Tsukimonogatari (物語) is a 2014 television anime series based on the novel series written by NisiOisiN. The anime was directed by Tomoyuki Itamura, adapted by studio Shaft, and published by Aniplex. Tsukimonogatari is the first story arc in the Monogatari series: Final Season saga.
Brief Unboxing Note:
This unboxing has been updated on August 2023 to amend its page design but also add additional context to some parts of the write-up. Everything else has been left unchanged from the original post.
Background:
“One day in February, Koyomi Araragi was taking a bath with his younger sister Tsukihi amidst finishing his studies for the college entrance exam. This was following the incident involving Nadeko Sengoku, which was successfully amended behind the scenes by Deishu Kaiki. Koyomi noticed a change on his body “that could not be overlooked” and sought advice from Shinobu Oshino leading him to contact Yoduru Kagenui and Yotsugi Ononoki. Was this change signifying retribution for everything that Koyomi has done?!”
Plot Synopsis via Aniplex of America, September 2015
| Order | Monogatari series: Final Season Story Arcs |
|---|---|
| Arc 1 | Tsukimonogatari |
| Arc 2 | Owarimonogatari Volume 1 Owarimonogatari Volume 2 |
| Arc 3 | Koyomimonogatari |
| Arc 4 | Owarimonogatari Volume 3 |
| Arc 5 | Zoku Owarimonogatari |
Monogatari over the years has managed to become a big hit with the anime community, and while the series wasn’t dubbed in English it continues to attract audiences with its dialogue, animation and story arcs.
For this post, we have Tsukimonogatari which is the first story arc in the Final Season saga of the Monogatari franchise, taking place after the events of Koimonogatari and puts the spotlight on the character Yotsugi Ononoki. Saying that, these story arcs take place across various moments throughout the franchise and can be hard to follow or confusing if you think too much about it. That being said, the ideal approach to watch the Monogatari franchise is to view them in story arc order.
Monogatari series: Final Season has been licensed and released in the United States and Canada by Aniplex of America. MVM did bring some of these arcs over to the UK via sub-license, however I had already began supporting the series via the Aniplex releases since January 2014 so for consistency reasons I continued with them. MVM was able to release Tsukimonogatari for the United Kingdom and Ireland.
Limited Edition Contents:
Aniplex of America released the Monogatari franchise in volume type sets that include a strong thick cardboard box with a Blu-ray Amaray case, a booklet and a set of cards. Tsukimonogatari continues this trend. The Aniplex Proof of Purchase card, however, is not included, which has eventually became the norm for the distributor’s newer releases.
The SRP for this release is $64.98 and as you can tell, it is not cheap. Aniplex goes through a different path compared to Funimation and Sentai, where they bring over the releases in the best possible result for the price. This includes Japanese quality Blu-ray discs and special packaging to appeal for the collector’s market.
Physical Contents:
- Cardboard Limited Edition Artbox
- Deluxe Booklet
- Pinup Postcard Set
On-Disc Contents:
Distributor: Aniplex of America
Released: 15th September 2015
The limited edition release for Tsukimonogatari covers all 4 episodes across two Blu-ray discs, with the episode count split evenly (2 per disc). The authoring and encoding were done by Aniplex.
The Monogatari franchise as a whole has not been dubbed into English (with the exception of the Audiobooks of the novels), and thus this release is Japanese audio with English subtitles. The white subtitles are unlockable during playback and the Blu-ray disc is accessible to all regions.
Blu-ray Specs:
| Languages | Japanese |
| Audio | Japanese Linear PCM 2.0 |
| Video | 1080p High Definition Native format 16:9 aspect ratio |
| Region | A B C |
| Subtitles | English |
| Locked Subtitles | No |
| Discs | 2 BD-25s |
Blu-ray On-Disc Extra Features:
Disc 1:
- Textless Opening “Orange Mint”
- Preview Collection 1
Disc 2:
- Textless Ending “border”
- Commercial Collections
- Preview Collection 2
Unboxing Photos:
Final Notes:
Tsukimonogatari is available to order exclusively through Rightstuf, however if you live in the UK you can import the set through United Publications. If you just want the episodes themselves it is also available in the UK by MVM as a regular Blu-ray set on Amazon UK.
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