So how are the amorous dragon and her maid-loving office worker master doing? We find out with shopping and the dropping in of another dragon.
What They Say:
Episode 2: “Second Dragon, Kanna! (We’re Totally Spoiling Here)”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
There is something of an odd rhythm to this show. Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid appears to alternate between short, quick gags that seem drawn more from the world of 4-koma works and much lengthier segments that have the feel of regular serialized manga. It’s not off-putting, just a little unexpected at times.
The short segments this time around were largely a collection of quick gags focused upon Tohru’s continued attempts to repay her debt to Miss Kobayashi by serving her tail as food, a dish that Miss Kobayashi seems uninterested in trying no matter how it is prepared. It was a nice bit of fast-paced comedy to work around the slightly more serious tone of the larger issues presented.
First, during a trip to the shopping district, Miss Kobayashi learns that Tohru is afraid of the local large department store since its whiteness and solidity reminds her too much of a castle (filled with the kind of humans who would attack and kill her). Then it is made apparent that Tohru is much better at interpersonal relations than Miss Kobayashi is. The slightly more serious tone enters when Tohru uses her unusual powers (without transforming into dragon form) to stop a would-be purse snatcher in the most ostentatious way possible (unless you consider accelerating to an incredible speed and then throwing the thief down onto the ground and breaking the pavement below not flashy in any way). Both Tohru and Miss Kobayashi worry for a moment about the reception of this act by the humans surrounding them…but it turns out to be just fine, as the crowd cheers Tohru “the cosplay lady.”
The second major serious bit revolves around the introduction of a new dragon, the diminutive Kanna Kamui, who is apparently a child dragon. At first Kanna believes that Miss Kobayashi had seduced Tohru and wants to bring Tohru home, but soon enough, Kanna changes her view of Miss Kobayashi and comes to like her a lot. Of course, because Kanna has no place to go and Miss Kobayashi agrees to take her in.
That’s not to say that there isn’t more comedy to come, as we learn that dragons playing around is closer to Armageddon and Tohru’s attempts to teach Kanna about the human world combine a surprising mixture of accurate observation and…well…you might not look at a see-saw the same way again.
This show is not a laugh-out-loud-every-moment comedy. It does have some very clever, very quick gags that will bring out a smile, but it also touches upon a few deeper themes and has large doses of heartwarming thrown into the mix as well.
In Summary:
Miss Kobayashi and Tohru do a little shopping, pick up a new friend, and show us Tohru’s view of the human world. There are plenty of laughs involved, but also some touching parts that will draw out the “awwws” from the audience. So far, the tone is light and the gags generally work. The heartwarming stuff doesn’t grate or feel out of place with it. A nice blend of ingredients.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 12GB RAM, Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan
