猫物語 (黒) [Nekomonogatari]

Monogatari #4, Part 1

by NisiOisiN, VOFAN (Illustrator)

完美無缺的班長，羽川翼。
在黃金週的第一天，受到一隻貓的魅惑—— 這是一場禁忌的遊戲……

人化為獸的物語。封印至今的「九日惡夢」，即將公諸於世！

Genres: Light Novel, Fantasy, Manga, Supernatural, Mystery, Fiction, Novels

324 pages, Paperback

First published July 29, 2010

About the author

Nisio Isin (西尾維新 Nishio Ishin), frequently written as NisiOisiN to emphasize that his pen name is a palindrome, is a Japanese novelist and manga writer. He attended and left Ritsumeikan University without graduating. In 2002, he debuted with the novel Kubikiri Cycle, which earned him the 23rd Mephisto Award at twenty years of age.

He currently works with Kodansha on Pandora, the Kodansha Box magazine, and Faust, a literary magazine containing the works of other young authors who similarly take influence from light novels and otaku culture. He was also publishing a twelve volume series over twelve months for the Kodansha Box line; Ryusui Seiryoin was matching this output, and the Kodansha Box website stated that this is the first time in the world two authors have done twelve volume monthly novel series simultaneously from the same publisher.

In February, 2008, his novel Death Note Another Note: The Los Angeles BB Murder Cases was released in English by Viz Media. Del Rey Manga has already released the first volume in his Zaregoto series. His Bakemonogatari, Nisemonogatari and Katanagatari novels have been adapted into anime series. Nekomonogatari (Kuro) has been adapted into an anime TV movie, and Kizumonogatari will be release in theaters this year. Monogatari Series: Second Season, adapted from 6 books in Monogatari Series will air in July 2013. Another of his works, Medaka Box (manga), has been adapted into a two-season anime series.

Reviews

[D · Rating 3 out of 5]

Here we:

a) spend 14+ pages talking about panties
b) spend 50 pages talking about shit not entirely related to the actual story
c) have Araragi apologise to the reader who might have picked up the novels after watching the anime
d) have Araragi cheer you into reading further after pages and pages of panties and sex talk.

But what makes NisiOisiN work exactly?

First off you have to respect a guy who wrote a series of novels to entertain himself while getting paid for it. (It's not your fault I dislike Araragi, Nisio.) But mostly I think it has to do with character interactions; the dialogue is generally funny and whatever else I might say about Araragi, he's a pretty chill guy. He doesn't necessarily hate people which means we view all characters through his perspective in a pretty chill way. He describes, say, Kaiki, like a super creepy dude but I didn't feel like he hated Kaiki. Everyone pretty much starts off on the same footing.

In Nekomonogatari I remember how good Nisio is in exploring human interactions. In one scene Araragi sneaks into Hanekawa's house and comes running back out in a panic, going home shaking and had to be held and comforted by Tsukihi. And then he explains why: he looked around the house, which is bigger than the Araragi house (which btw has three kids), and yet there is no room for Hanekawa Tsubasa.

Her things are scattered around the place (she keeps her undies in a closet in the bathroom!) but there is not one room that belongs to her.

I thought that was beautiful. It was terrifying of course, and I think it takes someone who notices things like that, the things that make us comfortable and safe, to flip it over and go 'You know what's truly fucked up?'

[Caleb · Rating 4 out of 5]

NisiOisiN’s trademark humor, references, and fourth-wall breaks are on full display here. We are treated to perhaps the longest single conversation yet, with Tsukihi, which lasts around 70 glorious pages with enough actual plot to fill a page or two, but oh how fun those other 68 or so pages are!

I just don’t see any point in criticizing NisiOisiN for his own branded style of writing. You don’t criticize Godard films for their lack of structure, meandering nature, or focus on the mundane in all its glory. NisiOisiN is to teen literature what the French new wave was to cinema—and I love him for it.

So when 146 pages in, we are treated to, “You’ve been patient thus far. You have my thanks. Time for the main story.” I don’t get frustrated that I’ve somehow ‘wasted’ 146 pages. I get a good chuckle out of it and move into the story in full.

And, of course, it’s not like everything isn’t connected. The 80 page conversation with Tsukihi, while meandering, brings up the theme of ‘love’—romantic or platonic—and where it stands in contrast with pure infatuation or lust. It’s only much later when we see how truly relevant all that is. Because this isn’t a romance book. In a way, it’s an a-romance book. It’s a story of Araragi learning that he doesn’t love Hanekawa, at least not in the ways he thinks.

