Monster Musume: Everyday Life With Monster Girls

I had forgotten just how good this series was. Like a lot of fans I first encountered the Monster Musume manga and fell in love with it. Sure, it’s a harem ecchi and those of you who wish to are free to turn your noses up at it; if I hadn’t read it, I might very well have agreed with you. But having read it and seen it, I can assure you that it is most certainly NOT just a harem ecchi;...It is one of the best harem ecchis ever created.First evidence is what it has given birth to: the whole Monster Girl phenomenon. Prior to 2011 Monster Girls certainly existed in manga and anime, but mostly as monsters to be feared and avoided or defeated. It was Okayado’s (pseudonym for Inui Takemaru) genius to turn them into girls to be lusted after,... uh,... “dated”. Three years prior to the beginning of the story, the Japanese government publicly announced the until then secret existence of monsters,... uh,... demi-humans who (mostly) wish to live in peace with us, and in order to encourage constructive and peaceful interaction between humans and demi-humans in Japan, the government carefully botched,... uh,... passed the Interspecies Cultural Exchange Accord, a law regulating human/demi-human behavior: no demi-humans can harm humans, no humans can harm demi-humans, and absolutely no humans and demi-humans can ever have sex with each other, under penalty of imprisonment for the human and deportation for the demi-human….Guess which section causes the most trouble for the hero and his harem….Then to top things off, after his harem, through no fault of his own, has already expanded to three, Ms. “Smith” (obviously and hilariously based upon the characters in the Men in Black series) tips Kimihito Kurusu off about an upcoming rules change (WITHIN THE HEARING OF THE GIRLS): humans and demi-humans WILL shortly be permitted to marry so as a test case he will be forced,... uh,... strongly encouraged to pick one and marry her….What could POSSIBLY go wrong with that, the world wonders?What follows would be at least somewhat entertaining regardless but Okayado’s second act of genius is what makes it sublime: this is one of the best constructed harems I’ve ever seen: sneaky snake Mia, birdbrain Papi, annoyingly noble Centorea, utter mystery Su, tragedy addict Mero, bondage fetisher with a hidden heart of gold Rachnera, and chunibiyo Lala make up one of the weirdest harems anyone has ever had to deal with, and that doesn’t include the at least somewhat interested M.O.N. Squad girls who after being forced to watch over and protect these lunatics on various occasions, demand some dates with Kimihito themselves in return… and find themselves also being attracted. (The only regular female character who seems completely immune to his “charm” is the extremely lazy and either utterly incompetent or coldly calculating Ms. Smith who deliberately uses him like a doormat.)This leads into Okayado’s third act of genius that makes this into something I would recommend that everyone at least try watching: the hero of the story, the leader (and target) of the harem: Kimihito Kurusu.Now, personally, I don’t care that much for harem stories, in part because I usually have difficulty believing that the boy at the center would EVER be that attractive to the girls under any circumstances you could imagine. Not this time. More than any other harem protagonist I’ve ever seen, Kimihito’s ridiculous and mysterious to himself attraction success makes perfect sense. Why? Is he rich? No. Is he handsome? No. Is he powerful? Absolutely not! So what the heck is he?He is nice.He never volunteered for this, in fact he was blatantly and deliberately tricked into most of this, and on top of this he faces extreme injury or death several times an episode so does he ever lose his temper at or offer any severe criticism to the girls? Even when they arguably deserve it?No. Never. Not. One. WORD. He even severely restricts his criticism of Ms. Smith (who usually DOES deserve it).No WONDER they all fall in love with him, because he is the perfect friend and would make the perfect lover and the perfect husband. Exactly why he is like this has yet to be revealed (in 15 volumes of manga translated so far), but something even more extraordinary is revealed in Monster Musume manga Vol. 8, when Kimihito and company meet several other human males matched with demi-humans (or wishing to be).What’s their secret? They are not rich or handsome or powerful, either, they are simply nice and willing to make the effort, and the monster girls seemingly find this most appealing.If Okayado is trying to teach a lesson here, it’s a good one.The 12 episodes and 2 OVA’s of the anime pretty well cover the first 6 volumes of the manga (while the 60 “Shorts” are completely original) so with 15 volumes of manga existing it is arguably about time for a second season if there is ever going to be one, but I haven’t heard of anything yet.In the meantime I’d strongly suggest giving this anime a try and seeing how the whole monster girl phenomenon got started. The separately available and much cheaper Blu-ray and DVD versions are worth considering because the biggest thing they really lack is the soundtrack CD exclusive to the Premium Edition.Note: One thing worth mentioning and clearing away potential confusion about is the set of Art Cards included in the Premium Edition. There are 12 of them, and they are based on the 14 end of episode scenes both showing and describing in detail monster girl species and subspecies, as if you are viewing a two page layout in an encyclopedia. The difference in numbers is because Sentai made a screw up: for reasons unclear they neglected to print Art Cards showing the pages from the 2 OVA’s. Why? I’m guessing sheer incompetence, but I might be being overly critical just because Sentai ALWAYS does this. Maybe if a 2nd season of Monster Musume is ever made and Sentai gets the rights, they will include these two missing cards in the limited edition of season two,...while forgetting something else. Then again Sentai might finally learn their lesson…if they get bought out by Discotek….

