Interspecies Reviewers

Episode 3

Last episode I commented that Interspecies Reviewers had “some of the most extensive censoring I have ever seen in one of their [Funimation's] titles.” Based on episode three, I am retracting the “some of” part of that statement. If Funimation has ever streamed something more explicit or more heavily-censored, I am either not aware of it or not remembering it. In fact, I was sorely tempted to use one of the multiple “Please enjoy the scene without the visuals” shots for the screenshot for this review, as it may more typify what's going on in this episode than any other individual shot. (And for the record, I am scoring this episode a bit lower than I might otherwise because of how much of an interference the censoring is.) Of course, nothing is at all surprising about this when sex not only happens on-screen but is also, in fact, the focal point.

Unlike the first two episodes, this time around all of the exploits are part of a single unbroken narrative: guys don't know what sex feels like for a women, so why not find out? Since this is a fantasy world where magic exists, that means a trip to Gender Swap Inn, an establishment where potions can temporarily transform a patron into the opposite gender. Hence Stunk becomes Stunkette, Zel becomes Zellie, the halfling Kinchal becomes Challison, and Crim become Clitorim. The former two get somewhat busty (by this series' standards) and switch to female seiyuu, while the halfling doesn't change much and Crim changes not at all outwardly; they just lost their male genitalia. The quartet then each had their choice from catalogs about what kind of partner they want to have for the experience. This is the first point where we learn that “in-guys” (the “in” for “incubus”) also exist in this setting and are an option here, but all but Clitorim decide that doing it with a guy while still a guy on the inside would be weird so they go for the lesbian experience. So does Clitorim, technically, but. . .

Part of the fun of this is the succu-girls that the transformed guys chose and how that affects their experiences. Stunkette opts for a cute elf while the others look at him funny for not caring that he's partnering with a 600 year old succu-girl and gets a “not all that interested” reaction. Challison's partner proves to be a sadistic, toy-loving type and so her experience is not pleasant for her. Zellie opts for the slime girl, who is, almost counter-intuitively, a popular choice for because of how malleable she is. He has a great experience. Dissuaded (some might say shamed) from going for an in-guy, Clitorim instead opts for the next best option: a wild hyena succu-girl. Female hyenas have protruding genitalia much like males do. Clitorim clearly knew what they were getting into, and so focuses on the female experience (rather than taking a male mindset into it) and has the best time for a change.

There are all kinds of sexual dynamics in play with all of this; does Crim now officially identify as bi? (A rainbow shines behind them in the closing scene, so the answer to that is almost certainly “yes.”) There's also the whole “male on the inside” business mentioned by a couple of characters. The series is not at all taking any of this seriously, so I rather doubt any statements about sexuality are being intended here, but I could absolutely see some being read into all of this. Another interesting, somewhat related point is the firm restriction that patrons are not allowed to leave the establishment until the gender-change transformation wears off. I give the writing kudos for even considering the angle of how much trouble it could cause if temporarily gender-transformed patrons were to go traipsing around out on the streets and for considering that the Gender-Swap Inn uses only succu-girls who know they're dealing with gender-swap cases. Even for fare like this, I always appreciate when series fully think through their world-building.

Beyond the way the appearances of characters do or don't change, the visuals are hard to judge this time because the censoring is so extensive (even the subtitles and Japanese dialog are affected) and big chunks of the actual sex scenes are audio-only. The fully-uncensored Blu-Ray release is probably going to be very close to needing a hentai label. Not censored are various uses of elephants and clams as symbolic of male and female genitalia respectively. The series also has fun with its musical selections throughout.

Given the subject matter of the series, you had to figure that it was going here at some point. The question now is how the series is going to top this.

Rating:

Interspecies Reviewers is currently streaming on FUNimation.