When Kuroe Akaishi was a little girl, she confessed to her first crush only to discover that stress turns various parts of her body, her hands and arms primarily, into those of a purple Kaiju, which as you probably know already, is a Godzilla-style monster! Of course, the poor kid ran for his life. Now a petite, introverted teenager who is into heavy metal and dresses in black, Kuroe avoids all human contact, and the girls in her class reciprocate by giving her the nickname of “Psycho-kun.” Cute. In a pretty compelling scene, we see her walk down the corridor, listening to her classmates complain about acne, fat people in social mixers, or what they would look without makeup. In this world of appearances, she could never be accepted. Social acceptance is for people like Arata Minami, the boy who sits right next to her. He has been offered a modeling job. The girls in class want to talk to him and take photos, and take Kuroe´s seat between classes to do so. She calms down in the bathroom, listening to some heavy metal in her earbuds and checking on her favorite foods. After the claws disappear, she goes to the fire exit to paint some landscapes in black and white. She never uses color, ever. But Minami appears from nowhere and sits next to her. She tries to be hostile, hoping to drive him away, but he is oblivious. In fact, he likes Kuroe’s blunt personality. As it turns out, having all eyes on you all the time is less enviable than it sounds. But Kuroe realizes that being near Minami makes her back go full dragon, and the effect is stronger than ever. What can she do?

Okay, I’m cautiously optimistic with this one. The first thing that struck me about it is the above-average soundtrack that elevates an already competent artistic direction and gives us some poetic and impactful moments. This is a manga adaptation and is being handled with obvious care. But perhaps its biggest strong point is that the metaphor at the center of Kaiju Girl Caramelise feels pretty relatable. After all, teenagers often do feel like monsters, both on the outside and on the inside, especially when romance is involved. If they happen to be part of a cruel and superficial social world, many of them adopt survival strategies not too different from the one Kuroe is using. I know I did. I can see why Minami would fall for such a blunt girl and not any of her classmates, and I am invested in their relationship, which already has some interesting subtleties. In particular, I like that he is vulnerable enough to let her know that he has not always been popular and that, in fact, he used to be fat! The Kaiju metaphor, though, may end up paradoxically getting in the way of the story, as it doesn’t seem to have decided if we’re meant to take it seriously or not. Are we like the doctor and Kuroe’s mum, for whom this is just a condition like any other, or are we to react like the first crush of Kuroe? There are also annoying shots with partial nudity. Oh well. All in all, I think the show has potential, and so far I am invested. Let’s see what episode two brings to the table.

Kaiju Girl Caramelise is streaming on Crunchyroll.