REVIEW: ‘So I’m a Spider, So What?’ Episode 18 – “You guys are kind of awful, huh?”

The plot of So I’m a Spider Episode 18 is a bit disjointed and feels as though the story needed to get multiple transitional storylines done to move forward. So I’m a Spider, So What? is an isekai anime from Millepensee, and a Crunchyroll Original. It is based on the light novel series written by Okina Baba. The novels are published in English by Yen Press. When a group of classmates gets reincarnated into a video game-style fantasy world, not all are lucky. The unnamed heroine thinks herself to be the worst off when she wakes up as a baby spider.

So I’m a Spider Episode 18 gives viewers the point of view of baby Sophia. When she was reincarnated as a baby, it appears all her intelligence levels stayed the same, so she has total awareness of her situation as an infant. She realizes just how precarious her situation is because people are hunting her but she has no way to defend herself. That is…until a certain terrifying spider monster saves her. At the risk of sounding repetitive, once again the problem here is there is zero emotional attachment to the character by the viewer. Sophia’s internal monologue is given with no real indication of who she used to be besides a member of the class. She accepts her situation shockingly quickly, but the rest just feels par for the course. It makes one wonder why it is necessary unless the show plans to do something more with her character in its remaining weeks.

Schlain/Shun’s group makes it to a nearby village, and a bit of expositional dialogue gives viewers a better idea of the religious conflict in this world. Both factions worship the same goddess, but one side believes all skill abilities should be offered up, versus the other thinks leveling up brings one closer to the goddess. The latter is The Followers of the Word who were originally meant to support Schlain as the Hero before they were brainwashed that is. Although it is hinted that not everyone is being brainwashed, and it is possible that stoking fear about The Goddess faith is meant as a political power play more than anything. Either way, it means Schlain has to hide from both sides. It is nice to feel more intense stakes in the game created through world-building, rather than just powerful opponents. It will require characters to out-think instead of just overpowered.

As for our heroine…ever do something nice on a whim and are mistaken for a religious figure? So I’m a Spider Episode 18 dishes up a fair amount of comedy juxtaposing the different perspectives on our heroine on the surface. To some, she is a terrifying monster, and to others, she is a savior. What makes this comical is just how oblivious she can be to all of this. Even when she gets involved in more political turmoil, she often has no idea just what pot she has stirred. This is all fun, but fitting this in after Schlain’s segment, and not right after Sophia’s POV, was an odd writing decision. It ultimately made the episode feel scattered.

So I’m a Spider, So What? Episode 18 still feels like a transition episode toward the next major confrontation. The plot itself feels disjointed as it tries to cram three separate perspectives in, and consequently doesn’t go into much depth on any of them.

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

Olive St. Sauver

Olive is an award-winning playwright with BAs in English and Theatre. At BWT she is a manga and anime critic, with an additional focus on mental health portrayals in media and true crime.