MONOGATARI Series: OFF & MONSTER Season

Episode 7

Last week, we got the fairy tale origin story of Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade—a tale that gave insight into her loneliness, adding another layer of depth to her actions in Kizumonogotari and beyond. This week, we start a sequel that continues to explore her as a character while shifting the genre from fairy tale to Gothic horror.

Acerola is a woman of such surpassing beauty, both inside and out, that all those who see her give up what's most precious to them—usually their lives. Thus, she has become a walking plague. Wherever she goes, cities are wiped off the map—to the point where a certain pair of vampires are facing a starvation crisis.

However, this episode isn't about Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicide-Master or Tropicalesque Home-A-Wave Dog-Strings—though they serve as the viewpoint characters. The point of this episode is to answer this question: “Why, if Acerola is such a good person on the inside, does she continue to wander—killing tens of thousands in the process?”

By this point, no one would deny that she's had a universally negative effect on the world. However, this is not just about her. What if another person in the future had the same problem as her? Everything would simply repeat with suicide seeming to be the only escape for the afflicted. This is why Acerola refuses to just kill herself—doing so would doom her successor to suffer as she has.

That said, breaking the curse isn't her true goal—though doing so would accomplish it by proxy. What she wants is to save someone—even one person. To do so would not only give her life meaning—one positive effect to offset all the negative ones—but also fill the void of loneliness in her heart. This is why she acts as she does throughout Kizumonogatari.

This also drives her to stay with Deathtopia Virtuoso Suicide-Master in this story. As a vampire with some knowledge of magic, she has the potential to break Acerola's curse. And while she is affected by death, it is not the end for a vampire. They simply respawn. Thus Acerola is left with two things she hasn't had in a long time: hope that the curse can be broken and the potential for an actual friend.

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MONOGATARI Series: OFF & MONSTER Season is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.