#like i understand intellectually but i dont understand the feeling of being extremely cautious/terrified of ougi as a viewer

[sinkableruby]

the shiori ED in owarimonogatari ge kills me, but theres a very specific part of it that really gets my attention

right before the first verse there's a little flash in this box that shows an object relating to the arc character

its interesting to see the items for each of them. mayoi's bag is there, and the first thing you notice is that she's not. her bag feels almost synonymous with her, so it almost gives the impression she's left it behind, possibly for a new stage in her life (as it were). hitagi's apartment building is shown, and what i think might be araragi's house next to it. but they're so small that they look like models more than anything, which i feel relates to how these homes are things that are precious to her, they are things she wants to protect. maybe theres something to be said about the home as it relates to family too, and family being very much a big thing to her arc. and maybe theres something to be said about mayoi's thing being "something to protect" too

whats the object in ougi dark, then?

oh. hi ougi

guys im so not normal about this. putting ougi in the same room where the other two had objects that were important/synonymous with them. its because ougi darks ED is for ougi BUT its also for araragi (and shinobu, its about all 3 of them), so its araragis "thing to protect/that is important to/synonymous with him."

but also like. this is also like the only time in the show that we see ougi in any state even approaching nudity, and not just that, ougi is actually naked here (except for the sleeves). and that coupled with the kind of huddled pose really makes this feel like a very vulnerable moment, and a very very significant thing. its saying many things at once. it's saying conception, it's showing you the big bad but not so big and not so bad, its showing you the weakness in a character who has rarely shown anything like vulnerability or weakness, who is still haunting araragi (see the sleeves and the like "gonna get you" hands lol) to the bitter end.

and like if you look closely you can see a little smile which is standard for ougi but like. the hollowed eyes (more ghastly now when theyre white). the inward hunch. the lack of clothes besides the sleeves, that are stylized to look jagged like claws. this is a creature born with a purpose, a creature born to hurt. but this is also obviously a creature who is alone and feeble and Should Be Helped Not Killed for fucks sake lol.

and not just a creature but a person! ougi is armored in layers of separating clothes all the time but this shot is kind of groundbreaking bc it showing that like. she is really just like anyone else. the fronting is very much a front. she, the fake, has Substance. there's a very real person underneath those big sleeves.

and also since the shot is really only for half a second, ougi fades away very quickly. its very much a blink and youll miss it. but that fading away really feels like a flash of vulnerability before she fades away Forever. as in, it's a parallel to her almost final moments. but the fading away in particular feels ghost-ish. not to mention later in the ED shes even wearing like a ghost outfit.

and. god. if that isn't just.

idk. something about. being alive but not really. being a ghost. not long for this world and resigned to it. being so resigned to it you wear it and use that to represent yourself. making it a part of you. and then later being given a life. becoming able to live. idk yk. idk its just , yk its just ,

#and that could go for the others too #mayoi hitagi araragi shinobu #it could be all of them #being resigned to death. being given a life #learning how to live #(and in fact it IS about araragi here.) #(by saving a resigned-to-her-what-she-thinks-of-as-fate hes also saving the part of himself that believes he must die) #(its on both a literal and thematic level its all tied together nicely) #monogatari #oshino ougi #senjougahara hitagi #hachikuji mayoi #ougiposting #owarimonogatari ge #ill talk more about this ed later but this part is so stand out to me #like i understand intellectually but i dont understand the feeling of being extremely cautious/terrified of ougi as a viewer #ougi is posed as “the main villain” but is Not Actually So #thats a framing from gaen to make araragi more likely to kill her #“the enemy” she says #ougi is just ougi #a naked ghost hunched into themself. a vulnerable creature. a person #like idk how you could listen to dark cherry mystery and think ougi should have died in ougi dark (REAL THING PEOPLE THINK) #like: “i'll pick up the possible futures we could have had and chase after you!”? #thats not the words of a black and white villain #ougi is trying so so so hard and desperately wanting to do something meaningful with araragi and more people should recognize it #and really theyre so consistently thoughtful and philosophical like. the impression you get is not that theyre always trying to hurt ppl #the impression is that theyre trying to . Think. to develop ideas and reach the right conclusion