Konnichiwa! Welcome to another anime rant! I finally got around to finishing Kumo Desu Ga and wanted to write down some of my thoughts on the second half of the series. Compared to part one, I don’t have as much to say, but I still wanted to follow up. Overall, I liked the first half a little better, but both were entertaining and the ending was good. Now let’s get into some of my specific notes.
Even though I said this was about the second half of the series, it’s actually a bit less than that (episodes 15-24). Anyway my notes begin in episode 16, when “Administrator D” dumps a lot of poignant information on Kumoko, including the reason for the class’ deaths and reincarnations. I was disappointed, but not by the explanation itself. The disappointment was because so much was explained so quickly and in such a boring way. The show could have benefitted from revealing the answers slowly and providing clues along the way. I just need to accept this isn’t really a mystery-type story.
At several points in these episodes, I felt clueless and confused. I didn’t understand the timeline differences for the longest time, and I had trouble keeping up with who or what Ariel is and how she’s connected to Taratects. Episode 17 did clear most of those questions but the order of explanation in this show is strange. Exposition in general is not so good. I also couldn’t keep track of the two religions discussed in episode 17. And the series does a bad job of showing when it’s switching timelines. This kind of issue showed up so often that I’m now unsure if this is poor narrative or if I’m just slow as molasses.
Putting all that aside, let’s get into the stuff I enjoyed or found interesting. You might recall that Fei is my favorite character besides Kumoko. I absolutely love both her new forms, dragon and human. It was cute and exciting to see her interacting with Shun, and I totally ship them. The character of Potimas started to become relevant and interesting in episodes 18-21. His voice is great and he seems mysterious and cool. Episode 21 explained some things about the Elves “saving” the reincarnations, which I found intriguing.
Alright, and now we switch back to complaints and issues. There is one overwhelmingly bad thing about the second half of Kumo Desu Ga: the vastly increased amount of horrible 3D animation. All the CG in episode 21 for the battle completely sucked. It’s really sad that in the 5 years since Berserk 2016, this studio has gotten no better at animating. Everything about that battle looked disgusting. In episode 22, the stuff about Ariel and Kumoko’s souls merging is mildly interesting, but I can hardly pay attention to it when the visuals are so awful. It’s the same with the fight between Hugo and Shun. I really had trouble finishing the last 3 or 4 episodes because I was so distracted by those 3/10 visuals.
There are other minor issues I had with these episodes– such as cringeworthy dialogue– but they are really not worth complaining about at length. Besides the visual dumpster-fire, the other main problem was the continuation of what I complained about earlier. Things are just presented in a very confusing way in this show. Explanations are vague and inadequate. It’s still unclear how it all works with Kumoko reviving her soul with eggs. It doesn’t make much sense to me. And again, even though the ending does clear it up somewhat, the shifting between the two story timelines was confusing.
Despite its problems, though, Kumo Desu Ga wrapped things up into a neat and entertaining final episode. Potimas is a pretty cool villain. I loved the story of Sophia’s guardian and how he protects her even as a vampire. Kumoko’s new form is awesome. The ending scenes where Kumoko joined with Ariel were really good. It was humorous and bizarre to see these “monsters” aspiring to be the heroes who save the planet. I like that a lot. So this anime really still has a lot of good in it. That’s all I’ve got in my notes, but before I wrap up, here is a rough score of the series (both halves).
Breakdown of Kumo Desu Ga Nani Ka
Visuals: 4/10
Audio: 7/10
Story: 6/10
Characters: 7/10
Personal Enjoyment: 8/10
Overall Score: 6.4/10.0
While that isn’t the best overall score, I’m certainly still glad I watched this anime. I recommend it of you like isekai fantasy that’s unusual and features a a cute nonhuman main character. Thanks so much for reading and have a great day!
Anime Rants 
I think the hints are there, but they can be hard to spot. The biggest reveal for the time skip for me was episode 14, where Kumoko meets the baby Sophia while Schlain’s crew is dealing with an older Sophia. Before that, there are several references to the Nightmare of the Labyrinth as a mythical being that has been in the labyrinth for a while, which are heavily suggested to refer to Kumoko, but it’s never confirmed until much later.
Also, I think the confusion for Ariel is intentional, because the idea is to convince the reader that she’s Kumoko’s future form until she’s fully revealed. Religious confusion is understandable because Word of God probably doesn’t make the most sense. I think Yuri explains it the best, but it happens in an earlier conversation in the series, so it’s hard to contextualize. Word of God basically worships the voice that announces level ups and skill unlocks. There’s a reason why they do that, but it doesn’t come until way later.
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