A Tsubasa Tiger thread ~
I've often said that Hanekawa is my favorite female character from Monogatari, but Tsubasa Tiger took everything I knew, tore it up, and showed a new Hanekawa I love even more. It truly is one of the most emotionally resonant arcs I've ever experienced.

A question TT asks is - are you really running from your problems, or are you just averting your eyes to act like everything is okay & to avoid having to ask for help? And for Hanekawa, the answer is the second - in a desperate attempt to suppress the parts of her she..

..doesn't want to acknowledge, she simply acts as though nothing is wrong, and she doesn't wish to change anything. This has been a trend since the events of Golden Week, and Hanekawa's habit of totally rejecting her negative feelings leads to the creation of the aberrations.

Black Hanekawa and the History Tiger are born from Hanekawa rejecting parts of herself that she feels she doesn't need and doesn't want, and in her attempt to stay true to the image of the pure, untainted Hanekawa Tsubasa, she casts aside the very things that make her human...

...and she becomes a monster. The Sawari Neko and Tiger manifested because she was someone who suppressed her deepest emotions to try and conduct herself in a way she believes is righteous, but was being torn apart on the inside as a result. This is a big reason why..

...her acceptance of Black Hanekawa and the History Tiger as parts of herself is so powerful. She is acknowledging that her tendency to do this is only causing her and others problems, and she resolves to live fully as a flawed person rather than barely live as a perfect person.

Another big development for Hanekawa was learning to ask for the help of others - she is aware that Araragi always helps her, but she can't bring herself to involve him or others in her problems, like when she was reluctant to even show him the bandage during Golden Week.

As the arc progresses and she comes to accept Black Hanekawa as another part of herself, she also works up the courage to ask another person for help to face her problems head on, instead of simply averting her eyes and ignoring their existence.

Hanekawa begins to embody Oshino's philosophy of people only being able to save themselves in this sense, as she learns to rely on the parts of herself that she would normally push away in order to save and acknowledge another part of herself.

All of this leads to an incredibly emotional climax, where Araragi validates the actions she takes to save herself and those around her, and helps her take the rest of herself back and complete herself once more.

This scene is probably my favorite from Mono so far as a whole, but Hanekawa finally is able to express her feelings to Araragi, hear his rejection, and let all her anger, envy, sadness and pent up emotions flow. She always held everything in, and she's now able to let it out.

Tsubasa Tiger was so resonant because Hanekawa, much like anyone else would, tried in vain to cast off the parts of herself she loathed, and was able to reconcile with herself in the end. It's okay to be imperfect, because that doesn't make you any less of a person...

...as long as you have your eyes forward. Reflection is important, but so is loving and understanding yourself for who you are. It's hard to not feel alienated from others when even you don't like yourself, but learning to accept who you are is the first step in bridging the gap.