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「この仮面の騎士に隷属を!」 (Kono Kamen no Kishi ni Reizoku Wo!)
“Servitude For This Masked Knight!”
Boy would I be pissed if I were Stilts and not here to watch this monumental episode.
It’s Finally Over
For a show like Konosuba, I feel like it’d be wrong to try and do some analysis on a show that’s specifically designed to literally not give a damn about what’s going on. Instead, let me just go on a little bit of a word vomit about this week’s episode and some of the fantastic things that happened.
First and foremost, welcome back fantastic animation quality. I talked to Stilts about this back during episodes one and two, but the stark drop in quality compared to the prior season stuck out to me like a sore thumb. There were moments where I could honestly go, “Damn, even I could draw better than that!” Fast forward to this week and I’m happy to see that the animation budget is back up to season one standards. With crisp lines and well drawn and expressive faces, I was getting almost giddy thinking about just how good things looked compared to before.
Second, this is the Darkness that I tune in for — a Darkness that’s ready to embrace what she loves and find as much pleasure as possible from it. With Kazuma there to provide just the right amount of commentary as everything went on, I absolutely loved getting to see Darkness experience some true euphoria. Because as far as pain loving goes, I can only imagine just how painful every single part of her body felt as she constantly interrupted the well spoken Vanir. Because if his description of how his possession works was accurate, Darkness will probably never feel that great in her life ever again.
Third, and this is referring to the bold title, I am so happy to see Kazuma finally out of trouble with Sena and the Capital. And as funny as I found it for Kazuma to be caught up in a pretty garbage situation, seeing Sena barge in every week with some false (mostly false) accusation was starting to get a little stale. I mean, it might have been okay if she was a slightly more serious character, but with almost negative respect for her as a character it only got worse each time she would suddenly appear.
Last, aren’t the “bad” guys in this show fantastic? Sure, we haven’t seen all that many so far, but the performance we’ve gotten from Verdia and Vanir have been pretty great. At this point, I can’t wait to see just what kind of person this Demon King really is since his men seem to be pretty decent guys. Then again, I guess the true final boss is still Kazuma…
Looking Ahead
With the arc dealing with Kazuma and his misfortune with the capital finally over I can’t wait to see what lies in store for us next week. That said, I don’t think I would mind a quick return back to the random antics and side quests that helped flesh out our amazing characters. In any case, even if I’m not here writing about things you can bet I’ll be in the comments next week!
P.S. SHOW PLEASE GIVE MEGUMIN MORE SCREENTIME. As my absolute favorite character, I’ve definitely been feeling the lack of Megumin week after week. With Darkness back though, I’m really hoping the camera will start turning back toward my favorite loli explosion-magic user.
Preview
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Vanir and Darkness’s VAs were absolutely fantastic this episode. Not that Kazuma, Aqua and even Megumin weren’t up to par, but these two really sold it. I wish Darkness could have spent another minute beating Dust’s delinquent buddy silly, that was fun.
I’m also pretty stoked that it looks like we might get some Axis cult action before the season is over after all! I initially thought the Sena thing would take up the whole season.
Aqua’s so often the butt of jokes that I’m dying to see her revered for once. The contrast of the Axis cult’s adulation, and her own companions’ contempt brims with comedic potential…
I tried to warn Stilts that he wouldn’t want to miss this episode, but something blocked my comment to last week’s post, and it never went up. :/
It didn’t even have any spoilers in it: I just told him that I believed he really wouldn’t want to miss this episode.
Goddamn I have to admit the synergy between Vanir and Darkness was hilarious to see in animated form. Darkness must have had the time of her life. Pain, abuse, and competence, all things she longs for but doesn’t usually get! It felt like she and Vanir were fused and really insync at the end lol. Honestly I get the feeling she could have easily cast Vanir aside if she didn’t enjoy it so much.
As for Megumin, she does get a TON more focus in later volumes. A couple of volumes are focused all on her, but I don’t know if the anime will get that far. I think in the latest volumes she exceeds all the other characters by a fair margin when it comes to closeness with Kazuma. Being the run-away fan favorite has its perks XD
If we get the Axis arc this season then wouldn’t a hypothetical season 3 be a huge chunk of Megumin?
Assuming 2 vol per season it would be half Megumin, half new character/Chris
wew…the change between darkness and vanir voice was amazing, amazing work from the VA
It was so gooood
Konosuba’s chief animation director, Kikuta Koichi, was interviewed back in July 2016 on how he handled the animation.
https://wavemotioncannon.com/2017/02/07/konosuba-interview-with-koichi-kikuta-anime-style-009-july-2016/
Some titbits:
– He states an anime’s quality is in layouts and composition, not characters.
– He’s responsible for a lot of boob-jiggling movements.
“If the boobs jiggle even from such slight movements, then it would be strange if they didn’t move when they walk. That’s my rationale.”
– The derpy faces of S1 were due to him not bothering to correct faces on cuts sent in by separate animators, only correcting layouts and proportions. He strongly believes that animation cuts should be unique to each animator, and thinks group work reduces the uniqueness of the individual animation style.
