Due to the nature of the story, which relies on frequent plot twists from early on, all spoilers from the first 3 volumes of the manga will be unmarked.

This Monster Wants To Eat Me (私を喰べたい、ひとでなし, Watashi o Tabetai, Hitodenashi) is a Yuri horror manga written and illustrated by Sai Naekawa. It is serialized in Seinen magazine Dengeki Maoh in 2020, and is licensed in English by Yen Press. The series received an anime adaptation by Studio Lings for the Fall 2025 season that premiered on October 2nd, 2025.

Hinako Yaotose wants to die. Having lost her parents in a tragic incident, all she wants is to sink into the ocean with them. Her best friend, Miko Yashiro, has been supporting her all the while, but one day she leans too far off a railing and nearly falls into the sea. Then, she's pulled back by a girl named Shiori Oumi - someone who strangely reminds Hinako of the ocean.

After a monster tries to attack them, Shiori reveals her true nature - a mermaid taking human form. She claims that it would be improper for Hinako to die then, as she hasn't become ripe enough for Shiori to eat yet. And just like that, this strange girl tries to get Hinako to open up...

This Monster Wants To Eat Me contains examples of:

• Act of True Love:
  • In a somewhat twisted example, Shiori chose to do a Blood Oath where she promises Hinako to actually eat her if she could be happy again, despite her whole purpose being to prevent Hinako's death, and despite Hinako's flesh being uniquely disgusting for her.
  • Miko has her own instance when she bit off her two tails, both the containing the powers she stocked up for many years, in order to curb her urge to eat Hinako.
• Ambiguous Gender: The stepchild of the woman who eventually became the yokai with the alias "Ayame Chiba" had an androgynous appearance with a flat chest and wore a kimono, making it difficult to tell what the child's gender was. The knight heron fan translation refers to the child with female pronouns, the official manga localization uses male pronouns, and Crunchyroll's English subtitles use "they/them."
• And Then What?: By sealing a new blood pledge, Shiori was able to prevent Hinako from immediately ending her life. But now she is bound by magic to eat Hinako when the day comes that she lives happily again. What should she do about that? Shiori admits she has no idea and was just trying to extend Hinako's life for as many days as possible.
• Armor-Piercing Response:
  • Hinako telling Shiori "I should have never trusted you" hit her so hard that she couldn't even maintain her usual joking demeanor.
  • When Shiori told Hinako at the cemetery that she could not endure a life with Hinako passing away, Hinako's response was "You will eat me, Shiori-san. And then we'll be together, no?"
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: In Chapter 57.5, the series' antagonists meet up in a non-canon extra, and their crimes are listed. Azami is described as the one who suicide-bombed Shiori and deceived Hinako into thinking she was her aunt. Ayame is described as the one who mistreated her stepchild as a human and assaulted Hinako. Tsubaki is described as the one who "Annoyed Miko."
• Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite being sharply contrasting Foils in their characters and starting their relationship in a bitter rivalry, Miko was willing to offer Shiori help and advice when she was under serious tension with Hinako. Shiori later offered Miko help in dealing with Tsubaki. Neither admitted to have done these out of good will for each other, but their relationship is clearly albeit implicitly warming.
• Bait-and-Switch:
  • At the summer festival, Shiori pointed her monster claws at a traumatized Hinako, seemingly trying to attack her. In reality she was fending off a monster that approached Hinako while they talked.
  • After Hinako expressed her acceptance of Miko's true identity, Miko turned into her fox form and opened her mouth at Hinako, seemingly trying to attack her. Subverted in the next chapter, as it is revealed that she actually was biting off her own two tails to preserve her sanity around Hinako.
  • Subverted in Chapter 50. The previous chapter ended with Hinako meeting her "Aunt in Ooshima," whose contour appeared like the mysterious lady in kimono that had appeared in the recent story. Chapter 50 initially showed that the Aunt actually looks like a normal adult woman with blonde hair, the previous implications seeming like intentional misleadings. But the end of the chapter reveals that this image is actually a magical illusion, and the Aunt is indeed the kimono lady who is revealed to be Azami.
• Because You Were Nice to Me: Shiori committed to protecting Hinako because the young child was willing to approach her in her monster form and feed her food, in contrast to all other humans who treated her as an alien being. She briefly considered eating Hinako, but decided to give her some of her blood instead before dealing with her memories.
