This Monster Wants To Eat Me Ep. 8-13: From Toxic To Wholesome Yuri [Review]

From Ep. 8 “The Cause of the Cracks” to Ep. 13 “Warmth on the Sea Floor”, This Monster Wants to Eat Me shows off an intensely complex yuri story. By the time of the finale, you definitely get the sense that Hinako, Shiori, and Miko have all undergone some enormous character and relationship growth. In short, you could say that this anime has evolved from toxic yuri to wholesome yuri by the time the finale has rolled credits.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 8-13: Details in Brief

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 8 “The Cause of the Cracks”, Ep. 9 “A Burned-in Prayer”, Ep. 10 “Said With a Prayer”, Ep. 11 “Cold Morning”, Ep. 12 “Beloved Child”, and Ep. 13 “Warmth on the Sea Floor” are the are the eighth, ninth, tenth, eleventh, twelth, and thirteenth episodes (you can read my reviews of Ep. 1 (and others), Ep. 2-3, Ep. 4, Ep. 5, Ep. 6, and Ep. 7 here) of this supernatural dark urban fantasy and horror yuri anime series. Said anime is the anime adaptation of the manga of the same name by Sai Naekawa.

Studio Lings (Tachibanakan to Lie Angle, Yuri is My Job!) is the animation studio behind this anime. Naoyuki Kuzuya is the chief director of the anime, with Yūsuke Suzuki as the director, Mitsutaka Hirota as the writer, and Keiji Inai as the composer.

The opening theme song for This Monster Wants To Eat Me is “nie” (“贄-nie-“; ‘Sacrifice’) by Yoshino. Meanwhile, “Lily” (リリィ, Rirī) by Reina Ueda is the ending theme song.

Synopsis

Alas, This Monster Wants To Eat Me has only recented ended its run. In fact, Ep. 13 “Warmth on the Sea Floor” only recently concluded the anime on December 25, 2025 exclusively on Crunchyroll. Thus, here’s the synopses of the episodes covered in this review for all those who haven’t watched it yet, starting with:

Ep. 8 “The Cause of the Cracks”: “While accompanying the kindly older Ayame, Hinako faces an unexpected threat.”

Ep. 9 “A Burned-in Prayer”: “Hinako attempts to learn the truth about what Ayame told her about Shiori.”

Ep. 10 “Said With a Prayer”: “Shiori reveals to Miko the details of her distant and more recent past.”

Ep. 11 “Cold Morning”: “As Hinako seems to hit rock bottom, Miko and Shiori struggle to pull her back from the brink.”

Ep. 12 “Beloved Child”: “Shiori makes a desperate attempt to get her true feelings across to Hinako.”

Ep. 13 “Warmth on the Sea Floor”: “In the aftermath of Hinako’s crisis, the girls feel out their new normal.”

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 8-13: The Good

Since this review covers so many episodes of This Monster Wants to Eat Me, we will break down what’s good about them into their own sections, starting with:

Ep. 8 “The Cause of the Cracks”

As you might be able to guess: horror is the focus of This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 8 “The Cause of the Cracks”, and it delivers in spades. Much of that horror comes from the story surrounding Ayame Chiba (voiced by Saki Fujita (JP)), whose true identity as a type of yokai known as a futakuchi-onna is the crux of the horror. However, a good portion of that horror also comes from the cinematics of this entire episode. The warm colors at the beginning of the episode quickly becomes dull, muted, and then outright dark and foreboding colors as the episode progresses. That and the camera angles that are angled upwards at Ayame from lower down that make her look taller all emphasize her as the “monster” of the episode, and thus highlights the horror…even when Shiori (voiced by Yui Ishikawa (JP)) shows up and out-horrors the horror.

And that’s the interesting part here. For all that Shiori is the hero of the episode, she’s also depicted to be just as monstrous in her heroic actions as Ayame was in her villainous actions. Basically, from the perspective of Hinako (voiced by Reina Ueda (JP)), both of them are monsters. One may be on her side, but they’re both still monsters…and she’s perfectly fine with either of them, because her core wish is to die. It’s this combination of story and cinematography that’s what makes this episode truly horrifying in a delicious way.

Ep. 9 “A Burned-in Prayer”

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 9 “A Burned-in Prayer” is the cooldown episode after the horror of the previous episode, and interestingly, this episode humanizes the previously purely monstrous Ayame by revealing her backstory. With that backstory reveal, it transforms the horror into a tragedy given the revelations of her past: that of someone who committed a horrible crime in the past, and has effectively been spending the last 100 or so years attempting to repent for that crime.

Suddenly, the monster now has a reason for her actions, and it’s emphasized by the return to warm colors even when Ayame is the star of the scene…save for the flashback which are drawn in muted colors to emphasize not only that it takes place in the past, but to also emphasize the horror that did take place in the past. Honestly, this entire episode alone is a study in both contrast and how character exploration can fundamentally alter the audience’s perception of a character.

