Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S

As Tooru continues on her quest to become the greatest maid and Kanna Kamui fully immerses in her life as an elementary school student, there is not a dull day in the Kobayashi household with mischief being a daily staple. On one such day, however, a massive landslide is spotted on the hill where Kobayashi and Tooru first met—a clear display of a dragon's might. When none of the dragons they know claim responsibility, the perpetrator herself descends from the skies: Ilulu, the radical Chaos Dragon with monstrous power rivaling that of Tooru.

Sickened by Tooru's involvement with humans, Ilulu resorts to the typical dragon method of resolving conflict—a battle to the death. Despite such behavior, she becomes intrigued by Kobayashi's ability to befriend dragons and decides instead to observe just what makes Kobayashi so special. With a new troublesome dragon in town, Kobayashi's eccentric life with a dragon maid is only getting merrier.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Kamui, Kanna Main

Naganawa, Maria Japanese

Tooru Main

Kuwahara, Yuuki Japanese

Kobayashi Main

Tamura, Mutsumi Japanese

Quetzalcoatl Supporting

Takahashi, Minami Japanese

Elma Supporting

Takada, Yuuki Japanese

Fafnir Supporting

Ono, Daisuke Japanese

Ilulu Supporting

Mineuchi, Tomomi Japanese

Saikawa, Riko Supporting

Katou, Emiri Japanese

Magatsuchi, Shouta Supporting

Ishihara, Kaori Japanese

Takiya, Makoto Supporting

Nakamura, Yuuichi Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Nakamura, Shinichi Producer

Saitou, Shigeru Producer

Senami, Riri Producer

Reviews

Sep 22, 2021

KANLen09

Recommended

It's hard not to see why Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has a strong, peculiar fanbase from years past. Made by the fact that for one, this was Cool-kyou Shinja's way of introducing us into the world where dragons once were at war. And one of them (Tohru) snuck out into the human realm, where her encounter with this drunken woman (Kobayashi) changed the perception of the relationship between humans and dragons, so much so that other dragons thereafter (Kanna, Lucoa, Elma and Fafnir) followed suit and became the apartment community that we all know and love.

The other fact is because of one of the crème ... de la crème animation studios that is well-beloved by fans in the anime industry: Kyoto Animation (or KyoAni for short). May I formally remind everyone of the tragedy that is KyoAni's mid-2019 arson attack that struck and stunned the world to its knees, being one of the worst post-World War 2 attacks, and losing valuable staff such as Season 1's director Yasuhiro Takemoto who has been a KyoAni veteran mainstay since 1996. For that sense, Season 2 paying respects by crediting and immortalizing his name as "Series Director" is a well-deserved sendoff to a legend. RIP Yasuhiro Takemoto.

That said, since we already know much about Dragon Maid, what's there left to say about it, other than this being the 2nd of 3 Cool-kyou Shinja's works in the Summer season, repeating the usual daily antics of Tohru, Kobayashi and the rest of the characters? More than KyoAni rising up from the ashes once again with new staff joining onboard, it's the arrival of another dragon: the Gigantomachia voluptuous size-breasted fire-breathing Chaos Dragon girl Ilulu to rock the scene, continuing what Dragon Maid has done best with its fantastical slice-of-life comedy. VA Tomomi Mineuchi voicing this dangerous, busty dragon who's got her mentality set impaired from the influence of other Chaos Dragons with their beliefs that humans and dragons cannot co-exist with one another from young, especially from the fact that her parents were exterminated by humans. And oh boy, if there was someone worth saving ears and eyes from bad influence, it's Ilulu, because as much as human interaction she'd have some experience having fun of, it's ultimately at the hands of non-sensible adults that spoil the childrens' mindset that gave way to building Ilulu's desperation for world destruction. As such, it's thanks to both Tohru and Kobayashi for pointing fingers and protecting this kid dragon who deserves to live a second chance to live the normal life like Tohru and the other dragons do...and secretly steal Tohru's place for Kobayashi's closeness of affection.

Believe me, Season 2 might feel the same as Season 1, but the story and plot, as much as it is a slice-of-life series, is vastly improved for the most part. The secret to the dragons and their never-ending war between factions to fight between achieving Chaos or Harmony, as well as Ilulu's constant development to be a better and senseful dragon living alongside Kobayashi, Tohru and Kanna in the same old apartment, never gets old. With new adventures from Kanna and Ilulu's part of their own endeavours, as much as some old feud flames between Tohru and Elma, Season 2 opens up the floodgates for more character interaction that is largely the same since the prequel. Both Takiya and Fafnir are forever Otaku lovers, while Kanna is the constant love interest affection of deredere Saikawa's with loveshots beaming at even the slightest contact. Oh, and I mustn't forget that Shouta has adapted well to Lucoa's antics (while being surprised every now and then), and last but not least, the teeny hidden bit of affection from Take to Ilulu.

