Rules of the Fight

How many of the Monogatari girls do you think you could beat in a fistfight? I know, this is a question we’ve all asked ourselves at one point or another. And, if you’re like me, you’ve asked yourself this question many times.

Well, in this article, I’m going to break down which girls I think I could beat in a fistfight and why. But, before I get to that, I need to go over the rules of the fight.

There’s really only one rule, and that’s that it’s a “fistfight.” There are no weapons allowed. This means that, no, Hitagi can’t gut me like a fish with a box cutter. But, anything else goes as long as it’s using your body. Fists, feet, teeth, that’s all fair game.

So, without further ado, here’s the tier list the rest of this article is going to be based on. And, yes, I know there are more girls I could have added. I don’t care.

Girls I Would Definitely Beat

The first girl I could definitely beat in a fistfight is Tsubasa Hanekawa (child). I’m 100% certain that I could beat a literal child in a fight. There’s nothing special about her, she’s just a kid and I’m going to break her glasses.

Next up, we have Tsubasa Hanekawa (sugoi dekai). Even as a high schooler, I’m convinced I could beat Hanekawa in a fight. Sure, she has some extra padding. But, I’m not throwing punches at her chest. So, those are only going to slow her down.

Shinobu Oshino is the first girl I think I could beat that you might not agree with. But, hear me out. This is her weakest form. Yes, she defeated Koyomi with her signature Vampire Punch. However, that took him by surprise. Most of the time, he’s able to manhandle her. I can too.

Mayoi Hachikuji? No problem. Again, we see Koyomi tossing her around like it’s no big deal all the time. And, he’s not even actually trying to beat her in a fight. Since I am trying, there’s no way I’d lose to her. She can scratch, bite, and kick all she wants, but I’m winning.

Nadeko Sengoku was another easy pick for this category. Okay, so we saw her smash some lockers when she went into a rage. But, I’m still confident I can beat her in both a fistfight and a game of Twister. I just need to use psychological warfare by mentioning her forehead.

Finally, there’s Sodachi Oikura. After child Hanekawa, Sodachi is the one I’m most confident about beating. Hitagi laid her out with a single punch. And if I get my hands on those twin tails, she won’t be able to get away. That’s an easy victory for me.

Girls I Would Take My Chances Against

The first girl I think I’d have a pretty decent matchup against is Tsukihi Araragi. If weapons were allowed, she’d stab me and that’d be it. But, without weapons, I’m pretty sure I could beat her. She’d fight dirty, though. That’s for sure.

Ougi Oshino is in this category because she’s a wildcard. I’m unsure about what her skill level would actually be in a fight. At face value, I could take her. But, since this is Ougi we’re talking about, she could have a trick up her extra-long sleeves.

Nadeko Sengoku (Medusa) is another one I’m wary about. Normal Nadeko is an easy win. But, this version of Nadeko is a god. Still considering it’s a fistfight, I’m feeling somewhat confident. She did kill Araragi. But, I don’t remember how she did that, so surely she won’t do that to me.

As with Tsukihi, Hitagi Senjougahara is one I think I could beat with the ban on weapons. I don’t have to worry about box cutters to the gut, staplers to the mouth, or pencils to the eyes. However, this feels like it could be a pretty even fight.

What Mayoi Hachikuji (adult)? I still feel like I can beat Hachikuji even as an adult. But, there’s one thing giving me pause. She tossed around Koyomi like a ragdoll. As long as I can prevent her from grabbing me, I should be okay.

Remember Rouka Numachi from Hanamonogatari? Of course you do. Of all the girls in this category, she has the best chance of beating me (assuming Nadeko doesn’t kill me). Why? Because she’s an athlete. She’s in shape. I do some exercise, but I wouldn’t consider myself an athlete by any means.

Girls I Would Definitely Lose To

Alright, let’s talk about the girls I would 100% lose to. Three of them are monsters, so I think I should get a pass on those. But, the other two aren’t. And, it’s actually one of those other two whom I’d be most worried about fighting.

To start off, we have Black Hanekawa. Let’s be honest, she could rip me limb from limb if she wanted to. Yes, I said I could beat Shinobu, who we saw beat Black Hanekawa. But, this is like a rock-paper-scissors scenario. I beat Shinobu, Shinobu beats Black Hanekawa, and Black Hanekawa beats me.

Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade. Need I say more? This fight wouldn’t even last a second. There would be nothing left of me other than some red mist. The only good thing about this fight is that I wouldn’t have to suffer.

Yotsugi Ononoki is one I almost put in the “Definitely Could Win” category. However, I then remembered that she’s extremely strong. One punch from her would send me flying through cement walls. So, no, I don’t think I could beat Yotsugi in a fistfight. She wouldn’t even need her whole fist — only a finger.

Could I beat Suruga Kanbaru in a fight? No way. With Rouka, I’d have a tough time but might be able to win. Kanbaru is even more athletic. And, to make matters worse, she has the Rainy Devil. I saw how that fight went for Araragi and I want no part of it.

Karen Araragi is the final girl I definitely couldn’t beat. She practices karate and has real fighting experience. Also, she’s the one girl in this category who couldn’t kill me in one shot. So, that means I’d have to suffer through getting pummeled to a pulp.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it. Of the 17 Monogatari Series girls I selected, I could definitely beat 6 of them in a fistfight. I also feel like I’d have a pretty decent time going up against 6 others. And, even I have to admit that the final 5 would destroy me.

But, how many of these girls do you think you could beat? Are you more confident than I am? Do you think I’d definitely lose to some of the girls I put in the first two categories? And, who would you most and least want to fight? Let me know.

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Shinobu’s Outfits

Throughout the Monogatari Series, Shinobu Oshino wears many outfits. If you were to ask fans of the series to describe what she wears, chances are you’d get multiple, conflicting answers as each person remembers a different one.

Today, I’m going to go through Shinobu’s outfits based on their appearance within the anime and then rank them on a tier list. But before I get to that, I need to set some parameters.

1. I’m only looking at her outfits from the anime, not the light novels or manga.
2. I’m focusing on Shinobu’s 8-year-old form (with one exception) because that’s how she most frequently appears.
3. I’m considering different versions of outfits as separate outfits (this will make sense in just a bit).
4. I’m not including one-off gag outfits, such as Shinobu dressing up as other characters from the series.

I’ll also be leaving a link to the tier list at the end of this article so you can rank Shinobu’s outfits yourself. If you do, make sure you tweet your tier list at me so I can see it.

Bakemonogatari

Shinobu has two outfits in Bakemonogatari, though they’re really two versions of the same outfit. In this part of the series, she wears a pink dress with white frills on the chest area and a red ribbon around the waist. The skirt of the dress also has a white inner lining.

This outfit reappears later in the series, as well, most notably as one of Shinobu’s many outfits in Kizumonogatari.

The alternate version of this pink dress outfit, and actually the version we see first, includes an unstrapped helmet with goggles on it. This particular outfit is definitely one of the most iconic of the series simply because it’s what we first see Shinobu wearing.

When Shinobu eventually opens up to Koyomi and stops sulking in the shadows, she also stops wearing the helmet.

Also, a fun fact is that thanks to this dress, we know Shinobu doesn’t wear underwear. At the end of the Tsubasa Cat arc, there’s actually a frame where we see up her dress and she’s covered by nothing more than a band-aid.

Her lack of panties is also reconfirmed in Kizumonogatari.

Nisemonogatari

Shinobu’s next outfit comes in Nisemonogatari. And this one also has two versions just like her Bakemonogatari outfit. Personally, I’d argue that this outfit is her most iconic because I believe it’s the one she most frequently appears in.

Of course, I’m talking about her white dress. The front of this dress is white with three pink ribbon bows. One bow is at the neckline and the other two are on the front of her hips. The back of the dress’ skirt is pink.

This white dress is also different from the pink dress in Bakemonogatari because rather than being held up by straps, it’s tied around Shinobu’s neck and waist.

The alternate form of this outfit includes a straw hat with a white band around it. I believe we only see her wearing the hat in Nisemonogatari, while the version of this outfit without the hat appears in other parts of the series, as well.

Kabukimonogatari

In Kabukimonogatari, which is part of the Monogatari Series Second Season, Shinobu debuts a new outfit. And, as you can see, this outfit is very different from those that came before (and after) it.

This time around, Shinobu is wearing a pink kimono with a pattern featuring bats, moons, and stars (because she’s a vampire). She also has a red and yellow obi tied around her waist.

