Anime: Nisemonogatari

Nisemonogatari is the sequel to Bakemonogatari and focuses on the story arcs of Karen Araragi and Tsukihi Araragi. Koyomi Araragi’s family has gotten involved with the supernatural so it’s up to him to help them as he helped Hitagi Senjougahara, Nadeko Sengoku, Mayoi Hachikuji, Suruga Kanbaru, and Tsubasa Hanekawa. And spends as much time on them as he does Karen and Tsukihi.

Keep in mind: this is an 11 episode anime that spotlights seven characters equally despite the story arcs being about only two of them. This wouldn’t be a problem if the literal five out of seven character interactions Koyomi goes through contributed to the story but unfortunately that’s only a third of the time. When Koyomi isn’t getting advice from the other characters about Karen and Tsukihi’s problems, he’s in pointless conversations and fanservice scenes. The pointless conversations and fanservice scenes can’t be for character development because their development peaked in Bakemonogatari, they can’t be for reintroducing the characters because there are scenes where at least two of them are together and thus could have reintroduced more in one shot, and they can’t be for its own sake because Nisemonogatari has the pretense of a plot that gets overshadowed and makes most of each episode’s content to be filler. And despite Koyomi lacking Meme Oshino’s help, it shouldn’t take seven and four episodes to resolve Karen and Tsukihi’s problems because he at least has Shinobu Oshino’s valuable insight being a supernatural being herself, making what little advice he gets from the other characters somewhat pointless.

Not that the conclusion to Karen and Tsukihi’s story arcs is good, though. The latter ends in philosophical talk that’s difficult to take seriously because of how bad the rest of the show is and the former is even worse because it turns out to be a wild goose chase. It would actually be good if it didn’t have filler to pad itself out or the conversations and fanservice wouldn’t be pointless if the show didn’t have the pretense of a plot. But as it stands, this anime has nothing real to show for itself; kind of ironic considering a recurring theme in this show is fakeness being more genuine than realness and “nise” roughly translating to “fake.” Yeah, Nisemonogatari is real; real annoying, real bad, and real pointless.

"Guilty pleasure" is usually a term for bad shows. Nisemonogatari is a good show - perhaps even a great show. But not one I'd feel comfortable watching in mixed company.

The whole show is a more self-indulgent version of Bakemonogatari, which is no bad thing per se. I loved Bakemonogatari for its heavily stylized visuals, pushing what's possible with animation. Nisemonogatari doesn't do anything its predecessor didn't, but that's still a very high standard. The actual plots are weaker, with more time spent on digressions and more character-based sequences; in particular, several early episodes are spent reintroducing the cast from the previous series... who then don't do anything. The monogatari series has never really been about plot, but the shortage can make Nise feel slow; we get through only two arcs in our twelve episodes - one for each of (male lead) Araragi's sisters. And even with this much time available, the resolution feels... I won't say disappointing, but certainly abrupt.

So, visuals aside, this show lives or dies on the strength of its character interactions, which are far more variable than Bake's. Araragi's interactions with Shinobu, the vampire living in his shadow, are a delight to watch; a beautiful mix of pride and co-dependence. Conversely, the antagonists for the second arc seem rushed and underdeveloped, having little more than gimmickery to them. Somewhere in the middle are the characters from the previous series, who are largely as before; we get small developments for Kanbaru and Hachikuji, and their episodes at least hold the viewer's attention, if contributing little to the overall arcs.

The main focus of Nise, though, is Araragi's sisters. His relationships with each are everything the viewer could ever want - developed, believable - but also creepy as hell. The eroticism is piled higher and higher, particularly with his younger sister Tsukihi (and far more so than with Araragi's nominal girlfriend); the infamous toothbrush scene is not an isolated incident but the pinnacle of a long-running trend. Many viewers will be able to look past it, but fundamentally this is underaged, incestual fanservice, and I wouldn't hold it against any who can't.

Which makes my job all the harder, because that aside, this is a really good series. Even as a sequel that does nothing to innovate, Bakemonogatari was good enough that maintaining its standard is enough. And on the whole, Nise does, despite the weakness of the plot: its character interactions are every bit the equal of its predecessor, as are its visuals. Music doesn't quite achieve the emotional involvement of Bake, but it's still very good (particularly the catchy first opening), and voice acting is, if anything, better than before; Tsukuhi and initial antagonist Kaiki in particular convey their emotional states beautifully through tone.

