Anime VS Manga – Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

This is a blog series comparing a manga and its relevant anime adaptation, discerning which version is ‘better’. These posts will be spoiler-free comparisons helping to inform people on which version is better—in my opinion of course. 

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What’s the important information? Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is an ongoing manga series by Coolkyoushinja that has been running since May 2013 as of September 2018 it has spanned 7 volumes and 2 spin-off manga series’. In Winter 2017 it received an anime adaptation of 13 episodes + 1 OVA.

What’s it about? Kobayashi, a hard working office worker one day finds herself with an unlikely companion, Tohru a giant dragon who at will can transform herself into a human maid. With no other place to stay and indebted to Kobayashi, Tohru becomes her live-in maid—despite having little-to-no knowledge on how to be one. As time passes more and more dragons and mythical beings find themselves wrapped up in Kobayashi’s life, turning her once ordinary life into something decidedly more hectic!

Dragon maintenance.

Which has the better art? Never before has the term ‘art’ felt more subjective than when dealing with Coolkyoushinja’s manga artwork—he has a very particular style that’s immediately recognisable and polarising to say the least. Personally I find is art style to be singular and alluring, to the point where I would gladly buy anything he produces. The anime adaptation is not by any means a faithful recreation of his art style, it is however very pleasing to the eye and captures the spirit of the original at least in terms of character designs. At the end of the day, it’s the manga’s art I’ll always find myself drawn to (pun intended).

That low-key ‘yay~’ gives me life. 

Which has the better comedy? The comedy feels like it was the anime’s priority, which is probably an indicator as to why the show was more successful abroad than in Japan. That’s not to say the manga isn’t funny it just feels a lot more integrated into the narrative and characters. The anime wins this round but only for consistency rather than content.

There’s some things a manga just can’t do….

Which has the better characterisation? Ordinarily the manga would win hands down, as it has often in these comparisons as the written form allows more time for character development but there’s something more readily appealing about the character interactions in the anime that puts it ahead of the manga—some online commenters have said it’s because the anime is more direct with the characters intentions (read: more gay) that the anime comes out on top and that’s kind of a hard thing to dispute!

I think she loves Miss Kobayashi, and so do I!

Which has the better pacing? One of the biggest changes between the anime and the manga is the order in which the chapters are presented, a small change but one that speaks volume of each finished product. The anime positions scenes it thinks are more important toward the end to give the (currently) one season anime a sense of escalation and conclusion. Kobayashi’s confrontation with Tohru’s dragon Emperor father comes at the end of the season in the anime whereas it occurs roughly half way through the second volume of the manga (equivalently episode 7 or 8 if it were a 1:1 adaptation). Personally the manga way of doing things feels more natural as it seems like Tohru’s father would get involved sooner than later, plus on the whole the manga just seems to flow a lot better than the anime.

P.S. That’s not Tohru’s father on the right, that’s Elma.

Which is more perverted? I know what you’re thinking, “why is this even a question?” and “what’s this got to do with the quality of which one is better?” And you’re absolutely right this qualifies as a preference question as opposed to being one that has a winner or a loser at the end of the paragraph. As mentioned above the anime is slightly more ‘gay’ and while there’s nothing perverse about homosexuality (don’t @ me if you think otherwise) if your preference is for something on the ‘yuri’ end of the spectrum then the anime is the better choice, whereas if regular ol’ big-boobed fan service with nothing but hints of something ~else~ is more your thing than the manga delivers that with clear intent.

Standard summoning procedure.

What is specifically better about the anime? It’s kind of cheating to even mention things that make an adaption inherently better because of the medium but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the voice actress Maria Naganawa who voices fan favourite Kanna Kamui—she steals absolutely every scene she’s in and more-or-less makes the series worth watching for her alone. Also another thing that’s weird to say is that the show is as colourful as the manga seems, that is to say Coolkyoushinja’s artwork infers a lot of vibrancy and the colour palette of the anime matches it.

