First Impressions / Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon / Series Introduction

OP Sequence

OP: 「青空のラプソディ」 (Aozora no Rapusodi) by fhána

「史上最強のメイド、トール！（まあドラゴンですから）」 (Shijou Saikyou no Medi, Tooru! (Maa Doragon Desukara))
“The Strongest Maid in History, Tooru! (Well, She Is a Dragon)”

As much as I loved this first episode, there’s no denying that I had a few complaints about Kobyashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon’s adaptation to anime.

The Bad (In My Opinion)

Before we start, let me make this clear — I really enjoyed the episode even though I’m about to criticize a few things. Okay with that said, let me start with the pacing. Is it just me, or does something feel a little off with everything? From what I remember from the manga, the rhythm most of the time felt like an extended 4-koma manga that gave the jokes some time to mature and turn into some really good material. When it comes to the anime (or at least this first episode), it felt like they tried to squeeze as much content as possible and started to accelerate as we got closer to the end. And after going back to check, there was nearly four and half chapters of content all tossed into there with some foreshadowing to stuff a lot further down the road. Something that I don’t think we necessarily needed all in the first episode especially if the show was trying to build up the relationship between Kobayashi and Tooru. If anything, any growth between the pair felt forced and artificial since everything kept jumping from gag to gag without giving us any room to breathe.

Besides the pacing which was my biggest complaint, the only other thing that really rubbed me the wrong way was how the adaptation handled all the ero-scenes. Don’t get me wrong either, I really appreciated the humor and light heartedness that’s supposed to be coming out of these breast scenes, but with all the sound effects and certain camera angles that literally throw breasts in our face, it felt like the show was trying just a little too hard.

The Good (Also my Opinion)

With all that out of the way, let me jump into the good things. Starting with the character designs, I wasn’t sure how the manga’s style would translate into becoming an anime. For those of you who’ve read it, there’s this charm from the kind of crappy art style that comes from the one and only Coolkyoushinja-sensei and I’m really happy Kyoani was able to capture the look quite well. Moving on to the characters themselves, I was really happy that everything lined up so well compared to the image I had in my head. Tooru’s bratty personality (at least at this point in the story) and intense lust for Kobayashi felt great to see animated and I loved how perfect Kobayashi was. Her normal personality was done well, but they absolutely nailed her drunk persona. God, I could watch an entire anime with drunk Kobayashi just yelling about her likes.

Now, even though I was complaining about the pacing earlier, I’ll give it to the show for doing a great job with certain sections. Specifically, I thought the show did a great job with that opening scene when Tooru shows up at Kobayashi’s place as well as when Tooru and Takiya had a short moment together before Tooru flew away feeling all insecure.

Also, wasn’t that opening freaking amazing? With Kyoani production value and fhána providing fantastic vocals, I could listen to the damn thing all day. That and something about the part with all the townspeople just spinning in the air was perfect.

The Overall

After going back and re-watching the episode, I have this odd feeling a lot of my complaints earlier stem from the image I had in my head versus what showed up in reality. Having a lot more fun the second time around without too many preconceived notions, I can’t wait to see where things go from here on out. With one of the best lolis coming next week and hopefully a heartwarming moment to accompany it, I kind of wish next week was already here. See you then!

P.S. I kind of wish Tooru’s dragon form was a bit more exaggerated (or maybe less detailed?) like it is in the manga. That and I’m SO HAPPY we got to hear an edgy Ono Daisuke not once, but twice this week. I can’t wait for him to appear in the anime proper, but I’ll live with what we got.

P.P.S. For those of you MMORPGers, I just finished 3.0 content for FFXIV and boy was it nice to get some more dragons in my life. Hearing names like Nidhogg and catching Midgardsomr (or I guess Midgard but you get my point) was great. 3.5 COMES OUT SOON GUYS, I’LL SEE YOU THERE IN TIME HOPEFULLY.

 

Preview

57 Comments

  1. Yeah, the pacing and some of the way they went about the fanservice was also on my list of issues but that said, I think think that, so far, this is a pretty good adaptation and I’m hoping they slow down once they introduce some more characters and start having them all interact.

