A big question we may ask of ourselves is if we need to watch the first seasons of Konosuba. As a spinoff standalone, the answer is no so save yourself some time and take this spinoff experience in. In fact, I would even say the show is watchable if you've never heard of the Konosuba franchise before. But enjoying it? That may be a different story. You see, the Konosuba franchise has never been serious about world conquest, trying to escape some fantasy world, or deep character driven narratives. It takes on a simple layer of fantasy and molds it into a comedy or a parody if you can imagine it.
While I'm not a fan of the recent trend of endless amount of isekai fantasy anime being adapted, Konosuba is an exception to this rule. I wouldn't even call this anime or franchise as an isekai as it adheres to more fantasy elements and more importantly, its humor. Let's face it, this show wasn't met to be taken seriously from day one. We're treated with a girl named Megumin who has talent with explosive magic. It's her signature attack and practically the selling point of the title and anime itself. Following her adventures, we take a much deeper look into how she became an explosive mage, her life at a magic academy, and how she became who she is today. Be aware that because this is the spinoff, we are not going to see the familiar faces of Kazuma, Aqua, or Darkness from the mainline series. We are however greeted with her friends such as Yunyun, Arue, Cecily among others.
Watching this spinoff immediately gave the impression that you should not be expecting a deep narrative. The storytelling is very loose and has an almost slice-of-life style narrative. Every episode focuses on Megumin's life and as we can tell, she becomes talented in explosive magic. Like most standard fantasy anime in today's age, she joins guilds, make friends, and take on quests. It's like an RPG formula that doesn't break the generic trend we're familiar with today. Instead, we should focus on the character chemistry with its colorful cast. Most prominently, there's Megumin and Yunyun, with the latter serving as her close friend and rival. Their sisterly relationship is a centerpiece of the anime that we'll be fed to. But to put it simply, if you don't appreciate the humor and style of the show, it's going to be a frustrating anime to watch. On the other hand, if you embrace the character engagements, dialogues, and humor of Konosuba, this anime will be no less than a fantastic return of the franchise. After all, it's been over 5 damn years.
And thankfully, the studio that managed this spinoff still adapts the familiar style of the franchise without losing touch. Konosuba has not been known for its high quality production yet captures a level of entertainment that holds up even today. The character expressions sells itself like memes while the cast are protrayed with humorous personalities. The explosive energy also comes from Megumin's own personality as she carries this show. Even if you don't like Megumin as a character, she does a fantastic job at delivering Konosuba for what it is.
Fans of the Konosuba franchise had to wait more than 5 years for a new anime to appear on television screens again. It's a wait that made us wonder what the direction of this franchise would go but thankfully, this spinoff hasn't lost its touch after all these years. And with a third season on the way, we may not need to wait much longer again.