Kanna is to be protected, okay? OKAY?!

What is specifically better about the manga? Its repetitive of me to say but the artwork is such a huge selling point of the manga that it informs almost all my opinions regarding the series. Plus the fact that such an engaging cast of characters is ongoing in the manga whereas the anime is more or less finished means the manga has plenty more to offer while the anime feels unfortunately over.

There’s no denying the detail, also that focus blur, so cool!

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Anime VS Manga—which version is better? I’ve never been closer to considering a draw then I was with this series. I came to the manga after watching the excellent anime which ranks among my Top 20 Anime of All Time and was nevertheless surprised to feel myself enraptured all over again with this series, just in a different way. My personal preferences leans in favour of the manga, it just pushes all my buttons—that said the anime is the populist choice for a reason as it is remarkably well made and more approachable. You know what, screw it, it’s a tie—watch the anime then read the manga, or vice versa, either way I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

Too cute!

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More Anime VS Manga Comparisons:

Shomin Sample
Watamote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!
Monster Musume

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Anime VS Manga – Monster Musume

This is a blog series comparing a manga and its relevant anime adaptation, discerning which version is ‘better’. These posts will be spoiler-free comparisons helping to inform people on which version is better—in my opinion of course. Also, this post contains NSFW imagery.

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What’s the important information? Monster Musume is an ongoing manga series that has been running since March 2012 and as of August 2018 is currently in its 14^th volume. In Summer 2015 it received an anime adaptation of 12 episodes + 2 OVAs.

What’s it about? The series is a harem/comedy about Kimihito Kurusu, a man whose life is thrown into utter disarray as he unwittingly becomes involved in the “Interspecies Cultural Exchange” program which basically means a bunch of sexy monster girls start living with him and he has to deal with all their various quirks and proclivities—while offering a safe and happy home life for them all. I reviewed the anime series in full here if you want a more detailed review.

Which has the better art? Author Okayado’s artwork is something of a contentious point with me. While he sure as heck knows how to draw the female body (and all the monstrous permutations of) there’s always been something lacking about the way he draws action, added to that the fact that Lerche is responsible for the anime it’s no wonder that the adaptation looks as good as it does. While the girls always look good, the same can’t often be said of the surrounds. The anime wins here, if only because it’s more wholly consistent between the characters and the world they inhabit.

Which has the better comedy? This is a tough one to pick because the comedy always seems secondary to the ‘harem shenanigans’—which are plentiful. Since this is such a faithful adaptation, I’m going to call this one a draw, as neither one strikes me as funnier than the other.

Which has the better characterisation? Time makes fools of us all, but sometimes the best characterisation comes from biding one’s time—to see how a person would react against different stimuli in the grand scheme of things. With this in mind there’s far more room for characterisation and development against an unending backdrops of manga’s past, present and future than there is in a limited run of 12 episodes. The manga wins this battle.

Which has the better pacing? There’s something about a ‘one episode equals one new character in the harem’ approach to constructing a series that seems so inherently appealing on a fundamental level than anything the manga could have concocted. Indeed, giving each new character a definitive beginning in the form of an introductory episode serves to have you focus—and thusly connect with them on a more intimate level than simply dividing a chapter or two across however many books would do. The anime wins, but only out of the virtue of episodic hindsight.

Which has the better fan service? Oh gosh, don’t make me choose! One of the fundamental cornerstones this series was built upon was fan service, monster girl fan service—as if that really makes a difference. While the manga is impeccably drawn with specific attention to detail, there’s no denying how far—above and beyond the call of duty—did the anime animators go to make such a wholly satisfying and far more motion-filled adaptation of the bountiful ‘service that the manga first represented—the anime wins but only because I live to see ‘dat bounce.

What specifically is better about the anime? With the exception of a few scenes the anime feels more alive than the manga ever did and that’s hard for me to say because I love the manga this is based on but ultimately the adaptive process has done all the favours to this series. And, while it may seem unfair to mention there’s no denying the seductive quality of having what was once mere words on a page be voice acted in such flawless fashion.