Hanekawa was never my favorite character, but her characterization was always some of the very best. And the way she is allowed to play both the victim and the villain in this story strikes such an imposing figure, that the twist at the end where we discover the Afflicting Cat was not the villain puppeting Hanekawa, but that she herself had knowingly and willingly lashed out, adds such depth, nuance, and heartbreak to an already tragic and sad story.

I think so far, this is the best example of the series’ mantra: Save yourself. Don’t wait for someone to save you. Araragi himself rebukes Hanekawa, denying her and refusing to be the hero, putting it almost entirely in her own hands to be better.

In Araragi’s case, this anti-heroism, or more like, refusal to be a hero, is so indicative of his character, that might as well be his character bio.

“I took the enchanted blade the girl vampire had lent me and rested its spine on my shoulder—doing my best to cut a figure. ‘You think I’d feel sympathy? I only feel one way about tragic girls. They’re moé. All I want to do—is release some of my own frustration.’
I almost felt like crying but struck a pose—at my most pretentious.
‘I’ve just got the hots for a high schooler in her underwear with cat ears.’”

He’s not trying to be some hero of justice like his sisters, but despite his intentions and motives, his actions are heroic. It’s a beautiful contradiction that illustrates who he is as a character. He doesn’t see himself as a hero and doesn’t want us to see himself as one either. He’s a deeply flawed character, too perverted and selfish for his own good, and yet his duty to helping his friends goes deeper than a simple heroic mindset. It’s love—not in a romantic sense and not in the lust sense he so often falls into, but real, unadulterated, selfless love—that drives him in full sacrifice to help save those who will only end up saving themselves. And then he’ll bandy around like he’s doing it for his own selfish reason. That he really wants to be killed by Hanekawa, rather than the truer reason in that he doesn’t mind death if it means helping Hanekawa. At least, that’s my reading of his character.

For Hanekawa, it’s both an issue of shifting blame and refusing to acknowledge that there is someone to blame. It’s ignoring the underlying problems in her own character and draping them over the shroud of her own horrible home situation.

“You can’t blame anyone for hitting me—because I’m me.”

It’s a heartbreaking shift in blame to herself, and then casting it off as a non-issue. As a parallel to Araragi and Tsukihi’s conversation:

“‘In other words, we get inundated with these super-stylish, or at least super-dramatic romances in manga, anime, and dramas. So maybe it’s made me think that something isn’t romance unless it’s at that kind of level. Maybe I want things to be so big and ostentatious that I’ve been overlooking the more subtle kinds of love hidden in my own life. In other words, I’m a victim of our information-overloaded age.’
[…]
‘You can’t turn around and blame others, Koyomi. We’re all overloaded with information but still manage to have normal relationships.’”

It’s shifting the blame. Araragi does it to deny feelings of love or friendship, blaming it on information overload. Hanekawa shifts the blame from her parents and her horrible home conditions to herself, but refuses to change her character to ‘fix’ the problem. In other words, she takes the blame, then does nothing about it, letting the stress mount up until she can commit violence against her parents and innocent bystanders and call it a necessary and unstoppable byproduct of the stress. She’s refusing to address the heart of the issue, confront her abusive parents, confront her horrible situation, confront her character flaws, by piling the blame on herself, converting it to stress, and calling it justice when she lashes out.

It’s a difficult situation morally, because it’s more like she is acting on her impulses than some emotional attack—just as she could unemotionally bury the dead cat. It’s all some systematic rhythm, free of emotion or morals. Like some great machine operating by its code. It’s not that right and wrong even plays a part—it is a realm separate from right and wrong. It’s not black and it’s not white. It’s grey.

Or so declares the punchline.

[Craig Schorling · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really interesting book to rate. The first third of this book is pointless banter with Araragi's sister about boobs and panties. That on paper sounds awful and while it isn't great it does have moments where it is still enjoyabale. That is because the author nails dialogue and character interactions. Once the story proper begins it is quite enjoyable. Tsubasa is a compelling character and we learn more about her home life in this volume. The conclusion was a bit rushed but still fitting and satisfying for the most part. There really are not any other books quite like this and that can be a positive and a negative at times.

[Katarzyna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The only reason that this is 4 stars is because I don't like prequels or retrospectives and this is basically just what happened between book 4 and book 1 (also there was no Hachikuji here, even though there was a foreshadowing about her LOL?)
But it was good as always! We got even more insight into Hanekawa and shinobu.
Now I'm probably gonna buy the entire box set of season two because I want to watch the adaptations with my mean student council president (I would make a joke saying that I'm watching a show about a class president with a class president, but he's unfortunately not the class president, just one of the entire school).
Also is this going to be a thing now, Koyomi doing freaky stuff with his sisters 😃

[Sean Newgent · Rating 2 out of 5]

I never thought I'd finish this fucking book.

