konosuba

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

After a couple of volumes where I felt that perhaps the page count did not justify the limited content within, this final book in the main KonoSuba series seems to be just right. The final battle against the Demon Lord contains just about everything you’d want in a KonoSuba book. Kazuma wins by being kind of scummy and tricky; Aqua wails and whines but is also kinda lovable; Megumin casts explosion so much that the overuse of magic makes her nose bleed (at least I hope it’s due to overuse of magic, as otherwise that’s one weird fetish); and speaking of fetishes, Darkness is Darkness. The only thing missing is Yunyun being toyed with; she’s here, but mostly functions as a real competent person. As for the plot, it’s pretty much what you’d imagine, and the one big surprise I had with the book was not seeing one of the characters killed off, but when it happened.

We pick up where we left off last time, with our heroes getting most of the Demon King’s minions out of the castle by simply having Megumin carpet bomb it to death. And yes, she does this with Yunyun and the other heroes IN the castle. Then they’ve got to go find Aqua, which Kazuma does almost immediately, as he overthinks a trap for dumb people and therefore picks the dumb option. We then get a series of KonoSuba-esque scenes, which involve fighting minions, arguing, and comedy, until everyone reunited and takes on the Demon King and his most powerful supporters. Unfortunately, the Demon King is not named that for nothing; he’s pretty much impossible to kill, unless Kazuma does something that he’d really rather not do, as he was told that if it happens again there’s no turning back…

I’ve spent several reviews discussing the romance, such as it is, in KonoSuba, and it’s therefore amusing how little it actually matters here. Megumin’s still in the lead, yes, but that’s mostly by default, and it’s mentioned that darkness is turning down the many marriage proposals she’s getting for a reason, and that, after the final battle’s legend is passed around, Princess Iris has more of a crush on her “older brother” than ever before. But the romance is irrelevant because it’s secondary to the family. This whole adventure came about not because they actually wanted to kill the Demon King, but because Aqua was depressed. By the end of the book we’ve solved that, although I think Aqua wishes there was a way to do that that involved less of her sobbing desperately. The series ends restoring everything to the status quo, although things will presumably be easier with the lack of a Demon Lord making all monsters stronger than they should be.

There are many other unlicensed spinoffs in this series, featuring Darkness, Dust and Yunyun, Cecily, etc. The author also says he has ideas for sequels – this volume has several final battles, both in Axel and at Iris’ castle, but we don’t actually see any of them, and it’s hinted he may write that as well. That said, aside from the upcoming fanbook, I think Yen On is finished with KonoSuba novels for now. This is a very satisfying conclusion, and all fans should enjoy it.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Last time I suggested the entire book had been written around one 40-50 page scene. This one’s even worse, as the entire book is entirely setup for one 3-4 page scene. The author even admits in the afterword that they had the ending to this book in mind right from the start of the series. It’s pretty spectacular, frankly, and fans of Megumin will be over the moon. That said, there is also the rest of this book to deal with. Good news, it’s also good, though it does not quite hit the highs that the end gives us. It’s the second to last in the series, so we’re setting up for the final battle here, but we’re also showing off how well everyone has integrated into Axel, and how much Kazuma, Megumin and Darkness have mellowed out and become boon companions. And in some cases more than that, as Kazuma and Megumin try once more to try to lose their virginity. (Take a wild guess how well that goes.)

As we saw at the end of the last volume, Aqua has run away to go defeat the Demon Lord, though it’s pretty clear she wants the rest of her friends to catch up ASAP. Instead she gets Handsome Sword Guy (whose name she forgets, and so do I), Cecily, and Yunyun… which is actually a far more balanced party than her normal one, so she mostly ends up very bored on the journey when she’s not accidentally tempting monsters to eat her. Kazuma is, alas, very reluctant to come after her as he’s back to Level 1 after recent events. That said, his level is back to baseline but he still has his skills… which gives him an idea. An idea involving Vanir, Wiz, and a very difficult dungeon…

If there’s a runner-up in terms of best bit in the book after the Rise and Rise of Megumin, it’s the adventures of Vanir and Wiz in the dungeon, keeping the useless Kazuma safe while also letting him get in the last hit to raise his level again (and then lower it, as he’s cheating as per usual). Vanir is just the same as always, but it’s an absolute delight to see Wiz getting obsessed with clearing the dungeon and just as over the top. They make a very good team. As for others in the book, the award for “worst person in the world” has to go to Zesta, who not only pervs hard on Kazuma, Megumin and Darkness, but is such a lustful pervert that even high-level monsters run away as they are worried he’ll try to screw them. (He will, indeed, try that.) He’s also the one who gets a horrible idea regarding Serena’s powers to return the pain she receives back on the giver, which relies on her being a virgin. KonoSuba is not about to forget its roots of being terrible in the best ways.

