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In Which I Watch: Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid

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This IS one of the rare series where YES the anime is better than the manga... not that the manga is bad, but the anime improves on it alot.
 
I'm not going to manga until I finish this, because manga is basically potato chips- I read a chapter and am left unsatisfied, and I read pretty quickly too.

I'd say the one punch man anime is slightly better, if only because the fights are incredible and animation conveys everything better than static images. Everything else I've read that has an anime I've seen is generally worse, though only the Arpeggio of Blue Steel was notable in its badness.

Also I begin throwing together the next post as soon as I finish my ice cream.
 
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Episode 2 Part 4
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    • After the adorable chocolate scene, we see Kanna with her tail plugged into the wall socket, and she has a standard electrical prong thing, for some reasons (I know she's electrically powered, somehow, but this still doesn't make much sense)

    She wants to go do something without being cooped up...

    ...and find more similarities between the majority of the people reading this thread and our protagonist.

    Tohru offers to play with her, to which she perks up, and then asks if Kobayashi wants to go, to which she replies that she hates exercise.

    She doesn't have much of a choice, though. Kobayashi then asks if they're even still in Japan, which is reasonable, because my admittedly limited knowledge of Japanese Geography leads me to believe that there aren't all that many open fields, what with it being fairly mountainous and all.

    She doesn't find this reassuring. Kobayashi then says she's just going to lay here when they ask her.


    This leads to a pretty great scene, which will once again be in Youtube form because fuck screencapping enough to give a good sense of what's going on:

    Kobayashi's response is more or less "Holy shit what are you doing, you could kill someone like that!"


    Dragons are obviously much stronger than humans.

    Kanna a cute.
    Kobayashi then tells them to try to keep it to human levels.

    Dragonland is fully of anime characters, according to Tohru thinking this is human standard because Dragonland humans can do this stuff pretty frequently. She also thinks Earth humans can as well, because she saw it on TV.

    Anime is real ♡ Anime is not real​
    since they don't have much to go on as far as human standard is concerned, they try to replicate Miss Kobayashi...

    ...to hilarious results. After a bit, they stop and all lay on the grass.

    It's pretty peaceful, and eventually Kobayashi suggests playing the Japanese version of the alphabet game (where you name a word and the next person has to name a word that starts with the last letter), so it doesn't work well in subtitles (they include the romanji versions of the words, which helps), but the general effect comes along pretty nicely. Tohru loses, because she took too long to come up with the word Dragon.

    A quick cut and we come to our next little vignettes.
    This actually looks pretty good, barring the rainbow meat.

    Kobayashi says she'd eat the tail if she didn't know it was tail.

    W go to Kobayashi in her home office, and then Tohru comes in with a book.

    Someone's going to have to explain this to me, because I don't get what significance the book has, because they cut to a close up of it, and Kobayashi makes a face.

    What is Tohru doing? Find out next time on this IWIW *Dragon Ball theme is played on Kazoo*
     
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    • The Crane Repays a Favor is an old Japanese fable about a crane-spirit being saved from a trap by a human, generally an old couple, but sometimes a young man, depending o the specific telling.

    Taking on human form herself, the crane then approaches and ends up living with their savior for some reason or another (being adopted as their daughter, or in some instances, marrying them), and attempts to repay their debt by weaving the feathers from her body into beautiful, valuable yarn to be sold at market (harming herself in the process). "Don't look into the room until I call for you" is the line she tells her human companion before going to make the yarn.

    Given the context, Kobayashi's response is understandable.
     
    Episode 2 Part 5
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    • It's her tail. And Kobayashi is not surprised at all.

    Work, obviously. Kanna wants to go as well, which is adorable, but Tohru reminds her they had stuff planned for today.


    This can only end poorly.
    Tohru takes her out and talks about learning the various rules of the world, such as do what traffic lights tell you to do.

    I think it would do more damage to the car, personally.
    They talk about cars for a bit, then Kanna asks how they work, which Tohru doesn't know. She assumes magic, which they might as well be, considering how complex modern engines and electronics are.