Nekomonogatari (Black) is the worst book of the series so far and among the most painful pieces of literature I've forced myself to get through in quite a while. It is a level of bad that not even a decent third act could save. In fact, the first act is so inexcusably bad that I think NisiOisiN should be forced to give every reader who makes it through it some sort of monetary reward.

That first act: a conversation with Tsukihi doing a retroactive attempt at giving the character at the center of the previous book a bit of personality. It seems to be the author's modus operandi to introduce characters as the heroines of a book, only to actually flesh them out in the next. In this case, the seventy page discussion with Tsukihi on topics of underwear and breasts and all that stuff that has become so boring in a series that doesn't seem to mature in any way...it's maybe the worst chapter of anything I have read in forever. Boring to the extreme, full of sad attempts at the humor that was once entertaining, and constantly breaking the fourth wall to point out that the author knows the chapter is a waste of time, boring, and useless. It's an attempt at being smart and clever that comes across more as a giant middle finger.

When the story actually kicks off; I wanted to quit even there. The sexual perversion of Araragi is an omnipresent theme of the entire series but I feel like at this point it's gotten grating. In an anime a quick out-of-place interjection in the midst of serious banter can be handled in a way that makes sense for a cartoon. But this is a book that constantly references someday having an anime adaptation: in other words, the characters are meant to reflect the real world...this isn't a book to be read as an anime. So the weird sexual asides in the middle of dramatic dialogue and the anime-esque portions don't work in this format. It's embarrassing how tryhard this book feels from an author who isn't actually writing this one for fun; this is one he's writing because the other books did really well.

So you'd think he'd try harder. Kizumonogatari was fantastic because it was a self-contained story that had emotion and clear story beats without falling into the trappings of over-long pointless dialogue that the series is becoming. Nekomonogatari should be able to push all the side characters aside and focus solely on heart, emotion, and character. But alas; the series is too big for its own britches and has become ungainly. And the author cares more about writing nothing for the sake of nothing.

The emotion of this book, the fact Hanekawa is abused and mistreated at home, is only explored in a cursory fashion when it should be the crux of the book. It is the crux, but it's not there enough to be...well...a punch to the gut. Araragi discovering the living conditions of Hanekawa is the only real gut punch and that's deadened immediately by his sister talking about kissing him or something. Why in God's name can't an emotional, dramatic scene play out without some perverted predilections rearing their head?

Other than explaining the living conditions of Hanekawa and giving you a little pathos for her this book does nothing else. It's pointless, boring, irritating, and made me want to quit the series as a whole. I had to force myself to wake up and say "I like some of the characters and I like the idea" to get me to remove the series from the used bookstore bag and finish.

Hanekawa is an interesting character; her dynamic with Araragi is interesting. But this book is a nightmare. If not an extreme fan or completionist--just watch the anime or skip this book entirely since the other books pretty much explain what happened here anyway.

Nekomonogatari (Black) is a travesty.

[Krishna Avendaño · Rating 3 out of 5]

If there’s a quintessential character in Nisio Isin’s narrative, it certainly is Hanekawa Tsubasa –a core-rotten person who, far from just being self destructing, pushes her own darkness to other people. When she first appeared in Bakemonogatari, little we expected about her true nature. Back then she was just the busty megane best friend of Araragi. After the events of Tsubasa Cat we learned she was possessed by a cat oddity that let her relieve her stress. In Kizumonogatari, despite being a story about Shinobu, she is introduced as a key character for this series –the one who could force the protagonist out of his detachment from the world. Nekomonogatari Black is the story aobut the first time Tusabasa became Black Hanekawa.

When Araragi sees Hanekawa with a patch on her face, she tells him the story of her family or rather the people she coexists with: she was conceived by a promiscuous woman who then committed suicide, her adoptive father remarried but then died of overwork, the woman who had to take care of Hanekawa end up with another man, an abusive one who has inflicted many injuries to our heroine. As Araragi, who is still wondering if he is in love with her, grows frustrated upon Hanekawa’s impassibility about her circumstances, she finds a tailless dead cat and buries it. That’s the moment when the new oddity is born.

