Issue #1: Monstergirls 101
Hello World!
Welcome to MonMag Monthly, the monthly e-zine/blog/newsletter/whatever-you-want-to-call-it for monstergirl enthusiasts. We will be showcasing interesting monstergirl and eroge related content from around the internet for your viewing and reading pleasure. Please be aware that much of this content is very NSFW, and this newsletter is intended for mature, adult audiences over 18 years of age.
Since this is the first issue, for the benefit of any hapless uncorrupted innocent readers that have stumbled upon this blog without knowing what a “monstergirl” is, our first featured article will be a quick introduction to the genre, explaining what it’s about and highlighting some of the recent popular series that have kind of shaped what the genre is at the moment.
But first, how about some mood music?
That’s right, how many porn newsletters come with their own OST? We’re classy up in here! Each month we’ll be spinning you a new track to listen to while you peruse the articles and links on offer for the month.
This mini-playlist is a collection of BGM from the Little Black Bestiary dating sim series.
And without further ado, class is in session!
What is a monstergirl?
Well, a monstergirl, or monsterboy, is basically just a humanized monster. I could take a paragraph to explain what that entails, or I could just show you an example:
But really, to put it bluntly, it’s a fetish.
After all, the main *point* of a monstergirl (or again, monsterboy) is that they’re human enough to be sexy, but have monstrous parts that also make them exotic, interesting, or terrifying at the same time. Granted, it’s not always purely a sex thing, sometimes the monster is humanized just to make it more cute or relatable, but probably 80% or so of the content we will be showing is erotic or at least “fanservice”y so may as well just admit it’s usually a sex thing.
If I were to try to write an article about the origins of monstegirls, I’d probably have to write a literal history textbook. Stories with a “That man-eating snake lady was kinda hot tho” moment have been woven into legends and mythology since the dawn of humanity so it’s far from a new modern concept. However, the term “monstergirl” itself was largely popularized by otaku-friendly Japanese media (manga, anime, games, and so forth) and it implies a somewhat specific subgenre of content, while a lot of western media with similar themes throw around some fairly academic sounding terms like “supernatural romance.”
Again, it’s one of those things that’s easier to show, rather than tell, so here’s a sampling of what I’d consider the “big three” modern monstergirl series. Not necessarily the first or best, but all three are very popular and have influenced a ton of fanart and ideas that many other series that have come after have leaned into a bit. So if you’re just starting to get into monstergirls, they are series you should know about!
Monster Musume: Everyday Life with Monster Girls
Monster Musume is a harem anime rom-com about a guy who ends up becoming a host for a government-sponsored interspecies exchange program. The very first monster he hosts instantly falls in love with him and it only gets way more complicated from there.
The anime has been fairly popular, so you’ve likely encountered fanart or merchandise of some of the characters around the internet. If you want to check out the series for yourself it’s easy enough to find on multiple streaming services, or you can pick up a box set from most places that sell anime DVDs for around $20-$40 USD.
As a bit of a side note, Okayado, the creator of Monster Musume, first made an erotic comic called “Living with Monstergirl” about a set of identical brothers whom all have different monstergirl girlfriends. I’m trying to avoid showing outright nudity in this article, but I can crop a bit from one of the comics to show it. (You can read more of them in their full NSFW glory here)
The comic was popular enough and was shared widely around the internet that Okayado was able rework his idea into Monster Musume and get it commercially produced.
The Monster Girl Encyclopedia
The Monstergirl Encyclopedia is written like a field guide within its own setting, detailing the mating habits of various monstergirls an adventurer may encounter on their travels. While the book talks about sex frequently, it’s not actually visually explicit so it’s technically SFW.
The series has actually been highly influential within the fandom, evident by the fact that many characters from other later series have clearly taken ideas and design cues from Kenkou Cross’ designs, which is especially evident with some of the more popular designs like the Hellhound and Manticore.
You can purchase a copy from many large bookstores that carry Manga. Including Amazon.com, of course.
Monmusu Quest! (AKA Monstergirl Quest!)
Monstergirl Quest is a story that will be immediately familiar to anyone that has played a JRPG or adventure game like Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Legend of Zelda, etc. A boy from a sleepy little quiet village at the southern corner of the world map has just come of age, which means he has to grab a sword and set off on an adventure to save the world by defeating the Monster Lord. It’s a game that leans into those familiar cliches and tropes so hard that it becomes a full-on parody that makes fun of RPG conventions while still mostly playing things straight.
While it’s a game that people genuinely enjoy for its story and writing, the main attraction is straight-up porn. The subtitle after all is “lose and be raped.” Every monster in the game is a cute girl version of something you’d beat up in one of those games I named in the previous paragraphs, slimes, ropers, ghosts, demons, robots, whatever. You still gotta beat them up, but if you lose at combat, you’re treated to a scene of the protagonist being fucked into submission by the monster you lost to before getting a tongue lashing from the goddess and getting a chance to try again.
The game was originally sold as a 3-part trilogy which you can purchase on DLsite. You’d probably want to start with part 1, which you can purchase here.
There is no complete official English translation of all three parts, but there is an excellent fan-translation by RougeTranslator. He’s retired from the translation scene so his site is now basically defunct but there is a mirror of his Monstergirl Quest! translation patch here.
