First Impressions / Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku Wo!

「この右手にお宝(ぱんつ)を！」 (Kono Migite ni Otakara (Pantsu) o!)
“A Panty Treasure in This Right Hand”

Darkness has joined the party, and she’s maxed out her MP. Only with her, M doesn’t stand for mana.

Kazuma, The Panty Master

In another parallel with Grimgar, it looks like Kazuma is pursuing the thief’s life, and in both cases I heartily approve. As with in Log Horizon, where it was refreshing to have a support caster as the main, it’s nice to piggyback along with a thief instead of the standard shining knight. And Kazuma grabbing a bunch of thief skills comes with an added bonus: His mischievous thief sempai, Chris (Suwa Ayaka).

Megumin will forever be my favorite, because silly + chuunibyou + cute + explosion fetish just ticks so many of my boxes. But Chris is already a close second. It’s nice to occasionally see someone who is competent, because then we don’t get the isolating feeling that Kazuma is the only sane person on the planet—he’s just the only sane one in his party. But better than that was her reaction to the entire panty theft gag. Her initial (and I’m going to guess honest) reaction was fantastic, who doesn’t like seeing a cute girl blush? (Anyone who isn’t interested in cute girls and that girl herself, I suspect, but those are minority viewpoints!!) But her trolling afterwards raised it up a level. I want her to join their party, but that’d kill Kazuma’s Only Sane Man [in the party] role, so I just want her to reappear. Often.

Also, Explosion-chan has some pretty advanced panties. Or so I’d say, but black underwear is one of the most common colors, and bows are tame. Come back when you graduate to lace, little girl. Nowaitdon’tcry!

The Mighty, Masochistic Knight

About the only critique I can give this episode is that I feel like Kazuma should have figured out that Darkness is a hard M way earlier than he did, though that was in service of comedy, and the comedy worked, so water under the bridge. (No, stop it, Aqua. Pick up some real skills godsdammit.) But in addition to being a masochist, apparently she’s an exhibitionist too. (Yahtzee!) Really, the entire flying cabbage thing was just the kind of ridiculous absurdity that reliably extracts peals of laughter from me. Kazuma silently screaming that his teammates are all dysfunctional while the crowd misunderstands is a thing of beauty, and the fact that he didn’t turn into the buttmonkey—he still helped out and impressed his teammates—made the ending feel more warm and fuzzy, less comedic sociopathy. Face it Kazuma, whether you like her or not, she’s in.

One quick note: clothing damage. As with many such overused tropes, the best way to use it is to be shameless about it, or to lampoon it while indulging in it. KonoSuba takes the latter route, and it works. (They even kept some of the clothing and armor damage at the end, instead of rubbing it away off-screen. Continuity!) I hereby dub Darkness the Patron Saint of Clothing Damage! I dunno about you, but it just works better when she wants it to happen. I’m a gentleman like that.

tl;dr: @StiltsOutLoud – Darkness is a hard masochist/exhibitionist, & Kazuma is the Lord of Panty Thieves. Plus, flying cabbage armageddon! #konosuba 03

Random thoughts:

  • Just kiss already. You (un)lucky bastard.
  • “Come, now, and walk the path of explosions with me!” + “A storm is coming.” You will never not be my favorite, Megumiiiin!
  • Love the guys in the background giving Kazuma thumbs-up, while all the women look at him like he’s slime. Hah!
  • Why do I keep getting the shows with the flying vegetables?
  • These cabbages will not go quietly into the night. They will not be cooked without a fight. They’re going to fly on. They’re going to survive. Today, we celebrate or Cabbage Harvesting Day! *music swells*
  • Comedy is so often in the little details, like near the end where Kazuma’s just off to the side, continually saying: “Really?”
  • Author’s Note: I’ll be on vacation next week, so Takaii will be blogging episode four. (And just when Kazuma finally gets some real adventurer threads.) If the past is any indication, that means the next episode will be amazing. I shoulda sunk more points into my Luck stat.