    Having read the manga for so long, I’d forgotten how much Tooru (or is it Tohru?) grew up. I won’t put spoilers here, but I was still surprised. I’d forgotten how much had changed.

    Ths show still has its charm, at least as far as the early chapters go, but I really hope it slows down soon so we can just chill and bask in it. I haven’t seen a bad adaptation yet of Cool-sensei’s works so my hopes are still high for this show and in the end, I did enjoy it, even more the second time around.

    Roguespirit
    Reply

  2. Well, I need to say this went way better than I would expect. Even though it’s number one studio in the anime universe, I was doubtful how and why Kyoani handles this one (and where the hell is Violet Evergarden?!), but it seems that with KonoSuba, my Wednesdays will be filled with proper amount of comedy. Some gags were really great, although as you say this episode felt a bit too packed with content, but I liked this ridiculous pacing. Art was smooth as always with Kyoani. Characters seem to be easy to like. If anything I would like maybe less ‘ero-scenes’ and more casual transformation into dragon in front of common people. Definitely gonna follow this one.

    Pyon
    Reply

  4. Spot-on with your review. It’s definitely a double-take
    kind of episode to let it all soak in.

    At first, it was a little annoying – I though it’d be nothing
    but gags. But it did touch a little serious and I’d like to
    know if there’s a real back-story to the dragon adopting her
    beyond “you should stop by my place.”

    And her nightmare help add some depth to her character. Yeah,
    like to see where this will go…

    mac65
    Reply

  5. I can’t get enough of Fafnir’s advice. Even though I knew it was coming, I still found myself laughing when she tried him the second time, and then quickly switched to calling Quetzalcoatl.

    Wanderer
    Reply

  6. Where were you when Kyoani went full Shaft in an OP?

    I’m so glad Cool-sensei got a full anime for once, rather than just shorts. I wonder of Ojojojo will ever get such treatment.

    Don’t forget to charge your dragon~

    Tarage
    Reply

  10. You used to be able to watch Kyoto Animation anime with the assurance that it cannot be that bad. But these days, it is hard to say. I guess this anime is targeted at those who likes ecchi. I’m not sure if I should be approaching this anime seriously if that is the case. Hopefully it does not take out to be a train wreck.

    fomite
    Reply

    1. I don’t know if I’d say its targeted toward those who like ecchi. There’s a somewhat decent explanation why Tooru and future characters look why they do and it makes sense from the perspective of characters in that world (Also, rip Kobayashi’s bust size).

      I don’t think you should approach any anime too seriously. Keep your expectations in check and watch what you like. This one is going to be far from a train wreck.

      Takaii
      Reply

      1. I’ve definitely found that keeping expectations low or at least tempered, really helps with the enjoyment of a show. Overhype is a real thing and it can be disastrous for your viewing pleasure. Doesn’t help if the show really is terrible or falls really short of what it so could have been.

        Overhype is something I deal with when I try to get my friends to watch the shows I love. Can’t oversell.

        Roguespirit
        Reply

      2. Meh. Like the manga and IMO this wasn’t a good adaptation. Not bad, “OK” (could have been worse), but definitely not on the level of some other shows like Demi-chan, Gabriel and Ao no Exorcist. Definitely agree with Takaii that the presentation is off. Noticed that quite early on. Pacing, comedic timing – whatever you want to call it, but definitely off compared to the manga IMO. I found the manga surprisingly funny (comedy subjective of course), but hardly laughed watching the anime and it’s not due to reading the jokes before.

        As Takaii notes, the rapid fire comedy approach without break didn’t help, but IMO it’s a general execution issue. Again, nothing terrible, bad, etc., but not good let alone great. KonaSubu is a show that’s has comedy execution down right IMO from timing to voice inflection to “reaction faces”/visual changes, etc. Also, in the rush, the anime cut some jokes/dialog I liked. :< And yeah, the "boing" boob sound spamming isn't helping matters.

        — “For those of you who’ve read it, there’s this charm from the kind of crappy art style that comes from the one and only Coolkyoushinja-sensei.”

