Anime Hajime Review: Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou

Series Synopsis

Three years ago, the Japanese government revealed the existence of monsters and past the Interspecies Cultural Exchange Act, allowing members of other species to visit the human world as though they were foreign exchange students. Kimihito Kurusu (voiced by Junji Majima) didn’t volunteer for the program, but was forced into it by one its coordinators, the lazy and unreliable Ms. Smith (voiced by Yu Kobayashi).

Unsure of how to be a good host, Kimihito is charged with watching his first resident, Miia (voiced by Sora Amamiya) the lamia. Miia quickly develops a crush on Kimihito, but due to her natural strength and snake like tendencies, her affections are often a little more destructive then intended. Despite the challenge, Kimihito accepts Miia into his life.

This kindness develops a reputation as Ms. Smith beings to bring in more girls for Kimihito to look after; always without his permission or warning. Quickly the house is filled with a wide array of tenants.  Alongside Miia is Papi (voiced Ari Ozawa) the energetic harpy, Centorea “Cerea” Shinaus (voiced by Natsuki Aikawa) the proud centaur, Suu (voiced by Mayuka Nomura) innocent slim creature, Meroune “Mero” Lorelei (voiced by Haruka Yamazaki) the elegant mermaid, and Rachnera “Rachnee” Arachnera (voiced by Sakura Nakamura) the intimidating arachne.

Kimihito

Each of Kimihito’s housemates quickly fall for him due to his friendly and accepting nature. With the situation already a handful, Ms. Smith drops a bombshell when she says Kimihito has been selected for a new study which could lead to a potential amendment to the law which would allow humans and monsters to marry.

Series Positives

Miia

“Odyssey, isn’t this the show with the pretty monster ladies?” Yes.

“Isn’t the main girl half snake?” Yes.

“Isn’t this the show that tries to make a spider look sexy?” Yes. “Don’t you hate spiders?” Yes.

“And isn’t this series ecchi as all s@#$? Like boobs going everywhere?” Yes.

Papi

“Did you know all this going in”… … … … Yes.

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” Well…I think it’s pretty damn good.

Cerea

I have known about Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou for some time. My curiosity finally got the better of me. Did I go into this series expecting to hate it? Actually no I didn’t. However, did I think I was going to like as a much as I did; not in a million years.

I no longer have the ability to call an anime weird, or at the very least use the word in a negative sense. Along with that, the premise of a monster girl harem isn’t new and it’s been done before; Rosario + Vampire, seasons one and two.

Suu

If you’re wondering how much of an ecchi this series really is, imagine High School DxD levels. So yah it’s earned the label. Yet just like DxD (season one only because two and three lost sight of this), Monster Musume  use eroticism all the god damn time, but it’s not the thing holding it up. If you were to take out the ecchi elements, you'd still be left with a fantastic show.

Kimihito

Mero

This guy’s great and is by far one of my favorite lead characters in any harem anime. He does none of the things which annoy me. He doesn’t whine, he’s not a wimp, and he’s not the center of affection simply because he's the main.

Rachnere

Kimihito's patient, legitimately kind hearted, treats his housemates with respect (or at least to the best of his abilities since agin this is an ecchi and therefore accidental fondling is an inevitability), and it’s clear to see, or at least buy the fact, why the girls have feelings for him.

Ms. Smith

Any skittishness on his part is completely justified because it’s honestly a miracle he’s survived for as long as he has. None of the girls are ever intentionally trying to hurt him, but they do have a tendency to forget their own strength. This isn't just used for humor, its actually a real problem in the show because humans and monsters cannot not harm each other under the penalty of very harsh punishment. It’s this set up which allows Kimihito to once again shine.

He never holds a grudge and never gets angry at the girls who are under his care. However he never gets pushed around by them either. Kimihito will put his foot down when necessary, but it’s never out of malice or fury. Although he was forced into the position of guardian, he takes the role seriously.

Kimihito also has a handful of moments when he’s pretty damn cool. He’s stepped in front of and taken hits which could have resulted in one of the girls getting hurt. Once when Cerea was about to be attacked, Kimihito jumped in, shielded her, and took the blow. Granted the weapon used was a fake, but he didn’t know that at the time.

It’s not just physical danger either. While there are laws in place which allow monsters to visit the human world, not all humans are open to the idea so there are still some prejudice. Rachnera has had to deal with being instantly feared and mistrusted due to her appearance from both human and monster. Kimihito on the other hand didn’t see her as a grotesque creature like everyone else did. I also have reiterate that I really don’t like spiders, never have, but Rachnera managed to be one of my favorite characters of the show.

