Highlights
- The Monogatari Series is continuing with a new novel called Ikusamonogatari, marking the beginning of the Family Season.
- The series has multiple seasons and arcs, and the Final Season doesn't actually mark the end of the story.
- While the anime adaptation of Monogatari series might not have additional seasons for now, it would be surprising if the series doesn't continue due to its acclaim.
One could be forgiven for assuming that the notorious and acclaimed Monogatari Series is over, especially after two seasons and a movie that all had "Owari-" (literally "end") prominently featured in the title. In actuality, the "end" of the anime is only about the halfway point, as evidenced by - among other things - a recent promotional video for Nisio Isin's newest novel, Ikusamonogatari.
On May 17, 2023, Ikusamonogatari ("War Story," or perhaps "Battle Story") was released alongside a PV with a monologue by protagonist Koyomi Araragi, voiced by his anime VA, Hiroshi Kamiya. This novel marks the beginning of the Family Season of Monogatari, the sixth so-called "season" of the novel series that began with Bakemonogatari's first story back in 2005.
What Do You Mean, "Sixth Season"?
The Monogatari novels are split into distinct eras and referred to as seasons, similar to a TV series. However, considering the release order of the anime, this can make things understandably confusing. That isn't to say the novels are any better, though, because naming the third one the Final Season and then writing three more beyond that isn't doing anything for posterity.
The last Monogatari anime was 2018's Zoku Owarimonogatari, a theatrical film that later received a 6-episode TV run. It adapted the novel of the same name wherein Araragi finds himself sucked into a mirror world and has to find a way back to his reality. Zoku Owari was the last book in the Final Season which began with Tsukimonogatari, but it was far from the last story.
Zoku Owari's novel was released in 2014, but the following year, Orokamonogatari followed, beginning what is known as the Off Season. The four books in this season feature new adventures centered around each of the main characters, mostly to fill in blanks in the timeline and set up later stories. The final book, Musubimonogatari, features a 23-year-old Araragi becoming an officer of the "Hearsay Department," where he investigates paranormal rumors like usual.
Next up is the Monster Season, which includes five books and continues this new chapter of the franchise that seeks to explore the characters' lives after Araragi has graduated. These stories jump all around the chronology in the series' typical fashion. With the newly initiated Family Season, the story seems to be looking even further into the future than ever before.
Why Go Beyond "The End"?
For some who may have found Monogatari longwinded toward the end and who bought into the idea that the story was concluding, the prospect of a continuation may seem unnecessary. It seemed as if the first three seasons were culminating in Araragi confronting his demons in time for his graduation, the latter of which had loomed over the story ever since the Second Season.
It's a fair criticism and the Final Season certainly could drag at times, even for those who had been with the series for a while. Granted, by the time of Owari's conclusion, it was amply clear that this story was no longer just about Araragi. In fact, almost every story from the Second Season was told from the perspective of one that wasn't him.
Araragi was always a flawed but complex protagonist around whom a lot of equally complex characters appeared. The story might have initially been about him helping each of them to deal with their trauma, but they proved more than capable of holding their own as protagonists, even if Araragi's story was over. But it's important to note that Araragi's story isn't over and there's value in that as well.
[Translation available here courtesy of Edomonogatari on WordPress]
Even without adaptations for the stories building up to it, there's something emotional about hearing Araragi's address to the audience in the recent trailer for Ikusamonogatari. The way he breaks the fourth wall to call back to the very beginning of the series hits home just how many years have been spent with these characters. The half-vampire delinquent and the girl afflicted with a curse of weightlessness, who both started at odds, exchanging banter, are now married.
Just because Owarimonogatari technically ended a story doesn't mean that it ended the story, and Monogatari has never truly had an end goal. It's a chronicle of complex lives that are captivating to behold, which brand out wildly into new adventures as the cast all graduate and move on with their lives. Judging from a few of the synopses for these unadapted books, Monogatari goes to some very unexpected and exciting places.
In this way, this franchise captures an aspect of growing up that few other stories so enamored with their casts could facilitate, but which this series was designed to. Monogatari's characters are meant to separate, occasionally reuniting, but mostly going their own path. While the story could technically end at any point, its foundation has given it a staggering potential to grow bigger.
Will The Anime Continue?
With all of that said, it has been five years since the last Monogatari anime was released and there hasn't been anything since. There are probably anime-only fans who aren't even aware of how much story is left to be told. By this point, one might wonder if there are even plans to continue the series or if perhaps it's best to let the anime end with Owarimonogatari.
In an interview with Daisuke Marumoto of Comic Natalie from 2018, when asked about new adaptations, series director Akiyuki Shinbo simply said, "Aniplex has the final say on that." Whether an adaptation happens soon or not is up in the air, though given the acclaim of this franchise, it would be surprising if it didn't continue.
Despite some of its questionable elements or the somewhat intimidating density of its prose, the Monogatari Series is a sensation for a reason. Few stories achieve what this franchise has with its characters and without each of their fascinating minds, there wouldn't be a story to begin with. While the "end" has come and gone, there's plenty left that is begging to be told on the screen.
The Monogatari Series is available to stream on Crunchyroll. [Bakemonogatari] [Nisemonogatari] [Second Season] [Tsukimonogatari] [Owarimonogatari] [Note: The last three episodes of Bakemonogatari, as well as Koyomimonogatari, Kizumonogatari, and Zoku Owarimonogatari, are unavailable on Crunchyroll]
Sources: Edomonogatari.WordPress [Link 1] [Link 2], Comic Natalie