• The Big Damn Kiss: More precisely The Big Damn Bite. After temporarily securing Hinako's life via a Blood Oath, Shiori took a small bite on Hinako's lips, which she later explained as a "little prank" in exchange for her frustration. It was also her first and only taste so far of Hinako's flesh.
• Blonde, Brunette, Redhead: Hinako is the blonde, Shiori is the brunette and Miko is the redhead.
• Blood Oath: In order to prevent Hinako from committing suicide, Shiori is willing to back her promise to actually eat her with a blood oath, binding her to the commitment despite this being the last thing she wanted.
• Body Horror: Played for Laughs in an extra chapter, where Shiori tried "doing her nails" by peeling them off, and inserted plastic into her eyes in imitation of coloured contacts. It didn't hurt for a mythical mermaid monster.
• Call-Back: During the trip, Hinako is seen picking hairpins as gifts for Shiori and Miko, in a manner (perhaps deliberately) similar to how the young Hinako picked seashells to serve as souvenirs, both times in front of Shiori.
• Call-Forward: When Shiori first transferred to Hinako's school, Hinako discovered that she did not bring any lunch and tried to share her lunch egg rolls. Later in Shiori's flashback, a young Hinako shared the same food with the stranded Shiori, which marked the beginning of their relationship.
• Caught in the Rain: Hinako and Shiori's date at the beach gets interrupted when it starts raining and both look shelter together.
• Cerebus Call-Back:
  • During the initial chapters Miko is seen frequently having to be absent due to colds. It was eventually revealed that this was due to Hinako's Supernaturally Delicious and Nutritious flesh that made it increasingly difficult for Miko to control the desire to eat her.
  • In Chapter 5, Shiori asked Hinako if she felt lucky that she alone survived from the accident among her family, to which Hinako replied that it was impossible to cheer about losing everyone precious to her. Shiori did not appear to have an reaction to this, until this scene appears Once More, with Clarity later showing that she was asking this question hoping to learn that Hinako was at least a bit grateful for the mermaid saving her life, and the answer hit her hard.
• Character Development: Discussed and Played for Drama later in the story. After hearing about Miko's Heel–Face Turn, Hinako began to reflect on her own inability to move on from the past. Her intention to change herself, however, led to Shiori panicking internally, because the mermaid has to abide by her Blood Oath to eat Hinako when she became happy, and/or because Shiori could not accept Hinako moving on without her.
• Cliffhanger:
  • Chapter 4 ends with Shiori asking Hinako why she is in such a hurry to die. Hinako's answer is not shown until the next chapter.
  • Chapter 10 ends with Miko seemingly eating Hinako, after Hinako insisted that she and Miko are still friends despite the latter deceiving her. The next chapter reveals that Miko bit off two of her tails instead.
    Miko: Hinako, if you think that... (transforms into her fox form and puts her jaws around Hinako) Some evil monster is going to take advantage of you.
    Hinako: Miko-chan?
    (The chapter ends with a fade to black and a "CHOMP" sound effect)
  • Chapter 19 ends with Hinako learning that because Shiori gave Hinako her blood, Hinako will taste awful to Shiori, and thus Shiori will not fulfill her promise.
• Crash-Into Hello: How Miko bumped into Tsubaki, probably by the latter deliberately.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Shiori's fight with almost every monster is this, except when she fought Miko in her monster form due to being separated from water. Miko later delivered one of her own against the giant monster entering the classroom building.
• David Versus Goliath: Played for laughs. In their human forms, both Shiori and Miko are significantly weaker than normal so they can safely fight without collateral damage. But Miko keeps getting the worse of their brawls, as the Manga volume 4 "shows the true power of an 8 cm difference" where Shiori is easily manhandling Miko by facepalming her while Miko is too short to reach at Shiori.
• Death of a Child:
  • As a young child, Hinako barely survived a car accident that claimed the lives of her parents and pre-teen older brother Mutsuki.
  • In the backstory of the monster that eventually took the alias "Ayame Chiba," a young prepubescent child with an Ambiguous Gender died, and their stepmother was apparently blamed for the child's death.