So all the main players have finally arrived at the final battle. Will our heroes triumph? Will the demon lord prevail? Will Kazuma die again? And what’s up with the link between this world and Japan? That will wait till the final volume next time. Till then, this was a lot of fun. Also, I find it hilarious that it took till Book 16 for Megumin and Darkness to learn Kazuma is from another world.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Sometimes, as a writer, you get a great idea. It’s terrific, it works well as a character piece, and it’s also hilarious. There’s just one slight problem – it’s only about 45-50 pages long, and you’re writing a novel. So you put the idea in the middle of the book and hope for the best. That’s basically what we get with this 15th volume of KonoSuba. The scenes with Kazuma under Serena’s control are possibly some of the most hilarious in the entire series, Especially if you enjoy watching Kazuma behave like an utter asshole. Which I assume you do, as you’re reading a review of Vol. 15 of this series. The rest of the book is okay, but it feels just not quite as spectacular. It doesn’t help that it’s trying to set up a serious arc for the series’ least serious character, which means that we’re supposed to care about how she’s feeling at the same time as we admire her total uselessness. But then, that’s what KonoSuba does.

The Demon King’s army is not what it once was, and so Serena, one of its last demon generals, is trying to make a deal with Kazuma to just relax and take it easy and not attack the Demon King, something Kazuma is pretty much fine with. Unfortunately, Serena can’t resist not only turning the adventurers into the town into her loyal puppets, but also smugly lording it over Kazuma, gloating about the fact that he’s not as uncaring as he’s said. So he decides to take back his deal, and starts working to do what he does best – humiliate her till she gives in. Unfortunately, the reason this is happening is because the Demon Lord’s army really is making its move and attacking the capital – they’ve even asked the Crimson Magic Clan to help! (No, not you, Megumin.) That said, what may be the most important takeaway we see here is that with Aqua being down here, there’s no one who can be sly enough to trick dead Japanese boys to reincarnating here… which is bad news for the heroes’ strength.

So yes, the chapter with Kazuma under Serena’s control is marvelous, and you’re just unsure enough about whether he’s faking it or not that it keeps you guessing. It’s a very tiny difference between Kazuma being scum and being total scum, and Serena has been just enough of a jerkass herself that we are amused at everything that happens to her. As for Aqua, it’s not a secret that she’s not my favorite, though I do like the fact that she’s not a romantic interest for Kazuma. I do think the idea that the world is failing precisely because Aqua is here rather than up in heaven being a shyster is an excellent one, and I wonder if that might be part of her gloom. The book has a scene near the end where she asks if Kazuma regrets reincarnating here, and it’s almost heartwarming. It almost makes me wonder if the next book will be more serious.

I doubt it, because this is KonoSuba. Still, we’ve only two more to go after this one. If it’s going to trick its readers with drama, now’s the time. Till then, enjoy Kazuma being the worst puppet slave ever.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Alex Wetnight.

After three volumes that act as a prequel to the main series, and two volumes that give us the further adventures of Megumin trying to adventure with a different group of characters, we have finally come to the end of her spinoff. There are, of course, still a number of KonoSuba spinoffs out there, albeit unlicensed. Heck, even in Japan it’s hard to keep up with the source – one story in this volume has the author apologize in the afterword, as it brings back an antagonist from a preorder bonus story. So it’s not just English speakers who can’t keep up. More to the point, rejoice! This volume takes place after Book 14, meaning that for once, we’re getting a spinoff volume exactly where it should be. As for the premise? Well, I mean, wacky Megumin antics, for the most part, what do you expect? But mostly it’s about Megumin realizing that, much as she has fun with her side story adventuring party, there’s no party quite like home.

Megumin wants to go out and adventure, but it’s the rainy season, and Kazuma, Aqua and Darkness really don’t want to. Particularly Kazuma, which annoys her, as they’re supposed to be a couple. Clearly it’s time to get the side character band back together: Yunyun, who may be the next chief of the Crimson Magic Clan but still will walk down a suspicious dark alley with three burly dudes if they say they’ll be her friend; Iris, who is determined to go out and be a hero even though the slightest thing harming her will mean execution for the rest of the party; and Cecily, who… ugh, must we? They meet an eccentric scholar with a passion for rare monsters and a desire to impress the woman he likes, and so try to defeat a King Toad (much larger than the toads we’ve seen before) and a poison slime (which is not Cecily’s fault technically, but let’s blame her anyway) before Kazuma finally shows up with the rest of the team and they take on a Crystal Liger, its magpie tendencies, and its poop.

