I am really glad I received two episodes for the new anime This Monster Wants to Eat Me. Episode one mainly sets things up but episode two is what got me interested. Highschooler Hinako’s parents and brother died some time ago, but how and when is not revealed though it’s implied that she was quite young. Hinako goes through the motions of life, reassuring the people around her that she is fine but she does little to engage with the world. In fact the idea of death is a release, to be back with those she loves and it is implied that she has either tried to kill herself in the past or at least passively let things happen that could kill her.
In contrast, her best friend Miko is very bubbly and tries to get Hinako to go out and do things. Miko mentions how clumsy Hinako is and needing to protect her, and it made me wonder if Miko knows on some level that Hinako has tried to kill herself. I may be reading more into her since she is the comic relief character but Miko does know Hinako is hurting and things that could trigger her.
Hinako thinks about the sea often and the smell of it. Flashbacks imply she was in the water at some major event in her life. When looking out at one point waiting for Miko, she is attacked by Iso-onna, an ocean vampire yōkai. Barely fighting, she is saved by a mysterious girl Shiori who we quickly learn is a mermaid yōkai who tells Hinako that she will keep her safe until she reaches her peak and then she will eat her. Hinako is at first surprised by this encounter, unsure what to make of it. When Shiori shows up in her classroom as a new student Hinako smiles.
Shiori, while up front about her goal of eating Hinako, immediately starts acting as a friend to Hinako, and there even are very obvious attraction vibes going on between them. Shiori wants to make certain Hinako eats well because a strong body will make her peak soon. With Hinako already wanting to die and having no fear of being eaten, it could be that Shiori is using the idea that the sooner Hinako is stronger she can die as an impetus to help Hinako get over her trauma. Or she really does want to eat her! I do not know and I am very okay with that.
Hinako’s pain is very clear and, while shocking to hear a character think about death as freedom, it makes a lot of sense. Shiori’s and Miko’s actions around her show friends wanting to help her but in different ways. Miko is the fun girl trying to cheer her up while Shiori is the tough love person forcing her to interact with the world. Both are really good for her in different ways and it makes them compelling to watch.
The atmosphere works well for this story in how normal the world works; its darkness is in the characters. Hinako keeps imagining the sea around her playing back to some level of trauma or comfort or a combination of both. Where she lives seems beautiful, almost idyllic, but hearing her thoughts we see the world as dark as she does no matter what is going on. Miko getting into trouble at school simply feels like something that would happen to her based on her being easily distracted, but doesn’t take away the seriousness of what is going on.
I do not know what will happen in This Monster Wants to Eat Me, but I want to see these seemingly normal interactions with strange subtexts leading to Hinako’s life getting better mentally. There are a lot of subtle emotional beats here that pull you into this world. I want to see these three girls interacting and watch them bounce off each other. I want Hinako to get better and maybe find a level of happiness with her friends, and maybe more with Shiori. Or see her get eaten in a way grateful for the life Shiori gave her when they were together. This show is opening up a lot of possible ways it could go and still work, ways that I usually do not think about and I cannot wait.
This Monster Wants to Eat Me airs on Crunchyroll Thursdays.
