Monster Musume is an anime based off the manga of the same name. The manga is written by Okayado. The anime is directed by Tatsuysa Yohsihira through Lerche Studio.

Spoilers: Very minor. Monster Musume was nowhere near my anticipation list, but I had some free time and decided to watch it. We have a lot to discuss with this one.

Plot: The plot is actually cool. A huge new law was passed. The law allowed mystical species to come live with the humans. There are some conditions however. They range from very common sense ones like no human shall hurt a mystical species and vise versa. To very political ones like you shall not make love with the mystical species. Than there is the sub plot. The ever strange and dangerous love story of Kimihito Kirusu and Miia, a half human and half snake creature. Miia loves Kimihito and wants him to be her first love. However, Ms. Smith, the one who looks after Miia, stands in the way. She constantly reminds Kimihito that loving her would be the same as hurting her, which is against the law.

The Opening: This opening scene might have been the best of any summer anime. This is because it did what an opening scene is suppose to do. It establishes our characters and their motives. Kimihito understands loving Miia back would be against the laws. Miia doesn’t understand the severity of mixing species. We also see that Miia is madly in love with Kimihito. The scene also sets up the tone well. It is very much going to be about their relationship and the show is not going to shy away from sexuality, in fact, its going to embrace it. For these reasons, you know what you are going to get before the theme song even starts.

Characters: For a show about a larnia(Half snake half human) girl trying to get her host family to fall in love with her, the characters are surprising great. I actually really like both Miia and Kimihito a lot. You can totally feel for Miia. Shes in a strange new land and just wants to be loved and liked but the man she wants to love her, cant. Kimihito, even though he wasn’t suppose to be her host family, he still manned up and took her in. Plus, it would be easy for them to try to carry out an affair in privacy, the fact he doesn’t shows he does care about her. On top of that, some layers are added to them when Miia learns that humans don’t like her, but Kimihito stands up for her. My only reserve right now is that I know other girls get added later, so i am worried their relationship will not mean much later on(I have not read the manga so I have no idea how future relationships are going to work out).

The world: The world is actually surprising close to ours. Even though mythological creatures do not exist in our world, both worlds share a huge common characteristic, the fear of people who are different. Here in America, weve been struggling with equality and acceptances of others for hundreds of years, longer than that for the rest of the world. I think thats where this show shines. The humans are straight up nasty to the other species, Miia in this instance. Miia has done nothing wrong and is not a bad creature, the humans are just wicked in the way they treat her. With more creatures getting involved later, I am interested to see the world adapt to these creatures like our world has adapted to concepts we are not comfortable with.

Recap: Went in thinking this would just be a show of fanservice and cheesy romance, and it definitely has both. However, the worldly and political view of this show makes me feel like I am watching something deeper and that Kimihito and Miia will be part of a movement. The show surprising has a lot of heart and soul to it and it makes me interested in what will become of Miia and Kimihito. Lets break it down some more:

Action: Action is here surprisingly. In a world where humans and creatures do not get along, fights will ensue it seems. Romance: Clearly the bread and butter of this show. The first arc, at least, seems it will be about their relationship        Plot: The plot and subplot are good. It sets up the romance and why it will be difficult to achieve.
Characters: The characters are very solid.
The World: Very cool world, cant wait to see it expand.
Humor: A surprisingly very funny show.
The Ending: The ending was nothing special but it didn’t lower my interest in seeing later episodes either.

Verdict: You got to go in with an open mind. It really isn’t just about the fanservice. They explore the world and characters quite nicely for a first episode. I was very impressed with this show, however, I see potential parts that could make or break it. If it stops exploring the world and just focuses solely on the sexual content, it could get old fast. If it explores the realm of equality and what true love is, I think it could be a great show. Only time will tell what direction it takes.