• Did We Just Have Tea with Cthulhu?: The young Hinako was perfectly fine and happy with approaching Shiori in her monster form, with barnacles over her body, sharp teeth, a coral growing in her eye, and a still shredded lower half. She came with a curious smile and shared snacks with the Mermaid.
• Did You Just Romance Cthulhu?: The story. Shiori is a legendary Youkai pursued and worshiped by many for her connection to immortality, who approached the human Hinako and stayed closely by her side.
• "Do It Yourself" Theme Tune:
  • The primary ending theme song is performed by Reina Ueda, Hinako's voice actress. There's also a version of the song sang by Yui Ishikawa, Shiori's voice actress, and a duet version by both actresses.
  • The ending theme song for Episode 4 is performed by Fairouz Ai, Miko's voice actor. She would also provide an illustration of Miko for the ending's animation.
• The Dreaded: Both Miko and Shiori are extremely powerful monsters who could easily destroy the monsters threatening Hinako in Curb-Stomp Battle. This is one reason why Ayame ultimately decided to get away from Hinako for good after realising who has been staying by her side.
• Eldritch Abomination: Where as Miko and Shiori still resemble natural creatures in their monster forms, the monster who invaded the classroom building is way more abominable with its large, bloated body and many short arms growing from it. However, it could hardly give a fight against the likes of Miko or Shiori.
• Exposition of Immortality: When the Stern Teacher Mr. Yamashita dismissed Miko's class who were planning to go to karaoke to celebrate the eve of the School Festival, Miko complained and casually noted that Yamashita used to be a wimpy boy when he was young.
• Fake Memories: As Shiori explained, modern society makes it difficult for disguised monsters to simply show up as newcomers from nowhere. Instead, they use magic to forge fake documents and memories to blend into the human world. This is how she and Miko smoothly blended into Hinako's school.
• Feeling Your Heartbeat: Hinako felt Shiori's heartbeat in the latter's arms as Shiori tried to protect Hinako from a monster. The heartbeats, which was due to Shiori's fear of losing her loved one, ultimately caused Hinako's Jerkass Realization, leading to a series of plot development cumulating in their second seaside confrontation.
• Festival Episode: A few chapters are spent heavily Played for Drama describing Hinako being dragged by Shiori to attend a summer festival, a similar one which Hinako's family died on the way back from many years ago.
• Floral Theme Naming: Several supporting characters have the names of flowers, including Ayame (iris), Tsubaki (camellia), Azami (thistle), and Erika (a flower related to heather).
• Foil: Miko and Shiori are both Yōkai at Hinako's sides. They have multiple contrasts throughout the series:
  • Miko is thoroughly assimilated into human society, being nice and helpful to everyone around her and has formed bonds with the community since ancient times. Shiori, in contrast, is a Blue-and-Orange Morality mermaid who does not understand human emotions, nor have any interest in humans beside Hinako.
  • Miko is well aware of Hinako being a Death Seeker, but she is reluctant to go beyond conventional care and friendship to solve her trauma. Shiori, being alien to human values, is more than willing to lie, forcibly drag Hinako, or seal with her a Blood Oath to eat her just to put a brake on her drive towards death.
  • Miko used to be a normal fox, until she eventually evolved into a Yōkai. Shiori, on the other hand, came into being out of nowhere in the ocean without any known kin or family.
  • Both monsters used to eat children. While Shiori did this because her Blue-and-Orange Morality was indifferent to human lives, Miko's actions were For the Evulz. It is a further contrast between them that Miko eventually turned to good while Shiori's development is much slower.
  • Whereas the arc of Hinako and Miko's relationship concluded with their affirmation of being each other's "most important friend", Shiori's relationship with Hinako is way more complex and distorted. It was so that Hinako did not have an answer when Tsubaki asked what Shiori was to her.
• Foreshadowing:
  • In the anime, viewers with sharp ears may notice that the voice in Hinako's flashbacks is Shiori's before the anime reveals her role in Hinako's survival.
  • One comedic scene in the anime shows Hinako imagining an angry Miko with paws that have claws extended. Miko turns out to be a fox Yōkai.
• Forgotten First Meeting: Justified. Hinako does not remember having met Shiori when she was a child because Shiori used her power to suppress the memory, in hope that Hinako would not be affected by their encounter as she grows up.
• A Form You Are Comfortable With: Many monsters can shapeshift and use human forms when they interact with humans.
