This Monster Wants to Eat Me

Episode 7

Immediately, I like the subversion of my expectations from the end of the previous episode. With a mysterious amalgamation of hands approaching the beach, I had thought that Shiori would engage in yet another round of julienning yokai with her mermaid claws. However, these hands bring only melancholy. They drench the beach in rain and remind Hinako of her family, lost at sea and condemned to wallow with the rest of the drowned dead. Of course, it doesn't matter whether or not Hinako's family is actually returning to haunt her. She remains haunted regardless. Hinako's ghosts are internal, and Shiori cannot exorcise them as easily as she can her external pursuers.

Shiori also appears slightly more shaken when surrounded by this suffusive gloom. Although she normally puts on a strong front and an unflinching smile around Hinako, her partner's attitude prompts a more outwardly sincere set of conciliatory gestures this time around. Hinako's scars act as the dramatic fulcrum here, and it's more than a little hackneyed. This Monster Wants to Eat Me uses her scarring as a convenient symbol, when it would be more authentic (and more interesting) to engage with the physical reality of living with those wounds. However, the soundtrack and voice acting work in tandem as Shiori pulls Hinako in for a hug. It feels vulnerable, tender, and romantic.

Shiori's silent confession that she's been infatuated with Hinako since “that day” further hints at her being either an observer or participant in the accident that killed Hinako's family. My most mawkish prediction would be that Shiori rescued Hinako from the wreckage, which is why only Hinako survived. This would explain, then, why Shiori feels that she has to atone for Hinako's survivor's guilt—either by healing her heart, or by eating it should Plan A fail. If I'm right, it pulls This Monster Wants to Eat Me in the direction of a more conventional romance, and I don't know if I'd call that a good thing. I think Shiori's relationship to Hinako is more interesting if she genuinely wants to gnaw on her bones, and there could still be happy medium in between those extremes. We'll have to wait and see.

For the time being, this implication tells us that Shiori and Miko have even more in common than either of them would like to admit. And Shiori, for her part, fulfills Miko's wish and convinces Hinako to return to the beach some other day. It's a small but nice morsel of closure, tainted only by the flash of a monstrous mermaid smile that can be seen before Shiori's lilting response. Since I just lamented the possibility of This Monster becoming a more conventional romance, I should state that details like that grin make me more confident in the big picture. I don't want this story to lose the sinister edge it has. It is far less compelling without it.

Speaking of conventions, though, the love triangle shenanigans are in full swing as we segue into the next arc. While it's not the vibe I watch This Monster for, it's still reasonably amusing to watch Shiori and Miko go at it like they're lovestruck teens and not ageless creatures from folklore. The real meat (pun intended) of this section seems like it will come from Ayame and her vaguely threatening aura. For Hinako, Ayame's maternal demeanor echoes memories of her mother, whereas Shiori notices a deeper connection between the two. In so many words, she hints that Ayame hides similar trauma, which may react explosively with Hinako's own scars. However, the audience is left to wonder whether Shiori is truly concerned for Hinako or worried about the presence of another rival—one who might be able to form a more earnest bond with her.

The mixed signals from Shiori continue to interest me the most. At the end of the episode, she rebuts her earlier show of affection with a speech about selfishness and the futility of friendship. She takes Hinako's empty drink can and throws it in the trash, which is a blunt metaphor by itself. Nevertheless, this action feels forced. I get the sense that she is keeping her distance to protect Hinako's feelings, or she's doing so to protect her own. The obvious sexual innuendo of her hunger is one thing, and Shiori has no reservations about flaunting her carnal desires. That is also a battlefield where she holds a clear physical advantage. However, desiring Hinako as a person makes her open to rejection and thus puts her in a far more vulnerable position. That, I believe, is where Shiori needs to be tested next.

Those are my thoughts on this episode, but I'd like to conclude with a comment on Crunchyroll's localization efforts. While there was some brouhaha at the beginning of the season that has since died down, This Monster's subtitling has been consistently barebones. The quality of the translation itself is fine, but the omission of subtitles for the onscreen text has grown from glaring to inexcusable. For example, when Miko explains that her co-managers can't help out that weekend, both girls appear in chibi-form with text explanations of their excuses. There are two complete sentences on the screen for several seconds, yet no translation is provided. I may personally appreciate the opportunity to exercise my kanji recognition (and for the curious, I believe that Girl A has to attend a memorial for her grandma, while Girl B's cousin is getting married that weekend), but a paid subscription service dedicated to localizing anime shouldn't be putting that onus on its users. This is not an “internal system problem.” This is a change in workflow that's affecting the quality of the product, and Crunchyroll's upper management should answer properly for these failings.

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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.