Interspecies Reviewers

Episode 10

As shown at the end of last episode, the main trio plus Kanchal are off to Magic Metropolis to investigate a brothel that has earned a perfect score from other reviewers. In the process they learn that the centaur girls (who of course operate a courier service) have been doing good business thanks to distributing the reviews, hence the reason why they probably agreed to the transport arrangement. However, a much bigger surprise awaits in the “metropolis.” I definitely didn't see this twist coming but I feel like I probably should considered the possibility.

The gimmick here – which warrants using the whole episode rather than just the more typical half – is that there's only technically a single succu-girl. All of the attendants in Magic Metropolis are merely temporary but very sophisticated clones of the busty Archmage Demia, and each visitor gets his clone for three days, after which they simply disappear. Because the clones are completely disposable, a customer can do literally anything he wants with one – even things as extreme as dismemberment – as long as less public-friendly activities are not done in public. This can also include completely benign activities like going out on dates, having the clone make you a top-quality breakfast while dressed only in an apron, or even having the clone give you a high-level tutorial on magic, all included in a remarkably cheap rate. As Crim later notes in their review, it's effectively like having a girlfriend for three days. And the clones even save off your preferences and will remember the customer the next time around, too! The only negative is that the clone's appearance is a constant, so if Demia isn't the customer's preferred physical type then the customer is just out of luck there.

Like a lot of stuff in this series, this scenario could stray into some ugly territory if it stopped even a bit to contemplate the deeper implications of the whole set-up. That the most extreme cases happen on a daily basis is also a bit disturbing (though not unexpected once the possibility was brought up), and the presence of monster races among the potential customers doesn't change that; for instance, a customer could spend the whole three days torturing a clone to death (Kanchal basically does an S&M-level version of this) and no one would care as long as it isn't done in public. Why Demia would tolerate such abuse of exact copies of herself is a mystery until we see behind the curtain: when the clones dissipate, they apparently magically transport back to her any semen they collected, which she can use for research purposes. That's a pretty damn sly way to collect all sorts of biological samples without anyone being the wiser. Earning money to financially support her research in the process is a one-two punch of a deal. (That also explains why setting customers up for clones for three days can be prices as cheap as an hour with a high-end succu-girl in some other brothels.) Extend this logic further – the face of her set-up is getting stellar reviews across the country, which only encourages more customers to come in – and it's a genius move worthy of an Archmage.

The late stages of the episode set up two potential hooks for future events: Demia seems very interested in Crim's damaged halo and a sexy male demon walks into Ale n' Eats in the epilogue and comes face-to-face with the harried Meidri. The former seems like a consequence which may come into play if this series ever gets a sequel, while the latter is likely the set-up for next episode. Either way, the series hasn't lost its touch yet.

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Interspecies Reviewers is currently streaming on AnimeLab in Australia and New Zealand.