Monster Musume

Episode 9

Monster Musume has its share of issues, but there's no disputing the fact that it's astonishingly good at coming up with new monster girls. So far we've seen a lamia, a harpy, a centaur, a slime, a mermaid, an arachne, a zombie, a cyclops, an ogre, a doppelganger, and now a dragon-girl. At this point, I think plain old cat girls might be obsolete by the end of the season.

Despite being surrounded by all these monster girls, Kimihito starts this episode off by spending an afternoon with the one other human character in the series: Smith. Keen to find out what he's doing on a date with the irresponsible woman in black, the girls embark on a clandestine stalking mission. Using Suu as an instant disguise may have seemed like a good idea on paper, but the reality of trying to wear a slime girl as a costume turns out to be less ideal. With their cover blown, the girls learn that Kimihito has received a threatening letter that promises his imminent demise if he gets married. Sending him out on the town with Smith fails to lure out the anonymous villain, so the MON squad decides to try the plan again with Mero and Miia. A three-person date at the aquarium proves equally unsuccessful, but it does lead to an unexpected encounter with a winged dragon-girl.

The death threat gives the show a welcome push forward in the story department, and we even get a change of scenery out of the deal. With all the time Monster Musume has spent indoors lately, getting everyone out of the house helps change things up more than you'd expect. The aquarium trip is particularly effective at bringing out parts of Miia and Mero's personalities that wouldn't be as noticeable elsewhere, like Mero's ability to thrive as the center of attention. My only major complaint with the new premise is that it doesn't seem to be going anywhere yet. The atmosphere could stand to be a bit more ominous if Kimihito's life is really supposed to be in danger. The dragon-girl character is too poorly developed for the audience to buy into the idea that she might be the antagonist who sent the letter. On the other hand, if this storyline is just an excuse to send him on a bunch of dates, then a less elaborate setup would've done the trick. Isn't he already supposed to be dating all the girls to find someone to marry anyway?

While the idea of having Suu transform into a costume to help disguise another character is novel, her latest tour of slimy destruction pushes even the limits of Monster Musume's standards. These scenes don't initially seem like they should be less tasteful than what we've already seen, but something about adding a crowd of rowdy onlookers threw up a red flag for me. I don't expect it to be a deal-breaker for anyone who's made it this far into the series, but this is a rare case where dialing things back a notch would've been a good idea.

Despite a few missteps, this episode still retains the show's eye for minor yet amusing details. Little moments like Mero geeking out over fish trivia and Tio casually kidnapping a dolphin from the aquarium strengthen the comedy when the story starts to lose its way. It may not be necessary for Papi to mess with the maid café customers through the window, or for Miia to dress up as a very different kind of “Snake,” but these small touches make a big difference when you add them up. It's just a shame that the episode's core content doesn't hold up by comparison.

This episode starts with the good idea to let the cast explore the outside world, but it loses its way when trying to turn that idea into a long-form storyline. The details of the plot are rough and unfocused, and the fanservice could stand to be kept on a shorter leash. Thankfully, the characters are able to pick up enough of the slack to keep the episode from running too far off the rails. A more focused effort next week should preserve the show's positive momentum.

Rating: B-

Monster Musume is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

Paul Jensen is a freelance writer and editor. You can follow more of his anime-related ramblings on Twitter.