Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid...
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid marks a milestone as this is the first time that I've streamed an entire anime series...
Although Kobayashi is female, she has somewhat male characteristics such as a deep voice and a flat chest, which is contrasted to great effect in the series as some of the other cast members such as Tohru are well endowed and in the case of Lucoa (aka Quetzalcoatl) who is exceedingly well endowed. While Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is not as fan-service heavy as other series, there are frequent references to cleavage and a somewhat yuri relationship between Tohru and Kobayashi and Kanna and Saikawa. Also, there is a running gag with Shouta and Lucoa finding themselves in inappropriate situations throughout the series. Although not as over-the-top as Heaven's Lost Property, this series, as tame as it might be, is probably not appropriate for the youngest anime fans among us.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is also notable for being one of only a handful of series that I've seen that features Comiket, the world's largest fair for self-published manga (dōjinshi), during the course of the series -- another series being Genshiken.
In Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, dragons are featured prominently. Tohru is shown in her dragon form throughout the series and there are a few dragon-on-dragon fights, but, most of the action has the dragons in human form. One of the nice things about Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is its willingness to feature full-size dragons doing unusual things like swimming, allowing humans to wash them as if they were washing a car, spraying fire in the air to simulate fireworks and, of course, scaring would-be burglars. Tohru is quite impressive in her full dragon form. Dragons in human form can be distinguished from humans by their slit-eyes and their horns. Dragons can also appear in intermediate forms with just their tails showing and sometimes with their tails and wings showing.
My favorite scenes include Kobayashi's initial meetings with Tohru, both the drunken meeting in the mountains and the fully sober meeting the following morning. Elma's initial meeting with Tohru in which Elma challenges Tohru with embarrassing results. Then there's a subsequent meeting between Elma and Tohru which ends quickly and with shocking ferocity as Tohru reveals her jealous streak. Of course, all of Shouta's dream sequences have to be included in my list of favorite scenes. Naturally, it goes without saying that one should never challenge a dragon to a game of dodge ball. And, don't even think about ruining the laundry when Tohru is having a perfect morning.
While the series has some comedic elements, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is essentially a slice-of-life character study showing Kobayashi's growth as a human being and Tohru's transformation from a dragon who despises and hates humans to a dragon who cares deeply for one human and wishes to cherish her experiences with humanity. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has some suggestive situations that might not be appropriate for the youngest anime fans among us, but, there are no naughty bits and the fan service is fairly benign compared to other fan service heavy series. There are occasional fight scenes, but, aside from a few nose bleeds, there is no bloodshed or gore. Overall, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is a fairly sweet and light situation comedy. While, admittedly not for everyone, I enjoyed the series and would give Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid a 5 out of 5.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is not the only anime that I've streamed, but, it is the first complete anime series that I've streamed from beginning to end. My experience with watching anime online is not quite as nonchalant as playing a DVD. In addition, watching anime on a computer screen leaves something to be desired, but, I thoroughly enjoyed the series enough to tolerate my disdain for streaming anime. Having dragons in the series helped a lot and after all, there is something to be said for somewhat instant gratification. One of my issues, is the relative small size of the screen that I have to view anime online and consequently the size of the subtitles, since I prefer to read my anime. Another concern is the lack of physical media -- I like being able to hold something in my hands and display it on a shelf.
There are dragons and cute girls -- what more do I need to say, but, of course I had to see Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. The series revolves around Kobayashi, a programmer, who, while on a drunken foray into the mountains, encounters a dragon, Tohru, and promptly invites the aforementioned dragon to live in her home as her maid. Imagine Kobayashi's surprise the next day, when, after the fog of alcohol has worn off, there's a dragon standing four stories tall at her apartment door -- Kobayashi actually handles the situation with remarkable calm. Obviously, dragons are an important part of the series, and the large scaly, fire-breathing denizens of legend are well represented, so, I couldn't NOT watch the series.What happens when a drunken promise leads to living with a dragon? That's Miss Kobayashi's new reality when Tohru, her new maid-slash-dragon appears in her life! And if one wasn't enough, in comes Kanna, a little dragon with a big attitude. Soon, Kobayashi has a house full of adorable dragons - one serving tail and the other serving serious moe.
Where did my peaceful, daily life run off to?
Although Kobayashi is female, she has somewhat male characteristics such as a deep voice and a flat chest, which is contrasted to great effect in the series as some of the other cast members such as Tohru are well endowed and in the case of Lucoa (aka Quetzalcoatl) who is exceedingly well endowed. While Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is not as fan-service heavy as other series, there are frequent references to cleavage and a somewhat yuri relationship between Tohru and Kobayashi and Kanna and Saikawa. Also, there is a running gag with Shouta and Lucoa finding themselves in inappropriate situations throughout the series. Although not as over-the-top as Heaven's Lost Property, this series, as tame as it might be, is probably not appropriate for the youngest anime fans among us.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is also notable for being one of only a handful of series that I've seen that features Comiket, the world's largest fair for self-published manga (dōjinshi), during the course of the series -- another series being Genshiken.
In Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, dragons are featured prominently. Tohru is shown in her dragon form throughout the series and there are a few dragon-on-dragon fights, but, most of the action has the dragons in human form. One of the nice things about Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is its willingness to feature full-size dragons doing unusual things like swimming, allowing humans to wash them as if they were washing a car, spraying fire in the air to simulate fireworks and, of course, scaring would-be burglars. Tohru is quite impressive in her full dragon form. Dragons in human form can be distinguished from humans by their slit-eyes and their horns. Dragons can also appear in intermediate forms with just their tails showing and sometimes with their tails and wings showing.
My favorite scenes include Kobayashi's initial meetings with Tohru, both the drunken meeting in the mountains and the fully sober meeting the following morning. Elma's initial meeting with Tohru in which Elma challenges Tohru with embarrassing results. Then there's a subsequent meeting between Elma and Tohru which ends quickly and with shocking ferocity as Tohru reveals her jealous streak. Of course, all of Shouta's dream sequences have to be included in my list of favorite scenes. Naturally, it goes without saying that one should never challenge a dragon to a game of dodge ball. And, don't even think about ruining the laundry when Tohru is having a perfect morning.
While the series has some comedic elements, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is essentially a slice-of-life character study showing Kobayashi's growth as a human being and Tohru's transformation from a dragon who despises and hates humans to a dragon who cares deeply for one human and wishes to cherish her experiences with humanity. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has some suggestive situations that might not be appropriate for the youngest anime fans among us, but, there are no naughty bits and the fan service is fairly benign compared to other fan service heavy series. There are occasional fight scenes, but, aside from a few nose bleeds, there is no bloodshed or gore. Overall, Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is a fairly sweet and light situation comedy. While, admittedly not for everyone, I enjoyed the series and would give Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid a 5 out of 5.Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid is not the only anime that I've streamed, but, it is the first complete anime series that I've streamed from beginning to end. My experience with watching anime online is not quite as nonchalant as playing a DVD. In addition, watching anime on a computer screen leaves something to be desired, but, I thoroughly enjoyed the series enough to tolerate my disdain for streaming anime. Having dragons in the series helped a lot and after all, there is something to be said for somewhat instant gratification. One of my issues, is the relative small size of the screen that I have to view anime online and consequently the size of the subtitles, since I prefer to read my anime. Another concern is the lack of physical media -- I like being able to hold something in my hands and display it on a shelf.
