Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid flips the switch and returns to Kyoto Animation's identity roots. The anime rediscovers the studio's footing, making the series memorable in a modern harem or isekai climate. Unlike many of the studio's newer titles, the series knows its audience's wants. It never compromises its vision in a futile attempt to appease the audience. Aside from not messing with drama and never being centered on explosions even though the cast is a dragon, it's relaxed yet silly at the same time. Therefore, it can even be a little heartwarming when the audience tries to watch it, thanks to the cuteness of the dragon character, especially Tooru's character design and nature.

The synopsis can be moaning and groaning to a specific audience. The helpers plus dragons don't make such a promising arrangement. It also doesn't seem like a combination that requires more than three or more seconds of thought. It may have been, or indeed will be, receiving some series with cute girls being slapped indiscriminately. In essence, modern anime is always cynical about its audience. However, treating Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid as another goofy comedy with moe characters isn't entirely fair. Because there are things that are done very differently. Kobayashi is the title character of the series; the protagonist is passive and a working adult more than the average teenager. Most anime will choose to play teenagers as pseudo-adults. On the other hand, the series instead portrays adult characters with real problems. Kobayashi was so bored with the routine of an office woman that she always chose to drink half to death after a hard day's work.

The sense of kinship between the characters of Kobayashi, Tooru, Kamui is sincere. Kobayashi plays a homemaker. She would snap at her dragon friends whenever they did something unreasonable. In essence, Kobayashi is strict but also caring. She always tries her best to understand their dilemmas and difficulties in getting used to the human world. Even small things like peeling oranges make it clear that she appreciates their presence, even if she is not always clear and candid about such things. The series is a slice of life. Kobayashi becomes a female character and helps keep the series away from unnecessary sexual overtones if only she is a boy. Yes, Tooru's feelings for Kobayashi are hilariously exaggerated as romantic; that's not the true nature of Tooru either. Indeed, her reaction comes more from gratitude and a desire to protect her guardian rather than anything genuinely sexual or romantic.

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid can be hilarious when Tooru visits Kobayashi's workplace and repeatedly trips her grumpy boss or challenges one of the other dragons to a fight in another dimension to seal it off. However, it's not an anime specifically defined by cute as it's meant to be more relaxing, and no doubt thanks to the adorable yet cute presence of Kamui. It could be the running gag between Tooru and her tail no longer needs to be repeated over and over again. The anime is most muscular when it focuses on the main three, making the scenes with the other three dragons and Kobayashi's otaku friend, Takiya, significantly less attractive. Takiya's split personality is so jarring and exaggerated that he is often more annoying than anything else. Quetzalcoatl is also pretty much not a character whose only defining trait is her breasts. She likes scantily clad. More time should be spent developing Kobayashi's cynical worldview and Tooru's new view of human society. It would also be nice for Kamui to have a thing with him other than just being cute.

Kyoto Animation's trademark is generally excellent. However, it certainly stands out in the case of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid. Although many scenes draw special attention to its animation, the cute and funny expressions of the characters make the anime ready for a frame. The bright colors and soft edges are perfect for enhancing the peaceful and relaxed atmosphere that the anime crave. However, due to the gimmick in front of it, the artwork becomes so gloomy and bland all the time. It's always welcome to look back at a more traditional style, something the studio is very passionate about. The series is something extraordinary or groundbreaking that would probably give little credit. However, little doubt returns to the studio form that has lost its trademark over the years. It's also a fun series, nostalgic memories of a slice of life anime, and could, be, once.