I am a spider, so what?

Kumoko desuga, nanika?

I watched the anime first, and when someone commented that the VA (Yuuki Aoi) was carrying the whole series alone on her back, I thought the dude was joking.

Oh, boy, I was wrong. Yuuki Aoi did carry the whole series on back her alone.

I am a spider, so what? is a LN series that has been adapted into anime where its main protagonist is a spider.

Yes, a spider. This is an isekai series where characters get ported (or reincarnated) into another world.
Isekai is a very popular genre right now, and I’ve reviewed several of them. Hog Horizon, Overlord, Shield Hero, Youjo senki, and Ascendance of a bookworm; they all fall under isekai genre.

The general story

Kumoko is the main character here. Kumo is a spider. Since the MC is a female, ko is added to imply the gender.

In her former life, her name is Hiiro Wakaba who is an extreme introvert. Her whole classroom explodes in a mysterious blast that kills everyone. It is explained early that the blast was a mistake, and that everyone in the class was wrongly killed.

As an apology, everyone in the class are reincarnated into another world with their former memories intact.

You are going to view the story mainly from Kumoko point of view most of time. The classmates will have their moments although that will depend on what medium you choose.

Differences in LN, manga, and anime

Light novel is the source material. Having said that, All three mediums take very different approaches. I can’t honestly tell which approach is better.

Allow me to explain and compare.

The story is basically told in two time lines. Kumoko is reborn as a spider who has to fight for her life as soon as she is born. However, others are reborn as human babies. A baby itself takes roughly 10 months in a woman’s womb before coming out to the world. And then a baby has also to grow up until they are 15 years old.

Meaning Kumoko has a head start of 16 years before anyone else. By time the two time lines merge into present time, Kumoko is no longer a spider but a God-like being who is capable of wiping out everyone by just looking at them.

Now, anime takes the two timelines and play them in a rather confusing way whereas manga completely omits the classmates from its story. As for the light novel, the timeline switch is not confusing thanks to chapter titles.

Strictly speaking, manga is altering the story massively by omitting the classmates. At the same time, it sort of makes sense because, as you watch / read the series, you won’t care much for the classmates who become entitled and overly righteous for wrong reasons.
In fact, the way the classmates think that they are absolutely right in what they are doing might just piss you off.

I honestly don’t know how the manga will fare once it reaches to the point that the classmates will show up. To be honest though, I’ve enjoyed manga more than anime due to the lack of the classmates. They are overly righteous pricks.

Ultimately, the LN is where you will end up because it is where all the details will be. Both anime and manga omit things. Anime omits too much of the classmate side of things that any scenes featuring them is just awkward. Even worse, manga omits the classmates entirely but makes for a better story overall compared to anime at least.

So, in the end, the LN is where you should end up because it is the only medium that explores the classmates properly. At the same time, the classmates are ultimately irrelevant in the end.

Speaking of LN, it is the most “light” novel I’ve read. What I mean is that the writing is really simple. The grammar seen in the novel is really simple also. It’s more of on a children’s story book level than an actual novel.

I did lose my interest in the series forwards the end.

The insanity that is Yuuki Aoi

I cannot stress enough of the brilliant job the VA, Yuuki Aoi, has done with Kumoko’s voice. She also sings the ending where it might make you lose a portion of your sanity by just listening to it. Even if you can’t understand any Japanese, you will lose some of your sanity regardless. It is pure madness.

She single-handedly carries the show for the vast majority of time. I watched the anime only for her voice acting, and I am not exaggerating this.