keskiviikko 31. heinäkuuta 2013

M.S.S.S Episode 4

Sorry that this took a bit long. I had things to do when this episode came out.

Surprisingly Complex: M.S.S.S Episode 4

3 new characters. 3. Damn. That's the most we've had since the first episode, which had 4. But in the middle of an arc, 3? What? And oh damn do they have things to tell. And oh damn are they after Shinobu. This episode might be one of my favorites in the whole series, because it so subtly sheds light upon Kizumonogatari, and this will be one of the episodes I will probably watch again after Kizumonogatari. Okay, to the subject itself.

The first minutes after the opening are dedicated for some simple parallels that show us how the Araragi family treats Araragi differently than Hanekawa, and how in contrast Araragi sees them differently from Hanekawa. Araragi's mother is shown for the first time, weirdly in Hanekawa's own arc, which I think is the only arc that does not have Araragi as protagonist. Or maybe not so weirdly, if Araragi just pays no attention to his parents, which might be the case. Araragi's mother tells Hanekawa how a problem cannot be solved if the problem is ignored, which we have seen Hanekawa doing since long time ago.

After that, on Hanekawa's way to school, we see the biggest bait for Kizumonogatari since anything really. Seeing Mr. Episode with his attitude and information it really sparked curiosity in me. I really want to see Kizumonogatari. Goddamnit when is it coming so I can go watch the fucking shit out of it. Anyway, continuing, he says that the kind of dread that Hanekawa had is gone, which is thanks to the Cat.

Then... We meet Gaen, who is later revealed to be most probably Kanbaru's mother. It explains a myriad of things, including everything in Kanbaru's backstory. We will see more of her in the Kanbaru Devil arc, which will be coming at some point. Anyway, she had hired Mr. Episode to kill a vampire, most probably Shinobu, and goddamn, if someone needs to take her down, epic shit is going down. She also proclaims to know everything, and she says it with such confidence that it almost disturbs. It would seem that she has come together with some kind of an apparition and as such has obtained more information than a human can handle. She proclaims to know everything, and says that Hanekawa really knows nothing, like she says all the time, confirming that Hanekawa knowing everything is just in Araragi's head.

Then Hanekawa figures out that maybe this Tiger is a new kind of apparition, like Black Hanekawa. This implies many things. Either apparitions are born often, or Hanekawa is some kind of apparition that makes new apparitions. This is the second super-strong apparition she has given birth to in a matter of few months. And this time it's unparalleled in strength, which means she must be mighty epic to actually deal with it. It would seem that Hanekawa's emotions have some damn power, because it would seem that the Tiger is a creation of her pure envy. Of course, it's never said that to whom that envy is aimed at, but it's most probably Araragi again. Her comments about his house and family had that kind of tone. And we're in her head, meaning the subtle comments are actually subtle. She never implies in her head anything of envy towards Senjougahara, but even the subtle comments on her thoughts about Araragi's family can make something like the TIGER? Whoah. It seems that what we actually hear from her is REALLY just the tip of the iceberg. Her emotional burdens are so mighty that they create new creatures to the world, which are usually born from many people believing into something. That's powerful, damnit.

Talking about powerful... The moment when she just leaves her scent to Araragi's bed is at the same time powerful and meaningful. She also leaves a picture to his phone(?). Then she starts to write a note to the Cat. Oh my god. It probably has either advice on how to take on the Tiger, or just a simple favor to let wake her up when the cat's in control. The latter would be damn interesting to see.

sunnuntai 21. heinäkuuta 2013

M.S.S.S Episode 3

Surprisingly Complex: M.S.S.S Episode 3

Wow... Just... Wow... This is the first episode where what I've said in this blog is actually addressed in the series. The end of Nisemonogatari doesn't really count, as it only gives us the basis of the idea, where as here, it was said loud and clear: Hanekawa's deliberate attempt to be real makes her more unreal, but that in term makes her better than the real thing. Not sure about loud and clear, but Senjougahara's speech in the beginning is really at the heart of the philosophy of Nisemonogatari.

Maybe the thing that I wanted to say was that I'm supremely pleased that what they did with the character of Hanekawa trying to be real was 100% the same as what I was thinking. I hope that this episode would get people to think about things. Anyway, the rest of the episode is also great, seeing Shinobu and the Cat interact was interesting and they confirmed another thing, that was actually cooking up from the beginning of the very first season: It's not that the thing itself is different, only the point of view has changed. The allegory of Hanekawa and the Cat being two sides of the same coin has surprisingly lot impact. It is as much implying that they are one and same as it is implying that the only thing that is between them is just a slight change in the point of view. Now you see Hanekawa, now you see the Cat.

