This Monster Wants to Eat Me

Episodes 1-3

I guess I've become ANN's go-to critic for queer romances with a dash of cannibalism sprinkled in. That's okay. I'll wear that mantle. And certainly, there's a temptation to draw parallels between This Monster Wants to Eat Me and last season's The Summer Hikaru Died based on their superficial similarities. Both feature a depressed youth befriending a monster of the same sex who can't quite stop themselves from wanting a taste of their new companion. But where Hikaru dives headfirst into horror, Watatabe (not to be confused with other yuri series like Watanare, Wataoshi, or Watayuri) unfolds like an underwater drama.

Slow and sad are the operative adjectives for these first three episodes. If you want to enjoy them, you have to be willing to wallow. Personally, I am on board with its dourness, but I also understand how quickly it might wear on viewers. There's an amateurish quality to the writing and its insistence on returning to the same motifs and images. In the first episode alone, Hinako's internal narration compares Shiori to the sea no fewer than four times. While I appreciate the literary aspirations of these descriptions, there's something to be said about the strength of subtlety.

Elsewhere, however, the writing exhibits more craft and confidence. For example, well before the full explanation in the third episode, the show gives us sufficient context clues to piece together the accident that traumatized Hinako. When the premiere juxtaposes text messages about an anniversary against Hinako's hatred of summer and fixation on water, we can already surmise the timing and location of where she lost her family. The fact that Shiori also comes from the ocean further complicates this relationship and symbolism. The sea becomes an avatar of both death and desire. This is where I appreciate how quiet and patient the narrative can get, because it creates space for the audience to reflect on what remains unspoken.

Overall, the most alluring aspect of Watatabe to me is the contradictory set of impulses pulling Hinako and Shiori together. Shiori needs to heal Hinako before she can eat her, and Hinako has to work on her depression before she'll be allowed the sweet release of oblivion. The dramatic irony is palpable. The more that Shiori makes Hinako happy, the less Hinako will want to be killed by her. And I like how real this feels. Hinako's frustrating character traits are accurate to the circular nature of depressive thought patterns. By the same token, Shiori's simplistic approach is the product of her inability to fully empathize with Hinako's trauma. This is the kind of conflict that complicates many relationships.

If we go one layer deeper, I'm also intrigued by what the subtext brings. Buried in the inner workings of human psychology, sex and death are inextricable. Shiori's wish to eat and Hinako's wish to be eaten have to be interpreted at least partially as sublimations of their desire to bang each other. We observe this most blatantly when Shiori uses her scary mermaid claw to flirtatiously trace Hinako's body as she describes how she'd flay her skin and slurp down her organs. That's sex. I'm eager to see how graphic the series is willing to become, either carnally or viscerally.

One funny and/or problematic aspect of this setup (depending on your perspective) is that Shiori is literally a predatory lesbian. However, while that's not a great trope, I don't think it's accurate to Watatabe's ambitions either. I see this romance as more in line with Twilight, i.e. a heroine finds herself inexplicably the target of a supernatural creature who both lusts and hungers after her—and thus defends her from other external paranormal threats. This allure of the “dangerous” lover is as old as the notion of romance itself, and for good reason. It appeals to our thrill-seeking whims of fantasy, and it also puts us in the shoes of a protagonist who might tame a force of nature into a proper partner. To that end, I think a yuri version of this story actually avoids the ingrained and gendered power dynamics inherent to a patriarchal society. Shiori is still more powerful and more dangerous than Hinako, but she doesn't have as much extra baggage.

The other sticking point I foresee for Watatabe's reception is the anime itself. As an adaptation, it is, in a word, sauceless. I don't think it's bad, but visually, it's not especially eye-catching or impactful either, favoring flat compositions and on-the-nose imagery. While it still gets the job done, it feels lacking when positioned against the narrative's slow pace and lofty thematic ambitions. If you'll allow me another callback to The Summer Hikaru Died, that was an anime with limited resources that, through cleverness and creativity, managed to stand next to sakuga showcases like CITY The Animation and My Dress-Up Darling. Watatabe's limited resources, on the other hand, come across as limiting. This material certainly doesn't require or call for virtuosic animation, but I can't help imagining how much it would benefit from an equally patient yet more cinematic touch, like the exemplary Days With My Stepsister adaptation.

Still, I think Watatabe's anime is adept at adhering to the morose tone of the material, and that is arguably the most important part. Miko is the lone presence who lightens the mood, and between her chronic illness and veiled jealousy, there are already signs that she has more going on underneath. The sound design and soundtrack also pick up much of the visuals' slack. I'm not too familiar with Keiji Inai's prior compositional work, but his chamber music has been a lovely and frequently beautiful accompaniment to these first three episodes. And the power trio of Reina Ueda, Yui Ishikawa, and Fairouz Ai as our leads is a boon that speaks for itself.

In other words, I like Watatabe! It's a moody lesbian romance with a sinister edge that shows a lot of promise. And now that we've seen the main contours of its premise, I have a few wishes I hope it fulfills. I want to see Hinako have a proper character arc with plenty of ups and downs as she reckons with her depression, PTSD, and suicidal ideation. I want Shiori to have more interiority and dimensionality, revealed through frictions that arise with Hinako. And I hope Miko has even more going on beneath her mask. 2025 has been an uncommonly strong year for yuri anime, and with Watatabe, it has the opportunity to close out with a bang. Or with a bite.

Episode 1 Rating:

Episode 2 Rating:

Episode 3 Rating:

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.