The last yuri (a genre of Japanese media focusing on intimate relationships between female characters) anime I watched and enjoyed was most likely Lycoris Recoil, which had an interesting plot built around the romantic parts. In terms of general romance and supernatural horror, I have been thoroughly enjoying Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun. This Monster Wants to Eat Me tried to match the levels of the two aforementioned series, but went a different route.
Warning: This Monster Wants To Eat Me spoilers ahead.
Since losing her family in an accident, Hinako has had a vague wish to die, though she feels that she cannot go through with it herself. One day, she meets a mermaid named Shiori, who tells Hinako that her flesh and blood are especially delicious to yōkai; Shiori is one of them. Wanting to eat Hinako herself, Shiori promises to protect her from other yōkai who also want to eat Hinako until she is at her most delicious, and that is when Shiori will eat her. Due to her feelings regarding the accident, Hinako accepts this fate.
Immediately, I had to applaud Studio Lings for animating and drawing all the water elements superbly. The way the water filter-like animation went over typical settings, like a classroom, was cool. It showed how much Hinako was figuratively drowning in her own sadness and depression.
The main critique about This Monster Wants to Eat Me was how cliched every plot point and character were designed. I predicted almost every reveal in the first three episodes before they even happened. I do not have the proof of this, but I am confident avid anime watchers would say the same. The music tried to make the reveals convincing, except that the shock value was nothing notable.
“The main critique about This Monster Wants to Eat Me was how cliched every plot point and character were designed.”
Even as This Monster Wants to Eat Me episode 3 ended, I could already tell where this love triangle between Hinako, Shiori, and Miko would go. By the end of this series, I would not be surprised if Miko turned out to be more mentally unstable and dangerous than Shiori. The major issue with Hinako as the lead character was that she was not a compelling main character in this part-romance, part-horror anime. She was a wallflower. While the voice actress, Reina Ueda, played her deadpan voice well, it does not work to tell an interesting story.
This Monster Wants to Eat Me attempted to tackle the issue of dealing with trauma and depression; however, it was coming up short in making this anime a meaningful show to watch. The premise was great, but it lacked the depth to go beyond the surface level. I already figured out that Shiori will eventually eat Hinako, the more she cares about living her life by the end of episode 1—and that part was not said out loud until episode 3.
The only compelling character in this series was Miko. Her overprotectiveness of Hinako showed that she is not just a bubbly person. Without seeing episode 4, I could already see Hinako as being a shrinemaiden who slays yokai. This would be the writer’s attempt at driving a wedge between Hinako and Shiori’s love story. Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun has similar elements, yet it contains more depth because the protagonist is not helpless and insufferable to watch as Hinako is.
The piano score was beautiful to back the bright animation style. The opening theme song, nie (translated to sacrifice), by Yoshino, and the ending theme song, Lily, by the lead actress Ueda, fit This Monster Wants to Eat Me’s general tone. Both songs reminded me of Sword Art Online’s songs, which were a bit of fantastical piano mixed with a tinge of sadness. But again, this anime is playing into the tropes way too much because one of the English translations of the Japanese word yuri is also lily. So, this is a yuri anime with a song called yuri. It was an odd song title choice.
This Monster Wants to Eat Me is perfect for angsty teenagers in high school, or someone who believes in true love, like in Hallmark/Netflix romance movies. Assassination Classroom built up so much hype around when and how the students would kill Koro-sensei, but I can see this anime’s setup a mile away: either Shiori needs to kill Hinako quickly, or Miko kills Shiori quickly. One of the two is bound to happen. Sometimes the substance of a good story lies in the journey, not the end, but unfortunately, the meat of this anime story was unable to keep me interested.
