This Monster Wants to Eat Me
This Monster Wants to Eat Me (Watashi o Tabetai, Hitode nashi) is a dark supernatural manga and anime series created by Sai Naekawa. It explores heavy themes of trauma, depression, and codependency through a unique blend of horror, folklore, and yuri (girls' love) undertones.
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Core Premise
The core premise of This Monster Wants to Eat Me (Watashi o Tabetai, Hitogatsu no) centers on a deadly bargain born from profound trauma and a desire for death. The story follows Hinako Yaotose, a high school student suffering from severe depression and survivor's guilt after losing her entire family in a tragic accident.
Following the accident, Hinako's body undergoes a change that makes her flesh and blood uniquely irresistible to supernatural yōkai (monsters). A beautiful, flesh-eating mermaid named Shiori saves Hinako from another monster, with Shiori explicitly admitting she saved Hinako only to "fatten her up" and devour her herself once Hinako reaches her peak flavor.
Because Hinako deeply longs to die but cannot bring herself to commit suicide, she happily accepts this arrangement, relieved by the promise of eventual death. The series uses this dark, psychological horror setup to explore a slow-burn, unconventional yuri (girls' love) dynamic. As Hinako grows attached to her protector, the line blurs between Shiori's alien, predatory instincts and a genuine desire to save Hinako from her own despair.
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Key Themes
This Monster Wants to Eat Me (Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi) is a slow-burn sapphic horror narrative that explores deep emotional trauma through the lens of Japanese folklore. The story follows Hinako, a high schooler who survived a tragic accident that killed her family. When she meets a mermaid named Shiori, who wants to protect Hinako only to eat her once she is "ripe", Hinako willingly accepts.
Grief, Trauma, and Survivor's Guilt: The emotional core of the story rests on Hinako’s severe depression and suicidal ideation. Haunted by a persistent, metaphorical "sensation of drowning," she feels anchored to the accident that took her family. Her desire to be consumed is born directly from a deep-seated wish to cease existing and rejoin them.
The Humane vs. The Inhumane: The narrative heavily emphasizes the concept of "blue-and-orange morality" via its supernatural entities. Shiori begins the story operating on a purely monstrous, alien logic (likening Hinako to fattening up livestock). As the bond grows, the narrative explores the slow, gradual evolution of a monster learning to understand human emotion, love, and the value of life.
The Interplay of Pain, Comfort, and Connection: Characters act as foils to highlight different facets of healing and trauma. While Hinako's friend Miko represents a "tamed" monster offering bright, conventional comfort, Shiori offers a dark, twisted safety. The series suggests that opening oneself up to new relationships brings both the warmth of healing and the terrifying cold of potential future pain.
The Aesthetics of Mono no Aware: The story heavily leverages a melancholic appreciation for the transience of things. By setting the plot around a countdown to an inevitable, grim fate, it frames the characters' fleeting, everyday high school moments with a sharp, bittersweet beauty.
Codependency and Sapphic Terror: The romantic tension (Yuri) functions hand-in-hand with psychological horror. The central relationship is inherently dangerous and toxic at its inception, a literal monster-and-prey dynamic where comfort is drawn from the ultimate promise of destruction.
Characters
The dark yuri manga This Monster Wants to Eat Me centers on Hinako Yaotose, a traumatized high schooler with a uniquely "delicious" body that attracts supernatural yōkai. The series also features various other supernatural entities like Azami and Erica, as well as remnants of Hinako's human family.
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Main Characters
Hinako Yaotose: The human protagonist of the series. Deeply traumatised and depressed after losing her parents and brother in a tragic seaside accident years ago, Hinako lives alone by the ocean and harbors a quiet, strong desire to die. Her unique spiritual aura naturally draws in bloodthirsty monsters.
Shiori Oumi: A powerful sea yōkai in the form of a Japanese mermaid. She saves Hinako from being devoured by another monster, claiming Hinako is hers alone to eat. However, Shiori wants to wait until Hinako grows up and is at her absolute happiest so her flesh is at its most "delicious". Until then, she poses as a human student to protect Hinako from other entities.
Miko Yashiro: Hinako's incredibly bubbly and supportive best friend at school. In reality, Miko is a kitsune (fox yōkai) who was bound to the local area long ago. Having grown fond of humans over the centuries, she acts as a guardian deity. She fiercely protects Hinako out of deep care and guilt, making her deeply suspicious and protective against Shiori.
Other Yōkai and Supernatural Entities
Azami: An immortal human who functions as a central antagonist, she texts Hinako since the beginning of the story, using the identity of her ‘aunt’ as a cover to monitor Hinako, stay hidden from local yōkai, and safely draw out her ultimate target, Shiori. Hundreds of years ago, her village tried to sacrifice her to Shiori, but Shiori refused to eat her and instead gifted her a piece of mermaid flesh. The flesh granted Azami immortality, a gift she despised. Driven by a centuries-long vendetta, she actively hunts Shiori for revenge and targets Hinako to lure the mermaid out.
Tsubaki: A mischievous bake-danuki (tanuki yōkai) who appears as a petite girl with pink hair. She harbors deep jealousy toward Miko (the fox spirit) because of how easily Miko integrates with and is loved by humans. Tsubaki acts as a disruptor, exposing Miko's secrets to Hinako in an attempt to break their bond and drag Miko back to her isolation.
Chiba Ayame: A dangerous yōkai who takes the form of a woman with long blonde hair. Beneath her human facade, she conceals a massive, monstrous mouth with an incredibly long tongue hidden on the back of her head. She is highly deceptive and seeks to claim Hinako for herself.
Erica: A mysterious, quiet supernatural entity who dresses in Western-style clothing. She rarely speaks and serves primarily as Azami's loyal bodyguard during her pursuits.
Iso-Onna (The Beach Woman): A predatory sea monster encountered at the very start of the series. She successfully lures Hinako into the ocean and drags her into the deep water before Shiori ruthlessly executes her to protect her "prey".
Nameless Aggressive Yōkai: The series frequently features low-level monsters drawn by Hinako's overwhelming aura. They range from aquatic deep-sea beasts to grotesque land entities, most of which are swiftly and bloodily disposed of by either Shiori or Miko.
Hinako's Deceased Family
Daichi Yaotose (Father): Hinako's father is remembered as a kind, loving, and supportive father figure. His sudden absence leaves a massive void in her life, fueling her dark conviction that she shouldn't have been the one to live.
Yuri Yaotose (Mother): Hinako's mother is remembered as an exceptionally warm person and a supreme chef whose delicious cooking is fondly missed by both Hinako and Miko. In life, Yuri often acted as the gentle mediator in the family, explaining things to young Hinako when she was too small to understand.
Mutsuki Yaotose (Older Brother): Hinako's pre-teen elder brother was a protective individual who often exhibited an "anger born of worry". In one of Hinako's core memories, Mutsuki scolded her out of pure panic after she wandered off to the beach by herself. His loss weighs incredibly heavily on Hinako, as she deeply misses her childhood companion.
Humans
Tomori: Hinako's actual maternal aunt and legal guardian. She stepped in to care for Hinako after the tragic deaths of Hinako's parents and brother. However, because Tomori is a human office worker who lives far away and is frequently absent due to her heavy work schedule, Hinako is left living entirely alone. This isolation made it incredibly easy for Azami to hijack the role of an attentive aunt over messages.
Hinako’s Classmates and Teachers: A background presence of normal, oblivious human students and staff at Hinako's school. They represent the peaceful everyday life that Hinako feels alienated from due to her depression and the dangerous supernatural battles happening right out of their sight.
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