Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S – 10

「カンナの夏休み（二か国語放送です!?）」 (Kanna no Natsuyasumi (Nika Kokugo Hōsō Desu!?))
“Kanna’s Summer Break (Broadcast In Two Languages!?)”

In previous weeks, I’ve mentioned how I really enjoy Season 2 so far for its thorough characterisation of each individual character, shining a spotlight that brings them to life. This week was Kanna’s turn – and admittedly the absence of Saikawa allowed Kanna to shine! I am under the impression that in no uncertain terms, Kanna is the most popular character from Kobayashi’s Maid Dragon. What’s not to love about a blunt little dorogon abound with child-like wonderment, who is softly affection and craves for parental figures in her life?

Given the tranquil family life, it can be hard to remember that Kanna carries a significant trauma. Namely that she was exiled from her family for going one prank too far. The importance of Kobayashi in her life cannot be understated. Kobayashi offers her a parental figure and a safe place to grow up. Whereas most children would throw a tantrum in their room before calming down, being a dorogon, Kanna can just fly off to another country by herself. Which is exactly what she chooses to do. Nothing a human adult can do when their dorogon baby goes off and does that. My sympathies for Superman’s human parents.

Kanna seemed to have a great time in New York. She soaks in the sights and sounds, partakes in American culture skateboarding and checking out iconic landmarks and even makes a fantastic friend in Chloe. She even gets caught up in the middle of rescuing Chloe from a hostage kidnapping situation not once, but twice. However, anyone could see there were more than a few moments where Kanna would look very sad and crestfallen as she thought of Kobayashi and the place she’s come to call home.

Crucially, she must have seen herself in Chloe when Chloe confessed to running away, giving Kanna the opportunity to introspect and understand how closely she holds Kobayashi to her heart. I have no idea what would cause Kanna to get so angry seeing how Kobayashi tends to be a very reasonable individual, but we can be glad she figured that one fracas isn’t worth having such a huge tantrum over. I like how the episode depicts Kanna slowly reaching this realisation. This is all a part of growing up – learning to put a handle on explosive emotions and introspecting on situations. As I often quote Steinbeck, “The child’s world is never quite whole again. It is an aching kind of growing”.

I also enjoyed how the second part of the episode delved into what my headcanon perceives as Kobayashi and Kanna making up, where they spend a whole day out together delighting in all manner of activities. Bug catching, man-hole investigation, eating ice cream at a cafe, you name it. All in all a very productive day. Children can only be young once for such a short duration of time, so these kinds of moments are infinitely more precious for their parents, especially when said parent is usually stuck working at the office until late.

Anyway, that’s about everything I wanted to discuss. As always, thanks for reading this post and see you all next week!

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