And, for the first time, Shinobu is sporting a different hairstyle. Her hair is put up into two buns on either side of her head and held in place with red ribbons. This is actually the only time Shinobu sports an alternate hairstyle in her 8-year-old form.

Otorimonogatari

The next new outfit Shinobu wears is a black dress in Otorimonogatari, which is also part of the Monogatari Series Second Season. This dress is kind of like a combination of her pink and white dresses from Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari, but black.

While the dress is primarily black from the front and sides, the back portion is open to reveal a white lining within. This white lining can also be seen under the skirt and sticking out above the collar of the black outer portion of the dress.

This dress also features multiple ribbons. There’s a small, white ribbon at the collar, a pink ribbon on the front just below some ruffles on the chest, and a ribbon on the back. The back ribbon is also what laces the dress together.

Tsukimonogatari

Shinobu shows off two new outfits in Tsukimonogatari. The first one is a green dress with a white polka dot pattern. This dress also has a white color with a four-leaf clover attached to her lefthand side.

As with most of her other dresses, this green one also has a white lining inside the skirt that peaks out from the bottom in the form of frills. This is the primary outfit she wears in the arc.

The second outfit Shinobu wears in Tsukimonogatari is a very fancy purple dress. This is by far the fanciest outfit we see Shinobu wear throughout the series.

Shinobu’s purple dress has a lot of different layers, which are primarily different shades of purple. The darkest part is the vest portion of the dress which covers her chest and is held together in the front by a single button.

Attached to this vest are frilly shoulder sleeves made of a slightly lighter colored material. Beneath the vest is the main portion of the dress, which features a diagonal striped pattern of two lighter shades of purple.

Farther down the dress, the skirt has multiple layers that alternate between the dark color of the vest and the lighter stripes of the corset. Coming out from the bottom of the skirt are two additional layers of white fabric.

Around her waist, Shinobu wears a light pink belt with a pink flower and ribbon dangling from it. Her other accessories include a dark purple choker and a matching hairband.

Koyomimonogatari

Technically speaking, Shinobu only wears one new outfit in Koyomimonogatari. However, this outfit has two versions depending on which release of Koyomimonogatari you watch.

The first outfit is a pink sailor uniform with a white collar and a white donut pattern along the bottom of the skirt. It also features a black bow beneath the collar and black leggings. That’s right, Shinobu has pants on (at first) with this outfit.

That’s just her outfit in the original release of Koyomimonogatari, though. Chances are, you’ve watched the Blu-ray release, in which she wears an alternate version of this outfit.

The alternate version of the outfit features a dark blue sailor uniform with a pink bow beneath the collar and lighter pink leggings (which she also takes off). This is the only time one of Shinobu’s outfits gets a palette swap for the Blu-ray release.

Kizumonogatari

I debated whether or not I wanted to include any of Shinobu’s Kizumonogatari outfits in this post and on my tier list. She has many outfits in these movies, and we don’t ever see her 8-year-old form.

However, in the end, I decided to include Shinobu’s 6-year-old form and outfit here since this is her primary child form within the movies. If you want to discount this one from the tier list because it’s a different version of Shinobu, that’s fine.

This outfit features a light pink/salmon color top with multiple frills on the bottom and no sleeves. It also has a bit of a collar with a black ribbon hanging down from it on the front.

What really sets the outfit apart, though, is that it also features shorts. This is a shirt and shorts combo, not a dress. The shorts are black, puffy, and have small ribbons on the outsides of the thighs.

Back in the Bakemonogatari section, I mentioned that Shinobu also wore that pink dress in Kizumonogatari. She does, but it’s in her 11-year-old form so the dress is too short. This is when it’s reconfirmed that she doesn’t wear panties.

Outfit Tier List

Now that you know the outfits, it’s time to rank them on a tier list. Obviously, the higher up an outfit is placed on the tier list, the better it is. However, I haven’t ranked outfits against each other within the tiers. The order of the outfits within the tiers is just the order I happened to place them in.

Starting with the S-tier, these may not be Shinobu’s most iconic outfits, but they’re my favorites. The kimono is easily her cutest outfit with the hair buns and everything. And I love that her kimono has a bat pattern on it. I also just really like the green dress; I can’t explain why.

The A-tier outfits are very good, but not my absolute favorites. The black dress just takes the best parts of the iconic pink and white dresses and combines them, so obviously it’s a great outfit. And I think the addition of the hat really elevates the white dress to new levels.