    We also learn Kobayashi has a license, but not a car because those are expensive. Kanna then asks why Kobayashi doesn't fly around with Tohru instead of taking the train.

    Tohru has obviously asking herself that for a while.

    Cut to Kobayashi's work, where she's apparently been talking about Kanna with Takiya.

    They discuss Tohru and how Kobayashi implicitly thinks letting her teach Kanna about Earth is a bad idea. Takiya says she has her act together, which I actually agree with, mostly because she hasn't had the JSDF called down on her, and has only traumatised four or five people at this point. Seems like low standards, but for a multi-ton laser breathing reptile capable of flight, I'd say that's a pretty good record.

    Back with the dragons, they see a guy repeating a couple of phrases into a phone and note that's basically all you need for a conversation. Later, they come to a playground, which has a seesaw/teeter totter, the purpose of which neither knows.

    For a girl from a likely medieval society, this is a fairly reasonable assumption. They then see some food trucks.

    Kanna a cute.
    They do some pondering of various things, including the lack of dragons native to Earth.

    They live on the planet on the other side of the sun from Earth, obviously. (I actually had a book about this premise up until pretty recently. Somehow dragons came to Earth when the planet was occasionally close enough that flight between the atmospheres was viable.)

    They continue to talk about stuff, including Tohru being presumed dead. She gets compared to a retiree, which isn't a bad comparison.

    Kobayashi did remove the sword or something along those lines, as Tohru notes she saved her life. I'd probably do something weird like become a butler for someone who pulled a sword out of my side, but other than a Renaissance Fair (I like the spinny thing, the art for sale, and the mutton) going horribly wrong, I don't see myself being in that situation.

    They talk about their happiness with the situation, then decide to go peek into where Kobayashi's working. Tohru activates the SEP field, then grants it to Kanna, who assumes her dragon form.

    She looks soft. Like the inside of a down pillow.
    They fly over to Kobayashi's Vocaloid development firm, and Kobayashi happens to notice them watching.

    Ceiling dragons r watchin u code.

    Surprisingly, nothing went horribly wrong with these two.
    Next post will be tomorrow, because I need to sleep. It'll also be the last post of Episode 2, and we'll be going on to episode 3, which is the last I've seen. Then we move on to blind territory, which will involve more of me going "what the fuck," probably.
     
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    • Glitchrr36 said:
    ..and find more similarities between the majority of the people reading this thread and our protagonist
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    Funny thing in the manga version: Kobayashi names one of the games she played as a kid in this scene.

    It's Harvest Moon.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    Kanna a cute.
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    Kanna got her own spinoff manga (Kanna's Everyday Life). I think some of its storyline got combined with the main series for the anime.

    So yes, Kanna is very cute. Especially when she smiles.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    Kobayashi did remove the sword or something along those lines, as Tohru notes she saved her life.
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    There's more to it than that, but I'm not sure if it gets mentioned later in the anime or only in the manga.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    Ceiling dragons r watchin u code.
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    Code in Python, apparently.
     
    Episode 2 part 6
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    • So when I went to get the screencaps for the ending of the episode, it turned out most of that was the credits, which aren't all that noteworthy. Cute though, and they have some of the other dragons. This post is pretty short, but I've already got about 1/2 the images and 1/4 the actual writing for episode 3 part 1 finished, so that'll probably be up within the next thirty minutes or so.



    I'm not actually sure if the physics work for this, but anime, I guess.

    And here are the credits:
     
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    • Episode 3: Start of a New Life! (That Doesn't Go Well, Of Course)
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    • Episode 3 begins with Kobayashi lying in bed.

    A common problem, but as she's exiting the bed she hears a slight...groan? I have no idea what the correct term for the little sleep noises would be.

    It's because she almost stepped onto Tohru's tail. It's a good thing she didn't because that would probably wake everyone else in the next few apartments up. There's a shot of Kanna accidentally door checking Kobayashi as she comes out of what I think is a bathroom, and then a scene of Kobayashi trying to indulge her drinking habit.

    With Tohru cooking something that presumably isn't her tail, and Kanna being thirsty, it leads to a bit of trouble.