• Friendship Denial: When Hinako asked if she and Shiori could be friends, Shiori firmly denied this possibility, claiming that their relationship was merely one of mutual exploitation. While at this point she was hiding a lot of her backstory and feelings, even Hinako came to the realization later that she and Shiori were something different than friends.
• Going to the Store: Miko's default excuse for getting her or other people out of the house. Used first at Hinako's house to get Shiori and her outside alone. Used again during the trip on Hinako and Shiori.
• Good Cannot Comprehend Evil: Discussed in a "Good cannot comprehend cynicism" sense. Shiori pointed out that the reason Miko had made no progress in solving Hinako's problems is because she was not willing to confront the girl's death wish. Shiori thus prefers her unconventional means to drag Hinako out of the shades.
• Gray Rain of Depression: The day when there was a rainy morning was when Hinako's depression and death wish peaked so as to make her actively seek death for the first time, followed by a Drama Bomb between her and Shiori, who was just as sad and angry in the rain.
• Hair-Contrast Duo: Hinako has dirty blonde hair and Shiori has dark blue hair.
• Hand Sliding Down the Glass: Played terrifyingly when the giant monster searching for Hinako laid one of its many hands on the window of the room that Hinako and Shiori were hiding in.
• Hilarity in Zoos: Shiori and Miko's date at the zoo is a Breather Episode between Shiori's reveal to Hinako and her Troubled Backstory Flashback. It contains some lighthearted moments amidst an otherwise heavy and dramatic arc.
• Hollywood Healing: Initially, this is discussed to be what happened to Hinako as not even the doctors were sure how she survived the accident. Eventually revealed to be justified due to Hinako's Healing Factor obtained from Shiori's blood.
• Hope Spot: At Hinako's house, Miko tried to cheer Hinako up by telling her that she is glad that Hinako had survived despite her family not making it. For a moment, it seemed like Hinako was comforted by this, but she immediately broke down into tears and told Miko what she had been thinking all along—that she wish she could have died with her family. She snapped the next morning and would have given her life to the ocean monsters if not for Shiori.
• I Did What I Had to Do: How Shiori justifies sealing a Blood Oath promising to eventually eat Hinako in exchange for her not to seek immediate self-termination.
• If You Ever Do Anything to Hurt Her...:
  • What Miko says to Shiori after the reveal of the former's identity. She was likely reasonably worried that a monster coming to eat Hinako might end up hurting her.
  • Miko later made a same threat more seriously to Tsubaki, especially as the tanuki was threatening to eat Hinako, like all monsters wanted to.
• Implausible Deniability: When Hinako asked if they had ever met before, Shiori first tried to get away with the question by answering that, technically, they had met in the previous few days at school. It unsurprisingly failed when Hinako pursued her. Her denial finally crumbled when Hinako put her wound in front of Shiori and asked if she found her blood delicious at all.
• I Need to Go Iron My Dog: At the training camp, Hinako was invited by two club members to shower together. Shiori came up with the excuse that they had "manager duties" just at this precise moment to take Hinako away, so that Hinako did not have to expose the massive burn scar on her shoulder.
• It's All My Fault: Part of why Miko stays by Hinako's side and protects her is because she felt guilty of not being able to save Hinako's family, despite them coming to pray for fortune at her shrine before the trip.
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Hinako, Shiori, and Miko all have instances of recusing themselves from the relationship of the other two for their goods, in vastly different context, Downplayed as none of the instances was explicitly romantic:
  • One of the reasons Hinako could not reach for death herself was because she feared that Miko would lose a friend she cared about. Hinako was thus glad to have Shiori around, recognizing that both of them are immortal beings who could potentially move on from her own ephemeral life.
  • Shiori supports Hinako's platonic relationship with Miko because it gives Hinako emotional support and something to pursuit in this world, and Shiori is willing to do everything she can to sustain Hinako's will to live.
  • Miko, despite not trusting Shiori, is willing to leave her to hang out with Hinako, hoping that Shiori's radically different approach might have a chance of changing Hinako from her present Death Seeker state.
• Last Request: The reason why Hinako did not immediately join her family is because she thought she heard them speaking to her that "at least you have to live." This was actually Shiori's wish to her carried through her Blood Oath, and realizing this caused a Drama Bomb that completely restructured Hinako and Shiori's relationship.
