Recap: Nadeko has a heart to heart with Tsukihi, which makes her think about why she really loves Araragi. Between her romantic frustration, the burden of helping Kuchinawa, and pressure at school, she finds herself reaching a breaking point.

Jel’s Thoughts: I have a feeling that if either of the Fire Sisters were the main character of the Monogatari series these arcs would be over much, much faster. The underused Tsukihi managed to get some quality screen time this week and proved she’s not only much smarter than her sister, she’s just as decisive. I always found it odd she barely even appeared in her own story arc, and really only had her extended conversation about love in Nekomonogatari to characterize her. So it was cool to see her get involved, especially the way she laid down the law in a similar way to Shinobu last week.

Of course the most important scene was Nadeko’s total emotional explosion at school, completely flipping the switch on her personality as she struggles with who she is. I have to say Nadeko has gone from the most boring member of the cast to one of the best developed, at least in terms of the issues she’s dealing with. The other girls had their issues off camera and we had to take their word for it, in this case we get to see Nadeko’s downward slide firsthand. Does that make me a terrible person for counting that as a positive? Maybe, but I’m also enjoying the validation that Nadeko is a spoiled brat after years of people thinking she’s adorable.

I’m continuing to enjoy Otorimonogatari’s ability to be creepy and unsettling without losing it’s sense of fun, which is pretty much the tone when Monogatari is at its best. The final scene with Nadeko breaking into the Araragi house without even second guessing Kuchinawa was a good example of that. It was the perfect culmination of everything we’ve seen in this arc thus far, and I have a feeling things are only get more intense next week.