First, the most important part of any KonoSuba book: the book is quite funny, with a lot of good gags. As always, Megumin and Yunyun trade off the position of “the only one with common sense” throughout the book, though more accurately Yunyun has it 75% of the time. She and Iris manage to take down a wyvern on their own, though we don’t see it, and I think she’s going to be a powerhouse once she gets over her pathetic insecurities about friends. Getting away from Megumin might also help. As for the title character, as I noted above, this book serves to show to her that it’s most fun back with Kazuma, Aqua, and Darkness. More to the point, she finds she does not like being the leader of a party, and feels sympathy for Kazuma… though I assume that will vanish when she gets to go back to being the loose cannon we know and love.

So that’s it for the spinoff. Fortunately, we have more of the main series coming in the fall. Till then, Megumin fans should enjoy this.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Possibly the funniest part of this book is when Kazuma and Megumin end up getting chased in the woods by one of the villains, and while trying not to spoil too much, said villain’s mission is to destroy all “reajuus with harems”. Leaving aside that the publisher/translator is expecting all KonoSuba readers to know what reajuu means, the idea that this describes Kazuma is, at first, hilarious… until you think about it. Isn’t he actually quite content with his life right now? Doesn’t he have a lot of real-life friends, a fulfilling career, and a cute girlfriend? As well as other girls also in love with him? Slowly but surely, Kazuma has become Kirito and no one noticed. That said, technically this is Yunyun’s book… although, because she is Yunyun, most of her plot is spent offscreen and she’s mostly embarrassed. Still, in the end, she achieves her wildest dreams… sort of. Because maybe the real Yunyun wants the friends she meets along the way.

In the last book, also offscreen, Yunyun had Megumin aid her in taking the Crimson Magic Trials to determine the next chief… and both times Megumin blew everything up. It’s not made clear if this was accidental or on purpose, but Yunyun now has only one chance left, so will NOT be taking Megumin this time. Taking first Darkness (disaster, but passed) then Aqua (disaster, but passed), theoretically Kazuma should be helping with the final trial. However, there is a “mad bomber” running around the area who likes to blow up folks that look Japanese, so Megumin – who is absolutely not jealous or making this all up, nosirree – forbids him from doing it. As Yunyun ends up getting “help” from a supporting character we haven’t seen in years (no, not Dust), Kazuma and Megumin try to solve the Mad Bomber problem and also deal with the fact that they’re both very awkward virgins who are not really ready to have sex yet.

This is not the longest story in the world, even for KonoSuba. Indeed, we essentially start the next book in the final chapter, as everyone returns to Axel to find a new priestess, Serena, who claims to be Kazuma’s “fan” and seems to be better than Aqua at, well, everything. It does allow us to have one last fun time with the biggest village full of dramatic dorks ever. Megumin’s mother is all for her daughter getting it on with Kazuma, who has to repeat Megumin’s age a lot (fourteen) to remind himself why he’s not doing this yet. There is a bedroom scene where they get awfully close, as she offers to help “relieve his tension”, but, needless to say, events ensue that prevent this. As for Yunyun, well, she does end up getting her dream come true, but eventually realizes that “Megumin’s greatest rival” is more important to her now than “chief of the clan”. She also gets the second best joke in the book, when an imprisoned and somewhat humiliated Megumin whines at Yunyun, telling her to “go ahead and laugh”, and Yunyun does just that – and points, too.

Given how this book ended, I expect Aqua will be the featured character for the next volume. We’re getting pretty close to the end here. KonoSuba fans should have a lot of fun.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

It is the nature of a long-running series that it tends to accrue supporting cast members. The longer the series, the more cast members it has to support. Now, KonoSuba has never made it a secret that it is, at heart, a story of four people: Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin and Darkness. Now, this series has a bit of an advantage over many others in that it is popular enough to have scored a slew of spinoff books. We’ve seen one of them, which focuses on Megumin and Yunyun before and during the events of the series. There’s another, unlicensed series (by a different author) that follows KonoSuba through the eyes of Dust and his party (which also has a large helping of Yunyun, who is pathetic enough to get entangled in Dust’s life). But really, though we’ve learned a bit about her past, there has not been a huge focus on adorably pathetic shop owner Wiz. That changes now!… though this does not really mean Wiz will come off looking good.

As with a large number of KonoSuba books, the actual main plot does not really start up till about halfway through the book. There’s also a fake plot – Yunyun has to take the test to be the next chief of the Crimson Magic Clan, and wants Kazuma’s help. Megumin refuses to let this happen, of course, and instead helps Yunyun herself – with offscreen results, but results you can probably guess. There’s a treasure hunt to clean encrusted jewels off a turtle’s shell, and Darkness once again tries to seduce Kazuma, who makes it clear that he’s only willing to go through with it if he’s forced, so he can blame her. (They’re both caught, of course.) That said, the main plot is what folks are here for – a mysterious stalker… erm, stranger arrives and seemingly proposes marriage to Wiz! Or at least that’s what Kazuma and Wiz herself believe. Only Vanir knows the truth, and he finds it absolutely hilarious.

