Feb 14, 2025
As of writing this review there are 45 chapters out, and I can't recommend this manga earnestly.
The initial premise and presentation are strong, but it did not live up to my expectations despite having potential to do so, especially in regards to romance or drama.
The art is fantastic, easily the best part of the series. It captures a solemn atmosphere, and blends elements of horror with a soft introspective drama throughout its exploration of the characters and their pasts.
The main driving force in "Watashi wo Tabetai, Hitodenashi", or Watatabe, is the protagonist Hinako's lack of will to live. Shiori's arrival appears to offer Hinako exactly
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what she has been wishing for- a way to die without the guilt of taking her own life, but as both are characterized further it becomes less clear what either of them truly want. Ostensibly as a Girls Love manga, the plot is involved with the relationship between these two as it develops beyond the transactional premise.
Unfortunately, the narrative is frustratingly unconcerned with actually developing that central premise, and instead has spent 45 chapters mostly focusing on an examination of humanity through the allegory of "monsters" and their relationships with humans. As Hinako generally lacks the motivation to advance the plot, it often falls on other characters to push things along. Miko, a childhood friend of Hinako who is also a monster, is introduced early and given substantial amounts of focus, being generally omnipresent and having a story arc which takes up most of volumes 8 and 9. The story explores what it means to be a monster or a human, who is deserving of love, and how people change based on those around them. These ideas are all obviously connected to Hinako but are mostly framed in the context of her friendship with Miko. Often, Hinako as a character and her relationship with Shiori take a backseat to the dynamics between either of them and Miko, or the occasional extra character.
Shiori is equally unsatisfying as a deuteragonist. Her internal motivations are not expressed in a way that allows the reader to observe her role in the story organically. She is revealed to be reluctant to eat Hinako and only willing to follow through with their arrangement once Hinako can live happily. Her backstory explains her initial appearance, but robs her of the possibility for character growth by redefining her as somebody who already cares deeply for Hinako. While this leaves things more or less similar to the initial premise, it removes much of the tension and transforms the atmosphere of the manga from an ambiguous romance to more of a slice-of-life. This is all further hurt by Shiori's frequent characterization as flippant and carefree, which often leaves her feeling one-dimensional.
All in all, Watatabe is atmospheric, beautifully drawn, and shows itself capable of emotional depth, but remains distracted and lacking in execution. It has potential from the start to explore all its themes, develop Hinako and Shiori, while crafting an emotionally resonant narrative, but gets lost along the way with side stories, worldbuilding and repetition. It may still realize its potential down the line, but with so much of its time spent on other things than what is promised by its first chapters I can only really recommend it as a fluffy (albeit often dark) slice-of-life featuring monster girls.
Reviewer’s Rating: 5
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