Aberration

**Aberration** (怪異(かいい), *Kaī*), also translated as **Apparition** or **Oddity**, is a core concept of the *Monogatari Series*. The term refers to any kind of supernatural, mythical, otherworldy or inhuman creature in the world.

## Mechanics

Aberrations are not simply natural biological lifeforms that evolved over time. Rather, they are more akin to concepts, commonly said to not even be alive. They are manifestations of human emotions, thoughts and fears, and can only exist through humanity's continued knowledge of and belief in them. Because of this, most aberrations are creatures of myth, with plenty of history to provide a high number of people that know of and believe in them. When an aberration goes to a place where there are no humans to witness it and believe in it, it will eventually weaken and die, which is why aberrations must continue performing their legendary feats.

While most aberrations are legendary creatures, new aberrations are also being continuously created all the time. It can be inferred that the requirement for a new aberration to be created depends on the strength of the creators' feelings, with occasional cases of aberrations being created entirely by a single person. Thus, the creation of an aberration does not necessarily depend on the number of humans who believe in it.

Deishuu Kaiki introduced the concept of "fake aberrations", aberrations that don't actually exist but are instead based on lies or mistakes. How exactly they function is unclear, as all aberrations are presumably born from rumours that aren't initially true. One possibility is that fake aberrations are lies that don't have enough human emotion put into them to manifest as actual aberrations.

## Properties & Behavior

Since "aberration" is a blanket term covering every kind of supernatural creature, there aren't many properties shared by every aberration, and there are always exceptions to every rule. While, when talking about an aberration, one is most likely referring to a creature, aberrations have been said to also take the form of non-sentient items. While aberrations exist due to humans, they don't necessarily wish to coexist with them, and many aberrations bring danger to humans. aberrations generally seem to "attack" people with emotional issues, and the key to resolving an aberration problem usually lies as much in making the victim more mentally stable as in exorcising the aberration itself.

One notable notion is that, for unexplained reasons, humans who have encountered aberrations are more likely to run into more of them. In certain cases, prolonged exposure to aberrations can actually turn a human into an aberration itself; it is said that a lot of Specialists end up eventually becoming aberrations themselves. The cause of the metamorphosis varies, but it's mostly dependent on the human in question getting so used to the aberration that their soul becomes more like that of a monster than a human.

### The "Darkness"

The **"Darkness"** (「くらやみ」, *"Kurayami"*) is the unofficial name of an important concept of the *Monogatari Series*. Also known as **"Spirited Away"** (「神隠(かみかく)し」, *"Kamikakushi"*), the **"Neutral One"** (中立者(ちゅうりつしゃ), *"Chūritsusha"*), the **"Balancer"** (「バランサー」, *"Baransā"*) or the **"Eraser"** (「イレイザー」, *Ireizā"*), the "Darkness" is a non-existence, a law of the universe, which governs the world of aberrations. It is not an aberration itself, but a reaction from the world itself to other aberrations. Its function is to erase every aberration that doesn't behave according to its nature. Izuko Gaen compared it to how a human that strays from the rules of society and commits a crime is punished. Similarly, aberrations that don't follow their natures and instead lie about themselves are literally erased, and in some cases, the "Darkness" can also erase those that have fallen under the aberration's wrongful behaviour. However, it is not completely impossible for an aberration to change its nature without invoking the "Darkness", but it must do so under strict conditions, without lying about its state. As a non-existence, the "Darkness" is literally a mass of nothing, an invisible phenomenon, but it can nonetheless be easily noticed due to the lack of anything existing in the place of the "Darkness", making it out of place. In the anime, it is depicted as a black mass of kanji, and later simply as a black hole.

The "Darkness" in the Onimonogatari anime.The "Darkness" in the Owarimonogatari anime.
## Specialist

**Specialists** (専門家(せんもんか), *Senmonka*) are humans with knowledge of aberrations which make it their profession to protect or inform other people about aberrations, in the case of an attack. A lot of specialists are exorcists or exterminators, people who destroy the aberrations they encounter, but there are also some specialists who employ more peaceful tactics and seek a balance between humans and monsters.

According to Izuko Gaen, the 'proper' method of exterminating aberrations for specialists is to expose their 'real identities', thus getting the "Darkness" to erase them. As such, a specialist's regular job is investigating every urban legend they come across and finding an explanations for it, thus nullifying any paranormal factors. According to her, because of this, their line of work is one that will eventually disappear as everything is explained.

### Gaen Network

The **Gaen Network** is an organization run by the Gaen Family, consisting of a network of Specialists which communicate with each other and commonly decide on how to tackle certain cases of aberrations. The Gaen Network is said to be an essential organization for most specialists, and there are very few successful cases of independent specialists outside it. Not much about the Gaen Network's structure is unknown, aside from the fact that it is led by Izuko Gaen. It's occasionally mentioned that the Gaen bloodline is influential in the world of specialists, suggesting that the Gaen Network has a long history behind it. That being said, the true extent of its influence remains undisclosed, such as whether they have international reach or purely within Japan.

#### Hearsay Police Department

The **Naoetsu Hearsay Police Department** (直江津署風説課(なおえつしょふうせつか), *Naoetsu Shofūsetsuka*) is a section of the local police established by Izuko for the purpose of creating a national organization of specialists. It is comprised mostly of past victims of aberrations scouted by Izuko and investigates every rumour they come across, confirming whether or not it is the work of an aberration and acting accordingly.

### List of Specialists

#### Gaen Network Affiliates

 Meme Oshino | Male
 Deishuu Kaiki | Male
 Yozuru Kagenui | Female
 Yotsugi Ononoki | Female

#### Other Specialists

 Episode | Male
 Guillotinecutter | Male
 Tadatsuru Teori | Male
 Seishirou Shishirui | Male

#### Hearsay Department

 Zenka Suou | Female
 Nozomi Kizashima | Female
 Mitome Saizaki | Female
 Koyomi Araragi | Male

## List of Aberrations

### Possessive Aberrations

These are aberrations which are in any way connected to, depending on or possessing a human.

### Aberration Characters

Sentient aberrations which take the roles of characters in the narrative.

## References

1. ↑ *Owarimonogatari (Part Three)*, *Episode Seven: Ougi Dark*