- Synopsis: Our protagonist is an ordinary guy. But his guests aren’t. For the purposes of a home-stay so the different species can learn more about each other, the protagonist has to supervise many cute monster girls. It’s a two-front assualt, as he has to often protect himself since the girls forget the frailty of humans. That, and he cannot allow his desires to outweight his rationality, or else he will face consequences for breaking the newly established law.Fortunately, our protagonist is a kind and responsible man who only sees the monster girls as regular girls. The only problem is that he’s constantly surrounded by temptations…and dangers. Will his body break before his will? Tune in to find out.- Comments: This is an Ecchi. As such, the fan-service is extremely high. Not only that, it isn’t your typical fan-service either. As the women are mostly monster girls. If none of this sounds appealing to the viewer, I strongly recommend passing on this. If you’re a viewer accustomed to the Ecchi genre, and are fairly open-minded, there shouldn’t be a problem. Like most animes, I strongly prefer the Japanese dub over the English one.- Analysis: Most of the girls in the anime just want to be accepted. Some more than others. This is a very realistic and relevant concept, as many people, or even animals, face discrimination. If more people could see the similarities rather than differences, perhaps others would be able to get along better (like with family and friends).- Features: English audio, and Japanase audio with English subtitles. Includes 3 discs: Episodes 1-9 on the first, 10-12 on the second, and the third disc contains the OVAs and Monster Shorts. The run-time is about 5 hours, excluding the OVAs. This anime is rated TV-MA for strong sexual content, and dialogue. Furthermore, it's mostly uncensored.- Conclusion: Due to the sexual content, and plenty of fan-service, I only recommend this to viewers accustomed to the Ecchi genre. If you’re fine with animes like Prison School, Shimoneta, Dragonar Academy, etc., then there shouldn’t be any issues. A very funny, crude, entertaining, and stimulating anime about monster girls for mature viewers. For the most part, this anime is uncensored.- Recommendations: Dragonar Academy, High School DxD, Shimoneta, Shomin Sample, Juden-Chan, The Devil is a Part-timer!, Binbougami ga!, Prison School, Sekirei, Kobayashi-san, Rosario + Vampire, Samurai Flamenco, So, I can’t play H!, HyperDimension Neptunia: The Animation, and Valkyrie Drive: Mermaid.

This is a review of the Monster Musume blu-ray edition. Thyere are three disks in the set. Disk one has episodes 1 - 9, disk 2 has episodes 10 - 12 and disk three has the OVA.Plot - The Japanese government suddenly announces the existence of demi-humans and creates a lw that allows them to live in and learn about human society. By accident Kimihito becomes the guardian of Miia who is a lamia. He His house is soon invaded by other monster girls who need a home including a centaur, a mermaid, a harpy, a slime, Dullahan and a spider girl. The adventures of Kimihito and the girls as they live under one roof, plot against each other and try to make Kimihito their husband are the core of the story. Poor Kimihito, the girls enthusiasm and strength mean his life is in danger every day and his government co-ordinator is no help at all. Will he survive? Can he even pay the food bills?Commentary - This is a classic monster girls anime. It is ecchi/fan service heavy comedy. The action is quite manic and the humour varies from the subtle to the slapstick as esily as the girls get Kimihito into trouble. The episdoes are mostly split into two smaller stories per episode which follows the structure of the manga. There are a couple of weak short stories but overall this is a fun (uncensored) anime.Soundtack - I don't typically listen to the English version of an anime and didn't do so here. The Japanese sound track and subtitles fit the action very well and convey the boisterous, innocent energy of the girls very well. The closing song "Hey Smith" is excellent too.Summary - FUn, high energy, with lots of Monster Girl fan service. You can't go wrong with this one.

It's a great anime the animation is great characters are fun and entertaining