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

91 Comments

  1. Weird that the anime would leave this detail out, but the reason why Kazuma keeps getting nothing but panties from girls is because of his ridiculously high Luck stat. The dude’s gonna go places…

    Nitro
    Reply

    3. Glad you pointed that out, though I suppose it could be viewed as lucky without the explanation. LOL. I’m having a similar thought to SpacyRicochet in that the “steals panties”… only panties (or underwear) could be a running gag. *tries to steal from orc… gets orc underwear*

      daikama
      Reply

      3. In this country, you gotta make the money first. Then when you get the money, you get the power. Then when you get the power, then you get the women… who are sane and attractive.

        Tony M
        Reply

    2. Lol! So very true. what even funnier is that the cabbages were actually voiced…. by Tomoko Kaneda ie Bonta-kun.

      I wonder what the creator was smoking when he thought up this idea….

      SageM
      Reply

  3. Send in tank. Let enemies surround tank. Nuke tank. Heal tank. This is actually a viable tactic for certain encounters. I have used it rather a few more times than I’d like to admit (the people playing the tanks have sometimes threatened to kill my character if he hits theirs with another fireball…).

    Chris was magnificent. I loved how she helped cement the demolition of Kazuma’s reputation that Megumin started on the night before. And in this case he really can’t blame anyone but himself. I’m pretty sure if he’d just settled for a “If you give me back my money I’ll give you back your panties and we can just call it even,” she wouldn’t have felt inclined to troll him like that, but no, he had to try to press his advantage. Not only did he make her pay all of her money, he had to go and say… all that stuff which really sounds like he was pressing her for something inappropriate, no matter what context you put it in.

    It was hilarious to see Chris tearfully lay it all out in front of the whole bar, wrecking his reputation, and then stick out her tongue at him with a grin from behind her hands. I definitely want to get more of her.

    Wanderer
    Reply

    1. Actually he almost got the perfect party for that strategy. The tank could tank indeed, nuker could nuke alright…

      Too bad our priest’s idea of healing is revolving on doing silly party tricks and serving water rather than actual healing…

      zeroyuki92
      Reply

      1. He said what she was saying wasn’t wrong, at least so far as his response of telling her to decide what the panties were worth to her when she said she’d give him anything to get them back.

        Wanderer
        Reply

      2. Right, she’s not making up things but rather exaggerating facts, and the :p she does at the end betrays her not being serious. I should have told it more clearly. thank you.

        Solaris
        Reply

      3. Originally, when I was first watching the scene, I suspected that she did give him all of his money … because the only money she had on her was what she stole from him. That’d make it both technically true and deceptive, and even funnier since it’d make it harder to weasel out of it. It’d also take more time to convey, though, so probably wasn’t worth the time.

        Stilts
        Reply

  4. Another good, funny episode IMO. Only 3 episodes, but so far I have to say this show is consistent in a good way. As Stilts notes, show deserves credit for paying attention to detail. Quite a few scenes were enhanced by doing so. It’s doing a good job spoofing RPGs as well IMO. Didn’t expect a flying cabbage quest, but that worked so well for this show. IMO, it does silly right. That’s important because when you see things like a modern microphone and headphones (about 13:50 mark) for the town’s PA system, if this tried to be serious at all, it would easily be a WTF moment given the RPG fantasy setting. Instead, “Eh, whatever” for me.

    Agree with Stilts about Chris. I liked her a lot, and yeah, nice to have another sane character around to balance things out. Personally, I would like her in the party, but I highly doubt that will happen. :/ I think Kazuma’s got the thief role locked up. Hopefully at least she’ll be a reoccurring character. To be honest, I’m really not a fan of “M” or “S” types so Darkness is kind of “meh” for me. Well, there’s still Aqua and Megumin.

    Megumin stole the episode IMO if anyone did. I have a strong feeling this won’t be the last time I have that thought. The bar scene with Kazuma was done just right IMO. Scenes with her feel very natural which is kind of weird for a wacky comedy, but a good thing for sure. Aqua was more in the background, but again attention to detail paid off. Got a few laughs with her acting as a walking faucet. XD. More good attention to detail with how Aqua’s party trick skill cost five points whereas Kazuma was getting decent, useful skills for one point each. That’s our baka goddess.

