Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re diving back into Monogatari\u2019s Off Season, as we explore Nadeko\u2019s continuing efforts to pull herself back together. Having embraced Yotsugi\u2019s 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\u2019re now rampaging all about the town, causing all manner of havoc for our unfortunate Current Nadeko to clean up.<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s 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\u2019s 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\u2019s little wonder she has trouble truly believing in her <\/span>current<\/span><\/i> identity either, and was thus so shaken by her parents\u2019 ultimatum. Like so many of Monogatari\u2019s heroes, she must learn to embrace and forgive herself \u2013 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\u2019s needling \u201cif you were happy, you wouldn\u2019t seek such lofty dreams\u201d and Sodachi\u2019s well-intentioned \u201cthe world won\u2019t end if you\u2019re not sure what to do\u201d both ringing in her mind, let\u2019s return to the trials of Sengoku Nadeko!<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 4<\/b><\/p>\n \u201cHonestly, I didn\u2019t think I would ever come here again.\u201d 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\u2019s 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<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNowadays, this is a room that I should not be visiting.\u201d Of course, there\u2019s 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 \u2013 it is indeed a toxic mixture, each of their weaknesses flattering the other\u2019s most self-destructive qualities<\/span><\/p>\n And they cut into the OP with the same \u201chere goes\u201d that announced Renai Circulation, once again using these musical motifs to emphasize the continuity within Nadeko\u2019s life. In spite of how far she has come, she\u2019s still caught in this familiar musical loop<\/span><\/p>\n Araraqi\u2019s room actually harbors Wrath Nadeko, who appears to be waiting with a sharp chisel for whoever enters<\/span><\/p>\n Current Nadeko admits she\u2019s 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<\/span><\/p>\n I do appreciate all this Wrath Nadeko as Golgo 13 imagery this is facilitating, though<\/span><\/p>\n Each Nadeko also comes with their own color scheme. In contrast with Flirty Nadeko\u2019s diverse pastels, Wrath Nadeko is defined by a sharp contrast of red, white, and black<\/span><\/p>\n Though we haven\u2019t 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<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cChisels are creative\u2026\u201d \u201cCreative? Then you\u2019re set on making me work!\u201d 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 \u2013 she could shatter Nadeko\u2019s classroom fantasy, but she couldn\u2019t build anything in its wake. Still, this capacity to discard what isn\u2019t working is valuable, even if both this persona and Nadeko as a whole have usually taken it to an unproductive extreme<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou\u2019re reluctantly putting in effort, right? If it\u2019s too much pain, just stop.\u201d Yeah, this Nadeko is all about rejection<\/span><\/p>\n Current Nadeko actually uses Wrath\u2019s single-mindedness against her, drawing her into a trap by predicting where she\u2019ll attempt to thrust. Rejection can make you feel powerful, but it\u2019s ultimately more predictable than passion<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThose were Wrath Nadeko\u2019s words. And I\u2019m sure they\u2019re words from my own heart.\u201d Nadeko is starting to understand. Just because she can\u2019t envelop herself completely inside any of these identities doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re inauthentic \u2013 their complaints about her choices are a legitimate part of her, and her total rejection of those voices is part of why she\u2019s having so much trouble moving forward. She can\u2019t just put the past to work slaving away at her current passion; she must learn from these Nadekos, not just harvest their labor<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a mark on the floor, but it\u2019s an unnoticeable size until it\u2019s noticed.\u201d A playful turn of phrase that also echoes Nadeko\u2019s growing awareness to these other Nadekos\u2019 continued presence within her<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll have my self-centered friend Tsukihi explain it all later.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko borrows a sporty outfit and cap from Tsukihi\u2019s 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<\/span><\/p>\n Oh god, it\u2019s Senjougahara<\/span><\/p>\n Effective use of a bright red-centered color palette and distorted live-action photography to convey Nadeko\u2019s panicked response<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m never answering the phone again.\u201d I hear you, Nadeko<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko next heads for North Shirahebi Shrine, where she stumbles across discarded remnants of Yotsugi\u2019s body<\/span><\/p>\n 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\u2019s perception of the world is clearly filtered through her fascination with a wide array of manga genres<\/span><\/p>\n Yotsugi\u2019s dismembered head tasks Nadeko with putting her back together. Just another day at this friggin\u2019 shrine<\/span><\/p>\n Oh my god Nadeko, please don\u2019t envision a shoujo meet-cute between yourself and Yotsugi\u2019s severed head. Why are you doing this to us<\/span><\/p>\n 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<\/span><\/p>\n The dethroned god, the immortal phoenix, and the reanimated corpse. What a crew<\/span><\/p>\n I like that even though Yotsugi\u2019s arm is severed, it\u2019s still making a peace gesture<\/span><\/p>\n And also that her limbs make rubber ducky noises when you squish them back together<\/span><\/p>\n 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<\/span><\/p>\n Interestingly, Yotsugi\u2019s 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<\/span><\/p>\n God Nadeko was using Meek Nadeko as a lure, capitalizing on Meek Nadeko\u2019s self-consciously helpless nature to bait Yotsugi into a trap<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFrom how your limbs are still attached to your body, I\u2019m guessing you haven\u2019t come across God Nadeko.\u201d Sharp deduction, Yotsugi<\/span><\/p>\n Yotsugi cautions against involving another specialist \u2013 like with the Tsukihi situation, it\u2019s likely they\u2019ll 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\u2019s basically the only one dedicated to negotiation and rehabilitation rather than outright destruction<\/span><\/p>\n The greatest threat is that Meek Nadeko becomes a second God Nadeko. Given the clear fragility of Meek Nadeko\u2019s sense of self, that does seem like a strong possibility. Although of the Nadekos we\u2019ve seen so far, their guiding principle seems to mostly be \u201cI\u2019m not gonna do what I don\u2019t wanna do\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n You can tell the relative lushness of this production purely by the embellished detail and color design of the shrine. We\u2019ve seen this shrine so many times, across so many stages of this franchise, that it kinda serves as a visual barometer of production health<\/span><\/p>\n Mayoi isn\u2019t here at the moment. \u201cBecause of her origins, she\u2019s the kind of god who likes to go on walks.\u201d What a perfect conclusion this story found for our wandering ghost<\/span><\/p>\n Between the staggered series of opponents and this sequence of reconstructing a corpse, this whole arc contains shades of Kizu, as well<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko says she cannot fight two other Nadekos alone, but Yotsugi counters that she is not alone \u2013 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<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n 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\u2019s 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\u2019s been striking deeply at Nadeko\u2019s 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 \u2013 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\u2019s words feel like the kindest possible framing of personal development; reinventing yourself doesn\u2019t mean rejecting your past, it simply means there is<\/span> more<\/span><\/i> 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!<\/span><\/p>\n This\u00a0article\u00a0was\u00a0mad<\/a><\/em>e possible by reader support<\/a>. Thank you all for\u00a0all that you do.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wrongeverytime.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/November22111238.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n