First Impressions / Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku Wo!

「この魔剣にお値段を！」 (Kono Maken ni o Nedan o!)
“A Price For This Cursed Sword”

Kazuma meets the real Chosen Hero.

Of Aqua and Cages

The first half of the episode could have easily been too much. The comedic sociopathy (trope!) was strong in that one, and it was hard to decide if Kazuma was being unnecessarily cruel or not. You wanna know what saves it? Aqua being implicated in her own misery, and a strong dose of her stupidity too. She was the one who wanted to stay in the cage to purify the river, after all, which was funny enough to keep me laughing through most of it. Then, at the end, when she was utterly traumatized by the experience, and I was once again thinking they went too far … and then Kazuma realizes that she forgot she was a goddess. Hah! I know I shouldn’t analyze comedy too much, it ruins the effect, but I thought they toed a delicate line relatively well. But it pales in comparison to the second half.

Satou Kazuma vs the Chosen Hero

Putting Kazuma up against a classic chosen hero-type Earth transplant is probably the obvious move, but that doesn’t mean that it’s a bad one. No, I think it’s nearly necessary, because it showed off that actually, Kazuma is approaching this world correctly. Instead of playing by the tropes, he’s scraping up from the bottom; his decision to choose Aqua also gave him a first-class ticket to the school of hard knocks, and it turns out that education is useful. That’s why it was such a treat when Mitsurugi Kyouya (Eguchi Takuya) did all the usual crap, and Kazuma kicked his ass. It turns out that luck on the level Kazuma has is nearly a superpower.

I just loved it, watching Kazuma put Mitsurugi through the ringer! For as questionable as his actions sometimes are (that excessive hand animation!), it’s nice seeing the smart, savvy character rewarded for once, rather than the brave stupid one. And Aqua, Darkness, and Megumin sticking with Kazuma was beautiful. They might all be useless in their own hilariously dysfunctional way, but at least they’re loyal, as Kazuma is to them—er, more or less. He sticks with them, at least. Saying that the girls are better people than Kazuma shouldn’t be a surprise at this point, but at least he’s only mean and/or sadistic to them up to the level of their madness. That has to count for something.

Intimidate Check

I’m not going to delve into the “true gender equality” line too much, because wow, bag of snakes. It’s probably safe to say that, if you’re a lad and you meet a lass on the opposite side of a battlefield, you should fight her as you would anyone else. Past that, I’m not interested in providing a forum for the discussion, so take it to your Facebook walls. I will say that I’m not sure tacitly threatening to steal your opponent’s panties (or worse?) is gender equality, so much as it is sexual harassment. I just don’t much care in this case, because what I found hilarious was how Kazuma basically turned his Steal ability into an Intimidate check, and he made his rolls flawlessly. Kazuma isn’t the good guy in this tale, not by a long shot, but damn if he isn’t fun to watch!

Looking Ahead – Dullahan’s Return

I was surprised when Dullahan just walked away after the confrontation last episode, so I wasn’t surprised when he showed back up, all annoyed that no one had attacked his castle. I did get a hearty laugh out of it, though. If there’s anything this episode has tought us, it’s that Kazuma is a master at screwing with people’s minds, even when he doesn’t mean to. And his teammates aren’t bad at it themselves. Dullahan doesn’t stand a chance.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Kazuma meets a REAL Chosen Hero, and it doesn’t go well for one of them. No points for guessing which #konosuba 05

Random thoughts:

  • No worries, Kazuma. You could still have love with a party member. I just, er, would be careful with that … careful to pick Megumin!
  • None of the girls claim to go to the toilet. They all must be idols. Wait—do I smell crossover potential? Just imagine: Love Live – The Kazuma Party Project. Doujin artists, get on it!
  • When fate’s tempted, fate responds. That’s a trope used well.
  • Question answered, I think.
  • I feel like Mitsurugi’s teammates don’t have a lot to steal. His whole party really is full of clichés. Delicious, nutritious clichés.
  • Remember when Kazuma stole his teammates’ panties? Megumin remembers. Also, Pepperidge Farm remembers. It was watching from the bushes. Pepperidge Farm is a creepy old bastard.
  • Kazuma might not be the good guy even if he is a protagonist, but neither are his teammates. Gotta love a goddess who takes the opportunity to extort an extra 100,000 eris out of her defeated foe. You and Kazuma are perfect together, damegami.

