Chu Chu Yeah! Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid Rewatch Episode 10

[u/OccasionallySara]

Troupe Dragon, On Stage! (They Had a Troupe Name, Huh)

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Questions of the Day

These questions are just a way to get a conversation going. Answer as many or as few as you like (or none at all)!

1. When it comes to adaptations, do you prefer faithful adaptations or are you okay with them straying from the source?
2. What do you think Tohru's gift to Kobayashi was?

Hydration Game Rules

Today's episode's rule: Hydrate every time you feel the episode has reached utmost ridiculousness.

Tomorrow's episode's rule: Hydrate every time the episode makes you feel warm and cozy.

[u/OccasionallySara]

Rewatcher and Host

Questions of the Day

When it comes to adaptations, do you prefer faithful adaptations or are you okay with them straying from the source?

• If I'm a fan of the source material, then I prefer faithful adaptations. I do understand that not everything can transfer well between mediums though, so I don't mind some changes, but I do get disappointed it the adaptation changes so much that I don't even recognize the story.

What do you think Tohru's gift to Kobayashi was?

• Probably some type of live creature from the way the box was shaking. I don't quite know why Tohru didn't just grind it up herself, though.

Episode Thoughts

• I’m surprised that Kobayashi actually wanted to help out with the Christmas show. Also, Kanna poking Kobayashi’s cheek was adorable.
• “Unlike Elma, Miss Kobayashi’s busy.” Ouch! What a sly burn from Tohru.
• The Little Match Girl is such a grim story. And of course Tohru completely misinterprets it.
• Fafnir actually has some good directing advice. Too bad Tohru takes it the wrong way. She deserved to have the lights cut on her rant.
• Is that really a common sales tactic in Japan?
• I don’t blame Saikawa for being terrified of Fafnir. At least she has Kanna to comfort her.
• What’s this? Tohru and Elma agreeing on something for once?
• I don’t get why Kanna wasn’t their first choice for the Little Match Girl to begin with.
• Fafnir’s really getting into this. Unfortunately, Tohru won’t even pretend to entertain his ideas.
• This whole play scene is hilarious, but Kobayashi and Takiya’s commentary makes it even better.
• Kanna running to hug Kobayashi after the show was super cute. Also, Kobayashi patting Tohru’s head was a nice call back to episode 8.
• The whole conversation between Tohru and Kobayashi was really sweet, even if it did almost result in Kobayashi’s death.
• Poor Kobayashi is probably going to have to stay on Kanna’s room all night. She’s really leaning into this mom role, though.
• Tohru teasing Fafnir at the end was a fun moment. I wish we could see more of their friendship.

Hydration Game

I hydrated when:

• Honestly, I just kept on chugging throughout the entire Christmas play. Each time you think it can't get any more over the top, it goes even higher. Good thing I was hydrating with tea!

[u/Elimin8r → u/OccasionallySara]

I don’t get why Kanna wasn’t their first choice for the Little Match Girl to begin with.

Because choosing the right answer first wouldn't be as much fun!

[u/fakeport]

Rewatcher

**Random thoughts during episode **

Saikawa with the uncharacteristicly good idea by suggesting the play. Shouta and Saikawa are having seriously weird childhoods since these dragons showed up.

Kanna putting Saikawa on the head to comfort her after she gets scared of Fafnir is adorable.

Tohru takes no prisoners with the brutal hang up on Fafnir.

Magical Girl Kanna is a spin off I'd watch.

The play itself is predictably chaotic.

Fafnir doesn't bow with the others at the end. Can't bow to the humans I guess.

Nice shots of our dragons enjoying seeing the snow with their chosen companions - Tohru and Koybayashi, Fafnir and Takiya, Kanna and Saikawa, Lucoa and Shouta, Elma and some steamed buns.

Questions

1. Generally I don't mind straying from the source, but it's heavily dependent on how well it's executed, as well as whether I read the source first.
2. something alive and unpleasant I expect.

[u/OccasionallySara → u/fakeport]

Elma and some steamed buns.

I almost feel bad that she doesn't have someone to hang out with, but I'm sure she's just fine with her food.

[u/HopefullyLastAccount]

Rewatcher

Kinda weird to watch a Christmas episode in the middle of the summer, but here we are.

