REVIEW: ‘So I’m a Spider So What?’ Episode 3 – “Earth Wyrm (Dragon), Bad News?”

Much like grinding in actual video games, our heroine’s task of leveling up in So I’m a Spider So What Episode 3 can be a bit of a slog. The anime from Millepensee is part of the Crunchyroll Originals lineup. It is adapted from the light novel series of the same name by Okina Baba, published in English by Yen Press. The series follows a heroine who was reincarnated into an RPG-style fantasy world along with her classmates. Some are dragons, others are princes…she got reincarnated as a baby spider, but is determined to make the best of it.

After evolving into a higher-ranking species, the protagonist needs to expand her skillset and experience points. She quickly discovers that even eating an entire snake isn’t enough to fill her stamina bar. The beginning of the episode becomes a trial and error as she comically adjusts to leveling-up. It is entertaining but doesn’t have a lot of substance. After watching similar antics the last two weeks, there is a desire for more forward momentum in the protagonist’s storyline. While the story is mimicking an RPG video game, it didn’t need to include the less savory bits (aka farming for skill points).

The meat of So I’m a Spider So What Episode 3 is following the other classmates who have been reincarnated. Predominantly the focus is on Shun. A magic class excursion to practice spells is pretty straightforward, and we get to learn a bit more about the personalities of his classmates. It has yet to be explained how Shun has such natural magical aptitude, if he was reincarnated into a teenage prince did he subsume the magical knowledge of this new world? The same goes for the other characters too. Even Fei as a baby earth dragon can use magic.  A red flag to be aware of is Shun’s younger sister in this new world, as she is uncomfortably attached to him.

As for the other classmates: Hugo is the absolute WORST. Shaping up to be an antagonist of the series, as of right now he is pretty one dimensional. Shun comments that he hasn’t changed much from the previous world, and his arrogance is obnoxious. The majority of the reincarnated classmates feel one-dimensional right now. They seem to fit into a certain archetype commonly seen in the RPG isekai genre. Fei is by far the most interesting, due to her character moment last week, as well as an almost horrifying part at the end of this week.

The animation in So I’m a Spider So What Episode 3 keeps up with the high bar with one exception. The appearance of an earth dragon in the forest doesn’t match the more seamless CG creatures seen previously. The CG dragon next to the 2D characters is jarring, and this is a first for this show. Otherwise, the action sequences are great. The heroine has a fantastic moment of dodging with great background music and slo-motion camera pans. It feels straight out of a corny spy film (this reviewer means that in the best way possible).

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 3 has some good moments but definitely is not as strong as the previous two. It doesn’t contain a lot of forwarding plot progression, and a decent amount of the supporting cast is pretty one-dimensional.

So I’m a Spider, So What? is streaming now on Crunchyroll.