So I'm a Spider, So What? - Kumo Desu ga, Nani ka?

[Kraco]

Episode 9


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So there is a major time async going on, after all. Apparently the human academy scenes are whopping 15 years in the future. It would suggest all the isekaied folks of that class were born at approximately the same time. It's quite a weird way of telling a story, with a 15 years of difference between the two stories, yet they are all the time mixed together in the episodes. I can kind of understand now why the manga adaptation hasn't included those student scenes at all. It probably wasn't a super difficult decision even if the novel did have them mixed together like the anime (though I wouldn't know).

Now we are left wondering what Kumoko is in that 15 years in the future world. Considering her speed of progress, you'd think she would be at least as powerful as that demon lord, who obviously is also some kind of spider creature.

It's a relief to know the timelines now, for sure, nonetheless.

[Ryllharu]

Pretty nuts episode.

Timeline wise, it means Kumoko and the rest of the class were born around the same time, 15 years prior to the current school timeline. No idea what it means for their teacher or the demon chick that recruited the asshole guy.
It also means that Fei is the youngest or even the last student to be reincarnated.

With Julius dying, that also means the demon lord perspective is the same time as the magic/hero school. Only Kumoko's is super early, since Fei was that egg, and the spider silk scarf was made from Kumoko's silk. Also shows us that while Kumoko is expressive and cute from her perspective, she's very spider-looking from human perspectives.

The meat of the reveals is probably D and the other administrator guy. He's sitting on the Demon Lord's council now. His discussion with the demon lord feels strongly like a red herring to me, about how they met all these years ago and who ever could have imagined their relationship would work out the way it does.

So...D doesn't own this world, but she's acting as an evil deity to this world, fucking with it for her own entertainment. The other guy specifically got tipped off when the dragon died, but not anything else Kumoko has killed so far. So he's associated with dragons? Therefore Fei? But he's working with the Demon Lord in present day?! So many more questions than answers!

And he knew that Kumoko had something to do with D. He couldn't translate for Kumoko, but D could. Should we take that to mean the reason they all reincarnated here specifically is D?

If she's an evil god, then that might explain why their teacher feels cursed or bound to not actually tell the other students what's up, but she does know where they are. That seems right in line with D's sickly sweet voice, plotting horrendous evil and cruelty for shits and giggles.

[Kraco]

It also means that Fei is the youngest or even the last student to be reincarnated.

No, isn't it that Fei just was developing inside the dragon egg for a longer time than than humans inside a womb or Kumoko inside a giant spider egg? Of course you could say Fei's the youngest if you count from when the eggshell finally cracked and she crawled out, but since we are talking about reincarnations, it's not the best way to count it, I'd say.

[Munsu]

Episode 9

I can kind of understand now why the manga adaptation hasn't included those student scenes at all. It probably wasn't a super difficult decision even if the novel did have them mixed together like the anime (though I wouldn't know).

The only thing I'll say about this particular is that the light novel didn't do it like this. So the anime, manga, and light novel all handled the different plotlines differently, as in when to introduce them and when to change POVs, etc.

[MFauli]

Now we are left wondering what Kumoko is in that 15 years in the future world. Considering her speed of progress, you'd think she would be at least as powerful as that demon lord, who obviously is also some kind of spider creature.

.

Isn't that the answer already? "Also"? Think closer. That demon lord even used threads like ... spider threads. Kumoko evolving for 15 years and going the demon lord route? I have no doubt she'd end up looking human, that's how it goes, see the lizard girl in Slime Tensei that evolved into a human.

[DarthEnderX]

Okay, lot to unpack there. The two storylines AREN'T synced up, because that scene with the egg happened long before the human part of the storyline(and means dragon girl and Kumiko spawned in the same place). Also, when viewed from the human perspective, Kumiko doesn't have her chibi face. She looks like a normal taratect.

Which means, maybe the White Spider WAS Kumiko. Since her story isn't up to that part in the timeline.

Also maybe dragon girl can't speak afterall? She didn't speak at all to when the brother was talking about her. Has she just been talking to herself this whole time? They made that very confusing if that's the case. Kumiko speaks, but doesn't know the language.


2 of the brains are magic? That's not very interesting... But maybe it means she can cast 2 spells at once.

Isn't that the answer already? "Also"? Think closer. That demon lord even used threads like ... spider threads. Kumoko evolving for 15 years and going the demon lord route? I have no doubt she'd end up looking human, that's how it goes, see the lizard girl in Slime Tensei that evolved into a human.

Agreed. Since there's little indication of what's happening when, the Demon Lord might ALSO be Kumiko. Girl, silk and Abyss powers, knows a Japanese guy, met the dark knight guy a "long time ago"...it all fits.

She seems pretty evil now though if that's her. That's too bad.

Pretty nuts episode.

Timeline wise, it means Kumoko and the rest of the class were born around the same time, 15 years prior to the current school timeline. No idea what it means for their teacher or the demon chick that recruited the asshole guy.
It also means that Fei is the youngest or even the last student to be reincarnated.

