English Dub Season Review: So I’m a Spider, So What? Season One

Over the course of all my years watching anime, I’ve seen my share of shows that have fallen into the Isekai subgenre. A subgenre that’s somehow become popular in recent years thanks to shows such as “Sword Art Online”, “Overlord”, “Rising of the Shield Hero” and “Inuyasha” along with its recent spin-off series “Yashahime”. And understandably if an animation studio or company is going to dip their toes into a particular genre like this, of course, they need to differentiate themselves in some way. And this is where a story like “So I’m a Spider” comes in.

One of the ways it sets itself apart is the fact our lead character “Kumoko” (Though her name isn’t actually spoken out loud in most of this show which is why I called her “Spider-Lady”) is an overly enthusiastic schoolgirl who was reincarnated as a white spider creature. And like most predatory animals, must fight for her life in monster-infested caves. Surprisingly after waking up in such a scenario after her mysterious death in her previous life, she takes her new situation rather well as doesn’t wallow in self-pity. Yes, she feels terrified and overwhelmed at first but is also prone to make sarcastic quips at any chance she gets. I think it’s her way to help her psyche cope with what’s happening around her and honestly one of the more unique dynamics about her character. She progressively goes through the most change in terms of character appearance and personality with moments where you are shown how she takes down far stronger opponents by using her ingenuity and meager skills. You can’t help but root for her character because I’m pretty sure I’d be fucking dead in a second if it was me in her place.

While the title itself makes sense in the context of this, it’s a bit misleading because the mind-numbingly boring half of the show is your standard by-the-numbers Isekai plotline consisting of a small group of human high school kids from the same class lead by a Prince named “Shun” who much like Kumoko are also reincarnated within this fantasy setting. But for their subplot, it’s a slow burn that starts off as less interesting as the b-plot characters definitely live on an easy mode. The reincarnated students may look like cookie-cutter stereotype fantasy characters at the first glance, but as the story begins to unravel which is at least in the latter half of the season, the human characters begin to doubt and question the world they live in. The bottom line is, when getting transported into a new world, characters need to learn, adapt, and find their place. That’s exactly what the cast has to do in this show to not just survive but ultimately discover their purpose. And the best part? There are no filler scenes/episodes at all, even scenes that may look boring to some are used to establish worldbuilding and to explain more about the world and societies that live in it.

Upon research, there were some concerns about the production schedule of the series during its original run in Japan. Promotional material surfaced online but it became the subject of controversy with the amount of CGI content. It also didn’t help that studio Millepensee helmed the production which was a studio that specialized in CGI content and was also in charge of the 2016 Berserk Anime that infamously integrated CGI into its animation. At the very least, parts of the animation worked in certain areas with the CGI moments being properly utilized mostly with Kumoko in particular as the CG scenes with her have some fluidity. Compared to the other CG fights, the 2D fights don’t have near as much attention put into them and sometimes boils down to still images that seem to be poorly ordered as well as to how the fights transpired. And next to Batman Ninja, it’s one of the weirdest examples in Anime where CG animation looks better than traditional animation.

The audio has the usual standard fantasy orchestra you hear from other shows with little to make it stand out on its own. The only exception to this is any ost that relates to Ariel as it does help with her menacing and overpowering presence. Also, the Opening and Ending tunes by Riko Azuna called “keep weaving your spider way”, and the wacky end-credits theme song “Do Your Best! Kumoko-san” was performed by Aoi Yūki. were indeed memorable but later change in the middle of the Season. And I have to give high praise to the English Dub as Brianna Knickerbocker who manages to capture the titular Spider-Lady’s manic energy perfectly.

Overall this is quite an enjoyable Isekai when Spider-Lady was the focus. She was obviously the highlight of this story as I enjoyed every scene she was in, as she is forced to fight strategically and there is video game-like mechanics thrown in to give a sophisticated skill tree leveling system which makes each of her victories feel weirdly satisfying. The other side of the story with Shun and his friends was definitely less interesting but still enough to warrant the screen time they were given. Some work can be done on the human side, as well as the way the context and story is handled in some parts. I liked how eventually the two storylines converged and we could see how they affected one another. Hopefully, we can expect a Season 2 in the future with the Animation studio learning from its mistakes with better animation down the line…