Ep. 10 “Said With a Prayer”

Speaking of character exploration, This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 10 “Said With a Prayer” is definitely the Shiori character exploration episode. She just reveals so much of her backstory here…and to Miko (voiced by Fairouz Ai (JP)) of all people. It really also develops their relationship as a result of that, with the implication being that Shiori can only talk about sensitive, yokai-related matters because Miko is a fellow yokai, and thus, understands what it’s like to be a yokai and sympathizes with that…to an extent. There is still that cat vs dog (or rather, fox vs fish) dynamic they usually have, but…it feels much more nuanced in this episode. As though they are starting to develop a relationship with each other in addition to Hinako. It’s that complexity to this relationship that makes this yuri story one of the best ones out there.

Ep. 11 “Cold Morning”

Here in This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 11 “Cold Morning” is where the drama and tragedy reaches its climax. Much of it due to the rainy weather exacerbating Hinako’s depression over Shiori’s revelations, which then turns into a nervous breakdown upon seeing the creepy undead hand reaching out of the water, speaking with the voice of her departed family. It’s really no wonder that it results in what’s effectively a suicide attempt, complete with some disturbing cuts of the scene in a way that combines tragedy and horror.

All of which…isn’t really interrupted by Shiori’s showing up to cut short the suicide attempt. Yes, she saved Hinako’s life, but it doesn’t make the depression go away, especially since Shiori was the main cause of that depression in the first place. All you have to do is look at the continuing downpour to get more symbolism of that. No, it will take Shiori being more than a mere yokai in order to defeat something as intangible as chronic depression.

Ep. 12 “Beloved Child”

Fortunately, it’s This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 12 “Beloved Child” where Shiori finally learns how to stop being merely a predator. All because she decided to talk to Hinako instead of at her, as per Miko’s advice. Indeed, it’s that character development on Shiori’s part that makes her a complex and fascinating main character, seeing how she basically grows as a person because she starts to abandon her predatory behavior…which was itself a mask for her true emotions anyways.

Instead, the dropping of that mask is best symbolized by the clouds finally breaking, and sunlight shining down at last. That also symbolizes the lifting of Hinako’s spirits as well when she finally learns the truth of Shiori’s feelings towards her. It…doesn’t actually change her desire for death, but what it does is assure her that Shiori means it when she says she wants to grant Hinako’s wish for death. It’s still not exactly a healthy relationship here, but at least it’s better than active wanting to commit suicide, and that’s fine by both Shiori and Miko…more or less.

Ep. 13 “Warmth on the Sea Floor”

At last, This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 13 “Warmth on the Sea Floor” ends the anime not with a bang or a even a whimper, but with warm hope for the future, as the title suggests. Complete with Hinako, Shiori, and Miko all enjoying a hot springs trip together. Interestingly, there is none of the stereotypical “fan service” for this episode in spite of the setup. It’s all just the main characters relaxing, chilling, and recovering from the events of the previous episode, which is a nice break from how typical male-oriented anime would depict such events.

As you might imagine: bright colors abound in this episode to emphasize the light-hearted nature of it. However, even in the bright daylight, there is still a low level of depression coming off of Hinako, especially when she admits that she had been trying to fake some of that happiness. And yet, some of the happiness is genuine, which results in the rather hopeful ending of this episode, when Hinako says “See you later” to the photo of her family instead of “See you soon”. That simple change of phrasing is small, but it indicates a substantial attitude change for Hinako. Now whether it leads anywhere hopeful is a question for a second season of This Monster Wants to Eat Me, should we ever get one.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me Ep. 8-13: The Bad

the one true despair about this anime series is that there is absolutely no news of a second season to continue the story. Alas, this likely means that it will be a long wait before we get that news, if it ever arrives. We just have to cross our fingers and hope that we get a This Monster Wants to Eat Me Season 2 at some point in the future.

Alas, if you’re looking for action, few of these episodes fit the bill. The most action we get is in Ep. 8 “The Cause of the Cracks”, and to be fair, it is very violent, brutal, and gore-y action worthy of a slasher film. However, it’s also quite brief, so if you were looking for an extended action sequence, you might be slightly disappointed. As a whole, this anime is a yuri romantic drama with dark fantasy and horror elements though, so it fits that action isn’t the main feature of the anime. If you want that, you might want to look elsewhere.

Anime Recommendations

Fortunately, there are many other anime series in the sea. If you want action akin to the brutal duel between Shiori and Ayame, then you might like Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, Kaiju No. 8, DDDD, DAN DA DAN, Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online II, Zenshu, Blue Box, Solo Leveling, Black Butler, Nyaight of the Living Cat, May I Ask for One Final Thing?, and/or TRIGUN STARGAZE. However, if you want more drama or comedy, then you might want to check out Spy x Family, Senpai is an Otokonoko, Apocalypse Hotel, Spice and Wolf: Merchant Meets the Wise Wolf, The Ancient Magus’ Bride, My Dress-Up Darling, This Monster Wants to Eat Me, Hana-Kimi, and/or Journal with Witch.

What did you think of This Monster Wants to Eat Me after watching that finale? Are you hopeful for a second season as well? Tell us your yuri anime thoughts in the comment section below.

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