Warning: This book review contains some spoilers for “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Volume 1” by coolkyousinnjya! If you’re trying to avoid spoilers, hit that back button now!
I’m back with another book review, and this time I’m reviewing “Miss Kobayashi’s Dragon Maid, Volume 1” by coolkyousinnjya! (Yes, this is the creator’s actual name givenon the cover. I did not make it up.) I’ve read a lot of interesting manga, from an apartment being a dungeon rest stop to the devil working at a fictional version of McDonald’s, but a dragon being an everyday officeworker’s maid is a whole other thing that I was also interested in reading. I’ve heard some good things about this series, so I’m glad that I can finally pick up the first volume to read. Here is a summary so we know what it’s about:
“Miss Kobayashi is your average office worker who lives alone in her small apartment―until a young and adorable dragon girl named Tooru appears before her. Upon saving Tooru’s life, the fiesty dragon will do anything to pay off her debt of gratitude, including insisting that she move in with Miss Kobayashi and serve her in any way she does or doesn’t desire.
Now Miss Kobayashi finds herself with a new, imposing roommate, who is doing her best to help out around the home. But when you’re a dragon, nothing is ever simple. Kobayashi’s normal life just went off the deep end.”
Plot Development: 4 out of 5 stars
This is the first volume of the series, and the plot is as follows: Kobayashi helps Tooru, and Tooru ends stays with and helps out as her maid/gatekeeper in return. Tooru may be attracted to Kobayashi romantically, but Kobayashi either doesn’t share the same sentiment or is completely oblivious to Tooru’s affections. Chaos ensues as Tooru learns more about the normal human world, as she came from another realm completely. For even more chaos, other dragons start popping in as well.
I really liked that there was already a flashback in the second chapter/section of the manga to show how Kobayashi and Tooru met. It helps set the foundation of their odd friendship and how they function as housemates. I also enjoyed seeing how Tooru got increasingly involved in the human world during her outings from the house, too. The plot points of the other dragons arriving in the world where Kobayashi lives makes me curious about whether we’ll see even more dragons, in later volumes.
Worldbuilding Development: 4 out of 5 stars
I really enjoyed reading the established worldbuilding, so far. I’m curious about the dragons, their world, and how they normally interact with humans, compared to how they interact in the normal world with Kobayashi. Their reactions to learning more about the world around them, such as cars being so new to the dragons, were also enjoyable to read. I hope to learn more about them in future volumes.
Character Development: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Tooru and Kobayashi stole the spotlight from beginning to end. Even with the inclusion of other dragon characters in the latter half of this volume, it never took away from the main two characters in the spotlight. I really enjoyed reading their interactions with each other, and how their friendship will develop in later volumes.
As for the side-dragon characters, I also enjoyed reading them. However, I also am curious to see how them hanging around Kobayashi and Tooru works out, as the series continues. I wish I could say more, but given that this is an introductory volume, I didn’t get to know them too well.
Overall, I’m rating this manga 4 out of 5 stars!
If you’re looking for cute dragons learning about the human world and the chaos that comes with it, this is definitely the manga you want to pick up!
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I’ve wanted to read this manga for a while, but now I really want to! Definitely going to have to pick it up soon!