I promise I’m not going to blog this whole show (nor, apparently, anything at all), but here’s some thoughts that might’ve been tweets if I felt like typing that many tweets.
1. I see people bringing up the lack of Karen for the most part, despite this being the Karen Bee book adaptation. I think the titles beyond the original Bakemonogatari arc titles are largely meaningless. Kabukimonogatari, for instance, is the “Mayoi Jiang Shi” arc, and Mayoi never appears in it at all.
2. I haven’t read the novels, but I think it’s interesting to look at the times that they came out. The original two Bakemonogatari novels came out in 2006, and then Nisioisin took 2007 to write all twelve Katanagatari books. Once that was through, he came back to the other -monogatari and has been steadily releasing an asston of novels since. Unlike the original Bakemonogatari, all of the other books only contain one arc. Those arcs still always contain a character’s name, but I strongly get the feeling that this doesn’t necessarily mean the arc is all about them—though knowing Nisioisin, the arc will probably tie into their ultimate fate somehow. By the way, there are like twelve damn books in this series. Between all of the stuff being adapted right now, it only covers the first five. There’s still so much to learn!
3. God I loved this episode. It brought back the horror element of the show, the dark and strange feeling of not knowing what’s going on behind the scenes, feeling that the characters may be in genuine danger, and not knowing what to expect. I feel that Nisioisin’s specialty is setting up a feeling with his long sections of conversation and hijinks, then subverting that feeling with action and twists. What will come of all this? Right now, I feel the one who’s the most dangerous is Hanekawa and the one in most danger is Senjougahara. But it could be anything.
Predictions are meaningless, but the uneasiness is the point.
My Sword Is Unbelievably Dull 
Nisioisin loves to play around with expectations (advanced form of trolling). We’ll probably see this come back in the second half of Nisemonogatari, if Shaft so allows.
This is not trolling. I do not know where you get this idea.
Hmm? It is trolling if you claim something, but don’t end up actually doing it. Case in point, those end of season Gintama episodes where they keep mentioning that the anime is ending, and it doesn’t. Or at least that is one interpretation of trolling, and Nisioisin is a definite troll with this naming of books vs the actual content.
I mean one of his characters from Medaka Box actually stated that the manga will turn into a Romcom, and that it will end before the anime starts in April. So far, none of these two things have happened as the manga does NOT look like it’ll end anytime soon.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Troll_(Internet) : a troll is someone who posts inflammatory,[2] extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response[3] or of otherwise disrupting normal on-topic discussion.[4]
http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/subcultures/trolling : Trolling refers to any behavior that is meant to intentionally anger or frustrate someone else. It is often associated with online discussions where users are subjected to offensive or superfluous posts and messages in order to provoke a response.
Subversion of expectation isn’t a form of trolling, it’s a form of motherfucking storytelling. Trolling is something that involves being a deliberate asshole and trying to piss people off. I *very highly* doubt that Nisioisin intends to piss off people with his twists and unpredictability. Especially because if you can’t see it coming after one of his books, then you just haven’t been paying attention.
Not to suck your cock digi but this is the best comment you’ve ever made about any anime on any website.