Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Review

Raise your hands if you like dragons? I'm now going to assume you all raised your hands. Dragons are probably one of the coolest ideas to come out of or brains. Giant flying lizards capable of supreme destruction and chaos but also complex creatures capable of high intelligence. I love dragons so much that I've given my car a dragon name (it's Kazonnoth The Marvelous if you were curious) so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I was excited about Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid when it started back in winter. The winter season is far over now and after a good thought, I determined that Kobayashi's Dragon Maid was definitely one of my favorite shows from the winter season. From great animation, to nice comedy, this show had a lot of good things about it which brought me a lot of joy so go get some chips (or whatever, I don't know what you like to much on) and enjoy this review of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid!

SPOILER FREE (THANK GOD!)

SYNOPSIS

Our story begins when Miss Kobayashi, a normal office worker opens her apartment door to find a ferocious green dragon at her doorstop. The mighty dragon then turns into a cute maid and offers to work in her household as a maid due to a drunk experience the two shared deep in the forests of Japan. After remembering the incident, Miss Kobayashi allows the dragon Tohru to live with her as a maid (although reluctant). What possible Hi-jinx cold this pair get into, right?! (That totally sounds like the end of a 90's sitcom commercial). 

STORY

Although the premise of the show is quite simple, the show takes that simple premise and turns it into a lovely story full of different themes. I think it's due to that very simplicity. Kobayashi's Dragon Maid isn't confined to any boundaries, it's free to experiment and do as it pleases. That freedom allows the show to really thrive because the story progresses for the most part naturally and doesn't feel manufactured (except for that beach episode, we all know the animators just wanted to draw the dragons in swimsuits). The story takes its events and is able to turn them into a learning experience for the characters (mainly Kobayashi and Tohru) and in return, they grow a little more as people (or dragons, don't want to species racist). I like the themes that this shows plays with. It likes to play with the idea of family which I thought was really great. Both Tohru and Kobayashi are used to being lone wolves but then suddenly living together (along with Kanna) teaches them the good things about having someone by your side and what it means to be part of a family. It's not just Tohru and Kobayashi though, Fafnir and Lucoa also find a human companion to grow with so companionship reaches many characters of this show.

Another big positive I have to give this show is its comedy! I'm not saying it's the best comedy in the entire world (I would give that honor to Nichijou) but it does a good job and was probably the funniest show of the winter season. It answers all the hard hitting questions we ask ourselves everyday like how would dragons play dodge ball?! Ok, perhaps not 'hard hitting' but fun none the less. The majority of the show's comedy comes from the dragons' attempt to fit in with human society but as you can tell, that more or less fails! Whether it's dodge ball or a play, they find a way to give it a dragon twist! I really enjoyed seeing the dragons not fully understanding some aspect of human society and making an absurd scene out of it and along with good animation, the execution of these funny moments are fantastic! Overall, the show does a good job of telling its story and making me laugh along the way.

CHARACTERS

If I had a negative for this show it would be in this department! The characters themselves are very good. I enjoy every one of the characters because I find them all to be hilarious and well fleshed out. Their personalities may be more on the simple side but I enjoy them a lot so I don't find it to be a problem. My issue with the show is different. My issue is that there are a number of characters that do not get enough screen time. I don't know if it's because of the original source, the direction or other outside factors but I was disappointed when characters that could have made the show even funnier didn't get any time to shine! I'm referring mostly to Lucoa and Elma! I wanted Lucoa to be more than a big sister character with titanic (YES TITANIC!!!) mounds and I wanted Elma to be more than a dragon that's used for food gags! The episode when Elma finally appeared (after like eight episodes!) and it was my favorite episode! I wanted so much more from her and then the show just nipped those dreams in the bud and made her a useless gag character! (Can you tell I'm angry?) I understand that Kobayashi and Tohru are the main characters and deserve a lot of the screen time but what is the purpose of these other characters if they're just going to be used for gags! There needs to be a balance and the show did not find it (in my opinion). 

MUSIC

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has some pretty good music. My favorite piece of music is the opening, "Aozora no Rhapsody" by fhána. This song is super addicting! I generally like fhána's work but I thought they killed it with this song! It really showed off the personality that this show has; energetic, happy, and a bit random. You can't help but tap your feet along to the beat as you wait for the show to start. The ED, "Ishukan Communication" by Choro-gonzu, Yuuki Kuwahara, Maria Naganawa, Yuuki Takada & Minami Takahashi is also pretty good. I enjoy the chorus a lot and it gives off a lot of the same energy as the opening. The majority of the music in the show gives a happy strolling feeling and sometimes a feeling of curiosity. The music is used to describe the mood of the environment. Whether wanting to depict a heartwarming scene or a comedic moment, the music does a good job at laying out the scene. I would say that the music does a satisfactory job at effectively aiding the show.

ANIMATION

The animation is fantastic, Kyoto Animation has done another great job! Kyoto Animation always brings great quality animation and it shines here as well. The animation throughout the show is consistent but gets a whole lot better during comedic or action scenes. The best example I can give is the scene where Tohru and Kanna are playing (if you call what they were doing playing) on an open field. There is a lot of work put into that scene and ends up becoming one of the best moments for the show. Dragon Ball Z could only wish to meet this level of quality!!! Another great example is the scene where Kobayashi holds Tohru's boobs. (I don't want to sound pervy, but there's no other way to say this) The fluidity of Tohru's bazongas as they bounce up and down is so (unnecessarily) well done that I can't help but stand and give a huge applause! I also applaud the moe character design! I'm picky when it come to the moe genre but I definitely like the design of these characters. The show uses a variety of bright colors for their characters and I say 'good choice!' The color palette makes the characters stand out a lot (which is good since they're dragons!). I think the eyes are the best part of the character designs because they're just so big and full of color (hell, Lucoa has double the color!). I have nothing but positives to say about the animation quality but I'll leave it at that, good job KyoAni! 

FINAL VERDICT

Techinical Score- 8 out of 10 (B)

I loved watching this story of new friendship and family. It made me laugh so much with its comedy and had me in awe at its animation! You can tell a lot of work was put into this show and it really shows. This show is full of addicting music that gets stuck in your ears and helps tell or lovely story. There were characters that deserved more time on screen and could've improved the show but overall, this was an enjoyable show!

Personal Score- 8.2 out of 10 (B)

I enjoyed this show a lot, mainly in part that it reminds me of one of my favorite comedies, Nichijou! It has good comedy that can be totally random but enjoyable none the less and a set of characters you can't help but love. I was genuinely excited for every episode that came out and I loved seeing the relationships between humans and dragons grow into beautiful companionship. 

I hope you guys enjoyed this review! If you did, drop a +1 or comment down below about any other shows you want me to review. I have platforms you can follow me on so you know when a new blog comes up so check out the links I have below for Google+ and Twitter! Also check out my YouTube Channel, GiraffePants Anime for anime reaction videos! I currently have series for Berserk 2017 and Danmachi Sword Oratoria so if that interests you, check it out! That's all I have to say so I hoped you guys enjoyed and I'll catch you next time!

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