Kaiki Deishuu should become an Entre like Johnny Depp Mikuni and go fight in the Financial District.

Summary

Tsukihi and Tsubasa tell Araragi about the meeting between Karen and Kaiki Deishuu, who infects Karen with the Wreathe-Fire Bee after a monologue about his beliefs on the importance of money. After Tsubasa leaves, Araragi helps to freshen up a still spirited Karen, who doesn’t want to pass on the fever to him. When Araragi asks Shinobu about it, he realizes that the curse can actually be passed onto him to cure Karen.

Impression

“Onii-chan, why don’t you have any friends?”
“I have friends now!!”
“Do you? How many?”
“…FIVE!” 
“Wow, that seriously scared me. Poor onii-chan, you’re going to die of loneliness!” 

Oh, how melodramatic Tsukihi-chan! But it’s true, he didn’t have many friends before meeting oddities, and the only reason he got chummy with Tsubasa was because of Kiss-shot Acerola-orion Heart-under-Blade back in Kizumonogatari. Yes, I went to read it to get more Shinobu action, and yes it’s been translated. Poor Churaragi-san. Also notice how all his friends are girls who like him to various degrees, with Kanbaru and Tsubasa not making a move on him because of Senjougahara, Sengoku being too scared, and Hachikuji because she’s still a little girl.

Interacting with Karen was very much like Araragi interacting with Hachikuji, though a lot more personal since they’re siblings. And I’m sorry, but nearly nekkid Karen < fully naked Shinobu. I nearly confused her for Tsukihi when she let her hair down, I guess the Fire Sisters are more similar than I thought they were. Karen still manages to be feisty even while running a high fever, though it was mostly all about how she’ll get back at Kaiki for all his evil deeds.

Kaiki is a sick, sick pedo who apparently loves conning children out of their money, then sending them off to jail because they obviously can’t pay for curse cures. I can’t remember who, but I do remember that there was one character from somewhere that caused a problem to occur, then had people pay him to get rid of it. In this case, Kaiki’s getting paid to hand out oddity curses, then gets paid to solve them (but doesn’t really). I wonder if he’s acquainted with Oshino somehow, apart from the fact they look similar both seem to be addicted to vast sums of money, except Oshino does it all neutrally. But seriously though, conning kids because they’re easier to fool? That’s just cruel.

I was disappointed with the lack of Shinobu in this ep, it was probably too much for me to hope that she would reveal herself to someone and let the madness unfold. At least Tsubasa knows she’s talking again, and Tsukihi is…vaguely aware of her existence. Ka-ka!

So I guess Araragi gets to make out with his imouto in order to transfer over the Wreathe-Fire Bee to himself? Hmm, I dunno, sounds more like an excuse to me, though Senjougahara would find out somehow and kill him. I doubt Karen will be very willing at all, but we don’t have that many episodes left for the arc – remember, since Nisemonogatari’s only 11 episodes long, next week would be just over halfway and we still have the Tsukihi Phoenix arc. Assuming next week’s the finale, I hope we get a fitting conclusion that does Karen justice – she’s fighting for that cause after all.