As you might gather, fans of Kazuma being a complete scumbag will be well-served here by his behavior here, though again this is the slightly less appalling version we’ve seen from Vol. 9 and later. I was highly amused where Megumin offers to sneak into his room and he, having just gotten laid via succubus sex workers, indicates he’s not in the mood – the joke being Megumin was unaware men could EVER be not in the mood. The main plot itself is amusing, but if you aren’t a fan of the series kicking Yunyun when she’s down, you may not enjoy it as much, as Wiz is absolutely an airhead here, getting completely into the idea that someone has proposed to her and acting like a lovestruck maiden. Vanir heaps abuse on her, probably because all her love-love feelings are making him cranky. That said, spoilers, but Wiz does not get married. Sorry to ruin that for you hopeful readers.

Speaking of Yunyun, the cliffhanger involves that she will finally drag the main cast back to her chieftain trial, which is at its third (and presumably final) attempt. We’ve got four more books to go after this one, so you can see the series starting to dot its I’s and cross its T’s. This is not really as deep or heartwarming as some prior volumes, but it’s a lot of mean, kick-them-when-they’re-down fun.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Ever since the revelation of her nobility, I’ve talked about how the author of the KonoSuba series has had a little bit of trouble with Darkness. The Lalatina side has come to the fore in recent books, and you see it here as well, as she helps come up with a scheme to force the adventurers to pay their taxes. But it has made her less hilariously appalling, which you could always count on Darkness being in earlier books. That said, KonoSuba has character development, slow though it may be. We’ve seen it with Megumin, and with Kazuma. And now it’s Darkness’s turn, as this book manages to combine her general nobility and need to do good things with her masochistic fantasies and leave her a more well-rounded character. The catalyst of this, as it was with Megumin, is her confession to Kazuma. Unfortunately for Darkness, and as Kazuma explicitly notes, this is not one of those light novels with polygamy.

The book starts where the last one left off, with Darkness begging everyone to not think that she had a love child. It’s her cousin, of course, but fortunately for the narrative, which literally just did “little kid causes chaos in Axel” last time with Komekko, she’s a minor character. Instead the first half of the book, barring the tax collecting subplot, is about Kazuma having to choose between Megumin, who already confessed to him but is not yet ready to go to bed with him, and Darkness, who confesses to him in this book, and certainly tries to go to bed with him, though her actual willingness to do this is in question. Which Kazuma does have a bit of “I have two girls wanting me, I am the man” to his behavior, he actually does think things through sensibly, and decides… he wants to be with Megumin, as “more than friends but less than lovers”. (Her age also seems to still make him uncomfortable, justifiably so.) While there are many funny parts involved, I appreciate the book handled this seriously.

The other half of the book has Darkness’ cousin having a virus that infects the local kids (what is it with 2020 light novels and pandemics?), causing Kazuma and Darkness to have to travel to get a “demon’s fingernail” as an ingredient for the cure. (Vanir, the obvious choice, can’t provide one as he turns to sand if they do it.) This is much more in the ‘goofball Konosuba’ style, especially once they add Chris to their group, who has decided to help them out, a decision she will quickly come to regret. There’s bathroom humor, girls getting stripped humor, tentacle rape humor… it’s not the classiest series in the world, but it never QUITE crosses a line, and for the most part is amusing, though I will admit I preferred the first half of the book.

So yeah, somewhere along the line this parody grew up. Well, except for Aqua. And the author hints that her development will be the climax of the series. Till then, this book is recommended for all KonoSuba fans, though if you ship Kazuma with Darkness, you might end up being a little sad.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

Of course, this is just the 4th volume of the Megumin spinoff, really. But since it’s now caught up with the main series and is no longer a prequel (or possibly as the original was announced as a trilogy), we get a “Bonus Story” with more Megumin shenanigans. Yunyun is here as well, though the expansion of the cast means that she doesn’t really get a chance to do much other than play the tsukkomi and be pathetic. And, alas, Cecily is back as well, and continues to be the worst nun ever. That said, as the 10th volume of the main series hinted, we get a new addition to the group. Princess Iris is sneaking away from the royal residence every day, and quickly insinuates herself into Megumin’s group as the muscle (she certainly has the sword skills). Add a very reluctant thief, and you have all you could ever want in a KonoSuba spinoff.

The “plot”, such as it is, takes place mostly around Vol. 9 of the main series, though the last quarter or so takes place around the 11th book. Megumin has discovered Chris and Kazuma pulling off one of their Silver Haired Bandit raids, and finds herself fired up about the idea of stealing in order to defeat bad people (and also strangely attracted to the masked assistant). She decides to form her own group, quickly rounding up those I mentioned above… including Chris, who as you can imagine feels very awkward about all of this. After a brief detour where they try to figure out who a blond, handsome adventurer of legend is (it’s pretty obviously Dust, though the legend, as you might guess, is quite wrong in many places), they end up taking on a rival of Darkness’s who has a herd of monsters around her mansion deep in the forest. There has to be a reason, right?

