Line #16 YMMV/Bakemonogatari


1	* AlternativeCharacterInterpretation: There are as many ways to view Kaiki as there are grains of sand on the beach. Is he an amoral, money-grubbing scumbag who is [[ItsAllAboutMe only in it to benefit himself]]? Is he a Robin Hood-like figure who only scams people [[AssholeVictim who really deserve it]]? Is he [[GoodIsNotNice a far jerkier version of Oshino]] who helps people overcome their issues [[ZeroApprovalGambit by giving them someone to hate]]? Is he a MagnificentBastard who masks his true goals with the persona of an amoral ConMan? [[BreadEggsBreadedEggs Or is he a little bit of all the above?]]
2	** Another character to ponder is Koyomi and his motivation to help the people who approach him despite all the physical and verbal abuse he goes through in the process. [[DeathSeeker Why does he keep doing it?]]
3	* AmericansHateTingle: Nadeko Sengoku is beloved in Japan. In the West, however, she's a BaseBreakingCharacter [[spoiler:after the events of ''Otorimonogatari'']].
4	* AntiClimaxBoss: Being an anime centered in dialogues and not battles, this is expected. The majority of the "fights" of the series either ends quickly or things simply don't heat enough for them to happen, and the antagonists are usually dealt with conversations instead of brute force. The only entry who [[{{Averted}} averts]] this is ''Kizumonogatari'', who is the most fight-oriented part of the franchise, and here we see in all its glory the fights of Araragi against the three vampire hunters [[spoiler: and eventually Kiss-Shot.]]
5	* AudienceAlienatingPremise: As explained in this Website/AnimeNewsNetwork [[http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/feature/2015-08-07/monogatari-is-a-disaster/.90575 article]], part of the reason why it hasn't caught on too much in North America is that the series essentially does a bunch of different genres at once, which, combined with its extremely unconventional style and its overuse of CerebusRollercoaster, resulting in several episodes being {{Bizarro episode}}s relative to to other episodes, could throw off a lot of potential viewers. Furthermore, the extreme sexual overtones and [[BestKnownForTheFanservice fanservice]], sometimes involving characters who are young girls, has also turned off many potential viewers.
6	* BaseBreakingCharacter: Senjougahara is a big one. While she has a huge amount of fans, there are quite a lot who don't like her, mainly [[ShipToShipCombat fans of other girls]].
7	* ContestedSequel: Many who enjoyed ''Bakemonogatari'' have expressed distaste for ''Nisemonogatari'', thanks to it dialing the {{Fanservice}} up to eleven. In addition, the pacing also drew flak, with the "Karen Bee" arc [[{{Padding}} being drawn out over 7 episodes]]. ''Nekomonogatari: Kuro'' got the fans back on track, and ''Monogatari Series Second Season'' seems to have fully [[WinBackTheCrowd Won Back the Crowd]].
8	* CrossesTheLineTwice: Koyomi getting into a fight with a 5th-grader, beating her up (mildly), and then ''laughing'' about it. [[spoiler:The fact that she's already dead may or may not make this worse.]] The light novel's description of the fight made it worse, detailing liquids that came out of her mouth that may or may have not been ''stomach acid.'' Crosses the line a third time in a later arc, where the 5th-grader [[spoiler:passes on and ends up in the deepest-level of Buddhist hell.]]
9	* CommonKnowledge: The entire ''Monogatari'' series became a victim of the "too deep for you" trend in the early 2010s, as it ended up being proclaimed as a supposed "symbolistic" masterpiece. What presumably started out as a meme and a troll joke ended up becoming fact thanks to [=YouTubers=]. Turns out all [=NisiOisiN=] wanted to do was write a fun work, albeit one targeted primarily at a Japanese audience (hence all the puns which are difficult to adapt without losing something in context).
10	* DieForOurShip: Fans of Hachikuji vs. fans of Nadeko, due to the [[TokenMiniMoe One-Young Girl Rule]]. Hachikuji's fans denounce Nadeko's character as one-dimensionally [[GreenEyedMonster driven by jealousy]] and a ManipulativeBastard who uses her {{Moe}} factor to her advantage. Likewise, Nadeko's fans slam Hachikuji for being irrelevant save for PluckyComicRelief after her arc and call her a BrattyHalfPint who [[KarmaHoudini gets away with saying all sorts of insulting things that would not be acceptable if she was older]].
