i think we just kind of agree to disagree on that then. I think Araragi is the one that has the initiative on it, since Shinobu is the one that is deviating in the first place, so he is the one that has to get her/the conversation back on point.
To break bread with you though I can 100% agree that an alternative could have been that Shinobu demanded it, I think it even fits better to some degree, and fits less on a different degree. I think both have upsides and downsides, and I could agree that it could be better than the way it played out, but I don't think the way it went was as "bad" as you make it seem :)
I think it being a kiss specifically is pretty fitting though for the before mentioned reason (that it's what Ononoki did) and another one that would be EP4 spoilers so I won't mention it, but i think you may know what I mean.
Either way lets leave it at that since I don't know if this is necessarily the best place for discussions :)
2021-11-24 19:16:07 +0000 UTC
I get this is the case. In the novel Shinobu deviates even more from the topic and the conversation goes on for longer with her refusing to answer Araragi, so he kisses her to break her guard and go back to the main point of the conversation.
I understand why the scene is there, but I don't think it needed to be. There are other ways to resolve the situation that I think would fit more the characters. For instance, Shinobu herself could transition to her smug personality and tell him a way to appease her, like she did during his fight with Karen.
Or even if we want the kiss to be kept, if Shinobu were the one to do it, I would have no problem at all with it. Araragi trying to calm her down and then all of a sudden she kisses him, just like Ononoki did.
The nuance of the scene flips drasticaly if Shinobu is the one to take action when compared to him.
2021-11-24 17:47:25 +0000 UTC
let me go ahead and give what i believe to be a reason for the shinobu kiss, maybe just something to think about.
remember how Araragi "diffuses" situations by being silly/sexually inappropriate? (example neko kuro first episode the skirt flip or at the end of the episode how he handled the "i'll do anything" thing with hanekawa, though there are many throughout the whole show)
i think something similar, yet a little different is happening here.
usually he uses it to diffuse tense situations and lighten up the mood, this time however he uses it to "diffuse" the situation of Shinobu being (somewhat) "silly"/teasing/jealous and turns it into a more serious situation/talk, because the whole "darkness" situation IS pretty serious and you'd wanna bring it up ASAP.
The first thing he does/says aster the kiss is "Just listen to my story." in regards to the things happening with the "darkness".
As for why a kiss, i'd say the connection is easy to make: that's what shinobu is "teasing" him about, so if he'd give her one as well she'd have not too much reason to be jealous/complain further, moving the conversation to the much more urgent situation at hand.
So that'd be a very "Araragi way" of going about shifting the topic to the very serious situation they are currently in. But that's just my thoughts on it.
On most other points you mentioned (outside the kiss paragraph) I agree for the most part though (only really think a little different on small things or rather little nuances of the way you said stuff, the general idea though is correct) and you brought good things to attention
2021-11-24 16:05:46 +0000 UTC
The word "Kyuuketsuki" "吸血鬼" (Vampire) is a combination of 3 words - "Kyuu" "吸" (Suck), "Ketsu" "血" (Blood), "Ki" "鬼" (Demon), also to be noted is the word "Ki" "鬼" when by itself, is pronounced as "Oni" "鬼".
2021-11-24 10:44:21 +0000 UTC
hmmm is Patreon instantly deleting my comments? wth
Well, this one stayed, so I'll try editing it with my original commentary:
-Shinobu's openings are the only ones where the heroine doens't sing it herself, because the voice actress has a pretty good music career as well and refuses to do character songs.
-The subs don't do it justice, but at the start when Hachikuji was saying she was going to turn into a snail, it was actually a pun on her name, saying it would change from Hachikuji to Namekuji (literally means "slug").
-Araragi did meet Ononoki on the day before, because in this world this is the day after she was asking him all that stuff about immortality and if Hachikuji liked being a ghost. Araragi didn't remember at first because, to him, he spent many weeks in that destroyed world.
-Also, just for the sake of keeping the timeline, Nadeko's arc starts at the end of October and this one in mid August, right after Kabuki (like you already noted), so yeah, Sengoku's whole situation hasn't happened yet.
-And man, I really don't like Shinobu's kissing scene.
I don't mind the kiss with Ononoki, I actually think it made a lot of sense for her character to try inflicting jealousy onto Shinobu (in the books, for a while Araragi is even confused as to why she would want to make him cheat on Hitagi, but then understood her real intentions after Shinobu showed herself); but on Shinobu's case, I don't think it was needed. Even though they are kind of extensions of one another and she can literally feel _everything_ he feels (if you know what I mean...), it's not one of those things that had to be on screen.
Oh boy, what a ride this arc will be. Again going to the past, but forget 11 years, it's time for a 400 year old story :)
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