Hair. As the fastest probably already noticed, Kanbaru's and Tsukihi's hairs have grown again, in the matter of few weeks, a ton. There is a reason to it, want to know what? Try to guess. 1... 2... 3... 4... 5... Ready? It's the apparitions. Tsukihi's apparition makes everything regenerate fast, including her hair, where as Kanbaru's monkey hand probably makes her hair grow faster. Yes, probably in every place in her body, she just shaves a lot.

Also, there was one scene where Hanekawa wasn't present, the scene between Senjougahara and Karen. The two acted so like themselves that I'd speculate that Hanekawa didn't hear what we saw, she just speculated that that was what happened when she saw Karen and Tsukihi. In reality Senjougahara probably just asked them. We're just led to believe it was something else.

Speculation about the tiger coming. It's not a big surprise the Tiger is probably the one burning everything down. Make it Araragi and we have an ingenious twist! But the Tiger is most probably the one burning everything. The fire is probably an allegory for purification, which may turn into a different one where it actually becomes a baptism by fire, where Hanekawa has to face the Tiger head on, by herself, without the Cat. That would make something interesting. The purpose of the Fire is to purify, but why it is targeting Hanekawa, it's still a bit of mystery. It probably has something to do with her fake pureness or something. Have to wait for more. Until next week!

META-REDUX: The whole series
I just understood one thing about the series. Shinobu and her brilliant character development. She hasn't actually developed based on her actions, but she has actually developed from Araragi's. The Shinobu we see in this episode is so very different from who we see in either Nekomonogatari or the beginning of Bakemonogatari. The first time we see her in Bake, Araragi has this very mean way of talking of her. "She is nothing, she has no shadow or form." And she acts the part. Why? Because her link to Araragi is strong and if he sees her as nothing, she acts like she is nothing, and she looks very sorry about it, because Araragi makes her seem like that. The reason for this way of action is because she was not really helpful in Nekomonogatari, and gave up the blade only after Araragi begged for days, and even though she helped him in the end, he's not grateful because it's not too long from the events of Kizumonogatari, which the series has explained as something that either Shinobu or Araragi can never forgive each other for.

The real development happened during the end of Bake and the beginning of Nise. I told you the bath scene was important, and it was the very reason Shinobu is like how she is now. Before that, during the return of the Cat we saw Shinobu help Araragi again, which led Araragi to trust Shinobu more, which in turn got her to talk more, and during the bath scene Araragi and Shinobu made a pact of peace and got some level of understanding between each other. This in turn makes this episode all the more meaningful. It would seem that Araragi has become more than just a pool of blood for Shinobu to feed on, and more like an ally, and even when their connection is severed, Shinobu still cares for some part for her "master."

TL;DR?

The things I ramble about, finally addressed in the series! WOOOOOOOOOOOO!

keskiviikko 17. heinäkuuta 2013

Valhalla Rising: The Descent To Hell

Surprisingly Complex: Valhalla Rising





















Valhalla Rising is a silent movie, not technology-wise, but art-wise. If I wrote it all down, I wouldn't probably need even two A4:s to have all the spoken dialogue in the movie. Even One-eye, our kind-of protagonist, doesn't utter a spoken word in the whole movie.

What's so fascinating then about keeping silence? Because then you realize how many times dialogue can actually be in the way when watching a movie. Valhalla Rising has the bare minimum of dialogue, but the weird part is, almost none of it is exposition. It's mostly just people talking. Valhalla Rising is also a very slow movie, having "action" highlights only in the very beginning, and in the very end. This breaks the central rules of 3-act structure, but it works. The movie makes you wait, and when something happens, it happens really quick and usually quite chaotically.

Nicolas Winding Refn, the director, himself said that the movie is a "viking sci-fi" and I can see where he's coming from. The sci-fi elements come from the main group ending up in a foreign land, and trying to survive there. That put aside, it's important to note that Valhalla Rising is not an action movie, even though the trailer makes it look like so. It's a meditative piece of film about death.
The main thing people miss (Which isn't a surprise, as it's never mentioned) is that One-eye is not actually human. He's Odin, the one eyed king of gods. He's also the god of death, bringing the wrong-believing (In this context) christians to what they call hell, Asgard. The boat trip across the ocean was actually a journey to the other side. I don't know if intentional, but every character except One-eye have this weird glow (It can be seen on some shots as colors turning lighter right next to them) coming from their bodies when they're on the other side of the ocean. Maybe they're actually already dead?