Kimihito’s greatest moment though, came after Miia was being harassed by some scumbag. This prick was berating poor Miia and it was no surprised she was getting tired of it. The law saying monsters cannot hurt humans held her back for a while, but eventually this ass hat went too far. However, before she can even react, Kimihito comes out of nowhere and decks the f@#$er; holy s@#$ that was a satisfying hit.

Harem anime are no fun when the main love interest is boring and awful. Kimihito is the model to which all future harem anime should strive for.

One of the Best Harem Anime

I truly mean this.

Monster Musume is fan service first and foremost. Yet the fact remains, everything a harem series should do is done perfectly here.

Is the central love interest strong and viable; I’ve already gone over that. Are the suitors interesting with distinct personalities and are not the same character only with different physical features? Check that box off too. In Monster Musume it’s not just the main cast, but all the characters are really fun.

I’ve not even touched on the fact that this show is hilarious at times. The humor in this series is all derived from the range of personalities and the interactions. Not only is this played up in the forefront, there’s ton of small background details. When one character says or does something, any character in hearing distance will react accordingly, even if the camera doesn’t center focus on them.

Then there’s the most important thing, all the suitors are given a chance. In Monster Musume Miia is the clear favorite, but every single girl has their moment and gets their time. If Miia weren’t around, Cerea could easily fill in the role, or Rachnera or Papi or Suu; not so much Mero since she wants to be the mistress which is funny for its own reasons.

You could see this show as an excuse to show monster boobs and nothing else. You wouldn’t be wrong, but you’d be turning a blind eye to a lot of the good that is happening in this series.

Series Negatives

Monster Musume suffers from wanting-to-do-to-much-and-not-having-enough-time-to-do-it syndrome.

Yes the main household gets the appropriate amount of development. You really get to know Kimihito and the girls. Too bad there were other characters that were introduced and not used or characters who were introduced way too late.

For the former I’m talking about Smith’s Monster Ops: Neutralization (MON) team. They were brought in at about the midway point, in an action scene of all things, and they were kickass. The show never truly used this angle again. Then twisting the knife a little, the series did have a segment when the member of MON went on a date with Kimihito, and it was actually good damn it. Unfortunately by this time the series was almost done.

In the household by the end of the show, there was Kimihito and seven housemates. The final one, Lala (voiced by Ai Kakuma), had almost zero opportunity to become part of the group. Actually, I can’t even tell you if she was simply part of the cast like Smith or another love interest. Either would be fine, I would just like to know.

The White Elephant

I’ve mentioned it, but I've not fully talked about it and it’s been put off for far too long. I may have liked this show, but I’m not about to sit here and say I would be shocked as to why someone wouldn’t watch this series. You have a f@#$ raunchy ecchi when it makes High School DxD look tame.

The places Monster Musume was willing to go is indescribable. I personally thought the level of not giving a s@#$ was hysterical due to the pure insanity of it all, but wow. I’m talking about suckling, bondage, accidental insertion (that’s a horrific phrase without context), and a lot of other things I don’t have words for.

Now if you read my Prison School review, you might remember my little tirade on how much did not like that show. Most of it having to do with the level intensity I had no problem with here. What’s the difference?

Well in Prison School the sexuality was more or less played off as a quirk; it’s simply something those characters did and were not going to comment on them. I’m sorry but f@#$ off. That reasoning could work, but it doesn’t when you have the hilariously oversized busty vice-president wearing clothes that are ten sizes too small, randomly doing squats for some reasons, and shoving her sweaty gooch in our face. DON’T ACT LIKE THAT’S NOT A THING PEOPLE DO!

Monster Musume knows what it's doing, accepts what it’s doing, and runs with. It too has characters with large breast, but with clothes that fit (most of the time). The perversion has a point, albeit some are harder to justify than other. HOWEVER, Monster Musume acknowledges that what its characters are doing aren’t things people just do in public and would generally be uncomfortable with. Instead of the coming off as annoying, it was hilarious if not for the “Oh we’re really doing this now” factor alone.

If this is the kind of stuff you don’t want to watch and would be quite put off by it, this is not the show for you. If these are the reasons keeping you away from Monster Musume you’re in your right to do so.

Final Thoughts

I went into this series expecting it to be crazy. I wasn’t disappointed. Yet I wasn’t expecting to have as much fun as I ended up having.

Monster Musume, for all that it does, remains a series with a fantastic lead, interesting characters, and is one of the best harem anime I've seen to date. This show’s indifference to decency I found to be funny, but I understand why it would it turn people off.

I’m convinced that whoever starts this show doesn’t do it completely blind. My recommendation's out there, however you’re in for a ride if you choose to do so.

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