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This Monster Wants to Eat Me might call to mind The Summer Hikaru Died. After all, both manga series involve young adults dealing with potentially romantic relationships with extremely dangerous and supernatural beings. In the first volume of this yuri manga, we’re presented with a lovely threat. Now in volume 2, the potential for lethal relationships increases as we learn more about those around Hinako.

Editor’s Note: There will be some minor spoilers for events leading up to the climax of volume 2 of the This Monster Eats Me manga below. 671dn

This Monster Wants to Eat Me volume 2 picks up pretty much immediately where the first installment of the yuri manga left off.  Hinako and Shiori are dealing with the after effects of the attack by smaller monsters. They head back to the festival they were attending, with Shiori remarking it is fine that they’re bloody. Because it is monster blood, allegedly nobody will notice it.

Except someone does.

Which is a perfect way to kick off the latest mystery of “hey, who else might not be an ordinary individual or even human.” Given the series establishes that there are monsters in the world, they very likely aren’t friendly, and Hinako is extremely attractive to them, it stands to reason there wouldn’t just be the bloodthirsty mermaid Shiori to deal with. It’s the first of many loose threads that start to be built up and yanked at throughout the chapters here, yielding results.

What’s fascinating is how the second volume of the This Monster Wants to Eat Me manga sets up the next reveal and possible yuri relationship in such a way that the reader might initially not be sure how it is going to go. Mangaka Sai Naekawa leaves these breadcrumbs of suspicion. Is Shiori just expressing jealousy and traits of a toxic partner by investigating the person Hinako is close to? Is this her still attempting to genuinely protect her out of concern for her meal? Is there another harmful element around Hinako?

I also enjoyed how, by going in the direction these latest chapters do, Naekawa also deals with a potential plothole. We’re told throughout the first volume that Hinako’s blood is especially delicious and desirable to monsters and undesirable entities. We see multiple attempted attacks in the first volume, even. So… why has nothing happened until now? What’s going on? But as we gradually go through this story and learn more about Hinako’s life and the person Shiori is investigating, things really start to make sense in a satisfying way. 

There’s an “ah ha” moment, to be sure. But what’s also great is that it isn’t cheapened by any immediate reveal. We’re given time to digest this. We get to see Hinako react to it. We also get to see a bit of the other person’s response to Shiori and the situation. In so doing, it also leaves me hoping a bit that Naekawa is setting up a possible love triangle in this yuri manga. Not everything comes up at once, even though we are starting to get more answers. No, those are being saved for further down the road, which I appreciate.

It leaves me excited to see what will happen next when it comes to character development and yuri relationships in the next volume of the This Monster Wants to Eat Me manga. Because now we know there are multiple individuals around Hinako who are interested in her. We aren’t sure of everyone’s intentions. We don’t know who we can trust. We aren’t even sure how many of the people she’ll get involved with will even be human. Even though this volume gets into more world-building and answers, it’s still good at helping set things up.

Volume 2 of This Monster Wants to Eat Me is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 3 of the manga on January 21, 2025.

The post This Monster Wants to Eat Me Vol 2 Makes the Yuri Manga More Dramatic appeared first on Siliconera.

There’s been an influx in horror manga series that involve slice of life elements and romance lately. We have The Summer Hikaru Diedbringing in an eldritch abomination. Now Yen Press picked up Sai Naekawa’s This Monster Wants to Eat Me, with the first volume hinting at a potential relationship and horrifying end. In the case of this latest yuri series, perhaps the most compelling part is the potentially toxic relationship between Hinako and the mysterious Shiori.

Editor’s Note: There will be some spoilers for the first two chapters of the This Monster Wants to Eat Me manga below. 3e4s26

Hinako is an orphan. She lives alone. Her family is entirely dead. It seems like she blames herself for it. However, we don’t know exactly what happened. She has friends at school, like Miko. However, she’s clearly traumatized by her past. So much so that when she walks past the sea after school one day and is nearly killed by a monster from the depths, she doesn’t even seem all that stunned when a mermaid named Shiori brutally kills whatever it was coming after her. Then, when Shiori explains it is because she is defending her meal and she is going to devour Hinako, Hinako seems… okay with it all.

It’s a tremendous gut punch, to be certain. As I read through the introduction to the horror manga, I figured maybe the interaction with Shiori might be the motivation to help Hinako seek help. That maybe it would make her feel something again and react. But to have her accept a possible fate, and perhaps even be okay with or embrace the idea, really help set the series apart. It made me want to learn more about her, a heroine so far gone that becoming a monster’s meal would be an ideal ending for her. 

Likewise, this sort of introduction is an incredible setup for Shiori herself in This Monster Wants to Eat Me. In popular media, we’ve been trained to see mermaids as pretty and idealized creatures. They’re more of a beautiful aspiration, though some stories do depict them as horrors from the deep. And many times, Shiori is absolutely adorable! She looks like a gorgeous character, and there are many moments when she’s polite to and protective of Hinako. However, Naekawa also has these moments in the first volume of the manga that do show what a horror Shiori can be. We see grotesque vestiges lurking under the elegant facade. It’s fascinating. As I read, I wanted to know more about her. The lore surrounding mermaids here. The reason she showed up.

But also, I can’t help but wonder about Hinako’s mysteries and secrets as well. While Shiori is the more overt danger and threat, perhaps there’s something to the human girl that isn’t quite right or trustworthy either? After all, Shiori and other monsters are drawn to her because of the way she’d taste. We know there was a disaster that took the lives of her parents and sibling. Perhaps there’s some greater part she played or trouble on her end as well?

Like the relationship that is developing between Hinako and Shiori is one of predator and prey. Shiori is guarding and perhaps even toying with her meal. Hinako doesn’t realize how close danger is or perhaps doesn’t care. Neither of them is invested in this situation for the right reasons. This is going to be unhealthy and dangerous. Yet, I could see myself growing attached to them and their relationship and wanting to see this through.

This Monster Wants to Eat Me is setting itself up as a horror manga where the reader may feel as though they can’t look away, even if the relationship is doomed or disaster awaits. We know Shiori is the type of mermaid that isn’t going to be pretty and content. She’s a ruthless monster. We already saw two situations in which other abominations tried to come after Hinako. Meanwhile, we still don’t even know what’s going on with Hinako and her family to get her to this point. While she seems to be a completely innocent victim, perhaps there’s also something going on with her to cause such feelings of guilt as well. 

Volume 1 of This Monster Wants to Eat Me is available now, and Yen Press will release volume 2 of the horror and yuri manga on September 17, 2024. 

The post Horror Is Subtle in This Monster Wants to Eat Me Manga  appeared first on Siliconera.