Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!

WELCOME TO KONOSUBA'S RIFT

This review will be rigged with League of Legends references. If you don't get it, you obviously need to start playing the game right now. And no there's no spoiler.

Konosuba > DotA 2 *Grabs boobs*.

At a quick glance, Konosuba might be as average as any other RPG harem where the MC is Faker playing against a bunch of Crowns and Kuros, where all he has to do is perform a barrel roll on stage then proceed to win Worlds. Three times.

WRONG. It's far from that yet it was so good that I would consider this anime to be THE anime of the season. How? (MF support duh)

After 10 episodes directed by Mr. Michael Bay, our party of Bronze V garbage feeders still hasn't managed to get out of the ghetto ass town made for noobs and losers, let alone destroying the enemy Nexus. Basically, the plot moved SLOWER THAN THE FUCKING CLOCK WHEN I'M AT WORK. At the very least, they did manage to slay a super fed Mordekaiser (but he did nothing wrong ;_;), farm that clueless Tahm Kench over and over and survive a debacle of One-for-all Renekton gank.

30 SECONDS UNTIL MAIN CHARACTERS SPAWN

The art was bright and colorful, reflecting the overall mellow mood. the background and water art were especially beautiful that they gave me eyegasm. The skin, textures and animation is fairly good, but at times they were sloppy like a bunch of chimpanzees were substituted in to take charge of production.

The soundtracks and OP/ED songs were okay, fairly relaxing, mellow which captured the overall silly and light-hearted nature of the series but not that impressive (to me at least). It would've been better if the troll music from Random LoL Moments on Youtube were used. On the other hand, the voice acting was superb which greatly contributed to the comedy and overall enjoyment of the series. Kazuma's "Hai, Kazuma desu", Aqua's cries and rants were so hilarious I can't even.

What made Konosuba highly enjoyable was the team of 5 totally dysfunctional, insufferable trash players and the comedy that resulted from their inability to cooperate, which led to their flaming one another and getting utterly raped by whatever's going on around them. Konosuba makes fun of the RPG genre and its cliches in general instead of following them, leaving a stronger impression on me, the viewer who's obviously tired of SAO, Log Horizons and such. Furthermore, no anime would be complete without this most fundamental rule: Cute girls. Konosuba's cast of girls (and Kazuma) were cute, yes, they're even highly distinctive and did not fall into apparent tropes that are so overused nowadays, making them relatively fresh.

"Baa.......kaaaa Ta...taaa......taric-kun, it's not like I wanted to go bot lane with you or anything... Don't misunderstand" - Tsundere Ezreal.

"I'm sorry Lux-chan, I, Taric, Ezreal-tan's eternal lover will be the only one allowed to go bot lane with him" *Swings hammer* - *Rainbow splatters* - Yandere Taric

No, no, we don't need any of that, get outta here.

MAIN CHARACTERS HAVE SPAWNED

- The adc: Satou Kazuma, leader, our hella weak dickwad of an adc compared to Jesus-kun of the RPG world Kirito, but he's got the brain and he actually fights smart despite his auto-flaming. His cynical and realist attitude separated him from our usual never-give-up nakama-powered MCs, which might as well make him the best MC of the season. He's the only adc to not dive into the middle of the enemy team, as rare as it sounds. He's surrounded by idiots and the way he deals with them is uber hilarious, reminds me of how I deal with my own League party. You did not realize that the adc is a melee, and you're not going to question it. Move on

FIRST BLOOD

- The Mid Laner, One Explosion Girl a.k.a Michael Bay's waifu: She's basically Ziggs but with only the Ult, thus she's literally useless after using it, requiring someone to carry her (literally and figuratively) else she'll feed the enemy team's Tahm Kench and Mordekaiser. She is, of course, flamed by Kazuma throughout the series. She's cute, yeah, but she's not like your average moeblob. She's got explosive personalities, explosive ambitions and explosive love for explosions. Hue

ENEMY DOUBLE KILL

- The Top Laner, a.k.a MasoLeona: What's better than a tank? A MASOCHISTIC TANK!!!!!!! She's tankier than Rammus, Malphite, and Alistar w/ full tank build combined but her aim is worse than mine in the morning trying to piss while blinded by the Satan God Teemo (he's the real Demon King they have to kill). Needlessly to say, she joyously took all the aggro and flaming like a real M. Scenes where she verbally "abused" the honorable Dullahan were priceless. Poor Dully. If only she could aim her E properly... Who even plays Leona top nowadays? This is like fucking Dyrus trolling every game when he's streaming after having retired from TSM.

ENEMY TRIPLE KILL

- The Support, Best Girl (sorry Michael Bay fans): Basically your toxic feeder Nami with legs building ap instead of support items while going around trash talking to people and fucking shit up with wataah. She's super derp, always trying to ragequit, feeds Tahm Kench furiously and is constantly flamed by Kazuma but that's where the fun comes from. She just needs a hug and I wanna give her a big hug so badly because she was forced to play support by Kazuma, it's not her fault guys!!!

ENEMY QUADRA KILL

- The Jungler, Wizzlestick (because ap jungler w/ drain, but then again it's a contradiction because she is... well... thick, while Fiddlestick is... well... a stick): The one who is super fed but only came to gank like twice during the entire anime but who cares? She's kind and cute af, and she destroys the enemy when it matters most. Unfortunately the support absolutely hates her guts because she's not playing a meta champ, but this is the only time when not everyone blamed the jungler for their misery. If only she ganked lane more often, she'd be a best girl contender. Let's be honest that she's only here because I don't want to have a team of 4 when implementing League of Legends in my review.

ENEMY PENTAKILL

Everyone is 1/10 fed and 9/10 feeder, however due to the circumstances they have to stick together because 4 is always better than 1 (5 if the Jungler actually showed up). This is where Konosuba is most different and in a good way, the characters slowly get stronger, better at teamwork, more sympathetic and understanding of one another over, (still weak in the end), not shitting out powers and eternal bonds of friendship all of a sudden. Nobody gets ult from Level 1 guys...

OUR TURRET HAS BEEN DESTROYED

I could relate to Kazuma so well, being a decent League player who prefers to stick to a group of average feeders and make them better, rather than joining a bunch of diamonds because then victory doesn't feels like a true accomplishment, and there's no fun curb-stomping the enemy team all the time. Believe me, I raged hard the night I wrote this review because we played like retards lol.

OUR INHIBITOR HAS BEEN DESTROYED

After successfully defending the base from Super Siege Minion spawned by Warlord's Banner of Command, our gang must head into the counteroffensive to be brought by season 2. But until then, let's just say that season 1 was exhilarating to watch. I especially appreciated the silly comedy, the anti-harem and anti-OP MC themes from the series.

Michael Bay would be so proud of Megumin and Konosuba, someone needs to show him this series please.

DEFEAT.... barely avoided.

Helpful

read more

Konosuba is an anime that I initially thought was going to be great. I mean, it had awesome character design, and it was funny! Well... as you can probably see by the score, my opinion changed pretty quickly. 90% of comedy anime are destined for failure, because not everyone finds them funny. This one is no exception.
__________________________________________________________________________
STORY: 2/10

I'm pretty sure everybody has said this already, but, it really is true. After the extreme success of Sword Art Online the reality to game genre has become an insanely overused trope. Konosuba does have one thing going for it though... Instead of choosing to become ridiculously powerfull like almost every other protagonist, this protagonist decides to take the wish granter with him to the 'subarashi sekai'. I can tell you, I wasn't expecting that!
__________________________________________________________________________
ART: 6/10

The art itself in Konosuba... is bad. Really bad. As in, it looks way too old for 2016 quality. It could have been worse, MUCH worse, but it is by no means impressive. What is impressive however, is the animation, especially in episode 10, with all those explosion scenes. Radiant colors flaring everywhere, shapes of all different sizes, but most importantly, in the episodes with the succibi and in the mansion..... HOLY CRAP DID YOU SEE THOSE JIGGLE PHYSICS?!
__________________________________________________________________________
SOUND: 3/10

Ugh... well, here goes. Konosuba's sound factor. The opening theme is very catchy. But not the kind of way that makes you want to sing it all the time, the kind that makes you regret ever haring it because you can't stop singing it. The ending theme as well, is just plain and not something anyone will remember. I did like how some characters got themes to match their personalities, but even then the music was mediocre at best. The voice acting is done decently, but is nothing special. The sound effects were also average.
__________________________________________________________________________
CHARACTER: 4/10

I'm actually scared to be writing this right now, because the amount of butthurt fanboys is going to be insane. But, here goes... I'll start off with character design. Unrecognizable. Every. Single. One of 'em. They have the traditional 'fantasy world' clothing and design, through and through. As for their personalities: Kazuma is a funny lead that tries to defy the harem cliches. Aqua is funny as well, and memorable for sure, but she is outshined by Darkness, a masochist. Yep. You heard me. A masochist. Hilarious! And of couuuurse, how could I forget fan favorite Megumin! Super cute and always unleashing explosions, what is NOT to love about these characters?!....... They aren't funny anymore. Usually unique characters being fit into a 10 episode anime like this are praised and loved by all, because there isn't enough time to realize the flaws in the character. (I'm guilty of this also). That's not the case with Konosuba. I think it was around episode 7 when I stopped laughing because I had heard the same jokes over and over again. By episode 10, they were straight up annoying.
__________________________________________________________________________
OVERALL: 3.75/10

Konosuba... ok, I'm not even going to say it had potential, because it didn't. It was doomed to fail from the start. If you consider this anime funny it is definitely something to try, but if not, don't bother. I would only recommend it to extreme fans of the reality to game genre, and.... well... that's it. If you enjoy it, good for you! As for me, Konosuba was not my cup of tea.

Helpful

read more

MAKE WAY FOR THE ACTUAL BEST SHOW OF WINTER 2016!!!
KonoSuba spews out pure joys and rainbows. With other shows telling great stories or exploring philosophy and other themes, Konosuba ignores all that and focuses on pure entertainment! With genuinely hilarious albeit niche comedy, any flaws this series has are just parodied to still become enjoyable. There's very little to criticize about this show, because I'm not even sure whether or not all of these "flaws" it has are there on purpose or not.

KonoSuba is the obligatory goofball of its season. It's so over the top, but it manages to execute its quirkiness in a way that's super hilarious and lighthearted. Instead of pursuing a serious story, it focuses on slice of life shenanigans that make fun of stereotypes, like character tropes and MMO characteristics. KonoSuba is an amazing anime to just sit down and relax to. Other shows getting on your nerves with their turtle or cheetah pacing? Pop an episode of KonoSuba. Feeling down because you just finished an amazing show, and you have fallen into a showhole? KonoSuba will cheer you up with its refreshing comedy, and it will get you back into an anime watching mood in no time!

Pros:
- Cast of characters are funny and resemble other awesome characters.
- Parody references of MMO mechanics are creative, funny, and now that you think about it, MMOs make no sense at all!
- For a silly series, the animation and art is gorgeous and the soundtrack is awesome too! The ED especially has a Fairy Tail feel.
- Just pure joy comes out of watching this.
- MY CABBAGES!!!!
- The show is so cliche that it's anti-cliche.

Cons:
- There is very little relevant plot.
- Only 10 episodes. Really? Are you kidding?
- Has promises of going somewhere yet never does.
- Since characters are parodies, they don't have much character of their own and aren't very unique.

Story: 6
Despite the fact that there is almost no actual story, and that it's more like a slice of life of a stereotypical MMORPG world, the little events that happen are creative and enjoyable, especially to you hardcore MMORPG gamers out there. Konosuba's first episode is actually one of the better first episodes in the medium, as it tells you exactly what you're getting yourself into. The show parodies the mechanics of MMO games to the point of boner inducing laughs, such as highlighting the outrageousness of what MMO skills can do, as well as the randomness and weirdness of MMO events and quests. It also parodies anime by using subtle 4th wall breaks in reaction to what the characters say or do. The show is a parody and the characters know it. Konosuba has this quirk of doing something so stupidly outrageous that you can't even get mad at it. This show is incredibly self aware of its silliness, and as a result, takes it even higher.

