Sengoku Nadeko became a god. That is all.
Impression
I think that episode put me off Sengoku for good. I mean, she’s cute and all, but she’s also slightly screwed over in the head. Wait, no. Scratch that. Sengoku is batshit insane. I sort of knew something was about to happen at the start there – Araragi was talking to her like she was a child holding a gun or something, while Shinobu just cut the crap completely and started scoffing at her. Of all the things she could have done with that talisman… why did she go and EAT it? I know her mind must have been seriously messed up by that point – and given her nature, she was already doomed right from the very start. But seriously? Eating the talisman? The entire ordeal was pretty much Oshino Ougi’s fault, for telling her both about how to revive the oddity and where to find its body. Then Sengoku fabricated this amazing delusion.
I’m still having a hard time believing it was all just an elaborate fantasy. Even after they spoiled the ending, they still had this sort of plot twist up their sleeve, huh? Instead of atonement, Sengoku’s only motivation was jealousy and possessiveness for Araragi. It was deep down, but it was also intense to the point that she went and made up a serpent oddity all by herself. It seemed like she was getting victimized by Kuchinawa, but Kuchinawa only existed in her mind – the scrunchie was only ever a scrunchie. While the god was real in concept, it didn’t actually exist until she ate the talisman, and became the god’s new body. Everything Kuchinawa supposedly knew about his body, and how he promised to give her a wish were all things Sengoku was already aware of all along; the first time she met Kuchinawa was when she swallowed that talisman. I’m just wondering how exactly she managed to forget all this… and why Ougi decided to tell her in the first place.
So, uh… Sengoku’s become a god. Even though her hair’s all white (they’re actually snakes I think) her original personality seems to be intact. It’s probably not right to say she’s been possessed by the oddity, either. More like she IS the oddity itself. And as an irrational oddity, Sengoku plays a perfect yandere. She’s even stabbing them over and over! In many ways it’s beyond jealousy – everything started just because she saw Araragi walking around with Senjougahara. And Sengoku’s reasoning is that she can’t be bothered with having a broken heart all the time, so she’ll kill Araragi instead. She even thinks it’s romantic to have him die like that. Oh dear. Sengoku is like… actually really messed up inside, isn’t she? This show features many crazy things, but I think plotting the restoration of god is pretty novel.
God knows how Senjougahara managed to get her to spare them until graduation. Heh, see what I did there. I’m actually quite confused by that ending – am I right in thinking we’re getting a six month timeskip? Looks like all the main girls have turned up, along with a teenage Shinobu and a powered-up Araragi. Sengoku really couldn’t get better last boss treatment if she tried.
Apparently this is the storyline where she goes/is revealed to be completely nucking futz. And… apparently a majority of readers said “Hey, that’s great! We like her better that way.”
My conclusion: said readers are even further off the deep end than Nadeko.
Oh wow… to each their own? 😀
For me, best girl was between Shinobu and Sengoku until the latter went into batshit crazy yandere mode. Now it’s quite comfortably Shinobu.