REVIEW: ‘So I’m a Spider, So What?’ Episode 5 – “Does Catfish, Taste Good?”

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 5 is relatively simple, but still delightful as the show has found its niche and revels in it. At this point, viewers will have decided whether 20 minutes of existential spider monologuing is for them or not, and that’s okay. For those who find joy in it, more is to be had this week. The anime from studio Millepensee is part of the Crunchyroll Originals lineup and is based on the light novel series by Okina Baba. Both the original light novels and manga adaptation are published in English by Yen Press.

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 5 opens with the protagonist lamenting that God probably hates her, citing her string of bad luck as evidence. She was victorious against the monkey horde, but now finds herself in the middle layer of the dungeon, and it’s filled with magma. Thus, our heroine must train herself once more. She evolves and now looks like an adorable jester spider, gains new skills, and lifts web weights. The comedy comes in because she doesn’t know what the individual skills are. She has to use her video game knowledge from her past life to infer. She also makes impulsive decisions, choosing a skill called “Pride” that may or may not have put her in line to be a demon lord. The fact that she monologues her entire train of thought will have the audience jumping around mentally along with her. The show is able to keep that hectic feeling throughout.

This week also checks back in with the other classmates, specifically Fei and Shun. If you remember, in Episode 3 the class was attacked by an Earth Dragon and saved by Fei at the last second. Shun is the only one to witness her acquire the new skill “Kin Eater” (one our spider heroine gained in the premiere) and looks on in horror. Fei was noticeably bothered by this at the end of that confrontation. However, whatever conversation Fei and Shun had or didn’t have, isn’t addressed. This week they are acting as though everything is normal. It isn’t bad, per se, but a bit disappointing that a good moment like that wasn’t utilized more. Fei is growing in size, and it looks like she is being set up by the show to be a parallel to the heroine. This is fascinating given the two’s history in their past life.

There are still a few elements that aren’t clear. Did the kids all reincarnate at the same time? Did they just take over the persona and memories of the body they reincarnated in? Or were they born in this world years before our heroine and grew up as humans here? It isn’t quite clear and leads to some questions this week. This is because the show is presenting a rather intriguing dynamic with another former classmate, Hasebe. Now going by Yuri, she was reincarnated into a child abandoned by her parents. Dealing with that trauma led her to turn to this world’s church. She is now incredibly religious and has vowed to kill any human or creature who has attained a skill that is taboo. As viewers know multiple characters with taboo skills, it is a great moment that ups the stakes. Especially as Yuri is the first classmate to show a drastic shift in personality from the other world, which could lead to a larger division.

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 5 is simple but very effective. It takes the standard RPG reincarnation story and blends a little bizarre dungeon food anime with eccentric spider monologues to create 20 minutes to look forward to. It was nice to check back in on the classmates this week, and hopefully, the tension with Fei and Yuri push their side of the story to become as interesting as the protagonists.

So I’m a Spider, So What? Episode 5 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.