WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S Episode 5, "Together With You (Well, If We Get Along)," now streaming on Crunchyroll.
In Episode 5 of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S, Tohru and Elma recount the story of how they first met thousands of years ago in their homeworld. A Chaos Dragon and a Harmony Dragon would seem like natural enemies, but at first, the two opposites actually got along so closely that it would be easy to interpret them as girlfriends. When it comes time to show how the two dragons finally come to blows over their philosophical differences, however, Kyoto Animation goes all-out in its action animation.
In the flashback scenes, Tohru first discovers Elma while visiting a desert city. Elma is living among the humans as a priestess in a horned humanoid form, using her dragon magic to curtail conflicts. Even thousands of years ago, Elma is primarily motivated by food. Her opposition to human sacrifices is not merely borne of morality, but from disliking how humans taste and believing that if humanity thrives, they'll go on to invent more delicious dishes. Tohru is charmed by Elma's eccentricities, believing she'd be a good fit for the Chaos faction.
Tohru and Elma spent some time traveling together with the goal of judging humanity. A few anime-original interludes show them venturing out from the city, discussing the human custom of making wishes under stars and, in one scene absolutely baiting shippers, sleeping while leaning on each other's shoulders. What ultimately undoes their friendship after decades is the fact Elma starts being worshipped as a goddess for the sake of food offerings. Given the Chaos Dragons' mission is in part an anti-religious one and that there's a serious risk Elma's followers will use their religion for war and oppression if she isn't there to guide them for eternity, Tohru destroys a palace dedicated to Elma, kickstarting their first fight.
In no uncertain terms, Tohru and Elma were trying to kill each other in this fight. Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid might not be an action show, but every time it presents a fight scene, the animators make things more fluid and impactful than the vast majority of fighting shonen. This massively destructive battle, concluding with a biting electricity attack that might arguably count as a kiss, may very well be some of Kyoto Animation's most thrilling work yet.
Kobayashi, for her part, is amused by the dragons' story. From her perspective, the fact that Tohru and Elma fight so much is a sign they're close enough to have fought. The dragons don't find their ancient conflict so amusing, but pointing out that Tohru's been docile in the human world and Elma is now an office lady rather than an aspiring goddess, the two don't actually have any reason to fight anymore. Might they even be able to love each other?
New episodes of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S stream Wednesdays on Crunchyroll.