B-tier probably isn’t going to be all that controversial. The white dress without the hat is a little plain. The purple dress just feels a bit too fancy for Shinobu, in my opinion. And while I do enjoy the blue sailor uniform, it doesn’t have the same impact as the higher-tier outfits.

My C-tier picks are where I think people are really going to start disagreeing. I’m sorry, but I don’t think Shinobu’s pink dress is all that great — even with the addition of the helmet. I just view it as a worse version of the black dress. And, the pink sailor uniform is just a worse version of the blue one.

D-tier is reserved for Shinobu’s Kizumonogatari outfit. I’m just not a fan. The frills and puffy pants are cute, but I still think the outfit is bland. I also just much prefer dresses.

Conclusion

If you’d like to fill this tier list out for yourself, you can do so here. Just make sure to send me your completed list over on Twitter @DoubleSama and follow me while you’re there too. Or, if you don’t have Twitter, me know how you’d rank Shinobu’s outfits in the comments.

Did you enjoy this look at Shinobu’s outfits? If so, remember to click the like button down below. And come join our Discord server if you’re interested in discussing anime with other members of the community, including fellow Shinobu enjoyers.

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Monogatari Titles

Considering my love for the Monogatari series, it’s a bit surprising that it’s taken me this long to sit down and write this post. If you’re already extremely familiar with the Monogatari series, or even if you have a fairly rudimentary understanding of Japanese, you may not need the titles of this series to be explained.

But this post is for everyone else who might not yet know the naming conventions of the series. So, with that in mind, we’re going to start off with the most basic thing you need to know about the Monogatari series titles, and that’s what the word monogatari even means.

Monogatari (物語) simply means story or tale. The series isn’t exactly what we would refer to as an anthology because the different parts are all connected, but you can kind of view it as an anthology of stories.

Each part of the series features a story — or stories grouped together by a common theme which is then represented in the title of the part. So for example, if this blog was the theme of a part, the title would be DoubleSamaMonogatari.

Got it? Alright, let’s get into the actual series. And just so you know, there will be spoilers.

Bakemonogatari

Bakemonogatari (化物語) means Monster Story. It’s a combination of the words bakemono (化物) and monogatari (物語), with the kanji for mono (物) shared between them. The monster(s) referred to in the title are the apparitions featured throughout the series.

In this part, specifically, we get the crab, snail, snake, monkey, and cat apparitions.

Nisemonogatari

Nisemonogatari (偽物語) means Fake or False Story — either one works, they mean the same thing. Nise (偽) means fake, and as we already know, monogatari means story, so it’s as easy as adding those two words together. No overlap is required this time.

The meaning of the title this time is a bit deeper than it was with Bakemonogatari though. The “fakes” the title refers to are the two apparitions featured in the series.

The bee is an apparition that manifests after the victim already falsely believed they had been targeted by an apparition, so in that sense, it’s a fake. The phoenix apparition, on the other hand, is a fake because it’s pretending to be (or believes it is) a human rather than an apparition.

Nekomonogatari

Nekomonogatari (猫物語) is probably the most obvious of all the Monogatari series titles, even for those who don’t know much about Japanese or the series.  It’s a combination of neko (猫), meaning cat, and monogatari — Cat Story. The title also refers to the feline apparitions featured in the part.

But what I like most about Nekomonogatari is that it can also be translated as Cat Tale, which is a pun on cat tail.

Kuro & Shiro

Nekomonogatari is also notably split into two halves, kuro (黒) and shiro (白), meaning black and white respectively. These colors (shades, actually) refer to the two halves of Tsubasa Hanekawa. However, while kuro definitely refers to “Black Hanekawa,” shiro could also be a reference to the color of Kako, the white tiger apparition.

Kabukimonogatari

Kabukimonogatari (傾物語) is where things get a bit more complicated. At first glance, it appears that it’s a combination of the words kabuki (a type of Japanese play) and monogatari. However, that’s not actually the case. It’s a combination of kabukimono (傾物) and monogatari.

Kabukimono refers to a flamboyant style of dress in the Edo period, which is why the series is translated as Dandy Story (or tale) in English. However, the kabuki (傾) in kabukimono is written with a kanji that refers to a tilt, as in something which makes you tilt your head in confusion.