11	** Interestingly, [[OurVampiresAreDifferent Shinobu]], despite being very much a young girl, stays out of this fight, and seems to be well accepted by both sides.
12	** Mayoi's fanbase was proven right when [[spoiler:Nadeko became a snake god out of jealousy]]. Unfortunately for them, [[spoiler:Mayoi has passed on]].
13	* EnsembleDarkhorse:
14	** Shinobu at the beginning of the series: Fifth place on the popularity polls while not speaking a single word and getting relatively little screen time is pretty impressive. People who never saw/read the story but at least recognised her almost always thought she was an incredibly important charatcer simply due to the sheer amount of fan-art she got (including a lot dedicated to the bathtub scene). This doesn't applies anymore after Nisemonogatari, since nowadays, Shinobu is a full-fledged heroine instead of a silent supporting character.
15	** Kaiki is one too, following the massive amount of CharacterDevelopment he got in ''Koimonogatari''.
16	** [[CreepyChild Ougi Oshino]] has become one for ''Owarimonogatari'', due to her [[UglyCute unconventional character design]] and love of the BreakingSpeech.
17	* EveryoneIsJesusInPurgatory: Fans have theorized that all the oddities simply stand in for otherwise mundane life problems; the ones with the most merit are Hitagi's (her "weightlessness" being caused by an eating disorder--it's noted, for example, that she has become much more attractive in the past few years), Suruga's (well, extreme jealousy, that's barely a stretch there) and Hanekawa's (her problem could disassociative, multiple personality, or bipolar disorder, depending on the interpretation of Black Hanekawa and the Tiger; it might even just be normal lashing out from stress). Nadeko would be "constricted" by the thoughts and actions of the jealous and spiteful, and Mayoi could be the worries of a child lost forever.
18	* FanNickname:
19	** Arara[[OverlyLongGag rararara]]gi-san. Attributed to Mayoi's frequent mispronunciation of Koyomi's name. See RunningGag on the main page.
20	** People have taken to calling Araragi's mother Mamaragi.
21	* FashionVictimVillain: Deishuu Kaiki. A tie you could jump rope with, that one. And that dress shirt is damn near an actual dress.
22	* FetishRetardant: When [[spoiler: the Meddlesome Cat grabs Koyomi from behind, he]] licks his neck in a very sensual way. What's the problem? That [[spoiler: the Cat's tongue is sharp enough to ''open Koyomi's carotid artery''.]]
23	* FriendlyFandoms: With ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'', given that they're Creator/StudioShaft's two biggest shows and that Senjougahara and Homura have [[Creator/ChiwaSaito the same Japanese voice actress]].
24	* GermansLoveDavidHasselhoff: As shown in this [[https://twitter.com/ukanime/status/602455698828558336 tweet]], the series has caught on quite well in the United Kingdom.
25	* HarsherInHindsight: When Tsubasa finds Koyomi beating up Mayoi, she tells him that it's wrong to hit a child without telling them a justifiable reason. We later find out that Tsubasa's stepfather physically abuses her. It's likely a deliberate example; Tsubasa has ScaryShinyGlasses as she makes the former statement.
26	* HypeBacklash: For a while ''Monogatari'' used to be considered a snob title, with a big chunk of the fandom hyping it up as an critical darling and "smart" title. This mostly died down after the end of the anime.
27	** Senjougahara fans have a pretty nasty tendency to really overhype her character, which came back to bite them as a much larger majority chose pretty much any other girl as their own "best girl" over Senjougahara just to spite them.
28	* LesYay: Between Senjougahara and Hanekawa during the Tsubasa Tiger arc. The cherry on top was when Senjougahara insisted that they shower together (which Hanekawa agrees to).
