*glances back over Flip Flappers* Yep. I’ve definitely covered weirder. Let’s do this.

Welcome to a Flash Anime-tion First Look. What is that, you ask? Basically I’ll use these to very briefly cover anime that aren’t yet finished, so I’m merely giving my first impressions, based on what I’ve seen thus far. If the anime in question warrants it, then I’ll return to it in full Flash Anime-tion article to cover the entire series, warts and all. Spoilers included. I dunno. Maybe I’ll actually call it Flash Anime-tion Follow-Up. Eh. I’ll build that bridge when I reach the gorge. So! On to today’s subject, Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon, or as it’s known in English, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid.

“Miss Kobayashi is your average office worker who lives a boring life, alone in her small apartment–until she saves the life of a female dragon in distress. The dragon, named Tohru, has the ability to magically transform into an adorable human girl (albeit with horns and a long tail!), who will do anything to pay off her debt of gratitude, whether Miss Kobayashi likes it or not. With a very persistent and amorous dragon as a roommate, nothing comes easy, and Miss Kobayashi’s normal life is about to go off the deep end!” – Crunchyroll.

At the time of my writing this, the series has five episodes out. Despite a premise that may seem very incredibly played out, the series isn’t entirely as one-note as you might expect. There’s complexity to be found in the title character. It’s very much a slice-of-life comedy with little in the way of full narrative (so far), but the series does have continuity. Things happen, and there’s no reset button being pressed, so they aren’t immediately dismissed or made irrelevant. And the callbacks to prior events aren’t always for humor, either. There’s simply just a legitimate flow of events, which is nice to see in a comedy. However, more importantly, there’s actually a sense of pre-existing continuity. Which is to say these characters feel like they existed prior to the writers slapping their names on the script. There’s background to them, and those backgrounds guide their actions. The title character actually has complexity. She has an arc. There’s a development for her, and every episode pushes that development along by not only bringing more aspects of her past to light, but also giving her new situations to learn from, as well as react to in humorous ways. It isn’t the most original thing in the world. It’s a very standard “fish out of water” story, but what sells it is the humor. It isn’t a gut-busting riot, but it is highly entertaining. Now, if you recall last week’s full review of KonoSuba, you’ll probably recall that one of the flaws I noted for that series (aside from the characters all just being exactly what they say on the tin) was an outright lack of drama to offset the comedy, which made the series overall exhausting and leads to a numbness that lessens the impact of the laughs. This series doesn’t have that problem. I wouldn’t go as far as to call anything happening so far full on drama, but I do think there are enough reflective moments, and heartfelt moments that we get a sufficient break from the comedy when needed, and the jokes don’t start numbing us an an audience. Overall I’ve been pleasantly surprised, thus far. I actually believe I will return to this anime in a follow-up once it’s done, because so far it’s proven to be worth the time. I’d recommend checking it out if you can. Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon is currently streaming on Crunchyroll, and simulcast on Wednesdays at 11:30am EST.

Let’s do something new.

Question of the Day: Who is your favorite anime maid (or butler, if you prefer)? Doesn’t have to be from a comedy, like this one. And let’s be real. Rem is going to be someone’s answer. I… would actually have to think on this… hm… well, anyway, have at it, folks!

And with that all said, ladies and gents, thanks for reading.

Keep up the awesome, and take care
Chris V.