What specifically is better about the manga? Monster Musume can feel busy at times, what with all the monster girls living under the one roof—the manga affords the reader the time to take in everything that’s happening on a given page and thus never feels as frantic as the series does which is both a good and bad thing depending on your inclinations. Also, while the anime has the benefit of seductive voice acting the manga too benefits from allowing your imagination to run wild—indeed the eroticism feels greater in the manga, undoubtedly elevated by the attention to detail in the mangaka’s artwork.

Monster Musume, Anime VS Manga—which version is better? It should be overwhelmingly obvious that the anime is the superior version—at least as far as the adapted volumes are concerned, the adaptation just does everything right and stays faithful to the source material while adding all the necessary flair to make it more kinetic on-screen. Don’t think this means that the manga isn’t worth your time however as without the manga this anime would be nothing and the manga has such worth on its own. If you’ve never watched or read the series the anime is my version of choice, however it’s worth noting that the sheer wealth of material that comes in the volumes not yet adapted makes the manga especially worthwhile for those wanting more out of this series.

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More Anime VS Manga Comparisons:

Shomin Sample
Watamote: No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault I’m Not Popular!

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Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs Volume One – 20 Question Manga Review

What’s the manga? Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Volume One.

“Hot Springs” huh? At what point do you just admit that this entire blog is just reviews of harems and cute girls shows? I know you’re being intentionally standoffish but when it comes to manga they cost a lot more than anime so I have to be pretty selective about the ones I buy and so a safe bet for me is my favourite genres, maybe when I get a job I’ll be able to expand my manga horizons but until then it’s all harem and cute girls!

Eh, fair enough I suppose. So what’s this one about? It’s about Kogarashi, a homeless high-school boy and casual ghost-hunter. After rescuing an old couple from a prankster ghost, they let him know of a deal that’s too good to be true, a room at a hot springs for rent only 1000 yen (~$10US) a month! The only catch, it may or may not be haunted.

What a deal!

Of course it is. And the ghost in question? The titular Yuuna (pun intended) is a ghost who’s stuck haunting the hot springs after her death, she’s a happy but clumsy and easily flustered girl who gets Kogarashi into all sorts of awkward predicaments. And speaking of awkward predicaments Kogarashi finds himself torn between his ghost-busting duties—and the reward of free food and rent for life for ‘exorcising’ her—and his growing friendship and attraction to the ghostly girl.

You’ve mentioned the protagonist is a ‘ghost hunter’ or ‘ghost buster’, how does he perform these duties? Well he punches ghosts.

“ONE PUUUUUUUNCH!” oh wait wrong series…

He… punches ghosts? Yes, it’s his chosen method of exorcism, he can punch even the most powerful of undead spirits and down them in one hit. Which is also another reason why he doesn’t immediately exorcise Yuuna on their first meeting, because he doesn’t want to hit a girl.

Some ghost hunter he is if 50% of his exorcism targets he doesn’t even deal with. Well I guess he’s a gentleman, but yeah, probably explains a part of the reason he’s been homeless if he refuses half his exorcism jobs.

So what’s the manga’s plot? The central plot is Yuuna’s “unfinished business” which is the reason her ghost is tethered to this world, she wants to be able to “move on” but can’t until they find out what exactly is the thing keeping her from moving on but that’s going to prove difficult as she doesn’t remember anything from being alive.

They’re sweet together…

I’m guessing you have some ideas though? Well, it’s either going to be that she’s never had a boyfriend or that she’s never had sex. I’m still not sure which though, I guess it depends how ~lewd~ this manga wants to get with the idea.

Uh-huh, speaking of “lewd”, this is a harem manga correct? I can’t help but realise you’ve only mentioned one girl so far though. It’s a harem, in that the other inhabitants of the hot springs inn are all attractive girls/women and there’s the usual kinds of harem shenanigans such as accidentally walking in on the girls in various states of undress, etc. But right now, none of the girls show any interest in Kogarashi. In fact some of them barely tolerate his presence.

