Kizumonogatariis the prequel to the vast and complex web of storiesknown as theMonogatarifranchise. This prequel will focus on the protagonist of this massive franchise, a high school boy named Koyomi Araragi, and his chance encounter with characters that will play huge roles in the main series, such as the intelligent class representative Tsubasa Hanekawa, the apparition specialist Meme Oshino, and the vampire Shinobu, also known as Kiss-Shot at the time.
The most important question thatKizumonogatariwill answer, however, is about how a regular high schooler like Araragi can become a vampire. But the entire story of how he turns into an immortal blood-sucking creature is actually a lot more complicated than you might think, which is whyit takes an entire trilogy to properly tell this story.Even then, some viewers might have some questions regarding the end of this story. So let’s use this chance to dissect the end of theKizumonogatariTrilogy.
A Fateful Meeting
Before we talk about the end, it’s important to know how everything begins. Because the entire web of interconnecting supernatural events that happen throughout the Monogatari franchise is triggered by a fateful meeting between a regular high school boy, Koyomi Araragi, and the queen of vampires,Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade.
First Appearance
Bakemonogatari: Episode 1
On one lonely night, Araragi is strolling inside a suspiciously empty train station when he stumbles upon an incredibly beautiful lady with long blond hair, dressed in a deep crimson gown, lying on the pool of her own blood. Upon closer look, that lady is missing all of her limbs and frantically cries for help. Apparently, this lady isa legendary 500-year-old vampire called Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade.
Despite the unspeakable horror scene that unfolds in front of him and the unbelievable revelation that he just heard about her true identity, Araragi decides to help this beautiful vampire out by letting her suck some of his blood. Unbeknownst to him, this is the decision that will alter the trajectory of his life forever. Because as it turns out, Araragi has now become a vampire as well.
Bakemonogatari: Episode 8
Whilebeing a vampire comes with quite a few fun quirks,such as super strength, super speed, and hyper regeneration, just to name a few, it comes with some shortcomings as well. One of which is getting burned alive whenever you stand under the sun for a few seconds too long.
So it goes without saying that Araragi who is turned into a vampire against his will demands for Kiss-Shot to turn him back into a normal human. The vampire queen agrees, but first, she needs Araragi’s help to take her limbs back in order to regain her full strength. This means having to fight against four powerful vampire hunters.
Araragi may be super powerful now, butas a newly-created vampire,his combat experience is practically zero. His chance of winning against the vampire hunters is nearly nonexistent. But against all odds, Araragi manages to get all four of Kiss-Shot’s limbs back. But when the vampire queen finally regains her strength, she refuses to turn Araragi back into a normal human.
The Threat of the Vampire Queen
As if breaking your promise to the one who saves your life is not bad enough, Kiss-Shot is starting to show her true vampiric nature as well. Behind Araragi’s back, Kiss-Shot ferociously consumes one of the vampire hunters until there’s nothing left but a pool of blood on the floor.
Unbeknownst to her,Araragi is actually witnessing the entire gruesome scenewith a deep sense of horror in his heart. This is the moment when he realizes that the vampire queen is a real threat to humanity. Left alone, she could wipe out the entire citizens of Japan in a matter of days while building an army of superpowered servants, like Araragi, along the way. Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade needs to be stopped.
I Have to Stop Her
Araragi doesn’t owe anything to Kiss-Shot. If anything, he is the one who should be angry with her. However, as somebody who not only saves Kiss-Shot from the brink of death but helps her regain her full strength, he feels a sense of responsibility to at leasttry to stop the queen of vampires.
No ordinary human can stand a chance against a full-powered Kiss-Shot. But Araragi is not a normal human. Not anymore. Although he only becomes a vampire for a few days, his strength is the real deal.
Furthermore, his hyper regeneration allows him to instantly grow a new limb, or even a whole body in a matter of seconds. This means he can at least persistently charge at Kiss-Shot until the perfect opportunity to land a killing blow presents itself. Sure, he will be blown to bits countless times in the process, but this is the least he can do after releasing such a fearsome monster into the world.
Araragi suffers countless injuries during his fight with Kiss-Shot, but thanks to his hyper regeneration, he survives every single one of them. Not only that, he even somehow managesto overpower the vampire queen.But just before he delivers what could’ve been the killing blow, Hanekawa runs towards them with a piece of unexpected news.
A Devastating Dilemma
As it turns out, it’s not that Araragi suddenly managed to overpower Kiss-Shot, but rather she never even intended to win in the first place. Not only that, she even plans to die at Araragi’s hands since the beginning of their duel. The reasons are quite straightforward.
First of all, the only way for Araragi to become human again is if the vampire who bit him died. This means as long as Kiss-Shot is still alive, Araragi will never be human again. Second of all, she is tired. 500 years is more than enough time for somebody to live on this Earth. There’s nothing else that she wants to do and there’s really no reason for her to stick around any longer. So to her, being killed by Araragi is actually a win-win solution for both of them.
But Araragi can’t accept that. Now that he knows her reasons,there’s no way he will ever kill her.That being said, he still wants to be a human again. So his heart and his head are in a devastating dilemma and he can’t see a way out that can satisfy both parties.
Misery Loves Company
In frustration, he called out Oshino’s name, hoping the oddity expert could offer them an answer. As expected, Oshino Meme has a solution to Araragi and Kiss-Shot’s unique situation. But it is not one that could satisfy them both. On the contrary, this isa lose-lose situation for the vampire queen and her new servant.
In order to incapacitate Kiss-Shot without killing her, Oshino tells Araragi to suck the vampire queen’s blood until her body regresses to that of a child with barely any power left. This way, Araragi doesn’t have to kill Kiss-Shot. However, this also means not only Araragi can’t go back to being a regular human being anymore, but he actually becomes an even stronger vampire. So in a sense, both of them are miserable.
“However, there is a way for everyone to be dissatisfied. That is to say, there may be a method for divvying up the unhappiness between multiple parties. No one single person’s wishes would be fulfilled, but if you’re fine with that I’ll tell you the way.”
— Meme Oshino, Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu
Oshino’s solution may seem harsh on Araragi, but this is the only way to prevent Kiss-Shot from killing innocent humans without having to take her life. It is a compromise that satisfies nobody but it is the best solution for their unusual predicament. From that moment on,the role of master and servant is reversedand it stays that way for the entire franchise.