        Well, I’d call it simple, but effective and fitting for the kind of series this is. I do, however, agree the art is part of the series charm. Unquestionably, a lot of what I like about the manga comes from the artwork (including style changes) which plays a material role for me with enhancing the humor. The anime did capture the “default” artwork well, and some of the comedy visual changes, but not all/sufficiently. As a result, for me the anime’s comedy suffered for it. Not sure why that decision was made because I’ve watched plenty of shows which have no hesitation doing such things.

        The anime made a couple positive changes. The first is the simple chapter reordering (chapter 2 is really the start, not chapter 1). Definitely makes sense. Second, the end scene with Tooru’s nightmare does help give her character some more depth right off the bat along with setting the tone that there’s more to this than just wacky, fish-out-of-water type comedy. So points there.

        Overall though, meh, and honestly somewhat disappointing though nice to read that some viewers liked the show. “3 Episode Rule” for now. Hopefully things will improve.

        Lastly. “…one of the best lolis coming next week and hopefully a heartwarming moment to accompany it…”

        Yep, one of the best characters (IMO) in the series and should be a good moment if the anime does it right.

        daikama
        Reply

      3. GAH! Meant to make the above a general comment, not a reply. @Takaii: If not too much trouble, perhaps move the above post to general comments at the bottom, delete this part, and leave what’s below the line (which I meant to post here).

        —————————————–

        @fomite: It’s not a straight up ecchi focused series like say Monster Musume no Iru Nichijou, but it’s somewhat ecchi. As Takaii notes, there’s simple, quick reason give why the dragon girls look like they do. That being said, from what I understand, the mangaka has done some hentai work which may have influenced character designs (i.e. huge boobs).

        As for “serious”, not sure how one would think this is a “serious” series. It’s not ALL comedy – there are some more serious moments (and cute/endearing moments), but it’s not a “serious” and/or grim-dark type of show.

        @Roguespirit: Agree. Managing expectations is critical. Something I’ve learned over time, but still don’t always manage to do so sufficiently.

        daikama
        Reply

      6. @Takaii: Thanks for the offer. 😀 Eh, at this point might as well just leave it as is (you’d have to move your replies, etc. as well). Hopefully won’t make the same mistake, but if I do I’ll keep your offer in mind (post again & ask for deletion of erroneous reply).

        As for Ep. 01, glad you mentioned, “Is it just me, or does something feel a little off with everything?” because that was exactly my thought when watching. Again, not bad/could be worse, but still “off”. 🙁 Guess you have to look at this as a glass half-full situation and hope it improves.

        daikama
        Reply

  13. So happy for Cool Sensei. I don’t have a problem with the lewdness, because Cool does some pretty lewd mangas compared to this one. KyoAni did an excellent job nailing the art style. Yeah, the pacing is a little forced, but I’m okay with it. Looking forward to episode 2.

    I’ll be honest, I was slightly worried at how KyoAni kind of picked this up out of the blue, but they’re once again showing that they’re real pros at this. Sure there might be nitpicks with it, but it’s a solid production that won’t tarnish the original material. I’m not sitting here yelling at the screen, “WTF did you dooo to my beloved series???” Not in the least.

    Count me in with others who want an Ojojojo full-length anime.

    I don’t know if Mononoke Sharing could get an anime, but I’d watch that, too.

    s_w
    Reply

  17. I get really tired of anime seasons being wasted on shit like this when KYOANI has already shown what they can ACTUALLY do. I’m not saying they shouldn’t have a little fun and do some more gag oriented shows now and then, but it’s so sad for my heart.

    sosbrigade1991
    Reply

    1. Jesus Christ they just gave us Hibike Euphonium 2. Are you that jaded that every season must only be master works? Just count your blessings that this isn’t another Phantom World.

      qwert
      Reply

  19. At the very least, the charm of the manga was captured so I still really enjoyed the first episode. I also agree pacing was relatively fast, but I can see why. Given that most series are slated for one-cour, some chapter elements got condensed into short segments rather than full expositions. While I prefer full expositions (and many more episodes!), it seems the general anime industry the past few years opts for condensing as much as possible in one cour with the assumption that one cour is all they will get.