Konosuba has this thing it likes to do, and that's bring everything full circle for the laughs. And when I say full circle, I mean literally full circle, as in by the end of all the outrageous things happening, the story hasn't progressed a single step. Even so, there is a sense of a growing bond, perhaps an unhealthy bond but a bond for sure, between the characters, and this is definitely something that progresses throughout the series. Unfortunately, this developing bond leaves the story in the dust. Konosuba is like parkour: it takes the most insane and outrageous route to get to where it wants to go, except it doesn't go anywhere.

Art: 8
Even silly anime have high budget art and animation, and KonoSuba is proof of that. The animation is actually really gorgeous (for example, the animation of the DNA strands are actually pretty cool!) The characters look like shit but for all the right reasons, Aqua's design highlights her adorableness and cynical nature. The other characters also have fitting designs for their characteristics, and have some little resemblances to other characters that they could possibly be based off of. However, this is Deen we are talking about, so it never keeps this quality of animation, and it lowers in quality constantly. KonoSuba is one of those shows that actually benefits from its shitty art at times, and the really poorly drawn faces make me laugh that much harder. In fact, I was under the impression that Deen was making fun of their own shitty animation with this series.

Sound: 8
The OP is catchy and the ED is amazing. The OST is pretty good, but the main highlight is the Voice Acting. The seiyuus match their characters amazingly, each line being executed with passion and energy. I wouldn't know for sure, but it sounded like the seiyuus were having a blast. The execution of the punch lines hit home every time. This show is a very loud show, characters are constantly screaming at each other and laughing in distorted ways, and I'm sure it's tough for the seiyuus' voices. When it comes to comedy, the jokes are only as funny as how funny it is told, and in this case, it was told well.

Characters: 9
This cast is so outrageous, they essentially make the show. Each character parodies a stereotype, and they do it very well. The MC, Kazuma, is the smart but talentless trope who is the only sane one around, and whenever his mindset matches the viewer, which happened a decent amount with me, it made the situations comedy gold. Aqua parodies the dumb but full of potential clumsy character, Megumin is the chuunibyou trope (except not really cause her powers are real) and has a lot of confidence. And of course, Darkness is the obligatory perverted masochist! They take their tropes as far as they can go, and it makes this show that much funnier.

However, gimmicks like these can only go so far. The real value behind these characters are their interactions. These days, character interactions are the base of comedy anime and if the interactions seem unnatural or forced, the jokes can only be so funny. In Konosuba, not only are the interactions very natural and flow well, but they are so god damn unpredictable. Despite the apparently clear cut tropes these characters follow, the interactions end up being stuff you wouldn't expect. Timing and predictability play as important of a role as the quality of the joke itself, and the cast of Konosuba goes out of their way to execute jokes perfectly.

Enjoyment: 10
This show is incredibly refreshing and, most importantly, holds a lot of rewatch value! It's a good example of a show that is good and feels good.

Overall: 8
This show is so fun to watch. If you want a show were you don't have to think about anything and you can just sit and enjoy whatever is thrown at you, this show's gotchu! Of course, many watch anime expecting a plot that actually goes somewhere, and Konosuba is definitely not going anywhere, but I implore that you at least give it a shot.

TL;DR: Take out all the flaws of SAO and replace it with comedy, and you get this show!

HERE IS TO A GLORIOUS AND OUTRAGEOUS SEASON 2!!!

Helpful

read more

(6.5/10) - If you are curious about the point system I use to grade shows, check my profile for more information.

______________________________________________________________


Konosuba is most likely the last anime i'll be watching this summer. In a way, that makes me happy. Its a very light-hearted and breezy show that I honestly don't want to critique too heavily. At its core, its just so likable and easy to watch. However, I wouldn't be a hardass if I didn't tear up a likable show like this every so often, so lets get into it.

Much like this show, i'll keep this review breezy and to-the-point. But not before I explain the concept of comedy.

...


The very base idea of a joke is something that makes someone laugh. Something told through a story with a funny punchline that subverts expectations and causes a response of happiness. Put simply, this is exactly what a joke should be.

Jokes and comedy in general live on unexpectedness. Something called "subversion." If you think back to any funny joke, the punchline is always there to subvert some sort of expectation. Whether its making something dirtier than you originally thought, or stupider, or more random, or darker, everything in humor is there to be unexpected at its core.

I won't delve into ironic humor which is obviously become so big recently. But that's it. To prove my point I typed in "Funny jokes" on google and the first website I went on was titled Jokes.cc.com.

I clicked the first tab I saw and the first joke I saw and what I read the following :

A grasshopper walks into a bar, and the bartender says, "Hey, we have a drink named after you!"
The grasshopper looks surprised and asks, "You have a drink named Steve?"

Is it a good joke? Well, maybe not. Its a very overdone joke at this point, but it follows every format that a joke does. It had a setup, a delivery, a punchline, and a subversion of expectations with that punchline. You expect a grasshopper not to have a name but man, his name is STEVE! Fucking hilarious! Or, at least it was at some point.

So the more we see a similar setup and delivery, the more unfunny a joke becomes. The less you get surprised when the punchline has an animal saying his name is "Steve". That subversion element is gone and the joke is no longer funny. It becomes a cliche.

But still, I see so much television out there that strives on comedic cliches in bad and good ways. In a bad way, there is television out there just checking off a checklist of "cliche humor that is sure to make someone laugh", and then in a good way, there are shows out there that use cliche humor AS the setup to a more clever or ironic punchline.

With that in mind, i'll get into Konosuba.

______________________________________________________________

[PART 1] : The theme

This is a fun little show. I won't waste your time by giving you a plot synopsis, but at its core its a show about a dysfunctional group of people trying to live in a fantasy world. I automatically recommend it for two kinds of people. Avid MMO players as well as just fans of anime.

Its at its funniest when it does clever (and occasionally not-so-clever) nods to the idea of being a show about a party in an MMO.

A tank who's a horndoggo masochist.

A healer who's a weakling and a coward.

A glass-cannon DPS who's out of mana after one spell.

The party-leader who's useless in combat.

Its a funny concept in itself and it lends well to subvert a lot of expectations that anime has. Especially with the boom of MMO anime like Sword Art Online, RE:Zero, etc. Its always nice to see the piss being taken out of a really popular cliche.

I just wish Konosuba actually did that more. I felt like this concept was often a bit too hidden or even underutilized. A lot of scenes were simply cliche and not a funny twist on the cliche. Mind you, I don't find pointing out that this a cliche and still doing it with a straight face is any different that just doing the cliche and moving on. If anything, it drags it out.

The show is occasionally self-aware and occasionally not. That's what makes the tonal shifts in a few episodes so jarring. We have a lot of self-awareness in the final episode of the season and then literally none in the episode before. This makes the author of the Light Novel feel as though he's cherry picking the things he wants to make fun of. If anything, the reason this show falls a little short in execution is because the author isn't willing to to go "whole hog" with the concept.

Its like he's laughing at one thing because he thinks its stupid and then doing another, equally dumb, cliche with a straight face. It comes off as though he's not creative enough to think of something else in place of that cliche. Or if anything, do it with the same self-awareness.

_____________________________________

[PART 2] : Art


After I finished the show I read a little about the response it got. The show received a mostly positive response, however, I see a lot of people criticizing its art. Personally, I didn't find it any worse than a lot of anime I've seen. In fact, it did a few things better.

I'll gladly take simpler designs with enhanced animation over complex designs over literally just still images (looking at you ever Shounen-action show ever).

So this shows actual animation was fairly solid throughout. It was unclean, sure, but honestly that kind of added to the charm of the whole thing. I liked that these characters didn't feel like a perfect-looking flawed bunch. They are a flawed-looking flawed-bunch, which fits.

Whether this was done on purpose or not doesn't matter to me. I'm going to give Studio Deen the benefit of the doubt here. Where this show is also a bit hit-or-miss with is the character designs.

We get a generic looking protagonist with Kazuma, who gets elevated by VA Jun Fukushima's voice work, which is often times deadpan and the highlight of the show, comedy wise.

Other characters are also fairly uninspired looking. From the goddess, Aqua, and her "seen her before" look of "anime goddess". To a few of the locals having the whole "same-face" treatment.

That being said, the show stands out with its design of Darkness, the crusader tank of the group who's armor looks pretty great. As well as the adorable Loli mage Megumin who quickly skyrocketed to my favorite character in the entire show. Her design is the shows most unique (and cute) as well as a pretty nice performance by her VA, Rie Takahashi, who from the looks of it is newer to voice acting than the others in the show.

So the design is a mixed bag that's elevated by the entire style of the show. I'm also a complete sucker for fantasy, as its my favorite genre. So everything from the quaint starting town to the grass-swept hills are things that I look at extremely fondly.

______________________________________________________________

[PART 3] : Sound


I'll keep it short. The sound design in the show is OK. It seems to be using the same effects as most other shows in similar environments use. This is fine, to be honest. I'm not expecting some crazy level of detail in the sound design. Apart from the cool popping noises we get from Megumin's magic, and the magic itself looking pretty cool, its generally run-of-the-mill.

The intro song is also fairly forgettable, to be honest. There's really nothing about it that's memorable and it plays as every other Shounen opening does. Its loud, poppy, and features scenes of the characters looking at the camera or at each other.

Where this show REALLY excels in sound is the credits song, which is fucking. AMAZING. It might actually be my favorite song I've heard an anime produce, ever. Its really really good and I found myself constantly just listening to the entire credits track, which is something I've never done before.

It honestly perfectly encapsulates the starting zone feel in MMO's. It has this soothing, catchy, and memorable quality about it. It also reincorporates the shows title in it. Its perfect and I wish i heard more of it as I believe that in the second season when they inevitably leave the starting area, the song won't be used.

______________________________________________________________

[PART 4] : Comedy


Inevitably, lets talk about comedy. I touched a little on it in the first part, but lets get into it fully. This show is a action-comedy show which means that the comedy is equally, if not the biggest element in the show. Its also the first action-comedy anime I've seen. Even if a lot of the action Shounen that I've seen did have comedy elements.

This show is very "anime" with its comedy. I hope that doesn't sound offensive, but every single anime i've seen approaches comedy in a very similar way. For some reason, and I cannot for the life of me place it, maybe its cultural or something, anime has this necessity of making a joke TOO obvious. It makes the joke right in your face. It suffocates you with it. Every reaction is usually overdone and HUGE.

This is great for some people, especially people who love unsubtle slapstick. But for someone like me who finds comedy to be the funniest when its subtle, it falls flat more times than one.

Although this show does do some funny facial expressions as well as cuts the music for some deadpan delivery, which actually did get a few chuckles from me, it often feels as though its too deep in its "roots" to try and create anything subtle about any of its delivery.

The only actor who really nails it with the concept of "subtle" is our protagonists VA. I don't think I've ever called the protagonist of an anime its "best" part, but honestly, Kazuma wrung the most laughs from me. He plays the deadpan to the other characters crazy, which makes him a funny foil a lot.

The show also has a tendency to drag its very obvious setups and jokes on. A panty-stealing scene is forgivable as it helps establish our protagonists knack for the 'steal' spell. But a bathing scene that goes from chuckle-worthy eye-roll-inducing cliche to "please this is just getting stupid" is the show cutting it a bit too long.

To reiterate my point about comedy way above in the start of the review. The writer needs to realize that adept watchers who watch a lot of television pin-point cliches from a mile away. Just because you point out certain cliches doesn't make the cliches you do any more forgivable. If anything, it makes them LESS forgivable.

...


