After dying an
embarrassingly pointless death, Kazuma Satou receives an offer from a Goddess:
pass on to the after life or be reborn in a Fantasy world under siege by the
monstrous Devil King. Eager to live a
real life JRPG, Kazama accepts the latter.
But the life of a hero isnt all its cracked up to be, especially when
Kazama’s party consists of a ditzy Goddess, a Mage who loves Explosions and a
Crusader who gets turned on by damage and danger. And this is the quartet that’s supposed to
take on the Demon King? This world might
be in more trouble than it realizes.
KonoSuba is a
title that’s been popping up here and there for me over the years. When people talk about the Issekai genre,
it’s actually a contender for Sword Art Online’s coveted throne and I’ve seen
characters like Megumin and Aqua cosplayed at a lot of conventions. I got a chance to see an episode back during
Katsucon 2024 and while my plan was to do a First Impression, as soon as I
watched the first two episodes, I knew this had to get onto my review queue
ASAP for 2024. Low and behold, we’ve
come to it at last, the perfect feel good Anime for the Christmas Holiday. If it seems like I’m singing praises a bit
early, it’s because I’ll admit I am. For
a guy who frowns at Issekai Anime (though there are plenty that I like),
KonoSuba appears to be an instant winner and we’ll be spending all of December
going through the first two seasons and the Legend of the Crimson Movie. For now, let’s start with Season One’s
extremely promising opening.
It's easy to pick
up right away that KonoSuba is a show that isnt planning on taking itself
seriously, like at all. The first three episodes are a straight up comedy that
goes against the grain of most Issekai Anime out there. The protagonist isnt super OP, there’s no
urgency to even begin doing the main quest to destroy the Devil King, even the
party assembly is played for laughs as Kazuma cant seem to get anyone who
doesn’t have some kind of weird quirk (or in the case of Darkness a kink). There’s not an ounce of drama to be found in
Axel and it is KonoSuba’s greatest strength.
It really is a very funny show that had me laughing multiple times,
mostly at the expense of the core quintet winding up in compromising and
embarrassing situations. Their misery is
our entertainment, however, and if the rest of the series can keep up the
quality of jokes, we’re in for a real treat.
Plus you have an entire village of Questers defending their town from
the most adorable swarm of tiny flying, living Cabbages. If you’re not laughing and going “awwww”
during this sequence, this is not your show and that’s your loss.
While the humor
is a vital part of KonoSuba, it wouldn’t work as well without a bunch of
hapless heroes dishing it out. Kazama is
the antithesis of the typical Issekai hero.
This is a guy who’s played a bunch of video games and has probably seen
a ton of Issekai Anime and is learning the hard way that both of those mediums
lied to him. It’s not helped by his
party members…who are a win for the audience.
There’s Aqua, the least humble Goddess you’ll ever meet who’s hot as
Hell but will turn into a babbling crybaby whenever her ego isnt being
stated. Darkness is a Crusader who gets
turned on by the thought of being ravished by Monsters…on purpose. She also cant hit anything despite looking
like a bad ass fighter. Lastly there’s
Megumin and I can see why she’s such a popular cosplayed character. Overdramatic and flowing with style,
Megumin’s a joy to watch whether she’s striking a pose or gushing over her
favorite kind of magic (EXPLOSIONS!!!).
They may not seem like a capable party but heck, they’re first
adventures are not boring.
A lot of Issekai
tend to have their Fantasy worlds play by JRPG rules and KonoSuba is no
different, which isnt a bad thing. This
isnt a video game world at all but you can do things here that are reminiscent
of starting out in say a classic Final Fantasy entry. You can level up your skills and class, keep
track of stats video cards. Even the
quests Kazuma and company embark on are announced and closed with title cards
just as if you picked them up off of a notice or assignment board. You’ve also got special classes which all of
Kazuma’s party embodies: Kazama’s an Adventurer; Aqua an Archpriest; Megumin’s
a Mage and Darkness is a Crusader.
Learning tricks from others who already have skills is a neat
touch…though Kazama becoming a newly notorious panty thief after learning the
Snatch Skill is either the greatest thing to ever happen to him or the
worst. Point is, this is an easy world
to understand, even if youre not well versed in JRPGs.
I should also
note that the English Dub I’m watching is freaking fantastic. Like FLCL, I don’t think a lot of the jokes
would land as well without a good translation and a cast to give it the energy
it needs. Arnie Patoja, Faye Mata, Erica
Mendez and Cristina Vee have instant chemistry as Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin and
Darkness respectively. They nail the
timing of the jokes and the little additions they add to the dialogue make it
sound both natural and extra funny with just a little grumble or off the cuff comment. Erica Mendez is having a lot of fun playing
the super dramatic and showy Megumin and her spells invoke those of Lisa
Ortiz’s Dragon Slave Spells from Slayers.
And Cristina Vee is one of my all time favorite Voice Actresses and it
is a treat to have her voicing Darkness and showing off more of a hilariously
naughty side. This Dub has the potential
to be as legendary in quality as say Cowboy Bebop or Fullmetal Alchemist.
Three episodes in
and I’m instantly ready to go back in for more, especially now that the crew
has been assembled. KonoSuba is living
up to the hype around it with a solid cast of loveable characters and
infectious comedy. This is not an
Issekai to be taken seriously, it’s the exact opposite and I think it’s why
KonoSuba is just as popular as Sword Art Online, if not more so. I’ll see if this continues to be the case as
we continue on with more KonoSuba, Next Monday right here at the Gundam Anime
Corner.
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