Monster Girl Doctor

Episode 9

We open on Glenn and Sapphentite heading to Dr. Cthulhy's office to discuss Skadi's collapse during her speech. Dr. Cthulhy is excited to see them both and after a bit of tentacle grabbery they begin to discuss the situation. This isn't the first time Skadi has collapsed, as she has a heart condition that messed with her blood pressure. Her illness is rare and while it is treatable it is very difficult to cure. Glenn and Sapphentite know they need to try and examine her if they can.

Kunai enters the picture. Together, Kunai helps formulate a plan to get Glenn close enough to examine Skadi. She clears it with the guards and sneaks Glenn and Sapphentite into Skadi's manor. Kunai and Sapphentite wait outside while Dr. Glenn heads into her chambers to examine her heart. Skadi is still awake though and shows Glenn her exposed heart. It is a large blue growth in the center of her chest, and while she calls it a heart she explains that it is in fact a malignant tumor - according to Dr. Cthulhy at least. It is a result of the transformative effect the earth had on dragons as they entered this plane of existence and it creates a series of chronic conditions she struggles against.

Dr. Glenn examines her more in depth, and seems to feel that something is amiss. The examination reveals how weak to the touch she is, and is nearly too much for her to bear. Her cries alert Sapphentite and Kunai who rush in only to find that she is okay and will be retiring to bed, but that's okay as Glenn has all the information he needs.

Returning to Dr. Cthulhy, Glenn explains his plan to save Skadi. It is a complex operation that will require a complete overhaul of her cardiovascular system. In order to accomplish this they'll need a crack team, and decide to enlist the help of their friendly neighborhood spider-seamstress: Arahnia. Glenn and Sapphentite clear it with her and prepare themselves for the difficult surgery ahead.

This was an… interesting episode to say the least. There was very little in the way of cinematography or visual flair. This episode was heavy on the exposition, which meant more talking heads than usual and most of it in a lot of indoor settings without much environmental detail. The dragon-lore bits were unique enough, playing on the “unnatural” angle of the dragons and tying in a few real world myths in the process.

The fan service came in two forms this episode: one moment with Skadi and another with Sapphentite. The scene with Dr. Glenn examining Skadi had a lot of moaning and whimpering which… made me uncomfortable. This is another of those “ah well even if she looks young she's actually hundreds of years old” situations and for me that did not change the fact the whimpering certainly sounded, well, not like the voice of someone who is that old.

The other Scene™ was with Sapphentite and Cthulhy. This was both more gratuitous and less at the same time. Dr. Cthulhy cannot contain her excitement at how much Glenn and Sapphentite have grown as medical practitioners and begins squeezing them. For Glenn this involves a rather mild glomp hug and cheek rubbing. For Sapphentite it involves a full body constriction that leaves her in puddles of white goo. Okay then! Another of those moments where the scene is so outrageous compared to the heavy tone of the rest of the show it just elicits a shrug and we move on I guess.

I think another struggle for this entire situation is that the episode lacks Tisalia. While Glenn and Sapphentite are obviously the core duo, the show has spent a fair amount of time building her up, especially in the past few episodes. Cutting away from her feels like “starting over” again in some respects, and it will take time to build up momentum again if we are largely switching to a focus on Skadi.

The one positive note that I can say is that they did give Dr. Cthulhy what I felt was an interesting character quirk. Octopi are known to engage in auto[hagy - self eating in other words - and whenever she's anxious Dr. Cthulhy will pull a tentacle up and begin chewing on the ends of it. It's a minor note but I thought it was a nice touch.

Rating:

Grant is the cohost on the Blade Licking Thieves podcast and Super Senpai Podcast.

Monster Girl Doctor is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.