KonoSuba: God's blessing on this wonderful world!
Superb animation quality, or decent visuals at least, are basically guaranteed in any anime title these days. That acts as a consolation prize for the viewer if the plot is in shambles by the third episode.
On the other hand, throw in a compelling storyline along with wallpaper-worthy animation and you have yourself an instant classic plus. Or at least that’s what I thought.
None of that applies to Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! or Konosuba for short. The anime revolves around the adventures of former shut-in NEET Sato Kazuma and his oddball party of three in their quest to defeat the Devil King in an MMORPG world.
At this point, you’re probably thinking that this is yet another Sword Art Online, Log Horizon or No Game No Life clone, right? You’ll be sorely mistaken before the first episode even ends, if you aren’t busy tearing from all that laughing.
Konosuba is
proof of how anime doesn’t need to have stunning art to deliver an entertaining
end-product. The comedic value provided by Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness and Megumin
and the various silly situations they land themselves in had me in stitches all
the way till the final episode. Each member of the main cast had their own
flaws, despite their advanced Classes. This causes more than a few problems and
is the main source of humour in the show.
For Arch
Priest Aqua, it would be her low Intelligence stat causing a whole host of
problems from the start. Darkness has high HP and Endurance, but her inability
to land a single blow and extreme masochism renders her useless as a Crusader.
Arch Wizard Megumin only has a single spell in her arsenal. To make things
worse, she can only use it once a day as it wrings her mana stores dry. Talk
about dysfunctional.
Even the
supporting cast had their moments, especially the dullahan, Beldia and air-headed
shopkeeper, Wiz. My only gripe with the show would be its ten-episode cour.
Perhaps the source material wasn’t sufficient to warrant an additional two to
fourteen episodes at the time but I’m eagerly looking forward to the second
season.
The short
length of the anime also meant that certain character introductions and events
were mentioned in passing or briefly explained via the use of flashbacks. This includes the abrupt introduction of Wiz. She ends up playing a vital role in the three episodes she appears in and is a mainstay in the Konosuba Light Novels.
Konosuba was an unexpectedly entertaining anime, standing out in the Winter season by putting its own spin on the ‘trapped-in-a-game world’ trope. Having a hilarious cast and fourth-wall breaking dialogue by Kazuma sealed the deal for me.
Written by ET
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