Yasuhiro Takemoto’s influence is clearly gone and very missed, but I don’t think anyone could complain about anything other than that. Call me a baby, but after the arson, I had a really hard time returning to Kyoto Animation, and rewatching Takemoto’s work in particular was honestly draining and left me an emotional wreck. From a practical perspective, you could make the argument this show has the greatest opening in anime history, because it does the best job of letting the viewer know exactly what they’re in for. Tatsuya Ishihara is a rightfully beloved director who carried this studio through its nascency, but with him helming the project, it’s hard not to feel a palpable sense of emptiness where Takemoto’s brilliant storyboarding used to be. The opening is still a great time, and it brings back Ishihara’s fun little zoom-in trick from Nichijou, so I don’t want to rain on the parade any more than I already have, but you get the point. No matter how good it is, it’s not the same. This series demonstrates the loss we’re going to have to live with, as well as the talent and passion which will help us do so.
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid was originally authored by Coolkyoushinja, and while I say this with love, Coolkyoushinja is a serious degenerate. Their hyper-fetishized sex comedy is ridiculous, but in its own weird way, it has charm. It’s ironic many viewers found these elements hard to swallow in season one, because they were actually dumbed-down compared to what they were in the manga to make room for more emotionally grounded storytelling. This was Takemoto’s vision for the anime: putting less focus on the gag-comedy and elaborating on the themes which the manga merely scratched the surface of. Yamada Naoko did the same thing with K-On, a series which many are surprised to learn was adapted from a 4-koma manga, because she filled in so many gaps in its plot and characters at her own discretion, the result was genius. Doing this is a double edged sword, though, because it comes at the cost of giving people the wrong impression of the source material, so if the adaptation were to fall into different hands and become more faithful to the manga, the change could be jarring.
This is what happened with Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S. If season one felt like a typical Kyoto Animation show, this season feels like pure, unadulterated Coolkyoushinja. The fanservice is kicked up a notch, and the fetishes which were omitted from season one appear in full force. From futanari to oppai loli, all the hentai tags which were missing from Takemoto’s adaptation have found their way into Ishihara’s, and if it wasn’t for the fact Kyoto Animation doesn’t put nudity in their shows anymore, this would be a 1:1 adaptation of the manga. The comfy found-family moments from season one were what made the show feel so genuine and mature despite its appearances, and much like Yamada’s adaption of K-On, this season made me face the realization these touching moments either weren’t in the manga, or were based on much more standard drama. While none of this is to say this season has no emotional depth, it certainly never again achieved the same show-don’t-tell subtlety or contemplative atmosphere which season one could so naturally shift into and out of.
I know this review has consisted almost entirely of comparisons which, in a certain light, may not seem positive, but I promise I’m being totally neutral. Whether you prefer a more faithful adaptation of Coolkyoushinja or one more in line with Takemoto’s vision is entirely up to you. I just want everyone to known this is a fundamentally different show from season one. And this isn’t just about Takemoto either. Mikiko Watanabe, Yoshiji Kigami, this was never going to be the same without these people, but those they left behind truly cared about doing it justice, and their love shows. For whatever you may think about its new creative direction, the series is still overwhelmingly delightful, the characters are still the most endearing people on the planet, and the animation is still extravagantly beautiful. It is, indeed, still a fantastic show that melts your heart and makes you smile, and it’s clear Kyoto Animation is trying to make a statement. They want the world to see they still have the talent and passion which has always made them who they are, and even after sustaining such devastating losses, they’ll continue being a source of joy for so many and producing by far the most polished, technically impressive anime the industry has to offer.
Thank you for reading.