In a show that's bases is its interactions between characters, i'm also sad to say that these interactions become a bit stale. Especially the relationship between Kazuma and the goddess Aqua, which becomes repetitive by episode five.

Thankfully romance is never really introduced into this harem-esq show as that would spoil any amount of fun I was having. It just doesn't need shit like that. Especially since these characters talking is so one-note a lot of the time.

The only scenes which honestly don't have semi-cliche and repetitive dialogue are the scenes with Kazuma and the best character, Megumin. Their scenes feel more natural and as though they actually have a friendship, instead of darting from "caring about these people " to "hating their guts", like our protagonist does so often.

This impacts the shows development. Which a comedy show doesn't necessarily NEED to have, but if it prompts not to have development, it NEEDS to have a solid base of characters.

...


Shows like Rick and Morty, Community, Parks and Recreations, The Office, Arrested Development, all have character development and progression.

While shows like Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia do not. So how does Always Sunny stay fresh? Well the base characters that we were introduced to had a various amount of personality to them. They came stock with so much personality that the show can ring eleven, ten episode long seasons from them and it still feel fresh. The show is still going onto its twelfth too.

So where Konosuba should really focus next season is on making sure these characters don't feel as one note. Not every dialogue scene has to end with Aqua and Kazuma yelling at each other. Not every scene has to end with Darkness being awkwardly sexual. Its just not necessary since those parts of the characters are already established.

Much like the joke about the grasshopper named Steve has become old and overused, these characters interactions became somewhat of a drag midway through this shows VERY short season!

This is only emphasized by the messy introduction of a lot of background characters that fill up the show. From Kazuma's two friends that get randomly introduced in episode nine to the lich Wiz, who all feel like stories cut from the Light Novel that were still included in the show.

Its more than a bit messy.

______________________________________________________________

[Conclusion] :


So I don't find it THAT funny, I find the base concept generic, I think it misses a lot of opportunities to comment on MMO's, it cherry picks too often on what it wants to be meta about... why does this show have a 6.5/10? Which is by all means an above average score!

Well, as I said early in the review, its likable. If I wasn't laughing at certain scenes and jokes, I had a little grin on my face. It was a fun little show to watch and I found myself thankful that it only had ten episodes. These ten episodes were a bit messy, much like the animation and dialogue, but they were endearing if anything.

Everything from the montage in the third episode of Megumin and Kazuma blowing shit up to the way the shows slice-of-life feel is formatted with quests these characters need to complete.

And these quests were the shows more entertaining aspects because I know many people including myself have had these experiences with players in an MMO before. The hilarious incompetence is something we look fondly back on. I only wish this show focused more on that. Its most laugh-out-loud moments came from quests as well as the events that came about because of those quests.

Most specifically the entire string between episode two and three, where a quest involving giant frogs leads to some pretty damn funny results. These results are what build this shows undoubtedly large heart.

I think it wrongfully thinks that its heart comes from emotional scenes that it sparingly includes in its run-time. No. Its heart comes from everything but that. Its the working for money. The questing and getting overrun by mobs. The high-level player encounter. Its all what makes MMO so memorable.

I hope the show doesn't lose that feel when the second season airs next year. I hope it keeps that and doesn't instead go into its own more focused story. Have them move around doing higher level quests, gear up, and just work together. From that there could be ample time to develop these characters more.

I get that their point is that their all just a dumb bunch of shlubs, but if they aren't going for an Always Sunny in Philadelphia level of unlikable douchebaggery, then the author shouldn't be hesitant to give them a better relationship with each other.

I give this show a lot of merit because for everything that it does wrong or messily it makes up for in memory and heart. For every joke that falls flat on its ass and every prolonged scene of awkward and not very well done fan-service, the shows more relaxed moments are what kept me watching in the end.

This brings me back to the end-credit song of the show. That songs perfectly explains the feelings this show occasionally delivered. That's what I want to see more of. Not another scene of Aqua being bitchy or Darkness having giant jiggly tits. Let the comedy come naturally through the flow of events that a lot of people can relate to.

Let the breezy heart of the show take you away into the world.

Helpful

read more

The influx of MMO themed anime in the recent years may have viewers disheartened by the fact that mostly those share very similar premises and are executed for the most part in similar ways without any significant difference. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, or Konosuba in short, is yet another such anime, yet with an interesting twist: it actually takes a comedic stance on its themes, as well as characters, which is great to see in the sea of MMO-type of anime. In fact, it could be seen as a parody of the genre. However, as enjoyable as the anime was, it suffers from various issues, the main one being its aimless demeanor after reaching its peak in the first half.

~Story~

The story of Konosuba is focused around Kazuma Satou who just casually dies on the most average day of his life, and in the most unheroic way at that. When he reawakens in the afterlife, he is given the choice to either go to heaven or defeat the Demon King, and goes for the latter - not after he appoints the arrogant Godess Aqua to join him in his journey. With both personalities being quite different, the one being pessimistic, while the other arrogant, hilarity ensures. This is further backed by the comedic approach on its themes and story, which for some may be hit or miss.

The premise of defeating a demon lord has been explored an innumerable amount of times, yet this anime manages to incorporate genuine hilarious elements such as parodies directly to some MMORPG game mechanics (useless skills, grinding, you name it) or the several anime troupes within the genre itself. It is actually hilarious to see. A thing that stands out in the anime is the sense of authenticity of the character's progression: by repeating several actions that represent the "grind" in a game, these convey to audiences a continuous, yet wide-spanning timeline, in which the characters relationships develop, besides of displaying the little details of the world they live in. Concerning the pacing of this work, it is well executed, keeping viewers for most of its duration interested by not prolonging any scene or event longer than necessary, which mostly applies to the flow events as well. Characters are introduced through the various mechanics of the world in a satisfying manner, which is an added bonus.

However, as positive as it may sound, the anime sadly suffers from progression issues after the first half. The first five episodes are dedicated to a introducing the main characters and their hardships, as well as introducing the various secondary characters; with of course hilarious scenes and jokes. Furthermore, progression was made to reach their ultimate goal, the defeat of the Demon King, which kept the story interesting. However, the anime settles itself with little to no progression on the last part, in addition to jokes getting old, and at times just lacking. This is further noticeable with various characters that are abruptly introduced and then left forgotten, with a heavy increase in fanservice in an episode that kind of broke with the immersion of this piece. Naturally, the short duration of the series may have had an impact on the aforementioned problems.

~Characters~

Comedy can never be as good without its characters: Konosuba did actually a great job on this department, albeit admittingly being a bit shallow at times. The different personalities of the cast further enhanced the comedic aspect of the series, which could have gone wrong when treated wrongly. Character development is nihil in this show, but was easily forgiven as it was not its focus. The interactions between the cast are well executed, despite their opposing personalities: this is tackled by the situation they find themselves in, in which they are forced together due to their circumstances. In fact, they're for most part actually just plain dumb or average. Some supporting characters are introduced, but for the most part felt rather lacking, as these were either introduced and forgotten, or the main characters came in contact with them, but that happened off-screen.

The protagonist Kazuma is where the show is centered about, and quite honestly, the driving force behind the whole show. His cynical and pessimistic personality on life really adds to the overall enjoyment of the series, as he is quite the opposite of your typical protagonist: furthermore, it is quite hilarious to see his interactions with his peers. Then there is Aqua that, despite being a Goddess, is quite arrogant and self-absorbed, it is quickly apparent she is quite the useless person, further mocking the "goddess" title. Some character development could be appreciated due to various events, yet was sufficient to feel authentic. Other characters of importance are Megumin, the archmage chuunibyou with am obsession about demon magic, or the masochistic crusader Darkness, who admittingly got a bit annoying by the end of the show.

~Animation and sound~

The animation quality of Konosuba was as a whole average, yet certainly sufficient without breaking immersion in the story. What must be mentioned are the animations on the boobs of the female cast: these varied immensely, going from either saggy to upright. This might have been on purpose, yet why is unclear. As for the art style, it was at first glance rather lacking, yet as the anime progressed, it became apparent that this particular art style worked in its favour: especially when the facial expression are concerned. This matched magnificently with the various situations, personalities and atmosphere it was trying to convey.

The soundtrack of Konosuba complemented with the comedic nature of the anime, although being either generic, or just forgettable. The opening and ending themes matched as well, yet, once again, were average. However, the selection of voice actors for the different characters were certainly very well done, matching with the different tones and personalities of the cast.

~Enjoyment~

Overall Konosuba was a title that came as a very pleasant surprise this season: in fact, I wouldn't have started it were it not for the recommendation of a user. The anime uses a template that has been recycled greatly, yet does it with a parodying stance on the MMO genre: this was further enhanced by its cast of character and voice actors. Despite all of this, it sadly suffered from an aimless demeanor in its last half, which was disappointing, albeit having some amusing moments. Regardless of said issues, I can't deny I enjoyed it, and I will be awaiting for the second season of Konosuba that has been announced. I truly hope it expands on its premise and progresses on it in the second season. This is a type of anime that can be either hilarious to some, or just plain bad for others, so depending on what you have read, it may be something for you.

Thank you for reading.

Helpful

read more

Ah Konosuba!

I have a confession to make. When watching a show of the fantasy genre, I’d often try to picture myself as the protagonist. In this series, it’s almost impossible for me to do with a guy like Kazuma. Why? Because he’s stuck with three characters who are all troublesome in their own ways and that’s something I’d find a hard time dealing with. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo (also known as Konosuba!) is a show based on the light novel that’s a bit unusual for a fantasy story.

On paper, the show feels like the generic type of stuff we see based on light novel adaptations. Kazuma is a hikikomori and he ends up dead after trying to save a girl. I’m sure we’ve probably heard of this a million times before. Soon, he encounters Aqua, a goddess and is given a chance to be reincarnated in his current body with memories and apparently mission to defeat the Demon King. The first episode quickly establishes the essence of the story and it’s pretty straightforward. That is..until you realize the show is seemingly a parody of itself.

Every episode, there are segments when the characters are self-aware about their surroundings. If you don’t believe me, just ask Kazuma. As a guy with a vast knowledge about otaku culture, there’s no question that the show often makes fun of him. The interactions and relationships he forges with others is also mostly comedic. Kazuma and Aqua’s relationship stands out as the idiot duo. It’s pretty easy to see that they aren’t very compatible especially with Kazuma’s self-interests. In essence, he isn’t a hero that fights for others but mostly for himself. In the meantime, Aqua is often useless with her skills and low intelligence despite having the status of a Goddess. Often or not, the two shares a relationship that stands along the firm line of “two people basically forced to cooperate with each other”. It doesn’t stop there though. Megumin, a mage with chunnibyou-like personality and Darkness, a masochist knight also joins them on the quest. Together, they make up the Adventurer’s Guild.

For those who are familiar with Chuunibyou demo Koi ga Shitai, Megumin will probably feel similar to the character, Rika. Her over exaggerated speeches and chuunibyou behavior are the highlights of her character. And adding to her arsenal of tricks, she’s got explosive magic which apparently has a limit before she collapses in comedic fashion. Then, there’s Darkness. She’s both an honorable knight and masochist. Yeah, you heard that right. For some peculiar reason, the show also makes her look like a jobber as she often misses her attacks in comedic fashion. When examining these two characters, it’s easy to say that the party is doomed to fail. How are they supposed to defeat the Demon King with this pool of talent? The answer might be Kazuma but his thieving skills doesn’t help much either except for stripping others of their panties. Nonetheless, the show makes it clear that the quest isn’t meant to be taken seriously. Each episode divides segments in their fantasy world and show what Kazuma’s party is capable of. Unfortunately for them, it often ends up with disastrous moments like being swallowed by oversized toads, being assaulted by armies of cabbages, trapped by alligators, etc. You get the general idea. In retrospect, the show is self-aware of its intentions and almost makes us pity the protagonists for their pathetic worthiness.

