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「この素晴らしい仲間たちに祝福を！」 (Kono Subarashii Nakama-tachi ni Shukufuku o!)
“God’s Blessing on This Wonderful Party!”
KonoSuba 2 ends with a bang, and so much sakuga.
A finale of a favorite series is always sad—especially when it doesn’t get the insta-greenlit sequel like the first season got—but at least KonoSuba 2 went out with one helluva bang. All its signature comedy was on display—Aqua being terrible, Darkness being too perverted to be useful, etc—but there were some pleasant surprises, and even some bona fide heroic moments to boot.
The crazy angry dude being the baddie wasn’t a surprise, though the nature of him was; I didn’t expect another leader from the Devil King’s army to appear, much ess get dispatched so quickly. (Also, didn’t expect Aqua to be right about the hot springs, haha!) For my money though, it was all Wiz. Her getting pissed and going full Ice Witch mode was awesome! Not only was it a nice surprise, it allowed them to dial up the strength of the villain by giving the protagonists more tools to combat him.
Speaking of, it might have been Kazuma’s plan that enabled the whole thing, but this was definitely Aqua’s time. That was the neat part—despite Kazuma being the main character, and him still receiving what seems like disproportionate deference and/or love from his teammates, he’s largely absent from the final battle. Aqua (and her followers in the Axis Cult) are the heroes this time!
Yuck. It doesn’t feel right, saying that. Aqua, being anything other than terrible? Bleh. My mouth feels dirty.
Not that our heroes—to use the term lightly—get to win in the end. Aqua ended up doing the Devil King’s work for him, and they got run out of town . . . but, well, the homecoming was nice. It feels like we’re returning home ourselves. Just in time to leave it, alas, as the season ends. Onto the final impressions below!
My SECOND novel, Freelance Heroics, is available now! (Now in print!) (Also available: Firesign #1 Wage Slave Rebellion.) Sign up for my email list for exclusive content. At stephenwgee.com, the last four posts: Guardians of the Galaxy, Glee, & Firesign; That’s not supposed to go there . . .; The Carcer Principle; and Fire, further.
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Final Impressions
It’s always hard to know whether a sequel will be as good as its forbears. Will the magic of the original be lost? Will it be mostly good, but not have as much budget as it used to, and slowly coast down into mediocrity? Will it try something new and fail horribly? Or, hope of hopes, will it be as good as its predecessor—or even better?
There’s no way to know until it airs. Even though, when we do the RandomC season previews, we force ourselves to try. It’s always a risk to mark a sequel as deserving of a High expectation level, but we took that leap with KonoSuba.
Boy, were we right!
KonoSuba is at heart a comedy, and there’s not much I can say about that which I haven’t said many times before. The old jokes worked again, though maybe that’s the real trick—they managed to make the same basic patterns still funny, by taking them further, by developing the story around them, and by not beating any of them to death (though a few came close). New elements were emphasized more, new characters were added, a new setting as dabbled in, but at its heart, KonoSuba is KonoSuba. What they did was not screw it up.
Not that it was perfect. The animation got janky a time or two, though that was true of the first season too. Mostly though, this thing knocked it out of the park, and I’m totally happy with the results. (Yes, I can only think of one criticism.) And—actually, you know what? It’s late, I’m tired, and if you’re reading this, you’re in one of two camps. Either A) You watched KonoSuba, and almost certainly loved it, in which case you’re a wise, charming, handsome and/or beautiful, and all-around awesome. (And super smart!) Or, B) You haven’t watched KonoSuba, and you’re wondering whether you should, in which case the answer is YES, you idiot. Go watch it, it’s tons of fun.
Also, season 3 plx. STILTS OUT!
End Card
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Our battle has just beg-
Well, that’s a good way to say it, considering they’re back in the starter town. And they are unlikely going to be motivated to leave.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2009%20-%20Large%2008.jpg
I can imagine that a big commotion will occur soon once this beauty returns, her appearing in one episode isn’t enough.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2001%20-%20Large%2025.jpg
Am shocked Mitsirugi isn’t challenging Kazuma again, I guess he finally gave up or he still hasn’t got his sword back yet.
Now that’s how you use a budget.