It's also interesting how Valhalla Rising takes and mixes things by practically making everyone a bad guy. There are no goody-two-shoes in here, only people going after their goals with all they can. Usually involving in bloodshed. The only "innocent" one is of course the boy, who is spared in the hands of the native Americans. Yes, they are native Americans. Of course, someone could take this as some kind of political satire of Refn stating that America IS hell, which would be funny.

Hey, remember those random red scenes? Noticed how they were shown before they happened in the movie? Good. They were Odin's visions of future. He foresaw everything, and that's why he was unbeatable in battle. Also, the whole last chapter of the movie is one vision of his, as he actually drowns himself about midway to chapter 4, as we're shown after the first ending. Why? Because it's the only way the balance can be restored (Shown by the rocks he tries to pile). The first ending (Odin being killed by the native Americans) is also false because it would make Odin a christ-like figure, which isn't the case. He does the sacrifice (Drowning himself) to free one and to doom the others only to preserve balance. He doesn't actually die, he just leaves Asgard. That's why we see his figure against the sky in the end.

Also, it seems that only pure people can communicate with Odin, such as the boy and the "spiritual advisor." They are both capable of hearing Odin's voice, even though he doesn't move his mouth. Still, Odin's actions set him apart from a generic masculine action hero by the fact that he isn't a good guy. Gods are not the paragons of goodwill in the Norse Mythology. They are brutal and fierce, much like One-eye/Odin here.

Of course, as it is never really said where the boy's home is, we can assume it's Valhalla. We can assume he was a spirit all along, and now that he came back to Asgard, he can finally go home. Just a speculation.

Anyway, all I got to say, I love this movie so much. It's slow but never boring, silent and full of personality, one of my definite favorite films ever. I have watched it a half a dozen times, and I will continue to watch it again and again.

TL;DR?

One-eye is Odin, the silent protagonist with actual personality who sees in the future. Piling the rocks was a symbol of balance of the world.

maanantai 15. heinäkuuta 2013

M.S.S.S Episode 2

Nekomonogatari White continues, but I think this time this will be quite short (Like it has always been when I say that)

Surprisingly Complex: M.S.S.S Episode 2


Okay. The Tiger is an outside apparition that is causing harm to Hanekawa for some reason. Coming from the matters discussed in this episode by Senjougahara, I'd say the Tiger comes either to those with a strong sense of fatalism (Everything that happens must happen), or to those with strong emotional detachment. Even though the missing chapters are confirmed to be the Cat taking over and we see the Cat talking to the Tiger, the main point of the episode is Hanekawa's mentality, and we will talk about that. Also, I'll explain why Senjougahara wanted to shake hands with the Cat.

Quicknote: Why all the close shots on Senjougahara when they were taking a shower? Hanekawa a bi? Possibly, as she probably looks people totally non-subjectively.

So... Hanekawa has a strong sense of fatalism, seen in Nekomonogatari Black, and seen now again. She also has total emotional detachment, or more like, total non-subjectivity. She doesn't eat food based on taste, but out of need to eat food occasionally. She also wears the bare minimum of what could be called clothes (Not in the skin-showing sense, you perverts) and buying what Senjougahara sees practically as rags, as they are clothes only really poor people would use. Not wearing clothes that look nice, wearing any clothes because society says you can't go around walking naked. But all the attire she has are approriate for the situation, so she doesn't go walking around in her pajamas all day. The Cat being a total polar opposite, goes walking around in pajamas all day, and wears even the pajamas only because the Mistress says that something must be worn. Hanekawa also puts no flavoring in her food, making it bland, but it doesn't matter to her as she only does food for herself. The only part she has some kind of attachment to life is people, as she finds Senjougahara's quirks slightly annoying.

In the first scene, before the opening, we almost hear Hanekawa's reason of loving Araragi, though, interestingly, we already did. Hanekawa does everything because it's normal. Araragi is a change to that normal, as he's some kind of a delinquent and doing generally what he pleases. It's kind of an wonder that to both Senjougahara and Hanekawa, the main reason they like him is change. The difference is, that with Senjougahara, it comes from making the change, where as Hanekawa is seeking for change.

And why is Senjougahara insistent on shaking hands with the Cat? Because she wants to know the other side of Hanekawa as well. The most probable reason for this is to get closer to her, so she won't do can't/won't do any drastic measures to pull her and Araragi apart. She's also curious, so why not?

TL;DR?

