Episodes 5-6 – This Monster Wants to Eat Me

If there’s one major takeaway from these two episodes, it’s that Miko has a lot going on beneath her seemingly goofy exterior. Furthermore, through this series of revelations and developments, Miko claims to be the counterweight to Shiori’s personality, and in doing so, she enriches Shiori’s inner being. This monster wants to eat me. This is a promising direction for the series.

I love the relationship between Miko and Hinako on all levels. In fact, I do think of them as layers. The surface level, the broadest and most remote level, arises from the miko’s status as a local deity. Although initially bound to this role, it has come to define her as a person and a monster. Miko is very helpful and when she was a high school student she could easily use the power of youkai to go unnoticed, but she overextended herself. She enjoys (and relies on) human gratitude, and Hinako’s particularly devout family caught her attention early on.

On a deeper level, the miko is still a god, but she feels guilty for failing to protect Hinako’s family’s prayers. This caused her to focus her efforts as a guardian specifically on Hinako, and prompted her to assume human form in the first place. Miko wants to atone for his sins. Of course, this also brings to mind the many stories of mythical beings who disguise themselves as humans in order to pursue relationships with humans. This is a storytelling convention that spans civilizations, and kitsune are especially notorious for competing with human lovers (such as the legend of Tamamo-mae). Therefore, we can also interpret the miko’s special fascination with Hinako as being motivated by feelings rather than just guilt.

However, the miko is not an ethereal being. She is a beast at heart, so a deeper level of emotion lies in her primal desire for Hinako’s body. She also does her best to repress this part of herself, and we can read her violence against other youkai as a projection of her inner turmoil. Furthermore, we must interpret this hunger as a desire, something Miko is clearly conflicted about. After all, the miko has known Ninako since she was a child. In her opinion, Ninako should be atone for the limitations of her own power. she is no It must be a physical desire for her. To me, this is the layer where Miko becomes interesting. She is a creature at odds with herself.

Because at the end of the day, deep down in the miko’s heart, no matter where their relationship began, and no matter the complicating factors like age and species, she loves Hinako like another human being. She demonstrates this by biting off both of her tails—an act that simultaneously rejects both her divine and animalistic sides. She diminishes her own power as a profession of love. While I don’t think this scenario performs as well as its simulated counterpart Xia Guang is deadwhich achieves a similar symbolic effect. It speaks to the fundamental difficulty of being a queer person in society, let alone trying to maintain a relationship. Both Miko and Hikari believe they are monsters and must be declawed before anyone can safely love them.

These layers add up to make Miko a compelling third wheel in Shiori and Hinako’s ongoing courtship. they also allow Fairuz Ai There are plenty of opportunities to show off her abilities as an actress, moving expertly between liveliness, wistfulness, anger and pride. The result is an arc that’s less patient and harsh than the first, which is an improvement as far as adaptations go. As the story takes on a more neutral tone, it becomes more suited to the anime’s relatively flat presentation. The exception is Keiji InouchiThe soundtrack, continues to be well above average. The surprising vocal accompaniment to the climax of episode five is a welcome surprise, amplifying the emotional wavelength between Miko and Hinako. In fact, I’d say Inai’s contribution was enough to elevate my rating of the adaptation from “okay” to “pretty good.”

Miko also doesn’t account for all of the promising developments in these two episodes. I’m glad I finally got to see a side of Shiori that I didn’t want to show Hinako. Although brief, the smile on her face fades and a hint of sadness emerges as she thinks about the monster feeling lonely, drawing her towards Hinako’s company. Granted, I could probably project a lot onto a scene that lasts just a few seconds, but I don’t think Shiori’s obsession with Hinako is purely gastronomic. Even setting aside the sexual metaphors, Shiori clearly enjoys being around her, and their beach date is a perfect example of this. While she may have ulterior motives for healing Hinako’s psyche, there’s another emotion underlying her insight and patience when it comes to dealing with Hinako’s lingering trauma. “If the brightness is too bright for your eyes,” Shiori says, “you can stay in the shade for a while until they adjust.” It’s a great little metaphor for dealing with one’s trauma.

However, Hinako is still a mess – and I love her for that. I almost screamed when her reaction to Miko’s new truce with Shiori was “I’m glad they can still be friends after I die :)”. She sees everything, even her best friend’s bright smile, through the lens of self-hate. Sadly, this is a frustratingly absurd view, but it accurately reflects how these thought patterns manifest in people. Even in death, Hinako can only see herself as a burden. We also see that she is actually scarred to match her trauma, which of course also contributes to her negative self-image. I love that, although it’s never explicitly stated, it’s obvious why Hinako doesn’t want to wear a swimsuit. if this monster If these subtle moments can be maintained alongside meaningful character development, then I think it could grow into a truly great romance.

Episode 5 Rating:

Episode 6 Rating:

This monster wants to eat me Currently live broadcast
Crunchy roll.

Steve is online blue sky For all your posting needs. They recommend a balanced diet. You can also see them talking about trash and treasure online Anime of the week.

Disclosure: Kadokawa World Entertainment (KWE) is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kadokawa Corporation and the majority shareholder of Anime News Network, LLC. One or more companies mentioned in this article are part of the Kadokawa Group of Companies.