The setting and themes are surely interesting. While trying to avoid her reality, Hanekawa has fabricated an almost perfect and charming persona, but she keeps being hurt, both physically and mentally. Instead of taking all the pain for herself, Hanekawa will end up hurting random people and trying to kill her parents. In any case, unlike the great Nekomonogatari White, this is far from being the best novel in the series. It turns out to be rather weak, not because of the story itself, but because the way it’s written. That’s a pity because, just as Nisio, I find myself very fond of Hanekawa, a messed up character who doesn’t live to the tropes and the expectations of anyone: she’s plain wrong, she’s shameful, she’s profoundly real.

One big issue with this book is its poor edition. Nisio, famous for trolling his readers, decided that it would be a good idea to spend almost 80 pages with random chat between Araragi and Tsukihi. Monogatari is certainly a dialogue driven series. That is its trademark. Conversations, as it happens in real life, flow through deep and shallow questions. This strength if not managed smartly can lead to an abyss of irrelevant and bothersome matters. And while I highly appreciate the fetishistic moment between Araragi and his imouto’s foot (which was never animated because the director preferred the breast grope moment), the whole scene, which led to the distinction between love and lust, could’ve been cut to twenty pages, and the outcome would’ve been exactly the same. The same problem is repeated in different ways along the novel, making this book too wordy.

[Brandon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wasn't too big a fan of the anime version when I saw it almost six years ago, but then again I kind of made myself hate Cat just to go along (or, truly, against) the memes on /a/ at the time. Reading (and watching) Kizu-, I've gained a deeper appreciation of Hanekawa, to a point where I'd almost call her Best Girl (almost!), but I still have my reservations.

Essentially, Hanekawa's background is too over-the-top with how morose and depressing it is supposed to be. Her mom gave birth to her when she was like seventeen, and, not knowing who the father was, married out of security, but died shortly after her kid was born, so the step-father remarried, then died of stress from overworking, so the step-mother remarried, and now neither the step-mother nor step-step-father have any attachment to the child they've been raising for fifteen years. In all her seventeen years, Tsubasa Hanekawa has never known what a "family" really was, but to make matters worse she is intelligent and precocious to an immense fault, and her misunderstanding of what is "normal" borders on the autistic. So she tries to give her "father" constructive criticism w/r/t his work, he punches her in the face (it is assumed he and his wife have been burning to smack their non-daughter for ages), she corrects his behavior (saying something about how it's not nice to hit young girls), so he beats her until she needs to wear gauze to cover the entire left side of her face. Encountering the misplaced kindness of Koyomi Araragi (who had just previously "realized" his "love" for Hanekawa is mere sexual frustration [so says his 13-year-old sister]), feeling potential love for a human being after not having known what the feeling meant for almost two decades, Hanekawa's stress boils over and manifests itself as an aberration, taking the form of an "Afflicting Cat," based on a silvery-white cat Hanekawa and Araragi buried shortly after their first encounter in this novel. Turns out, the Afflicting Cat leeches off humans who pity its carcass, but Hanekawa felt absolutely nothing for the possum-playing cat, instead merely burying it because it felt "right" (coldly), garnering the cat's respect, inadvertently assimilating the cat into her own insecurities, manifesting a secondary personality acting as the "flip side" to the face of her coin. To relieve her master's stress, the Afflicting Cat goes on a rampage, draining the energy of random townspeople, with Oshino all the while losing confrontation after confrontation with the aberration, until the dregs of Kissshot Acerolaorion Heartunderblade finally lends Araragi a helping hand, and he temporarily stuns the cat in a clever (for him) plan, so that the girl vampire could drain the energy of the energy-draining cat, erasing Hanekawa's memories of this dreadful Golden Week in the process. Oh, and it turned out Hanekawa was mostly conscious of the entirety of the goings-on, having possessed the cat that possessed her, then masquerading as the cat itself.

