A FANTASTIC SLICE OF LIFE OF FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE, EVEN MORE HEART-WARMING THAN THE FIRST SEASON
It certainly cannot be said that this year's summer season has reserved for us particular works, or at least not like the 2 previous seasons but if there is an anime that I believe has really risen in this sea of normality, that is Miss. Kobayashi's Dragon Maid, the latest work by Kyoto Animation and the first after the fire that hit the studio some time ago.
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PLOT
Being a slice of life, the plot has no real objective other than to tell the daily life events of Kobayashi, Tohru, Kanna and friends. From the point of view of the basic concept, the anime does not seem to deviate that much from the first season. I actually noticed a much more particular type of storytelling and much more emotionally focused than the previous season, that was more focused on comedy. From this point of view there has been an enormous growth of the work in the use of the characters. In fact, these 12 episodes are sorted perfectly on all the "secondary" characters of the series, from Lucoa (and Shouta) to Fafnir (and Takiya), from Elma (authentic star of this part) to the new characters Ilulu and Take. All this without obviously forgetting the events concerning the protagonists.
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CHARACTERS
So I take advantage of this speech to deepen the question of the characters, who, as already mentioned, have been much better valued. I start immediately with the hot topics, by congratulating on how the relationship between Kobayashi and Tohru has been made even more exciting. There was actually a risk that we could fall into repetition after the first season but I'm very happy that it didn't. Also really positive is the plus that has been given to Kanna and Saikawa, who continue in their mission to bring tons of tenderness to any of their scenes.
Closed the (short) paragraph on the protagonists, the scene this time the secondary characters took it out, while Lucoa and Fafnir were given that extra screentime so that they could be characterized even better, obviously both in relation to their human counterparts, I believe that the real star of this season was the one who has no human counterpart, or at least not one dedicated only to herself. Of course, I'm talking about Elma, Tohru's eternal friend/enemy. Friend/enemy because we had the pleasure of witnessing all the past regarding her and Tohru, what relationship they were in and how that relationship has evolved over time until reaching a situation of hatred in the present. Hatred that actually hides a magnificent friendship between the 2 as episode 9 (the best of the season) was able to tell us with that fight in the episode finale. In addition to the screentime dedicated to her friendship with Tohru, we also have other moments of Elma more focused on herself and her relationship with Kobayashi, which instead tell very well the evolution of her relationship with human beings in general.
In closing, a note of merit should also be made to the new entry Ilulu (and her partner Take) who managed to bring further plot ideas, such as her past (which particularly moved me) and her acclimatization in the human world.
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ART/ANIMATIONS
Praise to Kyoto Animation, absolute king of animations and undisputed lord of special effects. Praise aside, KyoAni's work does nothing but raise an already beautiful work of its own to the nth degree, that with this level of graphics makes the whole story even more exciting and cheerful. Stunning character designs, top-level boards and a fighting quality that is the envy of 99% of battle shonen do nothing but confirm the level that the studio has reached in recent years, despite a terrible fire that has hit the headquarters and which prevented the world from witnessing their other works for a time that seemed infinite.
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MUSIC
Opening and Ending very catchy like those of the first season, if not better. OST always on the piece even without leading to any particular masterpiece.
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CONCLUSION__
In conclusion, I underline how Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid was (at least from my point of view) clearly the best anime of the season and one of the best of the year, with her great ability to be able to excite with this ease in a story that shouldn't be anything but a slice of life and instead always leads to something deeper.
EDIT: Sorry for the mistake about the KyoAni incident, I apologize for the wrong information that I previously provided :(