Kara Dennison
January 14, 2021 
The star of So I’m a Spider, So What? may be a giant talking arachnid, but she’s already a new fave. The winter season offering is one of the latest isekai anime based on a light novel. So long-time readers won’t be surprised by the greatness of the “unnamed” spiderling. But for anime fans just meeting Kumoko, here are a few reasons why we love her right away. Even if, you know, she does have spindly appendages and eat really weird stuff.
She’s surprisingly agreeable.
The title isn’t just for show, you know. So I’m a Spider, So What? isn’t just a descriptive light novel title, it’s a philosophy. After hatching out of her shell and into her new body, our heroine gets with the program almost immediately. Way faster than we would, anyway. In fairness, she’s got the right idea. There’s not a lot you can do to change being isekai‘d, so you might as well get down to business. That goes for a lot of the horrific things she has to endure right off the bat, too.
She’s genre savvy.
So I’m a Spider, So What? follows a lot of familiar isekai tropes, and this isn’t lost on our spider star. Once she takes stock of her situation, she immediately calls on both her game and light novel knowledge to start boosting her stats immediately. It seems she might be a fan of That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime in particular… though her efforts to copy Rimuru’s first moments don’t go as planned. She does, however, make the most of what she does have.
She lives for achievements — just like us.
As Kumoko rightly notes, the world of So I’m a Spider, So What? does operate (like other isekai worlds) like a video game. That includes achievements for all sorts of accomplishments. The first one she gets is a little grisly — you’ll have to look that one up for yourself. But once she knows they’re a possibility, she’s willing to try anything, no matter how stupid, for more. Hopefully she can rack up some more cheevos as she goes…
She’s an idol singer… kind of.
The ending theme of So I’m a Spider, So What? is an absolute bop, and features Kumoko (voice by Aoi Yuuki) singing a tribute to herself. And no, you’re not seeing things: that spider is wearing an idol costume. The ending alone, full of perky idol energy and a brief swerve into emotional enka, strikes us as reason enough to praise Kumoko. We also get a peek at how she might have preferred to look when she was reborn.
Everyone loves an underdog.
Kumoko isn’t the only reincarnated character in So I’m a Spider, So What?… not by a long shot. Several people from her class, including her teacher, have also appeared in this other world. Some are different genders from before. Some are different races. One other student besides Kumoko was even reborn as a monster! But there’s one big difference across the board: they’re all living it up while she eats nasty prey and lives in a cave. Why this discrepancy occurred, perhaps we’ll know later. For now — do your best, Kumoko!
Are you enjoying So I’m a Spider, So What? too? What are your favorite things about Kumoko?
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