There are a few flaws here. The last chunk of the book is back to Kazuma’s POV, which is fine but is not really what I signed up for with this Megumin-driven spinoff. And, as with the main series hinting about this series before we got it in English, the spinoff series hints about another as yet unlicensed spinoff series, this one starring Dust, that is familiar with Japanese readers. Mostly you get the fact that Yunyun and Dust have had adventures before, and she’s not happy about it. On the other hand, the parts of the book with Megumin thinking about her current state are excellent. She’s newly in love with Kazuma, but isn’t quite sure how that works, or even why she fell for him. She’s also trying to figure out how to be a “leader”, and Kazuma, who is mostly in non-dirtbag mode in this book, gives her some excellent advice. Fans of their pairing will be happy with this book.

There’s one more book in the series, which I’m sure we’ll get relatively soon. Till then, this is a solid KonoSuba spinoff with lots of laughs and some good Megumin character development.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

First of all, I want you to know that placing that exclamation point in the title where it belonged according to the cover art wounded me deeply.

The KonoSuba Explosion series has tried its best to be a dedicated prequel, but the end of this third volume finally has to take us into the main series proper. Most of it is spent with Megumin, on the outskirts, watching the wacky antics of Kazuma and Aqua. She’s trying to join adventurer parties, which are all desperate for spellcasters, but not her specific type of spellcaster. No one wants the girl who only knows how to fire off giant scary explosion and destroy property. Admittedly, she is faring better than Yunyun, who no one will approach because she’s too intense (read: desperate), and those who do approach her turn out to be predators. (Yunyun states she’s thirteen years old a lot in this book, a fact that I had conveniently erased from my brain but now it’s there again, being creepy and awful.) By the end of the book, after disparaging them so much, Megumin may finally be able to admit that what a girl like her needs is a party of idiots.

While genuinely a dedicated prequel, this series is also quite happy to set up events that we already know about in future books, such as Wolbach and Host, who is already having enough trouble dealing with Komekko without being forced to deal with even MORE Crimson Magic Clan folks. As is increasingly common in her character in these books (we don’t see all that much of this side around Kazuma), Megumin acts rude and nasty at times to cover up her own embarrassment at having to admit love and affection. This even applies to Chomusuke, who she at first talks about happily sacrificing before admitting that she’ll do no such thing. And of course it isn’t just her – the one major trait she has in common with Yunyun, who is otherwise a comedic punching bag, is their inability to deal with talking about who they like.

This pays off in a scene near the end, when Megumin (pretending to be asleep) actually hears just how much Yunyun respects Megumin and how cool she thinks she is. Of course, she then uses a sleep spell on Megumin so that she can go off and sacrifice herself, but it’s OK, the emotional moment was there – as Megumin will remind her over and over again. This book also has the job of separating the two here, given that when we first meet Megumin in the main series, Yunyun is nowhere to be seen, and it does a pretty good job, though not as well as it handles Megumin. Yunyun is a character that requires a certain balance to have the reader sympathize with her but also laugh at her, and the author, let’s face it, leans too far to one side much of the time. I worry, as does Megumin, how Yunyunn will fare on her own, but as seen in the main series, she’s still OK, if suffering.

And so this series comes to an end… except there’s a sequel to it out soon, KonoSuba Explosion Bonus Story!, which will tell us about events prior to Book 10 and why the princess looks up to Megumin so much. It should be silly and fun, with a small touch of heartwarming. Which is what you get with these books.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I recently reviewed the third volume of Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, by the same author, and noted the difference between that series and KonoSuba is that KonoSuba has heart. Which is true, as the latter half of this book shows. But to get there we have to get through the first half of this book. And it’s a good reminder that, while the cast of KonoSuba are nice and sweet compared to the sociopaths of Combatants Will Be Dispatched!, they are still quite horrible people overall. No one exemplifies this more than Kazuma, who after the last volume is spending his days lazing around the castle being waited on by servants and corrupting the princess (no, not like that, fortunately – she’s just talking casually now). After finally being thrown out, he then has to get back into his own mansion, as he’s been locked out by a thoroughly pissed-off Aqua. It’s only when Megumin’s sister Komekko shows up that the cast remember that they’re badass and also not terrible.

