It felt like forever. For fans of the chaotic, heartwarming, and occasionally borderline-inappropriate chaos of the Tohru and Kobayashi household, the wait for Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Season 2—officially titled Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S—wasn't just about typical anime production delays. It was heavy. It was loaded with the weight of real-world tragedy. When the series finally returned to screens in July 2021, it wasn't just another seasonal sequel. It was a statement of survival from Kyoto Animation.
Honestly, the show shouldn't have been this good. Usually, when a studio goes through a catastrophic event like the 2019 arson attack, the quality dips. People leave. The "soul" of the animation changes. But S felt like a homecoming. It took everything that worked about the first 2017 run and cranked the production value to a level that honestly puts most shonen battle anime to shame.
Why do we still care about a show where a dragon tries to feed a human her tail? Because it's about finding a place to belong.
The Ilulu Factor: More Than Just a New Roommate
The biggest addition to Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Season 2 was Ilulu. Initially, she seemed like a walking trope—extreme character design, aggressive, and seemingly there just to cause property damage. But the writing team, led by the late Yasuhiro Takemoto (credited as director posthumously) and Tatsuya Ishihara, did something smarter.
Ilulu represents the "what if." She’s what Tohru could have been if she hadn't met Kobayashi. She’s a dragon who was taught that humans are enemies, period. Her arc isn't just about getting a job at a candy shop; it's about the painful process of unlearning hate. Watching her navigate the human world while literally struggling with her own physical biology—like her "flame sacs"—provided a weirdly poignant metaphor for adolescence and displacement.
She didn't just join the cast. She forced Kobayashi to step up as a parental figure even more than she already had with Kanna.
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Kyoto Animation’s Visual Flex
If you look closely at the fight scenes in Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Season 2, specifically the opening bout between Tohru and Ilulu, the choreography is insane. KyoAni didn't have to go that hard. This is a "slice of life" show. Most studios would have used static frames or heavy CGI for dragon fire. Instead, we got hand-drawn fluid motion that felt weighty and dangerous.
The "S" in the title officially stands for "Super Supreme Second Life Starts," but for the animators, it felt like "Still here."
The Nuance of the Ordinary
The show excels in the quiet. Think about the scene where Kobayashi is just sitting at her desk, or the way the light hits the floor in their apartment. These aren't flashy moments. They are intentional. The background art in S uses a warmer color palette than the first season, making the apartment feel like a sanctuary rather than just a setting.
- The detail in the food (that omelet rice looks better than real food).
- The subtle shifts in Kanna's facial expressions when she's trying to act "cool" for her classmates.
- The way Tohru’s tail wagging is timed to her emotional state, not just a looping animation.
It's this level of obsessive detail that makes the world feel lived-in. You aren't just watching a cartoon; you're peering into a world that exists when the camera isn't rolling.
Tackling the Weirdness Head-On
Let's be real. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Season 2 has some "problematic" elements. The show has always walked a fine line with its fanservice, particularly concerning Lucoa and Shota, or the obsessive nature of Tohru’s affection. Some viewers find it alienating.
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However, the second season leans into the "otherness" of the dragons. They aren't humans in suits. They are ancient, powerful, and fundamentally alien beings trying to fit into a society that has strict rules about personal space and modesty. The friction between dragon instincts and human social norms is where the comedy lives, but it's also where the drama stems from. When Tohru gets jealous, it’s not just "anime jealousy"—it’s a dragon’s hoarding instinct applied to a human soul.
It's weird. It's awkward. But it's also honest about how difficult it is to bridge the gap between two completely different cultures.
Comparing Season 1 and Season 2
While Season 1 was about the novelty of the premise, Season 2 is about the stability of the family. In the first season, there was a constant fear that the "Chaos Faction" would show up and take Tohru away. In Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Season 2, that fear is replaced by the reality of daily life.
The stakes aren't world-ending. They are personal.
Will Ilulu find a job? Can Kobayashi handle the physical toll of her grueling office work while raising two dragon-children? Can Fafnir finally win a video game tournament? These are small questions, but they feel massive because we’ve grown to love these characters. The addition of Take, the human boy who works at the candy shop with Ilulu, adds a much-needed perspective: how do normal humans view these "weird" people? His skepticism acts as a grounded anchor for the audience.
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The Secret MVP: The Soundtrack
Masumi Itō’s score for the second season deserves more credit. The music shifts seamlessly from wacky, tuba-heavy comedy tracks to soaring, melancholic orchestral pieces. The opening theme, "Ai no Supreme!" by fhána, is an absolute earworm, but the lyrics are surprisingly deep. They talk about the "chaos" of living together and how "different" doesn't mean "wrong."
It sets the tone for every episode. You know exactly what you’re in for: a mix of high-octane magic and the smell of morning coffee.
What Most People Miss About the Ending
The finale of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S didn't end with a massive dragon battle. It ended with a festival. It ended with a conversation.
Specifically, the interaction between Kobayashi and her own mother (implied through phone calls and memories) sheds light on why Kobayashi is the way she is. She’s a stoic, hardworking woman who didn't know how to express affection until a giant green dragon crashed into her life. The final episodes emphasize that this "found family" isn't a temporary arrangement. It's their life now.
How to Experience the Series Today
If you're revisiting the show or jumping in for the first time, don't skip the "Mini Dragon" shorts. They were released alongside the second season and contain some of the best character beats that didn't fit into the main 24-minute episodes.
- Watch the OVAs: There’s a specific episode involving a "Nippon Exploration" that bridges some of the gaps between the dragons' lore and their current lives.
- Read the Manga: Coolkyousinnjya’s original manga is still ongoing. While the anime cleans up the art significantly, the manga goes much deeper into the lore of the "Other World."
- Check out the Spin-offs: There are several manga spin-offs focusing on Kanna, Elma, and even Fafnir. They vary in tone but help flesh out the side characters who sometimes get sidelined in the main show.
Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Season 2 is a masterclass in how to do a sequel. It expanded the world without losing the intimacy of the original apartment setting. It introduced a complex new antagonist-turned-friend in Ilulu. Most importantly, it proved that Kyoto Animation remains the gold standard for character-driven storytelling in the anime industry.
To get the most out of the series now, start by watching the "Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S" Blu-ray shorts, as they include canon-adjacent scenes that explain Elma and Tohru's ancient rivalry in much better detail than the broadcast version. From there, keep an eye on official KyoAni announcements; while a third season hasn't been confirmed yet, the manga provides more than enough material for a continuation of the "Found Family" saga.