There is a sequel trilogy in the works called “Monstergirl Quest Paradox” that is a more traditional JRPG, but nearly every monster is now a recruitable party member making it more in the style of something like Suikoden or Shin Megami Tensei. As of the original publication of this article 2 of 3 parts are released, with the third part coming… at some point. We’ll probably write about the series in more detail later when that time comes.
So that’s a quick intro to the “big three” monstergirl series, but we’ve still got more newsletter to get through! Every month, we’ll be featuring games, comics, artists, and whatever else we find around the internet. In the interest of keeping the ball rolling on the “monstergirl 101” theme, let me use this month’s features to introduce a few more “starter series” for people just getting into monstergirl content.
“Modern MoGal,” is a slice-of-life comedy about monsters living in modern cities by Han, a Taiwanese furry artist. I’ll link a couple sample comics from his twitter:
You can check out the full comic on Webtoon; and/or take a look at his other work here.
Interspecies Reviewers, (AKA Ishuzoku Reviewers) is a fantasy sex comedy about a group of friends who go around to different brothels (each with a crazier theme than the last) and write reviews on their experiences there. One of the main themes, and one of the major sources of humor, comes from exploring the differing beauty standards between fantasy races, like what an elf finds attractive vs. what a beastman finds attractive.
It’s one of the few animes where the televised anime is more sexually explicit than the manga, which has gotten it removed from most English streaming services, but you can still pick up the series box set.
Erotical Night was one of the first eroge I’ve ever played. It’s over 16 years old. It’s a flash game so it hasn’t aged too gracefully, and you might need to jump through a couple hoops to play it on a modern system.
That said, it’s one of the early predecessors of games like Monstergirl Quest and one of, if not the, first “battlefuck” games. Basically, that means it’s a game that uses competitive sex in place of combat. To win, you need to make your opponent cum before you cum, with orgasm meters replacing healthbars. Besides that, it plays a lot like you’d expect from a JRPG, explore dungeons, do quests, find treasure, and get stronger to take on increasingly more powerful enemies.
Had a hard time picking an artist for our first artist feature, so I figured… can’t go wrong with goblins! HuffsLove specializes in drawing pinups and erotica of smol-but-thicc goblins, imps, and other ‘shortstack’ style characters.
Finally, on a parting note, here’s some sage life guidance from our own resident advice goblin.
Question:
I finally worked up the courage to ask out the girl I like. The thing is, I want to be ready with some interesting dates that will really impress her. What’s your suggestion?
Desperately,
Lovestruck LamiaAnswer:
You’re in luck, LL! Your boy Garlic happens to be an expert on first dates! It takes a while to find the right gal, guy, person, or thing, so I always like to keep some lasting first impressions handy.
I tend to say you can’t go wrong with a goblin party. We’ll never say no if you can cram in with us (might be a small fee or contributing a 6-pack to barter your way in), so that means lots of rowdy randos showing up. No matter how bad you think you are, there’s a goblin out there that’s worse and he’s probably at your party. It makes you look a point or two better by comparison. There’s also a lot of cheap, good stuff to eat and drink, and people there are constantly putting together some kind of games. From drinking games with the nearest video game console, or just a round of I Bet You I Could Eat This. Everyone’s laughing too hard for it to come off as dangerous since it doesn't take much to make a goblin ready to unwind.
If nothing else, find a park, river, or someplace that’s free to walk through. Easy way to get some exercise. Remember that if one of you offers to race or arm wrestle or see if one of you can climb the other one cuz they’re so dang short/tall, don’t gloat, and NOT lose on purpose. That’s an easy way to not get somebody’s number.
Like this one time I was dating this werewolf girl. Huge gal with huger tits. Total babe. I took her for a long walk down Colpeak River because I thought taking a wolf girl to a park might offend something. I crack some jokes about my little legs keeping up with her. Then it starts raining! So we book it under a bridge (no loitering trolls, luckily) and I outrun her anyway. We’re all wet and waiting it out. We talk if her fur makes it worse or better, get into sharing body heat talk… next thing you know she’s lifting me while I fuck her tits. My dick smelled like wet dog for a week and it was totally worth it!
Where was I? Oh right! Most of all, bring your energy. Be yourself and be it hard!
Question:
My partner and I live on entirely different sleep/work schedules, so it’s hard for us to spend time together. Got any advice for a nocturnal guy and a daylight dame?
Thanks,
The Nighty KnightAnswer:
As is my usual approach, I’m going to assume that you don’t have access to any dark pacts with higher powers that could alter time. You can text, leave them little treats/presents, take vacations, or occasionally stay up with them and mess with your sleep schedule. Good steps, but that’s all only gonna get you so far.
Making the most of your weekends (or whatever time you have together) is going to be the key. Absence makes the heart grow hornier, as they say. So my advice is you do a sort of “sex tag” to keep things going during your busy days. Consider it long-range flirting.
Send them nudes. Leave your sexiest outfits laying out like you’ve been trying them on. Ask them to record themselves masturbating to a picture of you. Folks today can underestimate a handwritten letter, so leave a little description of what you’d want to do to them during your next little get together.
OH! But make sure you sign it or something. I tried that once and came back to my current fuckbuddy paranoid that she was being stalked by some random guy who wanted to do all this pervy stuff to her. But it was just me…
Anyway, all that should all help keep a strong bond that’ll pull you right back together. You can get right down to getting freaky as soon as you’re both free from edging each other all week.
Got your own question? Email it to us, send a DM or post it here in the comments and it might get answered in a future column!
So long for now, hope you had fun, and by the way, Happy New Year!