Hanekawa may be bi? Also fatalism.

torstai 11. heinäkuuta 2013

Sauna

Sauna (a.k.a Filth / Evil Rising. Evil Rising is so bad name for this, but Filth is actually quite fitting) is a Finnish horror film from 2008, very symbolic, and very gripping. It's not actually "surprisingly" complex as it's kind of hard from start to finish.

Surprisingly Complex: Sauna

I haven't read too much of what people see in this movie, but I have some points I want to make. If you haven't seen the movie, two things: 1) I recommend it. 2) Spoiler alert.

First off, seeing is a major part of this movie. It may sound weird, but I'll explain. One of our two main characters, Erik Spore, can't see well. He is a veteran of the 25-year war between Sweden and Russia, during which he killed 72 people. His eyesight was bad, so our other main character, Knut Spore, brought him glasses.

Glasses make a badass even more badass
It's never said in the movie, but there is an underlying theme. Sin makes us blind. Erik is the physical manifestation of it, where as Erik and Knut both are the spiritual manifestation of it.  Erik has killed 73 people in cold blood, where Knut doomed only one for eternal torment. The blindness is seen about halfway the movie, when Erik asks Knut: "Didn't you see the axe?" and Knut answers: "No." The axe was important, because even though Erik had glasses which helped him see, he couldn't see the reality where the axe did not exist. This incident happened before Knut committed his sin (I think) so his eyes were still clear. Then he left the girl into the cellar to die, also burying his own sin of lust. Then he became blind too to reality. He started to have visions of the girl, covering her face (I will go into that soon), following them to the swamp.

There's also one of the greatest lines I've ever heard in a movie (It may be because it's in my own language), it cannot be translated completely, because Finnish has weird quirks in it. "Darkness doesn't bend. It bends (you)." It sounds silly if said that way, but it was said when Erik was explaining how glasses work. "It bends the light." he says. And the only answer he gets is that. It doesn't mean darkness cannot be won, it means, that those glasses on his head won't help him see in darkness. Where he metaphorically seeing, already is. He thinks he sees, but he only sees the darkness, and as we all know, we don't see in the dark. He's been blinded, made to kill, and it has become his only way of dealing with things. He has killed so much that he starts to see dead people in the water.

Oh Knut what have you done?
Knut is the other side of the story, being a to-be professor who followed his brother when he went to mark the border between Sweden and Russia. He's been blinded by the sin of lusting after (With rape in mind) after a girl, and leaving her to die in the darkness. He starts to have visions of the girl, haunting her, and he always escapes her. Part of his sin is denial. He doesn't believe he has sinned, making him blind too, but in a different sense. His denial and idealistic hope that the mysterious sauna that cleanses you of sin seems like the only choice. He also rips tattooed "75" from his back, which I don't understand. They say it is a symbol of how many people must die, but I don't think so. Why would it be there in the first place? I don't know yet. But anyways, he goes to the sauna to cleanse his sins, but the only thing waiting for him there is the girl, covering her face.

We see people covering their faces a few times during the movie, most noticeable are the cellar-girl and the little girl in the town. The little girl is actually not from the town, she's a spirit, who only those who have sinned can see. There are only three people who she's shown interact with. The brothers, and the old guy who dies in the shack. We can thus say that the old guy had some bones to bury himself. How do I know? Well, they say in one part that one middle-aged woman there is the youngest in the town. That should pretty much say that she's a spirit. She dies in the end, and as she is the spirit, she's not one of those who must die. The only ones who must die are the 73 people of the town and Erik, where as Knut as the killer is the 75th. The Russians were just collateral damage.

Sometimes death is the only redemption
Back to face-covering. Cover your face, what do you see? Nothing, right? Cover your face and you cover yourself from the world, denying the darkness. Because if you gaze into the darkness, the darkness also gazes to you. Covering the face is denying the darkness, which is also given as the Russian guy who receives the torment of the cellar-girl writes that she's not alone in the darkness, there is someone else, and that someone else, is her own darkness. This is also seen as the faceless monster in the end, who I think is speculated to be the Russian gay guy, who lost his face. This is hard to explain, but I think it may have something to have fallen in love with the darkness. Not sure. But the cellar girl may have covered her face in the beginning because she didn't want to see the darkness in Knut, because she had possibly fallen for him? I'm not sure.

