Mar 5, 2024
Most isekai follow a very empty and repetitive plot. Protagonist X is a generic shut-in gamer who worries more about his in-game character's stats over his own education. Suddenly, event Y occurs and he is transported into a fantasy world; a world where weapons, warlocks, and scantily-dressed girls are as far as the eye can see. In this world, he is paired with Girl A, who has a strange attraction to the foreigner. Together, they take on the evil forces of the Devil/Demon King, meeting Girl B and Girl C, who share that same attraction to the protagonist. Then it stops abruptly when you realize
...
that seasons take forever to get animated and you're not going to see what happens next for another three years. Oh, and there's also lots of eye candy for the standard male viewer to gawk at just in case the story was too boring to want to listen to.
This is typical, this is tried, this is true, and this is also kind of boring.
Where Konosuba differs is the intent of these plot devices. Yes, the protagonist is a shut-in gamer and experiences an event that brings him to the world we spend the rest of the series in. But the event is not only unique, it is hilariously so, something that I've yet to see in an isekai anime. Yes, he is immediately paired with a girl who has more bosom than brightness. But the girl in question not only hates his guts, she is also tagging along with him against her will rather than doing it out of sheer interest in this random Japanese nobody. Yes, there are two more girls that join the main crew. But they are just as stupid, if not more, than the first girl, and bring their own annoyances that drive our protagonist up the wall in every episode. The Devil King returns to yet another universe where we will never see him. But we can see his lackeys, and they are hilarious secondary characters that bring an even greater dose of humor to the show. And then there’s the cleavage. It is there in spades, and it’s kind of annoying at some point when you remember that boobs do not, in fact, move like that. If it’s not obvious enough, Konosuba takes a satirical spin on your typical isekai plot with monkey paw twists to its characteristics, VERY crude humor, abundant jiggle physics, and the occasional upskirt shot.
But that’s the thing, it’s satirical. At the end of the day, a satirical take on a much loved genre just doesn’t suit the fancy of some anime fans. Think of it like lunch in the schoolyard. In yester-year, the isekai that were loved were the brown paper-bag lunches atop the skyscraper, the ones you’d enjoy with students who were just like you. Nowadays, isekai like Konosuba are the Lunchables that one rich kid brings in their bright and shiny thermos lunchbox, the ones that make the less fortunate kids stare with envy. The typical anime fan is the kid that still brings the brown bag containing a healthy portion of all major food groups; the kid that cares not that the rich kid can make a mini pizza for themselves rather than express jealousy about it.
I can sympathize with them. Sometimes I grew tired of the same old jokes, the same punchlines consisting of either boobs, a character’s idiocy, or both if they were feeling extra daring. This type of humor is funny as much as it is a nuisance to deal with over and over again. Think that one meme template that uses a Diary of a Wimpy Kid drawing panel, where Manny says something and receives laughs and some light praise. Then he says it again, and now everyone is visibly distraught and long past the point of laughing. The humor present in the show can balance between either an eyeroll or a light chuckle, two extremes that many would prefer to see at least the middle of as to not be too daunting. To its benefit, many of the jokes land in the latter category.
Maybe it’s because I found it funny at some points and annoying the rest of the time. Maybe it’s because I have watched objectively better isekai that took itself seriously. Maybe it’s because this is the first anime I ever watched no thanks to my friend who decided this was a great kickoff to my journey. But Konosuba is an acquired taste. If you are one who is willing to take the punches at your favorite genre, you may like it more than you think. However, if you are not fond of the humorous criticism, the hyperbolic tropes, and the over-exaggerated amount of eye candy, then it may not be something for you. And that is completely fine.
Honestly, it probably wouldn't want you to watch it either.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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