However, that’s what actually makes the series stand out as enjoyable. It’s fun with all the comedic factors with Darkness’ machoism or Aqua being useless during their adventure. Kazuma’s character is more of a deconstruction of the hero trope and his death is even portrayed as a parody. And while it seems like he may have a “harem”, there’s actually a lot more emphasis on Kazuma trying to escape from the trio. However, there’s development in their connection as well. While the girls sees him as a useless leader of the group, they do trust him more and more throughout the show. Similarly, Kazuma does begin rely on his party more as times goes on. However, their quest results are often pretty predictable where they manage to defeat the boss, but not without getting a lot of humiliation in between.

To sum it up, this show will probably be a hit or miss for the audience. It will really depend on how you take in the humor as the show sells its comedy. At times, it’s genuinely funny while other times may feel like it’s forced down our throats. However, I’d say that the show handled its comedy aspects right. The protagonists may feel irritating to watch but also very entertaining because of how much they fail. It’s subverted to the point where we have to wonder if they are legitimate adventurers. As a fantasy-adventure show, it’s also interesting to see how far it extends its concepts. It follows a lot of standards like game currency, completing quests, guilds, and fighting bosses. Just don’t take the show seriously because of the quests themselves are more of a joke than anything else. It’s still a legitimate fantasy series but unlike some fantasy shows such as Hai to Grimgar, it’s all about more having fun rather than surviving.
On the lesser fun note, the artwork is a really downside produced by studio DEEN. The previews weren’t impressive so I had low expectations from the start. After watching the series, my mind didn’t change much in terms of technical visuals. The characters look like they are cut from a potato with minimal effort. There’s not much details poured into the characters besides the character designs (minus Kazuma as he always looks dull). Backgrounds looks moderate although convincing for the fantasy setting while the action is more or less exciting. Oh and of course, there’s some fan service. From suggestive camera angles to masochism, it’s there.

When examining the soundtrack, it’s actually fairly well done. While the OP and ED theme songs aren’t spectacular, it’s constructed with a clear amount of fantasy details and highlights of the main protagonists. The show also retains a lighthearted OST soundtrack because the series really isn’t meant to be taken seriously. And finally, I have to give some praise to the main characters’ voice acting. All of the characters are fun to watch by voice talent as they are able to sell their comedic expressions. From character interactions to fighting against bosses, it’s quite entertaining to see how they react during near-death moments. Oh and who can forget about Darkness’ masochistic behavior?

This show is actually surprising. That is, it’s surprising at how the idea of ‘being trapped in a fantasy world’ can be so much fun. From the endless parodies, self-awareness, and character expressions, it’s easy to say that Konosuba is more than just about completing quests. This is probably going to be a deciding factor for most viewers as the comedy will not appeal to everyone. It sometimes can feel too forced or repetitive. Also, it doesn’t help with the minimal amount of characterization as the show itself makes fun of its character cast. The art department also seems to put poor effort into constructing the series as a whole. However, I’d still advise giving Konosuba a try. It took me a little time to get used to the comedy as well but in the end, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

Oh and Season 2 was announced today. Here we go again (soon)!

Helpful

read more

There goes KonoSuba! What an hell of a ride it has been!

Honestly, at first glance Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! (God's Blessings on this Wonderful World!) or simply put as KonoSuba, feels nothing groundbreaking in a sense that its set in an RPG world, with the protagonist being a hardcore gamer and a shut-in, and on top of that its supposed to be a parody and a light comedy show. This is where it proves all the odds wrong by throwing a totally absurd, non-sensical whack job that forces the viewer to shut all his reasonings for a moment and simply sit back and take a piece of what's on offer. KonoSuba is one of those rare shows that is legitimately funny, and actually make you laugh with dialogues that are supposed to. What makes this show just brilliant is that its not a try-hard at whatever it does, but simply offers you what its genuinely good at, and that is to make the viewer piss his pants by laughing.

Like how laudable is that for a show, that dares to mix in all the elements and different genres, to go on and satisfy our needs to the fullest? You have a setting in an imaginary world inside like that of an RPG, you have cute moe girls that are set up with our supposedly miserable MC which creates a harem, and an endless amount of fanservice on offer. With all that added up, KonoSuba still manages to feed every category and does it without ever holding back. Now I said that the MC is supposed to be a loser who's a shut-in and obsessed with games, but in all fairness I will say that he's one of the coolest fellows I've ever seen gracing an anime. Kazuma Satou is his identification and he DIES within a minute of episode 1. Don't worry, its not a certain popular shounen anime of the past, but a start to this extraordinary and at the same time silly adventure he's going to take part in. So as he dies, he's sent to an unexisting void where he meets a cocky Goddess, that tells him to make one of the two choices given to him to in order to decide what his afterlife would be like -- To go to Heaven; which is supposedly a boring place where only old people take solace in or in an entirely alternate world, where its total chaos caused by the Demon King to whom the people live in fear of and it would mean their freedom if the Demon King is defeated.

It's inevitable what Kazuma would choose as his fate to be, as a hardcore gamer who can experience his wish from his wildest dreams; to be an adventurer and a hero in a world filled with fantasies! He also gets an additional wish fulfilled, that is to have anything he wishes for -- from weapons to superpowers, to aid him on his journey to defeat the Demon King. Interestingly he chooses Aqua, who is none other than the Goddess waiting for Kazuma after his death!

As unwillingly as she is forced to join Kazuma on his quest, Aqua the Goddess takes on the challenge in order to get back to her original role as a Goddess. At first, the two seem to be a band of misfits, which is apparent by Aqua's arrogant personality and Kazuma's constant teasing of her calling her as a 'Dame-Gami' meaning a Useless Goddess. As the two march forwards they're joined by two other members; Megumin and Darkness. Apparently Megumin is an arch wizard who's a total klutz and clumsy all the time. One of her prominent feature in the show is her love for the technique "Explosion!", which is supposedly the strongest wizard attack there is. One setback of Megumin using this technique is it trains out all her energy and she's only able to propel it once at a time. She's often called the crazy girl for her over-exaggerating behavior and that's something she dislikes a lot. Kazuma's telling that he finds 'Megumin' as a weird name pisses her off, too. However, Megumin is one of the funniest character in the show and also the easily likable one. Darkness is a member that joins last in the group. She's a Knight and oddly... a masochist? Apparently she has one problem of missing the target and hitting something insignificant more, but that's just not about it, she has this weird fetish for being turned on in the most despairing situations! As often as her fights are with the villains and enemies, she always quotes the possibility of being overwhelmed in the fight and turning herself in, only to be sexually molested to the opposition's pleasings. And strangely enough, this turns her on even more! Quite excitingly though, this is one of the funniest feature of the whole show. Megumin might be the best girl of the show in my opinion, but I'll definitely ship Darkness and Kazuma more! (Sorry Aqua, try harder in the second season).

And yes! Talking about a possibility of having a second season, it's already been announced officially! I only just started this show a day earlier, and as I hit the halfway mark in the show, I was already so excited about the prospect of it having a second season, something which is a first for me!

Moving on to the visuals of the show, and as well as the cons of it. The art style of the show throughout is underwhelming to say it in a word, with shoddy production values being evident. It was mediocre to begin with, but it does also shift to a worse position in some sections of the show, with the art being much more goofy than usual. This might be something Studio DEEN suffered from in its run, but its definitely something that wasn't lacking with the show providing plenty of positives that overwhelms the negatives in my opinion. The voice casting also brings in some of the newer personnel than usual we see in anime, but they definitely felt like professionals to me with them being in such a good sync with the characters and their traits as well. Jun Fukushima does an excellent job handling Kazuma and had his voice in perfect shape from one situations to the other. Rie Takahashi's youthful voice goes hand in hand with Megumin's quirky behavior. Kudos to the voice casting for a job very well done. The OP & ED simply do their jobs, they're nothing outstanding nor do they contribute to any expectations to come from the show. The ED is a nice country music-like and is joyful to hear.

KonoSuba isn't touching great heights with its story weaving but its not just a mere comedy show. That's a pure understatement to this show. When I say KonoSuba is legitimately funny, I mean it. With regular chaos-filled fights to the squad quarrels, the dialogues are immersed with excitement.

This is my only pitch to you, watch KonoSuba and appreciate the entertainment it so wonderfully provides.

Helpful

read more

Another LN of the "go to fantasy world" trope, this time it's comedy.

Let's get something through, is Konosuba unique? No. Is it good? No. Does it do anything slightly original? NOO.

Is it funny? That depends.

The story, setting and characters are largely irrelevant for a comedy show, and like all comedy shows Konosuba lives and dies on whether it is funny or not. To me it's not funny, Konosuba follows similar humor of Baka test, ie. addressing tropes of harem fantasy genre. But for me, this genre is already way too cancerous to be funny, and the jokes are things that had been done before and better.

Most of all, I compare all fantasy work that have a high female ratio to Touhou, and ask myself, does this do anything Touhou hasn't done in the last two decades, and if not, why aren't I watching Touhou?

Its kind of obvious that Konosuba fails on this front.

Goddess with no charisma? Touhou.

Fantasy world joking around? Touhou.

etc.

And as a result, Konosuba have no reason to exist, plus it is a LN adaptation, which I am very critical of, because the LN industry can't afford to let its standard sink any lower.

Overall - 4, pretty worthless

Helpful

read more

"Too good to be just a comedy," that is how I originally felt at first about this show. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! To begin, Kono-Suba is a parody of almost every other RPG/Fantasy game or anime ever made. What it does though (obviously I might add) is pokes fun at them while remaining unique in it's own way. Every time I watched a new episode, it was sort of like the events that took place were in between predicable and unpredictable. What worked out in it's favor is that the shows unpredictable nature. Certain moments surprised, like came out of nowhere me a made make me laugh my ass off.

Story- 7/10

Starting with the story, I really admired creativity and uniqueness. To me, it was sort of like Natsume Akatsuki (Original creator) and later the producers of Studio Deen watched a bunch of fantasy anime or played a bunch of games and said "hey, you see how serious this Goddess is? what if she wasn't so serious? what if we added such a crazy personality to her" and things kind of lifted off the ground from there. The final result, the thing that actually matters is what makes me believe that it was well put together. There were most likely lots of people in the development of KonoSuba who have had countless hours, days, years, of experience watching or playing fantasy games along with the original creator to make this show feel so accurate. I personally believe that Studio Deen did a great job with this series. I think that one of the many things that makes an anime great is the studio and creators enthusiasm and passion for a project. When you watch this show, which I would highly recommend, you can tell by the pacing and flow of the show that the creators had a really good time.

Characters- 9/10

Perhaps the number one thing that I loved so much about KonoSuba is the characters. Though it's possible, I don't think I could have asked for a better cast of characters for this show. Aqua, Kazuma, Megumin and "Darkness" are hilarious in their own unique and respective ways. Although some characters are more favorable than others, I personally found myself very found of Megumin, I mean who couldn't like a little girl whose only magic is EXPLOSION!! I find her hilarious, and its' always fun seeing her in action. Aqua is perhaps my second favorite because her personality reminds me of another favorite character of mine from a similar show No Game No Life. Aside from that Aqua's natural, I'm actually going to say natural habit of getting the party into trouble is always fun to watch. I just find it very difficult for myself to dislike any of the characters. In fact going back to that "predictable and unpredictable" statement I made earlier that is something that really works with them. It's like some episodes you don't know who is going to be useful or not. Because it's part of the shows genre, and I want to touch on it a little with this being a harem and all, I am really glad to see that there seems to be (at the moment at least) no romance. Personally, and I am really hoping that (unless there is a season 2) there is no romantic relationships between the characters, I like that Kazuma can be the perverted "Hikikomori" or "neet" whatever he is freely without having to think so much about romance, or "love." I personally think that also works out in the shows favor. I mean, having him fall in love with one of the ladies in his part might be possible however I just do not see it happening. One last thing that I want to add, and this depends on the viewers but at times characters can come off as a bit annoying. i personally found myself annoyed at times with Aqua, Megumin, Kazuma's and Darkness's behaviors.

