Interviews with Monster Girls (2016)
[δΊδΊΊ(γγ)γ‘γγγ―θͺγγγ]
Volume 4
Author/Artist: Petos
Publisher: Young Manga KC
Synopsis:
Himari loses her patience with Hikari for always running late, but might there be more to it than she thinks?
Story/Characters:
We start with a a chapter about the Takanashi Sisters that takes an amusing turn. The fact that the two are such opposites despite being twins does make for plenty of comedic fodder. Next we have Takahashi-sensei take Machi to his alma mater to further explore her nature as a dullahan and we're introduced to his old college buddy Souma, who works at the university as a professor. Souma-sensei is a really hyperactive, eccentric sort and he draws out a side of Takahashi-sensei we don't usually see. Also, the theory on how dullahans function is pretty interesting.
Next we have a chapter with Satou-sensei and Yuki where we learn that Yuki actually really likes things like gag manga and dirty jokes but works really hard to suppress it to preserve her image. (The 4-koma at the end gives us a retrospective look at how she took an earlier scene, which is pretty funny. As someone who's a rustic at heart but projects an image of urbane reservedness, I can sympathize heartily.) After that is another chapter of Takahashi-sensei with Hikari learning more about vampires (and getting in trouble with Himari again).
The last part hits a bit harder as Takahashi-sensei gets some criticism from the vice-principal about all the time he's spending with the demis. While it's easy to paint the VP as the bad guy here, if you step back and think about it, he has a good point about Takahashi-sensei neglecting the other students in favor of the demis and the demis' developing a dependence on him (to say nothing of the risk of things taking an inappropriate turn). This leads us into our demi trio interacting more with some of the supporting cast of their peers and Takahashi-sensei taking a hard look at his approach to things. I won't say things are completely resolved at the end, but we get put on a decent track.
Art:
Everything that's charming about the art continues here. I especially like some of the reactions we get out of Himari and Souma-sensei's hamminess is rather amusing.
Other:
We get a bonus chapter where Takahashi-sensei meets with an invisible girl. This appears at the end of the OAV for the anime. As I've only read as far as Volume 7 as of the time of this writing, I can't say if she appears again (ha ha).
Conclusion:
We get a good mix this volume with some of the more regular light comedic chapters coupled with a pair of two-parters, one digging into the science and one playing up the character drama a bit. This isn't a particularly heavy series, but as with the episode of Yuki being bullied earlier, the story does know how to get serious at times without getting bogged down too much. If you've gotten invested in the characters, an I can't imagine you getting this far without doing so, then there's a lot of meat to be had here. I happily recommend adding this to your collection.
Own It