    After the opener, we see this dead-eyed fellow, who is presumably the real estate guy.

    They check out a couple apartments which don't have much difference between them, until the one they settle in, which has a nice benefit.

    Good for dragons, probably. Must be hard to find a nice launch pad in a city.

    Tohru and Kanna seem to like it, as they run out and comment on how nice it is. Not much notable about it, in my opinion, but it would be nice for big flying alligators.

    Tohru and Kanna a cute.

    Next up, they have a bunch of crap to relocate. Luckily they don't have to sell the apartment because I remember that being a colossal pain in the ass when we moved from Richardson to my current location. we had the apartment (which was super out of the way) lined up from the start basically, though not much was unpacked because we were waiting for the house to be finished.

    Tohru starts singing what I'm assuming is a traditional dragon cleaning song.

    It has a jaunty little tune. Kobayashi doesn't appreciate the omnicidal undertones though. They continue to clean, eventually the idle chit chat comes to the subject of dragon cleanliness, where Tohru says she enjoys bathing and cleaning herself, but didn't have much time for it.

    We also get a shot of a delightfully smug Tohru on the subject of bacteria.

    It makes sense. Most reptiles can regrow their teeth, which is exploited in places like Florida (and honestly it's the least horrible exploitation to happen there), where gator farms will collect teeth that fall out and sell them in a necklace for a significant return in profit, since they did nothing and got eight or nine dollars for it. Cleaning out the bugs would be useful, as they could nibble on gums or tickle, which is in general a nuisance.

    They also discuss where Tohru had lived, and Kanna continues to be the cutest thing I've seen in my admittedly limited anime experience. Most of these were still, but they're to funny/cute not to share a few.


    After this, they continue discussing this, while Kanna disappoints me by acting like my cat

    and eating the butterfly. Tohru later says she couldn't really settle down.

    Continuing to talk about cleanliness, she mentions dragons would sometimes lick each other clean.

    There's a pixilated scene of them doing this with a note they were dragons at the time, but I decided that was getting a bit close to the line and decided not to actually screencap it. I'm also about 97% sure you can find a non-censored fan version somewhere, but that's a really creepy thing I would prefer to be never reminded of again.

    Moving on, Tohru begins to criticize Kobayashi, who in addition to beer leaves clothes and magazines scattered everywhere. Kobayashi argues that it's her house and those things are fine, but Tohru points out that would make her a bad influence.
     
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    • One of the recurring cute and funny things in this show is Kanna doing her own thing when Kobayashi and Tohru are doing something else and not paying attention to her.
     
    As one Eagle to another, good luck and keep on going at this. It's pretty good.
     
    Well you're going to figure out what the freaky dragon in black is soon.

    Also with Ars Nova. Maybe it's because I saw it first then read the manga but I came to appreciate that a lot of the changes they made was tied to the fact that they had so little time. (And they focused more on Best Girl as Haruna is the flagship of my heart~)
     
    Zelinko said:
    Well you're going to figure out what the freaky dragon in black is soon.

    Also with Ars Nova. Maybe it's because I saw it first then read the manga but I came to appreciate that a lot of the changes they made was tied to the fact that they had so little time. (And they focused more on Best Girl as Haruna is the flagship of my heart~)
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    I'm aware of fafnir, I've watched the first three episodes already. I haven't seen him as a dragon yet, but I'm not completely blind to the rest of the episode. After that all bets are off
     
    work on gathering the next set of pictures will begin as soon as the browser window crunchyroll's open on gets its shit together.
     
    Episode 3 Part 2
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    • Kobayashi strikes Tohru's weak point (flattery) for massive damage, and thus gets out of doing any cleaning, which is somewhat reasonable considering she's been living alone for presumably a few years at least, likely longer, and comes home either somewhat drunk or completely exhausted, as we will see later this episode. Kobayashi comments on how easy that was, and Kanna calls her a scoundrel.

    As they start packing, I noticed this, and all I can say is that whoever added that box is one sly dog.

