Spring 2023 Anime: Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!

Synopsis

A year before Satou Kazuma was taken to a new world, there was the tale of Megumin, the strongest explosion magician in all the lands! Megumin was studying at the Red Prison Academy and earning her chops as a young magician wanting to learn about explosion magic! However, at the magic academy, she is ridiculed and mocked for wanting to learn explosion magic due to its immense mana cost and impracticality, but that won’t stop Megumin from chasing after her dream of the biggest explosion! (Source: Ani-One Asia YouTube channel). 

Comments

Watching Konosuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! (Konosuba Bakuen) feels like watching the original Konosuba all over again. Just like the original, Konosuba Bakuen is an anime that is willing to blend their joke into pretty much everything. While that doesn’t always work in other series (See Just Write’s video about bathos in Marvel movies). But it works in Konosuba because, well, this is Konosuba. Creating a stupid joke at their characters’ expense is always their thing. 

Part of this may be because this spin-off is still handled by some people who worked on Konosuba. Sure, the original Konosuba director Takaomi Kanasaki is not involved anymore (probably because he’s focusing on the Konosuba movie and season 3), but the animation director Koichi Kikuta is still there. He’s probably the one who’s responsible for defining the look and feel of the Konosuba series. Smears, weird poses, and expressive character movements are still apparent in this spin-off. The animation studio may also be different. But considering the industry’s reliance on outsourcing, having a different studio shouldn’t really affect the animation as long as it still has the same animators and animation directors.

Of course, that doesn’t mean Konosuba Bakuen is all joke and no story. There’s a potential larger narrative that involved the wizard who uses explosion magic to save Megumi. But come on, we’re not here for that. This is Konosuba. If there is something serious going on, chances are it will become punchlines later. Konosuba is an anime series where the joke is always part of their identity, and this spin-off is no different.

Facts and Figures

Screenshots and Trailer

The Indonesian Anime Times