English Dub Review: Monster Girl Doctor “The Mermaid of the Waterways”
Overview (Spoilers Below):
Doctor Glenn and his assistant Sapphee head off on an errand to obtain more sunscreen for her. Since her kind is very sensitive to the sun’s rays, Sapphee must be careful. They navigate across a series of beautiful canals that the merfolk live in thanks for construction started by Lady Draconness, a city councilperson of high regard.
Later on their way back home, the two of them run into a young mermaid named Lulala who offers to sing a lover’s song for them. But before she can get through much of it, she starts coughing. Doctor Glenn examines her and identifies her issue — she’s been spending too much time on land. But suddenly, a nearby human child falls into the water. Lulala is able to retrieve him, but then she herself starts to drown. Doctor Glenn dives down and saves her, and Sapphee pulls him back to safety.
Our Take:
The second episode of Monster Girl Doctor is a bit more fun to watch than the premiere. Instead of spending time on a ton of medical exams, we get a little slice of life type start to the show with Glenn and Sapphee going on a trip together, plus a bit of their backstory. Meeting new creatures and seeing the areas they live in is good worldbuilding for the show, and allows it to broaden its horizons to a bit more than just the monster fetish series.
Opening up with a blast from the past, the series gives us a timeline of Glenn and Sapphee’s relationship. The two met at a young age, when the great war between monsters and humans was still going on. Their fathers were working together on a secret trading route, and in order to ensure that Sapphee’s family wouldn’t betray the deal, apparently it was agreed that Glenn’s family should hold her hostage. It’s a little strange to be sure, and I can’t help but wonder if one of Glenn’s siblings was held hostage by Sapphee’s relatives. At least it doesn’t seem like a bad experience for her, as she got to know Glenn well and would later meet back up with him during medical school.
Their trip through the Merrow Way is a nice little distraction from the usual ailments they have to deal with. Instead of mermaid gills and centaur hooves, they get to take in lovely waterways and examine beautiful trinkets. Sure, Sapphee doesn’t end up buying much, but as she tells Glenn, the best part was just shopping with him along for the ride.
Lulala comes into things on their way home, and she’s a more interesting character to me than the premiere’s monster of the week. Maybe I just prefer mermaids to centaurs, but there’s also her storyline. Due to her having to earn a living, she stays above water all day in order to appeal to passing tourists and visitor to the waterway. This has caused her gills and lungs to cease functioning properly, leading to painful sores on her mouth and in her gills. It’s a bit more of a tearjerker than ‘centaur princess can’t win fights’.
The dub is as solid as it was last week, save for Lulala’s singing voice? It’s so, so stark a contrast. While Lulala sounds like a raspy young kid, once she opens her mouth to sing she suddenly resembles a middle-aged opera singer. Obviously, this is a minor nitpick, but it does really remove a viewer from the show when the song should be a crowning achievement for Glenn and Sapphee to be hearing.
The Mermaid of the Waterways does a good job opening up the world that Doctor Glenn lives in, showing us a broader scope of the types of monsters living within it. There was more dramatic stakes this time, with not one almost drownings, but two! Perhaps a little melodramatic, but hey, it adds some excitement to the routine of doctor examinations. I’m eager to learn more about Lady Draconness, too, who sounds like a very inspiring character. I bet Glenn will find a reason to get her into the office soon, although it’d be nice if the show took a small break from the ‘illness of the week’ schtick.