    Kazuma continues to do a fine job as both straight man and tortured soul burdened odd-ball teammates. Like Spike posted above, I LOL at “I didn’t come to a parallel world to fight cabbage”. No, but he might not feel the same about stealing panties. 😉 He’s actually a pretty good ML. He’s not hax/op, but he is fairly competent & useful most of the times. He’s not an oblivious idiot, but also not a genius who knows everything. He’s also not a super nice/forgive sins & transgressions type, but isn’t an pompous or cruel ass either. In short, I find him rather well balanced – at least compared to MLs in lot of fantasy/magic + harem (not sure if that’s the case here) type shows.

    Three episodes down and I’m definitely in the entire way. Never thought I’d post this, but right now, I’m looking forward to this show as much as any other this season (definitely more than some).

    —————

    @Stilts: Have fun on vacation, and if you find a way to add points to one’s luck stat, let me know.

    daikama
    Reply

    1. Good point about Kazuma being balanced. To add to that (and I think you’ll agree with this), the impressive part about his character is that he’s balanced while still being interesting. He’s the kind of guy who can be petty or mean, but can also be nice; he can be perverted, but he isn’t defined by it (sleeping next to Aqua peacefully, anyone?); he laments the absurdity, but still helps out with the quest in the end.

      He really gives the feeling of a rounded character, not easy to pin down, but better for it, like at the end when he finally gives up and accepts Darkness (who wouldn’t, after all of them are smiling together?). It’s nice because he feels like a PERSON, as opposed to a character with X and Y attributes. He contains multitudes, just like all of us.

      Stilts
      Reply

      1. @Stilts: Short version = I do agree with what you wrote. He’s more relatable (and realistic). From a writing standpoint, I think it might be more challenging to keep a fairly well balanced, non-extreme character (personality and powers/skills) interesting vs. a character with an extreme personality trait and/or hax/op powers & skills. The former has no flash/sizzle to fall back on as a draw.

        daikama
        Reply

      2. You are 1000% right. Balanced characters are harder to write, because they do that whole “contain multitudes” thing much more frequently, and they can become relateable to the point of being boring (because normal people are … well, normal, and therefore usually boring). It’s a hard balancing act to achieve, which is why it’s usually wise to dispense with it and make distinctive characters. Since three out of four main characters here are highly distinctive, that’s what they apparently decided to do. Wise.

        Stilts
        Reply

      3. @Stilts: I think another way you can look at the situation here with the characters is that the show subverts what is “normal” because as the normal, balanced character, Kazuma is the odd man out. He’s distinctive in his “normalcy” if you will. It’s what you mentioned about Chris and why she (to me) felt kind of refreshing. As you say, with her Kazuma doesn’t seem to be the only “sane” person around. My impression is that all the background folk (other adventurers, the guild lady, etc.) are pretty normal/balanced/etc., but they are no-name characters with little screen impact.

        But is it just the contrast? Grimgar uses the same general theme as this show (“normal” people go to RPG world). While Grimgar has some less balanced characters (Ranta being the obvious example), no one nearly as extreme I would say as with this show. Personally, I find Kazuma > than Haruhiro in Grimgar, and I don’t think it’s all due to the surrounding cast. Kazuma to me just has more personality. Haruhiro is pretty bland (and IMO he’s not the only one in Grimgar). It’s definitely easier to make more extreme personalities distinct among various characters, but my point here is that one can make the more “normal”, well balanced characters interesting/likable as well. Well-balanced/”normal” doesn’t have to mean devoid of personality. To put it another way, if you threw Kazuma into Grimgar, I still think he’d come across well, certainly better than some of that cast. JMO though.

        daikama
        Reply

      4. Oh, aye. I just said it’s harder to do. As the author, you don’t have as clear signposts for how your character should act, so they can get mushy and uninteresting unless you have a REALLY clear vision of who they are … and even then, they can still get mushy and unfocused without strong hooks.

