KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World

**KonoSuba:  God's Blessing on this Wonderful World** is an anime series written by Makoto Uezu, directed

   Takaomi Kanasaki, musically composed by Masato Kouda, and produced by Rie Ogura and Studio Deen.  It currently has 2 seasons, each comprising of 10 episodes, plus 1 OVA.  It started out with a Novel series, written by Jitakukeibihei (Natsume Akatsuki) and published by Shousetsuka ni Narou, and originally ran from December 10, 2012 to October 25, 2013 with 5 volumes in total.  After that there was a manga series, written by Natsume Akatsuki, illustrated by Kurone Mishima, and published in Kadokawa Shoten, and originally ran from October 1, 2013 to present, with 13 volumes in total so far.  After that came another light novel series, called Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!, written by Natsume Akatsuki, illustrated by Kurone Mishima, and published by Kadokawa Shoten, and originally ran from July 1, 2014 to present with 1 volume in total so far.  After that there was another manga series, written by Natsume Akatsuki, illustrated by Masahito Watari, and published by Fujimi Shobo, and originally ran from September 9, 2014 to present, with 5 volumes in total so far.  After that came the anime series.  After that was another light novel series, called Kono Kamen no Akuma ni Sōdan wo!, written by Natsume Akatsuki, illustrated by Kurone Mishima, and published by Kadokawa Shoten, and was originally released on April 1, 2016 with only 1 volume.  After that came another manga series, called Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!, written by Natsume Akatsuki, illustrated by Kasumi Morino, and published by Media Factory for the magazine Monthly Comic Alive, and originally ran from May 27, 2016 to present.  After that was another light novel series, called Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! Extra: Ano Orokamono ni mo Kyakkou wo!, written by Hirukuma, illustrated by Uihime Hagure. and published by Kadokawa Shoten, which originally ran from August 1, 2017 to present with 2 volumes in total so far.  And finally came a video game, a visual novel, called Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! -Kono Yokubukai Game ni Shinpan o!-, which was devleoped by 5pb, published by 5pb and Ubisoft, and released for the Playstation Vita and Playstaiton 4 on September 7, 2017 in Japan.  The game was never released outside of Japan.

## Plot

Following an untimely and embarrassing death, Kazuma Satō, a Japanese teenage shut-in NEET, meets a goddess named Aqua, who offers to reincarnate him in a parallel world with MMORPG elements, where he can go on adventures and battle monsters. Despite being offered a superpowered item or ability to use in this new world, Kazuma, following some provocation, chooses Aqua herself to accompany him to the town of Axel, quickly finding her absent-mindedness to be less than beneficial.LN 1.P With Aqua unable to return to the afterlife until the Devil King is defeated, the two form a party and recruit two other members; an explosion-obsessed magician named Megumin and a masochistic crusader named Darkness.LN 1.2.4 Due to the party's dysfunctional abilities, Kazuma quickly gives up on the idea of defeating the Devil King and tries to live a luxurious lifestyle, only to find the circumstances of his daily life are forcing him and his party to encounter and battle the Devil King's generals.LN 2.3

## Light Novels

1. KonoSuba;  God's Blessing on this Wonderful World
2. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!
3. Kono Kamen no Akuma ni Sōdan wo!
4. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! Extra: Ano Orokamono ni mo Kyakkou wo!

## Mangas

1. KonoSuba:  God's Blessing on this Wonderful World
2. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!

## Video Games

1. Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o! -Kono Yokubukai Game ni Shinpan o!-

## Why It Rocks

1. Great, inventive, funny looking animation.
2. Very appealing art style and character designs.
3. Good voice acting.
4. Excellent music and soundtrack.
5. Incredible dark comedy.
6. All of the characters are useless and cringe worthy, which makes it satisfying when they get tortured and made fun of.
7. Despite being unlikable, all of the characters also have their own likable traits too, which makes them feel more real.
8. Amazing parody of lots of different tropes in anime.  It has parody aspects of romance anime, romantic comedy anime, general fantasy anime, and, most importantly, MMORPG anime and Isekai anime.

## Bad Qualities

1. Due to it being a parody, there's literally no progression at all.  It's very unlikely that the character will ever leave the opening town.

## Reception

The *KonoSuba* light novels have been popular. As of March 2, 2016, the 11-volume series has a total of 1.5 million copies in print, each volume selling 136,000 copies.[71] As of February 2017, the light novels had three million copies in print.[72] In a review of the first novel, Andy Hanley praised the series' comedy reflected in the "tired genre" as well as its cast finding them appealing based on their traits. However, Hanley criticized the short length of the first volume.[73] The series won BookWalker's 2016 Grand Prix Award.[74]

Like its light novel counterpart, the anime has received positive reception for its comedy, parody of the "trapped in a fantasy world" subgenre, and faithful adaptation of the light novels.[76] Reviewing the first few episodes, Anime News Network(ANN)'s Theron Martin described the second episode as "the funniest episode of anime I have seen since *Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun* aired", while also praising the series' musical score.[77] The voice acting has also been a subject of praise; Nick Creamer of ANN commended Sora Amamiya and Rie Takahashi's roles as Aqua and Megumin for the energy provided in their performances,[78] while Martin applauded Jun Fukushima for his work in voicing Kazuma, considering his dry tone an additional factor in the show's humor.[79]

In contrast, a common criticism of the anime was its inconsistent character animation, one that was described as "low budget" as characters appeared off-model.[76] Koichi Kikuta responded by stating such design was intentional, hoping to "bring out the individuality of each character" rather than the prettier artwork in the light novels; to do this, Kikuta's animation displayed "their more human sides, like their unflattering traits and their distressed moments."[58] Crunchyroll's Kim Morrissy considered the animation to be humorous, especially fitting in a comedic anime.[76] Kotaku writer Richard Eisenbeis explained much of the series' humor derives from the deconstruction of Kazuma's hopes of becoming the hero of a fantasy world, instead realizing he is forced to struggle his way through the world.[75] Comparing Kazuma's problems in a fantasy world to those in real life, Creamer wrote about a sense of relatability between the series' protagonists and the audience, as the party deals with issues like debt and taking questionable jobs because of high pay. On a critical note, Creamer disapproved of Kazuma's negative attitude, which he felt harmed the comedy in the series.[78]

*KonoSuba**s characters, especially those in Kazuma's party, have gained favorable thoughts in the anime community. Creamer described the group as possessing a "strange but endearing chemistry," as the members are unfriendly with one another, yet are close.[78] Morrissy added the party's "emotional bond is also evident in the ways they interact with each other. My favorite thing about the anime is that it takes the time to draw these nuances out onscreen and express them with visual flair."[76] Megumin in particular has been considered one of the series' most popular characters, winning Sneaker Bunko's official Favorite*****KonoSuba*Character poll.[80] She was also the sixth-highest vote in*Newtype**s2015–16 Awards for Best Female Character (Kazuma was third in the male category) and received the most "Other" votes in the Best Girl category in Crunchyroll's Anime Awards 2016.[81][82] In an interview with internet personality The Anime Man, Natsume Akatsuki described Megumin as giving off "a pure and elegant atmosphere" like one of an anime heroine or waifu, hence her popularity among fans.[14]

In 2016, the anime was voted the tenth-best TV anime in the *Newtype* 2015–16 Awards.[81] *KonoSuba* also finished runner-up for Best Comedy in the Anime Awards 2016 to *Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto*.