One of the more enjoyable series of the previous anime season was Kumo Desu Ga, Nani ka?, or So I’m a Spider, So What? It’s a fresh take on the standard “reincarnated in an isekai fantasy world” that turns the genre on its head: instead of becoming an über-strong hero or heroine who can overcome any obstacle easily, the main character gets reincarnated as a lowly spider with super-weak magical abilities who can barely survive. Let’s look at five reasons why you should be watching the show!
Story Overview of So I’m a Spider, So What?
We start out following some nondescript high school characters in the middle of class. Suddenly, there’s a strange explosion, and all the students are killed! Through some kind of miracle, the students are reincarnated in a fantasy land, with several of them becoming nobles and heroes…except for one girl, who has the bad luck to get reincarnated as a newly hatched baby spider named Kumoko.
As the story unfolds 80% of the story involves following Kumoko as she overcomes the various challenges in her life, defeating the enemies she encounters and getting stronger after each battle, adding magical skills as she goes.
What Kind of Isekai Series is KumoDesu?
There are several variants in the modern isekai world, which include:
- Stories about people summoned or teleported to another world, where they have the chance to become heroes thanks to their unique abilities.
- “Reverse-isekai” stories about people from other worlds coming to ours.
- “Otherworlds” that are are either simulations inside video games, or built on these kinds of rules. This allows our main characters (who are generally savvy otakus who have played hundreds of RPGs) to get an advantage the characters in that world don’t have because they have a better understanding of RPG game mechanics.
The third model is the one that So I’m a Spider, So What? follows, with Kumoko (as our heroine is known) slowly gaining skills and “leveling up” as she overcomes each new challenge… and feasting on their delicious flesh of her enemies afterward.
Five Things to Love About So I’m a Spider, So What?
The Endless March of Kumoko’s Leveling Up is Fun
I’ll let you in on a secret… I dislike combat-based anime and am secretly salty at the Dragon Ball Z for becoming so popular that it caused many other anime and manga shows to organize themselves around endless combat between rivals in each episode. I tend to avoid these shonen series, preferring the more varied and complex offerings in the shin’ya (late-night) anime genre, which are broadcast at 2 am… and it also helps that my age is many times the intended audience.
However, the encounters in Kumo Desu Ga are all top-notch, and very enjoyable to watch. Each time Kumoko gets into a pinch we’re sure she can’t possibly get out of, she manages to pull off a victory at the last minute. The slow pace of Kumoko’s advance from level 1 to (currently) level 31 is a pleasant aspect of watching the show.
One fun #isekai show that’s continuing this season is #KumoDesuGaNanika #SoImaSpiderSoWhat, about a girl who gets reincarnated as a spider and has to explore her world, leveling-up as she goes. The outstanding performance by #AoiYuuki #悠木碧 makes the entire show. pic.twitter.com/9aryn8bzns
— Peter Payne (@JListPeter) April 15, 2021
The Performance by Aoi Yuuki is Outstanding
Aoi Yuuki, who’s provided the voices of Madoka from Madoka Magica, Yoshiko from Aho Girl, and Tamaki from Fire Force, and she voices Kumoko the adorable spider. She does such a good job, she owns the entire show.
The Music, Production Values…and CGI are All Great
If you read my blog posts, you’ll know I have a love-hate relationship with CGI in anime… or rather, of trying to replace hand-drawn 2D anime characters with fully CGI animated versions when it doesn’t add anything to the story. For every outstanding application of CGI (glorious series like Land of the Lustrous or BEASTARs), there are situations when it brought the work down (poorly animated idol dancing, the CGI bear in Golden Kamuy season 1), or made it positively unwatchable (the quickly-forgotten prequel to Fist of the North Star). Happily, the CGI sequences in So I’m a Spider, So What? have been enjoyable.
KumoDesu is Based on an Amateur Light Novel
I love the idea that any of us can have an idea and become a famous creator, thanks to the power of the Internet. Just like Redo of Healer, Kumo Desu Ga, Nani Ka? started as an amateur novel written by Shōsetsuka ni Narō (Let’s Become a Novelist) written by Okina Baba. The novel got picked up by Fujimi Shobo and published the light novels, which are available in English on BookWalker.
This Adorable Kumoko Nendoroid!
I love the new trend of anime studios commissioning figures while series are still airing, instead of six months after the final episode has aired. The Nendoroid of Kumoko from the series is one of the top-selling anime figures on J-List!
Thanks for reading this blog post about the So I’m a Spider, So What? anime. Got any other shows or topics you’d like us to write about here? Post them below, or share them with us on Twitter!
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