My newest Crunchyroll obsession has filled the Summer Hikaru Died-shaped hole in my life

Hinako in This Monster Wants to Eat Me — (Image credit: ©2024 Sai Naekawa_KADOKAWA_Project Watatabe)

It's a tale as old as time: Boy meets boy. Boy loves boy. Boy dies and gets replaced by a demonic doppelganger. Ok, it's not that old. This story is actually quite unique and pretty special, as anyone who's watched The Summer Hikaru Died can attest to.

Ryohei Takeshita's adaptation of Mokumokuren's manga is a singular vision that melds body horror, folklore terrors and a sweltering summer heat with core tenets of the BL (Boy Love) genre. In doing so, The Summer Hikaru Died expands the scope of queer storytelling to create something unique, monstrous and even beautiful. In short, there's no other anime like it, which makes the wait for (a recently confirmed) season two practically unbearable.

Enter This Monster Wants to Eat Me, a new anime that started just a couple of weeks after The Summer Hikaru Died gave us that gorgeous season one finale. Based on a manga written and illustrated by Sai Naekawa, Studio Lings' adaptation echoes themes from The Summer Hikaru Died, although the two shows remain very different. While The Summer Hikaru Died is a gay love story that takes place in a sleepy Japanese mountain village, This Monster Wants To Eat is a lesbian-themed romance set by the sea. Yet the latter isn't a traditional romance either. Not by any means.

Here, a demonic mermaid named Shiori does everything in her power to protect Hinako, a teenage girl who's still recovering from the loss of her family a few years prior. Sounds kind of sweet, right? Well, it would be if Shiori weren't focused on making Hinako happy, so she'll be even more delicious when she does eventually decide to eat her. You shouldn't be too surprised. I mean, it's in the name of the show, right? But where This Monster Wants To Eat Me might surprise you is in how it creates something delicate and even beautiful out of such monstrous urges.

Love and monsters

Shiori in This Monster Wants to Eat Me — (Image credit: ©2024 Sai Naekawa_KADOKAWA_Project Watatabe)

Like in The Summer Hikaru Died, there's a constant tension between the show's central pair where one's deadly lust threatens to consume the other. Yoshiki fears Hikaru and knows spending time with what was once his friend could end his life, and that danger is even more tangible for Hinako. Shiori isn't exactly shy about wanting to eat her, while Hikaru was at least reluctant to hurt Yoshiki.

The difference between Yoshiki and Hinako is that Hinako fully welcomes death. After losing her parents and brother in a car crash, the poor girl suffers suicidal ideation, drifting through life while no longer wanting to be a part of it. So when a hungry Shiori shows up in her classroom following their chance encounter by the sea, Hinako is actually relieved rather than afraid. But it's more than that. There's something truly hypnotising about Shiori, a siren song brought to life. Her eyes are like the colour of the ocean, points out Hinako, who keeps losing herself in the tidal pull of Shiori's gaze. And it's not like the monster holds back from expressing her desires either.

"The only thing I really want to eat is you," she says in the second episode as her fingers touch Hinako's lips. Yet aside from the hunger, Shiori is also fascinated by this girl who holds no fear of death, creating a very unique tension that will surely escalate as more Yōkai (supernatural creatures) try to snatch Hinako away from her.

Food for thought

Shiori and Hikaru in This Monster Wants to Eat Me — (Image credit: ©2024 Sai Naekawa_KADOKAWA_Project Watatabe)

Horror often resonates with queer audiences precisely because we find ourselves drawn to and even identifying with the monsters that society rejects. Queerness has long been othered, yet LGBTQ+ themed horror that speaks to this has only just begun to emerge recently in anime success stories such as The Summer Hikaru Died and now This Monster Wants to Eat Me as well.

It's worth noting at this early stage that the latter isn't quite as strong just yet. Studio Lings' animation is less unique and well-defined than what's seen in The Summer Hikaru Died, plus the melancholic anguish drags more here. At times, you find yourself wishing for a bit more energy and oomph from the pacing of This Monster Wants To Eat Me, despite the sombre tale at hand.

But just like in The Summer Hikaru Died, a potent mix of grief, trauma and visceral queer lust combine here to often moving effect, making This Monster Wants To Eat Me an intriguing substitute with plenty of potential while we wait for Hikaru and Yoshiki to return.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me is currently streaming on Crunchyroll. For more, check out our rundown of all the new anime hitting screens in 2025.

With ten years of online journalism experience, David has written about TV, film, and music for a wide range of publications including Indiewire, Paste, Empire, Digital Spy, Radio Times, Teen Vogue and more. He's spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created Digital Spy's Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates queer talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads. Passions include animation, horror, comics, and LGBTQ+ storytelling, which is why David longs to see a Buffy-themed Rusical on RuPaul's Drag Race.

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