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In the end of Nekomonogatari (Kuro), Araragi states that Hanekawa doesn't remember any of the events of Golden Week. (This is also shown in the corresponding recap episode in Monogatari Series Second Season.) However, in the Monogatari Series Second Season, during the Tsubasa Tiger arc, Hanekawa seems to know of the existence of Black Hanekawa:

  • In the voice-over in the first episode, she makes some allusions to having been a cat. (I don't remember what exactly she said, but I can dig that up later if I have time.

  • In episode 4 she comes to the conclusion that she must have been possessed by Black Hanekawa after noticing dirt in her nails (and moreover comments that this time, there were no warning headaches).

When does Hanekawa realise that she had been possessed by Black Hanekawa? Does this have anything to do with the episode prior to the school festival (not in the sense that this was actually an episode of the anime, but in that this was an instance of her being possessed) that was alluded to once or twice?

Maroon
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  • It is my understanding that Hanekawa has been more than aware of this whole situation for some time because basically Black Hanekawa is the manifestation of her undesired emotions, and there is no way she can't know what she doesn't want to feel. Also some of the other character might have spoken to her about it, and that's how she found out. – Hakase Jun 01 '14 at 04:14
  • @user1306322: I read her undesired emotions as having been repressed in a somewhat Freudian sense (assuming I read Freud correctly, that is), to the point where she wouldn't necessarily even have been aware of them. – Maroon Jun 01 '14 at 04:34
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    I figured she acknowledged and accepted these emotions as well as her cat form. It became apparent to me when Araragi was like "Wait a minute, you *are* Hanekawa!" when he saw her while possessed and she didn't deny it. – Hakase Jun 01 '14 at 04:46
  • @user1306322: ah yes, that's definitely true - I was referring to prior to the last portion of the Tsubasa Tiger arc. – Maroon Jun 01 '14 at 05:01
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    If you haven't watched episodes 13-15 of Bakemonogatari, you should definitely do that first - that's where the real meat of the Tsubasa Cat arc occurs. – senshin Jun 01 '14 at 10:58

1 Answers1

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Some details in the ONA for Bakemonogatari suggest a potential answer. In episode 13, Hanekawa states that she has no memory of Golden Week beyond the burial of the cat (or slightly earlier). So she can notice such gaps in her memory. Hanekawa comes to Araragi for help after growing cat ears (which came after her headaches). It's possible she also remembers that.

Hanekawa probably at least knows that something is up. Moreover, Araragi states that he has no idea how much of the events of "Tsubasa Cat" Hanekawa remembers, but that he won't ask for now because he wants to let her come to terms with her feelings.

In "Tsubasa Song", Araragi says (own emphasis, quotes from a fan translation):

. . . it was twice that a cat had rampaged—on Golden Week and just a couple of days ago . . .

Moreover, we have this:

And that’s why I ended up seeing nightmares not once but twice—said Hanekawa, as if telling herself that rather than me.

And later, Hanekawa tells Araragi:

I don’t want to shut myself out anymore, and as it is, if I don’t demonstrate more of my individuality, then one day I may fall prey to the cat again.

Araragi probably hasn't asked Hanekawa about the events of a few days ago, but Hanekawa knows about both possessions. So it looks like Hanekawa got suspicious and asked someone what happened during these two periods.

It's possible that she remembers bits of the second possession or even finally remembered the first possession. But in "Tsubasa Tiger", Hanekawa comes to the conclusion that she must have been possessed at night via indirect evidence and not memory. So memory loss can be linked to possessions. Thus, it seems unlikely she remembers everything at this point prior to the end of "Tsubasa Tiger. (It's possible that she does remember everything once she accepts her repressed emotions, but that comes after the period discussed in this question.)

Maroon
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