Monster Musume

Episode 10

I wonder if monster girls are allowed to compete in human sports in the world of Monster Musume. While professional leagues would want to seem inclusive, I can't help but think that mermaids would dominate every swimming event they entered. Some basic rules wouldn't even work for every species. Would an arachne only be allowed to use two of her legs in a game of soccer? Would a centaur have to ride a horse in order to play polo, or could she just run around on her own? There's a sports anime spinoff just waiting to happen here, people.

Anyway, the hunt for the mysterious “D” continues this week, with Kimihito and the girls going on dates to lure out whoever sent the threatening letter. With the aquarium visit pronounced a failure, the latest date involves a trip to the great outdoors with Papi and Suu. A justifiably cranky dryad takes a shot at bashing Kimihito's head in, but she isn't the mysterious stalker. An afternoon out on the town with Centorea and Rachnera proves equally unsuccessful, though it does lead to an encounter with a mischievous devil girl. As troublesome as she is, she's not the culprit either.

The encounter with Kii the dryad is another case of Monster Musume testing the limits of what it can get away with on the fanservice front, and I found myself wanting to bash my head against my desk to erase a couple of images from my memory. Part of the issue might lie with the fact that we're ten episodes into the season now. As the audience grows accustomed to its mix of strangeness and sexuality, the series is forced to choose between giving up that part of its appeal and going too far in pursuit of new ways to shock us. Unfortunately, I'm not sure there's an obvious right answer here.

While not as outrageous, the episode's second half has its own issues. Chief among those is the nagging feeling that we've been here before. We already know that Centorea is plagued by an endless desire to help out, and that she has all kinds of trouble expressing her feelings for Kimihito, so this date doesn't really tell us anything new. Rather than giving us new centaur trivia to absorb, the show chooses to recycle old material. I feel like I learned more about the MON squad members in the background than I did about the lead characters in this episode.

There are a handful of redeeming features in this episode, mostly in the form of sight gags and in-jokes. Papi's awful memory and short attention span are nothing new, but I find it hilarious that she could befriend Kii, plant her in the forest, and then forget about her completely. The similarity between Suu's giant form and a certain iconic monster is also a fun detail, especially when combined with the brief shift to a more cinematic visual style. Even Centorea's armor is amusing, especially since it turns out not to be her most elaborate set of battle gear.

Overall, however, the “D” storyline has been a disappointment thus far. While it's now obviously just an excuse to send the cast out on a series of dates, the writing hasn't been able to capitalize on the opportunity for genuine character development. The comedy has been average at best, the new monster girls don't add much to the series, and we haven't gotten more than a few superficial details about the main characters out of the deal.

If there's a bright light at the end of the tunnel, it's the possibility that the next episode will give us a chance to learn about the members of the MON squad once they take over the dating operation. Since they've been underdeveloped thus far, there's plenty of room for the series to turn them into an interesting group of characters. Aside from that, I'm starting to think that “D” stands for “disposable.”

Rating: C+

Monster Musume is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.