Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved

Plot

After the events of Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid S, Kobayashi continues living with Tohru and Kanna Kamui, while the other dragons continue adapting to ordinary human life. Kanna remains attached to Kobayashi as a parental figure, but her peaceful life is interrupted when Kimun Kamui, her biological father and the leader of the Chaos Faction, suddenly appears.

Kimun demands that Kanna return with him to the Dragon World, where war is building between the Chaos Faction and the Harmony Faction. He treats Kanna less as a daughter than as a dragon who can be used in the coming conflict. Kanna is hurt by his emotional distance, but she still longs for his approval. Kobayashi, who has effectively raised and protected Kanna in the human world, refuses to let Kimun simply take her away.

Rather than responding only with force, Kobayashi tries to help Kimun understand human family bonds. She begins a letter exchange between Kanna and Kimun, with Tohru helping carry messages between worlds. Kanna hopes the letters will help her father understand that she wants to be loved, not merely used, while Kobayashi struggles with the fact that she loves Kanna but cannot simply decide Kanna's future for her.

The situation grows worse when Azad, a human mage serving as Kimun Kamui's strategist, is revealed to be manipulating events from behind the scenes. Azad has his own hatred of dragons and secretly works to push the Chaos and Harmony factions toward open war. Iruru discovers signs of his interference, and Kobayashi learns that Kanna has become central to Azad's plan. Kanna possesses, or has been made to create, a dragon orb containing immense magical power. Azad intends to use it to control dragons and make the factions destroy one another.

Kanna decides to return to the Dragon World, partly because she wants to help her father and partly because she still hopes he will finally acknowledge her feelings. Kobayashi and Tohru follow, unwilling to abandon her. In the Dragon World, Kobayashi is separated from Tohru and is forced to continue with limited magical preparation and help from the other dragons.

Kobayashi and Kanna gather evidence of Azad's scheme. They use recordings and communication devices to expose his manipulation before the assembled dragons, stopping the factions from entering a larger war. Azad refuses to accept defeat. In a final act, he uses the unfinished dragon orb to seize control of dragons, including Kimun Kamui, turning Kanna's father into a weapon.

Tohru fights Kimun in dragon form, but even she is overpowered by his strength. Kobayashi then uses a powerful spell that can only be cast once and appears to cost her the ability to use magic afterward. With Tohru's help, she launches the attack at Kimun Kamui, breaking Azad's control and restoring Kimun to himself.

After the battle, Kanna and Kimun confront one another without Azad's manipulation between them. Kobayashi prepares to take Kanna back to the human world, believing that Kanna may be happier there. Kimun, wounded and still awkward in his understanding of parenthood, tries to follow after them. Kobayashi notices this and sends Kanna back to him. Kanna runs to her father, embraces him, and admits that she was lonely and wanted his love. Kimun begins to understand what Kanna needed from him.

Azad attempts to escape, but Lucoa blocks him and Tohru confronts him. Rather than kill him, Tohru strips him of his magical power, leaving him as an ordinary human. Azad survives, but without the power he used to manipulate the dragons.

Kanna is allowed to choose where she belongs. For a moment, the others return to Kobayashi's apartment without her, causing Saikawa to believe Kanna is gone for good. Kanna then arrives at the door, having been permitted by Kimun to return to the human world while still leaving open the possibility of seeing him again. Saikawa tearfully embraces her, and Kanna resumes her life with Kobayashi, Tohru, and her friends. The film ends with Kobayashi and Kanna walking together, with their family restored while Kanna's connection to Kimun remains acknowledged.

Voice cast

Maria Naganawa as Kanna Kamui

Mutsumi Tamura as Kobayashi

Yūki Kuwahara as Tohru

Yūki Takada as Elma

Minami Takahashi as Lucoa

Shiori Sugiura as Iruru

Daisuke Ono as Fafnir

Yūichi Nakamura as Makoto Takiya

Emiri Katō as Riko Saikawa

Kaori Ishihara as Shōta Magatsuchi

Sachiko Kobayashi as Felicitas

Nobunaga Shimazaki as Azad

Fumihiko Tachiki as Kimun Kamui

Production

The film was produced by Kyoto Animation and credited to the Dragon Life Improvement Committee. The official staff list names Tatsuya Ishihara as director, Yasuhiro Takemoto as series director, Yuka Yamada as screenwriter, Miku Kadowaki as character designer and chief animation director, Shingo Kasai as art director, Naomi Takahashi as color designer, Hiroki Ueda as director of photography, Rin Yamamoto as 3D director, Yota Tsuruoka as sound director, and Masumi Itō as composer. Shochiku distributed the film in Japan.

A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved adapts material from the continuing Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid manga, focusing on Kanna and her father. The official introduction described the film as a story of family and bonds, centering on the arrival of Kanna's real father after the dragons have gathered around Kobayashi.

Music

The opening theme song is "Namida no Parade" by Fhána, returning after previous theme songs for the television anime. The ending theme song is "Bokutachi no Hibi" by Sachiko Kobayashi. Kotringo performed the insert song "Negaigoto".

The official soundtrack collection, credited to Masumi Itō, was released in Japan on 27 June 2025, the same day as the Japanese theatrical opening. The release included the opening theme, the ending theme, the insert song, and the film score.

Release

Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid: A Lonely Dragon Wants to Be Loved was released in Japan on 27 June 2025. Japanese theater listings gave the film a runtime of 105 minutes.

Crunchyroll announced that it had acquired theatrical rights for the film outside Asia. In the United States, Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment released the film in select theaters for one night on 20 October 2025 as part of Crunchyroll Anime Nights. The U.S. presentation was in Japanese with English subtitles.

The film later screened in the United Kingdom from 4 March 2026. Netflix Japan listed the film as a 2025 anime title with Japanese audio and subtitles in English, Japanese, Korean, and Traditional Chinese.

The Japanese Blu-ray and DVD were announced for release on 21 January 2026, with special limited Blu-ray, deluxe Blu-ray, and standard DVD editions.

Reception

Box office

In Japan, the film opened in the top ten at the weekend box office after its 27 June 2025 release. By July 2025, the film had surpassed 400 million yen in cumulative box-office gross in Japan.

Critical response

Phil Hoad of The Guardian rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, praising its visual appeal while noting that viewers unfamiliar with the manga and anime might struggle with its dense continuity. Rotten Tomatoes listed one critic review for the film and reported a 3 out of 5 score from Hoad, along with verified audience ratings for the film's limited theatrical release.

Katarina McGinn of Dead Rhetoric responded positively to the film's action animation and emotional focus on Kanna, while also noting that the movie assumes familiarity with the cast and the earlier anime.