In a nod to the overall plot, Komekko is brought to Axel because Megumin’s village is under attack by the Demon Lord’s forces, which has led to their home being destroyed. so “those two girls” (in a nod to the trope, Megumin can’t remember their names, and to be honest neither can I) drop Komekko off to be looked after by Megumin while the Crimson Magic Clan strikes back and also cleans up. Komekko’s quite happy with this, as everyone and their brother is feeding her. She’s also happy because Megumin has been writing her letters about how AWESOME she and everyone else in Axel is, and she wants to find out about this first-hand. Given that, for once, Kazuma and company are reasonably well-liked by the town, the other adventurers are willing to go along with Megumin’s exaggerated letters. In fact, the guild decides to take advantage of this. A lot.

Everyone here gets their moments to shine and also their moments to be humiliated, in the best KonoSuba way. The exception is Komekko, who plays everyone like a fiddle and will likely be far more powerful than Megumin when she grows up. Darkness comes off worst, as she’s still hamstrung by having to be the sensible one, with her perverse moments kept to a minimum. As for Megumin, much to the surprise of Kazuma (and the reader), she is not going to let him forget her confession from the end of the 9th book – she repeats it, and then says she’d like to be “more than friends but less than lovers”. It’s a great scene, and Kazuma responds to it (for him) relatively seriously. Of course, it’s then undercut immediately, because no one does that better than KonoSuba – Komekko heard this confession and tells everybody, leading to a hilarious final scene.

As this point Kazuma/Megumin seems to be set in stone… though the cliffhanger may bring fresh chaos. Darkness has a kid? Is she a child from the future? (Probably not). In any case, this was an enjoyable book, once I got past the obligatory “sixty or so pages of Kazuma being a scumbag” parts.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I have to admit that I was less thrilled with the second volume of Megumin’s spinoff series. This is pretty much because the middle half of the book is filled with Zesta and Cecily, the two Axis Church members that we’ve seen in KonoSuba books 4 and 8. I don’t mind Aqua, mostly as she’s not a creeper, but the same cannot be said for the acolytes of her church. The running gag here is that, because the Axis Church basically has as its creed “do whatever the hell you want”, it tends to attract the wrong sort of people, and we see that here, played, of course, for comic effect. Zesta is infamous for his behavior, to the point that when he’s arrested and falsely accused of being a traitor to the human race, no one wants to bother to defend him. Cecily is also pretty bad, taking opportunities to feel Megumin up in the bath, etc. Fortunately, the first and last parts of the book are much better.

Despite the subtitle of the book, we do not get Yunyun’s narrative POV here, alas. Which makes sense, as the fun of Yunyun is watching her flail, not getting inside her head. That said, she does come off pretty well in this book. Following Megumin to Arcanletia because, well, because life without Megumin terrifies her, Yunyun as always tends to alternate the ‘sensible’ role with Megumin when the situation calls for it. The last quarter of the book shows the two on a carriage to Axel Town with a number of other people, and various monsters keep attacking the carriage. This leads to the funniest part of the book, as Megumin can’t use Explosion without hurting the other travelers, so ends up being pitied and looked down on by everyone else as Yunyun, who can use various magics, takes out all the monsters. Of course, at the end Megumin does end up showing off and regaining people’s respect – it’s her series, after all.

The plot, aside from shifting Megumin to Axel Town (the book ends right as the first in the main series begins – Megumin sees Kazuma and Aqua arrive in this world, though she resolves not to have anything to do with them), involves Chomusuke being sought after by a demon who is convinced (and not without good reasons, as readers of the main series will know) that Chomusuke is Lady Wollbach. Megumin, despite verbally not caring about Chomusuke, ends up defending her against this demon, despite also taking the cash offered to hand her over. (This is how the broke Megumin can finally afford to leave the village.) This, of course, sets up events in Book 9, which had not been released at the time this came out in Japan (this came out between Books 5 and 6). Again, seeing the contrast between Megumin’s seemingly blase attitude towards everyone and everything and her actual feelings deep down is the main reason to get these books.

So yes, I wish there had been less Axis Church, but overall this was still pretty good. Next volume likely will see things end up how they were at the start of the series proper – with Megumin and Yunyun separated, and Megumin meeting Kazuma and Aqua properly.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

If you were going to suggest an obvious choice for a side-story spinoff in the Konosuba universe, Megumin immediately comes to mind. She’s the most popular of the cast, and her backstory could use some fleshing out beyond what we got in the 5th novel. Indeed, in Japan, this volume came out before the 5th novel, and the first thing I wanted to do after it was released was to reread that book to see if more of it made sense. It also allows us to get a sense of Megumin’s headspace – through most of this, she’s the narrative voice, and we can see her eccentricities filtered through a coating of relatively sedate and logical thought. Well, logical for the Crimson Magic Clan, of course, whose one truly eccentric member is Yunyun, she who gets embarrassed by the whole thing. If you wanted a book filled with Megumin and Yunyun being funny, good news, this volume delivers, while also fleshing out the overall story.

