“Tohru’s Real World Lessons! (She thinks she understands it already.)”
Tohru decides to spy on Miss Kobayashi to see what she does at work all day where she witnesses how hardworking and loyal Kobayashi is to her co-workers. Tohru later runs into Fafnir, who has decided to dwell among the humans for awhile. Casting her reservations aside, Tohru vows to help Fafnir find the perfect place to live.
KimmieKawaii
This week Tohru stealthily sneaks into Kobayashi’s workplace using some sort of superhero power that rivals Violet, ‘the queen of the unseen,’ from The Incredibles. What is shown of Kobayashi’s strong work ethic being underappreciated by her superiors will no doubt resonate with some viewers. Having hard earned achievements go unnoticed is unfortunately as frustrating as it is common. At the risk of sounding philosophical, did anyone else think about how while Tohru is physically invisible in this scene, Kobayashi is metaphorically invisible to her superiors?
Regardless, Tohru issues some well deserved revenge on Kobayashi’s bastard of a boss. If only the rest of us could have a dragon maid to deliver sweet justice on our behalf.
The most telling moment of this episode is the snippet of conversation between Kobayashi and her coworker. The colleague notices that Kobayashi has been happier as of late, normally exuding a more stoic attitude. Inadvertently, Kobayashi attributes this change to Tohru by thinking… “I guess it has been two months since she has shown up, huh?” This would have made a perfect place to insert a montage scene to recap Tohru and Kobayashi’s skewed love story.
Though not much of significance happened this episode, it was the same heartwarming humor that I have come to expect from Dragon Maid.
Good
– Perfect mix of humor and touching moments.
– Satisfying revenge moment that will resonate with viewers.
Bad
– Still waiting to be introduced to other supporting characters.
– The backstory for the entire cast is still relatively vague.
WeekendOtaku
With Tohru taking a backseat to Kanna in the last episode and competing for screentime with the new dragons in the one before that, viewers get a chance to see her and Kobayashi interact on their own once again. Tohru’s trick to see Kobayashi at work was a cute way to show the ‘doting wife’ side of her. The simple act of seeing Kobayashi when she normally can’t is exciting for Tohru, who finds her even more attractive after seeing her in her element. Kimmie probably wouldn’t find me to be as cool if she was able to secretly stand over my shoulder all day, but as nice as she is she would also probably be tempted to exact revenge on an abusive boss if the situation arose. On a side note: seeing Kobayashi writing Python is a beautiful pun.
Continuing along the situational nature of the show, Tohru’s encounter with Fafnir in the next segment gives viewers all the dry charm you would expect out of him. There are plenty of comedic moments that keep their mundane activities interesting, as Dragon Maid is no stranger to doing, but their interaction highlights something else which the show has been slowly building. Just as Kobayashi can’t quite remember what she was like before Tohru entered her life a mere two months back, Tohru also bluntly refutes the idea of returning to her own world. To her, even a human world is preferable simply because it has Kobayashi in it. The whole moment is so touching that I forgot for a moment that I have no idea what their relationship is actually built on.
The closing segment with Tohru trying to learn the human ‘ESP’ trick is heavily doused with comedy, but touches upon the difference that Fafnir reminds Tohru of. Is her insecurity over not being able to do something a human can born out of her notion that dragons are superior, or is she desperately trying to make sure Kobayashi never finds her lacking in any way? I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a little of both, as Dragon Maid goes ever deeper into the bonds shared by their little family.
Good
– Tohru is more endearing than ever, and is making a positive impact on Kobayashi
– I thought the screen transitions were fun this time
Bad
– I’m starting to care about it less, but Fafnir’s confusion as to what Tohru plans to get out of her time with humans mirrors my own. Will the series explore this some time?
This post is part of our seasonal episodic review series. To view all the posts in this series, click the following link: Viewing Party
Weekend Otaku 