“…To be blunt with you, I think that faces and stuff like that should just be left to the artist/animator in question. Whenever I submit drawings, I want to show off the parts I did myself, and that’s why I don’t have the slightest urge to correct other people’s drawings and make them my own, even when I’m the animation director.”
– He admits he’s awful at drawing characters in a way that resemble their original designs, and didn’t really check the designs when working on the show proper.
“In the even-numbered episodes (handled by another chief director), the characters look prettier, and they resemble the designs more closely. That’s the correct way of doing things. When I was doing it, it never occurred to me to make the characters resemble the designs. I feel like I just did whatever I liked.”
– The series director wanted the anime to look “off-model, but not in a way that completely turns off viewers”.
Unfortunately, me and the vast majority of viewers being the plebs that we are, we notice the off-model faces without particularly noticing the smooth animation or scene composition.
THIS IS EXACTLY WHAT I NEEDED.
TBH I don’t mind the derpy animation / drawing style. I just wanted to know WHY.
But like Guile said, it’s a little jarring for the plebs like who get caught off guard.
Goodness, doesn’t the Demon Lord any “normal” commanders? And are they this easy to kill, despite their high bounties? Or is it just because Kazuma’s party has WORST compatibility with the Demon Commanders. Just what sort of quirks does the Demon Lord have?
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2004.jpg
This part I find it funny. And why did Sena not tell Aqua ahead of time? Is she wanting divine retribution?
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2021.jpg
Aqua looks so cute when she is scared. Lol, the joy of scaring a deity. Funny how that masked demon said “priestess who has the same name as that annoying goddess” since Aqua is supposed to be the actual goddess. Notably even demons know that Aqua is “annoying” lol.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2022.jpg
IF I was some demonic spirit, possessing Darkness would be the WORST choice lol. I want to see Darkness in Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu for obvious reasons.
Anyway, It is a MIRACLE that Kazuma got his debt cleared. Really something. Notably, because Kazuma’s party was the one that killed the dullahan and along with that lie detector incident in episode 1, I did not understand why Sena thinks Kazuma was allied with the Demon Lord, unless she thought Kazuma had joined the Demon Lord after killing the dullahan.
If I was Kazuma, I’d get sad for a split second thinking about how much money I would have gotten if I didn’t have to pay the debt back.
And are they this easy to kill, despite their high bounties?
Remember, Kazuma has high luck stats, which is the ultimate Deus Ex Machina justification for any and all ridiculous outcomes in the series. Not a bad thing given how awesome this series is.
Well, to be fair on Kazuma’s party both Aqua and Megumin DO have super high specs. Explosion may seem silly with Megumin spamming it everywhere, but it’s supposed to be a super ultra powerful spell that literally holds the highest attack power among all spells in the Konosubaverse!
Also I’m pretty sure Vanir knew Aqua was a goddess. Hence the whole “I’ll only not harm HUMANS”
I love Megumin’s character but she needs to evolve as well. Her explosion only skill is getting stale. She needs some backstory/screentime and maybe start learning something else to make her a little more useful.
So… completely unlike Megumin, then?
This is their first achivement that didn’t cause massive collateral damage. Aquas flood when they fought Verdia cost them more than they got a reward, 300 million reward – 340 million compensation(and its only partial, not full). numbers from LN.
The 40 million he has now is the reward from both the destroyer and Vanir after all debts
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2015.jpg
Darkness was actually able to hit something?! Mark this date on your calendar folks and grab some booze! We party!
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2005%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
The to and fro of Darkness and Vanir was beyond godlike in this episode. you could really tell how much Vanir regrets taking Darkness as her host ^.^
He seemed to be zigzagging. In one point he regretted her being super crazy. In the other he seemed pretty happy to have someone with big strenght and superb defenses.
Darkness survived a freaking EXPLOSION!!! for crying out loud.
some time later Megumin did state that Darkness being able to tank explosion somehow hurts her pride lol
The *bad guys* are the main characters. This is the anime equivalent of It’s Always Sunny.
Darkness does have bird motifs already.
It’s happened again! I’m so sorry, Stilts…
Loved how Kazuma resisted temptation by remembering this was Darkness they were talking about… and Darkness made a sound, logical argument? About something sexual?! Only in an episode where Stilts isn’t here, things go right, and Kazuma gets out of debt 😛
Maybe all the bad luck our heroes encounter is because Stilts is here. His own bad luck is driving down the crew.
Fantastic episode and agreed, fantastic animation. I especially enjoyed all of Darkness’s cute faces throughout the episode as of it make up for the fact that she was missing for two episodes. I was a bit surprised how quickly Vanir got dispatched, but inner “conflict” between Darkness and Vanir was golden.
Poor Lalati-er, Darkness. Now everyone knows her real name, lol.
I do hope that this isn’t the last we see of Sena though.
Well know now that if you keep her on a very tight leash Aqua is actually a top level raid healer. And also know now that Darkness with just a few more points in weapons is a excellent tank, except for keeping her from rushing things to early another leash needed. Kazuma is a ok thief. So only need a useful mage, I think there is a lonely crimson demon who can do the job. Megumin can hold the torch and carry stuff, maybe useful if large open area with big trouble in the center 😉
I think you mean ANY points in weapons. Cause right I think they said right now she doesn’t even have the Longsword skill.
