Bakemonogatari

Bakemonogatari
Novel Information
Season	First Season
Author	Nisio Isin
Artist	VOFAN
Translator	Ko Ransom
Book 1 Release	November 1, 2006
Book 2 Release	December 1, 2006
English 1 Release	December 20, 2016
English 2 Release	February 28, 2017
English 3 Release	April 25, 2017
Book 1 ISBN	4-06-283602-5
Book 2 ISBN	4-06-283607-6
English 1 ISBN	978-1-942993-88-9
English 2 ISBN	978-1-942993-89-6
English 3 ISBN	978-1-942993-90-2
Book 1 Pages	446
Book 2 Pages	401
English Pages 1	240
English Pages 2	330
English Pages 3	226
Book 1 Cover	Hitagi Senjougahara
Book 2 Cover	Tsubasa Hanekawa
English 1 Cover	Hitagi Senjougahara, Mayoi Hachikuji
English 2 Cover	Suruga Kanbaru, Nadeko Sengoku
English 3 Cover	Tsubasa Hanekawa, Black Hanekawa
Novel Guide
Next	Kizumonogatari

Bakemonogatari (化物語) or BAKEMONOGATARI: Monster Tale in the English publication, is the first part of the Monogatari series. It was originally split into two volumes. The first and second books overall, they contain the stories Hitagi Crab (ひたぎクラブ), Mayoi Mai Mai (Snail) (まよいマイマイ), Suruga Monkey (するがモンキー), Nadeko Snake (なでこスネイク), and Tsubasa Cat (つばさキャット).

It was also re-released as three e-books with new covers illustrated by VOFAN, with the first released on July 1, 2016, while the second and third were released on July 8, 2016.

In February 2016, Vertical Inc. announced the English translation of Bakemonogatari, it was released in three volumes in December 2016, February 2017, and April 2017, respectively.

A manga adaptation of the novel was announced, it will be published on the 15th issue of the Weekly Shonen Magazine this March 14, 2018.

Bakemonogatari is the third installment of the series to receive an English audiobook after Kizumonogatari and Nekomonogatari White. The audiobook for all three volumes released on March 24, 2020.

Etymology

The title is portmanteau of two terms:

• 化物 (bakemono: monster, ghost, goblin, apparition or phantom)
• 物語 (monogatari: legend, story or tale)

The 物 (mono) kanji is shared between them. Following this format, the official English translation chosen for the terms were ghost and story, forming Ghostory, sharing the 'st' in the same way "mono" is in the original title.

Synopsis

Koyomi Araragi, a high school student, returns to a normal human life after a vampire attack. As he lives with remnants of his vampire half still persisting, he finds himself returning to the world of the supernatural after discovering the unusual case of Hitagi Senjougahara, who is afflicted with a condition that leaves her weightless.

English Release Synopsis

Part 1

There’s a girl at their school who is always ill. She routinely arrives late, leaves early, or doesn’t show up at all, and skips gym as a matter of course. She’s pretty, and the boys take to whispering that she’s a cloistered princess. As the self-described worst loser in her class soon finds out, they just don’t know what a monster she is.

So begins a tale of mysterious maladies that are supernatural in origin yet deeply revealing of the human psyche, a set of case files as given to unexpected feeling as it is to irreverent humor. So begins the legendary novel that kicked off the MONOGATARI series, whose anime adaptations have enjoyed international popularity and critical acclaim.

This first of three parts introduces Senjogahara and Hachikuji, and fans of the blockbuster prequel KIZUMONOGATARI will be delighted to meet their favorite crazies again: the weirdly reliable narrator Araragi, class president among class presidents Hanekawa, shady problem-solver Oshino, and a certain pale, blonde former vampire.

Part 2

Bakemono, literally “altered thing,” which translates as “monster.” Monogatari, literally “thing narrated,” which translates as “tale.” Combined into a neologism by he of the reversible nom de plume, they yield BAKEMONOGATARI, the monster tale that kicked off a series whose anime adaptations have enjoyed international popularity and critical acclaim.

A self-described loser, Koyomi Araragi is struggling at a prep school that he should never have gotten into. He has all but quit caring, but as a senior, he faces the chilling scenario of not being able to graduate. It’s time to cram, but the supernatural aberrations that keep on popping up in his provincial town won’t let him be.

Previously, our hero turned into a vampire and back, gained an acid-tongued girlfriend, and couldn’t find his way home thanks to a lost child. In this second of three parts, which introduces Suruga Kanbaru and Nadeko Sengoku, he becomes embroiled in a case that riffs on a classic English story from 1902.