• Leonine Contract: The new Blood Oath that Shiori drafted between her and Hinako is that, if Hinako could find happiness and the will to live, Shiori would then eat her. Hinako gets everything she wanted from the terms by doing what is by definition something that makes her happy. Shiori, on the other hand, must eventually bear the pain of devouring the only person she cares about, not to mention the taste being unpleasant to her.
• Lost in Translation: In Chapter 41, after failing to communicate to Hinako that she Can't Live Without You, Shiori remarked in Japanese "あつい". There are two words in Japanese with the sound, "hot" (which Hinako and the translators perceived) and "thick" (as of a wall). Later, in an extra, Hinako discovered that Shiori lacks the human sense of temperature.
• Mayfly–December Romance: With the manga being a Yuri story about the relationship of a human and a yokai who is the symbol of immortality, this trope exists in the underlying theme of the whole story. The first time when it is explicitly invoked is in Chapter 41, when Shiori confessed to Hinako that she could not imagine how to endure a world where Hinako passed away.
• Minimalist Cast: The vast bulk of story so far features three recurring main characters, with a few named characters occasionally having A Day in the Limelight in their own arc before being Put on a Bus.
• Mood Whiplash:
  • Episode 4 of the anime ends with the dramatic reveal of Miko's true nature as a Yōkai, and the post-episode Watatabe Theater has the comedic and heartwarming story of Miko teaching Hinako how to cook.
  • Midway through Episode 9 of the anime, Hinako learned that Shiori lied to her about her promise to eat her and, hurt and betrayed, walks away. Miko, having some idea what happened, confronts Shiori, who doesn't say a word until Shiori invites Miko to the zoo. Miko and Shiori are then shown laughing together at the zoo until Miko, comedically angry, asks why they're there.
• Morality Pet: Hinako is the only object of care and attention to the otherwise Blue-and-Orange Morality Shiori.
• Motherly Side Plait: Hinako's mother is shown to have one in the few flashbacks featuring her. Very fitting for her Death by Origin Story alongside Hinako's father and brother.
• Nature Versus Nurture: During her confrontation with Tsubaki, Miko wondered everything she had done since her Heel–Face Turn would have been enough to atone and change her nature as an evil beast. Per Hinako, the answer seems to be positive. This conclusion also gave Hinako her own inspiration that perhaps everyone can change and not be stuck in their past.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero!: Discussed. Hinako would not have survived the accident if she didn't obtain a Healing Factor from Shiori's blood. The result, however, was that she was left orphaned and so thoroughly changed that she became a Death Seeker ever since. Shiori—and sometimes Miko—were forced to wonder whether being saved by herself was really the best deal that Hinako could have gotten.
• Nightmare Hands: At their date at the seaside, Hinako and Shiori saw many hands reaching out of the ocean in the rain, which Shiori explained to be born out of the regrets of the drowned souls at sea. They later became Chekhov's Gunman as a desperate Hinako rushed towards one in the rain in attempt to end her life after finding out Shiori's lie.
• No Name Given:
  • The name of the stepchild of the woman who eventually became the youkai masquerading as Ayame Chiba is never disclosed.
  • Throughout the story, Hinako was seen speaking to her aunt who was her only known surviving relative. The name of the aunt was not given until later in the story, where it was revealed that she actually spoke to two aunts. One of them is named Tomori, while the other is actually Azami in disguise.
• Not a Date: Zig-Zagged. Shiori asks Miko out for a date after her lie was exposed to Hinako. Neither party considers this a romantic date.
• Obviously Not Fine: After Hinako's My God, What Have I Done? moment, Miko asked her whether she was alright at school. She said she was. Miko could see that she was not.
• Once More, with Clarity:
  • The initial encounter between Hinako and Shiori in Chapter 1 is retold in Chapter 25 from Shiori's perspective. It is shown that, behind her constant smile, she was hit rather hard by learning that the girl who Used to Be a Sweet Kid has now turned into a depressed Death Seeker.
  • After Tsubaki's first appearance, a flashback showed Inugami Gyoubu telling Miko about her experience of being betrayed by humans, and that Miko would go down on the same path with her. This was later revealed to be the part of the conversation that Tsubaki herself heard. Miko then told the full story: Inugami said Miko would go down the same path—of loving humans despite everything.
