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I just finished episode 8 of the Bakemonogatari series, and I'm slightly confused about how Kanbaru was saved. If I'm not mistaken, Oshino states that there are two ways to save Kanbaru:

  • Cutting off her arm
  • Somehow making the contract with the rainy devil unachievable and void

Clearly the second option was taken, but I'm not sure how the appearance of Senjougahara and her subsequent actions made the contract void. It seems clear to me that the "voidness" of the contract stems from the fact that Kanbaru wasn't able to actually permanently kill Araragi. However, I'm not quite sure how doing so would violate the terms of her contract in light of Senjouhara's comment to the effect of "I would kill you if you killed Araragi". Is this simply because there are also some other "terms" to the contract (e.g. Kanbaru has to be alive) or is this perhaps because both her "conscious" (to be with Senjougahara) and "unconscious" (to kill Araragi) wishes have to be taken into account?

Maroon
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One way to explain this would be that it's impossible for the Rainy Devil (possessed Kanbaru) to kill Araragi, and so the contract is automatically impossible to complete. Had the Rainy Devil known that, it wouldn't've agreed with such condition. But because it seems too simple and there are many things hinting that this wasn't the deal breaker, here's another way to explain this:

The whole deal with the Rainy Devil is that it's a devious creature and will try to fulfill its owner's wish as deviously as possible. Remember how the first time Kanbaru wished to be faster than her classmates? Rainy Devil beat 'em up so they couldn't compete. Now guess what Kanbaru wished for concerning Senjougahara.

Because Kanbaru wished to be close friends with Hitagi and then suddenly Araragi appeared on the horizon, becoming Hitagi's boyfriend, the Rainy Devil decided that in order to gain Senjougahara's love (and let's not forget exactly how much Kanbaru prefers girls over boys), Araragi would have to be removed from the picture. By death, of course, because it's Rainy Devil.

So after Senjougahara waltzed in on Rainy Devil and Araragi's one-sided battle and explained that if Koyomi were to die, she'd never stop until Kanbaru, who caused all this, was dead, which would make Kanbaru's wish to become close friends with Senjougahara impossible to be fullfilled by killing Koyomi.

Hakase
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    Rainy Devil doesn't grant wish deviously, it grants wishes with respect to the deepest desires of the person being possessed as hinted in [this picture](http://lookpic.com/O/i2/1629/dulelEM4.png), and as mentioned [here](http://bakemonogatari.wikia.com/wiki/Suruga_Kanbaru). – Abhilash Vedwan Apr 12 '14 at 12:21
  • I'm sorry I couldn't get it. According to me, its against any normal human to have thoughts about killing someone else on the basis of athletic ranks or interaction with others. – Abhilash Vedwan Apr 12 '14 at 12:55
  • To cheat or to engage in a physical violence is quite different than wishing death. – Abhilash Vedwan Apr 12 '14 at 14:39
  • You mentioned that its natural to have those thoughts and I'm against it, also I was not able to get anything from your first comment. Its the human who's wishing but not acting, the actions are taken by the Rainy Devil. – Abhilash Vedwan Apr 12 '14 at 14:58
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After watching the episode, what I get is that there were 2 wishes:

  • Conscious one : Be with Senjougahara
  • Unconscious one : Kill Araragi

The plan was to make it such that the contract becomes void (meaning both of the wishes cannot be fulfilled). They did it by making sure that,

  • unconscious wish doesn't come true by letting Araragi to be bitten by Shinobu Oshino. Shinobu sucks some of Araragi's blood, allowing him to make use of his vampire powers within a limited period of time. Her contribution barely helped him in subduing the Rainy Devil, but it was enough for him to survive for the entire ordeal before Senjougahara's intervention.

  • Senjougahara is involved in the act. After scolding Araragi for dealing with things without her knowledge, she confronts Kanbaru, telling her that she will not forgive anyone who would kill Araragi, making it impossible for the conscious wish too.

Abhilash Vedwan
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