My first novel, Wage Slave Rebellion, is available now. (More info—now in paperback!) Sign up for my email list for a FREE sequel novella. Over at stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The Introduction, What Star Wars: The Force Awakens did right, What Star Wars: The Force Awakens did wrong, and Star Wars: The Force Awakens – The Conclusion.

 

Preview

90 Comments

  3. Kyouya is obviously a parody on the generic MCs in fantasy harem series who I hate so much: a dense goody two-shoes who has all the girls fighting over him, and OP as hell with all of the best skills and equipment without having to work for it. It was so satisfying to see Kazuma completely own the crap out of him.

    Can you imagine how much better this show would be than it already is if it had a bigger budget?

    ET
    Reply

    2. @ET

      That’s it exactly! The best way to show how Kazuma is actually acting rationally in an insane world is to pit him against someone who has internalized the world’s irrationality … even if it’s the same irrationality Kazuma would kind of like to take part in, if only he weren’t such an amusing mixture of unlucky and lucky, lol

      I don’t think the budget matters myself, though. I don’t watch this for the slick animation, and they have enough money to make it look good enough, and more importantly, to apparently pay good writers to write the scripts and good actors to act ’em out. Those are more important to me.

      Stilts
      Reply

  4. No worries, Kazuma. You could still have love with a party member. I just, er, would be careful with that … careful to pick Megumin!

    Sadly he seems to consider her a child. She may need to grow up a bit more for his tastes.

    It is, however, disturbing that I agree that the girl who has a fetish for creating nuclear-scale explosions is somehow the safest choice…

    Wanderer
    Reply

    4. hat Mitsurugi himself did said that he will do anything if Kazuma wins. Kazuma threatening Mitsurugi’s party member is a just action because they said that Kazuma is a coward although the real coward is that Mitsurugi that is a Level 37 swordmaster challenging Kazuma with a sword fight by using his Demon Sword Gram while Kazuma is only a Level 6 adventurer that use a short sword.
      and also

      ImperialFlameGod8190
      Reply

  5. The highlight of this episode for me was the party’s return trip from the swamp (Uh…former-swamp?!). Aqua’s self-induced trauma was worth a few giggles in of itself, but I burst out laughing when she started singing that ridiculous pity-party song, and finally the reactions of the townsfolk and Kyouya sent me rolling off my chair…

    Zen
    Reply

  6. Aqua screaming “konosuba!” was enough to make this episode. That and Kazuma crushing Kyouya the (white) knight with his own sword, made all the more funnier by how accidental it looked.

    Also Kazuma’s moment of nihilism where he sees the pursuit and acquisition of cash as a worthless endeavour, definitely not tongue-in-cheek blasting the concept of grinding at all 😛

    Shukufuku is enough to almost get me loving Wednesdays, almost.

    Pancakes
    Reply

    1. I took the money thing as an indictment of materialism in general while I was watching, but that’s probably just me filtering it through my own philosophical lens. Skewering RPG grinding makes a lot more sense, lol

      Stilts
      Reply

    1. The only problem is that Kazuma could have chosen an OP weapon too, but he has chosen dumb goddess. It is his own fault that he has to scrape from the bottom.

      Kyouya’s mistake was pedestalizing the… Dumb Goddess. Man, yes he was arrogant and vain and I don’t like OP characters but that was harsh. The person that changed your life being a *beep* and being sabotaged by an envious *beep*.

      I hope he can develop himself from now on. And, also, isn’t it bad that a guy that was powerfull against the demon army, isn’t anymore.

      Grahav
      Reply

      1. Agreed. I don’t moralize about Kazuma because he didn’t choose the hard road for its own sake, he did it out of spite. It’s his own fault he has to scrape. That doesn’t mean we don’t see ourselves (when we have to scrape) in his shoes when he’s whooping Mr. I-have-all-the-advantages’ ass, though.

        Stilts
        Reply

      2. I’m going to drop a tiny spoiler for a joke that’s presumably next episode.

        Some mob character goes, ‘Don’t worry, Mitsurugi Kyouya is in town! He’ll save us!’ and Kazuma is going to go, ‘… Oh, yyyyeah. Shit.’