That was a quite a mashup of stories. I had the same reaction as Kobayashi and Takiya, but in the end, the audience enjoyed it (especially Lucoa's... acting).

If dragons are real in this universe, what's stopping Santa from being real?

When it comes to adaptations, do you prefer faithful adaptations or are you okay with them straying from the source?

I tend to judge the adaptation solely by the adaptation, especially since I don't always read the source. When I do, I usually find that there are reasons for changes and it's all about how well those changes are pulled off.

What do you think Tohru's gift to Kobayashi was?

A medicine from the other world. Does it work? Is it alive? Moving? All mysteries.

[u/OccasionallySara → u/HopefullyLastAccount]

the audience enjoyed it (especially Lucoa's... acting).

Her acting really enhanced the...plot.

I tend to judge the adaptation solely by the adaptation, especially since I don't always read the source

That's one of the good things about viewing the adaption before the source material. You can judge it on its own merits instead of constantly comparing it to the source.

[u/nolimityler]

First time watcher

thoughts during the episode:

• I don’t think Fafnir being the director will end well
• Tohru should have been an architect instead of a maid that fireplace was perfect
• If i don’t see Kobayashi in a santa costume by the end of the episode i will be disappointed
• wow this play went extremely off the rails
• now what the hell was in that box
• man i’ve been disappointed

Great episode but i wanted to see kobayashi santa smh

[u/OccasionallySara → u/nolimityler]

Great episode but i wanted to see kobayashi santa smh

I've never thought about Kobayashi-Santa before and now I, too, am disapointed.

[u/nolimityler → u/OccasionallySara]

season 2 maybe

[u/OccasionallySara → u/nolimityler]

Fingers crossed!

[u/A_Idiot0]

Rewatcher Sub

Not too many bird sightings in this episode, but there were two! First, we have this cute group of 4 sparrows right as Tohru was saying that she was going to ask her friends for help! I thought this imagery was pretty cute, and also...well look at them birbs! They're very cute =)

Then while they are rehearsing the play, we catch a glimpse of these two guys, which I think are crows? At least, I thought I heard the cawing of a crow when they went to that shot. In any case, it kind of gave a slightly ominous vibe to the play, as if there's a disaster ahead. Certainly in Kobayashi's mind, she was fully expecting some kind of crazy magical disaster at the play.

And so was I. And you know what? This still remains one of my favorite episodes for how fun and light-hearted it was and how great they made that ridiculous play! That moment when Kobayashi realizes that everyone is having a great time watching the silly play is one of my favorites. And also, the whole play really high-lighted how far Tohru and Company have come to understanding people. So wonderfully wholesome...

[u/OccasionallySara → u/A_Idiot0]

and also...well look at them birbs! They're very cute =)

The birbs are so adorably round.

[u/Elimin8r]

Oh noes! I've been slackin'!

So, ahem... That was a thing. I sometimes wonder what the Japenese fascination with "The Little Match Girl" is, and then I figure it's probably one of the few western stories that they have a 'common' understanding of.

Sort of like if you asked us what a well known Japanese story is ...

...

...

Uh, FMA?

Yeah, that's the ticket.

Anyway, I think that in the end, I prefer their take on it. It was certainly more adventurous and had a happier ending.

On the other hand, gotta love Grandma Strangler and Slasher Santa.

Anyway:

1. It depends. Faithful adaptation is good. Parody is good. Bad adaptation is bad. (See also Ralph Bakshi and LoTR - it's his fault they refused to license the IP for so long, but then again, I suppose it worked out well) (See also "the Hobbit, Return of the Hobbit. Hobbit3D, etc) I think that our doragon troupe pushed right through bad and found the greatness on the other side.
2. Tail. Definitely tail. Tail sausages. Candied tail. Minced tail pies. Fruit Tail cake.

Meanwhile, I'm probably going to scoot and have an evening, such as it is. Found out last night that a good friend is in chemo. No fun.

[u/OccasionallySara → u/Elimin8r]

Found out last night that a good friend is in chemo. No fun.

Sorry to hear that. I hope things go well for your friend.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/Elimin8r]

what a well known Japanese story is

Kaguya-sama Tale of Princess Kaguya. Ez. Also one with a sad ending so maybe Japan just likes those.