So I guess the actual psycho-supernatural elements of this story are about as good as any others in the franchise (Kizu- is still above and beyond the high point), but it has the usual flaw of weighing the latter-most quarter of the novel with all the plot, while the previous 200+ pages focus on... well, being unfocused, I suppose. The real meat of the novel is in the banter, as is true for most books in this series. Araragi begins the novel seriously enough, contemplating whether or not he ever loved Hanekawa, ultimately deciding he regretted not doing things differently during Golden Week, hinting a possible romance with Hanekawa, had he not gotten close to Senjougahara instead. But then he launches into about eighty pages of banter with his younger sister, Tsukihi, much needed since her focal novel (part two of Nisemonogatari, the Tsukihi Phoenix episode) focused much more on Karen (the other of Araragi's sisters) than Tsukihi, with Tsukihi being unconscious for most of her "screentime." We finally get some real characterization for the girl, showing perhaps how negative an influence Araragi is on his sisters, with Tsukihi willfully stripping to her underwear to profess the greatness of white panties. Araragi, key to his characterization, makes the beautifully poignant assessment that black panties are not inherently sexier than any other color, quite contrarian to popular opinion (I agree with him, certainly, but I might side further with Tsukihi, that white is sexier). During this almost-overlong banter festival, Araragi proposes the potentiality that he is in love with Hanekawa, but his sister ends up correcting him, that he is merely sexual frustrated. Taking a loan from his sister in order to buy porn magazines, Araragi gets sidetracked further when he runs into Hanekawa, whereupon he learns firsthand of the girl's "family" situation, finally kicking the novel into its actual intended narrative, at just a little past the 50% mark. Araragi kindly notes just when he is ready to push the novel toward its real purpose ("You've been patient thus far. You have my thanks. Time for the main story," on page 146).

Indeed, this novel features the best of Araragi's metafictional comments. This story is the second to take place chronologically, somewhat after Kizu- and somewhat before Bake-. Therefore, our only characters are Araragi, Hanekawa, Oshino, and the vampire formerly known as Heartunderblade. Karen and Tsukihi are elevated from the position of background characters, after their chronologically-later introductions in the Nise- novels, eating up a fair amount of "screentime" in order to make up for the lack of other major players (okay, Karen gets like two lines, but Tsukihi is pretty prominent, balancing with the readers' overexposure to Karen in the Nise- books). Araragi, simultaneously telling the story from a position in time shortly after Nise-, yet somehow also "in the moment," makes a handful of references to characters the reader has met in novels released earlier, but who would not be properly introduced in-universe until later in time (though, again, they were introduced in previous installments). A conversation with Oshino briefly tackles the idea of the anime adaptation, and Araragi considers the possibility of having similar conversations with a pig-tailed little girl in the future. When thinking of his classmates, Araragi digresses in the narration to mention the existence of Senjougahara, whom he feels he might know sooner than later.

This novel doesn't really do too much to cement Hanekawa as "Best Girl," but the real fun of the series (the banter and Araragi's playful narration) shines much brighter than in previous novels, perhaps due to Nisioisin having gotten extremely comfortable with his series, really getting into a groove of sorts. It's hard to care too much about the Afflicting Cat here, since her reason for being is gratuitously over-dramatic (the "family" part of the "Tsubasa Family" subtitle), and much of the novel's "action" is glossed over when Araragi says he'd spent four days bowing before the vampire before she'd help him (wasting a good portion of the supposedly dreadful Golden Week, much as how his spring break turned out not to be as brutal as Bake- suggested). The truth of this novel's tragedy is the steadily growing love Hanekawa feels for Araragi (about which Araragi is obviously oblivious), which will be further detailed in the next installment, Nekomonogatari (White), part one of the "Second Season" of the series. It is thus quite true that this novel doesn't act very well as a conclusion to the "First Season," instead only closing a temporal gap left open earlier in the series - "Tsukihi Phoenix" is still deserving of its "Final Chapter" subtitle.

Lastly, I applaud Nisioisin for teasing the existence of something curious under the vampire's dress, but I do kinda wish he'd have described the little Band-aid covering her cunny, as seen in SHAFT's anime adaptation. It was a very strange "blink and you'll miss it" part of an incredibly well-animated scene, and it seems to have been based around almost nothing from its source. Based Shinbo does it again!

[Jaroslav Přidal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nebylo to vůbec dobré, promiň nisioisin-san

[4nnnnnnn4 · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 stars

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Nekomonogatari (Black)" finally gives us a closer look at what actually happened between Hanekawa and Araragi in Golden Week and brings the "First Season" of the Monogatari-Series to an end. Beforehand, I read about the 80 pages conversation that you had to go through before getting to the actual plot of this volume, and I somewhat dreaded that part. Surprisingly, this conversation between Tsukihi and Araragi ended up being my favourite part of the book - it is full of Nisio Isin's trademark literary comedy with characters breaking the 4th wall, reading the narration and commenting on it, discussing an anime adaptation of the book and having a (surprisingly serious!) discussion about underwear that they plan to have for two pages but end up having for way longer.

The actual story itself is ok. Personally, I feel like Nisio Isin is way better at writing freestyle, "pointless" conversations that writing a story; for me at least, the story parts of his novels always feel stretched out and are not really that entertaining.