Welcome to the harem!

And why is that? Because of a particularly embarassing situation early on they’ve all branded him a pervert.

Right… and is he? As far as harem protagonists go, not only is he considerably respectful of women and not much of a pervert at all but he’s actually ~interesting~ which is especially rare—at least for harem protagonists, he’s got back-story and personality and a sense of humour.

I guess it’s hard for something that’s incorporeal to hide convincingly.

And what about the other girls, you kinda glossed over them? Well it’s only because they get hardly any page-time (is that the book equivilent of screen-time?) in this first volume. You get a vague idea about their personality types not to mention their ‘special abilites’ but the majority of the time is spent with Yuuna and Kogarashi.

Wait, what’s these ‘special abilities’ you’re speaking of? You can’t just drop something like that and move on so quickly! Well there’s Chitose the inn’s caretaker who has the power to change people’s fortunes (it’s complicated). Super serious Sagiri, a ninja (tsun). Yaya, a cute and shy girl who’s the earthly vessel of a cat god (meaning cat ears and a tail, of course). And Nonoka, a boisterous alcoholic mangaka who’s also an oni (ogre) and whose oni powers get more powerful the more she drinks.

Meow!

I see… any other characters I should know about? Well he attends high school, and due to Yuuna’s ghostly interferences ends up making a bad impression on the first day, except with Chisaki, a popular girl who’s having troubles with her soft toy collection being haunted. They form an unlikely friendship which will no doubt progress to some ~stronger~ feelings in future volumes.

So you’ve talked a lot about the manga’s plot and characters but I haven’t really gotten a sense of what you think of the manga? It’s very good, seldom do I find myself immediately attaching to a harem manga like I did here, it’s usually a couple of volumes before I’m really invested in the characters, but Yuuna—as clumsy as she is, has an endearing spirit (no pun intended) and while her amnesia kind of robs her of any tangiable back-story she never lets that get in the way with her interactions with other people. I think the fact we spend so much time with Yuuna and because Yuuna and Kogarashi share a room together means we get a lot more exposure to her (again, no pun intended) than you’d get in a similar manga that would maybe spread the pages of the first volume between a lot of supporting characters early on.

Sagiri is a badass ninja. Actually all the girls are pretty capable at fighting!

They share a room together? That’s very forward thinking… Well the reason Kogarashi’s room is so cheap is because it’s perpetually haunted by Yuuna and despite being a ghost she still needs a place to sleep. Them being so close in proximity allows them to get close to each other in more ways than one.

‘Shenanigans?’ You know it!

2Spooky4Me.

So final score and recommendation for Yunna and the Haunted Hot Springs, Volume 1? While this manga is unlikely to change people’s opinions on the harem and ecchi genre I honestly think series shows great promise, at least with regards to its characterisation. It’s fun and light-hearted at times but there’s the overarching mystery of Yuuna’s death and her ‘unfinished business’ as well as Kogarashi’s back-story and his ghost-punching abilitis add much needed variety to the formula. The art is crisply drawn and detailed and the character designs are distinctive enough. Things are getting steamy in this hot springs; 85 out of 100.

Oh and isn’t it going to be adapted into an anime soon too? Yes! July 2018 there’s going to be a Yuuna and the Haunted Hot Springs anime, I think it’ll make a great series and I’m looking forward to it!

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Mononoke Sharing Volume One – 20 Question Manga Review

***WARNING – the following review contains sexual references that may offend***

What’s the manga? Mononoke Sharing – Volume One.

And what’s it about? Boobs! Just boobs, just great big boobs all up in your face—

Okay stop. What?

If you’re not going to take this seriously, I’ll leave. No more mentioning of “boobs”, okay? Guh, fine…

Back cover, succinct synopsis.

