Back in 2017, when the 1st season of the anime came out, I was immediately enamored by the charm that oozed out of every episode of Dragon Maid. This inspired me to pick up the manga and read ahead-- I was so invested in the relationship between Tohru and Kobayashi, and I was similarly invested in the supporting characters and their relationships with Kobayashi. I was a little offput by Lucoa's existence as a big-breasted sh*tacon (and basically as bait for c**mers), but I didn't mind her so long as she wasn't a common appearance and the fanservice between her and Shouta stayed mild. I ran a Dragon Maid meme account in 2017 for Pete's sake... that's how much I loved the show. I was an active reader of the manga.
I think the series began its downfall when Iruru/Ilulu showed up. Dragon Maid was in need of a new villain after Tohru's dad was defeated, but a child-like dragon girl with even bigger breasts than Lucoa was a huge turnoff and controversy throughout the fanbase-- of course, the c**mers loved her though. Then you got the fanservice like Kobayashi getting a special part in her nether regions (iykyk) which was clearly meant to attract fans of f*ta to explore the series and draw art/write fanfiction about it. Furthermore, Iruru was constantly shown in an NSFW light, which was weird. This is when I discovered the mangaka was an open sh*tacon/l*licon, and he even drew NSFW doujinshi in his free time-- some of which included characters from Dragon Maid like Kanna. I was disgusted by this, but it finally made sense why he loved adding in scenes with Shouta, Kanna, Iruru, and other children in the series being nude or in inherently sexual scenarios. I decided to try my best to ignore these scenes, skipping them when necessary, but the scenes that I decided to look at increasingly became more and more disturbing. The chapter where Iruru is in heat is especially egregious, where she gets nude and tries to "mate" with Tohru, Kobayashi, or Taketo. I'll never understand the people who defend all this by claiming that the dragon kids are actually thousands of years old... yeah, but they still look and act like children-- Kanna even goes to elementary school!
The plot just gets crazier from here. Excuse me if I don't recall the details entirely (it's been a few years), but Kobayashi becomes a wizard, Elma almost gets married to a dude with three different personalities (don't get me started on her weird l*li grandma who wants to secretly date Elma or Kobayashi), the Sword of God becomes this nonbinary kid who shows off their genitals to Kobayashi and the others to prove they're nonbinary (and they also conveniently decide when they want to visit), Tohru is training to be a better fighter with her fists or something, Elma is in love with Tohru and wants her to abandon Kobayashi and leave the human realm despite her knowing how much Tohru loves Kobayashi, Georgie (Saikawa's sister) is pretty much in love with Azad (reminder that Georgie is 15 and Azad is 25)... it's just all so ridiculous.
I can't defend Dragon Maid anymore. Almost all of the recent chapters are much more sexually explicit than the earlier chapters (Chapter 134 has Kanna with exposed panties, exposed bare feet, and a scene where she rubs a folder/paper in-between her strangely thick thighs while Iruru does the same with her breasts).
It is SO WEIRD. Where the h*ll did the sweet and endearing slice-of-life plotline go? Absolutely nobody besides c**mers wants to see this lewd garbage. The OG fans will tell you they stuck around to see Kobayashi and Tohru's wholesome relationship grow, while newer fans will tell you they stick around to see the fanservice. I doubt many OG fans are left at this point because of how much the plot has veered away from its original story.
God bless KyoAni for animating two seasons of Dragon Maid (as well as some side content) because I doubt they'll want to animate these future chapters. They did a fantastic job with adapting Dragon Maid, and I hold no hate against their work.
I don't believe I've EVER written this much about any anime or manga, nor have I written so passionately. I am heartbroken that this manga fell off so hard, as I truly wanted it to succeed. I have no choice but to abandon ship, and I encourage others to do the same.
Thank you to anyone who read this review. Remember to drink water and take care of yourself. You are loved.
