I’ll begin with some trivia for those who don’t know much Japanese. Mononogatari doesn’t exactly mean “Malevolent Spirits.” Rather, the title is a clever combination of the words mononoke and monogatari. Though mononoke has many interpretations, “malevolent spirit” would be a decent translation for now. As for monogatari, it means “story.” Putting it together, the title of this anime should be something like “Malevolent Spirit Story” or “A Tale of Malevolent Spirits.”

Anyway, thanks for visiting Anime Rants today. What am I doing? You guessed it – trying to finish up my episode reviews for Summer 2023 anime shows. These are the last three episodes of Mononogatari: Malevolent Spirits (Season 2). Please note that these episode reviews do not contain exhaustive recaps of events, but only my responses to certain highlights. With that, I hope you enjoy my thoughts.

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Episode 10: Dance

The Marebito/Tsukumogami God wasn’t given a name in this episode, so I will just call it God until there is a better way of referring to it. With that out of the way, I absolutely love the character design for God. That’s not surprising since character designs are one of the few aspects with which this anime does well (in my opinion). Botan’s mannerisms are very feminine, but her body is actually quite androgynous. I like the whole “androgynous god” thing.

God possesses a distinct personality and the capability for good reason and speech. This was not the case during the last time God manifested in Botan’s child body. Apparently, God can “grow up.” In terms of personality, it seems to be extremely egotistical, with a calm and elegant – yet severe – way of carrying itself. It reminds me a bit of Akito from Fruits Basket. While I don’t want Botan to suffer, I did enjoy learning about the God inside her.

Surprisingly, Hyoma de-escalated the situation quickly. I expected there would be a much greater struggle to get Botan’s body back. But Hyoma did great, and it’s sweet how he’s clearly falling for Botan. While we’re on the subject of Hyoma, I wonder how he’ll cope with the fact that his brother is one of the paper umbrellas. That is, if it’s actually true. The umbrella sprit might have simply stolen the brother’s body. I’m curious to find out more about this plot twist.

There were three problems I spotted in this episode. 1) If all the Tsukumogami were forced to kneel and bow their head to their God, then how did the Bridal Trousseau manage to move around and break out of the barrier? 2) This anime has a strong propensity for cheesiness. Scenes that are meant to be most powerful often lack originality and have very predictable build-ups. The best example in this episode is when the Nagatsukis broke out of the barrier.

As for the third issue, it might be more of a problem of me not understanding properly. But to me, Tsumabiki’s character seems contradictory. She clearly hated being forced to bow. Then God killed her close companion, Tsuzumi. Nevertheless, Tsumabiki was STILL eager to fight the Nagatsukis and bring God back. That seems insane. It would have made sense to switch sides. Anyway, aside from these problems, episode 10 was good.

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Episode 11: Sparks

This episode consisted entirely of fight scenes, and for the most part, they were awesome! There was some cheesy dialogue during the battles – lines that would probably sound cool and unique to an eight-year-old kid. But it was easy to forgive that because the battles were truly exciting for me. I’m invested in the characters, so it’s only natural. Speaking of the characters, Kushige finally came back! I missed him.

The instrumental music throughout this episode was amazing, and the visuals weren’t bad either. I think a lot of the show’s animation budget went into these action scenes. The choreography of the fights was generally good, and the many different characters used their powers in creative ways. The only significant audio-visual mistake I saw was the terrible scene transition at 18:35. It looks and sounds abrupt, clumsy, and jarring. Well, no anime is perfect.

Sadly, Tsumabiki and Fukie both died fighting the Nagatsuki family. Interestingly enough, what I wrote in the previous episode review was half correct. Tsumabiki and Fukie were both infuriated by being forced to bow and losing their closest companion. Since they no longer wanted anything to do with the Marebito God, they both sought thrilling deaths as the just rewards for their half-baked resolutions. I guess these characters are consistent, after all.

During the last part of the episode, Hyoma was weak and discouraged, feeling hopeless against Tenjitsu. He was seriously injured, too. But everyone encouraged him and reminded him that he fights for more than revenge and hatred – he fights to protect Botan. Then Hyoma was able to stand again, and his door-pull weapons started to glow with new power. It’s finally time for him to fight the spirit who killed his siblings.

Normally, it’s hard for me to get into shounen stuff like this. It’s full of unoriginal and overused elements. This kind of scene also typically focuses on a very simple theme like friendship instead of something more thought-provoking. Because I don’t usually enjoy scenes like this, I was surprised to find myself quite touched by Hyoma’s resolution and the loving support of his comrades. I guess even an anime snob like myself can be moved by sappy shounen vibes on occasion.

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Episode 12: Fluttering

The final episode wasn’t exactly disappointing, but at the same time, I expected something a bit more intense. Hyoma managed to activate his golden door-pulls, and they were quite powerful. But then Tenjitsu and the other umbrella spirits were forced to retreat as reinforcements arrived to protect Botan. It seems the epic revenge battle will have to wait till another day.

The rest of the episode was slightly boring, but there were some funny and cute scenes that made up for it. The celebration party looked like so much fun. The best part was when Kushige leaned close to Hyoma and actually spoke. It was amusing to see Hyoma’s shocked reaction. Apparently, Kushige does speak on rare occasions. This time, he was thanking Hyoma for protecting Botan. It was very sweet.

The last few scenes in the rain were also very sweet, and when it comes to certain awkward anime couples, I definitely have a sweet-tooth. I loved seeing Botan and Hyoma sharing the umbrella. Then the rain cleared and they happened to see a traditional Japanese wedding procession. Hyoma makes things awkward by suggesting that Botan would look great in a white wedding kimono.

As usual, the Nagatsuki family is watching from afar with love. For now, Botan and Hyoma remain unsure about their feelings and how to take the first step in a romantic relationship. That being said, Botan did take Hyoma’s hand at the end. It was super adorable. Look at these kids and their premarital hand-holding! XD

And with that, we have completed the last three episodes of Mononogatari: Malevolent Spirits (Season 2). I appreciate anyone who joined me for the ride, and I apologize for taking so long to catch up. I know this isn’t a very high-quality anime in the grand scheme of things, but I still hope Mononogatari gets a third season someday.

Thanks for reading~

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PATREON