        Stilts
        Reply

  5. Kazuma being the straight man with the jersey actually reminds me of Sorata from Sakurasou. He looks like him (especially with the green jersey), kinda tsukomis like him and it really feels like he was sucked into one of his game designs!

    Tassadar
    Reply

  8. https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
    One of the several things in this series that impresses me is Studio Deen’s efforts in making up a language…In the picture above you can just barely make out Kazuma Satou on the card..

    Though it seems somebody already deciphered the alphabet for Aqua’s adventurer card, interesting.
    http://i.imgur.com/gQKLBop.jpg

    Techim
    Reply

    1. OMG, I looked up the meaning of the items on the ability side of Aqua’s card:
      Show Spoiler ▼

      Bear
      Reply

  10. *Stilts promoted from Ecchi Blogger to Flying Vegetables Blogger*
    We’re proud of you!

    As for the episode itself, while definitely funny I found it somewhat less so than the previous two. The masochist joke felt a bit drawn out for one we’ll continue seeing in future anyways, and the flying cabbage could have been used more without making it feel drawn out. Most of the cabbage joke was used as M joke anyways which isn’t bad, but that green mob could have worked as more of a standalone joke too (“I didn’t come to another world to fight cabbage” was step in right direction). But again, episode was still a lot of dun, there were just some moments I felt it could have been even better. Plus comedy is subjective and all that.

    Megumin continues being awesome and so does Aqua in her very own way (5 skill points for party trick, really?).

    I found it quite funny that Darkness having poor accuracy wouldn’t be a problem at all if rest of the party had any kind of competent offense in them.

    Erimaki
    Reply

  12. this episode is so much win… and that pantsu steal is so funny. perhaps, kazuma’s extraordinary luck has an effect on his steal skill.

    and i think this episode confirmed where all of the production budget mostly goes… and lessons learned… the best way to finish a monster is EXPLOSION!!!.

    anyway if there is a religion where megumin is the goddess, sign me up.

    Jeffers
    Reply

  13. It’s more like Darkness put all her stats in STR and VIT, but nothing in ACC/DEX. Still though I’m loving Darkness already (it’s the ponytail)! Makes me wonder if she’s an M so became a tank, or because she’s a tank that she became an M. So Megumin doesn’t like being called a little girl. That makes another trait she shares Lina Inverse, aside from the Dragon Slave magic incantations. And I just laughed too when Megumin called Kazuma a Hentai character class. It reminded me a lot of Ben-to. Btw, I heard the way Kazuma learned Enemy Detection and Lurk were left out in the episode. Makes we wonder now what happened in the source material but I bet they’re as ridiculous as how he learned Steal.

    Zhinvu
    Reply

    1. He learn stealth/lurk/hide and enemy detection at the same time before steal. basically Chris ask darkness to look away then she hide in a barrel then throw a rock at her. while darkness approaches the said barrel. Chris declared that an enemy is detected and approaching. Darkness being pissed roll the barrel away with Chris inside.

      FVA
      Reply

      1. So the way Kazuma learned those other skills was just as silly. Thanks for the info. So Chris can be just as silly as the main cast. Now I’m disappointed they left the scene out.

        Zhinvu
        Reply

      1. On Aqua going commando:

        I was assuming that Pilfer steals one item, and he got Megumin’s pantsu. There’s probably a higher level skill that lets you steal multiple.

        On not including those other scenes:

        Those could have been funny, but it’s all about time. Add those in and everything else in the episode would have been rushed, when they’re neither vital nor as funny as the pantsu gag. That’s a good omission in context.

        Stilts
        Reply

      4. @Stilts: Some folks have confirmed that the skill gets one item from one creature, so that’s that. On the other hand, I think the show has given us several glimpses far enough up Aqua’s skirt for us to be able to say with some conclusiveness that she is also not wearing any, unless it’s some really tight thong-style.

