Demi-chan wa Kataritai | Worth Watching?

Is it worth? Who knows! I’ll let you decide, but first, you’ll need to give it a watch 🙂

The first few episodes establishes the basic premise pretty well. Tetsuo meets our main characters – Hikari (a vampire), Kusakabe (a yuki-onna), Machi (a dullahan), and Sakie (a succubus). Anyone who has are familiar with literature or have seen fantasy stories may have heard of one these species before. In essence, they are the “demis” in this show and Tetsuo ends up teaching them in hopes of understanding them better. Despite lacking a complex story, the show succeeds at character relationships. Tetsuo is a normal human so he isn’t different from any of us. However, the demi-humans possesses characteristics that aren’t normal.

Take for instance, Hikari is a vampire but avoids biting people. Instead, she drinks blood packs and drinks tomato juice. Her behavior is much more of the antithesis of a vampire as she is highly energetic and often hopes to catch the attention of others, in particular Tetsuo. The character chemistry between him and Hikari is one of the most noticeable ones in the show. Both of them share a friendly relationship and often tries to help each other. This extends to her friends as well as Hikari forms meaningful relationships with demi-humans such as Machi and Kusakabe.

Unlike Hikari, Machi is more of the shy type. I mean, if you walk around without a head, there’s probably going to be eyes looking at you 24/7. Even more so, Machi has a strong desire to stay contact with others because of her condition. Tetsuo serve as both a guardian and guide for her throughout the show as they connect and become close friends. Hell, Machi even develops a crush on the guy. Finally on a more serious note, there’s Kusakabe, the snow girl. While Tetsuo is the kind gentleman towards his students, not everyone in this show is so accepting. In one particular episode, a group of girls gossips about Kusakabe that leaves her wonder if she can live in a world with humans.

While the series isn’t heavy in storytelling, some episodes does feature one of the main cast more than others. There are specific episodes that explores the lifestyle of demi-humans such as with Sakie. Furthermore, there also episodes that expands beyond the school setting. One particular episode includes a visit to Hikari’s home that opens up more possibilities to understand her better. It even introduces Hikari’s sister to show how demi-humans interact with human siblings. As such, expect the show’s attempt at making the viewers understand about the characters to be a recurring theme.

I have to admit, the show is one of those popcorn entertainment anime that’s hard not to laugh at. I mean that in a good sense though because the humor is done fairly well. Instead of relying on cheap fanservice or shock value, the series has a natural feel of selling comedy. Every character in this series has a personality that will likely make you feel invested about them. Furthermore, the show cleverly times its comedic moments as they aren’t random. The only part that occasionally throws me off is the lack of development overall in terms of the character relationships. While the show maintains a good balance of relationships, nothing really resolves in the end as Tetsuo tries to understand the demi-humans. Also as a manga reader, the adaptation is incomplete so expect some areas to be left out in the dark.

Adapted by A-1 Pictures, the series is bright and colorful in the sense that it captures the mood right at mostly all times. Character designs may feel a bit generic but that’s just the way it is. I believe the purpose of the show is trying to convey that they can live in our society as well no matter how different they seem to be.