probably not be as into boy's love media as she is, or as flirtatious with the MC. Either way, she is on the queer scale though, so making her kind of hypersexualized in her style (and a bit yandere) does seem to feed into some questionable anime storytelling tropes for gay chars. But then, the whole series is kind of like that. Sure, it sort of subverts some of the tropes, but it still wallows in them at the same time. There isn't really a reason why Shinobu absolutely had to be turned into a loli as part of the plot, but it happened anyway, cause all roads lead to 500 year old lolis in anime, it seems. Oh, but this time, it's so symbolic of...whatever? I love this series, but I don't completely buy it all.

[@thatitalianlameguy2235]

wrong lesbians love bl , shes bi

[@hearthstone4572]

btw you should consider that araragi is also a kid himself he isnt a mature man.

[@gaharajoke]

Yeah absolutely, this is more a critique of the what they show to the audience, not araragi as a character. :)

[@perfishfan]

Incredibly relatable video.

[@Skallva]

Monogatari is a series I've heard of and saw being lauded as the greatest thing ever for a long time and each time, I'd look at it and get very uncomfortable vibes from it. I knew just enough to know it's very problematic without ever wanting to delve into details, since the gross parts didn't seem to be put under much scrutiny before. In that sense, thank you for further elaborating on some of these aspects and asserting that even if the show is enjoyable to sb in spite of that, that's no excuse to ignore the uglier parts. Also, to add onto that, another trait that has always irked me: I personally can't stand the 'it's a subversion of anime tropes ane culture' argument, mainly because every single time this argument is made, the series is specifically addressing the icky cishet male parts of the culture and it always subverts these aspects without ever explaining why they may be problematic and to still allow for an escapist power fantasy for the more yucky otaku boys and men. It's similar to how I feel about Re:Zero: at first, I thought it was neat that Subaru was meant to criticise the escapist otaku viewer but at the end of the day, he still ends up being transported to a fantastical world that is better for him than his previous reality, he still becomes surrounded with a ton of girls of different levels of moe and he's still comfortably on the main course with the female love interest, who still retains so many stereotypical anime tropes even if a part of the story is meant to showcase she is a person of her own. It coats itself with an air of subversiveness to an over-the-top degree but it still ends up comforming to all of the stereotypes. It's just so icky, and it's always done with the uglier sides of the male cishet otaku fandom (emphasising *male cishet* again because when was the last time anything but a cishet male power fantasy was given this much attention?), Monogatari obviously stepping even more out of the line into uncomfortable territory with its horrible sexualisation and deliberate tokenism of female characters, at least for the initial misdirects, to fit with the trashy harem series tropes. And then series like this blow up and everyone is surprised people take the 'wrong' lessons from them even though they don't put in the work to actually explain their lessons. Anyway, rant over. Nothing wrong with enjoying this stuff for the non-yikes reasons, but it's something in anime fandom that's been frustrating me for a long while that I simply can't glance over.

[@drratiogooner]

this was a really great video! Dropping a follow on your tiktok 🎉