On a rainy Saturday afternoon, I found myself browsing the movie section of FYE. Surprise, malls still exist, and will hopefully continue existing.
Here, I stumbled across the anime section and found an adorable DVD depicting a sort-of half-dragon half-maid, along with other cute characters in what’s called “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid”. This must be a shojo I thought, rolling my eyes and delicately placed the DVD back on the shelf.
I wasn’t about to pay $70+ for a season of anime, that’s why I stream on Crunchyroll 🙂 This isn’t even promoted damnit plz sponsor me :'((
(not dissing DVD buying by the way, I certainly love collecting them, but it’s a heavy choice to make sometimes when money is tighter than a lid on a pickle jar)
Anyhow this anime’s been out for months and season 2 recently finished, so I reluctantly looked up the synopsis.
Holy sh*t it’s a SEINEN?
I was like damn really? How can an anime about cute dragon girls be meant for older guys? Then I watched season 1….
Oh my.
Then I immediately watched season 2.
Oh yes.
And let me tell ya… it has some of the most wholesome sh*t I’ve ever watched in anime. It’s got a cute almost-chibi art style, bright colors, absolutely epic action sequences when they do come around, and an all-around fun story. Did I mention the op is catchy?
Sounds like something a kid would watch right?
Probably, but it’s not that simple. Because, you see…
Miss Kobayashi is a working-class introverted redhead with a “fascination” for maids. One night, she decides to get roaring drunk on the commuter-rail home and ends up somehow stumbling up a mountain.
There on the mountain, she literally finds a dying dragon and decides on a whim to save her (pulling a fat sword from her stomach), even somehow managing to befriend the cynical mythical beast after the fact, sharing alcohol and good times.
The next morning, like any long night of drinking the frustrations of life away, Kobayashi’s hangover makes her brain fog about any of the events of the previous night.
So when a dragon shows up at her apartment door and magically transforms into a beautiful blonde maid sporting horns and a dragon tail, Kobayashi is taken aback (who wouldn’t?). Reluctant at first, she let’s Tohru be her maid.
And that’s the start of a beautiful anime. The office scenario, light existential conversations, rare swear or occasional alcohol reference makes me understand why it’s Seinen, as well as the… “personalities” of these dragons (they have huge busts, and they bounce with a unique noise) may make some viewers cringe, or enjoy the fan-service. But I wouldn’t categorize this as ecchi. Oh no. Let’s continue.
I briefly described Kobayashi, but the real star of the show is Tohru, the beautiful yet ditzy dragon maid who dedicates her life to Kobayashi. Yet, her character is deep and gives a false impression on the surface.
She’s cynical, believing she is far superior to the lowly human race and their odd customs, going so far as to almost kill a few behind Kobayashi’s back. She fakes her interactions with a smile, which only becomes genuine for Kobayashi, who she’s deeply in love with for being different from other humans (she’s easygoing and nurturing).
But Tohru’s character grows. She casts aside her Chaos clan’s beliefs to strive for her own path. With better social skills than Kobayashi, she befriends the townspeople and learns not to hate or disregard humans so much, as well as what customs are acceptable in the human world.
Her relationship with Kobayashi also develops into something from a servant – master one to a romantic relationship between women (even though the anime isn’t categorized as a Yuri). Tohru’s original goal of running away from home leads her to connecting with the human world, with the help of Kobayashi and her wisdom (mainly how not all humans are rotten and dragonkind and humankind aren’t so different).
This develops into a hilarious rom-com of Tohru trying to gain all of Kobayashi’s affection, even going so far as to bring magic & objects from the other world to win her over. Yet Kobayashi is a simple woman; she doesn’t need (or want) much to be impressed (just a cheap beer and beautiful scenery), and it takes a while for Tohru to understand this, because Kobayashi often rejects her rambunctious advances, such as being offered to eat Tohru’s tail (I interpret this as a sexual connotation, receiving her flesh as a way to “recieve” her), offered to have any unsavory people killed, or offered gifts from the other world to improve Kobayashi’s life. It’s an endless cycle that doesn’t get boring one bit.
Other dragon-humans show up and add layers to the story. The adorable Kanna is the child we all want to have; adorable, playful, and curious about the world around her. She acts as Kobayashi’s & Tohru’s child. Riko is her playmate and friend who has an ongoing infatuation with her every action (this can be both hilarious and odd because they are both in elementary school).
There is also Kobayashi’s friend and office pal Makoto, who’s a genuine good guy on the surface but a completely geeked out Otaku once you get to know him, sporting goofy glasses and a funny accent as a stereotype of an average Otaku. Fafnir is my spirit animal and is a tsundere who dislikes humans as well as hoards gold, especially in the video games he plays.
Shouta-kun is a boy mage who summons Quetzacoatl, a former goddess dragon with an outrageously large… chest. They’re entire purpose in the show seems to be one long gag trope on the “shota H-genre”. While I found it hilarious, because I get the references, it might cause disgust for some viewers. They still add their own value to the show.
Elma is Elma. She may not have anyone special in her life, but food can be more than enough to fill that void. Once idolized as a goddess, she came to the human world to spread peace and integrate herself in a human society. As Tohru’s longtime rival and friend, she adds some hilarious moments in the show.
Ilulu is the newest addition to the cast of characters. Also sporting… large ‘flame sacs’ as she puts it, Ilulu starts out as a destructive character but changes her outlook on humanity with the help of Kobayashi’s wisdom (mainly the idea that it’s ok to be a kid again sometimes).
I had a blast watching the two seasons of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. They were cute, hilarious, and lightly touched on some heavy topics we as adults sometimes think about, like… why do we do some of the things we do (get greedy over trivial things like food and merchandise), or why we worry about things that shouldn’t matter so much (what will I be when I grow up? et cetera). One of my favorite quotes from Tohru regarding Christmas is “I hate celebrating the birth of that guy’s son!”…
….
…Ahahahah damnit there are some really funny pieces of dialogue. Even the scenarios are hilarious, Kanna goes to NYC at one point.
Please don’t hesitate to give this anime a watch if you haven’t already. There’s a reason why the second season became anime of the season in Summer 2021. I’m certainly looking forward to season 3 if the studio decides to take that route.
Thanks for reading!
By: The Shy Otaku