So who’s this manga written by, someone famous in the manga world if my notes are correct? You have notes?! Oh and yes, it’s written by Coolkyousinnjya (Coolkyoushinja/Cool-Kyou Shinsha??).

That rings a bell… Indeed! It’s the man responsible for the very popular series Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid!

Uh-huh. And it won a bunch of ‘Anime Awards’ too didn’t it? Yes, but nobody cares about that—

—Fine then! With that all out of the way, what’s the manga actually about? Breasts, anime tiddies, sweater melons, nice oppai.

What did I say?! You said “no more mentioning boobs,” I didn’t mention “boobs”.

Why are you like this? I’m just trying to contribute to an accurate review of this manga… As am I, if you don’t believe me then just read the author’s afterword at the end of volume one!

Part of the afterword; very illuminating look into the mind of this man.

Too many panels to read! Summarise it for me! Inundated with work offers after the runaway success of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, author and artist Coolkyoushinja turns down many high profile but potentially high stress offers to do ‘legitimate’ work with large publishers until he’s offered a niche pitch about ‘big breasted monster girls just hanging out in lounge wear with a flat chested human roommate’ and suddenly he’s inspired to write again!

Ugh, he sounds like more of a pervert than you… Now now, let’s not say things we can’t take back!

There’s a pool chapter and a bath chapter, for those wondering.

So what am I supposed to do with this information? I’m still trying to figure out what this manga is about? Here’s the deal, I could have just copy/pasted the ‘official’ synopsis from the web, spun some creative licence with regard to the content, but I wanted to be as honest with this as possible because, even though I know it’s unlikely someone would go out and buy something just because I said something positive about it I wanted to make sure that those who were inclined to do so knew exactly what they were getting into when it came to this manga. The publisher’s can write ‘From the creator of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid’ all they like; it doesn’t change the fact that is for a different audience then the wide(r) appeal of that aforementioned title.

In what way exactly? Well in case it wasn’t abundantly obvious this is a much more adult title than you might be expecting, this isn’t “cute and wholesome with a touch of naughtiness” like Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, this is the author’s fetishes put to paper, within the first half dozen pages we’re introduced to one of the main character’s monster roommates, a promiscuous fox girl whose idea of ‘cleaning up after herself’ is licking the semen out from condoms from her having sex with men.

For reference they are discussing issues with trash, the condoms were visible inside the trash bags which in Japan are left in clear bags on street corners the night before collection, hence the “problem”.

Wh—what?! And I’m all for it! Fucking get bawdy and lewd and liberated up in here please, too often Japanese manga falls into the same tired tropes to the point you can pretty much guess what’s coming before it comes (no pun intended) but at least here it’s the kind of unfiltered debauchery that’s usually reserved for fan fiction!

That still doesn’t sound like a good thing. And that’s why I’m warning you, for some—nay—for a lot of people this will be “disgusting” and “perverse” and “unnecessary” but for some of us, this is exactly the kind of subversive and honest content we’re wanting, even if it is just the author airing his fetishes to the world.

I’m almost afraid to ask, but what other fetishes are we talking about? Breast milk.

This was the only mildly SFW scene involving breast milk. Also, these ‘Just Because Monster Awards’ seperate the chapters and feature a panel from the previous chapter.

O-kay! So um, is it too late to ask about the characters? Well technically yes, we’re nearly at the end of this review, but since you’ve put up with this I’ll entertain the notion. So first there’s our protagonist, Yata, a normal human high-school girl whose main hang-ups are her ‘angry eyes’ and flat chest. Then there’s Momi an Oni (horned ogre) with massive oppai who’s a bit of a shut-in. There’s Mizuchi who’s a Kappa (still not sure even after Googling) and kind of the mother of the house, if only for her cleaning and how scary she can be. There’s Youko, the previous mentioned promiscuous fox spirit. And Kuro who is a Rokurokubi (I think that’s like a Yokai, she seems similar to the main girl in Yokai Girls) whose main ‘feature’ is her ability to stretch her neck, also she fancies herself as a bit of a comedian. And last but not least is Yuki, a snow woman (yes like from Interviews With Monster Girls) who falls madly in love with our protagonist and is also very forgetful about her powers.

