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Looking back on Bakemonogatari and Nisemonogatari, it seems that

Koyomi is really weak compared to all of the oddities he faces. Suruga's monkey form easily defeats him (even though his power was temporarily boosted). The snakes in Nadeko snake would have killed him had Kanbaru not intervened, he needed to be saved from Black Hanekawa by Shinobu. In the latest episode he would probably have died if Yozuru had decided to prolong the fight. This is in spite of him getting the largest power-up yet from Shinobu.

Considering that he once told his sisters that

The first requirement of being a hero is to be strong, and the they're fakes given their lack of strength, it seems odd that Koyomi is so underpowered compared to the oddities he faces.

Does he ever get stronger in later episodes or in the Light Novels?

Twilight Sparkle
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    Even if he does, his opponents are more than likely to be at least strong enough to be of equal power. It's that kind of story. Not the other kind where the protagonist is all-powerful and can single-handedly solve all the problems. – Hakase May 07 '14 at 13:22
  • Yes, I get that. Right now, though, he's seriously underpowered compared to all the oddities. It just seems odd that he'd give the whole "you're weak fakes" speech to others when he isn't strong compared to his enemies either. – Twilight Sparkle May 07 '14 at 13:28
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    @user1306322 I guess he's very unlikely to get stronger. It's not like other typical Shounen anime where the main protagonist getting stronger every new arc, like Luffy or Naruto. Even after Monogatari Series: Second Season, he still pretty weak, not much progress from first season. – Darjeeling May 08 '14 at 01:44

3 Answers3

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You are wondering how can he can

tell his sisters that you have to be strong to be a hero despite being rather weak himself.

But does he ever

claim to be a hero?

I can't recall that he did. Thus, there is no discrepancy in his words and the story he sees in himself is not invalid.

His sisters, however

did, quite proudly, claim to be heroes. He only (rightfully in his opinion) pointed out that they can't live up to that standard.

On a meta level: Not every story needs a strong hero - many great pieces (commonly for adults) rather tell about the weaknesses of a person rather than their strengths. I would consider Monogatari well fitting in this light.

mafu
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  • I did not read all of Monogatari yet, so if this answer is wrong, please let me know. – mafu May 07 '14 at 22:48
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In prequel, Kizumonogatari, when Araragi meets Kiss-shot for the first time:

Araragi becomes a vampire whose power comes from Kiss-shot. Then when he fights one of the vampire hunters that are after her, he notes that Araragi is second strongest oddity in the world right after Kiss-shot, even if he has no clue how to use his power to his full potential. This strength comes primarily from his and Kiss-shot's regenerative abilities making them practically immortal so they can continue to fight no matter the damage opponent does to them. This power went away as he reduced Kiss-shot into Shinobu, but he still retains bits of it. He could easily get that power back by having Shinobu regain her powers by drinking his blood, but then he would become full vampire who need to kill and eat people for sustenance. Something Araragi would never do.

Euphoric
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  • i thought he might have been powerful when he was a vampie and by curing the vampirisum would reverse that – Memor-X May 08 '14 at 06:30
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I think Araragi was quite strong in Kizumonogatari, I mean he beat all of them 3 exorcist guys to get Shinobu's arms and legs back, but then he kinda downgraded that told because he wanted to be human again. I really think that if Araragi had his full powers like in Kizu, Kanbaru wouldn't stand a chance like people say Kanbaru would beat him even in his full vampire form, but i don't think that's true.

Gao
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Ken
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