Here's what I'm wondering though, if the characters were reincarnated based on their old ages. All the students were roughly the same ages, so they reincarnated at about the same time.

But their teacher, if she was, say, 10 years older than her students, maybe she was reincarnated 10 years earlier. Which would explain why she knows so much more than them.

[Kraco]

Isn't that the answer already? "Also"? Think closer. That demon lord even used threads like ... spider threads. Kumoko evolving for 15 years and going the demon lord route? I have no doubt she'd end up looking human, that's how it goes, see the lizard girl in Slime Tensei that evolved into a human.

Don't they have a different voice? Of course they could change the voice actor at one point of the story, but I don't think that's it. To me, it feels like a very hasty conclusion to think she's our Kumoko. She doesn't quite fit what I'd have in mind for her, although 15 years is a long time, so anything could happen.

Kumoko undoubtedly will want to reach a humanoid form, that's for sure, since she was originally a human, and I don't think many humans would desire to become spiders. A dragon might seem cool for quite a few, but not a spider. She's also been sticking to the staying small paths of evolution, which also supports it. Traditionally, in East and West, the humanoid form is also considered the superior one. If you have read xianxia, you'd know that from the East, and here in the West, we have the Bible saying that God created man in his own image, meaning humans supposedly are the closest thing to God.

Which means, maybe the White Spider WAS Kumiko. Since her story isn't up to that part in the timeline.

No chance whatsoever. Ignoring the white spider getting killed, it didn't even show the kind of intelligence at all that Kumoko displays in her fights, plus it was far too weak. Like I said, 15 years from the current point, Kumoko should be at least at that demon lord's level. If she was only at that white spider's level, it would indicate she stopped developing very soon after the current point, and actually degenerated because the white spider didn't even show the kind of skills we know Kumoko sports and uses frequently.

But their teacher, if she was, say, 10 years older than her students, maybe she was reincarnated 10 years earlier. Which would explain why she knows so much more than them.

I just suddenly thought about it when writing this comment, but maybe Kumoko taught the teacher the things she knows! I mean, the teacher and the students shouldn't really even be toddlers right now if all of them indeed were born approximately at the same time. That's how fast Kumoko's development is. The teacher is an elf, and traditionally elves get along with the nature and animals the best. Kumoko has already conversed with D and another very high level (dragon?) guy in this ep. Imagine what she will know years from now. If the teacher and Kumoko met, let's say 8 years from the current point, Kumoko could have made the teacher the very special person we have witnessed in the future scenes.

Though naturally that's just a single possibility to explain the teacher's situation.

[DarthEnderX]

No chance whatsoever. Ignoring the white spider getting killed, it didn't even show the kind of intelligence at all that Kumoko displays in her fights, plus it was far too weak.

We also only saw the fight from the Hero's perspective. And as they showed us this episode, how Kumiko views things happening looks very different from how others view things.

We also saw in this very episode that she can make illusions that make people think they've killed her.

Like I said, 15 years from the current point, Kumoko should be at least at that demon lord's level.

I think you're jumping to conclusions to think that her current point is STILL 15 years in the past. As she lives and grows in the cave, a lot more time could be passing than we realize.

Yeah, the point where the egg was taken was 15 years before where the kids are. But for all we know, this fight with the dragon could be taking place 5 years later. The White Spider fighting the Hero could be her 10 years later. And the Demon Lord could be her 15 years later.

[Kraco]

I think you're jumping to conclusions to think that her current point is STILL 15 years in the past. As she lives and grows in the cave, a lot more time could be passing than we realize.

Yeah, the point where the egg was taken was 15 years before where the kids are. But for all we know, this fight with the dragon could be taking place 5 years later. The White Spider fighting the Hero could be her 10 years later. And the Demon Lord could be her 15 years later.

I most certainly haven't got a feeling of such major time jumps at any point of the story. Her life has been very hectic the vast majority of the time, which means it's going from hour to hour, from day to day at most, as far as I can see.

I'm pretty sure the hero big brother was on the trip to hunt the white spider for all the episodes so far, with the little brother missing his big bro and talking about him until the other students' ears started falling off. Now the big bro came back, briefly, and they met. However, the hero had to leave immediately again. In the demon lord's meeting we got two days of time before a war begins. I'd assume the hero didn't last too many days after that.

[MFauli]

OR (combining theories):

Kumoko *was* the white spider. Either it was her degenerated form, a consequence of the taboo level (raise it too quickly and your turn into a beast) OR she actually didn't die there and just escaped, leaving a perfect kagebunshin to deceive the hero party.

That's why demon lord Kumoko holds a grudge against the hero.

An alternative theory, that incorporates the different voice: White spider was degenerated Kumoko, same as above. BUT: she had laid eggs at that point and the demon lord girl is her offspring. Basically she gave birth to a high-level white spider baby with human intelligence, except that baby would be careful not to raise the taboo level too much, thus keeping her intelligence and using all the years to become a spider demon lord.