Art/Sound- 9/10

Now, with the art and animation, it's pretty damn good! we have late 2012-14 animation style going on here. That works great with this show, I do not think they could have chosen a better style for this show. Especially because it had moments, great moments, where I found myself admiring most of the background settings and main focuses example being fights. My most favorite by far was the fight scene between Dullahan and Kazuma's squad. The sound effects, and background music used during this scene really enhanced my viewing pleasure. That aside there are just a numerous amount of scenes in this show where the music and art is visually stunning and spectacular, again please check out this series if you haven't already.

Enjoyment 10/10

Something that I really want to add, in addition to the show being "great" or me saying that it's too good to be just a comedy earlier. The comedy was at first a pain in the ass for me. When I started the show I thought is was absolutely frustrating to see a show with such great potential to be something greater wasted. It wasn't until around episode 4 that the comedic parts sank in and it completely changed my view on the show. Aside from the "serious nature" all of the elements in Konosuba works. There are so many things for fans of both old and new fantasy adventure anime can enjoy. Whether you love the music, art, characters, fan service or just the story, everything in Konosuba sort of plays out kind of naturally for all to enjoy. Personally, although possible of course, I would find this show moderately hard to disapprove of among even the most experienced reviewers and critics. Now to wrap things up, Konosuba in my opinion was a fun work of art. It had potential to be something even greater, it was memorable, and will most likely be a show that fans (such as myself) will definitely keep talking about later down the road. I personally, hope to see a season 2 further down the road. Konsuba totally deserves another run. I think this show deserves and has earned 3rd place for best anime of Winter 2015.


Final thoughts-

Overall I gave this show a 9/10 because it did a great job in all departments, art, animation, character etc. What really played into my rating though was wonderfully hilarious characters.. I could not have asked for any changes in the characters' department Natsume Akatsuki did a really great job making likable, cute and such awesome characters.

Helpful

read more

I've always been a firm believer of the idea that you should never judge an anime by its cover alone. There are good and bad examples of series from every single genre after all, and you can never know for sure which side any one specific anime will fall on before you watch it. That being said, you can still normally make some sort of very rough premature estimation for what an anime will be like, and the vast majority of the time you'll probably be right. It's exceedingly rare for an anime to completely blow away whatever initial expectations you may have had on it, and deliver something truly memorable seemingly out of thin air. KonoSuba however is one of those cases.

The idea of having a shut-in otaku being transported into an RPG-like fantasy world for some convenient reason and immediately ending up with some sort of semi-sexualized female entourage upon arrival is not exactly an original concept at this point. Ever since the enormous financial success of Sword Art Online there has been an absolute surge of new anime following roughly the same idea. But there is one thing which makes KonoSuba a totally different experience from any of the others, and that is that this is nothing more than a parody. There is no cheesy drama, cheap writing or needless clichés; hell there's barely even any story progression at all. KonoSuba is a 100% pure comedy, nothing more, nothing less. But it's a really damn funny one at that.

For one, the defining trait of all the female main characters of this anime is that they're all utterly useless. Firstly there's Aqua, a supposed "goddess" but essentially the only thing she's good at is party tricks, and her IQ is on about the level of a goldfish. Secondly, there's best girl of the season Megumin, a chuuni archwizard who has a diehard obsession with explosion magic, and operates on a 24 hour cooldown since it takes all her physical energy to cast even a single spell. And lastly we have "Darkness", a righteous knight incapable of even hitting anyone in battle. On the other hand she's very good at tanking as she's also a hardcore masochist who fantasizes about being kidnapped and sexually abused by her demonic enemies on the battlefield. Uhm… yeah.

The real icing on the cake though is probably the MC himself. Kazuma is far from your ordinary MMO anime lead, nor your typical harem protagonist for that matter. First of all he's actually pretty weak in terms of fighting prowess, and actually feels like the average NEET he's supposed to be. But also the way he talks and acts around the girls from his party is just hilarious. His general mindset would be something along the lines of "ahh~ I'm surrounded by morons, someone please shoot me". He serves both as the tsukkomi to all the stupid shit the girls are doing all the time, as well as the one who has to clean up the mess they make. He can be a bit abusive every once in a while, but most of the time it's perfectly warranted, and even when it's not it's still done in a very light-hearted and comedic fashion. I've seen some people try to overanalyze this anime and look for deeper political messages and stuff, but I implore you to *please* don't do that. Like really, what's the point? This is a pure comedy anime and not something which should be taken seriously whatsoever. Let's leave it that way, shall we?

In any case, there's not really a whole lot to say about the plot other than that it follows Kazuma and his party's daily lives as they struggle to get enough money to get food on the table and a better place to sleep than in the stables. However, with constant mishaps along their way, often cause by some rather idiotic things done by certain party members, this turns out to be a lot easier said than done. You won't be seeing any epic boss fights or life-or-death drama in this RPG; just a bunch of weirdos making fools out of themselves in low-level quests. But honestly... I vastly prefer it this way.

Now if there is anything to really complain about in this anime then it's quite clearly the animation. Saying that this is a low budget production would be an understatement. The character designs actually look pretty terrible a lot of the time, with awkward facial structures and hilarious derp faces. However... this actually isn't always a bad thing. A lot of comedic moments are actually *enhanced* by this. Like the reaction faces to certain gags just come across as even funnier than if they had been drawn properly, and since KonoSuba is purely a comedy anime it's actually not really a problem if you look at it that way. Of course this excuse isn't always applicable though, as the bad character designs are often prevalent during non-comedic moments as well, and in that case there's no upside to it anymore. So it depends on how you look at it. Interestingly enough though, the backgrounds, and not to mention the special effects for Megumin's spells, actually look really good. It's really just the character designs that are broken.

Sadly, KonoSuba is only a 10-episode anime, which is probably further evidence of the very limited budget the studio had to work with. However, those were 10 damn good episodes so I can't really feel too disappointed about it. Also despite the low budget, this has been by far the most successful show of Winter 2016 financially speaking, with the light novel's sales having absolutely skyrocketed ever since the anime began airing. And the results speak for themselves, as a second season has already been greenlit, so there's plenty more goodness to come in due time. Maybe they'll even have a proper budget this time around.

It's been quite some time since I saw an anime as jam-packed with entertainment value as KonoSuba has been, and even longer since I saw a better comedy. And given that it didn't even look like a gag show to begin with, that's really saying something. But maybe that'll help serve as a subtle reminder that judging an anime by its cover is in fact never a good thing to do. You never know what you might miss out on.

Helpful

read more

Here is an attitude that tends to dishearten me a little: why are people so hostile to douchebag protagonists? Sure, if you are supposed to like or sympathize with an asshole it becomes a big turn off, as it makes the series hypocritical and morally bankrupt, like Zero no Tsukaima (I had to take that jab!), but when that is not the case, having a main lead with very visible flaws can give a very clear idea of a future character arc and make such lead a more interesting figure, That aside, what if the series is about none of that? What if the respective title is not so much a comedy of errors, but a comedy of wrong people? That is certainly a way of getting an easily likeable douche as your lead.

If you are not bored by the intro I just gave, allow me to tell you why “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!”, or KonoSuba for short, is awesome and you should watch it.

Story and Characters

If you’ve been paying attention to the anime community at least in the last two years or so, you’re likely to have noticed a trend that has become infamous among light novel adaptations: an incredibly bland and overpowered main character, who blazes through the story effortlessly obliterating his enemies, while developing a harem for himself with the gravitational pole of his Mary Sue genitals. This trend is specially exemplified by titles like Sword Art Online, Asterisk Wars, Overlord, The Irregular at Magic Highschool, etc, and as much as it has been gathering very vocal hatred, it also seems reluctant to fade away. KonoSuba, in the other hand, seems to be a title crafted in diametric opposition to such trends, having a set up that is, on the most surface level possible, similar, but diverging highly in how it plays out.

If you are curious about why I called this series a comedy of wrong people, it’s because none of the characters that receive the focus of the story is characterized as fit for the tasks they face and the plot itself doesn’t care about raising them as unlikely heroes, but instead on exploiting them in the silly RPG-like situations they find themselves into. KonoSuba is a parody in its simplest and most charming form: it’s not focused on big and over-the-top events that take the piss out of the genre by relying on absurdity, but it builds its narrative on small comedic events that stack up, creating multiple consistent punchlines that don’t cease being a part of the world the series created. From the giant frogs that lead the crew to find a new member, to the Succubus prostitutes that motivate the warriors to defend the city against overwhelming odds, every joke has an in-universe purpose.

All that aside, let’s talk about the characters a bit.

The main protagonist, Kazuma, is the unlucky male lead who got thrown into this phantasy world by his unwillingness to go to heaven and staying a virgin for the rest of eternity. Can’t blame the guy, I’d do the same in his place. Despite what I said in the introduction, Kazuma is not exactly a lead designed with the purpose of being unlikeable, although being still a snarky prick (I can actually relate to that!) and somewhat of a troll, with no shame on taking advantage of the situation in ways that lead to embarrassment to others. A former shut-in and the most frequent voice of reason of his group of air-heads, his situation of the world of KonoSuba is surprisingly relatable: he is constantly facing failure, with only occasional moments of success and hardly earned achievements to motivate him and his group to stay on the journey.

Aqua is an idiot, and one of the best kind. Unlike other shows where the idiot of the bunch is only responsible for bringing misfortune to his colleagues and never becomes aware of how much their stupidity costs to others, Aqua faces first-hand the effects of her actions. Being the lovably greedy and selfish twat she is and desperate to get out of the world she got stuck in, Aqua is constantly making reckless decisions and engaging in equally ill-thought out actions, only to have Kazuma stop or save her, so that she can incur in the same mistakes again, in the vain attempt of getting some easy money and more confortable situation. The contrast of such egocentric behavior with her lack of wit and constant misfortune makes some of the best comedic takes of the series.

Next is Megumi, the overly-confident, but hopelessly underprepared mage of the group. Prideful of her alleged “crimson demon” origins and unconditionally infatuated with explosive spells, the most powerful brand of offensive magic, she refuses to learn any other kind of spell, even though her body is clearly unprepared to handle such taxing kind of magic. The comedy of her character comes mostly from passing out whenever she unleashes her attacks, being made completely vulnerable against enemies and putting the burden of her protection on her colleagues. I now realized that this doesn’t sound funny at all, but trust me, in context in works wonders, especially in contrast with the already precarious state of her party.

Lastly there’s Darkness, the noble swordswoman with high stats in offense and defense, but laughably low accuracy, which means she’ll be swinging that sword a lot, but rarely hitting anything besides the punch line. She is also a massive masochist, a trope that I’ve personally become very fond in recent times. She latches onto the party under the belief that Kazuma is a perverted sadist who mistreats and humiliates the other girls, essentially all she wants for herself. In the long run she ends up placing great trust on Kazuma, and the series even hints of a possible romantic development between them, although that is not completely reliable, being this also a harem style comedy.

The meat of KonoSuba’s comedic energy (in simpler terms, the reason why it’s so funny) is its focus on the small moments. The comedy is not so much focused on slapstick, although that is also a significant portion of it, but in quick character reactions that stand on their respective quirks and flaws of personality: Aqua is an impatient, selfish idiot, so she is bound to react desperate and childish when the prospect of financial loss is near; Megumi is overly confident and stubborn, so she boasts her power just to fall flat on her face right after, in more ways than the literal one; Darkness is a masochist and gleefully enjoys her own pain even when embarrassingly trying to hide it. Kazuma, however, is the character that takes the most out of it. Being a snarky douche, he will often be confronted with the girl’s unwanted traits and react in ways to tangentially distance himself, like in the running gag:

“Kazuma!”
“Hi, Hi, Kazuma desu!”