From hindsight, fans of KyoAni would've been less optimistic that after the horrible tragedy, works that are in production that are left on-hold would not be possible to be continued. And that these works would take years before their eventual release to cope with the loss of many notable, valuable and talented staff, young and old alike. But here we are, 2 years (from the time of this review) after the fateful tragedy that KyoAni has came back strong and better than ever. Season 2 amps up KyoAni's production values, giving more flare to flex with both the visuals and animation that are a step up from Season 1, made in no small part from the replacement that is another KyoAni legend director Tatsuya Ishihara, who has directed Haruhi Suzumiya and Clannad to name a few of the most notable favourites, along with Season 1 staff coming back to helm this sequel. KyoAni has seen better days, and those better days have returned to come back with a vengeance.

As much as I would want to like the goodness that is fhána's 2nd OP of Dragon Maid, Season 1's "chu chu yeah~" of a damn catchy intro beat really just immortalizes the series as a whole in a far better light. This is as close to a mountain peak's equivalent of a virtually untoppable OP if you ask people what is the first thing they remember about Dragon Maid. The ED is a whole lot better than Season 1's as far as I remember, because there's not only the addition of Ilulu into the band of dragons that makes for such a cute song, but also the anime MV (which is up on Lantis's YouTube channel) which sees the VAs reprise their characters in cosplay, having all that fun and jazz.

Overall, Season 2 puts the prequel to shame in all aspects, but that's not to say that Season 1 is bad, not at all. If anything, the prequel laid the groundwork for yet another amaze-balls season of Dragon Maid, and we're blessed with one of many KyoAni's resurgent works, so much so that watching Dragon Maid for its second inning brings out the kid in us once again. This is the success story of KyoAni's return to form, and Cool-kyou Shinja's beloved series leads that charge with increasing popularity that ages like fine wine.

Gotta have more of Maid Dragon, and help children be led the right way to live, uphold and watch over their growth like Kobayashi's to Ilulu. If there is a lesson to be learnt in this sequel, it's this: "Teach Your Children Well".

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by KANLen09 (655)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Dec 22, 2022

RebelPanda

Mixed Feelings

Funny

TRIGGER WARNINGS: TRANSPHOBIA, MOLESTATION, PEDOPHILIA

Kobayashi, Tohru, and friends return for a second season that’s every bit as entertaining, raunchy, and heartfelt as the first.

Tohru and Kobayashi go through some changes, and they gain a new family member. Tohru’s character arc continues, and it’s interwoven with Elma’s arc. Both have to confront their past as enemies with very different values and worldviews. They dedicate plenty of airtime to painting a picture of their lives before they came to Japan. Facilitating their character development is Kobayashi. She remains the core of the found-family dynamic as the father figure to Kanna and now the new character, Ilulu. Fafnir ... and his roommate/boyfriend Takiya returned in a few vignettes. His dry sense of humor mixed with Takiya’s exaggerated gamer persona is still a lot of fun to watch. Ilulu, a rather obnoxious dragon girl, enters the picture to fight Tohru in the first episode and integrates into society as a human with some difficulty.

Rather than a continuous plotline, the show breaks itself into vignettes that follow one to three characters at a time. The structure directly comes from the gag comedy manga, and it works to varying degrees of success. We can label specific segments as slice-of-life, but others have plenty of exciting action and drama to amp the stakes. There’s a relaxing effect Dragon Maid has on its viewers. Even the artists draw every character as adorable as possible; the dialogue feels casual, not forced. There’s no babbling babies or overly saccharine one-liners like moe anime have come to make us expect.

When it needs to get serious, it works. The storyboards emphasize the characters’ emotional state with clever use of lighting and framing. There is no shortage of visual metaphors we’ve come to expect from the late great director of the first season: Yasuhiro Takemoto. Another director had to take up the mantle early in production, and his work is solid. Every fight scene is a visually appealing spectacle. There are plenty of ferocious duels in the second season that left me in awe. From the booming orchestral pieces to the subtle acoustic guitars, the soundtrack adds emotional impact to every scene. Additionally, the opening and ending themes are as iconic as the originals. Ai no Supreme is such a catchy intro that it makes you want to sing along.

The world of Dragon Maid feels lived in; the characters react to their surroundings in natural ways. That may sound abstract, but that is how I can describe it. This show feels genuine—a lot of that has to do with the realistic ambient sound effects and vivid background art. Kobayashi’s apartment is an excellent example of this: personalized decorations, posters, and organized messes are scattered around. It fits her personality to a T. Watching Tohru become more involved in society and form a community is immensely satisfying. Such as in one of the funniest skits, she works at a maid cafe and imparts dark magic knowledge onto the staff.

And then, she showed up—Ilulu is probably the worst part of Dragon Maid (except for the children pinning each other down in the first season). Guys, let’s be reasonable. She is sus. Ilulu has the arms and legs of a toddler but with giant tits. Boobs are great, but that’s not really the issue; she just looked very weird at times. Despite her bazongas, she talks, looks, and acts like a child, hanging around with Kanna and her other grade school friends. But there’s also a running gag that she wants to have sex with Kobayashi; this leads to Tohru becoming jealous in a stale love-duel sort of situation. But it’s just not funny at all. That aside, Tohru and Kobayashi's lesbian relationship progresses even more as they overcome challenges together. This culminates in one of the show's best scenes in the season finale.