So, now to the killcount. 73... 73 people had Erik killed in cold blood during his life. 73rd was the first innocent, and that's why he's haunted. His mind said he had an axe, even though he didn't. He killed an innocent man, and now he must pay. But one is not enough. One bad one taints all the rest. But two bad ones? That taints everyone involved. The 74th was the cellar-girl. The second innocent. The darkness, which actually does not come from the Sauna, but from the inside, makes Knut insane and makes him pay the price of 74 lives and his own. 74 come from the deaths he and his brother have caused, and the 75th comes from Knut trying to deny his sin.

In the end the spirit is killed by the faceless man, and Erik is killed by Knut. Before that, Erik says that he sees well in the sauna even without his glasses. This is because the sauna is a place where sins are washed away. Before he must pay the price, he must be cleansed.

TL;DR?

Great horror flick, great symbolism.

keskiviikko 10. heinäkuuta 2013

The Last of Us: Lost in it's own game

Yay, first update about a game! I'm here to talk again about the things people have missed, but this time, sadly, they are negative ones. Nitpickery incoming...

Surprisingly Complex: The Last of Us

Just to get it out there, The Last of Us is a phenomenal game. It's exceptional in it's storytelling, truly. It brings character depth very rarely seen into an action game. And there the problems start. Action game.

The Last of Us, otherwise damn intuitive, well-written and executed, but there's a problem. It lingers in my mind, and it hasn't gone anywhere. Bottom line is that while The Last of Us' action is by far better done than of almost any other game of the 3rd person shooter genre, there is too much.

20 long goddamn years...
The Last of Us tells us about a world that has gone to ruin 20 years ago, but while it certainly looks like it, it doesn't feel like it. There is simply not enough silence. More silent, simple navigation through the wastes would have made this game SO MUCH, SO MUCH better. Put some food scavenging in there, dammit! The general theme of the game is survival in the general sense, but the most survival you get most of the time is how many bullets you've got left, because you know there will be more clickers or bandits or whatever. There always will.

Like how the army was right in your ass until and little after capitol building? Why? There's no reason for them to be there. Judging from the dead Fireflies, a squad had been there not too long ago. And if they followed them, why the hell would they follow three stragglers with a full team of soldiers? It doesn't make sense. The enemies are there for the sake of the enemies being there and giving us something to shoot, most of the time.

Apocalypse, 20 years later. But there's still so fucking much people out in the wastes out to get you. It's survival to the fittest out there, and if someone spots you, they usually want to spot you again, pointing you with a gun and a trigger-happy mindset. It disturbs me. Even though you'd think only the crooks would go outside, if it was so, my adventure through America's lands was littered with them. They were everywhere, and I often hoped (Especially in the power plant), that there wouldn't be a random raid when you came in. Of course there was. Always. It annoyed me greatly. I wanted to go see the carefully hand-crafted world and characters, not the same fucking thugs once again. I again emphasize, I loved the combat, but there was too much of it, and almost no time for everything else, like, I don't know, survival? Actual scavenging mechanics and gathering food would've made the world feel more alive.


Just... How?

There's a reason why I say this. Most most of the people should be infected by now... And the infected should be dead too, for they would have nothing to feed on. Meaning that the streets should be pretty empty, not filled with all kinds of criminals and soldiers and mushroomheads. Long time infected? Long time DEAD. The silence fits the game better than action. It would've also made the action more exhilarating, as you wouldn't have already killed so many enemies that you instinctively pull headshots on everyone and know immediately when you can grab them.

Other thing I want to talk about, is loot drops by enemies. When they drop ammo, why do they almost never drop the right kind of ammo (As in the weapon they used), and usually nothing at all? I saw the goddamn guy pointing at me with a shotgun, ready to shoot, and he doesn't drop any ammo, and if he does, it's for the revolver? Doesn't make sense, as I think they were shooting at me for real, not just pointing with a toy. From their shooting habits, I would say definitely, that every one of them have at least 10 rounds with them. But then I kill them, and get no ammo at all. The enemy AI doesn't make every shot count, which is kind of immersion breaking.


They were this close to nailing it...
The game is too good for it's own benefit... These things, were it ANY other game, I would've missed. But not this time. When you near perfection, the little flaws shine through damn brightly. Bioshock Infinite had the exactly same problem, and it was one of the two best games I've played this year. I hope it doesn't surprise you that the other is The Last of Us. I hope that game developers and publishers realize that the two best games of 2013 so far have both fallen on their asses because of too much action.

