The month of tricks & treats is finally upon us. The leaves are a little crunchier, the air is a little cooler, and you can’t go into any supermarket without seeing at least half an isle stocked with candy. This year though.....is a little scarier than most. I don’t think I need to repeat what’s been going on in the United States since the beginning of this year, not to mention how seemingly so many other places in world in 2025 are just going to hell in a handbasket. None the less, I hope to leave you all this month with some nice treats, and to start things off is a revised review of an anime I covered just about 5 years ago. A series that’s it’s own thing, yet was inspired by a monstrous juggernaut that still has a foothold in the otaku/weeb mindset. So, I won’t waste anymore time, so here’s my revised review of Monster Girl Doctor. Let’s begin!
Story/Setup
Taken from Crunchyroll:
“Welcome to the town of Lindworm, where humans and monsters coexist and rookie doctor Glenn carries out some…risqué medical examinations! Whether probing deep into the gills of a mermaid, suturing the thigh of a flesh golem, helping a harpy lay an egg, or palpating each and every scale of a dragon… No matter how different their looks, bodies, and properties, Glenn devotes his all to saving them—and, in the process, winds up in some pretty dangerous liaisons…? But don’t worry—it’s all just a part of his medical exams!”
For anyone that wasn’t in the know, Monster Girl Doctor was based off of a manga, which in turn was based off of a novel series. Only a chunk of the manga was ever fan translated, but that was never finished, and it was never published. Meanwhile, the novel series was fully translated, and it did get fully released in the states. I’ve read the chunk of the fan-translated manga, but I’ve never read the novel series, yet I know that the anime doesn’t delve deep into the novel & manga series’s story. It’s not dumbed down or watered down by any means, but it is simplified. If you were a fan of both the manga & novels, then this might be a turn off. But for people like me that haven’t had that much exposure to either, then it’s not an issue.
Animation
The animation for Monster Girl Doctor still looks lovely in the almost 5 years I last reviewed this. Outside of an odd hiccup in the 1st episode, everything looks great. Background, characters, character movement, colors, and shading all make this series look & feel believable. Even stuff that happens in the background of a scene was animated nicely, but that isn’t the focus sometimes in certain moments.
Voice Acting
When I originally reviewed this back in 2020, there was only the original Japanese dub, with only a scant trace of the dub on Youtube (I could be wrong about that). When I found out that Sentai Filmworks was going to release it, I was skeptical at first, since many of their dubs are mediocre at best. Color me surprise when I got a hold of dub a few short years later, and found out that it’s pretty damn good! There are some voices that don’t have quite as much steam as a few others, but the overall English dub really surprised me with how wonderful it is. Again, some voices aren’t as strong as others, but I was never irritated by it at all.
Characters
Monster Girl Doctor has to have one of the most charming cast of characters ever in a harem series. Unlike some series where some of the girls (Or guys if it’s a reverse-harem) aren’t in the spotlight as much as others, virtually everyone in the main cast all have equal time. There are certainly a host of side characters as well, and many of them do fade into the background, but even plenty of them have some time to shine. Perhaps what is most surprising about this anime is that, outside of Nurse Sapphe (The Lamia girl, who is best btw), nobody really wants to have sex with the MC. Again, outside of Sapphe (And maybe 2 other Centaur retainers of the main horse princess), nobody is trying to jump on Doctor Glenn’s family jewels. The whole vibe of him & the others is more like a group of friends than a harem: sure, there’s a few harem moments, but everybody feels more like friends than anything else. The interact with each other differently than they would if they were a harem, and bond more different than they would if they were a harem as well. Again, I love Monster Musume & all of his cheesy harem tropes, but every once in a while I love the other side of the coin, and Monster Girl Doctor is most definitely the other side in this regard.
Availability & Pricing
I bought my copy at a convention about 2 or 3 years ago, and I believe it was 30 to 60-something dollars at the time. To play, the series only came out on Blu-Ray, which definitely made it more expensive. As I’m typing this, there are still plenty of copies over on Amazon with a 53% off sale. By the time I post this I’m not sure if the sale is still going, but if it is I suggest you get it!
Overall Impression & Rating
Monster Girl Doctor is a nice contrast to the colossus that is Monster Musume. I love that series, and by extension the franchise as a whole to death, but it’s nice to know that there’s a show that’s on the other side of the spectrum. A show that still has all of the monster girl & harem tropes, but reigns them in for more of a grounded experience. Sure, the story isn’t as deep as the source material, and there’s a small animation flub, and maybe some of the voicework lacks just a little bit, yet this show is such a charmfest that they don’t really drag it down. If you are or were a fan of MM, but want something that’s not as over-the-top, then give Monster Girl Doctor a try.
Monster Girl Doctor gets an 8 out of 10.
And that was my revised review for Monster Girl Doctor. A fun & oddly fresh take on the monster girl harem troupe, it manages to use familiar aspects in a way that’s somewhat different from the norm. Even if you don’t like monster girls or harems, the story is still fun enough that it’s worth watching at least once. Join me next week, as we see what the Prince Of Darkness was like at the dawn of the new millennium. Until then, take care!
***
If you’d like to look at my original review, click on the link below:
Anime Review: Monster Girl Doctor (Original)
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