There’s a summer festival chapter too.

Seems like there’s a lot to this book when you lay it out like that! Yeah… except it’s kinda just all about boobs and fetishes and being lewd in a familiar slice of life format.

Right, got it, so final score and recommendation? This is simple; if you’re a fan of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, don’t read this manga. But, if you’re a fan of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid and are also a huge goddamn pervert then do I have the book for you! 85 out of 100.

Some good reaction faces there.

Yokai Girls Volume 1 – 20 Question Manga Review

***WARNING – the following review contains sexual images and references that may offend***

What’s the manga? Yokai Girls Volume 1.

Why does that sound familiar? –It’s not Yokai Watch, it’s got nothing to do with Yokai Watch, this isn’t a kids series, it’s very much adult.

I wouldn’t expect anything less from you at this point… Well, I’ll take that as a compliment then.

It really wasn’t one. Grrr—

—So what’s it about? Yatsuki (or Yukki), is a “normal” guy, 20 year old, lives with his younger sister, has a part time job, has never had a girlfriend, etc. Oh and also he can see Yokai spirits walking amongst the living. Generally he ignores them until one day he meets a young woman called Rokka, who gets him mixed up in all sort of supernatural and sexy shenanigans, whether he likes it or not!

Gives a new meaning to ‘getting head’.

What genre are we going for here? A bit of everything really! I mean the thing I love about this manga is just how unshackled by conventions it is, yes it shares tropes with various dependable genres, but it always plays to the beat of its own unique drum. It’s greatest strength is how funny it is, but it isn’t afraid to bring up serious topics and delve into complex character backstories or reference a lot of Japanese mythology, not to mention be subversive as fuck.

So is this going to be another one that’s difficult to recommend? Like Murcielago? No, they’re not really similar, yes they are both mature manga, but Yokai Girls is firmly comedic and nowhere near as dark or violent or gory as Murcielago.

It’s the question every big brother fears…

So where’s this “subversive as fuck” element come into it? Well aside from the usual ecchi tropes, there’s one certain side character who’s mere presence probably pushed it from an ‘Older Teen 16+’ rating to a ‘Mature 18+’ rating.

He must work out a lot.

Oh, and who is that?! Well he’s a yokai who hails from Sendai in the Miyagi prefecture and well as the legend goes, if you leave a ripe persimmon on a tree too long, a red faced man will appear request that you plunge a skewer up his ass and then tell you taste, upon which you will find that it tastes sweet.

WHAT?! I don’t know, like a lot of folk tales from Japan there’s some pretty strange ones out there, but hey, who am I to judge?

And so here he takes the form of a? A BDSM loving yokai pervert, yes, of course. Not to kink shame of course, that’s just this particular character.

He’s enjoying this in the next panel.

O…kay then, can we talk about the other characters? Like you’ve mentioned the protagonist, what about the little sister and the female yokai, who I assume takes the role of a love interest? Well we’ll be going into volume 1 spoilers here, so skip to the end if you don’t want any spoilers, but it’s more character spoilers than plot.

Fair enough, spoilers from here on out! So his sister, Nanao is a bright, bubbly and excitable girl, who for the most part is ignored by her older brother. As we find out, it’s because she’s a ‘ghost’ though not in the traditional sense, see Nanao went into a coma when she was 8 years old and has stayed that way for the past 6 years, her soul has separated from her body and pesters Yatsuki at some very personal moments. And so getting her soul back into her body becomes one of Yatsuki’s goal after he meets…

Having a ghost for a sister can be difficult for growing boys.