        Guile
        Reply

    2. Yeah, it is wish fullfiment. Still, that guy was using his advantages to rid the land of man-eating monsters. Acting on envy only crippled a hero and did not make ourselves heroes. It makes us dirty envious commies.

      Grahav
      Reply

  8. That flashback sequence where Kazuma thought of all the times the girls gave him a hard time and his narration through it all, god that had me in tears. Everyone’s so darn dysfunctional it’s way too amusing. The straight man with three eccentric girl combo works really well. Also steal skill + high luck = best ability ever. It only makes it better that Kazuma really doesn’t care too much about being a good person and just sold the sword, haha.

    ChromeNova
    Reply

  9. kazuma’s got some good qualities; there’s that part of him that is capable of selflessness (that’s what got him killed in the first place). It’s just that he’s not afraid to screw someone over if it makes his life easier. He can turn on jerk mode real fast n do what he has to do to benefit himself in this crazy world he lives in. Yea, he’s pretty much your average dude

    sonicsenryaku
    Reply

  10. The way Kazuma isn’t too happy with the money he made from the cabbages and recently from selling that cursed sword makes me wonder if the cost of living over there is very high that it’s just not enough. Either that or taking care of Aqua is just that expensive. I’d assume 300,000 Eris is already a lot and would last them a while, but previous episodes also reminded me Aqua can sometimes be a big spender.

    Also…

    https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2001.jpg

    Kazuma’s face here reminds me of the reaction most characters in Soul Eater have after meeting Excalibur.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    2. @Zhinvu

      As Pancakes said above, I think the money thing is more an indictment of grinding in RPGs. He finds money useless because he has too much of it, and hardly anything to spend it on. He wants a more fulfilling life. Or at least to get more levels so he can use the better equipment he can probably afford, haha

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. The world either suffers inflation very badly or the author just like the exaggerated nature of large sums. He throws out numbers like millions and billions on the regular. Kazuma lives in a novice village, and most of the quest are 100,000 eris and up, and he made just as much working as a laborer.

        wicked
        Reply

      3. I wondered about not having anything to spend their Eris on though. I thought Kazuma wanted better living conditions so I’m a little surprised they’re still sleeping in the stables. Then I realized maybe Kazuma isn’t splurging because he’s aware of Aqua’s spending habits that he’s forced to act as the party accountant. And yeah grinding for cash in games, I remember that. Reminds me of the endgame times in RPGs where by the time I get to the final dungeons I got all the best equipment already so my cash from grinding just sits there.

        Zhinvu
        Reply

      4. I’m with Erimaki. 300,000 local currency doesn’t seem to be much, as it took 200,000 to repair the iron-barred cage? If the writers are just translating yen, then 300,000 yen = $3,000. But the daily costs in the city seem much worse, such that 300,000 = $300.

        (Putting on professor hat.) Inflation is a result of somebody big (usually a government) taking on wayyyy too much debt, and trying to hide it by inflating it away. So either the local King has a pleasure ship made out of gold, or the war with the bad guy is going so badly that the effects are being felt all the way back home as inflation of goods. War covers up debt (as long as you win it at the end), but instead of rationing, we are seeing inflation. In other words, too many low-level adventurers, not enough King’s Army high-levels. As the Headless Knight has shown, moving in to an abandoned castle just next door.

        Kazuma needs to check those coins and see if extra zeros have been typed onto the ends of the denominations.

        jhpace1
        Reply

  11. The first part really was strong in comedic sociopathy (though even the characters eventually felt bad for Aqua, of all people) but it crossed the line twice enough times (that traumatized song, haha) that it stayed in the funny range. And hey, it was her idea.

    And man, that second part. They completely nailed the character archetype they’re parodying with Mitsurugi, and watching him get repeatedly owned is immensely satisfying. From his mannerisms (“oh you girls, stop fighting over me”) to his cliché’d backstory (complete with OP weapon and ‘chosen one’ nonsense) to him going all white knight on the girls (his insistence on saving Aqua, even saying to hand her over to him, as if she’s a piece of property) – everything about him reminded me of the most aggravating of anime protagonists out there.