Also, as someone else wrote in another review, there is a fair bit of victim shaming going on in this novel, if you want to see it as and call it that. I didn't like that part at all but think that I understood what Isin was trying to make his characters express. Especially when you take the epilogue into account, it becomes clear that Hanekawa is more than just the prim and normal student she appears to be, but I felt like her "unhuman" part was more of an effect of her living conditions and not the other way around.

This is an entertaining novel by Nisio Isin, but by far not the best one of the Monogatari-Series (although to be fair, I think it will be hard for any installment to surpass "Bakemonogatari").

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've waited patiently for Nekomonogatari to finally get translated and released, and it was worth it. The first part of Cat Tale, known as Black, was another look back in time. This story focuses on dealing with Hanekawa's own aberration encounter. While it's been known about Hanekawa's family situation, this was a march deeper and darker look in to it. For most of the book, primarily when focused on Hanekawa, we don't have a lot of the wit and banter the Monogatari is known for. It's there at times, but doesn't sit in the forefront as much. Thankfully for fans of the banter such as myself, the entire second chapter is Araragi having a 70 plus page conversation with his younger sister Tsukihi. It is an absolute delight! Another fantastic chapter in Monogatari, and I now I have to wait patiently once again for Cat Tale (White). 4.75 out of 5.

[Ricardo Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nisioisin is at it again. The first 150 pages include random dialogue and incestuous humor that, if taken seriously, is actually quite offensive. The author does mention a few times that he's curious to see how they'll adapt those parts in the anime. He really didn't make their lives easier. For example, he addresses the readers that are not fans of the more raunchy humor by telling them to skip 20 pages as he will now spend 20 debating lingerie. Funnily enough he goes over the 20 and the debate of black vs white actually makes sense and is important later on.

When we get to 150 pages, the author announces the start of the story. I really liked the tale of the Cat that curses whoever comes across it. We're back to great Bakemonogatari days. The final part of the book by itself would have earned 5 stars, but it loses one as the first part is way too long for what it's meant to be.

[AB · Rating 2 out of 5]

2

The worst book so far. The Previous books had problems too but they always had a certain charm and cleverness to them but this one is trash. I did not enjoy most of this book. I am actually worried about the next season of this series. I already have the next box set, So I hope that the quality would improve.

[Jordan DeMoura · Rating 3 out of 5]

After the disappointments of Nisemonogatari, we enter the next installment where Tsubasa Hanekawa is once again the primary focus. Though maybe that isn't entirely accurate. Almost the first half of this book doesn't include Hanekawa at all other than as a topic of conversation and subject of thought. I won't talk about the first 100+ pages much because most of it is stupid and pointless. Somewhere around the halfway mark of this book, Nisio Isin finally remembered that he's actually a good writer. Though, the first half has some decent content of Araragi considering his romantic feelings or lack thereof as well as his sexual frustrations.

But the meat of the story is Hanekawa's story. We finally get some insight into the events of Golden Week and some further information about her family/home life. Though 'home' and 'family' may be misnomers in her case. This is a story about domestic abuse, emotional neglect, emotional repression, and pain. A lot of pain. A broken home. Seeing the way that she processes and responds to her treatment by her family is fascinating and heartbreaking in equal measure. Ultimately, this installment paints a rich character portrait of Hanekawa, as we see her use an aberration to release her deeply coiled and caustic emotions, stress, and pain. The second half of this book is very good, and I would give it four stars but the first 100 or so pages is not very enjoyable for me. Very excited to enter what is dubbed the 'second season' of Monogatari, especially after seeing Nisio Isin finally lock in with the pen in a way he hasn't in several installments now.

[Felipe Juan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little more of everything - good or bad

After writing 6 books and making his mark, I feel that the author has become more comfortable with what he would like to write and add, using his unique (though not entirely positive) way of storytelling.

The most striking features of his works - the breaking of the fourth wall (and of expectations), the Japanese puns, the various references to works from our world, and, of course, the ecchi when he sees fit. All of these are not only present right from the start, but also increased in quantity.

In other words, depending on your taste, the high points are even higher, while the low points are even lower. That said, it still came out as a positive experience for me - I just think you could have toned down your "fetishes" in the long interaction between certain characters at the beginning...

For the rest, I'm glad to see the author more at ease with his metalinguistic jokes here and there. It's one of the things I like most about this series; most of them are very creative and something I wouldn't expect to see. Even though they may not be all that, I always find them brilliant when I see them.