Female protagonist? Yes, Rokka! She’s a yokai with the power to stretch her neck to incredible lengths, she basically uses to tangle enemies or hold people in place. Also she likes to scare Yatsuki and eat his ‘shock energy’ that manifests out of his body in phallic shapes.

Just when I thought it couldn’t get any lewder… It can always get lewder. But back to Rokka, she falls in love with Yatsuki pretty quickly, but it’s not without a decent reason, he helps her out of a tricky situation, buys her a nice dinner with the last of his money for the month and then when she collapses in the street from postprandial hypertension (yes I had to look that up), he determinedly carries her home.

So he’s a typical ‘nice guy harem protagonist’? Where’d you learn these words!? Oh right from me, but yes, also add otaku and pervert in there too. Though not the ‘creeping on girls/spying on them’ kind of pervert, just the ‘gets into sexually provocative situations for comedic effect reason’ and is totally into it kind of pervert.

Important distinction, huh? It is, nobody likes the creepy dude who hides in lockers or orchestrates elaborate plans for peeping. But if he’s chasing after a bad guy and suddenly runs into a friend of his who works at a maid café and ends with his nose pushed against her panties, then that’s just a case of bad(good) luck!

I do wonder if that caption actually does say ‘muff dive’. Also, NSFW?

Uh-huh… and what’s this about maid cafes now? Oh did I forget to mention, the manga’s set in my favourite place on Earth, Akihabara! I loved being able to spot locations I’d been to while reading it, even small side streets are lovingly recreated! And because I’m such an Akiba nerd I do enjoy that they got permission to use actual store names for a lot of the anime shops!

*yawn* Yeah, yeah… I know this is very niche, but I just really love this silly manga! It’s probably my favourite first volume of a manga series I’ve ever read!

I like the fact they actually addressed this! So many shows or books never go into the nitty gritty when it comes to people being ‘out cold for days after a battle’.

Final recommendation and score, then? With an emphasis squarely on comedy, and some pretty adult comedy at that, it’s hard not to recommend for people who their funny served with a heaping side of ecchi. The harem elements seem light so far and all the characters are interesting and surprisingly well developed, even the usually ‘bland for the sake of being able to easily relate to’ protagonist has an interesting back-story that’s hinted at and a bit of world weariness that is refreshing for this genre. 93 out of 100.

Oh and the S&M yokai guy ends up working at the Maid Cafe our protagonist frequents, did I forgot to mention that?

Interviews With Monster Girls – 20 Question Anime Reviews (Mild Spoilers)

What’s the show? Interviews With Monster Girls (2017).

Oh boy, here we go again with the ‘monster girls’… Don’t you think people are getting tired hearing you go about the same kind of show over and over again? Okay, first of all, sit down, secondly shut up. Interviews With Monster Girls is different, it’s not a harem, it’s not an ecchi, and there’s almost no fan-service.

Almost? Well one of the characters is a succubus…

Of course she is— Hey! No succubus shaming!

Fine, what’s it about then? It’s about high-school biology teacher Tetsuo Takahashi, who is fascinated by monster girls, or demi-humans as they’re called here. He wants to write a book about them but has no experience with them, that is until three demi-chan high school student’s start at his school, as well as a new demi-chan math teacher.

Kyoko, Hikari and Yuki.

Okay, so his interest in monster girls is purely professional/academic? Well yeah, I mean it starts out that way but as he gets to know the girls, not just as demi-chan’s and what makes them different, but also as complex and flawed young women. He begins to look out for them and does whatever he can to guide them through life, facing the difficulties that come with being such rare individuals but also the kind of dramas that regular human adolescents encounter too.

Sounds serious. Sometimes. I mean it’s still considered a ‘comedy’, but the comedy comes from knowing the characters and watching them interact with one another.

Such a great scene!

