Story (7/10) - So out of the gate we already have a difficult category. The story is rather bare-bones in KonoSuba and based on an classic generic "trapped in a video game world" setup. There isn't necessarily a whole lot of world building, and it doesn't even really move anywhere. For most shows, this would be a huge hindrance to the story, but KonoSuba's parody-like nature changes the meaning behind it all. KonoSuba isn't meant to tell a grand story of danger and adventure, it is meant to mock the tropes it is built on and the glory of the hero's journey. The fact that the story can be at times episodic and not necessarily lead anywhere is the whole point. The life of an adventurer isn't always straightforward, often times your journey meanders and you lose your way and even get stalled. The story ends up providing a serviceable backdrop for our characters to act out their shenanigans, and at least a bit of a direction and progression for the characters. It provides plenty of room for gags and insane happen-stance, without being bogged down by some grand message. It gives the characters a great canvas to paint on and interesting colours to choose from. As a result it is a good story as far as parodies go, not anything spectacular, but a solid base to expand on.
Art (6/10) - Art was certainly this shows weakest point, but as with the story, that isn't always as straightforward as it seems. Many times the simpler and "derpy" animation actually worked to the benefit of the show, enhancing the silliness of reaction faces and greatly exaggerating the characters at their worst and best. And despite the occasional poor instance of art, the show did have its moments of brilliance, especially when it came to characters casting magical abilities. The character designs themselves were solid and enjoyable to see. They felt very warm and comforting at times and Megumin was just outright adorable! For any other show this score would have been below average due to some severe drops in animation quality, a 3-4 out of 10; however, because it works so well with the theme and style of the show, be it intentional or not by DEEN, and because I was quite partial to the character designs, it gets a respectable 6/10 for it.
Sound (8/10) - The sound in this show was fairly strong. The opening and ending songs were fantastic and exceptionally comfy and I always enjoyed hearing them at the end of a long and tiring day. The music throughout the show itself was rather uninspired, repetitive, and minimal, so I have to dock a point for missed potential there. Most importantly though, for a parody to work well in anime, the Voice Acting is absolutely key to success, and the VA work for KonoSuba delivered. Sora Amamiya absolutely nailed crybaby Aqua, and newcomer Rie Takahashi was excellent as Megumin, really lending that Chuuni goodness and gravitas Megumin required in her speeches while keeping her down to earth and adorable the rest of the time. Jun Fukushima really played a good Kazuma as well, providing the perfect amount of snark and timing needed for the role. The supporting cast was also fairly good, especially the girls in the Succubus den, but there were times where they weren't up to par, rare times. Had the sound been filled out a bit more, this could very easily have been a 9 though.
Characters (9/10) - The characters in this show were absolutely mint. They were fantastic in every sense of the word. Aqua was so good as an annoying pain in the ass that I somehow couldn't help but feel some platonic affection towards, which is some kind of magic in and of itself. Megumin was so, so adorable and you could really see her fluctuation in confidence despite the show she would put on. Darkness grew a little bit stale at parts, but was nonetheless a presence on the screen when desired. Kazuma was just a fantastic sarcastic jerk, and even all of the side cast where generally very interesting. All their fun background expressions, all the interesting character designs, and all of the fun interactions of the characters were just so fresh feeling. I could't help but walk away from every episode feeling attached to these characters in some way or another. You didn't necessarily see them grow a whole lot, but that isn't the point of this show. They weren't necessarily there to change themselves throughout the story, even though they did to a small degree, they were there to engage you. I think they absolutely succeeded in that regard nearly from enthusiasm alone!
Enjoyment (10/10) - By far the easiest category to rate. If I could give this show an 11 for enjoyment, I would, because it was so much fun. Very rarely did I find myself bored in this show. Nearly all of the jokes landed, and I just had a smile plastered across my face for every episode. I couldn't help but get invested in our pathetic quartet of heroes and really enjoyed watching them grow as a group rather than just individuals. Their mutual camaraderie and affection was something truly missing from a lot of shows, even despite each of their faults. At times it really felt like I was just watching a group of my idiot friends fail miserably at an MMO dungeon, and I loved every second of it.
So finally we come to my overall impressions of the show and it's impressive score of 8 out of 10. The best way I can think to compare KonoSuba is to mention another favourite comedy of mine "The Devil is a Part-Timer". Both shows nail their respective comedic parts, but Devil does it with a bit more polished animation and story depth. KonoSuba is significantly weaker in this regard, but there's one thing KonoSuba has going for it that Devil just doesn't come close to: unbridled enthusiasm. Yeah, KonoSuba didn't have the best art or even the makings of a well-defined story, but it had so much heart and spirit that I couldn't help but fall in love with it. It isn't quite a 9/10 show, but I really, really wish I could have given it such a score because of how much fun I had watching it. It is one of the most genuinely endearing comedy shows I've seen, and I greatly look forward to more material from it.
