Nisemonogatari

"The fake is of far greater value. In its deliberate attempt to be real, it's more real than the real thing."

“Nisemonogatari” is the 2012 sequel to the acclaimed series “Bakemonogatari,” which I thoroughly enjoyed. It follows the endeavors of the “Fire Sisters,” or the two sisters of our main character, Koyomi Araragi.

Luckily, “Nisemonogatari” manages to retain some of the facets that made its predecessor so successful. For one, its visual inventiveness remains as present as ever. Though the constant cuts that the prequel had are gone, the sheer visual charm is never lost.

Another thing that the show still has are, of course, the brilliant characters. The characters are as likeable and well-written as always, with wonderful arcs and character twists throughout the entire show. It was about time that Koyomi’s sisters were revealed, and their personalities paid off.

However, as much good that this sequel retains, it also loses one of the most important aspects of the original: the pacing. The pacing in “Bakemonogatari” was fast without being rushed, and packed without being forced. However, all of the fast pacing from there is gone. All we’re left with is 2 arcs and 11 episodes. The first arc, which focuses on Karen, is 7 episodes long. There’s just too much fluff, which leads me to the core problem of this situation: there’s too much fat. The first two episodes (and others) could be severely cut down, and episode 8 could be disposed of entirely. The razor-sharp focused pacing is, simply, gone.

7/10- Though “Nisemonogatari” is ‘good’ with its unique visuals and wonderful characters, it just doesn’t have the pacing that the first installment had to make it ‘great.’