He is also quick to take advantage in the most fitting opportunity, like immediately attacking a knight when challenged to a fight where he is obviously disadvantaged, just to end it in a hilarious slapstick sequence. Huh, I might have killed that joke for anyone who has not watched it already! The series doesn’t slow down in such antics even as it dives into “decisive” battles and it plays its comedy as characters are about to face immense danger. When you think it’s about to attempt some misplaced drama, KonoSuba pull itself back again with a joke built upon the same scene, never fully attempting to be heavy and dramatic, a mistake that other less sharp parody series make far too often.

Presentation

One thing I have often discussed when talking about presentation is the importance of keeping consistency in character models, as it is the most glaring flaw for animation to incur and can be specially detracting to the purpose the scene wants to convey. In the case of KonoSuba, though, it’s somewhat of a pointless complaint to make, since this is one of the aspects the series relies on to drive its comedy. Many of the comedic takes focus on facial expression to emphasize characters reactions, so it’s not unusual for them to have distorted and exaggerated features. This also works in the fanservice shots, when boobs will bounce aimlessly, to the point of killing the sexual appeal and turning it into a joke itself.

Possibly to match the watery feel of the expressions and designs, the color pallet is also very light, with clear shades of blue, green and yellow, for example. Costumes, in the other hand, are quite vibrant and distinguish immediately from the characters themselves. Another aspect that contributes greatly to the action and humor is the movement, very smooth and unhinged, which gives a constant sense of energy at play, helping take the most out of the comedic sequences. It’s actually surprising how little time goes by in the series without any movement happening on each frame.

Sound-wise, the main cast is mostly composed of actors who have yet to reach the hundreds of roles played, with the exception of Kayano Ai, but nonetheless deliver their performances in stellar fashion. Not only being each one a perfect fit for their respective characters, both in tone and pitch, but their delivery solidly lands the jokes with precise timing. Special notes for Fukushima Jun (not Fukuyama, His Highness is yet to appear in this universe), who portrays Kazuma and never misses the point with the characters, both in his detached “I’m not even part of this group” demeanor, as in his mischievous moments.

Personal Ramblings

Humor is a very subjective part of fiction, so, with the exception of Lena Dunham’s MRA sketch, it’s hardly ever possible to say that something is objectively not funny. I believe however, it is possible to debate to some extent whether something is good comedy or not. That can be argue not only on the matter of “does it make the audience laugh?”, but also on how is the set up established, is the humor random or streamlined, do the characters stay consistent in their roles, does the writing ever descend into low brow humor, and if yes, does it treat the audience as at least intelligent people, and so forth. These aspect are, of course, open to subversion, depending on the writers talent to pull it off.

Not many shows are able to make comedy out of incompetence without offering some balance. Most commonly, they will focus most of the punch lines on very specific characters while at the same time offering one as the trump card to solve conflict. What makes KonoSuba so endearing is its ability to make all of the characters into irreplaceable components of the jokes, without diminishing the value of any of them in the context of its universe. As much as the main party is overall composed of incompetent misfits to work out the comedy, they are all also important for the progression, even if accidentally. Well, perhaps better off accidentally, as it makes for even more outrageous outcomes, constantly adding up to the fun.

KonoSuba’s crew of incompetent loonies may not be the best folks around when it comes to defeating the Demon King, but they sure were the best to turn a generic adventure into such an endearing trip to a world that is perhaps as wonderful as the title implies.

Helpful

read more

"I'm an advocate of true gender equality, a guy who has no problem with doling out a drop kick to a female opponent. Don't think I'll go easy on you!" -Kazuma Satou

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! KonoSuba. God's Blessing On This Wonderful World. An anime that has taken so many people by surprise, at how tear-inducingly hilarious and amazing this turned out to be. After an insipid and uninspired first episode, I was not the least bit interested in this. I had thought this was going to turn out to be just another one of those generic fantasy series that comes out every season, with no particular defining quality or trait. Just another one of those anime whose only remotely memorable feature was the length of the name - and it isn't even that long by LN standards. Nothing interesting at all.

Boy, I've never been so wrong. I'm so glad I don't drop things after a single episode, because I would have missed out on the absolute gem that KonoSuba turned out to be. The second episode took me completely by surprise. By the time it finished, I found myself questioning whether this was the same anime whose first episode I had watched a week prior. The hilarity came out of nowhere. The last thing I was expecting was for a single episode to completely revert my initially negative impression.

But anyway, enough with my monologuing. KonoSuba's premise is a simple one - after a very eccentric and ridiculous death, Kazuma Satou finds himself before the self-proclaimed Goddess Aqua, with the option to pass on to the afterlife, or be reborn into a new world where his mission would be to defeat Demon King in order to return back to his old life. He's also given one wish to be granted by Aqua in order to aid him in his endeavours.
This is where we begin to see the way in which KonoSuba breaks away from the mould. Kazuma's brilliant idea is to wish for the Goddess Aqua herself to accompany him - why stick to a singular wish, when he could simply take the wish-granter herself along with hiim? This more practical manner of thinking begets hilarity after hilarity as the anime goes on.

The story is a simple one. Defeat the Demon King, and go home. That's it. There's no grand, overlying scheme; no complex themes one has to scrutinise in detail in order to understand what's going on; nothing more than the simple premise for which everything takes place. This works in the anime's favour, because having such a loose goal means they can pretty much do anything they want inbetween, so long as it in some way takes them even a little closer towards the ultimate defeat of the Demon King.
As the episodes go by, more characters are gradually introduced. In order to kill the Demon King, Kazuma and Aqua need a stronger and bigger party. This leads to them encountering Megumin and Darkness. From here on out, their adventurers and encounters are nothing short of zany, bizarre and ridiculous. Aqua the Goddess, Megumin the ArchWizard and Darkness the Crusader - all of these are exceptional people, holding classes and abilities which the common person could only dream of having. But despite their apparent prowess, it would not be possible to have a more dysfunctional party.

Characters.
It is these characters and their interactions which make this such an amazing comedy. Kazuma is the glue that holds everything together. It is his cynical, practical and down-to-earth mentality that acts as the wall to the antics of the rest of his party. Without him, they would all fall apart; if not for him then achieving anything would be impossible thanks to their ridiculous flaws and inability to do anything without hazard. His reactions to all the misfortunes that befall him thanks to them never fail to entertain.

Aqua possesses no qualities one would expect of a Goddess. She is selfish. She is greedy. She's a gold-digger. She is lazy. She is demanding. Her first concern is herself; she has no other concerns. She can use a few anti-Undead spells, but is otherwise nearly useless in combat. She also has a knack of making everything worse, causing unnecessary damage and shifting all of the debt she incurs onto Kazuma.
Megumin suffers from a mild dose of chuunibyou, and excels in one partcular magic - explosions. She lives and breathes for them. She knows no other magic, as she does not believe any other magic to be needed. So long as she can blow something up, nothing else matters. This sounds good on paper, but she's only capable of casting one explosion before fainting from exhaustion.
Darkness is the Crusader - the beefy tank that takes the enemies' attention and soaks up the damage. She wields a massive sword capable of cleaving men in two... That is, assuming she can hit them. Her accuracy is shoddy if one were to describe it generously. Furthermore, she's a hardcore masochist. She loves being abused. Being pinned down and attacked - be it by friend or foe - is her creme de la creme.

When it comes to taking on quests, the 3 main girls are nothing short of useless - a fact Kazuma never fails to mention. His comments, interjections and general abuse hit them all right where it hurts. He never fails to remind Aqua she's a useless Goddess. He desperately tries to encourage Megumin to learn other magic. He's genuinely disturbed by Darkness' fetish. These problem-riddled girls provide an endless well of entertainment as Kazuma tries his utmost to simply get by each day without falling into debt and despair.

Art & Animation.
The art and animation is the worst aspect of this series. The art is quite plain and sometimes off. The eyes of the character seem a little too spaced apart. Whilst not being bad, the art really could do with some improvement. The animation is occasionally wonky, too. This was especially prevalent in one particular episode where boob-physics were quite...Fascinating, shall we say.
However, this was never able to detract from my enjoyment because I was too busy wiping the tears induced from laughing out of my eyes to care about the art. I'll also point out that Megumin's explosion sequence in particular actually looked really good. It is apparent a lot of effort was put into that; considering how frequently we saw her explosions this was a massive boon.

Conclusion.
KonoSuba - God's Blessing On This Wonderful World - was most certainly a blessing. This subverted every single opinion and impression I initially had. It very quickly - nay, INSTANTLY - rose to the position of my favourite anime from the Winter 2016 season. This is hands down one of the funniest anime I've ever had the fortune of watching. Kazuma is one of those rare male MCs who actually manages to steal the spotlight from his harem. His reactions, his methods of coping, everything he does makes this anime better. Without him acting as the sole voice of reason, those girls would have destroyed themselves. The contrast between his rationality and their insanity made for never-ending hilarity.

Should you watch this? Abso-fucking-lutely! Comedy is entirely subjective. Not everyone will like it; that's only natural. But give this 3-4 episodes before deciding. Wait until all the characters are introduced, because they all bring a different dynamic to the table. Their sole similarity is their uselessness. If you still find yourself unamused, then that's a shame. But otherwise, you're in for one Hell of a ride.
The one and only problem with KonoSuba is that it's only 10 episodes long. Aside from this crime against humanity? KonoSuba has ran away with my expectations. I loved it. Hopefully you will too.

Helpful

read more

My first review, please read with joy :D

KonoSuba beats most of the comedies of last year by FAR! I haven't laughed so much with an anime since I watched Noucome , Gintama was close and so was Nozaki Kun ....

KonoSuba characters are each individually funny in their own circumstances . You might be thinking this is another rip off of similar anime's settings like SAO , Dungeon ni Deal . But my oh my you have thought otherwise. KonoSuba provides me with all the Positive vibes I hoped for.
Story - 6
Kazuma our MC is grouped up with probably the 3 most troublesome clan members you'd ever want to have.
It doesn't have a serious plot to it, but one of the more cliche and generic ones where the MC has been tasked with defeating the Demon King in the new world he has been reincarnated into. The episodes itself don't really progress with the plot because the group itself is isolated in one town.

Animation + Art - 7
At first you might think the art maybe off-putting , I did at first and I know a small minority probably did as well. But as you watch more and more, the art is more of a Gain then a loss . The character designs are really unique in the sense that each character has there own unique dress code that makes them stand out.
The Animation is pretty average but is highly favorable and suited to the personalities and expressions of each character . But on some occasions has been poor as if the animators were high whilst animating.
But one thing it animated brilliantly. ARE THE BOOBS!!! I have never witnessed such Boob Mechanics in an anime before. Scientists need to study this and evaluate the Philosophy behind this. Because I have no idea why it has been animated this way. NOT THAT I'M COMPLAINING :)
On the other hand , I do believe Michael Bay would love to watch the explosion scenes and take some notes to use for his new Transformer installments xD

Sound + Music + Voice - 7.5
The Opening isn't my cup of tea . I wouldn't repeatedly listen to it on a daily basis and have occasionally skipped it, whilst watching episodes . It's definitely not as catchy and memorable as some of the other openings this Winter. Such as in Dimension W , Erased or Gate Season 2.
However, I will give credit to the ending song which is far more soothing and relaxing to listen to.
Kazuma Seiyuu (Fukushima, Jun) deserves more recognition and defo needs more casting roles in the future . I adore his voice . The overall cast itself is really suited to each character in which is the reason as to why i have noted this as 7.5 . If just music alone I would of probably given it a 4 or 5.