Aqua is also capable to do any water and anti undead magic, so yeah she’s broken if not for her stupidity. A tanker who could only tank actually is usable in Raid as long as her durability is OP. Kazuma actually is a really good utility character with his crapton of random yet useful skills. Don’t forget that Megumin could actually one hit kill any enemy, so let’s think of her as one use nuke container.
Megumin is a very specific boss encounter ender. Even in open spaces, if those spaces are compromised for whatever reason, she can’t use her magic either.
I did like that last bit where things got serious, too; on that last walk, when Darkness talked it was shot showing the white half of her masked face, and when Vanir talked it was while viewing the black half.
How is Megumin still up and running (to Darkness) after the explosion? Comes with her higher level?
IN all likely hood, Kazuma gave her some drain touch magic.
Ok I am lost. First off, how was it even Aqua fault? She left a seal to keep the dungeon clean, so why would it be her fault that the monsters are there? that makes no sense on Kazuma part. Like.. dude, how?
Another thing i am curious about is, does that mean the forcefield layer on the Demon King castle is now dropped by two? Dullahan is dead as is Vanir. Although, why does Vanir have a death wish? It seems like he was wandering to be put out of his misery. Hopefully they show us more of Vanir motive for wanting to die, like how they show Wiz flashback of Dullahan being a perv.
Also did Vanir know Aqua was Aqua? At first he was all “I see everything!” then he said she was a priest with the same name as that goddess.
A very confusing episode, funny naturally, heck I am not sure if anyone noticed but Darkness pretended to be Vanir and called herself a model knight. Yeah… shameless knight!
I will say, that had Vanir lived there might be some Darkness x Vanir romance, the girl flat out state that she could really fall for that dude, and they seem to have a moment. Does that mean Kazuma got NTRed?!
Final thing, I am glad the animation is back up to par, I hear a lot of excuse saying that’s the style, then does that mean the director or studio is cooking the books? Seems kinda shady if they had the same budget but have shitty art.
It wasn’t Aqua’s fault that monsters were in the dungeon, it was her fault that monsters WEREN’T in the dungeon. Without her seal they would’ve stayed in the dungeon and Vanir’s toys would’ve killed them all off, but since there were no monsters there anymore and Vanir didn’t expect that, his toys were heading out of the dungeon to the closest person they could find and exploding. All Sena and them knew at first, though, was that monsters were leaving the dungeon and making trouble, and Aqua’s seal was to drive monsters away from the area. Reasonable for Kazuma to connect the two and deal his usual punishment.
Turns out that Aqua’s seal actually stopped an evil base from being built and therefore cut off a much bigger problem, but it’s not like Kazuma would ever acknowledge that and apologize.
Lastly, I wouldn’t say that Vanir had a deathwish but wanted the perfect death. Kinda the same, but he wasn’t willing to let just anyone put him down. He wanted to make sure they had the moxie to go through hell first. The Demon Lord probably thought there wasn’t anyone that COULD kill him when he made him into a part of the barrier. And yeah, I’d say that the barrier is down by two. Don’t see why it wouldn’t be.
Feels kinda like a stretch by Kazuma blaming her for monsters. Monsters are everywhere in that world. SO he couldn’t have known in advance that was the reason. So plot hole probably.
AS for Vanir, hmmm perfect death? I guess I can see that but still kind of a deathwish, he wanted to die either way and die in a certain way. That’s… odd.
Because she does this all the time? She put up a super barrier in the cemetary because she didn’t want to go there every day, forcing ghosts to flood the town.
@Duzz: Sena came to Kazuma because she already knew from investing that the monsters were coming from Keele dungeon, which she tells him because she also knew that he and Aqua had just been, and that’s why Aqua even mentions her seal. When monsters are leaving a dungeon after someone puts down a seal there to keep them away, chances are good it’s because the seal is working, and it’s the fault of whoever put the seal down. Namely, Aqua.
It might be that it’s not really her fault but it doesn’t change the fact that she had placed a magic circle in the dungeon that is now swelling with monsters. The court has convicted Kazuma for much less circumstantial evidence so he probably didn’t want anything that could make it seem like it was their fault, even though this time it wasn’t.
I cackled at the scene when Vanir was trying to temp Kazuma and Darkness into fulfilling their promise.
Just reading this comment made me re-live the scene and I couldn’t help but cackle as I thought about it. The seiyuu must have had a lot of fun with this episode. Ai Kayano is really good. I’ve never heard Vanir’s seiyuu before but he reminds me of Kagerou from Inu x Boku.
I have no idea why she was wearing a maid’s outfit but Aqua looked sensational here. It really does seem that the artwork was sharper than usual this week.
Really think they are saving more money by saving on animation. Sure the budget the same but I doubt you pay the animator of episode 3 the same as you do 4. That’s like equal pay for one person who worked harder than the other.