Centaur no Nayami / First Impressions

「ラブレターをもらって困惑する… その心は? / UFO, UMAの類を信じるか信じないかでタイプが分かれるよね.」 (Love Letter o Moratte Konwaku Suru… Sono Kokoro wa? / UFO, UMA no Rui o Shinjinaika de Type ga Wakareru yo ne.)
“Why Are We So Bewildered When We Receive a Love Letter? / You Can Tell What Type a Person Is by Whether They Believe in UMAs and UFOs or Not.”

So we’ve come to one of the most notorious parts of Centaur no Nayami; the scene where the main three girls compare vaginas. The show’s approach isn’t the most tasteful way of going about insecurities with vaginal shape since a good portion of the scene is spent going after poor Kyouko, who never wanted to be exposed in the first place. It genuinely made me feel bad to see Kyouko feel violated by the whole ordeal, especially since the show plays it off like “teehee, look at her sulking“. While it’s not explicit, you can definitely tell that the scene plays around with the fanservicey elements of what’s going on with Nozomi feeling the other girls’ breathing on her vag and commenting about how Kyouko is much hairier down there than expected. I do love myself some shameful and shameless fanservice, and I don’t have too much of an issue with the situation, but at the same time, I feel like it was too obvious that the scene was there more as a chance to put the girls in a flirty scenario than to debunk Himeno’s insecurities. They did all that, and at the end of the day, she just takes their word for it instead of looks at a picture or reflection of her privates. The only thing she learned from this was that the angel boy interested in Himeno used the Zap Brannigan Book of Pickup Lines to concoct the most damning love letter of all time. It feels like Himeno is back at square one with not knowing what her genitals look like even if she feels slightly better that at least her friends think it looks normal down there.

On one hand level, it’s also odd that this is all happening between high school girls since the “You show me yours and I show you mine” method of learning is something that doesn’t usually happen once everyone’s old enough to look up pictures on the Internet. At the same time, I’m most likely just nitpicking since it would make sense in this universe given the different anatomy types of the mythological creatures, the possibility of Internet censorship, and the fact that Himeno would need a selfie-stick to get a clear view of her privates. It does place some perspective on how some mythological creatures would feel disheartened by their similarities with other animals. With the anatomical bodies of centaurs and cows being similar enough to create that conflict in Himeno’s self-esteem over her desirability, it does make me wonder how it would occur with other species or situations. Would satyrs or half-satyrs have issues with their features being too similar to a goats? Would cat people have a hard time trying to swim on a competitive level? As odd as it might seem to have the main three expose themselves to each other, it does pave the way to showing how these mythological creatures co-exist with each other and other animals.

Of the main three, Kyouko has the most to do this episode. Although the first half has her regretting her invitation to “Show Us Your Vag Day,” the second half flexes her most skilled talent of being book smart, and knowledgeable enough to be Nozomi’s study coach. It’s nice to see her getting some attention as far as what her work ethic is like, how her upbringing contributes to her personality and baffles her at the same time, and shows her at her most determined to make some positive effect on Nozomi’s study habits. Additionally, her knowledge of government protocol and Antarcticans gives the show a chance to flesh out the lore behind it’s world. We learn through Kyouko about how strict the world views the Antarctican snake people and reptilians in general, and their spiritual beliefs. This contributes greatly to the next episode as we learn about our newest student, Antarctican snake girl Sassassul Quetzalcoatl (Ayase Yuu), why the town is heavily guarded over her arrival, and why Himeno is frightened of her.

15 Comments

  2. You should probably call the new student by her given name. Just for the sake of clarity. Quetzalcoatl is a name that all Antarticans who go out into the larger world take on.

    Personally I was hoping they would avoid adapting chapter zero altogether. The contents of it are too easily misconstrued, and it’s way too easy for people to get hung up on parts of it and get incorrect ideas about the series and/or the characters. But it seems they chose not to listen to me.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. That makes sense. Just updated the posts to show her full name. Sassassul is easier for me to type and remember too since I always slip up on Quetzacoatl, so this works perfectly!

      I remember it being oddly placed in relation to it’s deeper social commentary, where it’d be easy to get the wrong idea about the type of manga it is when you first pick it up. In a way, it’s better that they did it later on than earlier since it would’ve made Nozomi and Kyouko look a lot more differently than how we see them in Episode’s 1-3.

      At the same time, I get why it didn’t really have to be there, and they could’ve expressed her insecurity differently. Similarly, I can see why people would automatically judge the show if that’s what they know the series by, and it’d be unfair for people to completely write it off because the premise of Chapter 0 is goofier than the rest.

      Choya
      Reply

  3. I really, really didn’t think we’d get chapter 0! Anyway, let’s just hope that our protagonists don’t grab hold of Sassassul and demand to see her cloaca.

    Angelus
    Reply

  4. I don’t have too much of an issue with the situation, but at the same time, I feel like it was too obvious that the scene was there more as a chance to put the girls in a flirty scenario than to debunk Himeno’s insecurities.

    It was much clearer in the manga, but the question went beyond mere shape, but also of interracial procreation between the different folk. The anime showed that government flyer about helping those who were interracial with special programs.

    Show Spoiler ▼

    LoliHat
    Reply

    1. That makes sense since the manga has the liberty of showing more context to what issues interspecies procreation can offer. I know the flyer shed a little light on the benefits that are available to those who are assured a regular birth from reproduction between the opposite species.
      Show Spoiler ▼

      If the anime made that more clear, especially after the cow flashback, then it would’ve gave a little more context as to why she’d take Nozomi up on her offer instead of just focusing on the insecurity on if a boy would look down there and think of a cow.

      Choya
      Reply

  5. https://randomc.net/image/Centaur%20no%20Nayami/Centaur%20no%20Nayami%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2023.jpg
    I spy Nozomi reading Daily Life With Monster Girl… (Man, I wish for a second season of that series.)

    https://randomc.net/image/Centaur%20no%20Nayami/Centaur%20no%20Nayami%20-%2004%20-%20Large%2034.jpg
    I almost thought she was that legendary Japanese cryptid, a tsuchinoko. Well, I was fascinated by stories of cryptids like the Loch Ness Monster, Bigfoot, Yeti and the Mongolian Death Worm back when I was younger because of how mysterious they are. It seems Hime and company also view Antarctic snake people in a similar light.

    Incognito
    Reply

    1. I was wondering what it was when I first saw it, but zooming into it, that’s definitely Miia and Papi from Monster Musume. I wasn’t sure if they’d use mock-ups of a fake manga or pages from the show’s manga, but it looks like the anime doesn’t mind giving a little love to it’s ecchier cousin.

      I’d love to have seen some Tsuchinoko representation. Admittedly, my only encounter with it was in Metal Gear Solid 3 when I spent a good hour or so trying to outsmart and capture it in the woods for that sweet infinity facepaint. Still, it piqued my curiosity enough to look up some fun lore on the oddly shaped mythological snake. It would’ve fit in well with the universe of the series.

      I am curious about how the other girls will handle the Antarctic snake people now that Sassassul is in the house.

      Choya
      Reply

  7. As a snake-hater at first when I saw Sassassul I thought “Aw, she’s kinda cute, that wouldn’t be so bad”, then the tongue happened and I went straight to “NOPE!” >.<

    Aex
    Reply

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