Interspecies Reviewers no longer be streaming is continuing to rock the anime world, but perhaps for all the wrong reasons. The raunchy manga adaptation about a group of prostitute-reviewers living in a fantasy world has been slowly ramping up the erotic action of the series with each episode. The level of explicit sexual acts in the anime seems to have come as a surprise to countless licensing companies who are broadcasting the anime, though. A few days ago, Funimation revealed that they would the anime series, removing any evidence of the show from their platform and canceling the simuldub that had only just premiered on the English streaming platform. It was easy to place blame on the standards of Funimation and why they would cancel the series, but things are a little awkward now due to the fact that a massive Japanese television company has also decided to stop airing the show.
『異種族レビュアーズ』TOKYO MXでの放送中止について
TOKYO MXにて放送中のアニメ『異種族レビュアーズ』は、東京メトロポリタンテレビジョン株式会社の編成上の都合により今後の放送予定が中止となりました。
異種族レビュアーズ製作委員会
— ＴＶアニメ「異種族レビュアーズ」公式 (@isyuzoku) February 7, 2020
The official Interspecies Reviewers Twitter account announced that Tokyo MX, one of the largest Japanese television broadcasters and one of the main channels airing the anime series, had decided to cancel it’s airing of the show due to “changes in the circumstances within Tokyo Metropolitan Television.” The full tweet reads;
“About the cancellation of “Interspecies Reviewers” on TOKYO MX
The anime “Interspecies Reviewers” that is currently broadcasting on TOKYO MX has been canceled due to organizational reasons of Tokyo Metropolitan Television.
Interspecies Reviewers Production Committee”
Funnily enough, Tokyo MX has already chosen a show to fill the now-empty Interspecies Reviewers timeslot that seems to be…a live-action news show about cruise ships. The situation draws hilarious similarities to an event back in 2008 where the TV broadcast of the incredibly graphic final episode of School Days was replaced by footage of a nice boat. Anime fans on Twitter spread the info of the raunchy anime being replaced by a boat show almost immediately, causing the phrase “Nice Boat” to jump to the top of the Twitter trending page in Japan.
異種族レビュアーズ放送中止で後番組が洋上の楽園クルーズはナイスボートすぎてさすがに草 pic.twitter.com/mZNhg4LCww
— かにょ@夏コミ日東マ07a (@kanyomanyo) February 7, 2020
Across the globe, other companies that were initially streaming Interspecies Reviewers are pulling support for the show. Most of these companies, so far, are non-American and non-Japanese services that sourced their broadcast of the series from Funimation. Wakanim Nordic, for example, canceled their stream of the series – but they sourced their English subbed version directly from Funimation. Amazon Prime Video, meanwhile, also had their version of the series distributed by Funimation, which likely explains why they’ve decided to stop streaming it. Wakanim France has confirmed that they will continue to stream the horny monster-girl series, but AnimeLab announced that their broadcast will be delayed while they “adjust [their] sourcing of materials.”
While Interspecies Reviewers is still airing on a few other Japanese television channels, including the one channel responsible for broadcasting the uncensored version of the show, that might not last for long. The Japanese Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization has begun expressing their distaste with the series, publishing a recent complaint in which they discuss a “late-night anime with sexual content based on brothels.” The organization goes on to complain that the TV anime in question has “discriminatory depictions of women, such as gags involving sexual harassment. I feel angry at the current situation where such anime is seen by young people without any age restrictions.” The Japanese Broadcasting Ethics & Program Improvement Organization describes themself as a “non-profit, non-governmental organization that serves to improve the quality of broadcasting and promote higher ethical standards while ensuring freedom of speech and expression.”
In the wake of the broadcasting drama surrounding Interspecies Reviewers, fans around the world have been showing their support for the series by boosting its rating on popular anime and manga information website MyAnimeList. The raunchy prostitution anime currently sits in the top 5 anime of all time on the website, beating iconic anime like Hunter x Hunter and Kimi no na Wa, and sitting just a few points below Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood.
In the world of Interspecies Reviewers, plenty of different humanoid species exist and live peacefully amongst each other. Humans, elves, fairies, demons, and more co-exist in this world. Also, prostitution is legal. Naturally, our main protagonist, Stunk, is a horny human who decides that he’s going to settle once and for all which species of monster girl is the best. He sets out to write a book chronicling his experiences in the red light district with each species of monster girl he can find, and he isn’t planning on shying away from any of the details. Along the way, he’s joined by a dog guy named Brooze, an elf man named Zel, a halfling named Kanchal, and a demon named Samtahn. None of them can agree on which species of monster girl is hottest, leading to constant debates and bickering.
The full voice acting cast for the anime adaptation of Interspecies Reviewers is as follows:
- Junji Majima as Stunk
- Yūsuke Kobayashi as Zel
- Miyu Tomita as Crimvael
- Kaede Yuasa as Kanchal
- M.A.O as Maydry
- Momoyo Koyama as Elma
- Carin Isobe as Mii
- Mari Hino as Okpa
- Rei Matsuzaki as Eldry
- Yōko Hikasa as Aloe
- Yuri Katō as Milky
- Yuka Nukui as Ginny
- Makoto Koichi as Elza
- Shiori Izawa as Piltia
- Takako Tanaka as Roana
- Natsumi Takamori as Tiaplate
- Kyō Yaoya as Mitsue
The opening theme song, titled “Ikōze☆Paradise”, is performed by voice actors Junji Majima, Yūsuke Kobayashi, and Miyu Tomita. The voice actors are also performing the ending theme song “Hanabira Ondo.”
Interspecies Reviewers is being produced by anime production company Passione, with directing being handled by Yuki Ogawa who previously worked on FLCL Progressive and Miru Tights. Series composition for Interspecies Reviewers is being done by Kazuyuki Fudeyasu, who was previously on staff for That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Dropkick on My Devil!, and Girls’ Last Tour. Makoto Uno is in charge of character designs for the series, and you might recognize their iconic art from Witchblade, The Qwaser of Stigmata, Rail Wars, and High School DxD Hero. Music composition is being handled by Kotone Uchihigashi.