Finally, it was only the main conflict that I found rather milky. Since the previous books, I haven't been convinced by the way he sees Hanekawa as a "savior", and here, when it became the motivation for the whole book to happen, I just accepted whatever he seemed to feel for her.

[Jorge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nekomonogatari Black, the final book in the first season of the Monogatari Series.

What can I say about this book that has yet to be mentioned. Seeing how Hanekawa's cat represents her inner self, seeing how she struggles to understand the concept of family because she never really had one, and how all of these struggles are topped off by intellect, is an interesting route that Isin takes. The tone of the actual story was quite depressing, as it should be when we are dealing wiht such topics, but I believe that Isin attempted to force a feeling of sadness onto us, which did not land well at times. However, it was better than the earlier parts of the story, where Isin as usual, dedicates it to funny dialogue that can often break the 4th wall. Seeing Tsukihi and Koyomi's conversation made me laugh, but it was also a pain to get through. It is not that these conversations are bad, but just the interactions itself are not as appealing as they once were, and it is now starting to get redundant.

[Secre · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare for me to revise a review but here I am after reading Nekomonogatari Black a second time. In my first review of this book I guess I just didn't appreciate what was in front of me and had to have a second glance. Without giving any spoilers the story focuses on Hanekawa and her aberration the afflicting cat. In previous volumes of the story there are parts of the story already exposed but the author does a good job of explaining the missing information. In previous volumes it was up to the readers imagination and perception of the stort to fill in the blanks. However in this book the author connects the story and builds on Hanekawa as a character. The development of her backstory and what kind of life Hanekawa has lived causing a new type of aberration to exist. The writing style of this author can sometimes seem a bit confusing and take time to get used to but I would recommend this book to fill in those blanks in the story. Similar to Bakemonogatari and Kizimonigatari reading this book will answer a lot of unanswered questions and help readers connect plot points and connections with the characters.

[myinon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that finally describes the events that transpired during Golden Week as has been hinted by earlier novels. It involves Tsubasa Hanekawa and the abberation known as the Afflicting Cat. This novel also happens to explain somewhat why Araragi decides not to ask Hanekawa to be his girlfriend.

I’m looking forward to reading future volumes as they will be completely new to me (seeing as I haven’t watched Monogatari Second Season). I also hope that there won’t be any more time jumps, that the next novels will more or less move forward in time in a linear fashion.

Overall, this novel was good and I enjoyed learning about Hanekawa’s character backstory and that has helped shape the character we read about in the earlier novels.

[J · Rating 2 out of 5]

Grab the first 84 pages and yank that mass right out of this book. It’s basically more of the cringe-worthy, errant fan service muck we got with much of the last volume. It adds nothing to this story or the overarching developments. If you can get past those pages and maybe another 20 or so, there is an interesting character exploration of super-student Tsubasa Hanekawa—her grief, loss, and abuse. Her circumstances are quite extraordinary. The aberration that intercedes in her life during Golden Week presents some substantial challenges to Araragi and Oshino, and even to Hanekawa herself. If not for the first half of this book, I would probably rate it as high as the first arc. Alas...

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many others have complained about, there is certainly something to be said about the first third of this novel which pushes the plot with the speed of a snail pushing a twig, not very fast.

This was fine for me either way because it's filled with funny and whacky Araragi antics. By this point in the series you should know where your opinion on the main character lies, if you are up to here hopefully you like him and think he's funny.

The last act of the story really ramps up seemingly out of nowhere, which is interesting considering we already have a whiff of what the whole plot entails from previous entries. I really do feel bad for hanekawa and I wish her only the best, I hope to see more good stuff in the coming -monogatari stories

[Phillip R · Rating 5 out of 5]

I continue my journey going through Monogatari in chronological order. A quick thing about Kizu's adaptation: I have trouble understanding why Akiyuki Shinbo was so pompous in designing the small town events take place in.

That aside, the level of detail provided by NISIOISIN continues to surprise me, and I find myself wishing I could read this in Japanese, but I firmly believe that Ko Ransom did an outstanding job translating this series. The puns, the ridiculous conversations, I feel they come across properly and not forced at all.

I loved the intensity of Hanekawa's story, can't wait to eventually land on Neko Black! See you in the review of the very first published volume of this saga.

[jana marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Actual rating: 3.5 or 3.75. This wasn’t my favourite book in the series but I did like learning more about Hanekawa and her relationship with Araragi. I also liked the tone of this book, it felt more serious and less of the fun banter, that although is funny at times, can get a little annoying. But one thing I really didn’t like in this book was the victim blaming of a character who experienced domestic abuse. They were justifying her assault, sympathizing with the abuser and pretty much saying she brought this onto herself. I wanted to rip out those pages I was so angry. But other than that, I quite enjoyed the book.

