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CHARACTER: Hanekawa Tsubasa (Monogatari)
https://myanimelist.net/character/22055/Tsubasa_Hanekawa
Voiced by: Horie Yui
TOP 100 RANK: 13th

SPOILERS FOR MONOGATARI

VIDEO LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1AUvGH8G_c

Since I didnt rewatch Monogatari, this write-up wont be as good as Hanekawa deserves. However, I gushed about her a bunch when I first watched it, and those thoughts are on the archive website. I did my best to recreate my epic journey of falling in love with her. If any of this is wrong, I either misunderstood when I was watching or misinterpreted it during writing.

Hanekawa was already my favorite character after Bake, but it was the Kizu movies where she really started climbing into my all-time favorites. Throughout all the vampire craziness Araragi went through, she was playful, cheerful, insightful, and constantly supportive. The only bad part was the breast fondling scene, which was too much and went on way too long. I blame Araragi for that, though. Hanekawa was amazing, and I couldnt understand how a guy could go through an adventure like that and then wind up falling for a completely different, vastly inferior girl.

On some level, Hanekawa seems to have the same confusion. The Tsubasa Cat arc introduces her bottled up feelings for Araragi. Thanks to a cat spirit thats possessing her, the stress takes the form of an alternate personality (I think?) called Black Hanekawa. She gives Araragi a choice: either date her to eliminate that stress, or he can die. Though he acknowledges he owes her his life, his relationship with Senjougahara means he doesnt want to do either. He chooses a third option, having his vampire shadow seal Black Hanekawa away. This only delays the inevitable.

Next came Tsubasa Family. It dealt with the question I had before, about how Araragi could fall for anyone other than her after all they went through in the Kizu movies. This arc was where all the pieces of her character clicked together for me. It made me realize the two of them getting together wouldve been awful. Araragi holds her to an unrealistically high standard (symbolized by the way he literally cant touch her when shes in her cat form), and that isnt a good basis for a relationship. For Hanekawa, given her abusive home, she wouldve only been using Araragi to escape it. One line that stuck out to me in Bakemonogatari was when she said something to the effect of, or course she fell for him, he couldve saved her with his new vampire powers. The real meaning behind those words didnt click for me until she embraced a cat spirit to escape her family in this arc. It didnt need to be Araragi. Hanekawa just wanted a way out, no matter who or what. If she got into a relationship simply for that, it wouldnt have been fair to either of them.

The Tsubasa Family arc also gave her actions in the Kizu movies a new perspective. Hanekawa is someone who does what people expect of her. For almost anyone, what she did for Araragi in the Kizu movies wouldve been monumental. For Hanekawa, it was just her going through the motions of the image she has of herself. Its the same reason why she buried a cat that she found, because that was what she was supposed to do. There really was nothing deeper to any of it.

Then we have Tsubasa Tiger, easily the best Monogatari arc. I liked how Araragi was barely in this one, and not just because I hate him! Hanekawa really needed to come to terms with herself. Her friendship with Senjougahara has some great interactions, like the one where she points out what Hanekawa liking every flavor really means. Shes suppressing what she truly wants, all in order to stay pure because thats whats expected of her. Ignoring those parts of herself is whats spawning monsters like Black Hanekawa and a supernatural tiger as outlets to handle the stress, and thats the final thing she needed to get past. Hanekawa accepts everything about herself, and finally earns a place for herself in her own home by demanding a room from her abusive family.

Theres also the moment shown in the video I linked for this write-up. When Araragi finally shows up, Hanekawa confesses to him. She shares the feelings she had once suppressed to not cause a fuss. Given his relationship with Senjougahara, its far too late, and the baggage they wouldve brought into it wouldve made dating a bad idea regardless. Hanekawa still confesses, because those feelings exist no matter how wrong or illogical, and it isnt right to ignore them. Araragi turns her down, because of course he does. But thats okay. Hanekawa gets to cry, and then she can heal. Thats how its supposed to be. (And, frankly, she can do better than Araragi.)

Theres a lot more I could say, but this is already long enough. I loved Hanekawas arc, or at least my interpretation of it. She comes a long way over the course of Monogatari, and it made her one of my all-time favorite anime characters.