So basically the title is referring to the puzzling situation Koyomi and Shinobu find themselves in after they travel back in time, rescue Mayoi, and then return to find the world they knew has been destroyed by vampire zombies.

Otorimonogatari

Otorimonogatari (囮物語) translates to Decoy Story, with otori (囮) meaning decoy. That was pretty easy to explain after Kabukimonogatari, and luckily the rest of the titles are similar in difficulty.

The decoy referred to in this title is when Hitagi calls Nadeko at the end of the arc and persuades her to hold off on killing Koyomi until after graduation. This phone call is a decoy designed to buy time so that Hitagi and Koyomi can come up with a plan.

Onimonogatari

Onimonogatari (鬼物語) simply means Demon Story, which probably comes as no surprise to most of you considering oni (鬼) are Japanese demons that frequent anime, manga, and light novels alike.

However, what isn’t entirely clear is who or what is being referred to as the demon in the title. It could be, and probably is, referring to Shinobu. But it also could be referring to either Shinobu’s first servant or the “Darkness” which swallows up rogue apparitions.

Koimonogatari

Koimonogatari (恋物語) is another easy one, with koi (恋) meaning love — Love Story. The title refers to the love between Koyomi and Hitagi, and specifically how Hitagi is willing to confront her past if it means saving Koyomi from Nadeko’s fury.

Hanamonogatari

Hanamonogatari (花物語) is Flower Story. Hana (花) is the Japanese word for flower, and then we just add monogatari to the end of it. While the title doesn’t refer to the flowers we see in this part of the series, it should be noted that the cherry blossom scenes in this part are referencing back to the title.

So if the flower in Flower Story isn’t referring to a literal flower, then what is it referring to? This is the part of the series in which Suruga “blossoms” into an adult and fights her own battles. This theme is also featured in the opening song for the part, “the last day of my adolescence.”

Tsukimonogatari

Tsukimonogatari (憑物語) means Possession Story. It combines tsuki (憑), which in this case means possession, with monogatari. Yotsugi is the main heroine of this part, and she’s a man-made sort of apparition that possesses a corpse, hence the title.

A fun fact about Tsukimonogatari is that if you change the writing of tsuki (月) you get the word for moon. This play on words is used throughout Tsukimonogatari by way of Sailor Moon references, such as the one pictured below of Yotsugi doing a Sailor Moon’s pose.

Owarimonogatari

Owarimonogatari (終物語) is a combination of the words owari (終), which means end, and monogatari to create Final Story. The title is hinting that this is either the end of the Monogatari series or the end of Koyomi’s role in it. However, neither of those turned out to be true.

Zoku

Later on in the series, we also get Zoku Owarimonogatari (続・終物語) which simply adds zoku (続) onto the beginning of Owarimonogatari. Zoku means continuation or continued, so the title basically means Final Story: Continued.

Koyomimonogatari

Koyomimonogatari (暦物語), or Calendar Story, is pretty underrated in my opinion. The title is a combination of the word koyomi (暦), meaning calendar, and monogatari. The reason it’s called Calendar Story is that each episode of this part takes place at a different point in the year.

Also, there’s obviously the double meaning to this part’s title, with Koyomi being the name of the protagonist of the series.

Kizumonogatari

Kizumonogatari (傷物語) is one of the more interesting parts of the Monogatari series title-wise, but not because of the main title. Kizumonogatari is simply a combination of kizu (傷) and monogatari to mean Wound Story. This refers to the physical and mental wounds Koyomi and Shinobu both receive.

But as I said, the main title isn’t why Kizumonogatari is interesting. In the anime, this part is broken up into a trilogy of movies, each with its own subtitle.

Tekketsu, Nekketsu, and Reiketsu

Tekketsu (鉄血), Nekketsu (熱血), and Reiketsu (冷血) translate to Iron Blood, Hot Blood, and Cold Blood respectively. As Kizumonogatari is the part of the series when Koyomi first meets Shinobu, it’s only natural that the trilogy subtitles would reference her epithet as the “Iron-Blooded, Hot-Blooded, Cold-Blooded Vampire.”

Conclusion

There are more Monogatari series titles currently — I think nine of them — but since they aren’t animated, and I mainly cover anime on this blog, we’ll leave those for later. As more of the series is animated, which it probably will be, I’ll add those additional part titles to the list.

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