To be honest, I probably should cut This Monster Wants to Eat Me out of episode blogging. I’ve been struggling to find the time for it and I really need to finish of couple of other shows. But dang it, I’m really liking where the story is going so here I am covering another episode.
Even though I was impressed by the reveal of Miko’s true form, I was anticipating to be let down by the ensuing fight between her and Shiori. After the lackluster action in Episode 1, I’m going into any action with low expectations. Sure enough, there isn’t much to say about the fight. It’s just Miko trying to hit Shiori really hard and Shiori dodging it. I don’t want to be too harsh because this is probably how it plays out in the manga and it’s not like WataTabe is advertised as an action anime. Still, I kind of wish the fighting could be a little more exciting. At the very least, I like how Miko deliberately keeps Shiori away from the ocean so that the mermaid can’t fight at full power. That’s a neat detail.
The fighting ends abruptly when Hinako arrives at the scene and Miko notices that she’s scraped her hand in the middle of the action. This prompts Miko to assume her human form again, which apparently makes it easier for her to resist the allure of human blood. Hinako realizes that Miko is often in poor health and absent from school because she’s resisting any urge to eat her. Since Miko shows the same impulse as any other yokai, Shiori perceives her as a threat to Hinako’s safety and attempts to kill her while she’s in her weaker human form. I had a good laugh with Shiori gleefully calling Miko out on her urges. Say what you will about Shiori but she is transparent about her desire to eat Hinako. Miko claiming to be Hinako’s guardian while still having the urge to eat her friend does make her look like a hypocrite. I also like how Shiori struggles to understand where Miko is coming from. Like, the idea that a yokai would want to protect a human simply because it wants to is completely foreign to her. It really speaks to how Shiori is a yokai and not a human.
Miko explains her past and how she actually came to know Hinako. Eons ago, Miko was forced to help a local village after a monk defeated her in battle. Despite her chagrin, she began to warm up to humans and the villagers in turn came to view her as a local deity. Miko came to know Hinako as the latter’s family often made prayers at her shrine, even praying for a safe trip on the day they died. Feeling guilty that she couldn’t actually fulfill the family’s last wish, Miko felt the least she could for them is befriend Hinako and protect her from any yokai that prey on her. I really like Miko’s backstory. After the show casted doubt on the exact history between Miko and Hinako, it’s a huge relief to learn that even with completely different circumstances, Miko really did intend on being Hinako’s friend. Even better is how the show manages to tie the deaths of Hinako’s family into Miko’s character. My only nitpick is that untapped potential with Miko’s past as a local “deity”. I doubt it’d fit in the current narrative but I’d love to see an extended flashback of Miko’s life centuries prior.
Even after Miko explains her past, Shiori is still convinced that the kitsune is too dangerous to be left alive. Before Shiori can kill Miko however, Hinako stops her and she asks to speak with Miko. At first, it appears as though you’re getting the usual reconciliation, with Hinako assuring Miko that they’re still friends even after the latter’s deception. Things quickly take a surprising turn however when Miko suddenly transforms back into her fox form and seemingly begins to devour Hinako. Seeing as there’s seven or eight more episodes to go, I want to say this scene is a fake out. I mean, at the very least, Hinako is going to get out of this moment alive. Otherwise, we’d have no show. At the same time however, I don’t know what to make of Miko here. Maybe there’s a yokai creeping up on Hinako and Miko transformed to take it down. Maybe Miko’s simply pulling a very dark prank. Thing is, either hunch makes this scene more contrived and it’s a lot more believable and potentially more interesting that Miko gives into her urges.
Whatever the case may be, this is an incredible note to end the episode. After seeing Hinako still accept Miko as a friend, it’s heartbreaking to think that Miko would immediately betray that friendship and ultimately prove that Shiori was right about her all along. What also gets to me emotionally is Hinako seemingly accepting her fate. This is technically what she’s always wanted. And in a really twisted way, letting herself be eaten by Miko feels like the least she could do to repay everything her best friend has done for her and to make up for all the trouble she’s caused.
Watch This Monster Wants to Eat Me on Crunchyroll
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