But for all that, I can't recommend it. If you liked Bakemonogatari you should love this - but only if you're not bothered by Araragi's interactions with his sisters.

Overview
As much as I'd like to review the show on its own merits and in its own hermetic bubble; it is impossible to do so, seeing as so much of it refers back to Bakemonogatari in plot, design and themes. Unfortunately, this means it has a lot to live up to, which it is entirely unable (and possibly unwilling) to do so.
Bakemonogatari worked (for me at least) because it took a fresh and interesting look at traditional monster themes, all while spinning an engaging plot peppered with social commentary and discussions/diversions about other interesting topics. There was an element of fanservice within (the very first scene of the very first episode springs to mind) but it was never allowed to rule and direct. Nisemonogatari turns that on its head and delivers an almost 180 degree flip, but at least manages to keep its intriguing art style and bold framing choices.

Art
The design choices made in Bakemonogatari were the first thing that drove me to it, and they are mostly carried over to this series as well. Wes Anderson-esque straight-on camera work and aggressive close-ups combine with an almost gleeful disregard for the laws of perpective help to create a striking look, which is only improved by bold colour choices and dynamic framing. The background art often adds extra meaning to the character's conversations, such as one memorable scene in which two characters discuss marriage. The camera cuts to a pristine looking garden, complete with a water fountain subtly designed to look like a wedding ring.
Characters are mostly static throughout - usually the sign of a forced budget, but in this case it helps add to the artistic (and some may say pretentious) nature of the shots. When they do crack out the framerate and let the animators have fun, the resultant work is fluid and well excecuted. However, the animation only seems to be let loose fully in the opening titles or in areas of aggressive fanservice. There is an interesting use of typefaces throughout as with other Shaft programs, but you can't help but feel they were inserted for nostalgia purposes instead of being truly needed. Overall, the artwork is interesting to look at, but doesn't feel as fresh as the first time round.

Sound and Music
The sound takes a back seat through most of the show - as characters are mostly static or talking, there is little foley or sound design needed. When it is needed, it is placed well and there are some nice little touches that heighten the atmosphere. The music was somewhat repetative, featuring about 5 main themes are are repeated throughout. They are interesting tunes though, a cello theme reminiscent of Luigi's Mansion (bizarrely!) being a highlight. The title and credit is music is engaging enough, although not as earwormy or disparate as some of the tunes from Bakemonogatari.

Story and Character Development
Bakemonogatari had five chapters/arcs and each was engaging and unexpected, constantly pushing either the plot forward, or revealing the character's motives or past; never wearing out it's welcome. Nisemonogatari has only two, and the same cannot be said. I will confess here to having not read the source material - so I cannot comment on the transfer from page to screen. What I can say is that there is not enough material in either of the stories to keep the pace up or fill the available screen time. If these arcs had been dealt with the same way they were in Bakemonogatari, the series would have been only five or six episodes long. What this boils down to is overlong episodes where nothing is pushed forward and nothing is revealed. This would not have been a problem had the resultant 'filler' material been interesting or served any purpose other than titilation. Whole episodes were spent indulging the (presumably easy to please, judging by the perplexingly high anidb rating) fanbase, while offering little to no sustinance. Character seems to have fallen by the wayside as well as plot, now all characters other than Araragi seem to have thrown off individuality, instead existing only to undress themselves and passive-aggressively flirt with Araragi, who himself has become a one note character. Add to that the constant, cloying incestuous overtones and we have so many dull cliche's that would have caused me to stop watching a few episodes in, had it not been for the mountain of goodwill Bakemonogatari had built up. It all feels so lazy and phoned-in - a seemingly endless parade of panty shots and poor parodies consisting of little more than a carbon copy reference with no commentary.

Overall, it's a huge disappointment of a series, feeling more like fanfiction with an erotic bent. Those of you who would like to see the characters from the first season in various states of undress will enjoy this. People looking for curses, story and a unique atmosphere would be better looking into a program like Mononoke - an excellent arc-based monster show that truly unsettles.

Nisemonogatari is exactly what the title says, it is a story about fakes- Bakemonogatari style. The long-awaited sequel features two arcs centering around the sisters of our favorite part-vampire. Though the pacing is a bit on the slow side, the dialogue remains engaging as long as you can keep up with the subs (or VA's if you're Nippon-speak enabled). The sequel does tweak things a bit from the original series, most notably the level of fan service; but overall felt like it continued many themes introduced in the original, and is a good addition.

