REVIEW: ‘This Monster Wants to Eat Me’ Episode 1 – “A Girl Who Seeks Death Waits for the Sea”

Melancholia, oppressive loneliness, and seaside yuri culminate in the thoughtful and evenly paced This Monster Wants to Eat Me Episode 1. Based on the manga written and illustrated by Sai Naekawa, “A Girl Who Seeks Death Waits for the Sea” casts an immediate, magnetic pull, despite standard visuals and an abundance of voice-over. The strategy is effective in immersing us into the melancholy of our grieving protagonist, as we watch her shoulder an impossible grief while harboring a darkness that threatens to overwhelm her. 

The premiere from Studio Lings is quick to announce the tone of the adaptation: somber. The melancholy radiates from the screen as high schooler Hinako (Reina Ueda) checks her texts before heading to school, only to be met with an aunt who can’t visit her and a friend who is unable to attend school. 

This wouldn’t be a big deal, but we quickly learn just how isolated Hinako is, having lost her parents and brother years earlier. Due to this, she suffers from a vague sense of suicidal ideation, something that becomes clearer throughout the premiere. 

The arrival of Shiori brings a new sense of life—and death—to Hinako. 

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Episode 1 holds nothing back in making her mental state clear. During conversations that don’t include her one friend, the bubbly Miko (Fairouz Ai), she sits as if sunken to the bottom of the ocean, the world muted and muffled despite ongoing conversation. 

However, Hinako’s life pivots upon the arrival of the mysterious Shiori (Yui Ishikawa). While at first she seems to just be a passing, guiding voice who makes sure Hinako doesn’t lean too far over a railing, her true nature comes to light when Hinako faces true danger from a yokai.

Shiori is a mermaid, determined to protect Hinako until the right moment, where, ultimately, Hinako will become her prey. She wishes to eat Hinako and suggests there will be other creatures who feel the same. 

Reino Ueda is heartbreaking as the lonely Hinako. 

This creates a rich, devastating crisis for our protagonist. Instead of being overwhelmed by fear, Hinako seems relieved. Ueda is heartbreaking in her delivery at the very end, when Shiori appears in her classroom. Because of the promise, Hinako believes that now her wish to die and join her family will be realized. However, it seems that this too would be too easy a narrative for the story to run on. 

It’s become a bit of a cliche at this point for horror films that are about grief or trauma – something that catapults it into that now mocked “elevated horror” genre. And yet there’s no denying the dual meanings in The Monster Wants to Eat Me. Yes, there’s a literal monster in Shiori and her claim that, one day, she’ll eat Hinako. But the “monster” here is also clearly Hinako’s depression and how it’s slowly, over time, consuming her. 

One of the strongest parts of the premiere is how it emphasizes just how lost Hinako is to her demons. The pacing is slow but deliberate, ensuring that we, too, become engrossed in Hinako’s non-stop mental narration. Ueda maintains a level, almost monotone cadence until that last moment, where a shaky catharsis lines her performances. This is the true Hinako, and that makes This Monster Wants to Eat Me Episode 1 all the more heartbreaking. 

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Episode 1 is an assured start to this yuri horror. 

The score by Keiji Inai conveys a sense of permanent grief from the start, and the suggestion of romance shines through with the line “I met a girl with eyes like the sea.” The music and seaside village setting strike a fantastical edge that compels even with the rough, stagnant direction. 

If anything, the series needed to be weirded. While Episode 1 succeeds in establishing the tone, protagonist, and major thematic cues, it would have been even better with a greater emphasis on horror. When Shiori defeats the yokai attacking Hinako, the latter remarks on the hellish view it painted. We, meanwhile, are shielded from it, only seeing mere glimpses of Shiori’s back as she defends. That and Shiori’s design, once she allows her proper form to surface, ironically lacks claws. 

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Episode 1 delivers a strong entry point with an empathetic heroine struggling with her overwhelming grief and an untethered sense of place. With a compelling narrative and central ‘me and my monster‘ dynamic, the premiere might lack in energy, but it makes up for it in assured, contemplative writing. 

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Episode 1 is available now on Crunchyroll.