Best Monster Girl Anime

Key Takeaways

• Monster girl genre has gained popularity in recent years due to hits like Monster Musume & Monster Girl Doctor.
• Shows like A Centaur’s Life & Interviews with Monster Girls offer cute slice-of-life with a monster twist.
• Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid shines with beautiful animation and unique supernatural character designs.

Anime and manga are known for having some unique genres and themes like isekai or idols. However, of all the genres and themes, “Monster Girl” manages to simultaneously be unique, strange, and appealing. While monster girls have always been a part of the medium, it’s within the last few years that the genre become far more popular to the greater community.

For a long time, monster girls were only really popular in doujinshi, with the occasional official manga or anime featuring a few lamia or harpy character designs, but nothing too significant. Thankfully, in the 2010s, the success of a few doujinshi, such as Monster Musume, saw a rise in popularity and interest in monster girls. Let’s look at some of the best monster girls anime.

Updated November 26, 2024 by Mark Sammut: Monster girls anime do not come around all that often, but Summer and Fall 2024 added a few shows to the theme’s resume. As both series prioritize a single monster girl over a group, they lack that diversity that often makes these stories so much fun to consume. Nevertheless, they merit recommendations.

Interspecies Reviewers
has not been included for, well, obvious reasons. Still, if someone is craving an adult spin on the monster girls theme, this show is a prime candidate.

9 My Deer Friend Nokotan

MyAnimeList: 7.05

This recommendation is a borderline case since My Deer Friend Nokotan is, technically, a monster GIRL anime. The eponymous Noko(tan) is the only non-human in the show, with the high school student coming with a nice pair of deer antlers. While that description might suggest she is an animal girl, Noko is basically a chaotic force of nature who is closer to a cosmic monster than either an animal or a girl. She is unstoppable, unpredictable, powerful, mindless (at times), and every other adjective imaginable. She can also remove the top of her head and grow her antlers to ridiculous lengths.

My Deer Friend Nokotan is worth a watch for those seeking a comedy with absurdist elements and a hint of randomness. To be honest, the anime did not end up being as wacky and over-the-top as its premise, trailer, and first episode suggested, instead slipping into a “cute girls doing cute things” rhythm. Still, it is fun enough, and Noko is by far the best part of the show.

8 Puniru is a Kawaii Slime

MyAnimeList: 6.59

Puniru is a Kawaii Slime primarily features one monster girl, but Puniru is a slime that can change forms, so there is some variety in her designs. The protagonist is also not the show’s sole fantastical element either, with even a robot girl showing up at one point. The Fall 2024 anime is a mixed bag, largely thanks to Puniru. Loud to the point of occasionally being obnoxious, the slime can be a bit much at times; conversely, she is also the series’ main selling point since she drives most of the humor, with the rest of the characters reacting to her antics.

As far as great monster girls anime are concerned, Puniru is a Kawaii Slime is fine and worth a watch, although that speaks to the lack of options covering this theme. Still, TOHO’s animation is pretty good, with the anime having bright visuals that complement the kinetic humor and energetic pacing.

7 Kaiju Girls

MyAnimeList: 5.96 (Season 1)

Kaiju Girls is built on a fun concept. Classic kaiju archetypes are reincarnated as girls, who get the ability to transform and acquire powers relating to their monsters. Silly as it sounds, this idea could easily translate into a Cute Girls Doing Cute Things or even an action show; in this case, Kaiju Girls mostly opted for comedy with hints of slice of life.

The two-season series consists of short 5-minute episodes that utilize a chibi art style. Harmless but not particularly memorable, the anime does not rise above the level of “fine,” and the girls’ designs are a mixed bag. If viewed as a magical girl series, their transformations are quite creative and fun; however, for a monster girls anime, most of the characters just seem like they are wearing costumes inspired by kaiju.

Kaiju Girls Black is a movie sequel that can be mostly treated as a standalone story. The shift to standard animation and art styles gives the characters and their transformation more personality, and the film is quite funny and wholesome, despite revolving around world domination to an extent.

6 A Centaur’s Life

MyAnimeList: 6.42

If anime fans were looking for a “cute girls doing cute things” show but with a monster girl twist — look no further than A Centaur’s Life. As the second monster girl anime to air in 2017, many fans had high hopes for the show, given the praise the manga had been receiving at the time and the fact that it was also a slice-of-life show.

The story follows Himeno, a centaur girl, and her daily life in a world where supernatural creatures of all kinds are commonplace. There isn’t much of a plot to speak of here, which may be disappointing to some as the adaption has omitted important plot threads from the manga, such as a focus on racism and the history of the world. However, what the anime does adapt is a good watch and well worth anyone’s time looking to get their fill on slice-of-life and/or monster girl anime.