The book takes place two years before the main series starts, and shows us Megumin and Yunyun in magic school, learning the finer points of saying cool lines and practicing your awesome poses. Both have almost earned enough points to learn Advanced Magic – indeed, Megumin secretly already has the points to do it, but is saving up even more to get enough to learn Explosion, the spell that she’s been obsessed with since she was a little girl. Everyday life for Megumin consists of conning Yunyun out of her lunch every day, looking after her younger sister Komekko, and generally getting into trouble, particularly after picking up an odd cat, nicknamed “Ink” by Yunyun, who Komekko wants to eat but most everyone else wants to snuggle. Unfortunately, more and more monsters are coming to their village, and seem to be after Komekko! Will Megumin be forced to abandon her dream of Explosion to save her sister?

The main reason to get this solid first volume is the relationship between Megumin and Yunyun. Megumin tends to worry about Yunyun as the sort who would get suckered by the first person who called her friend, and she’s not wrong, as we later see two other classmates seemingly conning Yunyun out of money so they can help a sick younger brother, something Megumin regards with more than a little scorn. Despite Megumin’s constant bullying, it’s clear that the two are close – indeed, at least one girl thinks they’re lovers, and when Yunyun is dragged off by her other friends, accuses Megumin of being cuckolded. Despite that, there’s no yuri subtext here, but it is heartwarming to see Megumin look after Yunyun even while she makes her life miserable. The weakest part of the book involved the irritating NEET Bukkororii and his stalker crush on the girl he likes. Megumin and Yunyun think he’s a massive creep, yes, but so does the reader.

Aside from humorous foreshadowing, the other main cast is absent from this book, which is fine. It’s Megumin’s Turn, as the subtitle suggests. The next volume is supposedly Yunyun’s Turn, but I’m not all that optimistic about her achieving much – she’s funnier when suffering. In the meantime, Konosuba fans will definitely enjoy this.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

As expected, the relationship upgrade between Kazuma and Megumin we saw in the last book takes a step back here, with one or two exceptions – indeed, it’s a very ensemble cast-led work this time around. Continuing where the last book left off, Kazuma and company are asked to escort Princess Iris to another country, where she is supposed to meet her fiance, and also ask why they’re cutting off the money that they given them to help exterminate the demon lord. The country they go to is a gambling casino-style country, which is good news for everyone but Aqua, but they’re also cutting off funding because… they’ve made a deal with the demon lord? Can Kazuma help his “little sister” get the money her country needs and also avoid getting arrested? And what about the engagement?

There’s an excellent conceit behind the main plot, as it’s pointed out that Kazuma and company have already defeated so many of the Demon Lord’s generals that the rest of his forces are starting to panic. While it has its individual moments of failure and humiliation, KonoSuba has always made sure that our heroes win out in the end, and we’re seeing the fruits of that. That said, it also makes the enemy more desperate, as we see here with the nation of Elroad seemingly deciding to throw in with the Demon Lord to avoid getting wipes out in the war that is no doubt imminent. The other major plus in this book is seeing Princess Iris in action. While her personality is seemingly that of the typical “oniichan-worshipping younger sister”, Kazuma being the oniichan in question, she’s also from a long line of heroes, and has “borrowed” a legendary sword. As such, expect the action scenes in this book to be minimal – Iris is just THAT good.

As for the regulars, Aqua is back to her normal self after her high point of the previous book. Darkness gets a lot to do, and has a few good “masochism” moments, but continues to be hamstrung by the Dustiness side of her character requiring her to be the “straight woman” of the group. Megumin is, like Kazuma, taking their recent understanding in stride, with it only coming up when it needs to, but otherwise continues to show the growth and maturity (yes, really) that we’ve seen recently. Again I like the fact that, with one or two brief exceptions, Kazuma is really only into two women in the cast – Megumin (compatibility-wise) and Darkness (physically). We again get a few scenes showing he’s just not attracted to Aqua, despite her somewhat frustrated denial of this, and he really does seem to see Iris as a younger sister figure, to the point where he does not really get the fact that giving her a cheap plastic ring he bought in the country might be seen by her as something more than just a “a toy for my little sister”.

This is another solid volume in the series, with a few good laughs and fun times all round. It also helps advertise the side novels again – apparently Iris becoming Megumin’s “minion” and taking instruction from her comes from one of the Explosion books. Still, that series begins here soon as well, so hopefully we’ll see it one day.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

This is another one of those books where the last sixth or so of the novel completely dwarfs everything that comes before it, so let’s use the time before the cover art to talk about the rest of it. Despite wanting to hang around the mansion and do nothing aside from get involved in wacky binding adventures with Darkness, Kazuma is coerced into going to a nearby castle that is beset by another Demon General. This one seems familiar to Kazuma, as he’s seen her before in the hot springs about five books ago. She’s also very familiar to Megumin and Yunyun, for backstory reasons that drive a lot of the plot. The demon general keeps blowing up the castle every day with Explosion. Fortunately, they have Aqua’s extraordinary public works gifts (no, really, not making a joke here) and also the ability to beat her at her own game. But whose Explosions are best? And oh yes, will Megumin find time to confess?

