Musubimonogatari Read:

I wasn't particularly fond of Araragi's sexual molester leanings, or his romantic inclinations, or the way he handled oddity cases.  There was really only one thing I admired Araragi for, and that was how much he cared about the people around him.  He cared deeply for the girls he rescued, he cared deeply for Shinobu, he cared deeply for his sisters (to the point of going into a killer rage when he thought one had been harmed), he went to any lengths to make sure the people he loved were safe and happy.

Even in Karen Ogre Araragi detailed Shinobu to protect his precious imouto, which turned out to be one of the wisest decisions of his life.  That's the Araragi I admired, his widespread devotion to his friends and family and even strangers in distress who quickly became his friends because of his kindly and gregarious attitude.

So I was pretty distraught to find that in Musubimonogatari, where we jumped all the way through college and Araragi is suddenly 23, to find an Araragi who didn't particularly care about anyone anymore.  He found more fulfillment in solving meaningless on the job mysteries with random new co-workers than talking to anyone whose lives he had saved.

He had no interest in meeting Sodachi, Mayoi, Kanbaru, either of his sisters, Ougi, Tsubasa, or even Shinobu really.  He didn't feel joy or tenderness whenever he came across any of them, it seemed like he was trying to avoid them mostly.  I can understand him avoiding Nadeko because Kaiki told him to for her own good.  I can't understand this sudden apathy for everyone he had nearly sacrificed his life for and was always willing to sacrifice his time and wellbeing for just a few years ago.  He had become this sort of hollow man who only found satisfaction in his work, god knows why, since his work seemed incredibly boring.

Throughout the book he also shows an apathy and antipathy towards Hitagi, who we learn he's broken up with three times now already.  She's off getting rich in America, while he's a trainee cop in his Japanese hometown.  They haven't seen each other in God knows how long, and have nothing in common anymore.  Since neither wants to quit their job, which they have a higher priority for than each other, it looks like they're over and done with too.  But in a surprise twist at the end, they both come up with an idea where they can transfer overseas while still working the same job.  It isn't clear how that works out and who transfers where, the story just ends there, but anyway it looks like somehow they'll manage to stay together -- until something else tears them apart and they break up again.  If you've already broken up with someone three times, what are the odds that you'll have no further quarrels from there on?  Look, if your feeling for someone is so weak that your job matters more, it's inevitable that something else will matter more at some point and you'll break up anyway, so why not just break up now and be done with it?  Weak relations that aren't even your #1 priority in life shouldn't be kept on life support but just put out of their misery anyway.

So this conclusion that isn't a conclusion -- on such shaky grounds how can we call this relationship a happily ever after?  All it does is confirm yet again how atrocious it was for Araragi to choose Hitagi.  He chose this?  This shell of a hollow relationship, this long distance hell where they're broken up more than together?  He chose this over Nadeko?  It's all so ludicrous and awful.

Realistically speaking, at some point Hitagi will get another great business opportunity overseas, and then she'll have to choose between her job and Koyomi again.  Why would her decision this time be different than the last?  So why wait for an eventuality you know will occur?  Just break up now.

God I hate Hitagi and any story that even touches upon Hitagi.

So previously we had an Araragi, in high school, who would lay down his life, would drop everything and come rushing, for any number of people.  Karen and Tsukihi.  Nadeko, Ononoki, Tsubasa, Mayoi, Kanbaru, Ougi, Sodachi.  Hitagi.  Shinobu.  Oshino Meme.  And at the end of the book we have a sullen guy who wants to work most of all and after that will make some compromises to still hang out with Hitagi, but otherwise would prefer to never see anyone else again.

What wonderful progress into adulthood.  He's shriveled up into a nobody who cares about nothing and no one.  And in turn, hardly anyone gives a damn about him anymore either.  Probably because he's been treating them like crap all these years, but now nobody even notices whether he's there or not, and doesn't much care either way.

On that note, what happened with Tsukihi and Karen's boyfriends?  They both suggest some ecchi flirtation with Koyomi when they meet, so it hardly sounds like they're still attached to some other boy.  But if so when did they break up and why?  Shouldn't that be an important moment in their lives?  To not even mention their existence seems negligent and perplexing.  Did they ever even exist at all?

No matter how old Natsu grows, he would never, ever take this sort of attitude to the friends he fought and nearly died for.  When he met Lisanna again after three years or whatever time she was missing, he broke into tears of joy and dived to embrace her.  He cared.  He will always care, however long you're apart or however far from home you venture.  He's the type of man I admire.  This apathetic working man who likes solving mysteries for money only fills me with contempt and revulsion.  For such trinkets he threw away relationships purchased in endless tears and blood, priceless golden chains that most people can never even have, and he had so many of them, and threw them all away for nothing.  For rubbish.

Perhaps this was just a bad moment of his life, a dark slice of time, and things will get better from here.  I can't say because there are still six volumes to go so anything could happen.  Maybe Koyomi rediscovers the benefits of love and friendship and turns into a Buddha or something.  It isn't translated so I can't find out.  It's called 'conclusion-story' but this isn't the conclusion at all.  If this were the conclusion I would say it's a bad joke and a terrible unraveling of everything that had been built up until this point.  But it isn't the conclusion so I have no idea what it is.  A small roadblock on the path to the actual happy ending?  Maybe?

I'd like to read on but I wouldn't be surprised if every single English translator, after reading Musubimonogatari, despaired of the series and had no further interest in translating it.  After such knowledge, what forgiveness?  I can't even blame them.  This is one of the most famous light novel series of all time, but how do you force yourself to translate such squalid crap that just spits in your eye?  Ugh.  Hopefully some translator somewhere will be brave enough to forge on.  I want to know how things really end.  Hopefully much happier than this.