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Who is the master and who is the slave in this relationship?

Sometimes, Shinobu calls Araragi "master," and sometimes she calls him her
"slave/servant."


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2015-01-17T11:25:27.767
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2015-01-22T00:54:50.960
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monogatari-series
What exactly is the relationship between Araragi and Shinobu?


There will be a lot of spoilers from both the anime series and the
_Kizumonogatari_ novel, so if you want to read this answer you have been
warned.

> Shinobu, or also known as _Kiss-Shot Acerola-Orion Heart-Under-Blade_ was
> the one who made Araragi a vampire, during the events that took place before
> _Bakemonogatari_ ( _Kizumonogatari_ , if you want to read the novel). Their
> relationship has always been weird, and it has been on the extremes from the
> very beginning. Araragi was willing to give up his life to save Kiss-Shot,
> and she (even if she doesn't like to admit it) was moved by his willingness
> to sacrifice himself to save her life. So instead of killing Araragi
> (drinking his blood to regain close to full power) she decided to risk by
> making him a vampire and letting herself to become basically powerless. She
> still had the regeneration ability, but nothing else, no laser beams, no
> hyper jumps, no strength. She became the little girl we know from
> _Bakemonogatari_ , but she was still called Kiss-Shot and not yet Shinobu.  
>  
>  Araragi risked his life again to serve Kiss-Shot and help her regain her
> full power. She said to him that on the next day, he would be able to turn
> back into an human, losing all his vampire power, which was exactly what he
> wanted. She told him that he was only the second minion she created in her
> 500 years lifetime, and that was why the exorcists (the people that Araragi
> fought to help Kiss-Shot regain her powers) were astonished by the fact that
> she created a minion.  
>  
>  On the next day, Kiss-Shot faked an assault at Hanekawa, Araragi fought
> back to protect her, but he understood what Kiss-Shot was doing. The only
> way for him to turn back into human was to drink the blood of his former
> master (Kiss-Shot) to the last drop, which would result in killing her. That
> was what she wanted, a clean death which saved Araragi from the world of the
> supernatural. However, Araragi couldn't just kill her, he started drinking
> her blood, but not every single drop. Therefore, he lost the majority of his
> vampire power, and the same happened to Kiss-Shot, who became so powerless
> that she lost even her name. (She was renamed Shinobu some days later by
> Oshino Meme).  
>  
>  So, up to this point, the master was Shinobu - Kiss-Shot, in theory at
> least. However, both of them were bound to each other and they needed each
> other to survive, and after becoming a quasi-vampire, their bond became even
> stronger. If either of them were to die, the other would turn back to their
> original self: Araragi would go back into a 100% human and Shinobu would
> return to being the legendary vampire. But she doesn't want that to happen.
> Although she went to Japan to die at first, now she doesn't want to be
> alone, and Araragi is actually her anchor to life, while Araragi also needs
> her powers and her knowledge to help his friends and family.  
>  
>  So, when you ask who is the servant and who is the master, I would say that
> we cannot answer, since they both need each other, and they have always
> needed each other from their first meeting. Even if "theoretically", the
> former master was Shinobu (Kiss-Shot), and after the _Kizumonogatari_ events
> it is Araragi, I guess it's not so easy to answer without an explanation.

Hope that helped.


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2015-01-21T07:54:57.040
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2015-01-21T08:34:04.793
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