• Our Mermaids Are Different: Shiori can shapeshift into a fully human form, have horns like coral, and have a Healing Factor. She is technically speaking a Japanese Mermaid, or Ningyo, whose myth is independent of and different from its Western counterpart. The idea that a human can gain immortality from eating mermaid flesh is referenced - Shiori granted Hinako a minor Healing Factor using her blood, and in a flashback granted full-blown Immortality to another human she took a liking to.
• Parental Substitute: Hinako's aunt became her guardian after the death of her parents. Miko is eventually revealed to play a similar role when it is revealed that she is Really Seven Hundred Years Old, and has taken care of Hinako at her side since the accident as Childhood Friends.
• Power Outage Plot: A power outage occurred during Hinako's class's preparation for the Cultural Festival, due to a monster who entered the classroom building in search of Hinako.
• Privacy by Distraction: Realizing that Shiori would not help to protect any human other than Hinako, Miko had to call every club member for a "pillow fight" to keep them at one place and occupied, as the mermaid go out to find the monster around them.
• Properly Paranoid: Miko and Shiori became very concerned of the potential of Azami appearing out of nowhere to attack Hinako, to the point that they chose to (physically) stick to Hinako's sides for an entire day. Then, once they parted with Hinako so the latter could go home, Azam was found waiting for Hinako inside the house.
• Race-Name Basis: Most monsters refer to each other by their race, due to their relationships almost always being hostile (Shiori and Miko are the only ones having anything resembling a friendship), and their human names being fake.
• Red Herring: Through out the story so far, Hinako has been seen speaking to her aunt, who is a surviving relative serving as her guardian. Chapter 49 reveals that there are really two aunts that Hinako spoke to—her guardian Tomori, whose appeared in person in the manga, and the "Aunt in Ooshima", who has only been seen texting with Hinako. The latter is revealed to be someone whom not even Miko knew and is really the disguise of Azami, the girl that ate Shiori's flesh.
• Rejected Apology: Hinako apologized to Shiori after forcing her to seal a Blood Oath to eat her against the mermaid's wish. Shiori replied that she would never forgive Hinako for what she did, ever.
• Rhetorical Question Blunder: In Episode 7, Miko accuses Shiori of slacking off, and Shiori replies that she's been helping out by carrying loads, leading to the following exchange.
  Shiori: Why, just what do you think I am?
  Miko: A barbaric, duplicitous deadbeat of a monster.
• Rivals Team Up: Despite knowing her claimed intention, Miko reluctantly works with Shiori to protect Hinako together, knowing that losing two tails has weakened her ability to do this alone.
• Roaring Rampage of Rescue: Monsters, and particularly Ayame, learnt the hard way that putting Hinako in distress or standing in the way of her during it will guarantee you being ripped off to shreds by a very, very angry Shiori.
• Rule of Symbolism: Shiori is often represented with the sea, which then often stands as the symbol of death. When the young Hinako first met Shiori, she mentioned that her fondness of the mermaid came from her resemblance with the sea which Hinako loved. After Hinako's family died in the accident, the sea came to stand as the other call of death alongside Shiori, eventually manifested physically as the Youkai hands born from the lives lost at the oceans.
• Scars Are Ugly: The car accident that orphaned Hinako when she was young also left a huge, ugly scar on her right shoulder and arm, forcing her to always put up long sleeves to cover it.
• School Festival: The main characters' high school hosts one in autumn, which serves as the framing of a major Story Arc.
• Sliding Scale of Idealism Versus Cynicism:
  • The main story is driven by the conflict between Hinako's desperate pursuit of death and forces that drive her back to embracing life and happiness again.
  • The second Miko arc saw the fox's present idealism being put up against her past life as a For the Evulz monster, and as the readers hear the story of Inugami Gyoubu, another monster who helped and was betrayed by humanity.
• Supernatural Sensitivity: All monsters can sense each other's presence, but less so when the "scent" is not strong and covered. This is how Miko and Shiori detected Ayame turning into her monster form.
• Survivor Guilt: Ever since her family died in a car accident when she was 6, Hinako has been left a traumatized Death Seeker wishing that she could have joined her beloved ones in the ocean.
