Production Studio: Studio Deen
Director: Takaomi Kanasaki
Composer: Masato Kouda
Air Date: Winter 2016
Episode Count: 10
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Supernatural
Every anime season there always tends to be at least one show that comes out in which you never thought about watching because it looked like something that you would instantly hate, or just looked completely stupid. And this previous Winter 2016 season was no exception. What at first sounded like a completely stupid SAO wannabe series quickly turned out to be a series in that very "stuck in an video game" trope, but the thing that sets this show apart from all of those series is how it is a parody series that makes fun of that very trope.
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~Story 6/10~
The story of KonoSuba is one that begins with the death of the show’s main character, Kazuma. Soon after he is faced with the choice of either going to heaven or to got to a parallel RPG-like world and being like the NEET he truly is, he easily took the parallel world. A few other things occur on this decision making but either way I’ll just let you the viewer see for yourself because it is actually quite funny. So off goes the main character and his not so friendly companion on their way to kill the demon king that ultimately does not happen in this first season.
On the surface the show’s story seems pretty basic, which is entirely true and that it because that is all it is trying to be. Instead of being larger than life, it is just trying to stay short and simple in order for the jokes to be more easily integrated into the show without trying to be forced. As for the rest of the show aside from all the jokes, all the series is consists of mainly: performing daily side quests, defeating the most random of “villains”, and simply just joking around with their newly gained powers of stealing girls panties… yes this show is really really weird and that is why I love it so much. As for all of the criticism I give of the show no matter what problems I have it will not change the fact how I just am love with this simple and easy to digest story with loveable and remember able character due to how simple they truly are.
~Characters 7/10~
None of the characters in the series are overly original, yet I just love how no matter how stupid each character is. They still all work in a very strange harmony with one another. Each of them has a weakness and another person counter balances one another. With this being said, they still can’t ever do anything right without screwing something up and causing more harm than they do good. In short all of them are not the sharpest tools in the shed yet they can still are good enough for the job… I guess.
Kazuma Satou is a sixteen year old pervert who is the main character in this show. There is nothing mysterious about his character, he is an intelligent dumbass. Kazuma just happens to have a ton of luck on his side and is easily willing to do whatever he can to make the situation just a little bit awkward than it needs to be.
Aqua is the obnoxious goddess of water who can cause lots of damage if she really want’s too. This however ends up biting her in the butt and ends up causing more harm than good. With this being said, she also instead would rather be perform her circus ability and make a show rather than help support the group. Personally I find her character enjoyable, but most people really hate this character.
Megumin can be explained in one word “explosion”. As an archwizard she had the opportunity to learn all sorts of different spells yet she decided to put all her cards in one pot and only focus on raising her explosion stat to the maximum, this being said she is a one trick pony. One other side effect with the extremely overpowered explosion attack is how right after using it, she can’t move her body at all for like ten or so minutes. This leads to some pretty funny scenarios of her having to be lifted by another character as he she was just a useless rag doll.
Darkness is an masochist knight. She often tends to have a hard time attacking her opponents because she often misses, at least she is a freaking tank and can take hit’s like they are nothing. There isn’t too much to say about her except for how she is *please forgive my language but there is no other way how to word this* a literal slut and goes out of her way to be put in some literal sticky situations and awkward situations.
~Music 5/10~
The music in this series is just average. Nothing bad but nothing good either. I do not entirely enjoy any of the songs enough to spotlight any of them, tho I do find it cool how each character has it’s own designated song of sorts. Out of these, the most recognizable one would have to go to Megumin in of which you always hear right before her famous explosion spell.
As of the Opening, I personally found it dull and forgettable. One that I personally needed to look up to even remember it in order to make this review. The high pitched voices of the voice actresses just make it nothing more than an easy skip in terms of openings to listen to. You know it is a bad thing when the instrumental version is nicer than the regular version.
The ending on the other hand I find to be an nice and relaxing song... forgettable, but still nice. One that reminds me of a nice farm like setting, something that you could easily see working as an Silver Spoon ending theme. I find it cool how at the end of the theme there is always a letter written by each of the characters explaining what happened in the episode in a humorous way.
~Art/Animation 7/10~
Saying how this show is from Studio Deen it is expected to be nothing less than average animation. Even tho the animation can be sloppy and derpy times, it still has what matters the most… heart.
Although I must say how it is kind of funny how at some points the show might have have really good animation one second, then the next it might be incredibly bad therefore making a certain scene just a little bit funnier than it already was.
~Final Thoughts~
Before the winter season began I personally believed I that this show would be terrible so I instantly just ignored it until a friend of mine begged me to watch it and in turn I tried it and absolutely fell in love with it. The series is just so funny and enjoyable that it is hard to explain. Other than that I find the characters ridiculously funny and love seeing them mess everything up every episode. But oh boy did Studio Deen ever surprise me for making a good series for once… let alone two in the same season, and now we have another great series this spring season in Sakamoto.
In conclusion, this series really surprised me and have taken into long consideration that I will be giving this series an 7/10 and am really looking forward to watching Season 2, whenever that is eventually gonna come out.
~Similar Anime Recommendations~
DanMachi, Grimgar of Fantasy and Ash, Log Horizon, and No Game No Life
For more reviews like this one then feel free to visit my anime review blog, https://magnitudeanimereviews.wordpress.com/
