Review of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S
** Spoiler Free Review** To me, when reviewing Maid Dragon S it helps to remember what I thought about Season 1 because there are some major differences to be aware of. Depending on what you expect or want out of it, it may affect whether you'll enjoy it or not. I was so excited to watch season 2 of Maid Dragon because I absolutely loved the first. I was all for the comedy, the light-hearted SoL elements, the sketches-- it reminded me of the classic KyoAni anime that are my favorite of all time such as Clannad and Nichijou. Season 1 never delved too deeply into thecharacters and mainly used the characters for hilarious comedic moments that not only made me laugh but make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. I was totally left with an anime hangover after finishing season 1.
I then started Maid Dragon S and from the OP you can already tell this is going to be a different type of anime compared to the first season. Without going into spoilers, this anime goes way more into the characters, and the pacing and animation direction (not the art) is very different compared to S1. I don't believe it's because of the horrible incident that happened in 2019 because most of the staff returned to produce Maid Dragon S (although the positions of the returning leads were shuffled around a bit), I actually think the changes in direction and tone is intentional. It reminds me of ZZ Gundam where the first half of the show is oddly enough mostly comedy, then the second half is more traditional Gundam story-telling pertaining to war, drama, and politics.
I'm not going to lie, it really put me off at first how different S2 was, the feeling and vibe of the show is very different. I loved S1 so much I would have been totally fine with just more Maid Dragon, although you might have felt like S1 was very complete as it was, in the end I loved the changes they made. It really explores the characters more than the first season did, the animation even improved with more sakuga scenes and expressive animation moments. I feel like I laughed more in S1, though S2 made me die laughing in some parts, in S2 I loved the characters more.
Regarding the returning characters: Tohru had more serious topics explored and it's impressive how much she's grown, Kanna had way more development and personality than simply moe bait, Elma who felt like an after thought in S1 became one of my favorite characters and developed her character with her working in the office with Kobayashi as well as other developments to her character, and Lucoa who was just a big titty dragon lady I grew to love her dynamic with Shota-- a weird motherly, teasing, romantic relationship that would be very illegal in the real world, but works so well. Fafnir is still being an Otaku, and Kobayashi is her usual self but grows to be more conscientious about her dragon household. Lastly the new character, Ilulu, seems to be a bit controversial. I was also worried that her presence would steer the show in a direction I didn't like, and her "character design" is ridiculous (her milkers are absurd for her proportions... at least on Lucoa it's somewhat believable) though I don't think she ruined the show like most of the negative reviewers say and I think she actually added to the show. In general you see sides of characters you didn't see before and that's a great thing.
The English dub is also superb. Even some of the voice actors for namely Tohru and Kanna seemed to improve their voices for their returning roles.
Overall, I loved Maid Dragon S just as much, if not more than season 1. Although there are some differences, it's a feel good anime and I will assure you if you liked the first season, or KyoAni in general, you will enjoy Maid Dragon S. If anything more anime should really change things up for following seasons like Maid Dragon did. I just love KyoAni and the Maid Dragon series to me is so reminiscent of their earlier works that I love so much. It was such a great, heart-warming, and refreshing series to watch after a long hiatus from watching anime. I highly recommend!