The BEST episodes directed by Akiyuki Shinbo
#1 - Sodachi Lost - Part 3
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 6
Ougi claims to have figured out the whereabouts of Oikura’s mother and, in her own way, helps Araragi and Hanekawa to solve the mystery.
#2 - When I Came Out Of The Tunnel It Was White
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 2
After confiding in his latest despairs to Ms. Arai, she asks Nozomu to visit one of his students who hasn't shown up to school — Kiri Komori, a hikikomori. In the end Kiri goes to school but decides to be a hikimori there. The next day, Nozomu notes that another of his students, Matoi Tsunetsuki, didn't show up that day. Ms. Arai brings Nozomu to the counseling room, where she explains Matoi's obsessive-stalker tendencies to Nozomu. That night, he attempts to dissuade her from bothering her last boyfriend; however, his strategy backfires on him. This turns him into Matoi's latest object of affection.
#3 - Ougi Dark - Part 3
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 7
After being exposed, Ougi is about to be engulfed by the darkness, but Koyomi refuses to give up on her and Meme reappears in the nick of time to save them.
#4 - Showtime
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 20
With Chitoge's inclusion into their cast, the play commences with Shu as the narrator taking their performance into a comedic turn, adding nonsensical subplots into the play's story for the enjoyment of the audience but for the chagrin to some of its casts. Nevertheless, the play finishes, gaining warm admiration from the audience while Chitoge recognizes her true love for Raku. With their usual relationship back in place, Chitoge apologizes to Raku for her harsh behavior and adds that she will still be herself in front of him. During a conversation with Kosaki, Raku takes notice of Kosaki's desire of playing the role of Juliet. To compensate for not having played her role, as a result Raku and Kosaki reprise their roles as Romeo and Juliet respectively and did a private play for themselves as Chitoge looks into the horizon and remarks the conclusion of their memorable cultural festival.
#5 - At the Beach
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 18
The gang goes down to the beach to enjoy the last days of summer. Chitoge starts acting very strange after seeing Raku with Marika and Onodera. Is she starting to realize she is actually in love with Raku?
#6 - Lottery
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 10
The students are holding their annual Test of Courage. There is a lottery, and the boys and girls are pairing up and holding hands. Raku wants to get paired up with Onodera more than anything, but Chitoge has gone missing in the woods in a ghost costume!
#7 - Sodachi Lost - Part 2
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 5
Araragi and Hanekawa visit Oikura and learn the painful story of her family's past.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#8 - Sodachi Riddle - Part 1
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 2
In the aftermath of the previous day, Araragi is about to enter his classroom when Hanekawa informs him that a student absent all year is finally attending. The story pushes further into the past, as more of “what” makes Koyomi Araragi is revealed.
#9 - Celebration
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 11
It's Chitoge's birthday. Seishirou is planning a surprise party for her, and she invites all her friends. Raku and Onodera go out together to get birthday presents for Chitoge. But are they on a date now?
#10 - Confirmation
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 12
Chitoge tells Raku about the boy she made a promise with ten years ago. Raku admits that he, too, made a promise with a girl ten years ago. They decide to try and see if Chitoge's key would open up Raku's locket. But…
#11 - Ougi Formula - Parts 1 & 2
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 1
During the month of October of his third year in high school, Koyomi Araragi is introduced to a transfer student named Ougi Oshino, who tells him she has something to consult with him. This reveals a tale that brings to light “what” makes Koyomi Araragi.
#12 - Sodachi Lost - Part 1
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 4
Hanekawa reveals her concerns about Ougi as she and Araragi go to visit Oikura.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#13 - Sodachi Riddle - Part 2
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 3
Having rediscovered the room on the second floor of the ruined house, Koyomi tells Ougi of the events that happened there five years earlier.
