Episode 5

"Does Catfish, Taste Good?" is the fifth episode of the Kumo Desu ga, Nani Ka? anime adaptation. It broadcasted on February 5th, 2021.

Summary
When Kumoko steps into the Middle Stratum, she is immediately faced with danger from an Elroe Gunerush, a seahorse-looking worm. She can't fight it because it spits fireballs from range while swimming in magma. To make matters worse, her webs are so weak to fire that just the air of the middle stratum burns them up almost instantly. Lamenting, she heads back down to the Lower Stratum, sets up a home, and evolves into the Small Poison Taratect.

Afterwards, she browses the skills she is able to purchase with her skill points and decides to pick up Pride for 100 skill points. This awards her a Ruler Title, which has a confusing description, and the title cascades into two skills: Abyss Magic LV10 and Hades. Since she can't use magic, she tries Hades, which does nothing. Taboo also increases by two levels upon acquiring Pride.

The perspective shifts from Kumoko to Schlain and Feirune, where Fei talks about her evolution while Schlain uses Appraisal to take a look at her stats. While heading to class, they chat about how oddly boring their lives are, still going to school in a fantasy world. While in class, Yuri has a talk with Schlain about the Taboo skill, demanding that she be informed if his appraisal shows anyone with this skill so that she can inform the Word of God Church to have them executed. Schlain is shocked by her violent words and Fei is trying to stay quiet, due to the fact that she has Taboo due to acquiring the Kin Eater title.

Moving back to Kumoko, who is trying to figure out how to use magic from her available skills and talks about her training Fire Resistance so that she can traverse the Middle Stratum. She is ambushed by Earth Dragon Kagna, though, and is forced to enter the Middle Stratum before she is fully prepared. When she fights the Gunerush, she discovers that it is pretty stupid; it uses up all its MP and then leaves the safety of the magma to physically attack Kumoko, though it is so slow that Kumoko teases it before killing it.

The next encounter is not long after. While continuing deeper into the Middle Stratum she is ambushed by two Elroe Gunesevens. She tries out a few new tricks, including adding poison and fire resistance to her thread. She eventually defeats one by lobbing her deadly spider venom into its mouth, and when it dies, the other one retreats. Feeling a bit safe, she decides that she can eat the catfish-looking monster and begins to cry. It is the first thing she's eaten that tastes good and she feasts on it while lamenting that she let the other one go. The episode ends with her singing about hunting the Gunesevens to extinction for tasty food.

Major Events

 * Kumoko evolves into the Small Poison Taratect.
 * Kumoko obtains her first Ruler skill, Pride.
 * Fei evolves to get stronger and extend her lifespan.
 * Kumoko is forced to traverse into the middle stratum by Earth Dragon Kagna.
 * Kumoko defeats her first wyrm, an Elroe Gunerush.
 * Kumoko discovers that Elroe Guneseven meat tastes delicious and vows to hunt them to extinction.

In Order of Appearance

 * Kumoko
 * Feirune
 * Schlain
 * Sue
 * Yuri
 * Karnatia

Monsters

 * Elroe Gunerush
 * Earth Dragon Kagna
 * Elroe Guneseven

Locations

 * Great Elroe Labyrinth
 * Lower Stratum
 * Middle Stratum
 * Kingdom of Analeit

Music
kumo-anime.com/Music
 * Opening: Keep Weaving Your Spider Way (安月名莉子) / Riko Azuna
 * Ending: Ganbare! Kumoko-san (がんばれ! 蜘蛛子さん)