Wow, so Hans was a slime, who can even eat soap. What logic was behind throwing away those soap, in the previous episode, when Hans could have eaten them?
Anyway, it makes sense that Slime are strong, not sure why games consider slime to be weak. They are supposed to be a Logia (one piece) type monster since physical attacks don’t affect them.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2011.jpg
Lol, these “emergency quests” get me every time. I wonder who had put them up or, like any game, they just suddenly pop up “magically.” Notably, I am surprised that Kazuma didn’t die from shock considering how loudly his heart had thumped. Well, hopefully the gang had gotten the bounty for Hans, unless that bounty was used for the town’s reparations.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2041.jpg
Throwing stuff at the goddess in the end. Did they ignore the fact that she performed the godly miracle of resurrection? Or people don’t care when dead trash is restored back into functional trash? Funny how the town never believes that Aqua is a goddess in the end; or maybe they do believe that she is a goddess but decided to change religions.
Anyway, like Wiz who loses money the harder she works, you find it funny Aqua and Kazuma are cursed where the harder they try to become heroes the more they are considered villains. Irony, since Aqua’s “punch” was fueled by the “faith” of the town’s worshippers; sort of fragile gods considering how faith is such a big factor for their power.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2026.jpg
I’m sure Kazuma would prefer to be eaten by a Female slime next time. At least that I hope Darkness gets into that situation, she would enjoy being suffocated for a good long time.
More importantly, what happened to that wonderful beauty Hans was with in the previous episode? Will she appear next season and become part of Kazuma’s harem? We know she is a demon but we don’t know what is her rank; would be interesting if she reported, to the Demon Lord, that Aqua is a real goddess, naturally Demons have a bone to pick with the deities.
Show Spoiler ▼
I think the way resurrection works in this universe is everybody gets one; Aqua is special because she can say ‘fuck that’ to the one-man-one-rez limit. Eris has a line about how that wasn’t supposed to happen during, I wanna say the Snow Shogun episode? And Aqua just bulls right over her.
I think I fell in love with Wiz when she went “Ice Witch” mode. That’s a side of her I did not expect. The kind, gentle, arch wizard who has a battle side. Her only character fault is that she has not business sense but so what? BTW, Any one noted her left eye turned yellow?
Yeah Aqua shone in this fight, but she also did the Devil King’s work. You know, she reminds me of Urd in OMG in that they are both lazy and love alcohol. Oh yeah, whatever they do tends to backfire. Let’s not forget that.
Is there enough LN material for a S3? I’ve only heard the source WN has been completed for some time, and that the LN version is still being published.
There’s content for about 3 more season assuming a 2 vol per season structure
s1 adapted vol 1-2
s2 adapted vol 3-4
the LN is currently at vol 10 with vol 11 being released in may
They have also skipped a lot of the really good content, i.e. how they first met Wiz, or how Kazuma tried to adventure with Dust’s party after they mocked him for being the only low-class member in his current one.
I think people forget that Wiz despite her timid personality was a badass mage. Probably the most badass mage in the world. I mean she actually got the Demon Lord to agree to let her live a normal life in the starting town and not only that but for them and their army to actually stay the hell away from that town so long as she was there.
That speaks volume to just how powerful Wiz really is. It’s a shame the fact she’s friends with the Demon Lord and their army means she’ll likely never go on a one woman army to the entire Demon Army and wipe it out.
Yeah considering how freaked out Hans was at the thought of fighting her, that gave an inkling about how bad ass she is. but anyone meeting her would get the wrong first impression.
Considering she said she ran out of mana freezing Hans, I doubt she could wipe out the Demon Lord’s army herself. She could do a damn lot of damage though, that’s for sure.
Was that because of Aqua?
I don’t think so. Aqua was chain-Purificationing at the time. Shouldn’t have had any effect on Wiz until she went all God Requiem.
As Hans had said she “lost her spine since becoming a lich” so she probably hasn’t trained or anything to keep the power she had as an adventurer
Show Spoiler ▼
Theres also the fact that she had been near purified a couple times the last few days and being in close contact with Aquas divine aura possible hindering her recovery
When does that all happen, Meep? I thought I’d read all the LNs and side material, but I wanna read about that one.