#14 - Ougi Dark - Part 1
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 5
Gaen assembles Koyomi, Shinobu, Mayoi and Yozuru and reveals that Ougi is the responsible for some of the previous ordeals they faced.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#15 - Three Keys
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 15
Marika explains to Raku how they first met. He tries to remember the details, but it's hard for him. She takes him to her home to meet her father. Raku wants to call off the engagement, but he is so scared of Marika's father!
#16 - After School
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 13
Raku finds the photo that was taken ten years ago. It's the photo of Raku and the girl he made a promise with. The girl turns out to be…
#17 - The Play
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 19
Due to Chitoge's refusal to accept the role in their play, Kosaki steps in and takes the role as Juliet with Raku as Romeo. Whilst in the midst of rehearsals, Raku and Chitoge get into a heated argument over their fake relationship. As Raku vehemently states how dysfunctional things are between them and is considering to end their ties, Chitoge slaps Raku out of indignation. On the day of their play, Kosaki gets injured after rescuing a fellow classmate from a fall. With no one else to take over for Kosaki in her role as Juliet, Raku approaches Chitoge and convinces her to take the part. After Raku apologizes and admits he doesn't despise Chitoge as she had presumed, Chitoge leans into Raku and accepts the role as his Juliet.
#18 - Festival Day
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 17
Raku runs into Chitoge at the festival. Seeing that many things come free when she is with Raku, Chitoge decides to hang out with him. However, there is only one thing on Raku's mind… To purchase a romantic relationship charm!
#19 - Typhoon
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 16
Onodera asks Raku if he could take on a part-time job at her family's Japanese Sweets shop. He agrees, not wanting to miss the chance of seeing her. A storm breaks out, and now Raku has no choice but to stay at Onodera's home with no one else around. And…
#20 - Hot Spring
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 9
While on an open-air school trip, Raku mistakenly ends up in the women's hot spring. When his female classmates show up to bathe, he must try and find a way to escape before being caught and labelled as a peeping tom.
#21 - Ordeal
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 14
Raku's dad gives Raku the news that he actually has a fiancée and that she is coming to see him . He wants Raku to entertain her. She is the girl from the photo taken ten years ago!
#22 - Shinobu Mail - Part 5
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 11
Koyomi is confronted by Shinobu's first minion, the original apparition killer. But instead of starting a battle, the samurai makes a simple request.
#23 - Shinobu Mail - Part 3
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 9
Having finally arrived at the meeting place, Koyomi and Suruga find an unexpected person waiting for them. Before their reunion can take place, they must face an unexpected foe!
#24 - Shinobu Mail - Part 2
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 8
After a hurried departure from the cram school ruins, Koyomi and Suruga head toward the meeting place, only to encounter some difficulty along the way.
#25 - Shinobu Mail - Part 4
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 10
The group relocates to the North Shirahebi Shrine where Izuko Gaen tells them the story behind the location and the effect Shinobu's first minion had on it.
#26 - Shinobu Mail - Part 1
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 7
Koyomi Araragi waits in the ruins of the cram school to ask Suruga Kanbaru for help, a request he hopes she will refuse.
#27 - Shinobu Mail - Part 6
Monogatari - Season 4 - Episode 12
As Koyomi prepares for his duel, he learns of the crisis that Hanekawa is facing and must decide what battle he should fight.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#28 - Mayoi Hell - Part 2
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 2
Mayoi takes Koyomi to meet Teori, who offers him a way to return to the world of the living. Koyomi is in doubt about accepting his offer, as he believes others like Mayoi are more worthy of reviving than him, until he comes with a surprising decision.
#29 - Ougi Dark - Part 2
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 6
To stop Ougi from meddling further, Koyomi has a final confrontation with her.
Watch Now:Apple TV
#30 - Goodbye, Zetsubo Sensei
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 1
Kafuka Fuura is cheerily walking to school one April morning when she suddenly spots a man trying to hang himself in a fit of despair. Kafuka manages to use her weight to snap the rope, thus saving his life. Nozomu Itoshiki, the man, eventually cannot take anymore of the girl's ridiculous ramblings, and runs off to school to start homeroom at the beginning of a new school year. When Nozomu walks in the door, he finds Kafuka is one of his students.