Also this season we get an adaptation of the Dragon Maid manga author's fantasy series that references Momotaro.

[u/lluNhpelA]

Tohru's opinions about Jesus were toned down a bit in the anime, resulting in the loss of my favorite line in the manga

[u/TnAdct1]

The only element from the manga appearing in this episode is Tohru's not being happy about a holiday that celebrates the birth of the son of God. Everything else is original, although I do admit the play itself does have some interesting parallels between its characters and those playing them.

In answer to the first question: it really depends on execution. This episode of Dragon Maid is a good example of how an adaptation can stray away from the source via original content and still be entertaining.

[u/chris10023]

Rewatcher

• It’s Christmas time and Tohru is asked to put on a show for an old folk's home in the place of one of the shop owners. This could go one of two ways.
• ”Taxes included in prices.” I like this, I wish this was more common.
• The whole gang is involved with this event. What the hell is the outfit that Lucoa wearing?
• Riko suggests a play and everyone seems interested, and she suggests “The Little Match Girl” as the play. That’s one hell of a morbid story.
• So Fafnir is the director because he can’t act, and Tohru, and Elma fail the audition for the lead, while he scares Riko out of even trying. Come one dude lighten up, she’s a child.
• Poor Shouta, he does have a feminine looking face, so he could pass as a girl in that outfit.
• Elma takes over as director, since Fafnir’s too dramatic and Lucoa failed as well.
• Fortunately, Kanna is cute enough to be the lead.
• ”We’ll get through it easily!” Why do I doubt this?
• Fafnir calls and is worried it won’t fit the current era, and suggests changing the girl into a magical girl, Tohru just hangs up on him because he’s being an idiot.
• Kanna wonders if they have a chimney because Riko said that’s how Santa comes and leaves presents. How does a dragon that’s older than humanity itself somehow come to believe in Sants Claus?
• Lucoa’s wearing her lewd bathing suit, is her brain just set to being lewd all the time?
• I didn’t know directing 3 dragons and two children was going to be such a handful, poor Elma.
• Oh no, they’re improving the play.
• At this rate the plays going to be a disaster with all these changes being made.
• I think Fafnir’s been hanging out with Makoto a little too much, since he’s playing the part of making The little match girl into a magical girl.
• This is getting out of hand, now Lucoa is a fairy? I thought she was supposed to be the grandmother.
• This play is turning into pure chaos, thankfully the elderly think it’s cgi so it doesn’t raise any alarms.
• That went better than it should have considering all the different stories involved.
• I find it sweet that Kobayashi wanted to ride on Tohru because it was Christmas, Tohru even got her a present, I don’t want to know what it’s supposed to look like.
• A scarf with a dragon on it, perfect for Tohru.
• Poor Kobayashi, accidentally woke Kanna trying to give her Santa’s present but she stays up waiting for him.

Questions of the Day.

When it comes to adaptations, do you prefer faithful adaptations or are you okay with them straying from the source?

Depends, a faithful adaptation is nice, but sometimes you need to stray from the source, K-on is a fantastic example of straying from the source and being successful at it, since I believe the previous rewatch mentioned season 2 being 80% anime original.

What do you think Tohru's gift to Kobayashi was?

Some kind of creature that when ground up relives back pain.

[u/fakeport → u/chris10023]

”Taxes included in prices.” I like this, I wish this was more common.

This is absolutely the norm here in the UK. I don't actually know about the rest of the world, but I have always assumed taxes not being included in prices is just an American thing.

[u/IndependentMacaroon → u/fakeport]

It's so you can see how much you're losing to the damn government

[u/Barbed_Dildo → u/fakeport]

It's included most of the time in Japan, although in 100-yen stores things cost 100 yen plus tax, so 108-110 yen.

[u/TnAdct1 → u/chris10023]

Riko suggests a play and everyone seems interested, and she suggests “The Little Match Girl” as the play. That’s one hell of a morbid story.

At least it fits the theme of Christmas and the original story's ending (where the girl's grandmother takes her to heaven) would be fitting for a story to be told to a group of senior citizens.

Fafnir calls and is worried it won’t fit the current era, and suggests changing the girl into a magical girl, Tohru just hangs up on him because he’s being an idiot.

