The Explicit Anime Series So Controversial It Was Pulled From TV
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Anime and manga are no strangers to illicit content. Even the most wholesome stories often have moments of fan service where the viewers are meant to gawk at how attractive or well-endowed a character is. All the same, there are some efforts that are just a bit too steamy for your average network or streaming service to handle.
"Interspecies Reviewers" falls decidedly into this category of the medium. While it isn't quite hentai (the term for animated pornography in Japan), the premise of the show alone is enough to raise a few eyebrows. Stunk (Junji Majima), Zel (Yuusuke Kobayashi), and Crimvael (Miyu Tomita) are a trio of different species — human, elf, and angel — and they set out to review the various brothels they come across, often with some pretty salacious results.
The series takes place in a world of succubi (sex demons), which means there are demons everywhere who get their energy from engaging in various sexual acts with the other denizens of the world. Of course, there are key differences between the "Interspecies Reviewers" manga and anime, which might help to explain how the series was greenlit and then subsequently canceled after it began airing its episodes.
There are a couple of reasons why the series is so risqué
The central change that was almost certainly responsible for the cancellation of "Interspecies Reviewers" is that in the original manga series, the "reviews" of the gang's various sexual encounters are provided on the page as just that. They are mainly text reviews describing the experiences Stunk, Zel, and Crimvael have while engaging in intercourse with the world's many colorful denizens.
Obviously, that changes exponentially when the source material is adapted to a more visual format. Instead, the reviews on "Interspecies Reviewers" are seen as they occur, showing every element of the NSFW fornication that each appraiser experiences at the brothel they're currently reviewing.
Another element of the show that helps it stand out is the fact that none of the succubi that the gang makes love to are strictly human. In general, they feature many animalistic attributes, such as fur, whiskers, animal ears, and yes, even the fabled tentacles of Japanese hentai. These elements, as well as the fact that all three protagonists of "Interspecies Reviewers" are of different species themselves, help to explain that eye-catching title.
Interspecies Reviewers was banned in a lot of places
Though fans of anime and envelope-pushing TV in general probably won't be having their first brush with censorship here, it's genuinely incredible that "Interspecies Reviewers" was given the green light to air in so many places only to be pulled after executives saw what the content of the show was, rather than before. The series premiered on January 11, 2020, but its tenure didn't last very long. Both Funimation (which has since been merged into Crunchyroll) and Amazon Prime pulled the series in February 2020. This was followed by the show losing its slot on its original network, Tokyo MX.
Of course, after reading all this, some anime fans may be wondering where they can see all these strange scenes of carnal lust for themselves. Whether viewers are seeking it out due to hidden desires, which have been fodder for erotic art for decades, or simple curiosity, "Interspecies Reviewers" is especially difficult to watch through legal means.
Where can you watch Interspecies Reviewers?
While AnimeLab, a site that is available only with a VPN, streamed a censored version of the program for a time, it's just about impossible to stream this controversial series as it was originally meant to be seen. It looks like the only service that still offered the show for streaming recently was Wakanim. We say "was" because it appears that Wakanim has been shut down as of November 3, 2023, meaning this series is even harder to find in 2024.
If you're ready to make a bigger investment, however, the 12-episode 1st season of "Interspecies Reviewers" can be purchased on Blu-ray for roughly $56 in the US on sites like Amazon. Whether you decide to watch it or not, just know that the series borders on hentai at times and, as such, is probably something you're going to want to watch in private or, at the very least, with someone who's aware of the kind of content the series contains.