#31 - Bridge
Arakawa Under the Bridge - Season 1 - Episode 1
Falling off a bridge while trying to get his pants back Ichinomiya Kou is saved by a woman named Nino. Desperate to live up to his family motto of never being indebted to anyone he tries to pay Nino off only to find that she is completely uninterested in his riches and prefers living under the bridge. Desperate to the point of panic to be rid of his debt to her he asks if there is anything she wants. "Could you fall in love with me," she responds and so Kou ends up living under the bridge as well doing his best to fall in love with her.
Watch Now:AmazonApple TV
#32 - Rival
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 7
A new transfer student arrives at the school. The girls fall in love with him, while the boys can't help having feelings of jealousy. It turns out that the new student is an old friend of Chitoge. Will Raku be able to handle having a rival?
#33 - Happiness
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 8
Claude is training Tsugumi for her mission of finding out the truth about the relationship between Raku and Chitoge. Tsugumi is going through some changes, and she seeks advice from people around her. Could it be possible that she is in love?
#34 - The Visit
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 4
Chitoge's Friend Notebook is helping her make friends. Onodera seems happy that Raku and Chitoge are such a lovey-dovey couple, even though she has feelings for him. Raku can't wait for Onodera to come over to his place for the study group he's having.
#35 - Two of a Kind
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 3
Raku wants to talk to Kosaki and explain to her that he’s not going out with Chitoge. All the other students are very curios about Raku and Chitoge's relationship, while Claude is still suspicious of what is going on. Raku finally decides to consult Shu.
#36 - Hitagi Rendezvous - Part 1
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 3
Now fully human again, Koyomi is called by Hitagi for a date, as they spend some time together, Koyomi has a vision of Ougi.
#37 - The Promise
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 1
Raku Ichijo is a normal high school student. But, he also happens to be the son and heir to a yakuza clan called the "Shuei-gumi." Raku was never popular with the girls but 10 years ago, he met a girl and they promised each other that "they will get married" when they reunited. Raku still keeps the pendant that the girl gave him 10 years ago. One morning, while Raku was walking to school, a girl suddenly came falling from atop a wall and kicked Raku. That girl turned out to be, Chitoge Kirisaki, the girl that transferred to Raku's class.
#38 - Encounter
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 2
Raku and Chitoge have their first fake date. Raku wishes it was Kosaki instead of Chitoge. Kosaki is convinced that they are a couple, but she doesn't seem to be bothered by it. Will Raku be able to confess his feelings to Kosaki?
#39 - Sister
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 2 - Episode 7
Kosaki's younger sister, Haru, finally enters high school. After hearing unsavory rumors about Raku, Haru is none too pleased about him trying to get close to her sister.
#40 - Hitagi Rendezvous - Part 2
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 4
Koyomi and Hitagi spend the rest of the date bonding further. Once back home, Koyomi has another encounter with Ougi.
#41 - Need
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 2 - Episode 3
Christmas is just around the corner... Shu tells the gang that they should throw a party. However, Chitoge has other plans. Her mom is coming to visit, and Chitoge's dad wants to introduce Raku to her!
#42 - Swimming
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 5
Ruri talks to Onodera about her feelings for Raku and the promise she made ten years ago. Ruri asks Chitoge to join the girls' swim team and invites Raku, Chitoge and Onodera to the swimming practice, in hopes of investigating their true feelings.
#43 - Removing Toxins and Stains
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 5
On physical examination day, many of the girls are feeling stress about their weight, measurements and fitness. Nozumu distracts them by deciding to judge the "social worth" of students so that they will know whether they are living "above their station." Kitsu seizes on this idea, scolding everyone who possesses any luxuries, appalling Nozumu to the point where he decides to go on a hedonistic binge before killing himself. In the second half he encounters some of his students at a hot spring and is frightened to learn the spring has the power to remove their "toxicity" giving them well-adjusted personalities.