    And then Kazuma just attacks Kirito Kyouya mid-conversation and yoinks his sword, owning him, and then sells his super OP sword for chump change. So much for saving the world, eh? All while the girls justifiably regard him as a creep and Aqua extorts him for cash later. God, I love our protagonists. I always have more respect for people who use their smarts to win anyways (no point in playing fair if your opponent isn’t) and our dysfunctional team has no patience to play by the genre’s rules to begin with. It all made me double over from laughing, and I can’t recall doing that since Nozaki-kun two years ago. Special props for the dead-on voice-acting and little details (Megumin’s cowering when he threatened the panty move) as well. My hat’s off to you, Konosuba.

    And now Garland Dullahan’s back! Poor guy, this can’t end well for him.

    Never expected this show to rise to one of my favourites of the season when I started it, hah. It has become the most fun part of any wednesday to me. Man, I’ll miss it when it’s over.

    Dvalinn
    Reply

  12. GOD BLOW!!!
    https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2032.jpg

    Kazuma and his busy hand!
    https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2026.jpg

    Aqua: “the world is dark and full of terror.”
    https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2019.jpg

    Bamboo Blade Cat
    Reply

    1. go on! bash her harder!

      You’re just looking a way to blame everything on Kazuma.

      You have not read the novel…this is nothing compare to the three of them do to him.

      Aqua isn’t just stupid, she’s arrogant, rude, lazy and selfish, so his response is warranted. Trust me she has no real redeeming qualities except being useless for the most of the time. not even that, sometimes she even makes things harder than they already areall the other girls at least have some redeeming quality, but she? nope, she is the worst in kazuma’s party.

      I don’t know why many people didn’t like Kazuma. Is it because he seems to be bullying Aqua by his actions such as telling Aqua an idiot or something. I want to remind everyone that Kazuma is not that bad. Kazuma died trying to save someone (even if it was useless, LOL) and Aqua literally laughed in his face. When they arrived to that world although he already realized that Aqua is somehow useless and idiot he didn’t leave Aqua behind and let her into his party. Then he risks his life getting chased by a giant frog and she just stands there and makes fun of him.

      Every anime in human history is about girls belittling, abusing, intimidating, beating and making fun of boys.

      The irony is the line:
      – We’re supposed to excuse her behavior because of her dark sordid. She’s going to act like a complete bastard for the entire show using her sob story as a shield.
      -People fall into repetitive buzzword bullshit with these heroines: ”Heroine is cute.”
      -She just acts like “a girl,” or more accurately, an over-the-top facsimile of how a cliché otaku might describe “that 3-D bitch, looking down on me.”

      This is one of the very few anime where it’s the other way around. If anyone is bothered by it, I recommend, watching literally any other anime that exists. =D

      I love Kazuma’s honesty. ”I’m an advocete of true gender equality, a guy ha no problem doling out a drop kick to a female opponent (waifushit).”. Very refreshing.

      Kanto
      Reply

      1. Or vice versa. Pick Darkness and then cheat on her with Megumin or Aqua while Darkness watches. If the universe gives you the opportunity to have your cake and eat it too, you might as well.

        quigonkenny
        Reply

  15. … based on the evidence to date…
    I’m starting to doubt that Aqua even wears panties..

    and is just one GOD KICK away from … (has to stop writing for nosebleed…)

    so far the gods of perspective have protected her dignity…

    one wonders what Kazuma would steal from her… one wonders…

    defunkt_bots
    Reply

      2. But he’ll probably never use Steal on her, because then the pantsu question would be revealed. Unless using Steal on her would be funny, in which case he’ll end up doing it immediately. I don’t know, either way works!

        Stilts
        Reply

  16. Great episode. I so enjoyed seeing the generic anime hero get his for once. Also, all those cheering for Megumin as the romantic option, which don’t get me wrong I am for, there is apparently still one very good option that has not been introduced yet but it looks like we might meet her during this season.

