How would you rate episode 5 of

Interspecies Reviewers ?

There may be purely better anime titles out there this season, but this one ranks with the season's elite in the way it creatively explores and interprets its subject matter. Episode 5 is another good example of that.

In the pattern that seems to be most typical for this series, this episode is broken into two distinct, essentially unconnected parts. The first involves the reviewers getting a request from a mysteriously hooded and cloaked figure to review a cyclops brothel, complete with the money to pay for the experience. The reason for this is ultimately revealed at the end of the segment, and it's not at all what anyone is likely to expect. It actually makes complete sense, and in a way it is the most unbiased way for the requester to find out what that person most wants to know about cyclops girls. It also directly connects to the experiences of Stunk, Zel, Crim, and the halfling in the brothel in a clever way, so there is a logic behind it beyond just a meta “give them an excuse to go there” gimmick.

The experience itself is also handled cleverly. Apparently among cyclops, it's not breast size that matters but eye size, with references to cup sizes actually indicating the size of the girl's eye, and the host's advertising about size corresponds to such. (In another well-thought-out twist of world-building, the reason for that may be because magical ability is commonly associated with eye size among cyclops, so, again, this isn't just a gimmick for joke's sake.) Sexually stimulating cyclops also seems to involve their eye as much as anything else, which results in some really weird double-entendres. And yes, there's the whole business with Crim satisfying their succu-girl by licking her giant eye. Yeah, the series goes there, but would you expect anything less at this point?

The second half brings finally brings the mushroom girls, who have been featured prominently in the opener and closer, into the picture. The fungal forest where the brothel of the myconids is located is a pretty cool place, with all sorts of luminescent fungus providing the ambiance. The fairy matron from back in episode 2 has her counterpart here in the similarly run-down-by-life attitude of the myconid matron, although she also takes pride in being able to exactly identify a customer's preferences on first sight. Watching her sweat out how to match up Crim is one of the better jokes of this part, which is naturally awash with all sorts of instances of equating mushrooms with penises and putting other sexual references in mushroom terms. This part gets erotic enough to require some black-screen-level censoring during the review portions, so the site getting all high marks is no surprise. This segment is also notable for being the first to feature the fairy Lulou as the fourth reviewer.

With the technical merits of the series still remaining very solid, nothing about this episode disappoints.

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