There are limits to fanservice, even in a medium that is bulging at the seams with it. Then we find out the true value of Comiket.
What They Say:
Episode 7: “Summer’s Staples! (The Fanservice Episode, Frankly)”
The Review:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
At the start, this seems like nothing more than a gratuitous beach episode, with swimsuits and eye candy, but if there is one thing about Dragon Maid that we’ve learned so far, it is that while it does stick to a formula (we are back to quick gags scattered inside the longer story sections), it also works to upend expectations to a certain degree. So, yes, obviously we are going to see Lucoa in some outfit that frankly strains the bounds of taste and fabric. But we’re also going to see her outfit called out for being beyond what is normally acceptable as the entire segment is self-aware.
This is an unabashed fanservice episode. It even says so on the tin.
But even with that, we can expect some seriousness to be addressed, as all of this happy fun gets Tohru to thinking about her relationship with Kobayashi and how Tohru’s father might react to learning about their relationship. These moments of thought are about what we might expect, as Tohru’s father is on the same wavelength as early, pre-mellowed-out-gamer Fafnir: “Kill them all. All humans are evil.” Perhaps we need to send him, too, a console and a selection of engrossing games, to gently ease him into the knowledge that his daughter is in lust with a human (who has no interest in reciprocating, but that’s another story). When Kobayashi asks Tohru about the situation, it leads to Kobayashi noting that it’s a downer to talk about it (again, the self-awareness is apparent all over this episode, as Kobayashi is pretty much bluntly stating what the audience is likely feeling).
To get things back to sweetness and light, the humor hits full force. There’s dragon boat (of a sort) fishing and dragon fireworks and the rest of the episode shows us that Comiket, the famous gathering of the otaku world where doujinshi are sold and fetishes are on full display, is still not yet ready for Fafnir’s self-published work. We also discover that there are more than just dragons running around our world, but they don’t drop their disguises except at Comiket’s cosplay area.
As I said last week, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is not a show that will surprise you much and this episode does nothing to change that. The comic beats and story progression are predictable. But the execution is very solid and the jokes do often hit home, not in a massive wave of laughter way but in a more gentle chuckle or smile. While we get a beach episode, the fanservice doesn’t overwhelm the comedy and characters (the surefire way to determine that is the Sound/Subs Test. Turn off the audio and disable the subtitles. If you can still watch and really don’t care at all about anything other than looking at the eye candy, then the episode fails the test of being anything beyond pure cheesecake). At this point, the show is able to have its cake and eat it too.
In Summary:
The gang head to the beach for some seaside fun (and to show the female characters in swimsuits) with predictable result. The show hits the usual notes (swimming, watermelon smashing, eating at a beach house) but also manages to throw in a touch of thought. Then we get to the other summer pastime, visiting Comiket, which proves to have a secret or two lurking underneath the cosplay veneers. Mild fun, safely packaged, but enjoyable none the less.
Grade: A-
Streamed By: Crunchyroll
Review Equipment:
Apple iMac with 12GB RAM, Mac OS 10.11 El Capitan