Sorry for the long wait and the lack of an interesting introduction, but here are my reviews for This Monster Wants To Eat Me episodes 6 and 7.
Episode 6: The Shape of Affection
Episode Rating: 8/10
Gasp – the narrative misled me! I was certain Miko would try to bite Hinako and get blocked by Shiori, who would be wounded. Now I feel foolish for doubting the goodness and willpower of Miko. What she actually did was bite off two of her own tails – of which she still had several. For a kitsune yokai, the tails denote power and status. They are symbols and apparently literal holders of power. By biting two of them off, Miko lessened her own power, as well as reducing the strength of her cravings for Hinako’s blood. She lamented being prideful and not taking this action sooner.
Miko told Hinako she wanted to resume their friendship – even sacrificing her own power was well worth it for being able to stay close to Hinako. It would be ntohing but understandable if Hinako felt betrayed or afraid, but instead of shying away, she walked back to Miko and took her hands. She called Miko her precious friend, and the bond between the two girls was restored. Miko even broke down in tears from the emotional intensity of the interaction. Shiori definitely noticed that Hinako dearly loved Miko, so she was glad she didn’t end up killing the kitsune.
With everything that has happened, Miko is arguably my favorite character now, and I definitely ship her with Hinako. I also still love Shiori as a character, but at the end of the day, she does want to consume Hinako, as far as we know. Miko, on the other hand, genuinely cares about Hinako and wants to protect her forever. It’s obvious whose side I’m on. That being said, I will also probably still be excited for moments between Shiori and Hinako because the psychology of both are so interesting. In short, Miko rules and she deserves to have a romance with Hinako while she’s alive.
That night, Miko and Shiori had a talk on the walkway by the ocean. Miko talked about how Hinako’s blood abruptly changed after the accident. Before, she was a normal human without being particularly attractive to yokai. After her family died and she sustained major burns, Hinako’s blood became nearly irresistible. Back to the main point though, for the time being, Miko and Shiori have a truce. They each want to use the other to protect Hinako for their own ends. Shiori even expressed a condescending desire to be friends, but Miko refused to pretend to get along with Shiori.
At the school the next day, Miko showered Hinako in snacks and drinks and tried to celebrate their friendship. Unfortunately, she was summoned away to help a teacher. (Miko was very active on the school campus, helping multiple clubs at once.) Once she was alone with Shiori, Hinako said she was happy that Shiori and Miko were “getting along” and that she’s glad Miko is a yokai. She explained that since yokai live for hundreds of years, Miko wouldn’t be too devastated to lose one human friend. And even after Hinako was eaten or died naturally, she could be friends with Shiori.
This is ridiculous on multiple levels, so I found myself feeling mildly annoyed at Hinako. She doesn’t value herself at all and wants to die, but she worries about Miko feeling sad after she’s gone. She fully plans on letting Shiori eat her, and even smiles at the thought. There’s no way Miko could ever be friends with the monster who ate Hinako. It’s almost selfish of Hinako to expect the yokai to get along. Hinako is gentle and wants harmony, but she’s also demanding in the strangest ways. Also, I know for a fact that I have the same issue, but Hinako’s smile is unnatural in this scene. When you’re used to wanting to die, or struggling with depression, smiling naturally is very difficult.
Shiori had the idea to take Hinako on a date to the beach. Miko advised that she not go swimming and instead look at shops and such. Sadly, Miko herself couldn’t come along. This episode showed us that Hinako is covered in burn scars and doesn’t go swimming because of the stigma. But thanks to Miko and Shiori, she seemed to have a decent time at the beach. Her outfit was really cute. Shiori was also adorable and fashionable in her white summer dress and straw hat. When Hinako started to get anxious, Shiori gave her the hat and led her along by the hand for support. It was a good date.
The date was interrupted by a sudden rain. In addition, a dangerous yokai was approaching the shore, no doubt attracted to Hinako. The episode ends here with Shiori sighing in exasperation at the fact she never gets to relax. To be continued.
Episode 7: A Kind Person
Episode Rating: 9/10
I heartily enjoyed this episode for the drama and character dynamics. I don’t even know enough about character writing to know if this anime is considered good, but it certainly has me keenly interested. This episode brought the focus largely back to the relationship between Shiori and Hinako, with Miko taking a side-role for now. Though I adore Miko and hope she continues her character development, I’m also excited about the main story and the main couple. This episode also brought back the feelings of mystery and slight horror with its focus on Shiori, who is definitely not human.
As you recall, a strange entity was slowly approaching the shore where Shiori and Hinako were at the beach. I assumed it was a hungry yokai after Hinako, but Shiori explained that it was a bunch of creatures somewhere between human and yokai. They were born from people who died at sea. Hinako heard this and immediately had the thought that her family could be among the cursed creatures. Shiori discouraged Hinako from looking at the drowned entities, but she also said that if Hinako recognized a family member, she would call it ashore and pay her respects.
Nothing really came of the drowned yokai creatures. Shiori and Hinako walked away from the beach and sat down on a bench. Shiori saw Hinako’s burn scars after trying to get her to remove her soaked outer layer of clothing. It was clear that Hinako was deeply ashamed of her scars, but Shiori told her that the appearance of her vessel was of no consequence to her and she really couldn’t care less if the outside is scarred. What matters is the quality of meat, which seems to be dictated mostly by mindset. I wish Shiori’s words had been more validating, but they still had a relaxing effect on Hinako.
Hinako was still very cold as well as shaken from having her scars exposed so suddenly. Shiori put her arm around Hinako and held her close to help her stay warm. It was such a sweet and romantic moment. Even though Hinako observed that Shiori was even colder than her, she didn’t dislike the closeness or the apparent kindness from which the gesture stemmed. Shiori also whispered something in a serious tone, something about how this is all that matters to her ever since that day. But Hinako didn’t hear it clearly and Shiori quickly returned to her cheerful self.
(Side Note: I am an AFAB person with many scars. Most were self-inflicted, but there are a few others as well. Patriarchal teachings say that in order to be optimal, women (or AFAB people) should not be obviously scarred. This is a sexist and backwards idea, but it continues to be internalized by countless young women, who feel deep shame for their markings. I hope the old ideas of physical purity hurry up and die. As for me, I promised myself to not be ashamed of my scars. I almost never cover them anymore. Also, I don’t blame Hinako for internalized shame and wanting to avoid social stigma. I just wanted to make my own stance clear.)
Later, Miko invited Hinako to go to a basketball training camp with her where they would be doing chores and cooking in place of the team’s managers. Hinako agreed to go on the condition that Shiori came along too. The matter was settled, though of course Miko complained. Her dynamic with Shiori is sort of charming and amusing, though it might be annoying to deal with IRL. It was especially cute when Shiori ruffled up Miko’s hair and Miko couldn’t stop her due to her petite height and short arms.
At the basketball training camp, we met a part-timer named Ayame Chiba. The first things I noticed were that her hair was the same color as Hinako’s and that she had a similar quiet, feminine presentation as Hinako. Shiori later remarks that Ayame is very much like Hinako. I take this mean she’s either suicidal or she lost her entire family, or both. To Miko and Hinako’s eye, Ayame resembles Hinako’s mother. While Hinako and Ayame did the cooking, Shiori and Miko did other work. At one point, they talked.
Miko wondered why Hinako was opening up to Shiori so readily. Shiori said what was obvious: that Hinako liked her because she was planning to grant her death wish. It made sense that Hinako was interested in the person who would satisfy her. But Shiori also pointed out that Miko was lucky because Hinako was close with her even though they were opposites and Miko would never grant Hinako’s wish. In other words, Shiori seems slightly envious of Miko’s undconditional closeness to Hinako.
Shiori reminded us that she and Miko are both yokai who tend to decieve humans by default. But if that’s the case, Miko thought, what does it mean that Shiori keeps telling Hinako what she wants to hear? This episod makes us doubt that Shiori truly wants to eat Hinako. It’s possible she has another goal entirely. The situation becomes even less clear after a certain interaction between Shiori and Hinako.
Miko went to take a bath with some other girls while Shiori stayed with Hinako, helping her cover for the fact that she didn’t want her burns to be seen. Then Hinako asked why Shiori was doing so much for her. Shiori repeated that everything was for her own sake and not for Hinako’s. It was all part of the plan to eat her at a certain point. Despite this discouragement, and the seemingly unsurmountable barrier between yokai and human, Hinako asked if she and Shiori could be close friends like Hinako was with Miko. In response, with a strange combination of coldness and cheerfulness, Shiori said, “That will never be possible.”
The effect this had on Hinako was significant. She seemed devastated to me. After she opened up to Shiori, basically asking to be friends, the yokai outright refused. I think Hinako is lowkey in love with Shiori already and wants to be closer to her. Maybe Shiori thought she was setting some kind of healthy boundary by saying they could never truly be friends. But it had the effect of deeply upsetting Hinako. Shiori left Hinako alone.
At the end of the episode, Ayame approached Hinako with an evil grin. Shiori expressed a worry earlier that bad things could happen if Ayame and Hinako were alone together and got along too well. The only thing I can imagine is that Ayame will somehow encourage Hinako’s suicidal feelings. We’ll see next time. That’s all for today.
~Thanks for Reading~
Written by 7Mononoke at Anime Rants
Anime Rants 
Prediction in the form of observation: three makes a harem.
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