WARNING: The following contains spoilers for So I’m a Spider, So What?, streaming now on Crunchyroll.
So I’m a Spider, So What? has continued to be a breakout series from the winter 2021 anime season. This is mostly thanks to the show’s spider protagonist, who has brought a fun perspective to the isekai genre. As a reincarnated human, she brings wit and determination to her task of adjusting to life as a perceivably weaker monster, at least, compared to her classmates who were reincarnated as humanoid fantasy characters.
However, the series has recently shifted gears to focus more on these classmates, which is proving detrimental to the show. While the spider Kumoko has had a fairly linear path, her classmates’ storyline has proved convoluted and overwhelming. The less time is spent on the spider protagonist who made this series stand out, the worse So I'm a Spider becomes.
The first half of this season focused on Kumoko as she level-grinded through dungeon crawl-esque episodes. She grew stronger by fighting other monsters in an underground cavern, eventually becoming one of the most powerful around. She was soon able to kill large dragons and even defeat her own mother. As a former human who loved video games, Kumoko brings strategy to her new arachnid life, and her unique perspective breaks isekai tradition, presenting a new way to consume fantasy shows.
Unfortunately, Kumoko has slowly started appearing less and less; instead, replaced by her reincarnated classmates, who are more traditional, humanoid fantasy characters. Against the uniqueness of Kumoko, their comparative dullness works. Without this contrast, it falls flat as bog-standard isekai. Their plotline is simultaneously less engaging and more confusing. The world outside of the labyrinth has a vast lore that isn’t always explained clearly, with details being thrown at audiences rather quickly. There are different races, religions and locations, all with important details to remember. And while this information doesn’t need to be spoon-fed, it is also not always laid out in a clear manner.
One of the downfalls of the humanoid plot in So I'm a Spider is the sheer number of characters to keep track of. There are over 20 reincarnations who are introduced at different times, not including the other characters native to the world. Add on both the reincarnations’ original and new names -- and for some, new appearances -- and it’s sometimes difficult to know who’s talking to whom. Certain characters appear consistently in most episodes, while some show up inconsistently, and others who seem important only appear once.
There’s also the matter of the series’ vague timeline. Though the show never states this fact overtly, it seems that Kumoko’s storyline takes place at least a decade prior to her classmates’. There are hints about the time difference: In Episode 10, “Who is this, geezer?” the wizard Ronandt describes meeting the “Nightmare of the Labyrinth” (aka Kumoko) many years prior, suggesting that when Kumoko is on-screen, we are jumping back in time, and when her classmates are on, we are jumping forward.
This timeline becomes even harder to follow in the three latest episodes (21, 22 and 23), in which two separate wars are waging. In Kumoko’s timeline, she accidentally causes a war between the Sariella and Ohts kingdoms, which is going on while she fights Ariel, who later becomes the Demon Lord in the later war between humans and elves. Though her presence in both is another hint at different periods, switching between the massive battles in each raises the question, “Wait, which army is currently on screen?”
The most recent episode, “My old friend, why …?” is particularly disappointing. It features two long duels, first between Shun and Hugo, then Shun and Sophia. In addition to the confusing story that leads to these battles, the animation switches to a mostly CGI style that does not work for this type of combat. For other battles thus far, like when Kumoko fights dragons, it works better -- she moves around more and uses magic, so the change in animation elevates her abilities. For one-on-one fights with a sword, though, it feels like the creators were focusing on the wrong thing, and the CGI becomes more distracting than impressive.
Episode 23 doesn’t even feature Kumoko, who may have been killed at the end of Episode 22, though audiences have yet to learn her fate. Some may wonder whether these more recent issues can be attributed to its source material. So I’m a Spider began as a series of light novels, then a manga, before being adapted again into this current anime. Each has its differences: the manga, for example, does not deal with the aforementioned humanoid characters nearly as much. Original creator Okina Baba is working on the anime, so there is some level of faithfulness to the story. In addition, the anime has been going through production issues, which have delayed the release of Episode 24 indefinitely at the time of writing. This may go some way to explain the dip in quality.
Overall, what it might come down to is what works better on-page versus screen. Hopefully, the next episode will return to the series’ titular spider and worry less about her former peers.