        Wanderer
        Reply

  15. This. Show. THIS. Show. What the fuck… Hontou ni wat de fak… Words cannot describe just how hilariously stupid and crazy this show is. More and more I find myself addicted to this show like a dude addicted to LSD. KANPAI!

    #DarknessBestGirl
    Just all a’ dat Ai Kayano goodness~! YYYYYYAAAAAAAAHHHHHHOOOOOO~~~!!!

    Mihashi Nishizawa
    Reply

  18. Of course they keep the damage to Darkness’ armor, Stilts. How else are they going to justify it when it’s too damaged for her to wear, but she must still follow the path of the heroic crusader and go into battle without it so she can take all that exquisite damage with just her body!! She’s doing it for the people. FOR THE PEOPLE I TELL YOU!!!

    …wow, kinda went off on a thing there… *wipes drool*

    Aex
    Reply

  21. https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2017.jpg
    Given that both Aqua and Megumin were in front of Kazuma when he used the skill, could it be that he got the latter’s panties because there was nothing to get from Aqua? I doubt a newly learned skill can get 2 items at once so it was probably a dice roll as to who will be the target.

    https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
    It was obvious she’s on par with the other two in terms of craziness but I didn’t expect that she was an M. More so that she’s a crusader who’s the tank of the party. A meat shield(and very meaty if you know what I mean). Kayano Ai’s moans are so erotic.
    I love the sound effects when she’s getting hit. Those cabbages must be really fresh to make those crunching noises.

    https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%20-%2003%20-%20Large%2027.jpg
    Fukushima Jun really needs more roles like this. He’s really good at delivering them tsukkomis. It’s full of energy and packs a real punch.

    belatkuro
    Reply

  22. I love this series I can’t wait till they adapt chapter 13 wereShow Spoiler ▼

    all in all I already hope we get another season of this, and it doesn’t turn out like a Hataraku Maou sama.

    Ashton
    Reply

    1. If I were to choose between being hit by soft Dango vs. hard cabbages, I think the answer’s obvious lol…

      …Unless I am Darkness, then that’s a entirely different story already.

      Audacity
      Reply

  25. Love the guys in the background giving Kazuma thumbs-up, while all the women look at him like he’s slime. Hah!

    Hahaha, I completely missed that. I love this show’s background details.

    That panties gag was rather funny in general, too. Usually those kinds of jokes make me roll my eyes, but this was an interesting take on it (especially Kazuma’s reaction when he stole Chris’ panties – might as well roll with it, eh?). The same can be said for more than one type of joke in this series, so I applaud the show for being able to be a little creative with them (and being genuinely funny while doing so).

    And I agree, Megumin steals every scene she’s in. Chuunibyou’s are a dime a dozen in anime nowadays, but even among them she stands out. Mostly because of the setting (and how she’s used in it), her colourful design, the jokes revolving around her, her fetish with explosions, the fact that she’d goddamn adorable…I might as well name everything, huh? Best chuuni girl of 2016 already confirmed. Hhhnnnggg!

    Dvalinn
    Reply

    1. This is just a guess, and is not at all related to having read TVTropes and learned various things about the characters, but I’d say Chris probably has… other things she needs to take care of on a semi-regular basis that prevent her from hiring on with a party full time.

      Also her presence in the party would mess up the dynamic that makes much of the comedy work. A lot of the humor requires our hero to be the only semi-sane and semi-competent person in the party, and to react appropriately when the rest of his group behave like lunatics. Adding another sane and competent person to the party would almost certainly kill that.

      Wanderer
      Reply

    1. As is the case with video games and comics, people think the animation/graphics matter a lot more than they actually do (though you still need some minimum, i.e. table stakes). Turns out, it’s all about the story.

      Stilts
      Reply

  34. >Megumin is gonna cast explosion on the cabbages!
    >Wait, Darkness is right in there…
    >Well, Megumin’ll probably aim a safe distance away from her…
    >…since there’s no way she’d cast the spell directly on top of Darkness.
    >right?

    I don’t know why I expected even an iota of functionality from these people. This show makes me want to play a good old JRPG.

    blargnobia
    Reply

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