Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

Episode 8

This episode really teeters on the border between an A- and a B+, but I ultimately went with the higher grade for two reasons: Tohru's admission of jealousy and how hard she's trying to please Kobayashi, along with some absolutely gorgeous animation. The smoothness of Elma sliding up to her knees from lying prone on the floor is stunning, the brief shots of Fafnir's creepy face and Lucoa's open eyes are striking, and all of the little incidental details shine through as exceptionally well done. It's as if KyoAni is making up for the last couple of lackluster plots with visual treats. I'm willing to take the bribe.

In terms of story, this week introduces the fifth dragon as promised: Elma. Elma and Tohru have a contentious relationship because they belong to opposing political factions back in their world, with Tohru basically belonging to the evil side, at least from a human perspective. Elma isn't strong enough to cross worlds on her own, but when Tohru opens a gate during a fraught bento box battle, she slips through to accost her old nemesis. Of course, the catch is that Elma can't get back to her own world now. Ostensibly, Tohru (or any of the other dragons) could open up a gate for her, but that would require Tohru to interact with Elma and vice versa. So instead, Elma decides to get a job in the human realm and just tough it out. Unfortunately for Tohru, that job turns out to be at Kobayashi's company, so her beloved ends up taking Elma under her wing, teaching her how to use a computer and even feeding her.

To say that this upsets Tohru might be putting it mildly, but she knows that if she dragons out too much, she risks Kobayashi's displeasure. So we see her barely holding it together instead, reverting to her behaviors from when she first arrived at Kobayashi's place. Kobayashi knows that there's something wrong, but she can't quite figure out what. Interestingly, she also doesn't seem to try all that hard, appearing to assume that Tohru will let her know when she's ready – it's as if both women are holding back for fear of alienating the other. While this is clearly a bigger worry for Tohru than Kobayashi, we do see her making the attempt to keep things on an even keel, and when Tohru finally admits her jealousy, Kobayashi immediately steps in to soothe her.

Throughout all of this, Kanna is just hanging back and watching. She's clearly become more attached to Kobayashi as a parent figure, which is adorable, particularly when she hands Kobayashi her school form about needing a lunchbox for her upcoming field trip. This is actually what sets Tohru off long before Elma shows up – she's offended that Kanna asked her other parent for help. It does give us a different glimpse of the family dynamic within the Kobayashi household than we usually have, and it also shows us that Kanna, like many children, knows precisely which parent to ask for which favor; sure, Tohru could make a fabulously unique bento, but chances are that Kanna just wants something like the rest of the class will have, and that's going to be something Kobayashi can help with.

This week's comedy is provided primarily by that poor kid who summoned Lucoa and his constant war against her boobs. The more serious plotlines are intercut with scenes of the terrible dreams he's having about being smothered by rubber balls, attacked by bears, or fighting sumo wrestlers, which of course are all due to Lucoa sleeping with him smushed between her breasts. Fafnir also gets some good moments as a judge in the Great Bento Showdown, to the point where Kobayashi questions what kind of character he's even supposed to be at this point. But my favorite little comedic scene hands down this week is when we see Kanna recharging herself. She's plugged her tail into a special extension cord carefully and cutely labeled “Kanna Kobayashi.” I love the idea that she has her own extension cord, and the name is just the icing on the cake. Not only does it ring true like that scene of her randomly braiding her hair a few weeks ago, but it also reminds us that what has come to pass for “normal” in the Kobayashi household is anything but – and the resulting family dynamic is pretty great.

Rating: A-

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