Interview with Monster Girls

Interviews with Monster Girls is a 2017 Comedy Fantasy anime series from a beloved anime studio to ever come into existence, A-1 Pictures. Whenever a studio creates any series, it will, of course, become an eyecatcher due to the studio’s reputation, but not everything a studio makes will be great. This series must overcome the more significant hurdle that the two genres described as comedy being subjective and fantasy being highly competitive. If one is not careful, this series could quickly burn up into a massive ball of gas and end anyone’s enjoyment. However, if any anime series can create something that meets everyone’s list of needs, this could be an interesting take on something unknown. If anyone has any doubts on this, please read Earwig and the witch.

High school biology teacher Tetsuo Takahashi may look like your average everyday instructor, but beneath his gentle appearance lies something a little less ordinary: his fascination for the “Ajin,” more commonly known as “Demi.” Although these half-human, half-monster beings have integrated into human society. Takahashi believes that much about them will remain unknown unless he interacts with them firsthand. After all, a teacher’s goal in life is to learn and teach their pupils about everybody, no matter the species.

Interview with Monster Girls follows Takahashi’s daily life in Shibasaki High School with his three Demi students – Hikari Takanashi, an energetic vampire; Kyouko Machi, a gentle Dullahan; and Yuki Kusakabe, the shy snow woman. Along the way, Takahashi meets fellow teacher Sakie Satou, a succubus with an aversion towards men. To fulfill his goal of learning more about the Demi, Takahashi decides to conduct casual interviews with the girls to learn more about their abilities, psyche, and interactions with human society. As Takahashi strengthens his bond with his students, he soon discovers that the Demi are not as unusual as he initially once believed.

Having a story that is so quickly captivating within the first couple of episodes is no easy task. Many anime series have tried and have either failed or overshot the goal and making the story worse somehow. They have cleared the bench when it comes to taking this basic concept and turning that into some story! The pacing to character development level within this story is remarkable, yet not too overpowering, giving the viewer the feeling that they’re watching a novel. Making the viewer easily submerged within the story adds an emotional connection that some series have trouble doing within multiple seasons.

Another positive aspect of this anime was that it properly tiptoes the line between fantasy and a slice of life. Now this series could easily be considered a slice of life anime series but considering that vampires and headless women aren’t an everyday aspect, it shouldn’t be considered one. But somehow, Interview with Monster Girls makes it seem so commonplace that one could meet one and want to meet a Demi-human. When it comes to the writing of the series, the characters are based in high school and have common high school problems. But what makes this writing so good is that they have dialect like a high schooler would have. They want to act more mature and less awkward than they genuinely are, but in actuality, nobody can escape their quirks or own nature.

When it comes to this story’s negatives, one must understand that the biggest one is unmissable. This series relies on the gimmick that these are cute girls doing cute things, and if viewers aren’t interested or care, for that matter, this series is not for them. There are no loli characters, but somehow, they made it work. Another negative aspect of this story is that there are some parts that the viewer can swiftly tell that the series is trying to do a coming-of-age arc, but they execute it terribly. For instance, they take the route of a young girl having a light crush on the teacher, but luckily they don’t expand past that. So if viewers are uninterested in that area, they may not enjoy this series quite as well as they potentially would of other series.

Perhaps this anime series story’s most shocking disappointment would be the lack of world consequences. This problem may be a western philosophy, but considering an adult is taking an interest in multiple female students, regardless of their intentions, it seems a little strange. Only one episode mentions this, and they only deal with it for about five minutes. There aren’t any issues with Tetsuo, and he is the only character that doesn’t suffer any obstacles. In reality, viewers watching this series could care less for the practically sole male of the cast, especially when the cast is adorable female characters with different demi-human abilities.

Interview with Monster Girls has something remarkable, and that’s its art style. The art within this series is a solid mix of realism and classic A-1 art. The characters are well defined and easily rememberable, yet they have no flash – minus the headless woman. Having an anime series that has very appealing art to it but also not crossing the beauty line is rather impressive in its own right. This anime seems to have done very well with the colorful and bright art style pair exceptionally well with a series such as this. Though somewhere along the way, they hit the wall and seem to plateau, which is rather saddening but still visually appealing to view.

When it comes to the animation production for this series, there seemed to be a problem. Compared to the art style and story, this production seemed to be very average. The opening animation is outstanding, not excellent, but good. The theme titled “Original.” is a catchy pop song paired with a decently produced animation, but nothing too rememberable. The ending theme is titled “Fairy Tale” and is unfortunately paired with a very forgettable animation segment, which is sad that this is the final taste viewers may have of this series. If any other studio had created this anime series, this may be a great production but compared to other series that have been created by this studio, such as Your Lie in April, Love is War. Even Black Butler it’s a tad below their average. The viewers should expect more, and yet they get this barely adequate series.

Though when it comes to this anime series characters, they have a somewhat wide range of characters. Tetsuo Takahashi is a biology teacher who is fascinated by Demi-humans and wants to learn more about them. He is well-liked by the staff and students of his High School that he takes with stride, always willing to help whenever he can. As the series progresses, he slowly begins to understand that the problems Demi’s are facing, both as teenagers and demis, make it a point to help in any way possible. By doing so, Takahashi is often the girls’ go-to person due to his knowledge of demis and his kind and generous nature.

The first of the Demi-human students is a highly energetic vampire, Hikari Takanashi. Hikari has a twin sister, Himari, who is a human. Despite being the older twin, she is the more child-like of the two. She finds some vampire stereotypes funny and strange like she loves eating garlic and merely dislikes lights and warm temperatures. She avoids biting other people’s necks instead of drinking blood packs sent by the government and using blood substitutes like tomato juice. Though even if she is very lazy, she often strives to help others in need.

The second of the Demi-human students is a shy Dullahan whose head is separate from her body. Kyoko Machi has a blue flame that comes out of where her neck should be and surprisingly doesn’t burn when it is touched. Since her head occupies her arms, she often longs for contact with others, whether from holding hands, hugs, etc. She is always willing to talk to people, though she initially found it very difficult to make friends because she thought it would be awkward to bring up that she is a Dullahan.

The last of the Demi-human students is a very timid snow woman whose body is always cold to the touch. Yuki Kusakabe will sometimes spread cold air while experiencing negative emotions and is very susceptible to heat. Though she initially dislikes her demi nature, fearing that she could harm others or those around her, Tetsuo manages to help her understand more about her nature. She is secretly an avid manga enthusiast and has a taste for multiple genres, and after she starts to befriend a few people, she slowly begins to open up more.

Though the last of the Demi-human characters is a succubus, who is a colleague of Tetsuo, Sakie Sato is a succubus, and they are sometimes referred to as “Dream Demons” due to the aphrodisiac effect her body produces. To counter-react that effect, she takes many precautions in her everyday life to avoid inadvertently seducing men and other male students, such as wearing a tracksuit to hide her body. With her experiences with the opposite sex, she has become a shy speaking person when dealing with other men. Though she will do anything in her power to help her students, she has become a well-rounded person by the end of the series.

When it comes to being entertained by this anime series, one must consider all the elements mentioned earlier. However, overall, viewers will be highly pleased with this beautiful series and touching story. Interview with Monster Girls may not be a high-action fantasy anime series, but its comedy is soft and used rightly. The story is well written and interesting enough to hold everyone’s attention, to the point where the viewer may immediately wish to read the source material. Other series have done something similar to Interview with Monster Girls, but this would be an excellent choice for viewers looking for something easy to get behind and enjoy something simple.