REVIEW: ‘So I’m a Spider, So What?’ Episode 12 – “My Battle Has, Only Just Begun?”

Almost the entirety of So I’m a Spider So What? Episode 12 is the final battle between the heroine and Araba, the earth dragon from Episode 3. The heroine was traumatized by their first encounter and her confidence shattered by the fact that she wasn’t even considered a threat. In her eyes, all her training has come to this. If she can conquer the source of her doubt, then she truly believes she can survive and leave the dungeon. While the premise itself feels rather simple, the intense battle and performance from Aoi Yūki sell it.

The animation is absolutely spectacular. The bright colors from the characters and magic stand out against the dark labyrinth as the heroine and Abara jump to and from magic platforms in the air. While Araba has no dialogue, his responses to the heroine’s attacks serve as his form of communication with her. Even while fighting for their lives, there is a mutual respect that makes this fight so different from the others we’ve seen in the labyrinth so far. The two characters having to constantly adapt keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. The rapport these two develop by the end will make Yūki’s delivery of the heroine’s monologue a punch to the gut. 

Truly, it is the heroine’s fixation on Araba that sells this episode as the midseason marker. While the show has been overall lighthearted about her reincarnation, So I’m a Spider So What Episode 12 foregoes that to focus on the actual emotional toll it has taken on her. The last eleven episodes of building up power alone were in fact incredibly isolating, and the only way she could survive. The heroine is showing an emotional vulnerability that feels like a natural resolution to the walls she put up since Episode 1, when she masked everything with comedy. 

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