    Besides, some studios fail horribly with this model. KyoAni at least made cuts that made sense for Anime and the episode flowed decently well. I’m reminded of series that condense/cut so much material (E.g. Mahouka, Black Bullet) that the series shouldn’t have been animated in the first place. I’m still hoping this follows Nichijo and gets two cours, but if pacing continues like episode 1, then it’s going to be one cour.

    This will show my age, but I do miss the old standad where series typically got 26 – 52 episodes (back in the late 90’s early 2000’s) vs the current model where it seems like studios and fans have to fight for even a second 13 episode cour. Times have changed…

    Aoihoshikage
    Reply

      1. The economic downturn is universal. Even in the West, networks now want shows to be made of 11-minute-long episodes instead of 26, and they order around 9 episodes per season, or 11, or 13. They NEVER want any of the animation in a pitch to resemble Disney, because they can no longer afford to fund it.

        starss
        Reply

    2. Agree that the trend is more toward single-cour runs (and some only 10 episodes). Unless you have a very popular series (and thus more likely to make money), it’s simply less financial risk to make one cour vs. two (or more). If the show takes off/makes money, then green light another. Like Takaii posted, it’s all about the money.

      Problem is that in terms of risk, it can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. Curtailed air time = cuts, rushed pacing, etc., which very well could reduce the overall quality which of course makes for a less popular product = less sales. :/

      As for this show, I erroneously posted my general comments above in a reply to Takaii. >_> I’d say the anime kind of captured the charm, but in not fully. Honestly, I expected less favorable comments on Ep. 01 so pleasantly surprised that’s not the case. Still, can’t say this is a completely satisfying adaptation. :/ As I wrote above, a good part of that is IMO execution (comedy in particular). Didn’t fully go with the manga’s changes in art style which IMO adds a LOT to the comedy, but that’s just part of it. IMO general comedic execution is off. Watched KonaSuba S1 Ep. 01 after this, and that also had some rapid fire jokes, but they still worked well. That show’s got comedy execution down right.

      You’re right about the cuts being necessary IF (key) they “had” to end Ep. 01 at this point in the manga. Question is – did they? I don’t think so. Could have ended with 3 chapters for Ep. 01 instead of 4. This isn’t like some LN (or manga) where there’s an arc or two you need to fit in X number of episodes. It’s not entirely chapter self-contained, but it’s not an “arc” type story either = multiple places to chose for an ending IMO. Anime staff could chose a slower pace and just not adapt as many chapters.

      Ultimately, it ties into what I wrote in the second paragraph. Sure I’d like a two-cour run, IF they do a good job, but I think this story can work well enough for a single cour. However, whether one or two cours, I’d much rather have less material (chapters) adapted with a BETTER presentation of what is covered than more material/chapters covered with a mediocre adaptation as a result.

      daikama
      Reply

  20. A cute episode and you do raise some reasonable complaints like how some jokes and the like do feel a little rushed/crammed in there, but there’s one personal irk that gets to me. There’s that one scene near the end with Tooru having a nightmare about being slain, and that one scene kind of changes some things because it makes me think she’d be a little more careful with transforming/hiding if that was the case. But there was the scene where she transforms on the sidewalk to transport Kobayashi when she was drunk, and she hasn’t shown much concern about how she casts this huge shadow when flying in the air.

    I’ll excuse the scene with the thieves, because that scene was legitimately funny and to be fair, who’d believe a thieves’ story, right? 😛 But that’s a thing where it doesn’t really clarify whether knowledge of a dragon in modern times is something that’s concerning or not, at least in Tooru’s eyes. It was still pleasant, but there’s this slight hesitant approach I have to wondering what direction they’re taking it and hoping I don’t get a sense of scenes conflicting with each other. Still looking to see what it brings next!

    Fuwa Fuwa
    Reply

  21. is it me or i have found both Kobayashi deciding to keep Tohru and her comforting poor dragon tormented by nightmares of dragonslaying swords as “crowning moments of heartwarming”?

    ewok40k
    Reply

  22. Is it because of Dragons that Kobayashi is progamming in Python? Ya know, Pythons = family of snakes, and snakes have a connections to/are dragons (some cultures describe dragons as being snake-like) in some mythologies?

    Okabe_Rintarou
    Reply

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