I’ve always been impressed with Konosuba, despite the occasional murmur of other girls, keeping itself to a simple love triangle. Megumin and Darkness both love Kazuma, despite his… well, Kazuma-ness. That said, one of these girls is MUCH MORE POPULAR among fans than the other. And it has to be said, at a base personality level that leaves out eccentricities, Megumin and Kazuma are the most compatible and similar. Here she does confess, and though there’s no kiss there’s a little snuggling. He also says he loves her back, but she accurately points out this is because he doesn’t want to upset her, and his own feelings are somewhat ambiguous. I was very amused by his apologizing to all the other waffling harem protagonists he always yelled at for not jumping the girl’s bones in manga he read. I also liked Megumin and Darkness inviting him to wash their backs at one point knowing he’s never going to actually do it.

ARE they now together? Well, Kazuma is wondering that himself at the end of the book. The author, though, implies that they plan to put romance on the back burner for the next volume, so it might be a while before we see any further development here, and in any case, few people are reading KonoSuba primarily for the sweet romantic bits. This isn’t good news for Darkness, though she does get an extended scene at the start of the book, possibly to apologize for doing almost nothing else the rest of the book. Darkness is Kazuma’s “type” more than Megumin, but her own eccentricities, i.e her masochism, is much more difficult to turn off than Megumin’s chuuni behavior, so a realistic relationship doesn’t seem in the cards. As for Aqua, once again the story emphasizes how they’re like brother and sister and not romantic. Which, honestly, thank God. That said, Aqua’s skills at building walls in this book may be the best part of the volume. Stop being a goddess, become a foreman!

As with the last book, this one ends with a cliffhanger where Princess Iris writes to say that she’s being married off. No way Kazuma lets that happen. In the meantime, enjoy a very good KonoSuba volume, essential for Megumin fans.

By Natsume Akatsuki and Kurone Mishima. Released in Japan as “Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!” by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko. Released in North America by Yen On. Translated by Kevin Steinbach.

I was expecting more comedy this time around, and I was right. There are lots of very funny moments in this volume, sure to please the fan of KonOSuba. Chris’ secret is now known, but that doesn’t mean that she and Kazuma are not playing Robin Hood on the sly, burgling evil noble estates in order to acquire sentient armor that proves to be far more trouble than it’s worth. Meanwhile, the Eris Festival is upon us, and a jealous Aqua wants to have a festival dedicated to her as well. The result is the subtitle, a parody of Pokemon Red vs. Blue, in which the traditional religious festival gets turned (mostly thanks to Kazuma) into more of a giant blowout, complete with food stalls, beauty contests, and giant killer cicadas. However, just because it’s a full-blown comedy does not mean we can’t have character development.

It feels odd to be talking about character development in a series like KonoSuba, but it’s true. Megumin has come a long way from the start of the series, and despite the occasional explosion has become the most sensible of the group (Kazuma forfeits this title enough that you can’t use it for him anymore). Meanwhile, Darkness, after the events of the last volume, is acting Governor of their town, and is thus drowning in responsibilities (including having to police Kazuma and Aqua). The gag here is that, for a moment, you think the same thing might be happening with Aqua, who spends much of the book actually being sensible and responsible. But of course it can’t last – Megumin and Darkness have room built into their characters for growth, but Aqua’s “useless goddess” properties are much harder to move on from. She’s too funny not to keep it up.

And then there’s the love triangle. It’s clear from this book that both Megumin and Darkness have come to terms with their love for Kazuma and want to take things to the next level. It’s also clear that Kazuma knows this… the question is whether he’s too immature to actually be able to take their feelings seriously, as he brags to Chris about harem ends and the like. Of course, his words are bravado for the most part, and by the end of the book, where the cliffhanger seems to imply Megumin wants to confess properly, he seems almost terrified. I do wonder if a series like KonoSuba can bake an actual relationship into its premise. Can Kazuma answer either Megumin or Darkness properly, or will there be wacky comedy confessions and then back to the status quo? As for “harem” ends, the series thankfully still seems to be avoiding that sort of thing… Chris/Eris’ relationship with Kazuma is not the “bratty siblings” that he and Aqua have, but it doesn’t feel romantic, which is a good thing.

For all the romantic potential, at the end of the day KonoSuba still runs on its comedy, and there’s lots of that here. Fans of the series will get a kick out of this book.