Interviews with Monster Girls

Episode 12

After last week's round of introspection and soul-searching, some rest and relaxation is in order for the cast of Interviews with Monster Girls. Despite her sensitivity to sunlight, Hikari decides that she wants to spend a day at the pool. Tetsuo is a little reluctant to go along with the idea, but he arranges to have the demi girls get the school pool to themselves on a Saturday afternoon. Machi tries putting her head underwater for the first time, and Sakie tests how wearing a swimsuit influences her aphrodisiac effect. While Hikari does end up with a sunburn at the end of the day, everyone is able to go home happy.

The series returns to a simpler slice of life premise in this final episode, but it does a good job of integrating the demi-humans' unique traits into the mix. Machi's concerns over dropping her head in the water present another interesting challenge and her head-sized inner tube is a fun little detail. While Sakie's aphrodisiac woes have been hit or miss over the course of the season, the show handles the issue well here by embracing the bumbling chemistry between her and Tetsuo. With Hikari's sensitivity to sunlight acting as the driving force behind the episode, Yuki ends up being the only demi character who comes up short on screen time. Still, the show's balancing act between monster girl antics and traditional slice of life atmosphere is as strong as it's ever been.

I wondered if Interviews with Monster Girls would have trouble following up on last week's emotional high points, and the previous episode certainly would've made for a more compelling ending than this one. Having said that, this storyline does manage to partially dodge the issue by acting as more of an epilogue than a finale. Its job is to assure the audience that everything is more or less back to normal for the characters, allowing the series to end on the kind of comfortable note that we often see in this genre. It's a less ambitious goal, but the good execution works in its favor. After some genuine soul-searching last week, this feels like an earned victory lap.

Given that the series distinguished itself early on with an open and natural conversation between Tetsuo and Hikari, it's fitting that this episode ends with something similar. It's clear that Hikari has gone out of her way to make the pool excursion a success, and that plays into the depth of character we've seen from her in the past. By the same token, her final observation about vampires living among humans seems overly simple and sentimental until we see that she's just using it to get away with being late to school. That balance between caring and carefree actions has worked well for Hikari throughout the series, and it makes sense to close things out with one last verbal joust between her and Tetsuo.

In its final episode, Interviews with Monster Girls has turned in a story that sneaks some strong writing and direction into a simple and unassuming premise. Nearly all of the main characters get one last chance to check in with the audience, and this feels like an appropriate place for the show to sign off. There's a satisfying sense of closure, and yet there's a clear implication that the story goes will go on after the curtain closes. The door is open for a sequel, but not obnoxiously so.

At the beginning of the season, I wondered if Interviews with Monster Girls might expand the appeal of the monster girl formula beyond the territory covered by big-name predecessors like Monster Musume. I think it's succeeded in doing just that, using its relaxed atmosphere and thoughtful writing to produce something unique. As a story about reaching out and fitting in, it's offered up some compelling moments and has never been anything less than competent in its presentation. Between this series and Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, this season has added a considerable amount of steam to the monster girl train.

Rating: B+

Interviews with Monster Girls is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.