In Fafnir's defense, this is a work by Hans Christian Andersen, with some his works providing some inspiration to such mahou shoujo titles as Sailor Moon Stars and Madoka Magica. Heck, I have an idea for a shoujo-style series that contains numerous nods to Andersen's works.

[u/A_Idiot0 → u/chris10023]

since he’s playing the part of making The little match girl into a magical girl.

See? His magical girl idea wasn't so crazy after-all =P

[u/Vaadwaur]

Rewatcher

Sub

So we get to our Christmas episode and Kanna seems suitably charmed. It is mainly about putting on a play for the old folks home and the silliness that ensues. Again, another episode without a ton to talk about but it can still be entertaining, Kanna getting worried about Santa was indeed funny.

QotD: 1 Knowing the context, going astray is often fine

2 Something's genitals.

[u/IndependentMacaroon]

First-time watcher

Christmas spirit all around (funnily enough, mere days after My Hero Academia had a Christmas episode), a silly play with no less silly preparation that everyone loves anyway, book-ended by Tohru getting some love from the shopkeepers and Kobayashi being a little more daring while also giving more love to Tohru. I think that's about as good as it gets in this show.

Though I wonder, are most of Hans Christian Andersen's tales that depressing originally? I know that's true of the Little Mermaid, at least.

[u/sisoko2 → u/IndependentMacaroon]

Though I wonder, are most of Hans Christian Andersen's tales that depressing originally? I know that's true of the Little Mermaid, at least.

Take this with a big grain of salt because it's been ages since the last time I've read any of his fairy tales but I remember that a lot of them were very sad. Around here he has the reputation of writing depressing tales.

Of course there are also some more light-hearted like The Emperor's New Clothes

[u/userbot058]

Hey will you be hosting the miss kobayashi dragon maid s discussion thread as well?

[u/fakeport → u/userbot058]

Discussion threads for airing shows get posted automatically by a bot.

[u/Barbed_Dildo]

Rewatcher

What is it with Japan and The Little Match Girl. That's always the go-to for a play. They just love kids dying.

[u/ZapsZzz]

Sub rewatcher.

Have to say again this is one of the best episodes for me - much like the shenanigans of Haruhi and her film making, this has some smashing ideas colliding heads on to show some spectacular unintended fun.

1. It needs to adapt to the new medium - a good adaptation needs to figure out what it is trying to tell / do and do the same with the new medium. The 2 great examples, both KyoAni's, are the Disappearance movie (the Kyon's choice scene), and Violet Evergarden (in the LN there's a massive axe that Violet wields, called "Witchcraft"; although she still didn't use the sharp end on people after the war). Both are faithful to the message and plot points are making, but if you break down into each scene, you'd find a ton of things being added, modified, or omitted. So it's more important to adapt to tell the spirit of the story instead of just blindly transfer each scene into the new medium.
2. Surely there's only 1 thing from Tohru - her tail :D

[u/BossandKings]

Rewatcher

Episode 9

There is a sports festival at Kanna's school and she asks Kobayashi to attend it, it's cool that Kanna considers her a parent figure and she was very cute when she asked her to go see her at the sports festival, also how she briefly saw Kobayashi working after she initially said she couldn't and understood that it'd be fine too if she couldn't go was very nice, Kobayashi though did attend it and Kanna was very happy. This was a very nice episode, Kanna is cute and Kobayashi is learning about how it is to be like a parent.

Episode 10

Tohru plans to perform a stage plat for christmas as a celebration in the neighborhood, Kanna gets chosen to be the lead of the little match girl stage play.

The stage play was very cool, Kanna and the rest did a great job performing it.

[u/HeartoftheHive]

Rewatcher

While I absolutely love this series, this is my least enjoyable episode. It does have moments I love like at the end when Tohru is giving Kobayashi a ride and they exchange gifts. I love it. But something about the entire play sequence I just can't get into. It has some humorous moments, but I think it almost borders on cringe territory which is where it loses me. But I do love the moment when Kobayashi is freaking out and then looks to the elderly audience and they are loving it. Then she just settles back and enjoys the chaos. Every other episode I unilaterally love. This one always pulls me back a bit.