Recap: Shinobu recalls the first time she tried to create a familiar as well as the origins of the entity Araragi and Mayoi encountered.

Jel’s Thoughts: I have been jokingly calling this episode “Monologatari” as it is mostly shinobu talking while a pretty picture scrolls in the background. It’s true you could argue that’s any given episode of Monogatari, but this literally felt like listening to an audio book. The only animation is in the brief interludes where Araragi asks a few questions, giving us a break from all the talking with… more talking. You can fault me for a having a short attention span, but I found watching this pretty frustrating overall.

The only saving grace is the fact that Shinobu actually has a pretty interesting story to tell. It’s another case of “Divine Loneliness” I’ve mentioned before with characters like Holo from Spice and Wolf and yes, Muromi from Muromi-san – characters that are immortal and incredibly powerful but end up isolated because of it. Shinobu’s is particularly interesting in that she’s much more morally ambiguous in her quest for purpose, and her good intentions seem to have backfired pretty harshly in the past. It adds a fascinating spin on her relationship to Araragi, in a way turning her arc into a redemption story as she tries to be close with someone again. It’s just too bad the whole tale was told so lifelessly. If Shinobu’s story had been told as a properly animated flashback it probably would be much more effective to be shown and not told.

Instead of continuing to express my disappointment though, I’m going to choose to stay focused on the big picture here and hope that Onimonogatari packs in some serious action next week, or at the very least return us to our normal amount of moving pictures. The pieces are in place for some serious conflict and drama, so I’m hoping we’ll be able to cash in and make sitting through this episode worth it.