#44 - Borrowing and Lending
Nisekoi: False Love - Season 1 - Episode 6
Chitoge faces surprising difficulties in her attempts to thank Raku for rescuing her. After discovering the true nature of Chitoge and Raku’s relationship, Onodera tries to muster up the courage to confess her true feelings for Raku.
#45 - I'm a Social Outcast by Fate
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 8
This episode begins with Usui Kagerou lamenting about how he never gets noticed by anyone, when he nearly gets run over by a truck who does not notice him. He runs into Nozomu in the shadows, who begins to talk about how some people are destined to be overshadowed by others, no matter how hard they work. The second part of the episode has the class undergo criticism training. Usui continues to be ignored until a divine wind blows away his hair, revealing his bald head and allowing everyone in the class to see him. He fears that people in the class will begin mocking him, but Kafuka suggests that Chie insults him instead, which he seems to enjoy.
#46 - Go Fly Over That Country
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 3
This episode is a pastiche of parodies about foreigners and Japanese attitudes concerning them. A foreign student named Kaere Kimura transfers into the class. Kimura is a blonde girl with multiple personality disorder stemming from cultural identity confusion. Nozumu prevents her from committing suicide but sees her underwear and is sued. While Nozomu is absent from school Chiri investigates his students and discovers that Maria is an illegal immigrant.
#47 - The Evening Primroses on Fuji are Wrong
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 9
Nozomu notices a few members of the class playing a "spot the differences" game. Nozomu tells them that it is important to spot mistakes, and he instructs the class in how life is filled with mistakes. He asks the class to identify mistakes in their lives, after pointing out several of his own. After Nozomu contradicts himself, saying that a mistake was the correct action, Kafuka reasons that if a mistake comes to light, it is correct, resulting in many people approaching her, confessing their mistakes, making them correct. In the end of the first part, a boy approaches Nozomu, calling him "Dad." The second part of the episode reveals that he is actually Nozomu's brother's child, Majiru Itoshiki. Nozomu asks him to prove that he is indeed his nephew, and then asks all of his students to prove that they are the real one. When Majiru asks Nozomu to prove he is genuine, Nozomu is unable to come up with a response, and runs off. The episode ends with a sequence that deals with Majiru's apparent hair fetish.
#48 - Mayoi Hell - Part 1
Monogatari - Season 5 - Episode 1
March 13th, the morning of college entrance exams. Koyomi Araragi has died due to Izuko Gaen. Mayoi Hachikuji was waiting for him in the afterlife, and guides him towards an unknown destination. Koyomi would have never thought that this certain someone would be waiting for him there.
#49 - From Elbow to knee
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 4
Chie dispatches Nozomu to investigate rumors that the invariably injured Abiru Kobushi is suffering from domestic violence. He pursues Abiru's father while he shops, causing him a great deal of inconvenience, before discovering Abiru's obsession with pulling the tails of dangerous animals. The latter half of the episode concerns Meru Otonashi, who is silent and shy in person, but remarkably abusive via text-messaging, her only means of communication.
#50 - Leap Before You Look
Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei - Season 1 - Episode 6
Kafuka comes down with a cold during the summer and has to go see the doctor, Mikoto Itoshiki, who happens to be Nozomu's brother. Later, Chiri and Kafuka find out from Mikoto that Nozomu has gone back to his hometown in Kuraizawa for an arranged marriage. One way or another, the girls somehow all end up arriving at Kuraizawa, where they are taken to the Itoshiki residence by Tokita. Here they find out that the Itoshiki tradition for arranged marriages simply involves both parties exchanging eye contact. The rest of the episode involves Nozomu and his attempts to avoid eye contact with the girls and various other people/objects.