Hello folks, and welcome back to Wrong Every Time. Today we\u2019re diving back into the rambling escapades of Monogatari\u2019s Off Season, as Nadeko continues her quest to pull herself back together. Having created four doppelgangers to assist with her manga practice, our would-be artist is now chasing them halfway across town, hoping to reseal them in ink before they destroy her life entirely. So far she\u2019s recaptured both Flirty and Wrath Nadeko, but the unlikely alliance of Meek and God Nadeko promises to be the most trouble by far.<\/span><\/p>\n Alongside physically besting these Nadekos, this journey is of course also a psychological gauntlet. Confronted by these prior identities who are doing their best to live their own lives, can Nadeko still say her pursuit of manga is the most meaningful, \u201cauthentic\u201d path she could pursue? And what\u2019s more, can she do that while acknowledging that these reflections are all still a part of her \u2013 her eagerness to please, her need to be loved, her resentment at being typecast, her desire for control and revenge? It\u2019s been hard for even Monogatari\u2019s most self-aware characters to acknowledge their uncharitable instincts, but if Nadeko is to move forward with confidence, she must do so while embracing the fullness of her emotions, rather than simply adopting the clothes and mannerisms she finds suitable to her latest persona. She must accept her truth, embarrassing as it may be \u2013 after all, didn\u2019t Kaiki say that creating art is inherently embarrassing?<\/span><\/p>\n Episode 5<\/b><\/p>\n Nadeko and Yotsugi return to the Sengoku house, where Yotsugi is outfitted with an adorable disguise complete with saggy hat. Some nice fashion choices for both of them this arc<\/span><\/p>\n It\u2019s really astonishing how fully this show\u2019s tone and aesthetic priorities shift when Koyomi isn\u2019t the perspective character. I know the horniness is part of the pitch, but it\u2019s amusingly front-loaded at this point; by the time you get to Second Season, it\u2019s like two percent horny, ninety-eight percent dry banter and self-analysis<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko\u2019s kitchen is realized in reserved browns and grays, while the world outside her window is blooming in colorful pastels. It seems this process of reconnecting with herself is already shaking Nadeko\u2019s dedication to being a shut-in, and making her again hunger for the beauty of the outside world<\/span><\/p>\n Interestingly, both Yotsugi and Ougi have now suggested Nadeko overwhelm her opponents with superior numbers. As a would-be mangaka, Nadeko\u2019s ability to inhabit a variety of distinct yet seemingly authentic selves is actually a great asset, a sign that she will ultimately be able to inhabit the distinct psychology of a variety of different characters for her work. But before turning that variability of perspective to her work, she must first accept it within herself<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFlirty Nadeko\u2019s negotiation skill and Wrath Nadeko\u2019s physical prowess put us in a favorable position in sealing away the two we are opposing.\u201d Again, learning to see the authentic and even laudable in these personas, rather than just rejecting them and sealing them away entirely<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko counters that relying on shikigami was precisely what got them in trouble this morning<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut Nadeko Sengoku, is it all right to fail and then just end it there? Challenging once, failing, and saying you\u2019ll never do it again is not the correct attitude to take for someone chasing their dreams, so to say.\u201d Also echoing Kaiki\u2019s words. Life is a series of aborted attempts and scraped knees \u2013 if you don\u2019t accept the shame of failure, dust yourself off, and get back to the effort, you\u2019ll never achieve what you\u2019re seeking. Even Nadeko\u2019s prior personas speak to her willingness to simply abandon things once they\u2019ve failed for the first time \u2013 Flirty Nadeko and Wrath Nadeko basically got an afternoon each before Nadeko fearfully abandoned them<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSince we have failed, we need to learn something from our failure.\u201d All of Yotsugi\u2019s advice doubles as key insights for Nadeko\u2019s manga practice as well. Putting those ten thousand hours to work demands always learning from failure, not simply repeating the same mistakes<\/span><\/p>\n This plan to team up with her captured Nadekos requires actually convincing them to help her, meaning she will have to prove the merit of her current identity to her past identities. An exceedingly Monogatari-style manner of affirming the rightness of your path, and of bringing what was valuable or sincere about her past personas in concert with her future ambitions<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe time has finally come for you to overcome your past self,\u201d announces Yotsugi, acknowledging that this is also a manga cliche<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll of them are me, and everything leads up to this present moment.\u201d Nadeko starting to get it<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe showdown was at a bookstore.\u201d To Nadeko, who has no interest in cars, every car in the parking lot is the same model. A persistent Monogatari conceit that doubles as a real labor-saver for the production team<\/span><\/p>\n Honestly, parking lots look the same to me as well. I feel like many people reach a certain age and can suddenly tell all car models apart, but they\u2019re all just cars to me<\/span><\/p>\n Ah, this was the bookstore where she learned of snake ritual sacrifices. Very cheeky of them to convey these memories in 3:4 \u2013 Bakemonogatari wasn\u2019t <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> long ago!<\/span><\/p>\n Some nice Kiss-Shot glamor shots as Yotsugi reveals her alternate plan was to have Shinobu devour the remaining shikigami. Of course, that would involve bringing Koyomi back onto the stage, and once again having him save Nadeko from herself, while also denying the validity of Meek and God Nadekos as legitimate stages in Nadeko\u2019s life. A messy solution, to say the least<\/span><\/p>\n Yotsugi still says she\u2019ll call an expert if Nadeko seems to be in danger. And to Nadeko\u2019s credit, this is no longer a source of comfort \u2013 it\u2019s actually more of a threat, implying that if Nadeko can\u2019t bear this weight, Yotsugi will suffer the fallout of calling for backup. Nadeko is no longer willing to simply lean on others<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThis empty storefront could be thought of as the scenery in Meek Nadeko\u2019s mind.