1000https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/wallpapermonstermusumenoirunichijoubykurookamidesignsd8w5hbb.jpg Monster girls monster girls everywhere. Imagine if they could be a part of a harem series with one lucky guy forced to take care of them by law. Whats that? The word harem immediately makes you instantly gag just from trying to enunciate that term? I dont blame you. Great harem shows have been a dime a dozen besides those that were and are already in continuation. When new ones crop up they do not add anything new or exciting just more and more formulaic as time goes on. So what is to be done to amend this curse? Put in cute and sexy monster girls in it of course It is possible to add a new element to an anime from a specific genre and succeed in giving a modern edge to the anime. Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou is a prime example of something like this succeeding at a level that I did not think would be possible. If Monster Musume hypothetically speaking did not have monster girls as the harem and it was just ordinary girls I dont think it wouldve had as much of an impact. Unlike human girls monster girls have abilities from their bodies and state of mind that can create all kinds of unique jokes and sexy situations that you wouldnt find in a typical harem show. This uniqueness is where Monster Musume has more going for it in its humor and story. New scenarios involving monstrous entities with tentacles wings and other strange things add something interesting that we arent used to. 1000https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/horriblesubsmonstermusumenoirunichijou01720pmkvsnapshot025320150710012236.jpg There is not much to say about the story other than that it involves a slightly exciting world of monsters being integrated into the human world. The only issue with it is that it does not explain it very intuitively to the point where I just nodded off halfway through. But from the way the show portrays itself as a silly harem/ecchi anime it knows how ridiculous it is and runs with it. Even the title itself is translated as Daily Life with a Monster Girl. This is what most ecchi/harem anime should strive for when developing a story of this nature. I will briefly go through one by one of each character since this is after all a characterdriven anime based on how good the girls and male protagonists are. There are a lot so bear with me for a moment. Miiachan the lamia snakelike monster is the best one out of the rest. Thanks to the sweet voice of Sora Amamiya her caring and cute personality is infectious. Not to mention her darling catchphrase is one that I cant preface about how heartinducing it is. Papi the birdlike harpy monster is the bootylicious loli of the group who has some pretty hilarious moments due to her childlike curiosity. Cerea the centaur monster is probably my least favorite but she is still quite enjoyable with her humorous attempts at being noble and knightly to her master. 1000https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/143637465956.jpg Suu the humanoidlike water gooish monster has a peculiar essence about her from how she interacts with the characters. Because she cant speak well to people at first we see her grow up with everyone and start learning how to become an adult later in the show. Her morphing technique and almost drowning the protagonist with her own body are amusing. Meroune the mermaid monster does get a bad rep as being the worst girl but I would have to disagree with that assessment. Ive always enjoyed seeing her wanting to get married to the protagonist and her attempts at seducing quite alluring in more cases than one. Finally Rachnera the giant spider monster is easily the 2nd best out of the bunch. This is primarily because of her entertaining sadism towards the characters making her unique among the harem. One scene involving a dullahan and her is especially noteworthy which I wont spoil for those who are not aware. Our protagonist Kimihito Kurusu is surprisingly one of the shows highlights. His reckless and commanding attitude is a breath of fresh air compared to other harem protagonists who do not have the same level of bravery as females. His actions that involve helping the girls from being downtrodden in human society particularly one scene involving him punching monster bigots so hard that they fly through the door make him quite likable in this regard. He does have his dumb moments here and there but in context to the situation they fit well in a comedy scenario where he does not have much control over a bunch of monster girls that are entirely different from human girls. He is not an overly perverted protagonist who we would all root for like Tomoki from Heavens Lost Property or Youto in Hentai Ouji. Still he manages to have a subtle sexual interest at the right time. 1000https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/horriblesubsmonstermusumenoirunichijou02720pmkvsnapshot211920150714193005.jpg My only big issue with the cast is that we do not get to explore the supporting cast as much as wed like. Sure Sumisu has great moments involving the supervision of Kimihitos care for the girls but I do not get the same feeling with the other characters. The MON Monster of a Neuro squad in particular has this problem. There might be one episode where Kimihito goes on a date with all of them but other than that it was hard for me actually to give them any thought compared to the main girls. They will explore them more in the 2nd season and I hope that that is the case. One exception to the supporting cast is Lala the dullahan monster who has one of the most memorable moments involving her head and an independent body in the entire show. Again no spoilers but its worth seeing Monster Musume for that alone. From a technical standpoint Monster Musumes art assets are pretty good from how shiny and colorful the character designs are. I also enjoy the funny character face reactions whenever something lewd scary or surprising happens every time they occur. The backgrounds however are not something to write at home about. It is quite plain and average to see onscreen most of the time. There is the issue of the OP/ED music. The OP is okay I liked the chorus of the girls chanting Monster Monster at the beginning but the rest just felt underwhelming. Same with the ED although I tend to question how it fits with the shows tone at all. I know it features the monster squad which are the active characters of the anime but it felt like an ED to an action anime overall not a comedy/ecchi one. 1000https://gonzonyan.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/horriblesubsmonstermusumenoirunichijou09720pmkvsnapshot102920150901160350.jpg I had read the Monster Musume manga a little before getting into this so I expected much of what I got. And what I got was enough for me to say it was an entertaining harem that reminds me how harem shows can be incredibly enjoyable. You need to add a different spin to the genre and Monster Musume proves that you can do that successfully. Is it a gamechanging spin that will change it? Not at all. Theres so much added to the genre but so little for it to be anything but enjoyable escapism. Grade: A
87 /100
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