REVIEW: ‘So I’m a Spider, So What?’ Episode 21 – “So, I’m Not in This One, Am I?”

As stated in the title, So I’m a Spider So What Episode 21 doesn’t feature our heroine, but instead, the siege on the Elf Village commences. It would be great, if not for absolutely cringeworthy CG and jarring cuts during the action. Millepensee is behind the Crunchyroll Original, which follows a class of high school students and their teacher, who are all killed and reincarnated into a fantasy world with a skill-based system straight out of a video game. Some aren’t so lucky, however, including our heroine. She is reincarnated as a spider and must fight to survive. The original story is from a light novel series of the same name by Okina Baba, which is translated and published in English by Yen Press.

Schlain/Shun and the other reincarnations are preparing for battle with Hugo’s army. Suspecting something might go wrong with the barrier puts them at odds with some of the more arrogant elves, causing division early on. The students solemnly reflect on the classmates that are currently unaccounted for, and the odds that they will be enemies. It would have been nice to dive into this a bit sooner, but it is still a layer of depth the show needs before the big battle. It is one thing to not all get along as classmates in high school, but it is another thing entirely when you are about to go to war with each other. So I’m a Spider So What Episode 21 adds a more solemn layer to the isekai tale of reincarnation, showing teenagers having to grow up faster than planned.

The reincarnations also learn about the administrators and their role in stirring up trouble in this conflict. While this is news to the party, viewers have been clued into this for a while. Therefore, the “reveal” that Hugo isn’t really the mastermind behind all this doesn’t have much dramatic effect beyond creating dialogue for the characters pre-battle. The battle itself is the key part of So I’m a Spider So What Episode 21 for both better and worse. After the great perspective on Oka, she is forced to decide if she is going to be the one to physically (and likely violently) stop her former students. The emotional weight is what makes the fight between her and Hugo compelling, even when the animation does it no favors.

Speaking of the animation, So I’m a Spider So What? Episode 21 is filled with stiff CG soldiers, quick cuts at weird angles, and stiff moments during the action. It is honestly painful to watch what should be a huge fight the anime has been building up to crash and burn like this. The animation and directorial editing choices are simply bizarre.

So I’m a Spider So What Episode 21 succeeds in laying and executing the emotional stakes for the reincarnations going into the big battle. Oka’s fight with Hugo gets a specific shout-out for adding to Oka’s continued characterization and internal conflict. That fight also gets major negative points due to the poor animation and editing choices.

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.