Killing Bites

Episode 3

After last episode, you had to figure this was going to happen. Hitomi and Cheetah Girl get roped into animal-themed cosplay in order to cover for them romping around Yuya's campus in their skimpy Therianthrope hybrid forms. It seems like a cover story that these nerdy college guys would readily believe, regardless of what the two combatants actually seemed to be doing. Given that Hitomi takes a surprising liking to cosplay and it seems primed for Cheetah Girl's personality, I suspect that this isn't the last time that panty-flashing costume changes will come up in the series.

While this sequence partially fills the fanservice quota for the episode, it's less important compared to other key developments. First off, Cheetah Girl teaches Hitomi how to partially manifest her honey badger side, which requires less energy than a full transformation and will doubtless be useful down the road. Afterward, we get the first appearance of Yoko, daughter and heir to the Mitsukado zaibatsu, who might be a significant upcoming antagonist, though I didn't get an entirely hostile vibe from her up front. Her character design suggests more that she could be a potential love interest/rival within the cast. Following that, we get a much more extensive description of the Destroyal, although some aspects of it seem contradictory: three-person teams, yet they'll be moved around like chess pieces by their financier?

However, the biggest development is the third person to fill out Team Ishida. Ui Inaba is the bunny girl prominently featured in the series' theme songs, and she's unsurprisingly fleet of foot but not much of a fighter, to the point that she's never won a Killing Bites and has no interest in participating. Where Ichinosuke and Hitomi's harsher approaches scare her off, Yuya is able to get through to her enough that she actually proves useful in a fight against a pair of incestuous lesbian horned lizard Therianthropes. This victory convinces her to join the team, providing a double-whammy of fanservice along with a chance for Yuya to prove his worth as well.

The series is starting to establish a trend of battles against disposable Therianthrope foes in each episode, though Lion Guy pops up again this episode despite looking pretty dead after his own fight, so maybe Porcupine Girl wasn't done for either. Either way, I like many of this series' little touches, such as how Yuya is still recovering from his leg injury or how Hitomi doesn't actually look down on Ui for her lack of fighting ability; it seems to be enough for her that Ui can contribute meaningfully in her own way, like by sensing a hidden foe. I also liked her comments about Yuya – that she doesn't fear abandonment or betrayal because the weak can smell the strong – and the distinctive way that Ui runs in rabbit form.

So we have new girls in the cast, plenty of violence and fanservice, and a few light moments mixed in for good measure, all tied together by solid artistry. This series has everything it needs to remain successful for its audience.

Rating: B

Killing Bites is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.