Show Spoiler ▼
Well, that was fun but again, the season ends too early. Of course, there’s nothing to stop them from airing another episode next week.
Although she didn’t get everything she desired, I’m glad that Aqua got a chance to really shine… and to do so in her ‘home’ town. While all of the Konosuba women have their charms, Aqua will always be my favourite.
My hope is that they run another season (or more). There are still plenty of arch-villains between them and the devil king, so there is a clear (at least to the show’s creators) timeline to follow that won’t run on indefinitely. Given that they don’t spend gobs on animation quality, in relative terms, the show can’t be too expensive. And maybe they help manage that by having these short seasons… sort of like that Fate Illya show. This show seems popular, if not a blockbuster. Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like the discs are gonna be sold in the west any time soon.
And will Hans join Verdia in trying to convince Wiz to cross the river?
Anyways, another great season of a great show. Thanks for writing about it every week. Now I’m gonna go listen to the EDs again, from both seasons, and feel nostalgiac.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2002.jpg
Season 3! Or I’ll tell the Axis cult that you’re a believer of Eris!
Loved it very fun even though the last episode more action and drama than comedy.
Poor Kazuma he did not get to enjoy his Eris. Is Kazuma trying to catch up with Re:Zero’s Suburu in dying to help his side. I wonder what both would think of each others life and what they would talk about. There is a difference though Kazuma has actually died where Subaru’s deaths have been erased by time reversal.
Hot Springs get their minerals from deap underground as the water travels though the earth and then sent to the surface from the hot volcanic spot. So the minerals should return and maybe Aqua get off the hook with her followers once they realize she saved them from poison contaminating the rock and pipes of the springs making them unusable for much longer. Normally minerals in water are not considered a impurity, it the minerals in water that makes water taste good. Sample some distilled pure water and it does not taste good. Your pure mountain spring water that tastes fantastic has minerals. So Aqua makes bad tasting hot water. That makes it even funnier.
Poor or lucky or actually both Kazuma you are doomed to have a harem as no other man is going to take the loons you live with and sooner or later the loons will realize your their only possible catch. (that is in his world, his harem I’m sure has enough fans of each to take care of them in this world)
This a popular series in Japan it will get a new season assuming negotiations with talent and all groups turn out well. I hate when things don’t get done because they cannot settle on how to split the pie. Hope it not the ten years that Code Geass took. One thing people forget is you actually have to get most of the talent involved free at the same time to make a sequel.
For less than hit anime I could see a publisher not wanting to make more for a tiny profit that might reduce book profits. For hit anime like this though I observe it more likely more will be made unless parties involved cannot work out a deal.
“Poor or lucky or actually both Kazuma you are doomed to have a harem as no other man is going to take the loons you live with and sooner or later the loons will realize your their only possible catch. (that is in his world, his harem I’m sure has enough fans of each to take care of them in this world)”
They might, since they don’t know how bad they really are until it is too late. Lol. Now Wiz, otoh.
@RedRocket: Had the same thought about the hot springs. Time should fix the problem. I have tasted distilled water. It’s… kind of odd though not sure if I would say it tastes “bad” (more like “not as good”). Also, minerals & impurities can go both ways in terms of taste. Ever drink well water? Not always great. Frankly, tap water can be quite “meh” if it’s “hard water”.
As for a third season – don’t jinx it! XD Do get your point though. Still have to think S3 will happen given show’s popularity. Also, for a popular/successful series this should get a decent if not outright good budget = better and more consistent overall visual quality. Early visual quality issues should not have happened this season for whatever reason. Even when at “default” levels there’s room for improvement.
Oh yes the tap water in Clearwater Fl or mountain stream hiking up in the mountains is fantastic, hear New York City tap might be some of the best water from any source in the world. Remember TV show episode where protagonist asks for the best water they have and man goes by all the bottled water and pours some New York City tap.
But also remember trips in central FL Ocala National Forest at camp where the water smelled and tasted of Sulfer, Yuck. Hear many places the tap is drinkable but sucks. So yes it depends of what minerals are coming in.
Your right distilled not yucky but not good either.
So sad they didnt put in the cliffhanger that sets up vol 5
Show Spoiler ▼
I understand why they didn’t put it in cause no s3 confirmation but still
Say, don’t this remind you of them aliens from Metal Slug X?
