The bandit from Miss Kobayashi's Dragon Maid has a short appearance but a big impact on Tohru's life.

Here's a thread about their interaction, why it's important when looking at Tohru's character, and how it ties into the themes of freedom and choice in Dragon Maid!

The bandit is introduced by fearlessly approaching Tohru, stepping out of the shadows and into the light to leave herself open and bare to a potential threat. This openness, however, is important when thinking about her character thematically. To be free means to overcome fear.

She can see through Tohru's false tough mask. Tohru is supposed to be a member of the chaos faction yet the Bandit doesn't sense any bloodlust coming from Tohru. This is a sign that Tohru's "hatred" towards humans isn't something she 100% believes.

Despite being a supposedly evil dragon, Tohru chooses not to stomp on her and turn her into ground beef which proves the bandit's point. This signifies how Tohru has the ability to make a choice to not abide by her chaotic faction or hate humans even if she doesn't admit it.

The bandit mentions Tohru's ability to fly through the sky and the amount of power she has. These aspects are associated with ideas of freedom, she can go anywhere and use her power for control. However, we learn that Tohru, despite having both of these, doesn't feel free at all.

These abilities that the bandit is in awe about is just normal to someone like Tohru, just because one has these powers doesn't mean they're free in the slightest. She was born and conditioned to be a fighter, and despite the sky being open to her, this life shackles her down.

If her battle with the divine ends and her entire purpose in life was to battle the divine, then what would she have to live for afterward. Can she truly say she was happy that whole time? The close-up shot signifies how extremely introspective Tohru is thinking at this moment.

Here we reach the idea of choice. Human or not, one should be able to choose their own path in life. Sure, the girl wants to become a maid which is all about attending to their master, but it's a job she aspires for out of her own free will that will grant her happiness.

She teaches Tohru that pursuing her own personal happiness through her own choices is an integral part of what it means to be free! As Mob from Mob Psycho 100 would say, one has to be the protagonist of their own life.

Tohru was under the impression that living without choice and always being told what to do was how she was supposed to live. She realizes she doesn't have anyone she wants to see, she's alone and purposeless because of her current lifestyle that wasn't her choice to begin with.

Tohru was able to empathize with a human and, for the first time, questions her choices in life and now desires freedom. The fact that Tohru feels sad about a human leaving her life even further shows how Tohru has the ability to choose a path where she can coexist with people.

This bandit's dream certainly rubbed off on Tohru as they're now living the same dream of serving someone they love through their own choices. One small interaction changed her entire worldview and has lead Tohru down a path of true happiness carved by her own free will.

Thank you for reading! If you enjoyed reading this thread, please consider sharing it around! I plan on writing more analysis type of threads in the future ^_^