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Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1 Review – Best In Show

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Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1 Review – Quick Summary

In Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1, “Species 1: Everyday life with a Lamia,” Kimihito “Darling-kun” Kurusu felt very surprised when Kuroko Smith, a Cultural Exchange Coordinator, showed up at his door. She had not called him to schedule an appointment. And she wasn’t alone. Agent Smith brought a cultural exchange student named Miia — to live with Kimihito! She was stunningly beautiful. She also had the lower body of a gigantic snake, which made sense once Kimihito realized she was a lamia. Can Kimihito adapt his home to make Miia feel comfortable? And given that she’s cold blooded, will he find a way to help her get moving in the morning? Or will Miia have to take matters into her own hands – and tail?

Note: This post may include spoilers, so be cautious.

Favorite Quote from Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1

Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1: Kimihito or Darling-kun tried very hard to not lay a hand on Miia

A man’s gotta do what a man’s gotta do. Or something like that. Capture from the Blu Ray.

Darling-kun has a problem. I should probably call him by his name, which is Kimihito. But darn it, Miia is so danged cute when she says it, it just stuck. So now he’s Darling-kun. And like I said, he has a problem.

Miia is head over tail in love with him.

Now, that might not sound like a problem. He genuinely cares about her, and she obviously cares about him. They’re attracted to each other. Which is like saying the surface of Sol is a little warm. No, it’s hot, and so is their mutual attraction. Miia wastes no opportunity to show him just what her intentions are.

Sounds great, right? She tried to get him into the bath with her so she can experience Japanese mixed bathing — sounds pleasant, doesn’t it? It is until you realize if he has any kind of intimate contact with her, she could be deported, and he could be thrown in jail.

That’s Darling-kun’s problem. And it has him grumpy. So much so that when Miia pulled him into the warm bath with her, he had to kick the cold water shower on to get her to relax her grip. She’s cold-blooded, and the cold water cooled her enough for him to escape.

“This facility doesn’t offer mixed bathing,” he said, trying to sound resolute (05:58). 

Then he went into the next room and pounded his forehead on the sink. Poor guy had to do something to distract himself.

Best in Show Moment for Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1

Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1: Darling-kun treated Miia well

Seeing how Darling-kun treated Miia added an unexpected warmth to the show. Capture from the Blu Ray.

Setup: I Went In Expecting an Ecchi Comedy

While I’m watching the first episode of any new series, I look for that one moment that hooks me. Some series, especially those like this one that make it into the Caw of Fame, sometimes have more than one of those moments. 

I went into this series knowing it would lean heavily on ecchi. The first few minutes of this episode, with its wonderful attention to detail, robust animation, and wonderful voice acting, convinced me I’d made the right choice. I had a high level of confidence that the show would meet my expectations.

Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1: Miia really, really liked Darling-kun

Good thing I went in expecting ecchi! Capture from the Blu Ray.

Then something interesting happened. 

It happened about ten minutes in. We’d just met the shockingly irresponsible Agent Smith. Or maybe she’s forced to act that way because her department is under-funded and under-staffed. Whatever the reason, she showed up at Darling-kun’s home with Miia in tow.

We’d already met Miia; this was a flashback. We knew she’s an assertive young woman. She’s confident, and she knows what she wants. But now, we know Miia could see that Darling-kun was unprepared. She knew what Agent Smith had done to him. So seeing her sitting there in Darling-kun’s home, consumed with uncertainty, shivering because she was cold, hit me pretty hard. I didn’t like seeing Miia like that.

Delivery: I Got That… And More!

From her perspective, she had no idea what was going to happen to her. She was alone in the human world. For all she knew, she would be stuck in a miserable house, with a man probably resented her being there, especially since he was completely unprepared. When she looked down at the table, I could feel her misery.

This is an ecchi comedy. Yet, it effectively portrayed that moment in silence, using just Miia’s expression and muted colors. 

Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1: Miia looked scared and miserable

Just look at that expression! Those eyes! How can your heart not go out to her? Capture from the Blu Ray.

After a moment, she looked up in surprise. Darling-kun had left her alone so he could get her some blankets. He saw that she was cold. He wanted to make her comfortable.

When he became aware that she was staring at him, he gave her a self-deprecating smile (10:48). 

The scene took less than 30 seconds. But it so exceeded my expectations for this series that there was no way I wasn’t going to watch the rest of the season. 

What did you think of their first date? What were your favorite moments in this episode? Feel free to let me know in the comments!

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6 thoughts on “Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls Episode 1 Review – Best In Show

  1. This seems like a show that could fall into the fanservice trap a bit so I’m a bit wary there but the idea that the main guy can’t get together with the girl because she would be deported is an interesting wrinkle to the usual scenario. He’s definitely gotta try and be discreet then

    1. I’m not sure where you fall on the fanservice spectrum, but of this show, I’ll say this: It doesn’t shy away from it. In fact, Okayado (the writer and artist, at last of the manga) puts it front and center! I’d argue that in every case I can think of, it works as both part of the plot and as an expression of the individual characters.

      But only if it’s not something you fine troublesome in principle!

      I agree the the deportation angle makes things more interesting.

    1. This is one of two shows where I feel like I could argue that each girl is a Best Girl!

      After all’s said and done, I’m partial to Miia, but each of the characters in show has an interesting and fun personality. I can completely understand picking any one of them!

  2. First off I added UT to my schedule. Bought the DVD… Yes it’s a Chinese Bootleg, but I’ll be darned if I’m.going to pay Crunchyroll the monthly premium to rent what I review. Even if it is a Chinese Bootleg I’d rather have ownership over all that I review. Not everyone believes in this, and they are free to review as they see fit. This is a personal decision on my part. And one I stood behind for the full 20 years I’ve been a online reviewer.

    So let’s see if this can avoid being Harem Comedy Interviews With Monster Girls eh? And yes I have that series too, on digital (Amazon Prime). I can do a possible dual review… Hmm… Stay tuned.

    Anyway once again you’ve shown me the way and inspired me. Thanks. Please continue all your hard work reviewing!

    1. Just my personal take, but I think this show did indeed avoid being Interviews with Monster Girls as a harem.

      Though I thought Interview with Monster Girls had its own charm!

      Thanks for the feedback!

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