A week without a new episode of Bakemonogatari last week proved to be a rather depressing thing, but thankfully this glittering little show is back, and ready and raring to go to make up for lost time.Of course, the last episode left us with quite a shock, in the form of Araragi being beaten to a pulp by some mysterious assailant (although I'm sure many of us guessed what was going on right from the off). Naturally, Araragi's regenerative abilities come in handy after such a mauling, and Senjougahara also appears to help things along in her own... ummm.... "unique" style.This leaves us with the question of why Araragi was attacked - Again, the reasoning for this is already pretty clear before we've even started, but nonetheless we find ourselves paying a visit to Kanbaru Suruga's house. From here, she explains her side of the story regarding her friendship with Senjougahara, as well as revealing the problem which is currently afflicting her. A monkey's paw? Not quite...As is now tradition for this series, episode seven of Bakemonogatari proves to be hugely dialogue heavy, although thankfully once again that dialogue succeeds in being in terms entertaining and amusing as it spills out thick and fast throughout the episode. Admittedly, it's not quite up to the levels of conversational wonder we've become used to from Senjougarahara but hey, beggars can't be choosers and it's about time someone else got their turn in the spotlight. So, this time around the conversation takes some decidedly risqué twists and turns, as Araragi takes Kanbaru to see Oshino regarding her problem.Even when it's not at its absolute best, Bakemonogatari manages to be eminently watchable - The visuals are great on their own, the dialogue is as sharp as it is fast, and the humour hits the spot more often than not. I have to confess that I'm still not sure that three-episode long story arc suit the series, as it inevitably tends to "sag" in the middle, but then again perhaps two episodes would be cutting it a little fine. Regardless, this series continues to be probably the most visually eye-catching of the series, and thank goodness that it has the brains to back up that aesthetic brawn.
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