\u201d Self-isolated and overwhelmed with choice, Nadeko\u2019s original position<\/span><\/p>\n Yotsugi warns Nadeko that activating both her captured shikigamis at once is forbidden. Presumably that will just lead to them turning on her again due to superior numbers<\/span><\/p>\n Nice playful use of shadow puppetry as Current Nadeko spies Meek Nadeko. Such a delight to be returning to the mixed media flourishes of Bake, even in a more limited form<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko daydreams about how her life might have gone differently if she didn\u2019t meet Koyomi that day, and then the trap is sprung, the shelves collapsing upon her<\/span><\/p>\n Even as her life is allegedly ending, Nadeko can\u2019t help but editorialize, consider how her life story might have been more interesting or dramatically satisfying if she\u2019d challenged and resolved things with Senjougahara or Shinobu. The clarity of finality \u2013 with the end so close, she\u2019s not proud of all the things she was too meek or considerate to challenge, she\u2019s sad about all the fights she <\/span>didn\u2019t<\/span><\/i> have<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFlirty Nadeko!?\u201d \u201cIf you hadn\u2019t given me such an unfashionable name, I wouldn\u2019t have minded being on your side from the very beginning.\u201d Her rescuers\u2019 words imply how little distance separates these various Nadekos. They\u2019re all petty and self-absorbed like she is, so of course they\u2019ll rebel against being bluntly told what to do, but they\u2019re also all ultimately very much like her. Her idea of total reinvention was only ever a fantasy; these Nadekos are all mostly her, just with one or another inherent aspect of her brought to the fore<\/span><\/p>\n Again echoing Hanekawa and Araragi\u2019s journeys \u2013 these avatars can\u2019t be resolved so long as they are framed as enemies to defeat, rather than aspects of the self to acknowledge<\/span><\/p>\n Flirty Nadeko admonishes herself for the uncoolness of actually making an effort \u2013 a self-defeating instinct that is indeed part of Nadeko, a feeling she must always negotiate with. But this Nadeko is also confident, and fashionable, and good at understanding others \u2013 there are many things to love about this side of herself<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve never given all of my effort before, so I\u2019m already at my limit.\u201d In spite of her rebelliousness, Flirty Nadeko wants nothing more than for Current Nadeko to succeed<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t apologize! But in return, you have to draw me even cuter next time.\u201d \u2018Don\u2019t apologize\u2019 is probably one of the best lessons Current Nadeko can learn from Flirty Nadeko. Seize your passions and desires \u2013 don\u2019t apologize for wanting to make your mark on the world<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCurrent Nadeko, you don\u2019t put in enough effort when you draw shoes.\u201d And she even has a specific piece of manga-writing advice<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI promise, I\u2019ll make sure to draw you again. And next time, you won\u2019t be hollow.\u201d She now sees the vibrancy, the humanity in this old version of herself. She can love this aspect of herself<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the long-cherished wish of a shikigami to protect its master. Take these words from me, a shikigami.\u201d Nadeko seems to understand Yotsugi is just being nice, but appreciates that nonetheless \u2013 that Yotsugi cares about her enough to try and comfort her<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIn order to crush me, God Nadeko completely abandoned Meek Nadeko.\u201d Current Nadeko is beginning to feel protective of her shikigamis, and sympathizing with their feelings<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBecause I wasn\u2019t able to control my shikigami, I did all this damage to this bookstore.\u201d She\u2019s also feeling a sense of responsibility for the actions of her past selves, rather than abstracting them into independent actors<\/span><\/p>\n On the second floor they unfortunately run into an army of half-naked bloomer Nadekos<\/span><\/p>\n God Nadeko merely photocopied a single image to create all these shikigamis. She\u2019s not creating individuals, just followers<\/span><\/p>\n One of many Monogatari sequences that divorce nudity from sexuality; there\u2019s no intent here from either the shikigamis or the camera\u2019s framing, so it\u2019s actually a pretty neutral scene tonally in spite of all the half-naked Nadekos<\/span><\/p>\n Nadeko again demonstrates she\u2019s now seeing her shikigamis as legitimate versions of herself rather than antagonists, suggesting she clean up Wrath Nadeko\u2019s haircut so it\u2019s more coherent and tidy<\/span><\/p>\n Yotsugi fires off her one use of Unlimited Rulebook, and the final boss emerges<\/span><\/p>\n And Done<\/b><\/p>\n Excellent work, Nadeko! Not only have you sealed the third of your shikigami Nadekos, but you\u2019ve also crossed the key psychological pass, and come to embrace these past Nadekos as legitimate aspects of yourself, versions that are worthy of sympathy, and who can actually help steer you towards a happier, more sincerely satisfying future. Monogatari characters are often at their best when they\u2019re talking to themselves, acknowledging aspects of their personalities that have caused them trouble, and finding things to respect and love even in their own rejected fragments. Everyone Nadeko has been is both a part of her journey to this stage and a mentality that still lives within her \u2013 if she can learn to find peace with all of them, she will surely be able to walk forward as both a thoughtful mangaka and self-loving human being.<\/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\/November24094458.jpg?resize=584%2C329&ssl=1\")
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<\/p>\nLike this:<\/h3>\n