The second season of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S, which marks not only the return to the scene of one of the anime slice of life most popular in recent years, but also the return in great style of Kyoto Animation, after the tragic fire in 2019 that destroyed the studio from its foundations, starting with the high human cost of that nefarious act in which he also lost his life Yasuhiro Takemoto, director of the first season. Adapted from a manga by cool-kyou shinja which has been going on continuously since 2013 and still unpublished by us in Italy, this second season of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid is instead available on Crunchyroll in simulcast, with Italian subtitles.
Directing this time we have Tatsuya Ishihara, a director who certainly knows how to strike the audience to the heart, having directed series of the caliber of Clannad, Nichijou And Love, Chunibyo & Other Delusions, while the late Takemoto was commemorated nonetheless as the original director in the credits of each episode.
- Original title: Kobayashi-san chi no maid dragon
- English title: Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S
- Japanese release: Summer 2021
- Italian release: Summer 2021
- Platform: Crunchyroll (Simulcast)
- Type: slice of life, comedy, romantic
- Number of episodes: 12
- Duration: 24 minutes
- Animation studio: Kyoto Animation
- Adapted from: Cool-kyou shinja manga
- Tongue: Japanese (dubbing), Italian (subtitles)
We reviewed Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S via Crunchyroll streaming platform.
The dragons have returned to Skyrim… ah no
Basically, the plot picks up where the first season left off, but without too alienating those who don’t remember it: being primarily a “light” anime designed to excite us and not to keep us glued to the TV with cliffhangers and other gimmicks, the general plot is less important than the relationships between the characters. It will not be necessary to have recently seen the first 12 episodes to be able to fully enjoy these further 12. However, we find in its entirety the cast that was presented to us two years ago. The dragon waitress Tohru who lives with Miss Kobayashi, a tireless programmer for the company where she works, and little Kanna, “adopted” by the two; but also Lucoa And Shouta, the greedy Elma, and finally the duo of very powerful otaku Fafnir And Takuya. To upset the cards on the table since the first episode, however, comes unexpectedly Ilulu, a dragon of the Chaos Faction who is found in the human world specifically to destroy Tohru. After two rather intense and more pressing episodes than those we were used to, the pace calms down and Ilulu begins to be part of the cast on the side of the “good ones”, but unfortunately she is never exploited properly, and many of the episodes in which is present are slightly subdued compared to those dedicated to the old glories.
While the first season focused mainly on the relationship that was starting to arise between Tohru and Kobayashi (and Kanna to a lesser extent) this second season is predominantly dedicated to the entire cast of secondary characters, who finally have the opportunity to expand and show their personality. Lucoa, Fafnir and above all Elma finally get some time in the spotlight, showing us entire segments of the episode dedicated solely to them and thus elevating them to more than just extras. On the other hand, the new main character introduced in this second season, that is Ilulu is not fully convincing after a good debut, and I’m not just talking about her troubling anatomy. We have a greater focus on dragons and how their world works, with a great deal of attention given to explaining where the conflict between humans and dragons comes from, but also between the Chaos faction and the Equilibrium faction.
Each episode is divided into parts that show through micro-narratives the daily adventures of some of the characters, usually with a more emotional scene towards the end., which wants to show us a little the “moral” of what has just been seen. In any case, the comedy soon makes room for more important themes such as loneliness, parental faults that fall on children, the desire for independence and emotional dependence. Although the series is never expressly dramatic, in the course of the 12 episodes that make it up at different times it will be able to move you simply for the power of the feelings expressed, emotional impact certainly helped by a top-level graphic sector, as we will see below.
The Kyoto Animation masterpiece
If there is one thing for which Kyoto Animation is highly appreciated it is precisely the quality of its animated series and the graphic care it puts into each frame of the anime it produces. We all remember the fantastic for this very reason Violet Evergarden, and in some ways, albeit with a decidedly more moe and sketchy style, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S manages to reach the same peaks. Iconic in this sense is a fight scene between two characters, which we will not reveal, but which in a few minutes manages to humiliate what has been done in an entire season of one of the most popular shonen of the moment. Sure, it was a unicum, but it shows very well how much gap there is at the moment between KyoAni, albeit greatly reduced after 2019, and the other animation studios engaged in the transposition of works where, at least in theory, the action and fluidity of the animation should be the masters.
Even in the quietest scenes, the unmistakable style of the studio shines through, with pastel colors for the backdrops, which at times seem almost like watercolors, and decidedly brighter colors for the main characters., in addition to an obsessive attention to certain details such as the yield of liquids or the very particular light effect during the Festival in the last episode of the series. Facial expressions are always rendered convincingly (especially in more serious moments) even if the super deformed and the moe they are often the masters.
As already mentioned in our first impressions, the opening theme (always sung by fhana) Ai no Supreme! it is certainly adequate e catchy, but unfortunately fails to reach the insurmountable peak that was the legendary Aozora no Rhapsody of the first season. On the other hand, the closing theme “Maid with Dragons”Is cute and attracts attention, closing twenty minutes of pure joy. The latter is sung by Super Chorogons, which is nothing more than a fictional group composed of the voice actresses of the main dragons who, in the music video of the same, sing in cosplay creating a really adorable curtain.
This anime is available subtitled in Italian on Crunchyroll, the first international online platform completely dedicated to the world of Japanese animation, manga and drama. You can watch for free Crunchyroll on your PC, on your smartphone and on your console by signing up with a free account or by signing a monthly subscription plan which will allow you to follow anime in simulcasting with Japan.
Who do we recommend Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S to?
This second season of Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S is truly a must for those who loved the first. Almost all the strengths of the original return amplified and improved in these additional twelve episodes that somehow manage to be even more pathos-laden than the 2018 anime: the characters have grown and we with them. Even those who found the first season too “light” might change their mind, given some of the deeper themes covered in some episodes. On the other hand, those who have never seen the first season could hardly appreciate this second given the many facets of the characters that are lost, in addition of course to how it all began. If you like slice of life anime, get them both as soon as possible!
- A season full of pathos
- Well characterized secondary characters
- Kyoto Animation’s work is fantastic in every scene
- He never goes overboard with the fanservice
- Ilulu could have been better developed
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S
One of the best anime of the year
Kyoto Animation is back in full regalia with Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S. This second season is more epic, more emotional and more beautiful to watch than the first, while maintaining a solid foundation in the comedy and slice of life that has always characterized it. Seeing the group of dragons arrived in the human world no longer totally dependent on Kobayashi but each with its own individuality is a breath of fresh air that allows sentimentally powerful interactions between them able to excite but also to make the spectators reflect. I didn’t get so excited seeing a slice of life anime since Nichijou, which will also mean something (and not the fact that there is the same director). The very high quality of the technical and graphic sector are the icing on the cake to one of the best souls of this 2021, and certainly the best of this season that has just ended. To look Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S it is certainly one of the best ways to warm your heart during these first days of autumn!