[David75]

Demon Lord could be Kumoko ? BTW I kept watching, gets better...
After reading the comments here I rewatched the sequence:
-earrings could be some of her eyes
-eye lashes spikes when she faces you
-the thread she uses and how it snaps feels spider.
-her voice is different except the Juuncho line has intonations that feel almost the same
-when she talks with that guy in armor, she mentions a meeting long in the past. There's no doubt it's the guy that teleported to the cave to check that dragon's death
-she's from the same class as the others, she knows the soon to be dead hero's little brother former world name

The teacher told the others Wakaba is dead because after all she's the last boss. The Human society is built around that: they have to kill the Demon Lord. They are students at a school where they learn how to kill monsters and eventually the Demon Lord.
It's logical to tell them she's dead, in their best interrest.

Also, administrator D set the world that way because after all having former classmates fight to death is a lot more fun.

Now I do not have the will to check if their classroom exploded or something similar happened. Maybe it was only a fade to white.
Then we don't know what kind of collective state can bring so many minds in sync in a videogame like world that still feels real and slow like a real world, but in a fantasy setting.

[Munsu]

I think you're jumping to conclusions to think that her current point is STILL 15 years in the past. As she lives and grows in the cave, a lot more time could be passing than we realize.

Yeah, the point where the egg was taken was 15 years before where the kids are. But for all we know, this fight with the dragon could be taking place 5 years later. The White Spider fighting the Hero could be her 10 years later. And the Demon Lord could be her 15 years later.

I don't know, I think her life and story to this point has been very straightforward to believe her plotline has seen any sort of time jump.

The fight with the hero was indeed in the future, but that's about it. And sure, the Demon Lord scenes are in the future... but when we've seen the Kumoko scenes, there has been no indication of a time lapse.

[Ryllharu]

Removing this content, giving away too much info.

[MFauli]

Thx Munsu, and guys, is it REALLY that hard not to spoil things when you've already read the source material? Come on. :/

[DarthEnderX]

It really does bug me that her 4th mind is just magic again. Her split minds basically allowed her to be an entire JRPG party unto itself. But now her party is like, a Monk, a Scholar, and 2 Black Mages. That's a poorly balanced party!

They could have at least made, like, one a Mage and the other a Cleric.

I most certainly haven't got a feeling of such major time jumps at any point of the story.

I hadn't gotten the feeling that that we were jumping around between time periods either until this episode happened. But we were doing in the whole time.

They're apparently intentionally obfuscating how time is passing, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if she's been living in that cave for years already, and we're just getting the highlights of her leveling up and learning new skills.

[Kraco]

I hadn't gotten the feeling that that we were jumping around between time periods either until this episode happened. But we were doing in the whole time.

They're apparently intentionally obfuscating how time is passing, so I wouldn't be at all surprised if she's been living in that cave for years already, and we're just getting the highlights of her leveling up and learning new skills.

But it's not presented in a way that makes you think so, which makes it logical to think it's not so. What comes to the Kumoko vs student scenes, it's actually more logical there's the time async. It means they were all born at the same time (including the time spent in an egg or womb). Without the async, it would mean Kumoko was, for an artificial reason, born like 15 years later. Not that D couldn't have done that just for laughs, but I'd personally try to think D is not messing around with absolutely every detail, as it would make individual struggle less meaningful.

[Munsu]

Thx Munsu, and guys, is it REALLY that hard not to spoil things when you've already read the source material? Come on. :/

It wasn't a source material issue, but it contained info that would ruin speculations outside of what shown in the anime itself and using outside sources. So didn't see it prudent. To be clear, he didn't spoil anything from sources outside of anime... it was in a gray area, kinda like spoiling things from a next episode preview, but going a step further than that. And in general, I thought it would ruin the discussion for you guys. That's all I'll say on that matter.

[Ryllharu]

I'm fine with that decision. The anime itself is loaded with spoilers.

The Opening has showed Julius dying this entire time, ffs.

It's not extremely difficult to put some of this shit together with the school half being shown.

[Munsu]

The Opening has showed Julius dying this entire time, ffs.

Too busy listening to the song to actually watch what's going on in the video LOL.

It's not extremely difficult to put some of this shit together with the school half being shown.

I haven't read the manga, but in regards the different plotlines (school vs Kumoko), I felt that the LN did a better job with it. But I think part of the decision of what was decided to do with the anime was heavily influenced by the time constraint of fitting things into a 24 episode season. So in that regard, have little to complaint while still retaining some of the desired effects. But won't say much more on this particular aspect in case some things are yet to be revealed.

[DarthEnderX]

I'm fine with that decision. The anime itself is loaded with spoilers.

The Opening has showed Julius dying this entire time, ffs.

It's not extremely difficult to put some of this shit together with the school half being shown.

I find most of it goes by too fast to parse. I got more spoilers out of the ED than the OP. As it gives a lot of focus to Kumiko's current form, and the 4 Kumikos.

Though, I originally assumed the 4 Kumikos was going to be her making up personalities to talk to out of solitude induced madness.