    As packing continues, Kanna finds something that shocks her normally expressionless face. What could it be?

    Kobayashi as a kid who looks done with this shit.

    Kanna is unamused at Tohru's continued infatuation/love/weird dragon debt lust.

    They later find Kobayashi engaging in something I am very guilty of, which is while doing something involving lots of moving things from one place to another in a room, she got distracted. I did it with Legos, primarily, but I did start reading a couple of times.

    Again, a bit later, Tohru found a maid uniform of Kobayashi's, which she likely kept due to it being expensive and not something easy to sell, as she says she looks terrible. Ten bucks (don't actually tell me if my guess is right) on her being convinced to wear it at some point before the end of the season. Another ten bucks on it not actually looking all that bad.

    Tohru tried it on, and looks fine. We get another "what the fuck" moment, though slightly less severe than in previous episodes, as Kobayashi fondles Tohru, who said it was tight in the chest, asking if the dragon is sure she's a D-cup. The next scene is Kobayashi saying she's going to take a bath, and finding her change of clothes is not there.

    I've actually done this, and let me tell you sitting in day old underwear because you've packed everything else when going home from summer camp (especially when the first day was two weeks ago, during a twelve hour car ride) is probably the least pleasant part of philmont, even when considering I nearly fell into my own crap.

    After that little montage thing that's taken up the tail end of the previous post and up until this point, the movers arrive and they head out. Kobayashi did find her stuff, obviously. Kanna's enjoying the car ride.

    Common reaction to getting one's own room.
    After settling room arrangements Kobayashi settles in for a bath, to which Tohru wants to participate in, cleaning Kobayashi's back. Kobayashi initially refuses, but Tohru comments on her being around to keep things clean, to which Kobayashi concedes

    Tohru is a smug dragon and it is wonderful.
    They discuss cleanliness and there's a bit of a moment about how there are differences between the human body and the dragon body, but Tohru is loves having both. She also talks about how human society has rules she never had to deal with. Kanna eventually wants to be cleaned as well, which leads to a cramped bath.

    Tohru awoke earlier and is preparing breakfast. Note her tail still being attached. I also place ten bucks on Kobayashi eventually eating her tail (get your mind out of the gutter), and enjoying it (Remember what I just told you?). Kobayashi offers to wash Tohru, who eagerly accepts. She also starts removing her clothes, which are her scales and that's pretty weird. Would she be all pink and squishy then?

    She looks content either way. Kobayashi compares the experience to washing a car, which seems like a pretty reasonable comparison.

    This continues on for a bit, and we have a little transition before a little short bit which involves Kobayashi looking like she wishes for death.

    She walks back to her apartment building before realizing she went to the one she just moved out of.

    We start the next bit with Kobayashi sleeping, which she is awoken from by a loud scraping(?)

    It's really hard to interpret the FX they used, so it isn't exactly clear what's causing it. Will it go away? Will it irritate the giant fire breathing alligator and big bird's cousin he calls in when people forget to pay their protection charges? Find out after Glitch watches a peruvian guy do a cover of pumped up kicks with no translation. Later!
     
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    • Because this is too great not to share. Not as good as the rap god or chop suey covers, but still good.
     
    Glitchrr36 said:
    Kobayashi as a kid who looks done with this shit.
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    Yeah, she's really only gotten taller and gained a sense of fashion as she grew up.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    who said it was tight in the chest, asking if the dragon is sure she's a D-cup.
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    Ehhh... not sure if it's a spoiler or not, so...

    Apparently later on it's mentioned that Tohru is indeed a D-cup... by dragon measurement, anyways. It's implied that human bra sizes are different, so Tohru would be at least a DD.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    Tohru is a smug dragon and it is wonderful.
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    Less smug and more overly cheerful and upbeat.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    She also starts removing her clothes, which are her scales and that's pretty weird.
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    Yes it is, but the series is consistent with it.
    Glitchrr36 said:
    She walks back to her apartment building before realizing she went to the one she just moved out of.
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    Yeah, I know the feeling.

    Also, I'm pretty sure the entire moving storyline was anime original.
     
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