REVIEW: ‘So I’m a Spider, So What?’ Episode 16 – “Am I Getting Ahead of Myself?”

A lot of So I’m a Spider So What Episode 16 is an information dump, but since it is all knowledge that viewers have been itching for, it makes it more interesting. The Crunchyroll Original anime is from Millepensee and adapts the light novel series of the same name by Okina Baba. The isekai follows an unnamed heroine who is reincarnated into a fantasy world as a baby spider. Elsewhere in the world, many of her classmates are reincarnated as humans. They must try to level up and survive in this new world with the looming threat of a demon lord.

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 16 opens with the protagonist once again evolving. This time, the evolution she has chosen comes with the rare skill of “immortality.” That’s right; our beloved heroine apparently can no longer be killed. The amount of absurd power-ups she has accumulated is quite comical, and the show not taking itself so seriously with its overpowered main character is what helps all these power-ups work.

The rest of our time spent with the protagonist is a long conversation between her and the mysterious “D” behind the phone. Through it, a lot of knowledge viewers have been asking for was finally given, which is a welcome change, although the “info dump” conversation to convey it can get rather dull. In So I’m a Spider So What Episode 16, the protagonist at long last learns that her classmates were also reincarnated into this world, but because she grows faster than humans, she has a head start. It felt like information of that weight should have more effect on our heroine, but she takes it in relative stride. Granted, she was a loner in the other world, but there was a lack of emotional impact to make this reveal have the weight that it should (given the way this information had been revealed in the past).

Additionally, since viewers only briefly met the class in Episode 8, we don’t have a strong emotional connection to the other characters. That means that the reveal that “D” is one of the classmates isn’t as tense as it should be. We should be on edge since there is a “betrayer” in their midst, but we can’t even begin to wonder “who” since we never met everyone. There is no one to “guess.” The viewers don’t get to play detective, so any dramatic tension is rendered moot.

On the humans’ side of things, the story is slowly progressing. Fei has a new look that is…okay. Unfortunately, she seems to have reverted to her old personality, thus negating her previous character growth. There is one awkward moment with CG at the end of the episode that looks straight out of a JRPG video game and is a bit jarring. Unfortunately, to elaborate more would lead to spoilers.

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 16 is an average episode that gives viewers the information they desire, but in one of the least interesting ways possible. The dramatic tension that the show wants to have is negated by not knowing all of the players in the mix.

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