Monster girls are in — one of the latest trends in the moe wave that’s been going strong for over a decade now. Of course, your definition of cute may vary; while the characters, Himeno especially, are rather adorable, the series spends almost more time on the weird aspects of a typical teenaged girl’s life, like the first chapter where Himeno and her friends all look at each other’s lady parts.
A Centaur’s Life is an oddball series, for sure. I would argue that it’s intentionally trying to avoid being just a “cute girls doing cute things” series, considering that each chapter has its own weird moments. In addition to the explorations mentioned earlier, there are mentions of the history of centaur slavery, frequent mentions of Antarctic Snake People, and discussions about how school bathrooms have been retrofitted to accommodate all of the monster races that seem to have replaced humans. Honestly the two chapters that are the most “girly” are heavily filled with yuri fanservice — there is cosplay dress-up and a school play (with some gender-bending of course) — but even those two chapters feel more like a wink and a nod to the reader than an indication of where the story is going.
Honestly, I’m not quite sure where the story is going from here. I can certainly tell that it’s going to remain a slice of life series, but there are so many details being tossed around in the background that I’m not sure how seriously I’m supposed to take the story. On the one hand, there are images and discussions of centaurs in medieval times but on the other hand there are also several mentions about how everyone is descended from monkey people which sounds a lot like they mean humans! Going by the author’s notes I expect the fourteen Antarctic Snake People will be making an appearance at some point, although I expect more weirdness than elucidation on that point. I’m certainly curious about what happens next although I expect more of a wild ride than anything else!