In one early episode, Ilulu casts a spell to make Kobayashi spontaneously grow a dick. I’m not sure what the joke here was supposed to be. She also got horny for Tohru AND Kanna, implying it was normal because that’s just what happens when you have a penis. The author referred to her as a man as soon as she got a dick. There is an unintentional transphobic message to this episode. Aside from being a reactionary belief that has no business in a wholesome show, it is just a factually untrue statement. It was like I witnessed the author’s search history and saw all kinds of hentai tags that do not belong in a big-budget anime. It’s a shame because Ilulu has sincerely good development once we learn her backstory. The dick joke was a one-and-done thing, so I don’t want to make it seem like a big deal.

There were plenty of funny reaction faces and boisterous voice performances that got a laugh out of me. It’s practically a meme generator of a show. There were a few other jokes that got a little stale. Kanna’s nonchalant attitude towards Saikawa’s crush on her was funny at first, but it kept happening, and the gag never evolved. We get it—you like the girl. Please calm down! Additionally, that time Tohru drugged Kobayashi to make her want to have sex was pretty egregious. Lucoa, the busty goddess, continues to tease Shota. It was nice to see him grow as a mage, but I’m not a fan of the giant woman x little boy fanservice. I’m not judging anyone who likes that sort of thing, you just may be a pedophile.

Overall it isn’t as laugh-out-loud as the first season, but it got a few chuckles out of me. Elma’s gluttony, Tohru’s struggle to get Kobayashi to eat her tail, and Kanna’s deadpan reaction to all manner of absurdities. Occasionally I was worried that this franchise was stretching itself thin—the multitude of heartfelt dramatic story beats dispelled those concerns. Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S is built on genuine themes of family, friendship, and, additionally, atonement. For better or worse (mostly better), I loved seeing these characters again. After the devastating tragedy at Kyoto animation’s studio 1 in 2019, it is awe-inspiring how they’ve come back in full form. I look forward to every Dragon Maid sequel they come out with next.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by RebelPanda (135)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Sep 25, 2021

attidzh

Not Recommended

This is by far the most overrated anime I have ever seen and absolutely baffles me how this has an 8.52 on MAL. The season starts with an introduction with a new character which is cool and all, and especially since she seems to have a interesting back story and significance to the story, I had hope this season would improve upon the first with a story like many other slice of life animes. But no. This is SO UNBELLIEVABBLY BORING. Ilulu, the new character, has barely any screentime and all this second season really is is Kanna and Saikawa doing random stuff every episode. ... Like I get that's what most the fans want but its still so boring and annoying. Also its just not as funny as the first season. Like the love food = funny is just old now. The only redeeming quality is that the animation is actually pretty good, other than that, literally nothing. The characters have gotten exceedingly worse, with Ilulu, Kobayashi and Taketo being the only tolerable ones. Also, this new op sounds annoying and is much worse than the first one. Overall, fuck this series, not like it matters since I still probably will watch a third season of this if it comes out.

Reviewer’s Rating: 2

What did you think of this review?

Nice 0

Love it 0

Funny 0

Confusing 0

Informative 0

Well-written 0

Creative 0

More reviews by attidzh (2)

Show all

Read more

Show less

Open

Gift

Report

Yasuhiro Takemoto Directed Anime Watchlist

by TheCoolGuy82

18 Entries · 3 Restacks

Tatsuya Ishihara Directed Anime Watchlist

by TheCoolGuy82

41 Entries · 7 Restacks

Crunchyroll Latin American Dubs (Part 1)

by saintseba

46 Entries · 1 Restacks

'Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon: Samishigariya no Ryuu' Anime Movie Announced for 2025

The Kyoto Animation 2025 New Work Presentation special program announced an anime movie for Cool-kyou Shinja's Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon (Miss Kobayashi&...read more

Sep 21, 5:22 AM by Vindstot | Discuss (22 comments)

North American Anime & Manga Releases for November

Here are the North American anime, manga, and light novel releases* for November. Week 1: November 1 - 7 Anime Releases Fate/kaleid liner Prisma☆Illya 2wei! (incl. S...read more

Nov 13, 2022 4:58 PM by Aiimee | Discuss (7 comments)

	Poll: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S Episode 1 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 5 ... Last Page ) Stark700 - Jul 7, 2021	281 replies	by Pimposho »» Nov 6, 3:39 PM
	Poll: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S Episode 11 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Sep 15, 2021	149 replies	by LordCrueltyV »» Oct 28, 2:16 PM
	Poll: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S Episode 10 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Sep 8, 2021	164 replies	by LordCrueltyV »» Oct 28, 1:32 PM
	Poll: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S Episode 9 Discussion ( 1 2 3 4 ) Stark700 - Sep 1, 2021	178 replies	by LordCrueltyV »» Oct 27, 7:49 PM
	Poll: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S Episode 8 Discussion ( 1 2 3 ) Stark700 - Aug 25, 2021	108 replies	by LordCrueltyV »» Oct 27, 7:23 PM