Animation:
The very distinctive, minimalist animation style of Bakemonogatari returns here. You have the drastic contrast between seizure-inducing scene changes/abstract backgrounds and graphic, bloody battles with huge collateral damage.

The characters from the original season carry over, albeit as secondary support. I agree with the other reviewers that Tsubasa v2 is quite different and took a little getting used to. As mentioned earlier, the level of fan service is greatly increased; your image of Sengoku will never be the same again... Not only does this mean more skin, but it means a lot more suggestive scenes as well, some of which get pretty close to that boundary line called incest.

Sound:
One thing I really like about Ef and *monogatari series is the integration between animation and sound. Whenever something abstract needs a depiction, it gets a fitting sound/effect to go with it.

Okay now back to usual review mode. The OPs fit with each respective VA (even the lyrics match!) and are a clear indication of what the episode may focus on. Nothing terribly awesome but Tsukihi's OP will definitely come across as unique amount all the OPs out there. As for the ED, it can't compare to the group's original. The BGM is fairly minimal due to the dialogue-dominating nature of the show, which brings me to the actual VAs- and what a cast we have here... sooo many big names working together. If anything, I think Senjougahara sounds even more sadistic than in the original. However, most notably, Eri Kitamura plays a much larger role, and does an outstanding job (reference ep 7).

Story:
I think a balancing act was played with the story here. On one hand they needed to tell the actual story of the Fire Sisters, on the other hand they needed to satisfy Bakemonogatari fans' thirst for additional appearances of the original heroines. The show does a lot more of the latter in the first of the two arcs, possibly explaining the odd 7/4 arc-length disparity.

The use of the Nise theme was very well integrated throughout the show. There are multiple layers of imposters and fakes in the story if you think about it. The plotline follows a similar path to the original story; we follow Koyomi as he finds and untangles supernatural elements- only this time it's a little closer to home. Also notable is the pseudo-replacement of the crazy dude Oshino with Shinobu (who actually now talks at length- and with a Horo-ish accent).

Each arc has substantial rising action, in some cases a crazy amount of foreshadowing, which might be a bit overkill for the actual climax. In general, the plot doesn't feel as tense as the original, even though it's even more personal for Koyomi now. Perhaps it's the knowledge that Shinobu is there in case Koyomi needs help. Overall, the story does a good job of integrating the original cast while focusing on Koyomi's sisters. The plot for Tsukihi's arc was a bit short and odd but not bad considering the plot of some other sequels (*cough SNSF*).

Character:
Did you know Sengoku was... anyways while we see some prior heroines in provocative positions, the majority of the development occurs between Koyomi and his sisters. Koyomi struggles with how to treat his sisters (in multiple ways) and their hobby/game of serving "justice". While cute, I don't think the sisters are as clearly defined as the heroines in Bakemonogatari.

As for Koyomi, I can only stand the main character getting butchered repeatedly to a certain point, beyond which it just becomes a bit abused as in the case of Kore wa Zombie Desuka. This gets pretty close to that at certain points. Luckily, his relationship with Shinobu is dynamic and improves as they try to work out their differences.

I'm a little mixed on the treatment of antagonists in this season. The first villain had the perfect exposition, whereas the second protagonist group for the Tsuhiki arc felt a bit rushed in the door. While many elements of the antagonists remain a mystery, I do like how they were all tied up and related again near the end of the last arc.

Value:
While a good addition to Bakemonogatari, I can't help but think the rewatch value here is not as great. I would have liked more involvement with the original cast, and perhaps that will happen as they push out more *monogataris. I will also echo daiyoukai's complaint that excessive hair cutting is just *sad face*. Overall a good watch, and a fun story with some unexpectedly revealing female characters.

[Animation: 9/10]
What should I say about this? Well, the animation was top-notch. Pretty much the same as it was with Bakemonogatari (BMG), but you can feel the vibe for money around each corner. Everything was polished and I could really feel that each and everything must have been cross-checked by serveral animators. The colors where vivid, all lines clear and drawn with detail. There where a lot less "black scenes" as with BMG. Instead there where short cuts and fast changes of perspective. Kind of artistic in my personal opinion. But still it lost a lot of its grip and its charm compared with BMG. But will worth a high rating, because of the high "craftsmanship". Source I watched was Horrible Subs 1080p release.

[Sound: 8/10]
What else could I say than one of the very best voice actor casts was again summoned and all of them did sortie. I did listen to it on my 9.2 THX system and it was crip, clear not a sign of clanging. As usual for mainly dialog driven stories with not much action sequences there was only stereo sound, but the upmix to surround was pretty amazing. There where three opening themes - namely "Futakotome", "marshmallow justice" and "Platinum Disco". Non of them really catched my attention. They were pretty bold and did not fit good to the "Gatari-Vibe". Contrary the ED "Naisho no Hanashi" I found very to listen to. Don't get me wrong - it is not a masterpiece and quite mainstreamish, but I liked it. The sound during the show was done without any fail and even Shinobu got a demanding vioce. A pleasurefull listening experience.

[Story: 7/10]
When we assume BMG a slow paced show, we must categorize NMG as hellish slow. Real plot advance may have happend only in four or five episodes. Some sequences very stretch to an ammount where to would have to define them as fillers. NMG brought a total of two archs - Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix. Karen Bee revolves around Koyomi Araragi's older younger sister (watch it to get a feeling how much you can discuss about how to properly adress several younger sisters in japanese language *twinkle*) and makes up 7 of 11 episodes. This arc seems so laid back and slow that I questioned my self several times if anything really happend during 3 of the 7 episodes. A lot of references, yes, a lot of nice and very clever wordplay, yes .. but did anything happen? As much as I enjoyed the show as much I were on the edge of loosing patience. Quite the opposite for Tsukihi Phoenix. In the first episode Tsukihi even did not have something you would all an appearance. Nearly everything important did happen in the last 1,25 episodes in that arch. This feels the same as it sounds - to quick. For the first time in the Gatari-Universe I feeled wasted potential. Watch the anime if you want to know what happend storywise!

All of the main characters from BMG where there. Except for a few scenes I just can not clearly state why. For me it seemed like they were just put into place to give them some screentime. Was that a kind of character appearance fanservice? If yes, than cameo appearances within the very same story universe is a new level of enforced pointlessness I loved BMG for. If not.. o god, let it (b)rain. Something what seemed very odd to me where the scenes with Koyomi and Karen when he brushed her teeth to get her to surrender to avoid her meeting Kanbaru. Don't think to much about it. Havn't you done this to your own sister yet? To jump cross the timeline, I found the scene with Kanbaru and Koyomi in one of the early episode very erotically - at the end Koyomi kissed Tsukihi to wake her up only to say that he did not feel anything and that was proof that she is his "real" sister (again, watch to understand properly). That wicked way of playing with erothic up to the border of incest is very surreal. You may think it fits to NMG artwork, but believe me - it distrubs the storyline more than it helps to archive anything.

[Character: 7/10]
The characters there allready well introduced in BMG, so there was only a few development for Hitagi, Suruga or Tsubasa. To be honest I head really trouble with recognizing some of them. Maybe my eyesight got blurry, but Tsubasa seemed to be drawn totally different. Suruga had a far more matured appeal - only Koyomi, Hitagi and Mayoi I could identify without any fail. I don't count Shinobu here. As Karen Bee and Tsukihi Phoenix archs were handled, of cause we got to know more about Koyomi's "little" sisters - the self proclaimed fire-sisters. As the whole NMG was a up and down between extrems so it is with the fire-sisters. The emissary of justice which is even taller than her big brother: Karen. The platinum mad maniac that runs with knifes in the house to keep girls away from her big brother: Tsukihi. Where Karen beets the crap out of Koyomi ith a satisfied smile on her face to only effuse tears seconds later, there is Tsukihi more algid and tries to talk her brother against the wall to pin him down. I want such a familiy too... ;)

As a side-note:
There are only a few rules out there in the universe of appealing girls. Only a very special subset of female characters looks really hot, sexy or cute with short hairs. As a rule of thumb you might say that the longer the hair, the hotter, sexiers or cuter the girl. Not even Karen lost a large portion of her hair... this was also done to Hitagi (I really did not recognize her anymore), luckly only in the very last scenes of NMG - but the hell... what was Nisioisin smoking?

[Value: 6/10]
I'am a little bit sorry here, but if you see NMG in the whole concept of the monogatari series I feels that not really much was done here. There were two archs, but compared with BMG really nothing much happend. Of cause its not a fair comparison as NMG was more around Koyomis family where BMG had a lot more interaction potenial with people of Koyomis "outer" environment. Honestly, do you act the same if at home or when at school or when with frieds? I my eys the ero parts with Karen made the whole family stuff in her arcs fail. In Tsukihis arc is was more clear and appealing, but it bothered my to hell that nothing was really solved. Everything went off in a totally wicked, untrue and disappointing way. So here I have to give the lowest ranking.