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%2031.jpg
Anyways, I’mma miss this show. One of the few shows I actually looked forward to n’ enjoyed for this winter season. Hope another season comes sometime later on even though that ain’t likely tuh happen.
Part A – Why is the animation so janky in a final episo–
Part B – Oh that’s why.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2016.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2024.jpg
I really liked Wiz since we first got introduced to her, but I just fell hard now that we got to finally really see her in action since learning of her being a former Devil King commander last season, so we knew she had to be a badass, but seeing it demonstrated is a whole ‘nother thing entirely and it really makes you wonder how Kazuma and the others would do if they actually had to fight her seriously like with Hans.
I also loved seeing Kazuma’s skeleton just awkwardly sitting across from Eris awaiting to be resurrected, lol.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2046.jpg
And even Yunyun gets a happy(?) conclusion for the season.
Explosion in Season 1. Ice Crystal Prison in season 2. If there’s gonna be a season 3, what high level magic will Wiz use down the line? Wiz is love, Wiz is life!
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
Remind me not to get on Wiz’s bad side…
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2032.jpg
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2033.jpg
“ONE PUUUUUUUUNCH!!!” (And the “God Blow” works this time!)
*Sighs* I miss this show already. While I’ll miss Megumin and her glorious explosions, Darkness and her off-the-chart kinkiness/perversion, the necrophilia-inducing beauty of Wiz (and the badass hiding beneath), Yunyun and her constantly-tested sanity, Kazuma’s guile, Aqua’s hilarity, and all-around comedy in general, I don’t mind waiting a bit for season 3 if only to get everything about it just right.
I’ll look forward to the OAV for this though… (Might see that spoiler pointed out by Meep above.)
>That was the neat part—despite Kazuma being the main character, and him still receiving what seems like disproportionate deference and/or love from his teammates, he’s largely absent from the final battle
What do you mean, Stilts? Kazuma was all over the final battle. Here:
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2026.jpg
And then there was his skull rolling away from the force of Aqua’s god blow, and just… he got plenty of screen time!
Them cutting back to Kazuma’s bones every few minutes like he was still contributing and doing reaction shots and stuff was fantastic. Not as good as the Axis Cult declaring their creed, but then what is?
I stand corrected, lol
Stilts, also don’t forget to put Kazuma in the Anime’s Best Death Categories of RandomC 2017 at the end of year XD
Right now I can’t say whether S1 was better than S2 or vice versa, but I can say that S2 lived up to expectations. No small feat given the high bar S1 set. I’ll say it again, this show knows how to do comedy. Stilts is right, even the old jokes (e.g. giant toads) still worked rather then feel worn out which happens in some other shows. Comedy is subjective and not every joke hits, but this show certainly had more hits than misses. With one early exception (see below), on the whole execution was the usual solidly good – particularly the voice acting once again.
Another thing I liked a lot was that within all the comedy hijinks we got some character background and perhaps even some development. The characters do tend to stay in their predetermined lanes, but one did get a sense of at least building on what was already established.
I thought the show ended strong for two reasons. First, yeah, Aqua is often still selfish and whiny, but I liked how she did care for her, uh, enthusiastic followers even if her actions unwittingly backfired. It gives her character some extra depth. Second, while this is not really an action show, I found the final battle surprisingly good, primarily because it was a team effort. Honestly, it felt like a good fantasy RPG in that regard rather than protagonist power -> “Hax Mode…ON!” resolution. As I mentioned before, I think this series works best when there is some balance between the cast – whether in terms of contribution or being comically stupid/broken.
Can’t forget about Wiz. You’re told she was this hax/op mage, but seeing her as such is another matter. Definitely fun to watch. Also, one more example of someone in the cast getting a little bit of the spotlight. Yunyun, you’re up next! 😀 Speaking of Yunyun, very nice addition and look forward to more of her. Even Megumin’s cat worked out well. Initially I was worried it would devolve into some intrusive comedy mascot, but not the case. Cat worked out just fine and contributed to the comedy in general.
