Monogatari Second Season - Episode 22

Despite his better judgement, and with little in the way of a reward dangled before him, Kaiki has accepted Senjougahara's audacious offer of employment.  Now, all he has to do is trick a god - simple, right?

Thus, it's off to Hitagi's home town that Kaiki heads, with 100,000 Yen in his pocket (well, somewhat less than that as he has to lend some of it back to Hitagi to pay for her own travel home) and no real plan in mind.  After scoping things out and looking around a little, he decides to being his "attack" by visiting Nadeko's house, posing as the father of one of her friends under the guise that his daughter is also missing (as Nadeko currently is).  This allows him to get a look at some photos of the soon-to-be murderer, as well as a feel for her situation at home - a glimpse which also gives us some interesting insight into what potentially makes this seemingly ordinary girl what she is, with suggestions of something a little darker bubbling beneath the surface of that cheerful exterior.

From here, and after another brief telephone chat with Hitagi, Kaiki chooses to take the proverbial bull by the horns and head to the shrine where Nadeko now resides - an impressive but deserted building, even during the New Year period.  While it seems unlikely that Sengoku will reveal herself, it seems that this is nothing that a 10,000 Yen note won't fix, and thus an aggressively cheerful Sengoku makes herself known.  While this version of Nadeko seems to have forgotten a lot of things, including Kaiki's name, she certainly hasn't forgotten Koyomi, or her over-bearing love and urge to kill him.  Now that Kaiki knows what he's dealing with, the onus is on him to find a way to deceive this oddly cheerful cold-blooded killer.

Perhaps one of the most refreshing aspects of Monogatari Second Season has been its frequent shifts away from Araragi as narrator, which has in turn allowed us to get some very different views of the show's world and characters.  This is certainly the case here, with Kaiki's cynical yet sharp view of events and individuals adding some fascinating colour to proceedings, not least in Nadeko's case as his view of her goes a long way towards fleshing out a character who has previously felt rather bland.  Add some moments of classic Monogatari humour to the mix, and you have another episode that is more about words and deeds, but no less entertaining because of it.