Part 3

A class president among class presidents, a bespectacled model student who soars to the top of honors lists without fail, Tsubasa Hanekawa also happens to be a decent human being. True, she does have a habit of making single-minded assumptions, but they come from a good place and turn out to be fortuitous as often as not.

Loser extraordinaire Koyomi Araragi owes her his post of class vice president and a more significant debt of gratitude for her unstinting support during the darkest spring break of his life. All of it has blinded him to the possibility that his saintly classmate’s family situation might be no less adverse than that of his other lady friends.

Thus, at last, we face Hanekawa’s unlikely aberration in “Tsubasa Cat”—the concluding part of the legendary novel that captured the sensibilities of a new generation in the aught years and spawned an animated series that has won international popularity and acclaim—before the story continues with a Fake Tale...

Introduced Characters

• Koyomi Araragi
• Tsubasa Hanekawa
• Meme Oshino
• Shinobu Oshino
• Hitagi Senjougahara
• Karen Araragi
• Tsukihi Araragi
• Mayoi Hachikuji
• Tsunade
• Mayoi's Father
• Suruga Kanbaru
• Tooe Gaen
• Suruga's Father
• Nadeko Sengoku
• Hitagi's Father
• Tsubasa's Parents
• Black Hanekawa

Plot

This two volume novel is composed of five stories, with Hitagi Crab, Mayoi Snail, and Suruga Monkey forming the first half while Nadeko Snake and Tsubasa Cat make up the second half.

Hitagi Crab

In a chance encounter, Koyomi Araragi encounters Hitagi Senjougahara and discovers that she weighs close to nothing. Hitagi later confronts Koyomi to keep her condition a secret to everyone, but he instead offers a helping hand, as he knew someone who is an expert in the supernatural: Meme Oshino, the person who restored him back to being a human again after being attacked by a vampire.

Meme receives a visit from Koyomi and Hitagi and discovers that the latter had encountered a heavy stone crab (or god, due to discrepancies in interpretation), which stole her weight. In order for the crab to return Hitagi's weight to normal, he sets up a ritual that is designed to coordinate a courteous request to the crab to take back what it has taken.

Things, however, did not go as planned and Meme is compelled to use force against the crab. Hitagi then pleads for the subdued crab to take back what it had taken; it is revealed that the crab had taken the painful memories of her family life in the past along with her weight, and Hitagi finally accepted these memories. With the crab letting go of its hold over Hitagi, she declares Koyomi as her first true friend.

Mayoi Mai Mai (Snail)

On Mother's Day, Koyomi leaves the Araragi residence in spite of his sister Karen's protests, and spends the day at the nearby park. Hitagi later meets him by chance and they talk about a lot of things, including his problem with his sister, and Hitagi's determination to repay what he did to turn her back to normal. On that same place, he meets an elementary school girl named Mayoi Hachikuji and he decides to help her find her way back home.

To Koyomi's surprise, he is unable to reach the exact address of Mayoi's house. It was through Meme's intervention (relayed through Senjougahara) that he discovers that Mayoi is already long dead; moreover, Araragi was able to see her because spirits like her only appear on people with the desire to not return home. Oshino later guides them into finding where her destination is, and Mayoi disappears, having fulfilled her mission.

Koyomi would later meet Mayoi again; this time, she is now classified as a wandering spirit.

Suruga Monkey

With exam week closing in, Araragi plans to go on a study session with Hitagi at her place. Meanwhile, he meets Kanbaru Suruga, a tomboyish-looking girl with a bandaged right arm.

That night, when leaving Hitagi's place after a study session, Araragi was attacked by an unusual person wearing a yellow raincoat and having glowing red eyes. Fortunately, he manages to heal back his wounds due to his vampire blood.

Nadeko Snake

This is an arc involving one of his little sister's friend whom he sees while visiting a temple with Kanbaru.

Tsubasa Cat

The final arc involves a lot of flashbacks that clarify his relationship with his class president and their past involving a cat.

Illustrations

Illustrations by VOFAN.

English Edition Color Pages

Originally from Heroine Book 5.

Anime

See also: Bakemonogatari (anime series)

Studio Shaft produced the Bakemonogatari anime in 2009 as their first animated adaptation in the series.

Bakemonogatari Portable

See also: Bakemonogatari Portable

A game for the PlayStation Portable based on the anime adaptation was released in 2012.

Manga

See also: Bakemonogatari (manga)

A manga adaptation by Oh! Great began serialization 12 years after the original novel release in 2018. It also takes influence from the animated version.

Bakemonogatari [Introduction]

See also: Bakemonogatari (Introduction)

A special book that includes the Hitagi Crab story along with two additional short stories that take place during the same time period was later released.