Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Episode 3

For a show about a dragon who takes on human form to become a maid, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has an awful lot of relatable, realistic moments. This week, they mostly involve Kanna, the child (?) dragon who showed up in episode two. Whether she's looking for the perfect spot to nap or just randomly braiding her bangs, her actions really feel like those of a small child – especially the braiding. It's such a normal yet utterly random thing that little kids do. The only way that scene could have been less dragon-like was if they threw in a My Little Pony for her to give a mohawk. It's the little moments like this – Kobayashi getting up and stepping on the dragon sleeping right next to her bed – that ground the more absurd parts of the show, although in this case I'd have to say that the animal not reacting to being stepped on is easily one of those absurd moments.

This is actually a packed episode in terms of plot. Not only does the Kobayashi clan move to a bigger apartment, but they also host a party where we get to meet two of Tohru's dragon friends, confront the noisy new neighbors, and learn that Fafnir the Norse dragon is terrible at video games (or at least Dark Souls). All of this shows us that Kobayashi has pretty much accepted living with these two dragons for the foreseeable future. It also gives us a chance to catch a glimpse of her collection of maid manga, an Emma cosplay outfit, and childhood photos that prove she looked exactly the same as a little kid as she does now – dead-eyed stare and all.

Despite that emotionless gaze, Kobayashi is really starting to come out of her shell. Her offer to give Tohru a bath shows that she's really come to care for her new companion, and the fact that she lets Tohru wash her also indicates that she's more comfortable around her now (or not taking her professions of love seriously). Of course, as she gets more comfortable, she also feels okay expressing her dissatisfaction with the fact that dragons have bigger boobs than she does – interestingly enough, she seems to buy that it's a species difference, which frankly makes sense given that all of the female dragons are drawn on a stockier scale than humans. Somehow male dragons don't seem to have that same thicker build; when Fafnir is reminded to take his human form, he looks pretty darn average.

This brings me to wonder why Kanna can make her horns and tail vanish entirely, while Tohru can't and must rely on illusion magic. Is this a deliberate choice on Tohru's part? Is it a deficiency in her dragon-to-human transformation skills? Or, more horrifyingly, is Kanna actually cutting off her horns and tail, since we know they grow back? There's also the possibility that Tohru is much younger than we think, and that Kanna is actually older and therefore more skilled. This feels like it might be a flaw in the logic, but given that Tohru said her clothes were actually her scales at one point, yet we've seen her change them and also be stripped naked multiple times now, I'd say it's still within the realm of possibility. The logic of dragons in this show could drive you a bit batty if you think too hard about it, from the clothes issue to no one noticing a giant green dragon on the roof having a bath, to whatever could cause that much noise from cooking, it's clear that we need to be focusing on the comedy here.

So it's a good thing that Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has managed to maintain its level of funny thus far! Even if some of the jokes are repeats from episode one, they remain entertaining, and I could honestly watch people open doors to giant dragon faces any day. (Fafnir's teeth make it especially wonderful this time.) Drunk Kobayashi is the only gag I'm not loving, but that's because it feels like the most predictable in an otherwise fairly fresh comedy. Otherwise, there are still at least two laugh-out-loud gags this episode (I am Fafnir running into walls in games), and that plus KyoAni's beautiful animation and Tohru's strangely mesmerizing eyes make this well worth keeping up with – especially since Kanna's going to brave the terrors of elementary school next week!

Rating: B+

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.