Married to a monster – and loving it!
Streaming: Crunchyroll
Episodes: 12
Source: Manga
Read my First Impressions Here!
Review: Tomari is a typical teenage boy who finds himself in a very unique situation; he’s selected from among his peers to become the spouse of a giant fluffy creature called Kanenogi-san. It isn’t long before he realizes that his situation actually isn’t all that unique and that he’s one of several classmates who get to play house with a decidedly non-human partner. They all attempt to navigate married life with partners who are anything but typical.
I imagine that the quick summary in the above paragraph prompts one of a couple different responses – alternately intrigue or disgust at the vaguely uncomfortable, strange premise. I put myself in the former camp; I’ve been going down my massive list of half-watched anime lately, attempting finish things off so I feel just a little less guilty watching new anime, and this was, strangely enough, one of the first series that came to mind as something I wanted to pick back up and finish. I recalled being very intrigued by the why’s and how’s of the oddball pairings that cropped up within the first batch of episodes, but figured the short length would provide few if any answers.
I was mostly correct in that assumption, but what this goofy series lacks in coherent explanations, it offsets with copious moments of warm fuzzies between the characters. I’ll should be clear, though; the romantic feelings of these boys (deemed the “wives” in their relationships) toward their supernatural spouses might read as a bit creepy to some viewers. Kanenogi-san and the other objects of the human boys’ affections are definitely non-human in form and appear somewhat ageless. I imagine that there would likely be a lot of content to unpack and/or tiptoe around if this were anything but a short-form series with 3 minute episodes. As it is, though, I found myself feeling giddy at all the ways in which the characters managed to fret over their relationships and their ability to communicate with their beloved creatures.
One thing I did really love about the series is that the male cast members all seem extremely earnest. However abnormal a situation they’re in, they reach a place of emotional normalcy seemingly very quickly. They also seem fully committed to managing their relationships and being partners to their spouses. These traits would be charming in any situation, but come across as especially sweet considering the odd hurdles they’re expected to traverse in order to be with entities that often can’t speak to them directly. I’m definitely a fan of male characters on the sweeter, kinder end of the spectrum.
This series establishes more mysteries than it’s willing to solve, but as a brief snapshot of an idea, I found it to be fairly charming. That said, some of the content can certainly read as off-putting, so proceed with caution if the idea of marriage to non-human creatures is a squick for you.
Pros: Very cute and very brief. The boys seem very committed to their relationships.
Cons: Presents more questions than it answers. The nature of the relationships may be off-putting to some viewers.
Grade: B-