Remember, no matter how much I've ranted about these little things, they indicate how much I care. Any other game, and I would've given jack shit (Except Bioshock Infinite). But with this game, it just needed to get out there. If you can get this game somehow, GET IT.

sunnuntai 7. heinäkuuta 2013

M.S.S.S Episode 1

My god. I've got lots to tell about this. Now I'm starting a new branch of this series, where I'll keep up with you, every single week with a new episode of Monogatari Series Second Season, which I'll shorten to M.S.S.S

Surprisingly Complex: M.S.S.S Episode 1

When I heard that one of the novels is from Hanekawa's point of view, I went nuts. I was so damn waiting for this, and the second Hanekawa started narrating, I was so damn pleased. There would have been no better place to put this. I knew it was coming, and I loved it.

Basically, the first episode is just setting us up with the Tiger, and we don't really know what it is yet. We also see hysteric Senjougahara, of which I will talk in a bit and some lesbian tendencies, which are actually not lesbian tendencies. We also confirm, that yes, Hanekawa sees Hachikuji from time to time, which makes lots of sense.

So. Starting off with the character lens, which I goddamn love to talk about. There isn't a major change in art style, which means that the animating studio thinks that this is how everyone sees the world, with less color than normally, but with more accented ones. Like the reds stand out as RED, greens stand out as GREEN. This is an interesting perspective into the human mind, be it intentional or not. We humans categorize things easily, thus every green thing we see is green, not exactly the color that it is, like seafoam-green or forest green. I couldn't have talked about this before, because we've only seen the perspection of Araragi.

El Tigre here is very colorful
Hanekawa's character lens is actually quite different than Araragi's, and it's noticeable if you pay attention. The color palette during the Tiger scene is one where we can see the difference. There where in Araragi's view this kind of scenes accompany lots of pure white and pastel colors, Hanekawa's have more creamy feel. Like the greens in the sky are very lime, and the Tiger itself is more color-FULL. Not that there are more colors, but the colors are much more vivid. This is a minor thing, but someone who pays attention can notice this.

There's also the fully new "scene", White scene, which I think are somehow connected to the cat. Like how red scenes are usually connected to some strong feelings, and black scenes to the narrator simply closing their eyes. There's also a purple scene for a while, that is probably connected to Senjougahara (Big surprise there).

Also, in the middle of the episode, there is a chapter that's missing. It's that Hanekawa either turned into the cat or the tiger in the night, or there's something she just tries to forget. I guess it could be that Tiger is the white, where as the cat is the black, and in the end there's some kind of mental showdown? That'd be cool.

Her response to this was pretty stupid for a genius
Onto Hanekawa herself. As she narrates, she says that this story is meant to tell us how she is actually just a puny human being, not the inconceivable Codex of Ultimate Wisdom we've come to know her as. She also does act slightly different during this episode than she does usually, which could be of two reasons: She either acts the way we see her normally as because of Araragi, or Araragi's perception of what Hanekawa is has tricked us. Remember, now she cannot lie to us without lying to herself, which could be an interesting plotpoint somewhere during the series, where we are led to believe something is different than what it is because the narrator lies to themselves and thus to the viewer.

She also states in the end that she still loves Araragi, which is kind of pointless, because of ending of Nekomonogatari. Hanekawa Triangle is brought "back", but it only exists in Hanekawa's hopeful mind and Senjougahara's nightmares. Araragi is not the kind of guy to sway from his promises easily, especially for himself. He promised to find someone else to love, and he did. Or more like he forced himself to love her, depends on the viewpoint. But remember, forcing yourself can be good because with trying can it become something beyond. Depending on the viewpoint.

Even Senjougahara loses her shit sometimes!
So, to our other protagonist, Senjougahara. I haven't talked about the fact yet, that every single character in the series also somehow symbolize the oddity or apparition they have come to deal with. Senjougahara's has been the crab, and it's more abstract than of the others. Where as Hachikuji has her backpack as a shell and talking to her slows you pretty much, Senjougahara's crab lies inside. It's a god, so it is always there, yet isn't. The idea is, that she's a tough on the outside, but soft in the inside, as we see in this episode. She goes absolutely hysteric when she finds Hanekawa sleeping in the ruined Eikou Cram School. She loses the tough shell and becomes incredibly soft. It could also be seen, that Senjougahara understands that if something happens to Hanekawa, his and Araragi's relationship would definitely go to ruin. I believe she worries for all three of them, and that she's actually one of the more emotionally soft characters, she just hides it well.

Also, Senjougahara's lesbian intentions weren't actually sexual, she's just curious of Hanekawa's body, because Araragi is... You know... And also bragging rights.

NEXT WEEK, MORE!

TL;DR?

Change of perspective? Awesome!