Not sure if shoujo ai, or just bestiality...
To spoiler-free explain the storyline, an average software programmer woman helps out a dragon (yes, you read that right) who is near death. The woman offers to let the dragon (Tooru) stay with her and says she needs a maid, so that's exactly what our dragon who can magically turn into an attractive young woman (with horns and a tail) does. As time goes on, more and more dragons find their way into Miss Kobayashi's world and do like Tohru. There we have the base of the story.
The story got an 8 because, while the SoL episodes are funny and very enjoyable, the serious bents they get onto in a few episodes are often dull and uninteresting. Some of it is backstory, but many times it's backstory that only has to do with Tooru and some strange interaction she had years ago...many times to no avail as it concerns the actual story arc of the show, or minimally so. This is a minor gripe, but what really sunk it was the random, yet somehow boring, finale episode. Again, no spoilers here but it wasn't even a bad ending, just seemed random and not entertaining. It attempted to ask a deep question, but had elements that were unnecessary to explore that tangent. Like I said, everything ended fine, but being such a weak finale really made me disenchanted.
The art is great in this, with a good mix of classical anime styles along with some of the chibi artwork we see in the ED that's very cute. The more realistic dragon animations and some of the combat was pretty neat too, almost up there with Chunibyou, but not quite as stunning on the visuals (hence the 9 instead of a 10). However there is something that is more assuredly worth mentioning, it gets its own sub-section! (see below)
*"D" is for "Dragon"*
The ecchi is sooooooo strong with this one. One of the first things you'll notice about the female dragons is all of them have ridiculous boobs (especially Lucoa) and it's not like they don't want you to notice. The anime is littered with closeups and even has boob "sound effects" as well. I felt it was pretty forced, even on a comedic scale, so to me it sort of cheapened it as possible joke material. It was just sort of worn out towards the end and just made you roll your eyes. If you're uptight about it, you may dislike this a lot, but most of it is done for comedic value and not JUST for fan service.
The sound in this anime was great. The voice acting was excellent and the music was great too, really don't have much to say other than that I loved it! Seemed like the voices matched the characters quite well and the OP end ED were both very catchy and enjoyable. Ironic how it's hard to comment when an anime does something really well!!
Kobayashi is a decent main character and I think she is supposed to be sort of dull by design, to show that having Tooru around makes her life better and more enjoyable. The supporting characters are definitely where all the flair comes in, though I would classify Tooru as a main character rather than a supporting. For me, Tooru was pretty much my favorite character and was quite well-written. Just watching her do things in everyday life was entertaining as it was (talking about how she was going to obliterate the dust as she's cleaning the house lol).
EVERYONE loves Kanna, but Lucoa and Elma were great characters as well. Poor Shouta seems destined to die the death every man would pray for...suffocation by Lucoa's boobs. Sometimes it got a little over-the-top with Lucoa, but many times the comedic potential was used well (the Christmas play!!). Elma was actually very funny and interesting, but she received very little development outside of just being the foodie. It was a cute schtick at first, but that's ALL they did with her. Fafnir got some exploration as a character, and it was good to see him changing and progressing through the series. Kanna was definitely adorable and deserves the notice that she gets. She was a great addition to Kobayashi and Tohru, but that brings me to my next point...
So was it enjoyable? Yes it was, but this suffered from the same problem we ran into with Ichigo Mashimaro...super uncomfortable loli sexualizing. Riko Saikawa is one of Kanna's classmates, and eventually becomes her friend. She is waaaaay attracted to Kanna and even times like when their chests touch, Saikawa practically loses it. This also happens when Kanna eats something off her finger and we get the typical super redface and omg reaction. While they didn't seem to do anything past that (no ecchi stuff or comments on their bodies), it went from being a "liking her" to something of an uncomfortable level when suggested body contact was made. That doesn't bother some people (I'm sure of that), but to those like me just a heads up. Barring all of that and the ecchi madness, this anime was funny, cute, and very entertaining. Just like with all the good ones, you go "NOOO! It's over already???" at the end of the episode. I could see this one have a lot of replay value, though you MAY want to be careful who you watch it with.
If you like SoL comedies and don't mind a ton of boob fanservice and some ecchi as well, you will probably like this show. Get past the creepy loli sexualization and you have a fantastic show. Just watch out for the tail meat...
