

They told Araragi he would never grow up since he was still talking to a doll
(Ononoki) at his age in _Tsukimonogatari_ episode 4, 31 minutes in. It's
always hard to tell how different people perceive the same phenomenon in
_Monogatari_ series, which is fun and puzzling.

What do Karen and Tsukihi see Ononoki as? Do they not perceive Ononoki as a
human being?


CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-17T06:05:21.263
46606
2022-08-04T08:05:55.997
2018-04-17T06:25:08.873
2516
25814
question
monogatari-series
What do Karen and Tsukihi see Ononoki as?


If I recall, they won her at the Arcade, so they see her as a simple won prize
doll.


CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-04-23T19:29:06.183
46708
2018-04-23T19:29:06.183
40312
46606
answer


As noted several times throughout the series, her body is, in fact, a doll.

Though I seem to remember it being noted earlier, the first mention I can find
is the very first line spoken in _Tsukimonogatari_ :

> 斧乃木余接は人形である。  
>  _Ononoki Yotsugi is a doll._

I am not aware of any reason to believe this is meant to be taken
metaphorically. That this isn't obvious from the anime visuals--aside from her
trademark lack of facial expression--is inconsequential. In _Koyomimonogatari_
, she herself attributes her height to being "by nature, an adorable doll".

If you're wondering how, in that case, she could be mistaken for human, an
adequately realistic doll would not look glaringly inhuman from a distance,
and even close up it may not be clear without deliberate inspection. In
_Owarimonogatari_ :

> It is revealed that Teori Tadatsuru, one of her creators, was himself
> possessing a doll during the events of _Tsukimonogatari_. As Araragi was
> disturbed by having seen "the cute doll known as Ononoki Yotsugi murder a
> human", he at no point discerned that his body was that of a doll. So it is
> generally possible for supernaturally-animated dolls, at least those created
> by Teori, to pass as human. (Interestingly, here there are also several
> shots of [dolls in Ononoki's likeness, except with visible ball
> joints](https://i.stack.imgur.com/jK0zJ.jpg).)

And as for why Tsukihi unambiguously perceives her as a doll, if you won a
doll from a claw game (as noted but 30 seconds before the line cited in the
question), saw it up close, felt it, and never saw it do anything but hang
limp, what reason would there be to doubt that it is in fact a doll?


CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-08-04T08:05:55.997
67090
2022-08-04T08:05:55.997
66722
46606
answer