Monogatari Series Off & Monster Season (〈物語〉シリーズ オフ&モンスターシーズン) is the 12th anime adaptation from Studio Shaft of the Monogatari Series light novels. It is said to adapt all works from Off Season and Monster Season, the 4th and 5th seasons of the series respectively.
It is the first adaptation to be directed by Midori Yoshizawa, who has done Episode Direction and Storyboarding for Owarimonogatari and Zoku Owarimonogatari previously.
Consisting of 14 episodes, the first cour of the series premiered July 6th, 2024.
Trailers[]
Plot[]
Similar to the Monogatari Series Second Season cour, Off & Monster Season complies stories from throughout the novels' Off Season and Monster Seasons, rather than individually broadcasting each novel in its own cour like many other releases. Hence the name, "Off Season" consisted of a lot of stories from different narrators that weren't directly chronologically relevant to each other to differentiate it from the climatic Koyomi Araragi arcs of Final Season. Conversely, Monster Season was less sporadic and focused on two alternating plot lines between two narrators. Somewhat similar to other cases, the arcs in the adaptation are released in an order that differs from the original release, starting with the third arc of Orokamonogatari, the first book of Off Season, and continuing with the single arc of Nademonogatari, the third book of Off Season. This is presumably to feel more cohesive, since these arcs chronologically proceed each other and focus more on a key set of characters. The other arcs in the first cour are Wazamonogatari, the second book of Off Season, and Shinobumonogatari the first book of Monster Season. Following the trend, less relevant arcs of Wazamonogatari were skipped for now as well.
Taking place after Zoku Owarimonogatari, the plot of the first couple arcs especially center around Yotsugi Ononoki, along with Nadeko Sengoku and her struggle to become a manga artist after quitting school and abandoning her life as a snake god. The second half focuses on Shinobu Oshino, her relationship with her original master Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicide-Master, and an oddity mystery college student Koyomi Araragi is tasked to solve involving highschool girls turning into what appear to be vampiric mummies. These stories serve as introductions to the alternating plotlines in which Monster Season was solely focused on.
After graduating from high school, the story of Koyomi Araragi came to an end. This time, it truly ended. However, the story of the girls who were saved by Araragi was not over. It is a prequel, or perhaps a sequel to their struggles in youth.
Episode List[]
| No. | Title | Original Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Off & Monster Season Episode 01: Tsukihi Undo | July 6, 2024 |
| 2 | Off & Monster Season Episode 02: Nadeko Draw, Part 1 | July 13, 2024 |
| 3 | Off & Monster Season Episode 03: Nadeko Draw, Part 2 | July 20, 2024 |
| 4 | Off & Monster Season Episode 04: Nadeko Draw, Part 3 | July 27, 2024 |
| 5 | Off & Monster Season Episode 05: Nadeko Draw, Part 4 | August 3, 2024 |
| 6 | Off & Monster Season Episode 06: Nadeko Draw, Part 5 | August 10, 2024 |
| 7 | Off & Monster Season Episode 07: Acerola Bon Appétit, Part 1 | August 24, 2024 |
| 8 | Off & Monster Season Episode 08: Acerola Bon Appétit, Part 2 | August 31, 2024 |
| 9 | Off & Monster Season Episode 09: Shinobu Mustard, Part 1 | September 14, 2024 |
| 10 | Off & Monster Season Episode 10: Shinobu Mustard, Part 2 | September 21, 2024 |
| 11 | Off & Monster Season Episode 11: Shinobu Mustard, Part 3 | September 28, 2024 |
| 12 | Off & Monster Season Episode 12: Shinobu Mustard, Part 4 | October 5, 2024 |
| 13 | Off & Monster Season Episode 13: Shinobu Mustard, Part 5 | October 12, 2024 |
| 14 | Off & Monster Season Episode 14: Shinobu Mustard, Part 6 | October 19, 2024 |
Music[]
Satoru Kosaki returns as composer for the Tsukihi Undo and Nadeko Draw story arcs, with new music and a few songs incorporating references to past soundtracks and openings. Kei Haneoka returns as composer for the Acerola Bon Appétit and Shinobu Mustard story arcs.
The first opening theme is icecream°, introduced in episodes 1-2 on the Blu-ray.
The second opening theme is caramel ribbon cursetard, introduced in episodes 3-6.
The third opening theme is Banshi no Theme, introduced in episodes 11-14.
The first closing theme is UNDEAD by YOASOBI, introduced in episode 1.
Gallery[]
[]
External Links[]
- Official Site (in Japanese)