A lot of positive things to write, and very few complaints. Early on (Ep. 01 particularly), the visual quality was poor, but that was fixed fairly quickly. Certainly by mid-season, if not earlier, visual quality was back to the usual “good enough” levels, and I thought there were some moments where the show did look pretty good. With the visual quality fixed, really my only complaint is the same as last year though perhaps even more so – It’s over already!?
I don’t want them to make a ton of material cuts and/or rush the show (pacing seemed fine to me. Don’t know about material cuts), and if 10 episodes per season fits source material better than say 12 or 13, fine. However, there has to be enough source material left where they could have done a 2-cour season even if it’s 10 episodes per season.
So bring on Season 3, and next time make it a double!!
Hum I wonder if a God like Aqua or at least Eris could raise Wiz from the dead and make her human again?
The thing is Wiz is undead, not dead. I think a Resurrection spell would kill her lol.
Wahaha as expected of Goddess stealing another character skill across anime
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2030.jpg
Spirit bomb+rasengan
And I really want to see wiz vs vanir animated
Tip on konosuba the more weird the character the stronger he/she is
If we pray hard enough maybe they’ll green light season 3?
Eris pads her chest! Eris pads her chest! Eris pads her chest! ERIS PADS HER CHEST!
I don’t mind if they’re padded! I don’t mind if they’re padded!
Somehow the funniest thing in this episode to me was the fact that Hans the slime has an actual skeleton. Completely unexpected and totally hilarious…
Those are the bones of the real overseer he just ate.
I beg to differ, good sir. Go watch the part where he gets hit by Megumin’s explosion again, frame by frame. You’ll see that what remains is a long, serpentine vertebral column with a skull attached to the top…
WOw, Aqua brought the pain, but I noticed a few inconsistency. Aqua specifically said that if Megumin unleashed explosion then it would contaminate the area. Yet she did it with Kazuma blessing. Also who show how turned on Darkness was when she found out it was a slime… too bad it wasn’t a hentai slime! For a moment there I thought the Axis cult would recognized Aqua but nope…
So much for the Axis cult, Aqua now has no more worshipers, their hotspring is gone now, no more money so no one will come to get sca-recruited. Kind of feel bad for her that her city is shit now. It was said to be quoted by Darkness as the most beautiful city.
On another note, it seem to put a final note on the entire series, like no TBC feel to it at all.
Overall a good season lots of laugh. I would look into the studio embezzling money because some of the art work through the series was horrendous and cheap. Even this final episode did not have that polish look to it like season 1.
The explosion thing wasn’t really an inconsistency. Kazuma lured the slime into a big hole, so that when the explosion hit the walls stopped the slime’s pieces from spreading too much.
Wot ruicarlov said. Otherwise what was the point in Kazuma leading Hans away?
Hopefully we do get a season 3, and 4 and 5. I have a feeling if we do they will probably start the season with Yun Yun’s bit that they cut at the end here.
– The Axis Church can get things done. And because you can get things done, even if it doesn’t go well, it’s not your fault!
– It’s society’s fault that things don’t work out!
– You can run away from unpleasant things! That doesn’t mean you’ve lost! Because sometimes as they say, running away is winning!
– The answer you figured out after doubting yourself is usually something you’ll regret, no matter what you choose. If you’re gonna regret it anyway, do whatever’s easiest for you at the moment!
– Do not fear growing old! Not even God knows whether you’re gonna be happy in the future, so you should, at least, be happy now!
– And of course the most important:
ERIS PADS HER CHEST!
Still disappointed we didn’t get to see Kazuma in Dust’s party, though maybe we’ll get another OVA relating to that
Every time Darkness said “slimeu” <3
Three lessons to take away:
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2014.jpg
You do not anger Wiz. There’s a reason she was an ex-Demon Lord elite.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2039.jpg
If only Aqua were this serious fighting the Demon Lord, she would’ve gone home long ago.
https://randomc.net/image/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo/Kono%20Subarashii%20Sekai%20ni%20Shukufuku%20Wo%202%20-%2010%20-%20Large%2042.jpg
But of course, Aqua being Aqua, she’s bound to God Blow herself in the ass, one way or another.
Show Spoiler ▼
All in all, that was one hell of a fun ride. Looking forward to a season 3.
P.S.: At least now we know where a good chunk of the animation budget all season went to. That fight scene, though.
I love how every mob character in this anime so unique.