Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved Theatrical Review

So far, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid has been treated to two seasons of anime from beloved Kyoto Animation. And now the cast make the jump to the big screen for A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved, which follows on from the second season and sees our cast get into all kinds of trouble. Is it worth a watch? Let’s take a closer look!

It’s everyday life as normal for Kobayashi and her dragon found family, Tooru, Kanna and Ilulu. Having just gotten off a ‘death march’ at work, Kobayashi is looking forward to enjoying some downtime. However, this peaceful period doesn’t last long, as Kanna’s estranged father, Kimun, arrives seeking his daughter’s help in preparation for an upcoming fight between dragon factions.

Her father wants Kanna to return to the Dragon World and create a Dragon Orb, a powerful weapon that Kanna previously broke during one of her pranks before coming to the human world. Our little dragon doesn’t necessarily want to comply, but her relationship with her father is complicated. She’s always wanted his love and attention, so if this will provide her with that, then she’s willing to go along. Even if that potentially means leaving behind the family she’s made here in the human world.

Kobayashi, meanwhile, is furious. Kanna’s too young to fully understand the implications of what her father is doing. He’s using her for his own ends while outwardly admitting he doesn’t understand what Kanna wants from him and can’t readily provide it for her. And to his credit, he even says this to Kanna, but all the same, because he’s giving her a degree of false hope, Kobayashi can’t see it as anything but disingenuous to treat his own child this way.

And yet, while Kobayashi would do anything for Kanna, she’s forced to take a step back and figure out the best path forward. In many ways, she’s been acting as a surrogate parent to Kanna, but that doesn’t mean she can get in the way of her relationship with Kimun. Instead, maybe she can get Kimun to reach a middle ground and improve their relationship. He’s a dragon after all, and if there’s one thing Kobayashi is good at, it’s making dragons appreciate humankind and their emotions!

This heartwrenching storyline is only one half of what’s happening in this film. The other major plotline is why the Harmony and Chaos dragon factions are gearing up for war in the first place. And that largely comes down to Kimun’s new attendant, the mage Azad. Having gone through a tragedy due to dragons, Azad has been stirring the pot and creating tension between the two, hoping they’ll wipe one another out. Of course, Kimun hasn’t caught on to this yet, so it’s up to Kobayashi’s faction to get to the bottom of all that. It’s hard to talk about Azad too much as a lot of his story is dealt with toward the middle-end of the film, but it ended up being really easy to invest in alongside Kanna’s tale.

This is a surprisingly action-packed film considering Dragon Maid is perhaps better known for its slice-of-life comedy born from dragons living alongside humans. But that ultimately works out for the best since it contrasts well with the emotional weight of Kanna’s story and will help keep younger fans engaged. It also means the rest of the extended dragon cast have a reason to appear, even if they’re not a major part of what’s happening with Kanna. Plus, it has allowed Kyoto Animation to go all out and deliver some absolutely fantastic scenes.

It’s also worth noting that this is not an anime original film, as this storyline is in Volume 8 of the manga, but since I don’t read it myself, I’m not sure how or if the film has expanded on it. That said, because it’s canon, it’s also not particularly friendly for newcomers to slip into, as it doesn’t go out of its way to explain how we got to this point and who everyone is.

Dragon Maid has always been visually impressive and maintains a bright colour palette, but the film is a real step-up just due to the frequency of the more intense scenes and the fact that it remains so consistently high quality the whole way through. You could have forgiven some shortcuts to accomplish what they have, but there are none to be found. This is a team that didn’t compromise to achieve what they set out to depict. And that’s quite the feat in today’s franchise film output.

As well as the animation staff returning, all of our key voice cast are here too. New additions are Fumihiko Tachiki (Kenpachi Zaraki in Bleach) as Kimun, and Nobunaga Shimazaki (Yuki Soma in Fruits Basket, Shin in Sakamoto Days) steps into the role of Azad. Both do an excellent job, but I was particularly taken with Shimazaki’s performance, as he’s not often cast as a villain lately, but he did a tremendous job. Azad harbours many emotions, but when push comes to shove, he is doing evil, and Shimazaki conveys that balance well. Although Dragon Maid is generally dubbed, the movie is only being released with the Japanese audio and English subtitles.

Masumi Ito returns to handle music, and we’ve gotten another soundtrack that works wonderfully for both the emotional beats and those action-packed battles. Fhána even returns to give us a new opening theme, which, hey, I don’t think we could have Dragon Maid without them contributing a song at this point.

Overall, Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved is a fantastic addition to the franchise and well worth seeing if you’ve been following the series so far. This might not be the same slice-of-life style storytelling we’re used to, but it’s built on the same foundation and delivers a multilayered story that proves compelling all the way through. You’ll laugh, cry and find yourself rooting for Kobayashi and her dragon companions.

Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to be Loved is in cinemas March 4 and 5th.

Our screener was provided by Crunchyroll.