Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: Episodes 5-8 (Review)

By: EyeSpyeAlexI’m back again, full of kawaii and opinions, and ready to review more of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid. At this point in the series there is a big emphasis on how opinions can change, with an undercurrent of wacky adventure and fan service. If you missed my review of the first several episodes you can check it out here!The first is often directly addressed in the show. Tohru and Kanna’s companionship has affected Miss Kobayashi’s disposition for the better. Her coworkers are seen commenting on how her demeanor has improved. While we haven’t seen much of Kobayashi’s life pre-dragon roommates, the first episode combined with episode 5 can allow us to make an inference. In the first episode Miss Kobayashi is seen waking up hungover with liquor cans and bottles all over her apartment. She’s running late for work, puts on new clothes and still manages to look disheveled, and appears very apathetic. In episode 5, we see that she picks up a lot of slack around the office, but still gets yelled at by her boss for not completing tasks fast enough, or for not prioritizing his work first. That would be enough to drive anyone to drink and have a poor disposition. After Tohru and Kanna move in we see Miss Kobayashi drinking less and smiling more. She even comments to herself that she forgot what she was like before.Fafnir and Lucuoa also decide to reside in the human world. With Tohru’s help, Fafnir ends up living with Takiya. Fafnir is amenable to this living arrangement, especially after learning that Takiya has a lot of videogames he can play with. As the two grow more comfortable with one another, we see that the arrangement is mutually beneficial. Takiya cooks and Fafnir does the dishes, then they play videogames together. Takiya also shows his consideration for Fafnir by buying him conditioner to help with his hair, and Fafnir returns the favor by agreeing to help Takiya sell manga at the upcoming convention, Comic Market (Comiket). Fafnir even creates his own manga to sell. This domesticity causes Fafnir to reflect on the human race, and he decides that they are made up of hits – good humans – and misses – inferior beings. In a world of hit and misses, Fafnir considers Takiya a hit.Lucuoa ends up living in the human world when she allows herself to be summoned by Shouta, a young boy who comes from a family line of mages. Shouta thinks Lucuoa is a demon, but she clarifies that she is an ex-goddess that likes to refer to herself as that more than a dragon. Shouta realizes that he doesn’t want or need Lucuoa in his life, but she ends up staying with him anyways. Given that Lucuoa doesn’t have a “kill all humans” mentality, she settles into her domestic lifestyle easily.Kanna, having improved Miss Kobayashi’s life, also has an effect on Saikawa’s life as well. While on a playdate at Saikawa’s house Saikawa reveals for feelings for Kanna. Kanna admits that the feeling is mutual. As the two are about to share a moment, they are interrupted by Miss Kobayashi and Georgie – Saikawa’s older sister and maid enthusiast – dragging Tohru back into Georgie’s room to discuss more maid culture. Kanna later reflects on the moment and says that she wanted to make a move.Fan service was an undercurrent in the first several episodes, and culminates in Episode 7 which is subtitled “The Fan Service Episode”. It is of course, a beach episode, with outfits that don’t leave much to the imagination. While the gang enjoys typical beach activities such as melon breaking, swimming, and sun bathing, the emphasis of the episode is on the outfits. Crazy antics are seen in other episodes, such as when Tohru and Kanna become convinced that humans have ESP and can unlock more than 10% of their brains to use such powers. As the two study a book on how to learn ESP themselves, a montage occurs with them training in a traditional samurai fashion. The two are shown sitting under waterfalls, practicing their balance on rocks, and catching fish with their bare hands. There’s also an insane food competition between Miss Kobayashi and Tohru to see who can make the best bento box for Kanna.While the romantic relationship between Miss Kobayashi and Tohru is still in its unrequited phase, the emotional relationship develops more deeply in these episodes. When Tohru is lamenting over her inability to learn ESP, Miss Kobayashi tells Tohru that should be proud of her abilities as there’s a lot she can do that humans can’t. In the Fan Service episode we learn that while Miss Kobayashi had a normal human childhood, Tohru was being indoctrinated with the notion that all humans should be killed. Tohru reveals that she wants to introduce Miss Kobayashi to her parents, but is afraid they would try to kill her, which is something she doesn’t agree with. Miss Kobayashi reflects on this and tells Tohru she may be becoming an adult, and then drops this major line: “Most people don’t try to be adults. They just can’t be children any longer”. For a show that acknowledges its silliness by titling an episode “Fan Service”, this is an extremely profound line and a great takeaway.We also see more of Tohru’s ferocity and jealousy when it comes to Miss Kobayashi. Tohru decides to show up invisible to Miss Kobayashi’s work to see what it’s like. While there she sees Kobayashi’s boss lay into her and takes some petty revenge by tripping him. Tohru’s jealousy shines through when new dragon Elma comes after Tohru to bring her back to the dragon world. Elma is from the harmony faction of dragons, while Tohru is from the chaos faction, and because of this Elma assumes Tohru has something sinister planned for the human world. After being tricked by Tohru onto a different continent under the guise of a battle, Elma decides to work undercover in Miss Kobayashi’s office to see if it is possible for beings from the other world to integrate into the human world. This causes Miss Kobayashi to smell like Elma, making Tohru suspicious and jealous. When Elma brings Miss Kobayashi a thank you present for helping her out the office, Tohru responds by blasting her with a hyper beam.Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid has me hooked. The show is hilarious and heartfelt, and both the sub and the dub are great. The characters are becoming more round and dynamic as we see more of their personalities, which is wonderful. The style of storytelling is still very reminiscent to Azumanga Daioh, while the humor and self-awareness is akin to Excel Saga. I eagerly look forward to seeing if Miss Kobayashi ends up meeting Tohru’s parents, or if Fafnir continues his new life in the human world as an otaku. I also hope to learn more about the dragon factions and where our other dragons align themselves.Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is available for Crunchyroll members to watch Wednesdays at 11:30am. This show is also part of Funimation’s SimulDub and is up to Episode 5.[yasr_multiset setid=11]