When The Villain Becomes The Hero: Monogatari Series' Best Arc
The following contains spoilers for Nisemonogatari and Monogatari Second Season Streaming on Crunchyroll.
There are plenty of great villains in anime, and every once in a while some of them undergo quite a bit of punishment or soul-searching before they begin to undergo a redemption arc. However, in the last six episodes of Monogatari Second Season, Kaiki Deishu reveals themselves to be far more than the greedy con artist they were introduced as. In Nisemonogatari, Kaiki appeared as the central antagonist who was responsible for Senjougahara's past trauma, who was now conning middle school students, including Araragi's sisters. When Araragi and Senjougahara confronted him, however, there was no fight, and barely even an argument, but rather Kaiki agreed to leave and cease his con.
Central to the core idea of Nisemonogatari (Nisemono = fake), Kaiki was a fake antagonist peddling fake superstition in order to extort money. The fact that he was stealing from children is just the icing on the cake. His entire presentation conveys an almost vampiric quality, but it's all just a facade to hide a considerably lame person. And yet, in Second Season, when Araragi and Shinobu are at their lowest point and Senjougahara makes a deal to grant them six months before they are killed, Senjougahara calls Kaiki. She asks the conman that wronged her to save her life, as well as her boyfriend Araragi.
A Beginner's Guide To The Monogatari Series
Not only does Kaiki become the protagonist of an arc, but he also becomes the protagonist of the final arc of the second season. Senjougahara calls him to ask him to deceive Sengoku Nadeko, Araragi's friend who became possessed by an apparition and turned into a god. At first, Kaiki has no intention of
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