5 Monster Girl Doctor

MyAnimeList: 6.53

While slice-of-life has been the predominant genre to mix with monster girls up until 2020, Monster Girl Doctor looked to add a bit more to the formula. The result was still a fairly casual viewing experience however the story this time around had a bit more substance, more in-depth backstories for the characters, and a greater sense of presentation and scope for the world the characters inhabit. Said story follows a human doctor specializing in monster biology named Glenn Litbeit and his lamia assistant Saphentite Neikes as they run a small clinic aiding monster girls regardless of any affliction or injury.

The show does a great job of illustrating how unique the world is and how the characters have adjusted to the changes it has experienced. While most of this is told in the form of flashbacks, it is the driving force for the plot and gives each character a purpose for their role in the story. The character designs in the show are also some of the best any monster girl anime has to offer and will be a highlight to anyone who already has or will watch this show.

4 Dropkick On My Devil!

MyAnimeList: 7.04 (Season 1)

A slapstick-heavy comedy, Dropkick on My Devil! is an acquired taste since so much of the humor revolves around one character going full Tom & Jerry on somebody else. The quintessential goth girl, Yurine summons Jashin-chan, an arrogant demon who very much has no intention of remaining on Earth. As the only way to head back to Hell is to kill Yurine, Jashin-chan sets out to eliminate the human; unfortunately, she is completely outmatched and regularly finds herself on the receiving end of a beating. Sure, the demon is essentially immortal, but nobody enjoys having their tail chopped into little pieces.

Dropkick on My Devil! largely consists of skits revolving around Jashin’s disastrous attempts to get the jump on Yurine, and while these segments can get repetitive, they are entertaining in a ghoulish type of way. The sequel seasons are more well-rounded as they shine more of a spotlight on the supporting characters, which include a plethora of demon monster girls.

3 Interviews with Monster Girls

MyAnimeList: 7.53

While the “monster girl” designs weren’t as exotic as those found in Monster Musume or Monster Girl Doctor, Interviews with Monster Girls is an endearing show about three girls – a vampire, dullahan, and snow woman – trying to grow accustomed to human life.

At first glance, the title may be a bit deceiving because the story focuses on biology teacher Tetsuo Takahashi’s daily life in trying to better understand the “Demi’s” who attend Shibasaki High School. Once again, the anime does not have a major overarching plot, but instead follows an episodic and character-driven format. Those looking for another slice-of-life anime with a monster girl twist will not be disappointed here, and the beautiful animation makes the show all the more enjoyable.

2 Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls

MyAnimeList: 6.95

Monster Musume follows Kurusu Kimihito, whose life becomes increasingly more chaotic and crazy as a new monster girl enters his life at a seemingly daily rate in hopes of marrying him. The premise itself isn’t all that unique, especially in anime, but what carries this show are the character designs, comedy, and presentation. While some will be put off by the ecchi hijinks, there is a lot more to the show than just that. The show very tastefully tackles subjects about racism, prejudice, and alienation, all while keeping a healthy balance of light-hearted fun and serious moments.

If one had to pinpoint a specific series that was responsible for the surge in popularity the monster girl genre experienced, it would without a doubt be because of Monster Musume. Before Monster Musume aired, there was no real example in anime of a series featuring humanoid creatures/animal designs to this degree and achieving the same amount of success. Despite this success and popularity, it was truly a shame the series never got a second season, but the manga is still ongoing and continues to be quite popular, giving many fans hope that there may eventually be a follow-up one day.

1 Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid

MyAnimeList: 7.98 (Season 1)

Before monster girl anime would start featuring a plethora of unique supernatural character designs, most would stick to one or two creature/animal designs and have that be the focus. A good example of this is Miss Kobyashi’s Dragon Maid, which, as the title implies, is focused on humanoid dragons. Airing in arguably the year of the monster girls, 2017, the story follows the stoic Kobayashi whose world is forever changed after an energetic dragon named Tooru suddenly becomes her maid after Kobayashi saves Tooru’s life.

Animated and produced by the renowned Kyoto Animation, Miss Kobyashi’s Dragon Maid is a stand-out anime for its beautiful animation, colorful character designs, and simplistic yet interesting story. Some highlights include characters such as everyone’s favorite “dead-pan loli” Kanna, the calm and cool Fafnir, and the beautifully animated sequences when viewers are given glimpses into the dragon’s home realm. From top to bottom, the series is great, and anyone who is a fan of monster girls will no doubt want to experience this series and its sequel season.