[Strider · Rating 3 out of 5]

This volume was a little weaker than the others mostly because of the first 70 pages. I mean even the writer admitted in the text that it was useless conversation. I do not say that it was not fun but it ruined the pacing a bit and this novel could have been much better if it had minus 50 pages. However the story of Hanekawa was great and I could finally understand her personality and whats so frightening about it. It was a good read. And with this I finished the first season of Monogatari. The quality was great and the pacing as well except in this novel and maybe in Kizu. It is a pity that I cannot read the whole second season yet.

[Juan · Rating 5 out of 5]

La verdad, tarde un poco en agarrar el ritmo al libro ya que piensas que estas leyendo fragmentos chistosos de Araragi y su familia... Y las roturas de la cuarta pared al lector y las típicas menciones de una posible adaptación al anime, discusiones sobre que es lo que es el amor y cómo confundir el querer "sobar" las tetas de alguien es lo mismo que amar a alguien...

Pero de la nada llegas al final del capitulo 6 y se desarrolla la historia... Que paso con Tsubasa Hanekawa... El porque fue poseída por un gato... Y principalmente todo el conflicto (o parte) familiar que carga en sus hombros... Tal ves la introducción sea algo rara, pero, vale la pena leer hasta el final.

[Chelsea Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5/5 Stars: ‘Nekomonogatari: Black’ (Book #6 of ‘Monogatari’) by NisiOisiN.
→ Age Range: Young Adult.
→ Genre: Fantasy, Light Novel.
→ Trigger Warnings: Sexual Profanity, Mentioned Suicide, Broken Home.

In-depth Rating:
→ Plot: ★★★
→ Character Development: ★★★★
→ Setting: ★★★
→ Entertainment Level: ★★★★
→ Writing: ★★★

General Comments: Suitably, it does an excellent job a conveying proper emotion, whilst keeping levels of entertainment high – featuring a smaller supporting cast. It conveniently builds on the juxtaposition between the characters’ relationships; emotions take the spotlight, introducing discussions surrounding the philosophy of life. A caution for crude, and often sexually charged dialogue between minors.

Favourite Quote: ���Not asking for help doesn’t mean that you don’t want to be saved.’

Time Read: Four Days.
→ Audiobook: No.
→ Audiobook Narrator: -

[Alex Ng · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not really a review but I wanted to lay out my thoughts about Tsubasa Hanekawa, a class president among class presidents. From her upright conduct and irreproachable mannerisms, we can tell that she tries very hard to uphold the image of a respectable and normal high school girl, likely as a way of hiding or making up for the broken home that she resides in. Putting on an act for years on end can only realistically put an enormous amount of stress and strain on the mental psyche, and what happens next when it boils over is detailed pretty well in this book.

[Taha · Rating 2 out of 5]

If anyone sees I even touched this book they would be very disappointed in me and rightfully so (tbh only trudged through like 1/8 bc of having nothing else to do, taking book recs)

It's a difficult conundrum bc I think characters/archetypes are explored neatly/in ways that they might not be in other stories, but the story is bogged down by stupid. I'd like to skip to get a later story about a char I prefer, but I'd feel bad. I need to find it in me to delete this series and not go back, one day.

[Velvet · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly, I just don't like Hanekawa much.

Neko Black's the first of two books centering on her, and it's... an entry! That's about all I really have to say. It attempts to mix the loose, free flowing banter of the first season with the traditional narrative structure of Kizu and it just doesn't work out that well. The book is overall solid as you'd expect from Nisio (the eighty straight pages of Tsukihi banter made me laugh quite a few times) but the whole story's tone and pacing just never really get it right.

[Bradley Agnew · Rating 3 out of 5]

As some other people have mentioned 80 pages of this book are banter between Koyomi and Tsukihi. While short sections of these interactions are amusing, I don't particularly enjoy pages and pages of these pun wars and random conversations between him with Hachikuji and Tsukihi. That said, once the story finally got going, I did really enjoy it even having watched the anime for this section years ago.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Only thing I didn't like about this novel was the 6 chapters of intro that was needed to set the pace of the story. If I hadn't already watched the anime, I would have put the book down and moved on to something else. But I knew the rest of the story was going to be really good, so I stayed with it until the end...and it paid off cause it was a good rest of the story. Just wish it didn't have that really long intro.