Characters - 10
Kazuma - Probably my All time Favorite MC. He is just so lovable in a sense that I could go Gay for him. ( P.S I'm Joking ) .
On a serious note. Kazuma is pretty useless and ineffective as an individual within the group. He isn't at all OP but has his own strengths when defeating his opponents who are far more talented then he is . But that is really what makes him one of the Best MC's out there.
Aqua - The Clumsy and annoying Goddess in the group. Kazuma would probably go along these lines and say " You're living, you occupy space , and you have a mass. You Matter" That's probably what he thought when he reincarnated with her. But she is more of a nuisance, when you think she has been useful to the group on some quests or missions , she makes their budget and life far worse .
Megumin - The cute one and Micheal Bay's Future Wife. She is pretty useless after she has activated her special ability EXPLOSION!!!! That she ends up paralyzed for a certain amount of time .( Kazuma has it hard )
Darkness- A Masochist that tends to have perverted thoughts such as the time she was battling one of the Demon Kings Knights. She is useless herself in that she can never seem to hit her target.
All these characters have there own unique personalities that overall makes the anime far more enjoyable , one thing they do to lack is some development but that doesn't take anything away from how comedically funny they are.

Enjoyment - 10
This show is my icing on the cake. It has entertained me from its first episode to its last. Shame it was only 10 episodes and only adapted 2 volumes of the LN . But the OVA is soon to air and Season 2 is announced so the hype is real. If you want something to laugh and you really enjoy harem/fantasy/comedy then watch KonoSuba whenever you have time and marathon it.

Overall Rating 9

Helpful

read more

Sometimes anime studios surprise me by their ideas, expertly hiding all drawbacks by the good animation and a silly comedy.
Give people great animation, with exciting characters, they immediately lose any logic.

I understand that KonoSuba is primarily a comedy, and talk about some sense, it's silly, because humor, in itself, has no boundaries, but humor in this anime it's a main problem.
Bitter talk about it, but humor was never been a strong point in anime, because comedy often try to limit in school genre.
The problem is that any comedy scene takes place with the participation of someone's girl's pants and mostly with hints Hiki generation. I do not want to say that comedy in this area was inappropriate, but it continues throughout all ten episodes.

Since we understand this is a comedy, the viewer is immediately ready to be a lot of absurd things, and in this is collapse of KonoSuba . Showing himself with a humorous side, it continues stretch all ten episodes unchanged. From third episode, when we already seen all characters (about it below) humor is monotonous. All comedy scenes will refer to perversion by female characters and center of all this will be the protagonist. And of course they not forget to show shaking chest all the main women's characters, by the way, some of them even going without underwear.

The story begins with death of the main character from shock, he finds himself in so-called purgatory, where goddess invites him to get into another world, with a particular feature that he should think it himself. He chooses to take a goddess with him, and from this begins their way in the new world.
This world is built by all the canons of MMORPG, to earn money and increase, need to do out quests, with main target kill the King of Demons.
Although KonoSuba has a specific goal in mind, it is still have more episodic format, and this is second main problem in this series.

With its episodic format, some characters are not remembered, while others simply disappear without a purpose in series.
The four main characters, is actually pretty standard, they are arranged according by rules of the genre "Harem".
- Goddess Aqua, a bit silly, not wearing panties, seductive and sometimes useful, serves as a very close girl of protagonist.
- Knight Latalina is worst character, in my opinion, she has a masochistic tendencies that are supposed to entertain audience, perhaps for the first time and it will seem ridiculous, but KonoSuba repeating same jokes throughout of the anime. Not to mention that Knight Warrior is one of the most common characters in hentai.
- What regard Megumin, she plays role of so-called clown in the series. It's strange to talk about it, but it's only character who pulls this anime from the pit.
- Kazuma is a typical retard with flat jokes and do idiotic action.

However Art & Animation made at a high level. Environment shown is very beautiful, moments of casting spells, magic and other things made in good style. I think this is only thing that really turned out well. I dont seen a defects in animation of characters, each of them is made beautiful and attracts attention.

Music and sound, dont have particular drawbacks too. Opening and Ending is average, throughout the series is a good sound in battles.
But still, look for flaws in music or animation does not make sense, as I previously said that this anime hides all their flaws. And to do bad, then, that immediately catches eye, is to doom himself to failure.

Presenting itself from first episode, as a comedy, KonoSuba doomed themselves to failure. Comedy in this series does not improve the show, conversely only spoil it, by the end it becomes clear what to expect a clever humor is meaningless. All ways go only to a many silly dialogues, to depraved poses and jokes in "Ecchi" style.

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! - this shows how should not look comedy, it can be considered one of the unsuccessful attempts to make a joke on Hikki generation.

Helpful

read more

"KonoSuba!"

I will be very honest before I start this anime review, at first I wasn't going to pick this series up, or lets say I putted this series on a low Top 15 Anticipated of the Winter Season 2016 because of the studio behind it being DEEN. And as you guys do know, DEEN is a studio that tends to have... let's say "horrible" animation quality or handles. Besides that, the studio was stained due to the apparent adaptation of Fate/stay Night 2006. This brings to me a lot of questions since it's a nitpick for me to pick this series up. However, looking through a bit more, I decided to give this anime a shot. And what did my reaction was regarding on this anime? Let's find out.

Note to the viewer that's reading this review of KonoSuba, firstly everyone has their subjective opinion regarding on the comedy aspect, so a note to the reader, this is not objectively speaking.

Story:

The story is set in a fantasy world where basically, the story starts off our little NEET character Kazuma, continuing his little life of otaku, when suddenly when walking around back to the house, he suddenly sees a person almost getting killed by a truck, so in a desperate attempt to save the character, Kazuma pushed her out of the way, thus causing to die in the act.

He then meet this goddess also known as Aqua, where she then gave him a request or a chance to live in the other world, but he can also take something with him. His quest is to defeat the evil Demon King, after him taking the object that he wants to take, Aqua and Kazuma ended up in this fantasy world, where basically they have to do quests, missions, etc.

Now this is basically your stereotypical "stuck in a fantasy world" aspect (just like Log Horizon and Sword Art Online), which many people or some people do not really like the idea. However, KonoSuba takes this type of aspect of the show and makes it its own, by making fun of the fantasy-tropes or aspect, making it seem very refreshing for me. Not only that it helps to stand out, but subjectively its very funny with its comedic fashion direction.

KonoSuba takes the direction of also self-awareness, thus the show does know what its trying to do and knows what its doing, which helps a lot with the parody of itself. It's a good way for the series to have different segments of events, from the beginning of "Kazuma dying because of said reasons (not spoiling here)" towards the hilarious quirks such as the cabbage scene, the entire curse effect, etc.

KonoSuba personally does its job to keep me entertained for the long run time, as its very comedic and relaxing to watch, this is a series that I personally love, and watch it first from the Wednesdays time-run. Its a show that keeps me interested at least along with the character section.

The only complaint that I have for the series its the amount of episodes this series got, due to the time-run being 10 episodes, it makes me want to crave me for it. Of course its pretty obvious for me to get craved for it, but that's personal.

On the other hand at the end of the final episode, when everyone thought DEEN wouldn't make a second season (of course since as far as I'm concerned DEEN doesn't make that many sequels with the exception of maybe a few) they quickly announced right off the bat a second season coming. Which is good because not only that the show did well with what it had, but it deserved it as well.

In the end, the series is fun and entertaining to watch at the end of the day. I would warn that if you're expecting something deep or well written story telling with meanings, I wouldn't suggest this one, this one is only relaxing and a pass the time series for the audience and for the fans of comedy.

Characters:

So basically we have a so called "Stereotypical MC with 3 girls around him." Right? In a way yes, but at the very least these characters can stand out on their own thanks to their characterization and their little quirks that makes them enjoyable.

Kazuma, our main male protagonist, is one of the most interesting main male characters I've seen in a while, and probably one of the funniest guys I've seen around as well in a while. Because for some reason, his commentaries on certain events or situations makes me enjoy the show a lot, and people could say he's pretty much overpowered. Or very strong. You could complain and pick as a flaw, but in all honesty, in spite of that Kazuma's quirks are just very well done, and thought enough to make him likeable for the long-running. Not only that but his prior knowledge around gaming fantasy are pretty nice per say. I will say he's one of the most likeable characters around this season personally, based personality wise.

Second, we got Aqua which she's the goddess of the world where she resided. The girl can be considered debatable, because at one hand people say she's funny as fuck and likeable, the other hand people would say that she's pretty much retarded in many ways. Personally, I can agree Aqua is pretty idiotic, but in a rather funny way that makes her special and likeable. It's really funny how she gets into these type of issues and problems in which I cannot stop laughing and neither stop feeling bad for the girl. Not only that but her face is too cute when she makes the sad expressions.

Thirdly we have Megumin, our little "EXPLOSIONS" character. She's pretty much considered a Chuunin if you think about Rika Takanashi from Chuunibyou. She's very energetic at times, loves to play with explosions and ONLY that, she goes over exaggerated with her sentences/dialogue which makes er pretty enjoyable. Not only that but she's pretty cute, and pretty laughable when she uses the explosions magic, which she has an apparent limit of using it once per day and she falls down in a rather comedic fashion. She's one of the best girls of the series.

Lastly we got Darkness, which she's the sadist character among the cast, and she looks like a freaking armor because she likes a lot of pain, and gets arousements from it. She's considered as a masochist in the series which I'm not going to lie, she is pretty damn funny when she gets these arousements of denials and protecting. Like holy shit that I won't lie she's pretty laughable. But not only that she's a knight. I LOVE knights.

As for the supporting characters, they aren't really memorable per say, but at the same time they aren't bland either. I just felt like they could have taken a little role of course, but I guess that's asking too much personally. On the other hand not gonna lie, some of the characters even though they don't appear much seem to have the appeal for me, so that's a bonus.

Art/Animation:

As I said previously, this series is a product from DEEN, the same studio who brought us shows such as Fate/stay Night 2006, Kore wa Zombie desu ka?, the massive Boy love animes for fangirls to enjoy!(Junjou Romantica and Sekaiichi Hatsukoi), Higurashi na ku koro ni, etc.

While this is more debatable, people would go for either sides. Again, DEEN is pretty much a studio that has a lack for art/animation quality many times in some animes, however for KonoSuba, there's a thing that keeps me to my attention.

At one hand people would go and say that the art/animation is pretty horrible, and doesn't help with the designs nor the series, at the other hand, its pretty good for the series.

This case I will go for the either sides. Let me go to the perspective of the show.

Based upon the character designs, I will agree base on the Light Novel readers (some of them) that the artstyle for the designs aren't the greatest there to live up to the source or the Illustrations (Mishima Kurone), however does it make the character designs bad? Not really personally.

Like I do agree that the character designs could be done better, but because of the series being a comedy, the art and animation helps a lot with the series with the quirks and the events happening, even though the animation derps would look pretty bad, it actually works for the series because the expressions gives emphasis of the comedy factor. It helps a lot to make the series more laughable than what it should be, which I appreciate the studio and its animators to make the series work with it.

The only issue I would have with the animation would be the drop a lot quality for the 9th episode, as it was still laughable, but you can really see the massive derps everywhere in the anime. Which I can't deny it was pretty... I don't want to say it, but pretty eh? Pretty much.

Apart from that the background art does not look bad at all. It actually works with the character designs of the series, it gives a bright color scheme and suitable atmosphere with it, as well with the series surroundings. It helps a lot with the series personally.

Other than that, the entire art/animation quality is quite debatable, but I personally would say that this department is the biggest spotlight around the series because of its usage of animation for the comedic factor of the show.

Music/Sound/Voice Acting:

I would say that the music... isn't quite memorable actually. I mean, it DOES help with some events of the anime and it gives a more humorous tone to it, and a bit of spark as well, however I don't think it's anything memorable factor personally. Now it doesn't mean that the music is bad of course, it's just the weakest factor of the series.