[Enjoyment: 7/10]
This time I had very much trouble to get any connection to the storyline at all. Nevertheless I was waiting for every episode every week. Was it advanced praise for BMG? I'am not sure on this. Of cause I had very high hopes, more for Tsukihi Phoenix than Karen Bee, but I now can say that I really enjoyed watching it, even with those dam fillers and very slow pacing. Figuring out all the cross-references and follow them talking really fast about complicated themes fired my inner masochist. You certainly can enjoy the show, but I have to reduce the raiting for not being any close to the philosophically level of BMG. Much time was wasted for some characters screentime and this time was missing elsewhere. Where BMG tried to get more deep, NMG tried to be plain and living from us searching the cliff to the neatherworld of dialog art. I personally voted for 10 overall, because there has to be more!

Nisemonogatari: A Post-Mortem

People will be happy if they think what's in the museum is the authentic one. Delusions such as pictures and money don't have value. They're all illusions.
--Kyouka-sama, Kyouran Kazoku Nikki

What happens if you set out to tell a ‘fake’ story and succeed? Should a successful telling of fake story be rewarded? Well, let’s leave philosophical paradoxes aside, and discuss the truth: regardless of intent, Nisemonogatari is a weak story, and it is a disappointment. In short, this show fell flat. It failed to capture the magic of the first season, and spent too much time on character cameos and incest-ero and not enough actual story.

Before I start, I need to set the framework. I generally enjoy the work of Nisioisin. His style is somewhat esoteric, and he delights in wordplay and unusual diction, but I find these traits endearing. And I believe that Bakemonogatari is one of the best anime ever made. In my ‘Giant Spreadsheet of Doom’, there are 348 anime titles listed, in order of quality. Bakemonogatari is entry number 2. So when I discuss Nisemonogatari, keep in mind that I know full well what this franchise is capable of, and to what standards I am holding this show to.

The Good

Animation
Here is a case of when having too much of budget can be bad. The animation of Bakemonogatari was beset with Shaft’s usual budget crisises, and so a lot of the strange atmosphere and animation cuts where more forced than planned. However, somehow, they managed to turn this disadvantage around to Bake’s biggest strength, creating an eerily beautiful and surreal landscape and a truly unique animation style. In Nise, there is plenty of cash on hand, and therefore the animation is more polished, but it loses the sense of charm that original had. The animation is style very good – both fight scenes and landscapes retain the good parts of Bake, but there is no innovation, nothing new. And there the director fails to make good use of the Red Scene/Black Scene cuts as compared to the first season. It might be more shiny, but it is less filling.

Writing
When Nisioisin is on, he is on. The true greatness of Bake lay in its ability to weave an engaging story out of a simple conversation between two characters. Some of the best episodes of Bake are nothing more than Araragi trading sarcastic barbs with another character. These scenes return, and there are some notable ones, especially the opening episodes and every time Hachikuji appears. But they have a different feel to them than in Bake. In Bake, these scenes exist to provide information on the character, to define their personality or to advance a plot point. Here, they are more like slice-of-life comedy shorts, something that wouldn’t be out of place in Lucky Star or Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei, but are for the most part pointless. Their only purpose is to satiate the fans of these characters, to give them some airtime to please the fanbois of the original. Often, they feel more like cameos, or that they were wedged into the story to sell more character products. It creates and odd situation. The original five girls have the best writing, but they don’t advance the story, and so all this good writing goes to waste.

Endings
The one other place where the writing shines is the endings of the two arcs. The final showdown with Kaiki is brilliantly anti-climatic, and is supremely well designed. And the closing episode again shows off Nisioisin’s command of the written word. It is not a typical anime ending, nor is it expected. But it is a perfect fit, to both the tone and style of the show. This is a fake story after all, and it is only fitting that it receives a fake ending as well.

Sound
Again, we have one of the best vocal casts out there at the peak of their game. Take everything I said about the first season and at it in here. And there is a new cast member, one Sakamoto Maaya as the voice actress for the loli vampire Shinobu. Shinobu is a demanding role, but she gives a commanding performance. There is little more to be said about the cast, this is perfection. On the music side, the OPs exceed the already high expectations set by the first season, but the ED is a letdown. I found it to be a poor fit for the tone of the show.

