It's hard not to see why Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has a strong, peculiar fanbase from years past. Made by the fact that for one, this was Cool-kyou Shinja's way of introducing us into the world where dragons once were at war. And one of them (Tohru) snuck out into the human realm, where her encounter with this drunken woman (Kobayashi) changed the perception of the relationship between humans and dragons, so much so that other dragons thereafter (Kanna, Lucoa, Elma and Fafnir) followed suit and became the apartment community that we all know and love.
The other fact is because of one of the crème ... de la crème animation studios that is well-beloved by fans in the anime industry: Kyoto Animation (or KyoAni for short). May I formally remind everyone of the tragedy that is KyoAni's mid-2019 arson attack that struck and stunned the world to its knees, being one of the worst post-World War 2 attacks, and losing valuable staff such as Season 1's director Yasuhiro Takemoto who has been a KyoAni veteran mainstay since 1996. For that sense, Season 2 paying respects by crediting and immortalizing his name as "Series Director" is a well-deserved sendoff to a legend. RIP Yasuhiro Takemoto.
That said, since we already know much about Dragon Maid, what's there left to say about it, other than this being the 2nd of 3 Cool-kyou Shinja's works in the Summer season, repeating the usual daily antics of Tohru, Kobayashi and the rest of the characters? More than KyoAni rising up from the ashes once again with new staff joining onboard, it's the arrival of another dragon: the Gigantomachia voluptuous size-breasted fire-breathing Chaos Dragon girl Ilulu to rock the scene, continuing what Dragon Maid has done best with its fantastical slice-of-life comedy. VA Tomomi Mineuchi voicing this dangerous, busty dragon who's got her mentality set impaired from the influence of other Chaos Dragons with their beliefs that humans and dragons cannot co-exist with one another from young, especially from the fact that her parents were exterminated by humans. And oh boy, if there was someone worth saving ears and eyes from bad influence, it's Ilulu, because as much as human interaction she'd have some experience having fun of, it's ultimately at the hands of non-sensible adults that spoil the childrens' mindset that gave way to building Ilulu's desperation for world destruction. As such, it's thanks to both Tohru and Kobayashi for pointing fingers and protecting this kid dragon who deserves to live a second chance to live the normal life like Tohru and the other dragons do...and secretly steal Tohru's place for Kobayashi's closeness of affection.
Believe me, Season 2 might feel the same as Season 1, but the story and plot, as much as it is a slice-of-life series, is vastly improved for the most part. The secret to the dragons and their never-ending war between factions to fight between achieving Chaos or Harmony, as well as Ilulu's constant development to be a better and senseful dragon living alongside Kobayashi, Tohru and Kanna in the same old apartment, never gets old. With new adventures from Kanna and Ilulu's part of their own endeavours, as much as some old feud flames between Tohru and Elma, Season 2 opens up the floodgates for more character interaction that is largely the same since the prequel. Both Takiya and Fafnir are forever Otaku lovers, while Kanna is the constant love interest affection of deredere Saikawa's with loveshots beaming at even the slightest contact. Oh, and I mustn't forget that Shouta has adapted well to Lucoa's antics (while being surprised every now and then), and last but not least, the teeny hidden bit of affection from Take to Ilulu.
From hindsight, fans of KyoAni would've been less optimistic that after the horrible tragedy, works that are in production that are left on-hold would not be possible to be continued. And that these works would take years before their eventual release to cope with the loss of many notable, valuable and talented staff, young and old alike. But here we are, 2 years (from the time of this review) after the fateful tragedy that KyoAni has came back strong and better than ever. Season 2 amps up KyoAni's production values, giving more flare to flex with both the visuals and animation that are a step up from Season 1, made in no small part from the replacement that is another KyoAni legend director Tatsuya Ishihara, who has directed Haruhi Suzumiya and Clannad to name a few of the most notable favourites, along with Season 1 staff coming back to helm this sequel. KyoAni has seen better days, and those better days have returned to come back with a vengeance.
As much as I would want to like the goodness that is fhána's 2nd OP of Dragon Maid, Season 1's "chu chu yeah~" of a damn catchy intro beat really just immortalizes the series as a whole in a far better light. This is as close to a mountain peak's equivalent of a virtually untoppable OP if you ask people what is the first thing they remember about Dragon Maid. The ED is a whole lot better than Season 1's as far as I remember, because there's not only the addition of Ilulu into the band of dragons that makes for such a cute song, but also the anime MV (which is up on Lantis's YouTube channel) which sees the VAs reprise their characters in cosplay, having all that fun and jazz.
Overall, Season 2 puts the prequel to shame in all aspects, but that's not to say that Season 1 is bad, not at all. If anything, the prequel laid the groundwork for yet another amaze-balls season of Dragon Maid, and we're blessed with one of many KyoAni's resurgent works, so much so that watching Dragon Maid for its second inning brings out the kid in us once again. This is the success story of KyoAni's return to form, and Cool-kyou Shinja's beloved series leads that charge with increasing popularity that ages like fine wine.
Gotta have more of Maid Dragon, and help children be led the right way to live, uphold and watch over their growth like Kobayashi's to Ilulu. If there is a lesson to be learnt in this sequel, it's this: "Teach Your Children Well".
 Alternative Titles Synonyms: Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon 2nd Season, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid 2nd Season Japanese: 小林さんちのメイドラゴンS Information Type: TV Episodes: 12 Status: Finished Airing Aired: Jul 8, 2021 to Sep 23, 2021 Premiered: Summer 2021 Broadcast: Thursdays at 00:00 (JST) Licensors: None found, add some Studios: Kyoto Animation Source: Manga Duration: 23 min. per ep. Rating: PG-13 - Teens 13 or older Statistics Score: 8.261 (scored by 274,877 users) 1 indicates a . Ranked: #3012 2 based on the top anime page. Please note that 'Not yet aired' and 'R18+' titles are excluded. Popularity: #397 Members: 553,925 Favorites: 5,784 Available AtResources |
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