Elma and Tohru tell the story of how their relationship began. Ilulu finds a job at a candy store.
Episode 5 – “Together with You (Well, If We Get Along)”
Hmm.
Dragon Maid takes the Japanese convention of people getting along so well that they fight into the dragon realm this week. Tohru liked Elma’s style of being a Harmony Faction dragon because she actively did things for people. That aligned with the Chaos Faction attitude but tweaked it for peace instead of catastrophe. Tohru and Elma traveled together for decades before having a monster fight over a difference in opinion.
According to anime logic, Japanese culture has rigid rules of etiquette and politeness. But the more familiar people become, the less polite they can be with each other. The opposite of being polite is invading personal space, and the ultimate invasion of personal space is physical fighting. In Dragon Maid, Elma and Tohru became so familiar with each other they shared a flaming dragon breathing kiss! But they’ll deny they get along well.
I liked how the dragon girls talked differently in the flashback too. Their voices were more reserved, serious, and slower. There was none of the high-pitched and rapid-fire cadence the dragon girls have in modern times to match Dragon Maid’s humor and gag reactions.
That change in speaking method matched how Tohru told Ilulu to think in terms of human time instead of dragon time. Ilulu wanted to take a century to figure out how she wanted to live in Kobayashi’s world. That’s too long. Ilulu then got a new job within a day. That seems right.
Ilulu’s new job was perfect for healing her lost childhood. She can’t play with other children forever because they grow up but working at a candy store solves that issue. New children keep coming in through the years. She can’t play while working, but she can watch over the children as they play. Dragon Maid gave me the nostalgic air of healing anime as Ilulu got along with the children who came to visit with her.
Heh.
Tohru and Elma are fighting. What else is new for Dragon Maid? Elma isn’t wearing glasses with her business suit. We came in in the middle of this argument. The issue is whether fried tofu fritters are delicious or not. Isn’t everything delicious to Elma? Oh? Tohru and Elma claim they didn’t always fight, especially when they first met. Ooh. Flashback episode. Did Tohru meet Elma in a desert kingdom? Those towers look like minarets in the Islamic tradition. These people do not impress Tohru.
The Priestess of the Holy Seas sounds like a Leviathan in disguise. Ha! It’s Elma! Dragons making eye contact leads to a late-night visit. Tohru needs to know what Elma’s deal is. Ho. Elma recognized Tohru too. Shouldn’t the daughter of the Dragon Emperor of Demise be destroying human cities? Instead of walking through them? Dragon Maid packs much world-building into this small conversation. Elma isn’t like the other Harmony Faction dragons. She does things to stop humans from clashing and doesn’t receive human sacrifices. They’re not delicious. Elma believes humans can make tasty food and wants to eat what they create. She hasn’t changed at all.
Har. Lucoa mentioned the weird dragon to Tohru. These dragon girls go way back. Asking for food to stop fights sounds like a whimsical thing a Chaos Dragon would do. So started this oddball friendship. The map of the dragon world looks like Pangea broke up, with the Indian subcontinent still separate from Eurasia.
The ancient Elma preached nonaggression. Modern Elma feels embarrassed, like an adult realizing she went through an adolescent phase. Tohru objected to Elma being personally responsible for keeping the peace between humans. That’s just tyranny after a while. It is a heavier argument than what happens in present-day Dragon Maid. Elma would need to pose as a god for eternity. That’s not the way to convince humanity to seek peace by themselves. Elma couldn’t help herself. The people brought delicious food! After realizing they would never agree on things, they fought like dragons! Elma vs. Tohru SP, when? Fiery kiss!
Terrible. Kobayashi claims that Tohru and Elma got along so well together, they could fight. That’s so culturally Japanese. Of course, Elma and Tohru disagree, which is confirmation in anime logic. Elma still wants to taste human food, and Tohru wants to taste human culture. And the two dragons butt heads again! Those two are still close after all these years. Kobayashi wants a friend like that.
It’s time for Ilulu to get a job. We have the Dragon Maid version of the “get a job” speech. Tohru won’t let Ilulu take a century to figure out her future. She needs to operate on a human time scale, not a dragon’s time scale. Helping Tohru and working at Kobayashi’s office is right out. Ilulu starts with walking through the shopping district. The people there like Tohru. Ilulu earned rare praise for properly making hands. Ilulu remarks that fighting her chaos dragon instincts is difficult. Oh. Oh! Ilulu can play with children. But how do you make that a job? Working at the candy store! This is where Kanna and Riko spend time too. That’s perfect for Ilulu. This healing anime moment makes me emotional.
Aw. Ilulu experiences a human rite of passage. Feeling nervous before the first day at work. Neat. Dragon Maid uses the same device as episode three of interspersing scenes of the first half’s story into the second half. Tohru always cared for Elma, but she just can’t admit it openly. Those two haven’t changed since then. It’s a foreshadowing device for the rest of the episode. Who will become Ilulu’s reluctant friend?
There’s the grandson who didn’t want to work at the candy store. Taketo will find two big reasons to spend his afternoons there after school. I’m sure of it. Adult-size shirt for an adult-sized chest! Ilulu claims she’s sixteen years old. Same as Tohru!
Oh, right. Shame. Ilulu needs to remember humans care about that stuff. Naughty boy. Oops. The arrow of shame goes the other way, Ilulu. She learns quickly. Good girl. Taketo is a decent lad. He wants to live where Ilulu came from if the culture there goes for public undressing.
Ah. The adult-sized shirt isn’t adult enough for Ilulu. Keep that apron on! Dragon Maid unleashes the jokes about big boobies now. Ha! Ilulu just comes out and says they’re her flame sacs! Taketo came in for a soft landing. Oh, right. Naughty boy. She and Taketo are already friends. Nice.
Back to Elma and Tohru. Wishing on stars. Elma wishes for Tohru to have her share of delicious food too. They haven’t changed since then.
Next time on Dragon Maid, we get big booby jokes about Lucoa! Ilulu takes her turn in the end card for Capricorn. Her fortune says she’ll get tired from heavy breasts. Rest them on your desk!
Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid S (Kobayashi-san Chi no Maid Dragon S) streams on Crunchyroll and VRV.