The Bad

Filler
There are eleven episodes of Nise. These eleven episodes contain about four episodes worth of plot, spread between them. The remainder is filler. Now, in Bake there was a lot of sitting around and talking, but that those scenes meant something. They developed a character, or advanced a plot. Nise's scenes, as I said before, are more like slice-of-life scenes. Not bad, in their own, but pointless in the greater scheme of things. And there was no moderation to it. In a low point for the franchise, there was an episode devoted to Araragi brushing his sister’s teeth. It was truly bizarre, lasted way too long, and failed to have any meaning. It seemed as an attempt to create a fetish out of thin air, and the only thing worse than a fake fetish is a fake meme. And this leads me to the next subject:

The Chemistry
Or complete lack of it. In Bake, the strong chemistry between the characters turned potential filler into engaging and important episodes. But in Nise, the chemistry between Araragi and his sisters is near zero. Part of this is bad design—the relationships between Araragi and the five girls are new and therefore need to be established, but the relationships between Araragi and his sisters is old, and therefore already established—but the viewer does not know of this relationship. They don’t need to build a relationship, it already exists, but this negates Bake’s greatest strength. And no chemistry is generated with the sisters within the content of the show. A lot of this is due the character of Araragi—he remains stern and protective of his sisters, while friendly and playful with the five girls. The result is that the interactions between Araragi and his sisters often feel forced, while the interactions between Araragi and the original five remain natural. A similar problem happens with Shinobu. Again, her relationship is already established, in the yet to be animated prequel. However, this problem is overcome, mostly due to the fact Araragi treats Shinobu like an equal, unlike his sisters. However, the focus of Nise is on the sisters, and the failure to generate chemistry undermines the foundation of the show.

The Ugly

Ero
Bake had its moments of ero, but they did not dominate the show, like they do in Nise. And the ero is not necessary to the show. It is pandering for the sake of pandering. And that is insulting. I like ero as much as the next man, but there needs to be moderation. Most of the filler I mentioned earlier consists of ero scenes. And the really irritating thing is that these scenes are unnecessary. Generally, ero scenes like this are the last refuge of a failing show that needs to make up viewership at any cost. Nise is guaranteed to sell at least 50k, so that can’t be the reason. The original Bake was a well written show with deliciously subversive eroticism. It deftly wielded the ero to enhance the story. Nise’s ero has all the subtlety of a sledgehammer. It substitutes ero for clever writing and style, and that never works well. It is lazy writing, and that is polar opposite of what a Nisioisin story should be.

Incest
A lot of the reason that the ero fails is that it is incest ero. Not only is it completely unrealistic, but it is pandering to the otaku core. It is cheap, and completely stupid. The problem is that any time invested in incest ero scenes is wasted, since there is no possibility of the characters actually following through. You could imagine Araragi ending up with any of the five girls, but the possibility of the one of the sisters is zero. Yet, in the course of eleven episodes he kisses both and strips both. This cheapens the show and cheapens the character of Araragi. This franchise is good enough not to prostitute itself like this. It was highly disappointing.

Haircutting
Nisioisin must have some weird haircutting fetish. In Bake, Nise, and Katana, there are four separate instances of girls getting their hair cut. Stop this foolishness. The longer the hair, the cuter the girl. It is a fundamental maxim.

The Conclusion
Nisioisin sets out to prove a philosophical point with Nisemonogatari. Can a fake be more valuable that the real thing? The answer is left to the viewer, but it is clear that Araragi has made his choice. But while he succeeds at proving his point, the overall this story is not as good as Bakemonogatari was. Nise is still a solid show. If this was an original show, if it was not a sequel, I probably would have rated it higher. But I know what this franchise is capable of, and this is a disappointment. I expect quality, and I got average. Not good enough.

In Bake, things are gained. Araragi works to restore the girls to where they want to be. In Nise, nothing is gained, only preserved. Araragi works to prevent loss. Bake ends with an increase over the starting point; Nise ends at the same point where the story started. This fundamental difference in design prevents Nise from matching Bake’s greatness. But it did itself no favors either, with its flawed chemistry and ero-incest filler. As a sequel, it is acceptable. But it could have been better. It should have been better.

Grades:
Plot: B
Art: A-
Sound: A-
Character: B-
Enjoyment: B
Value: {
Watchability: B+
Re-Watchability: D+
Historical Value: A }