Review of Jingai-san no Yome
What makes an effective psychological horror? Is it the claustrophobic ambiance evoked, your deepest fears that writhe in the deepest crevices of your mind unveiled, or perhaps the dawning of existential dread crawling up your spine, as you realize you will one day die? “Sure, all of them work,” I would have said two days ago. But that was the old me; she is now dead and buried, being feasted on by worms. No, the new me has seen a comedy anime that inadvertently threw away all my ancient preconceptions on what constituted truly disturbing horror out the window. Welcome to the fucked up worldof Jingai-san no Yome.
Oh sure, the cover photo looks cutesy. A demure teenage boy sitting awkwardly with his sentient throw rug of a monster sidekick, right? Maybe we can expect some light-hearted isekai shenanigans or a tale about the importance of friendship and rainbows. I, too, used to be that naïve, dear reader. Now prepare to kiss away the last remnants of your innocence, because this is actually the story of a boy forced into sexual slavery to a reject abominable snowman.
From its first episode all the way to its uncomfortable conclusion, my face was contorted into a silent scream, madness dawning in my eyes. Elementary and high school boys are chosen by monsters to become their “wives”. Why the series refers to them as wives instead of husbands will remain one of the universe’s unresolved mysteries. In this chilling society, schools serve as de-facto marriage-arranging companies. Each student’s homeroom teacher informs them of their grim fate with a smile, the kids’ loud protests ignored. They marry these strange creatures, and live in a house funded by the government. If suspicions arise that the marriages are fake, students must submit proof of their commitment to the ward office. I am not making any of this shit up.
Jingai-san no Yome tries to present itself as a wacky romcom, but I could see right through the facade. No joke lands, its slapstick fails, and every romantic moment destroys the last remaining pieces of my hope for humanity. Despite not having a trace of world-building, I still needed answers. Normally, when a story has a sloppy presentation of its setting, I will quickly lose interest. Not so here. Hundreds of questions bubbled up within me as I completed episode after episode. Where are their parents? What do first-year students do in their school’s ‘Wives Club’? Why are girls never chosen as partners for these monsters? Why is child bestiality so widely accepted in this world? Does God stay in heaven because he too lives in fear of what he has created?
I remind you all that this anime is one of the very few that focuses on married life. Let that sink in. To my eternal dismay, plenty of romantic scenes abound. Thankfully, it is all PG-13, or I might have had to jump off a bridge. However, the rating still does not completely blunt the blow, for what the audience sees is enough to raise goosebumps all over their flesh. In episode 5, we see the main character, Hinowa, taking a bath with his monster husband, Kanenogi. He looks at his lover’s tail, eyes glistening, cheeks bright red as if kissed by a cherub. He jumps out of the tub as if struck by lightning, hastily readjusting the towel around his hips. Someone call 911, I’m going into cardiac arrest.
The rest of the characters are introspective, deep, and charismatic, in much the same way like roadkill rotting under the sun is. Other monster husbands appear in the series: a mummy with a crude smiley face drawn on, a balding pig with a Japanese conical hat, and two bat-like humanoid twins wearing red stockings. It is a shame Shakespeare died so early, for he would have written countless sonnets about their love.
Animation looks like it was done on a shoestring budget, but I suppose there was some creativity involved in the monster design. Kanenogi looks like a Wampa from Star Wars finally deciding on settling down. He wasn’t getting any in Hoth. Hinowa’s design is rather hideous; he looks as if he got a haircut at a slaughterhouse. Other male characters’ designs look interchangeable except for their hair. For example, one kid has long red hair and the other looks like a backup dancer from NSYNC’s heydays. Voice acting is passable. Deku’s (from My Hero Academia) voice actor was cast for the main lead’s role; I sure hope his agent knows what s/he is doing. OST is disappointing. Instead of the more thematically fitting demonic choir from Hell chants, we get cookie-cutter pop songs and uninspired synth tracks.
As for the ending…well…Stockholm syndrome has kicked in for good. Very sad.
Recommended only to brave motherfuckers with huge ovaries/balls of steel. Your courage inspires us all.