The sound department is quite actually very nice appealing for the series, I won't deny for the sound department it helps as well with the series although I will say I had some issues with some of the tones they used for the series.

The best part about the department is personally the voice acting. The voices of the characters helps to make these characters more vivid and humorous, which for Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness, Megumin, all did their respective roles very well in representation, and I love that, its pretty nice to make these characters have some sort of liveliness.

For the Opening and the Ending song, I will say the Opening is more like the "Happy Jolly" type, its pretty catchy as well with being too cute personally. Not only that but when Aqua appears when introducing the episode name is pretty nice and cuuuuute. Yeah too much saying cute right?

As for the Ending... I'm not really a fan of this... its pretty much your stereotypical ending song, it appeals to the visuals, but as a standalone its not my favorite.

Enjoyment:

I will honestly say despite the hole left inside of me when the series left (for now), I still enjoyed its ride from the beginning towards the end, regardless of the complaints people made with the animation and the art (exception for the 9th episode), and its a series that has this stereotypical setting but made itself stand out from the others because of the direction this series took. Which I totally love a lot about it. From the characters, towards the comedy, etc.

Final Thoughts:

I would really recommend KonoSuba a lot, personally this is one of those series that has a lot of enjoyment out of it, and its one of the best series around Winter 2016 for me personally. I would recommend the show towards people that likes comedy a lot, and wants a pass the time series to just have fun.

Who shouldn't I recommend?

I guess if people are looking for something rather deep or complex, something different (I mean many people do not like these things) I would suggest:

- Shouwa Genroku Rakugo Shinjuu (another show made by DEEN in the same season, but with having story telling for these type of people)

Helpful

read more

Well, I wanna start with the basics. This story have a objective and that is that you need to have a smile at the end of each chapter along with the definition of "LUCK":

.-The pros: Even if you feel a random aura covering the "plot", it's very organized, so the jokes and stupidities that appear, appear in the best moment of all (Laugh guaranteed at a 75%).
If you love RPGs, MMOs and JRPGs, this is your world where all the things you never do in your way to the end-game come and well, the protagonist gonna remember all the stuff that its coming along with his desperation. In fact, marvelous view of a fantasy world being how you never expected to be, seriously.
The characters are awesome, each one with a simple characteristic that stand out and blending with others characters doing great gags (including the great CG and all the sound) for the anime.

.-The cons:
There are maybe a pair of chapters that the jokes are so off and a little dull, so could be tiresome.
The anime cut some story of the novel so can end at the right time, it's not a danger call, but would had been good see the animation.

Helpful

read more

PROS (+) =
*Characters are really well done, has great personalities and funny in their own ways, i love all 4 of them (especially megumin)
*Superb comedy ,seriously.. i haven't laughed this hard since Gintama and Nichijou, even cried of laughter two or three times.
*Plot is fun.
*The male protagonist's comments, oh and btw he's really likeable and smart, i love him.
*OP and especially ED is on spot.
*And of course= the 'voice acting'... god, i guess i'm exaggerating a bit but main characters voice actings are on spot if you ask me.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*It's not actually a Harem show, it may look like one. There are some quite a bit of Ecchish type of things here and there but it's not worth mentioning aside from "THAT" particular episode,omg..
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There is not major 'con' i can think of, but still, i will mention few things...you can either take them as cons or not, how you look at this anime and what you expect to find from it is really important.

*Animations and Art is good but nothing special, it's just fine. It could have been better with a higher budget.
*** It's a gag anime, ok ? and dam good at it, If you are expecting a deep plot , you won't find one. Bcs it never was and probably never will be one of the main concerns of this anime.
*It's only 10 episode :( , BUT 2nd SEASON IS ON THE WAY, YES !!!
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I want to quote from a video i watched: 'This is a simple show, but the execution and the delivery of the simple ascpets of the show makes it so engaging that it makes it so easy to watch episode after episode of a very uneventful story, it's the simplicty of everything that makes konosuba work so well.'

Rate:
Story: 7/10
Art: 8/10
Sound: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10

Overall: 9/10

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED, GO AND WATCH IT !
SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE RIDE.

Helpful

read more

Are you tired of watching the same TV tropes being used over and over with barely any change whatsoever? Angry from watching the seemingly infinite amount of uninspiring harems that flood the new seasons? Bored from watching spineless protagonists that have as much personality as a 2D cardboard cutout? Well then my friend, KonoSuba is the show for you!

The story follows Satou Kazuma, an Otaku and gamer who dies trying to save a girl. He ends up in front of a rude goddess called Aqua who gives him the choice between going to heaven or going into a MMO like world filled with adventures and stuff. Of course our protagonist chooses the latter and Blah Blah, you know what happens.

Now you might start shaking your head and giving me a weird look, and I don’t blame you. The concept of an otaku shut-in being transported into a magical world is a concept that makes me want to slam my head in the wall. The cover of the show with three rather attractive ladies and an average looking protagonist in the back is probably enough to steer many people away. But there is a legitimate reason for this. KonoSuba is a parody of these clichés that it portrays. Much of the humor in KonoSuba is based on using our expectations of what happens based on the tropes that it contains and defying those expectations completely in hilarious ways.

And that is probably a big part of the reason why KonoSuba is so enjoyable. It never takes itself seriously. You know those shows that start off great but end up having those really sad and melodramatic parts that just end up leaving a bad taste in your mouth? Well KonoSuba has none of that. KonoSuba recognizes that it’s a silly show, and instead of trying to add anything unnecessary. It plays to its strength. Which is to be as outrageously silly as possible.

Speaking of being truly, truly, outrageous, (wink) let’s talk about our cast of characters here. You have Aqua, a rude goddess that is forced to join Kazuma in his quest to defeat the Demon King. Megumin, an arch wizard who channels the power of one of the strongest magical spells in the game, Darkness, a crusader who can help you tank all of the damage coming, and Kazuma, your normal adventurer.

But how is this outrageous? The cast seems pretty normal right? Well what if I said that instead of being this smart, prideful tsundere Aqua is actually a nice but dense girl who always manages to fuck everything up in one way or another? Or what about our adorable chuunibyou arch wizard Megumin, who can only cast “Explosion” magic once a day and ends up being unable to move a muscle after? Don’t forget our valiant crusader, a complete masochist who charges to the front line to get hit and harassed as much as she can. You get what I mean.

Surprisingly though, this oddball cast really works great together. Whether it’s the hilarious antics that are set up, or just the chemistry between the characters. The relationship between the cast just feels natural and there isn’t any forced progression anywhere. No hint of any of the girls inexplicably falling in love with Kazuma. You might realize that I didn’t talk about Kazuma much but he is definitely a refreshing male lead to watch. Except it’s not because he’s crazy but because he actually acts like an actual rational human being. Risking your life to beat the Demon King? Fuck that I just want enough money to live a comfortable life. Having a convenient lie to cover yourself up from something embarrasing? Don’t mind if I do.

The animation of this show is quite interesting to say the least. On one hand you have scenes that are drawn with great care, and on the other you have many crudely drawn scenes. Very strangely though, I didn’t really find those scenes to hinder my enjoyment of the show and in some cases I felt like it fit in with the show fine. Hell, KonoSuba might actually be poking fun at other shows that have beautifully designed characters. Considering the amount of things KonoSuba pokes fun at. I wouldn’t be surprised.

The most prominent part of the art though is definitely the facial expressions. I’ll say this right now. KonoSuba has some of the most hilarious expressions that I have ever seen in anime. From the mischievous expressions from Aqua to the nervous expressions of Kazuma. These expressions really bring the show to life and serve to make the show much funnier than normal. I’m being serious here. If KonoSuba had average facial expressions. The show wouldn’t be half as good as it is now.

The music was fine for the most part. The soundtrack doesn’t really stand out and that’s fine. You don’t need Jun Maeda levels of tracks for a show like this. The opening is pretty upbeat and I actually had a good time with it, actually choosing not to skip it. The ending is this calm, soothing song helmed by the girls in the cast. I also really liked it for some inexplicable reason.

KonoSuba isn’t really anything revolutionary and its mostly just there for laughs. But KonoSuba excels so much in comedy that I really did find the need to write a review for it so people don’t miss this gem. Trust me, if you are tired of many of the tropes that you see in anime and adventure shows then chances are you’ll fit right in with KonoSuba. So what are you waiting for? Tired after a long day of work? Frustrated from homework that you have to finish? Pop up an episode of KonoSuba, and proceed to laugh your ass off.

Helpful

read more

Kono Subarashii Sekai ni shukufuku wo!

Well, ever wanted to watch an anime about a teenage boy who wants to go into a different universe and have an adventure like on the RPG games he plays? Look no further than Sword Art Online if you want poor character development... Or watch this tasteful anime about a teenage boy named Kazuma Satou who shockingly dies and meets up with a god named Aqua. See gives him a chance to have an adventure in a parallel world. He also gets to take one thing, whether it is a weapon, ability or someone with him. Thinking hard he finds a loop hole and says to take the god herself to this world and it was granted. Both of them are sent to this new world and along the way they gain new allies to build a failure of a party.

Overall, this anime was full of great laughs and failures which helped with all the characters development and allowed you to become to these characters. The art style and brilliant colours used throughout the series showed the happiest throughout the series, even though there wasn't actual enjoyment for Kazuma. The soundtrack and opening and ending songs also followed the continued trait of beating upbeat and happy.

All of the characters were indeed troubled and no use in a real RPG game or even in this anime, from a god who was a sook but full of herself even though when it comes down to the line she is actually useful, to an all powerful mage which used explosion magic with one very huge draw back, she can only use it once..... And finally the proud and loyal knight who only join the team because she heard that Kazuma does unspeakable things to the other two members of his party.

My final comment is that this was a lot of fun to watch and I would definitively re watch this again and again.

Helpful

read more

This anime is great. At first glance, looking at the setting of guy surrounded by cute girls in a dungeon RPG fantasy, it makes you think of Shitty Art Online, or maybe that Dungeon-something anime with the big-boobed goddess. But this, this is not like those sad excuses for animes. It was actually enjoyable, it was funny, it was entertaining, and you will rarely cringe or get bored while watching it. Main thing is, this is primarily a comedy anime, so if you're looking for a serious anime then this is not the anime for you.

The characters were really great. A tsukkomi protagonist is accompanied by a full team of wackos, each of which have really interesting and funny design, character, and personalities.

The story... Doesn't take itself seriously. And well, it doesn't have to, since it better this way for this comedy anime. The "main" goal is to defeat the Devil King and stuff, but for most of the anime they were just mostly dealing with toads and cabbages and goofy villains. But at least they have actual progress from being newbies and they aren't OP from the start unlike some other RPG-style anime.

Regarding fanservice. OH GOD(dess) STOP SHOWING AQUA'S BARE BUTTOCKS ALL THE TIME. Seriously this is my main irk with this anime, they have a character who has a very short skirt and doesn't wear underwear, and they like to show it all the time. But oh well aside from that, it's not as bad as other anime. There are few other generic ecchi scenes such as panty stealing and taking a bath together (both of which are actually hilarious), and some characters wear very skimpily, but for the main cast, aside from Aqua, it's not too distracting and irritating to the story.

The OP is catchy and the ED is pretty great. The voice acting was on point with the characters and their quirky personalities.

The art leaves a lot to be desired, though. The designs of the most of the characters are good, but the animation sometimes fall flat and feel lazy and the faces occasionally look weird if you look closely. And the boobs. Fking hell if you want to include bouncing boobs at least make it look right. Aqua damn it.

But oh well. This anime is one to watch if you really want to laugh, if you want to see a quirky and entertaining main cast, if you're tired of all those other shitty RPG-based anime. It's short and has very little plot and mostly just comedy, but it's damn good at what it was mainly meant to do: make you laugh.

Helpful

read more