• Teeth-Clenched Teamwork: Ever since Miko revealed her identity and weakened her own powers, she and Shiori have been forced to work together for their shared goal of protecting Hinako. As the story progresses, their relationship is increasingly softening to that of Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other.
• That One Summer: There are two summers that are turning-points for the life of Hinako Yaotose. One was when she was young, where she lost her family to a tragic accident after encountering Shiori for the first time, leaving her to be traumatised by summers ever since. The other one was when she encountered Shiori when she became a high school student, kickstarting the whole story. Summers serve such heavy symbolism for the story that the a major sign of its plot development is the arrival of autumn in Chapter 42.
• There Are No Therapists: This is the story of a teenage girl Death Seeker who is suffering from severe trauma caused by losing her family in an accident. What is there in the story? Mermaid, kitsune, and all other sorts of Yōkai. What is not there in the story? Therapy.
• Threesome Subtext: Both Shiori and Miko adore Hinako and are dedicated to protecting her, although only Shiori's feelings have romantic undertones. Hinako is also very fond of both girls.
• Tomato Surprise: The revelation that Tsubaki is not the real Inugami Gyoubu. Miko had been aware of it very early on due to Out-of-Character Alert, but only after her conflict was solved did she reveal to the other characters and readers that her behavior clearly contradicted the real Inugami.
• Villains Never Lie: Played with. A man-eating monster using the name of Ayame, the dorm mother's assistant, tells Hinako something that Shiori has been keeping secret from her- Shiori shared some of her blood with Hinako, which makes Hinako inedible to Shiori. Hinako doesn't take this claim at face value or deny it, but asks Shiori about it, prompting Shiori to evasively ask if Hinako really believes the monster that attacked her. Hinako presses Shiori, however, and Shiori admits that it's true.
• Wham Episode: Chapters 19-21. Hinako learns from Ayame that Shiori lied to her and had no intention of eating her. She confronts Shiori about it and becomes furious with her.
• Wham Line:
  • At the start of Chapter 7, Miko reveals that, in spite of looking like a normal girl unaware of the supernatural, she knows Shiori is a monster.
    Miko: (to Shiori) Yeah? Well, I had you clocked by your scent within the first minute. That nasty mix of ashy muck and salt water- It's the smell of a flesh-eating monster.
  • At the end of the same chapter, Shiori approaches Hinako and Miko with another game-changing line.
    Shiori: Hinako. Get behind me, won't you?
    Hinako: ...? What's do you-
    Shiori: (interrupting) Hinako. Now. Step away from that thing. (Hinako doesn't comply) Must you force my hand...? (shows Hinako the student register) Hinako, if you would, try thinking back for me. "Miko Yashiro." Is this girl truly your friend?
  • In Chapter 19, Hinako tells Ayame about her promise to Shiori- that Shiori will eat Hinako when the time is right. Ayame's following line, which ends the chapter, reveals that Shiori has been lying to Hinako from the beginning.
    Ayame: That mermaid... has certainly made you a funny promise. (Hinako looks surprised) What I mean is.. when a monster's own blood runs through a human's veins, that human is sure to taste foul. Utterly unfit for eating.
  • In Chapter 21, Shiori, having been forced to admit that having given Hinako her blood makes Hinako inedible, reveals that she did it to repay a debt to Hinako. The following remark shocks Hinako.
    Shiori: When I gave you my blood, I imbued it with a fervent prayer. That this girl would grow up healthy. That she would lose none of her resplendent brilliance. And that no matter what may come, you would survive, Hinako.^{Context(Spoilers)}Immediately after Hinako's family's deaths, she wanted to join them but stopped when she imagined them telling her that she had to survive. That voice was the only thing keeping her going, so realizing they weren't actually talking to her devastates Hinako
  • In Chapter 31, at the end of the trip, Miko runs into a girl who is the first character apart from the main cast who knows about her true nature.
    Tsubaki: You're welcome, Miss human-eating fox who's now domesticated~.
• With a Friend and a Stranger: The protagonist Hinako is usually seen with Shiori, the mysterious mermaid who suddenly appeared in her life to one day eat her, and Miko, her best friend.
• Yōkai: The story is set in a world where they exist. Two of the main characters are youkais, leaving Hinako as the Token Human of the main cast. Other youkais show up through the story, sometimes playing an important part, sometimes just being a threat to Hinako that Shiori and Miko have to take care of.