Okay, fair enough. Who are these characters? Well as mentioned before there’s Tetsuo, he’s sort of a gentle giant, very muscular and almost intimidating, but incredibly patient and caring and affable. Then there’s the three demi-chan students, Hikari is a bright and bubbly vampire girl, who probably spends the most time talking with Tetsuo. She has a twin-sister, Himari, who isn’t a demi and there’s a lot of fun moments of ‘misunderstandings’ between the three of them as Hikari frequently miscommunicates the teacher’s helpful actions towards her which leads to a lot of red faces!

Hikari needs to nibble.

And the other two students? There’s Kyoko a dullahan (head separate from the body) who’s studious and kind and also develops a crush on Tetsuo. And then there’s Yuki, who is probably the most different, in that I don’t think her monster type is often explored in Western pop-culture, she’s a snow woman.

Dullahan physiology is complicated, yo.

A snow woman? How’s that work? Well, she’s basically just a girl who can make things cold; they explain the mythology around her better than I could in a short review, I would say she has it easiest of all the demi-chan’s since aside from having tears and sweat made of ice when she’s upset she’s basically a normal human. But the show does a great job of having you empathise with her particular hang-ups and issues. Also she’s shy and into manga, so that’s a win!

I couldn’t think of a funny caption.

And you mentioned something about a math teacher too? Yes! Sakie Sato, the new math teacher, and also a succubus, her body produces a powerful aphrodisiac and so she’s super paranoid about accidentally exposing any skin (aside from her face and hands of course) in case she accidentally seduces someone.

Well that could be played for laughs I imagine. It could, but the restraint in this show is that with the exception of maybe 2 or 3 small comedic moments, it’s instead played as something that’s almost crippled her life, or her social life at least. Out of all of the demi-chan’s Sakie’s troubles are the most detrimental to her every day life, she gets the very first train in the morning to avoid accidentally touching someone and takes the last train at night plus she lives in a remote house so as not to bother neighbours, it’s a tragic life that’s entirely self-imposed but she does it because she loves teaching but also doesn’t want to cause issues for anyone else.

Talk about a succubust!

Well fine, I’ll admit I was quick to judge, this show certainly sounds a lot more complex and interesting than I expected. It’s light hearted but it contains the right amount of depth and lays out character development at a steady but interesting pace, it’s pretty much a show without obvious flaws, well… except one.

Oh? Well I’m probably being picky, but when a show is as good as this, the things that’s are lacking stand out more. I don’t think it’s a detriment to what’s good about the show; it just kind of bothers me as a writer.

Well what is it? So I can’t remember the exact number but it’s frequently mentioned that Kyoko the dullahan is one of only like 3 dullahan’s in the entire world and is the only one in Japan. And I know it was probably done to make her character feel more isolated and not have anyone of her own ‘race’ to talk to but it’s pretty unrealistic to assume she’d be able to live a normal high school life. Being the only of her race in the country would make her so absurdly famous, that even if she wanted to be left alone there would be media and obsessed ‘fans’ following her wherever she went. It just feels like lazy world building on the part of the writer, but that’s just my take on it. I can see why they did it, but I think it’s unrealistic for it.

Hikari is such a troll.

Complaining about realism in a monster girl anime, that’s a new one… Hey I’m just giving you my thoughts, it was a slight bother while I watched the show and I’m obliged to report it thusly.

Fair enough, so is there a best girl? There’s always a best girl.

I know! I kicked myself the moment I asked it. Who is it? Succubus-chan Sakie! Even though I just wish she’d hurry up and get together with Tetsuo, her character by far has the most pathos, plus I mean, well… she’s so dang hot.

He’s trying his best not to react to her aphrodisiac charms because he’s so polite and doesn’t want to make her feel awkward!

A-ha, keep it in your pants buddy. Sorry.

So final recommendation and score? If you’ve avoided this show because of a fear that it’s something else, then rest assured it’s a (mostly) wholesome, very entertaining, character driven comedy with rich character development and important messages about being yourself, the strength of confiding in others and asking for help and the power of friendships that extend beyond your usual groups. This is a rare demi-chan indeed, 94 out of 100.

Nom.