    I don’t want to upload to photobucket, but there is a great pic on /a/ of an atom bomb detonation with Megumin from the ED edited in. And speaking of Megumin, look who’s getting a figure:http://myfigurecollection.net/item/396601

    Gouka Ryuu
    Reply

  17. This is a good comedy with heart. I love it! Solid story and I really like the art.

    Despite Kazuma’s quirkiness, he is a man of resolve and to be taken seriously.
    If you go up against him and lose, don’t expect to be able to crawl back to him
    to get your stuff back.

    The irony, too, is that the knight was stronger than those alligators – none of
    them broke the cage Aqua was in, but Mitsurugi easily bent the bars!

    Can’t wait to see what humiliation Dullahan will visit upon himself in his next
    confrontation with Kazuma and his party. He’s probably wondering why she hasn’t
    died of the curse…

    And, for the record, Megumin is the cutest choice, IMHO…

    mac65
    Reply

  24. Man, so much mention of Kazuma stealing Gram, but no mention of the fact that it actually worked properly and didn’t end up yoinking Kyouya’s underwear? XD

    Also gotta love how Dullahan kind of sounds like a mix of annoyed and lonely with his yelling, lol.

    HalfDemonInuyasha
    Reply

  25. well played…
    the de-construction of “Real Hero”…
    Kazuma comparing PTSD-struck Aqua to his own hikikomori days…
    Dullahan showing up again , this time up in arms about being ignored…
    and, Kazuma utilizing his skill and luck factor to the fullest…

    ewok40k
    Reply

  26. Megumin’s adorable, non fanatic chuunibyou:

    Kazuma: “You two insist you don’t use the bathroom, so next time we’ll accept a quest that’ll take longer than a day, and we’ll just see whether you use it or not.”
    Megumin: “Please don’t! Crimson demons really don’t use the bathroom, okay ? But I’ll apologize, so please don’t do that.”

    I really like Megumin 🙂

    Voyager
    Reply

  27. IMO this show continues to be consistent in a good way. It may not have the biggest budget (more would be better of course), but visual quality is good enough and there are some nice seems. It does, however, do some important things well – execution, attention to detail and comedic timing, which are key to making this work. And it does work IMO. Still looking forward to next episodes as much as any show this season (and more than most).

    Really can’t say enough about the execution. Facial expressions, voice acting, timing. What could be awkward or even considered cruel (though Aqua does a lot of that to herself), comes across as simply light-hearted comedy as it should. Mental trauma isn’t funny, but well, here it was, and then the show does a great job of finishing that off when Aqua instantly gets over it simply because Mitsurugi recognizes her as a goddess. OK, “problem solved” LOL. The whole joke is actually taken even further because Mitsurugi’s “good deed” of getting her out of the cage (by bending the bars) is subverted when that actually costs Aqua money for repairs, and then she extorts from him not just the repair costs, but another 100k on top of it. There’s the attention to detail as well with background scenes (e.g. the girls’ different reactions when Kazuma goes to “steal” again).

    It’s February – just two months into the year, but I’m already starting to think of this show as my vote for “exceeding expectations”. At this rate, might get my vote for AOTS.

    daikama
    Reply

    1. Amen to this.

      Already reading volume 2 of the LN and Deen has added a lot of flair to make the rock solid source material shine more. From Megumin’s chants, to the Quest stamps and Quest clear and most especially the on point the voice acting. I hope the rest of the LN volumes gets animated down the road coz by Deen’s pacing, we will only adapt volume 1.

      Sasuga Deen.

      Raiu
      Reply

  30. I have to point out another big difference with the manga, so I won’t yell at Deen denizing it this time. Maybe the guy who read the novel can confirm.
    Show Spoiler ▼

    I don’t think comparing several versions is pointless. Usually anime have much strict time budget than paper and so you may end with a lot being cut off, and it’s a pity. A big pity (Yes, I’m looking at you too, GATE)

    Solaris
    Reply

      1. The anime also left out how Chris (and Darkness) taught Kazuma Hide and Detect Enemy, as did the manga. Truth be told, it was cute, but not up to the level of funny expected from this series. They seem to be storyboarding it similarly to the manga, but aren’t adding any of the stuff the manga does.

        quigonkenny
        Reply

      1. Why would she need a bra? The only reason she would have to wear one would be to keep them from sagging, but she’s a goddess. She could walk around naked for eternity and they’d never sag.

        quigonkenny
        Reply

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