This Monster Wants to Eat Me

Episode 4

What is it with kitsune and girls named Hinako? The discordant and industrial ambience during Miko's first confrontation with Shiori had me thinking of Silent Hill from the beginning of the episode. However, I still didn't expect the revelation of Miko's true nature to present so many parallels with Silent Hill f (probably my game of the year, by the way). Fox yokai must be all the rage these days.

Seriously, though, Miko being a kitsune is a great development. Narratively, it mends potential plot holes arising from Hinako's particularly tasty body, since we now know who was protecting her before Shiori arrived. But there are other ways the story could have explained or dismissed those questions. Per usual, I'm more interested in the thematic implications, and this information certainly complicates Hinako's prospective love life. Kitsune are traditionally trickster spirits that deceive humans. These can be as harmless as pranks or as grave as fox possession (kitsunetsuki). Like any storied figure from folklore, kitsune also have a variety of other associations. Still, the one most relevant to Miko is their propensity to turn into human women to seduce their quarry.

Looking at her actions from the least flattering angle, Miko's aims appear to be true to her nature and rooted in deceit and seduction. She manipulated Hinako's memories and acted behind her back to get close to her and keep her to herself. While Miko ostensibly just wanted to protect her friend, her attitude around Shiori turns fiercer and more possessive, hinting that Miko's motivations may be selfish and/or carnal. At least, it makes sense for Shiori to assume so, because Shiori's motivations are explicitly selfish and carnal.

Shiori projects her thoughts onto Miko, recognizing their similar roles in Hinako's life, but she draws the line at deceit. For what it's worth, Shiori is honest with Hinako about what she wants and when she wants it. Miko, meanwhile, has been playing a part and slaughtering yokai in the shadows. Rather than deal with her privately, though, Shiori chooses to confront Miko in front of Hinako, and I'm not sure how wise that is. Arguably, it's the cruelest thing Shiori has done so far, and it's the most indicative of her inhumanity. She thinks she's hurting Miko and defending Hinako, i.e., another manifestation of her self-appointed role as protector, but I don't know if she realizes how much she's hurting Hinako in this moment as well. Humans lie to each other all the time, and sometimes we do it out of noble intentions. Furthermore, committing to a lie imbues it with a kind of truth. Miko, therefore, may be more altruistic—and more human—than the situation lets on.

Unfortunately, deeper analysis of Miko's psychology will have to wait until she gets a chance to explain herself. I'm sure you all noticed that the adaptation makes a bizarre decision to stop the narrative around 18 minutes into the episode, right as Hinako sees Miko's kitsune form for the first time. It instead fills the rest of the runtime with a comedic short about Miko teaching Hinako how to cook. Presumably, there wasn't enough space to cover the rest of this scene, so the staff opted to save it for the next episode rather than cut it off in an awkward place. That's fair. However, I can't say I've seen another adaptation choose such a non-sequitur of a solution. And it feels especially awkward when we begin with Shiori prodding at Hinako's death wish and end with a bunch of mildly amusing jokes about Hinako's culinary clumsiness.

Ironically, the adaptation's bland direction helps smooth over this tonal shift. There's little stylistic deviation between the episode proper and the omake at the end, so at least there's continuity. If the show had a bleaker aesthetic and the short had leaned harder into comedy, the whole package might have felt even more discordant. Regardless, I think this was a poor decision on the anime's part. The omake just isn't very funny, and there are other ways to expand or rewrite a scene to better align with an episodic structure that don't involve hitting the pause button prematurely. My opinion may change depending on whether this is a one-off or a regular feature, but for now I'd call it a misstep.

That doesn't stop me from wanting to know more about this foxy lady. Does she lust after Hinako like Shiori does, or will Miko's romantic ideals reveal a softer side within Shiori as well? I'm also quite happy that this revelation makes my prior comparisons to Twilight even more apt. Our heroine is now in a love triangle with a fanged creature who wants to bite her and a close friend who happens to be a large and furry beast in disguise. Say what you may about Stephenie Meyer's novel, that's a setup that promises plenty of toxic yuri shenanigans in the future.

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This Monster Wants to Eat Me is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Steve is on Bluesky for all of your posting needs. They recommend a balanced diet. You can also catch them chatting about trash and treasure alike on This Week in Anime.