29	* MemeticMutation:
30	** _______ Circulation[[note]]There are quite a number of videos on the internet which puts raps or other pieces of music to the instrumental and giving it the title of "blank" circulation. This is possibly due to the fact that the instrumental was designed for the rapping in the actual song.[[/note]]
31	** Bakemonogatari is a slideshow.[[note]]The show's frequent use of still frames, especially during dialogue, lead to many people jokingly claiming this. ''Nisemonogatari'' pretty much [[DiscreditedMeme discredited]] this meme thanks to significantly improved animation, only to replace it with...[[/note]]
32	** The toothbrush scene. Everything about the toothbrush scene. [[note]]Nisemonogatari somehow managed to make a person brushing another's teeth very erotic and a metaphor for sex. [[IncestSubtext The fact that they're siblings doesn't help]]. Often brought up as the height of the Monogatari series's weirdness.[[/note]]
33	** Kaiki is best girl [[note]]Spawned by ''Koimonogatari''. Due to 1) Kaiki singing the opening theme, which is traditionally considered a heroine's job 2)his awesome role (see EnsembleDarkhorse above) his popularity increased greatly, generating him a legion of fans, many of whom call him "waifu" and "the purest girl of the cast".[[/note]]
34	** Spooky Ougi[[note]]Describing Ougi as such became very popular, particularly around ''Owarimonogatari'''s release, due to her bizarre character design and odd mannerisms.[[/note]]
35	** [[DevelopmentHell KIZU WHEN?!]][[note]]Due the constant delays of the ''Kizumonogatari'' movie until it was revealed in 2015 that Shaft was planning to do a trilogy, it was common for the fandom to use images or texts related with the never coming release of ''Kizumonogatari''.[[/note]]
36	* {{Moe}}:
37	** Well, yeah. Though [[BlatantLies not really a harem anime]], it has one guy and a bunch of girls, all of whom fall into traditional moe characterizations. In fact, some of the more observant characters make fun of it, like Oshino's habit of calling Senjogahara {{Tsundere}}.
38	** Shinobu Oshino and Black Hanekawa are also this as well especially with Shinobu going over about donuts are nice and delicious is absolutely adorable and Black Hanekawa repeating what Araragi said with the most adorable face possible.
39	** Ironically enough, Nadeko, who's arguably the one who fits the actual definition of moe the most, [[spoiler:turns out to be invoking and exploiting this trope.]]
40	* {{Narm}}:
41	** Okay, Araragi, it's pretty despicable that [[spoiler:Hanekawa's guardians don't give her a bedroom and force her to live in the kitchen and hallways]], but this is hardly the kind of revelation that should prompt panicked hysterics...
42	** Senjougahara's expression when she finds Hanekawa in the first episode of Monogatari Second Season. They probably were going for showing how worried Senjougahara was through [[OutOfCharacterMoment an unusual]] amount of expression. What they made was just silly. Also while the slap was decently animated, Senjougahara's followup by pounding her fists on Hanekawa loses a lot of the intended impact because she looks like her fists are moving through molasses.
43	** [[http://a.cuntflaps.me/ptyfmiv.webm The samurai's laugh]] in Episode 7 of ''Owarimonogatari'' sounds like a rejected [[WesternAnimation/DextersLaboratory Mandark laugh]]. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=67ZVpUqvKh8 Koyomi's imitation]], on the other hand, [[Funny/{{Bakemonogatari}} is actually pretty funny to listen to]].
44	* NeverLiveItDown: No matter what Karen will do in the series in the future, she will be always remembered for the [[IncestSubtext toothbrush scene]].
45	* NightmareFuel:
46	** [[spoiler:Suruga's constant hysterical screaming of "HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE!!!" while savagely beating Koyomi is quite disturbing.]]
47	** Senjogahara can be [[{{Yandere}} a little frightening with her threats.]]
48	* RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap: Many people hated Kaiki because he was the cause of the divorce of Senjougahara's parents, without mentioning that he caused the majority of the problems in ''Nisemonogatari'' (poisoning Karen with the fire bee and selling information about Tsukihi to Kagenui) and that he indirectly caused the events of Nadeko Snake. Then ''Koimonogatari'' was released and with the reveal of his true intentions and personality and the fact that [[spoiler: he defeats God Nadeko succesfully using only words]], he turned into one of the most popular characters of the series.
