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The Hidden Depths of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

I do see the value of a platonic familiar relationship. But if you're doing it, you should use a straight couple that's saturated already, and one less won't be missed. When you do it with a same-sex couple, you're just being coward and playing safe.

Well it has been clear that Kobayashi is quite into maids, you can see the pictures in her home, that she almost seems her most sexual (or compassionate) when she is thinking of them.

My love for this anime centers around Kanna, my now favorite small child anime character, (and I didn't think any would take the place of Akira from A Lull in the Sea). Any scene with her and Kobayashi are pure gold!

Very thought-provoking piece. Loved it.

As a side-note though, I also love how Kobayashi's Maid Dragon is normalizing same-sex relationships by inserting so many fantastical elements. You have two girls shacking up together (Kobayashi and Tohru) and two dudes shacking up together (Fafnir and the otaku guy). Yet their homosexual relationships aren't slapped all over your face like Yuri on Ice or Simoun. You have two people of the same sex cohabiting together, but the story focuses more on their circumstances and interactions. the main couples just so happen to be gay, and the show is not beating you over the head how gay they are.

I like how this anime does more for normalizing same-sex relationships than other more titles that aggressively force the issue of homosexuality upon the viewer.

Personally I think homosexual people falling in love with straight people (or the opposite, straight for homo) is incredibly underutilized topic in anime story. Most yaoi/yuri show seems to happen in alternate reality where everyone is gay or bi and the topic of mismatch sexuality is never discussed despite it being one of the very few story element that can only be explored in show about homosexual people (i.e. most yaoi/yuri show are essentially just straight romance with one of the character being gender flipped and don't actually use there setting). So I like the interpretation that Kobayashi is straight or asexual a lot more.

I think in this particular case it has to be same sex characters. Imagine if Kobayashi was a guy. He'd be criticized for being a spineless coward for rejecting Tohru's advances, or called a sexist pig because he keeps a female servant around.

If Tohru was a guy, he'd be seen as a complete creeper and potential rapist for continually making unwanted advances towards her.

Still, "rape/sexual assault/sexual harassment is okay if it's same sex" is its own kind of unfortunate implications.

bleakessence wrote:

Very thought-provoking piece. Loved it. As a side-note though, I also love how Kobayashi's Maid Dragon is normalizing same-sex relationships by inserting so many fantastical elements. You have two girls shacking up together (Kobayashi and Tohru) and two dudes shacking up together (Fafnir and the otaku guy). Yet their homosexual relationships aren't slapped all over your face like Yuri on Ice or Simoun. You have two people of the same sex cohabiting together, but the story focuses more on their circumstances and interactions. the main couples just so happen to be gay, and the show is not beating you over the head how gay they are. I like how this anime does more for normalizing same-sex relationships than other more titles that aggressively force the issue of homosexuality upon the viewer.

I don't think Yuri on Ice slapped its relationship all over the place at all. It was incredibly normalized, and viewed very much as this-is-just-a-totally-normal-romantic-relationship, making it probably my favorite instance of homosexuality in anime. Well, maybe second to From The New World, but it's fantastic nonetheless. I really don't see Kobayashi as canonically gay at all though. Like many have said, what you seem to think is "normalizing" it, is kind of just its lack of existence at all. It can be a mother-mother family if you want it to be, but there is zero sexual interest on the part of Kobayashi. I'm a fan of them as a family unit regardless of what form their relationships take. I don't care if there is romantic development later on, but really just not seeing it so far.

Never claimed she was straight. Could be asexual like some people have suggested.

^That's quite the hate you've got there! I actually thought the author was a lady, but I couldn't find anything doing a quick google search on their alias in Japanese. For what it's worth, the show has a pretty sizable female audience from what I've seen. At least where I spend my time.

Since you mentioned Yuri on Ice, I have to compare that show to Keijo. Keijo is a sports shounen show with cool characters, but the T&A takes center-stage. If you don't like T&A, then you'll likely drop the show without knowing about those characters. Yuri on Ice is a sports shounen show with cool characters, but the gay relationships are also center-stage. If you don't like gay content, then you'll likely drop the show and without taking the time to learn more about the characters.

And that's the beauty of Kobayashi MD. The lack of sexual tension or overt gayness is it's greatest contribution to normalizing homosexual couples. The family unit they form is fascinating to watch, even when their sexuality is not the focus of the story. For me, Tohru and Kobayashi being mom-and-mom to Kanna is like that. I like watching them, and their sexuality barely registers in my mind.

This is especially true for the relationship between Fafnir and Takiya.

To be honest, I'm normally turned off by male gay relationships - implied or otherwise. That is why I never watched Free! or Yuri on Ice, despite all the high praise heaped upon them. But watching these two dudes shack up compelled me enough to care about their relationship. I enjoyed watching Fafnir going full otaku mode and then noting how Takiya is an 'okay' guy by his standards. All without my 'gay' flags going up in arms and ringing bells in my head.

^So, if both men and women like the show, in very large numbers, why are you so caught up in calling it this super sexist, Male-Otaku targeted, gross, evil thing?

I'm not remotely anti-loli