49	** Sodachi Oikura probably beat both Kaiki and the kid from ''Koimonogatari'' in the instant hatedom department. At first, she only copped heat from [[EnsembleDarkhorse Ougi]] fans who were worried she would take screentime away from their favorite character, but following episode 3 of ''Owarimonogatari'', where her character arc begins, there was hardly a fan who didn't despise her, mainly due to her completely unwarranted bitchy attitude towards Araragi. The hate softened a bit after Hanekawa and Araragi's visit to her house, [[BrokenBird where she's just too pitiful to hate]]. It helps that she took responsibility for her actions and her backstory was revealed: [[spoiler:She probably has had the most severe TraumaCongaLine out of everyone in the cast, including outright AttemptedSuicide and ''taking care of her mother's dead body'' because the death [[BreakTheCutie broke her]] ''that much'']]. Creator/MarinaInoue's heartfelt monologue was a big help, and within hours of that episode's airing, the hate for her switched to sympathy and schadenfreude. In fact, it reached the point where many in the fandom poured hate on Senjougahara because [[spoiler:she accepted Oikura's apology in a rather backhanded, arrogant manner and refused to apologize for hitting her]]. Nonetheless, she's still a BaseBreakingCharacter due to meta reasons and the fact that [[NeverLiveItDown some fans still can't forgive her for her earlier actions]], but she's getting a great deal more sympathy than she got at the beginning.
50	* TheScrappy: The middle school boy from ''Koimonogatari'' only appears on-screen for about [[OneSceneWonder five minutes]] and doesn't even have a name, yet the fandom LOATHES him. Although when you consider he [[spoiler:cursed Nadeko Sengoku, nearly killing her, over something as petty as a rejection]] and [[spoiler:[[DisproportionateRetribution tried to beat Kaiki to death with a baseball bat]] because [[InsaneTrollLogic being the source of the cursing charms apparently means he's the one at fault when they are used improperly]]]]. It didn't help that this moment followed [[spoiler:Kaiki's]] CharacterDevelopment and was seen as a pointless ShootTheShaggyDog by the fans.
51	* ShipToShipCombat: Surprisingly [[AvertedTrope averted]], considering the [[HaremGenre genre]] of the series. The closest thing the fandom has to this might be Koyomi x some other girl shippers being upset at the [[SpotlightStealingSquad large amount of side materials and fanart]] Senjougahara has dedicated to her. That was, until Nise...
52	* TakeThatScrappy: [[TalkToTheFist Senjougahara knocking Oikura out]] in episode 3 of ''Owarimonogatari''. Episode 5 shows just how much damage she did: Oikura had to stay home from school for two days and her face swelled to the point where she couldn't pronounce the "ra" syllable, which might invoke a little sympathy- although, since Oikura did spend about 15 minutes talking shit to Araragi and Senjougahara and even slapped the latter, it's hard to argue she didn't get what she deserved.
53	* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter: Senjougahara becomes this in the second and final seasons of the anime, as she goes OutOfFocus and her status as Araragi's girlfriend is used as a plot device to cause the other girls angst rather than to further develop her or their relationship in any way.
54	%%* ThisIsYourPremiseOnDrugs: It's by Shaft. What were you expecting?
55	* UnnecessaryMakeover: Some fans dislike that Tsubasa Hanekawa lost her {{Moe}} braids and glasses, feeling the short haircut was unflattering though the white streaks she got during "Tsubasa Tiger" are considered an improvement. It doesn't help that ''Nisemonogatari'' had Senjougahara with basically had the same haircut making it feel repetitive.
56	* UnpopularPopularCharacter: The amount of people who like [[ConMan Kaiki]] InUniverse can be counted on one hand. After the airing of ''Koimonogatari'' he became one of the largest [[EnsembleDarkhorse Ensemble Darkhorses]] in the fandom.
57	* WatchItForTheMeme: There is a good number of fans who started the series because of either "Renai Circulation" or [[SignatureScene the toothbrush scene]].

Context YMMV / Bakemonogatari