Konosuba

KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World! (この素晴らしい世界に祝福を, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku o!, literally "A blessing to this wonderful world!") is a Japanese light novel series written by Natsume Akatsuki. The series follows Kazuma Satou, a boy who is sent to a fantasy world with MMORPG elements following his death, where he forms a dysfunctional adventuring party with a goddess, an archwizard, and a crusader. Originally serialized as a web novel on Shōsetsuka ni Narō between December 2012 and October 2013, KonoSuba was published as a printed light novel series by Kadokawa Shoten under the company's Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint from October 2013 to May 2020. The light novel series features a divergent plot and illustrations by Kurone Mishima.

A manga adaptation, illustrated by Masahito Watari and Joseph Yokobori, began serialization in Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age magazine from October 2014. A radio drama CD was released by HobiRecords in March 2015, and an anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Deen aired in Japan between January and March 2016. A second season of the anime aired between January and March 2017. A spin-off light novel series, KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!, began publication from July 2014. Both the light novels and the manga are licensed in North America by Yen Press.

An anime film adaptation produced by J.C.Staff, titled ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson'', premiered on August 30, 2019. An anime television series adaptation of KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!, produced by Drive, aired from April to June 2023. A third season, also by Drive, is set to premiere in 2024.

Overview
Originally, it was an online novel serialized from December 2012 on the novel posting site "Shōsetsuka ni Narō" by Akatsuki under the name of "Jitaku keibi-hei". On December 10, 2013, it was announced in the site's activity report that this work would be deleted, and at the same time, all other posted works under the name of "Jitaku keibi-hei" were deleted. Many of the elements of the story are common, but the development and setting have changed significantly between the web version and other media.

From September 9, 2014, the serialization of the manga version began in "Monthly Dragon Age" (KADOKAWA Fujimi Shobo).

In 2016, it was made into a TV animation based on the contents of the original volume 1 and 2, and was broadcast from January to March of the same year. Immediately after the end of the final episode, the production decision for the second phase was announced, and it was broadcast from January to March 2017 based on the contents of the original volume 3 to 4.

In 2019, a theatrical animation based on the contents of the original volume 5 will be released.

As of November 2021, the cumulative circulation of the series has exceeded 10 million. "This light novel is amazing! In the paperback category, it ranked 9th in the 2017 edition.

Synopsis
Kazuma Satou lives a laughable and pathetic life, being a shut-in NEET with no distinguishable qualities other than an addiction to video games. On his way home, Kazuma dies trying to save a girl from an oncoming truck—or so he believes. In reality, the "truck" was a slow-moving tractor, and he merely died from shock.

Waking up in limbo between death and heaven, Kazuma finds himself facing the arrogant goddess Aqua. Here, he must choose between two options: go on to heaven or be sent to a fantasy world that needs his help to defeat the Demon King. Initially unimpressed by the challenging prospect of fighting a Demon King, Kazuma changes his mind after Aqua tells him he can bring any one item he wants. What better choice does Kazuma have than the goddess standing before him?

Unfortunately, after the two arrive in their new world, two things become clear: Aqua is useless beyond belief, and life in this fantasy realm will be anything but smooth sailing. From paying for food and accommodations to trying to learn new skills, the duo's problems are just starting to take shape—and the arrival of eccentric allies may only make things worse.

Web Novels
The original web novel series written by Natsume Akatsuki was published on Syosetu between December 2012 and October 2013. The author also wrote a side story featuring Wiz and Vanir. Akatsuki, who enjoyed playing fantasy video games like Wizardry and Final Fantasy, also derived much of KonoSuba 's fantasy elements from tabletop role-playing games.

Light Novels
A light novel version with illustrations by Kurone Mishima was released under Kadokawa Shoten's Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko imprint from October 1, 2013, to May 1, 2020. The light novel diverges significantly from the web novel's plot from the sixth volume onwards and also features changes to the characters' ages. The final book in the series, Volume 17, contains information in its Afterword on possible future development that the teased "After Story" spin-offs might contain.

Yen Press announced on May 20, 2016, that it had licensed the light novels for release in North America. The first volume was released in conjunction with the second manga volume on February 21, 2017.

Manga
A manga adaptation of KonoSuba illustrated by Masahito Watari began serialization in the October 2014 issue of Fujimi Shobo's Monthly Dragon Age magazine on September 9, 2014. As of November 8, 2022, sixteen tankōbon volumes have been released.

Yen Press announced its acquisition of the manga adaptation at the same time that it licensed the original light novels.

Character
"I yearn for true gender equality. I have no patience for one who talks about female privilege when it suits them, and then complains about someone not being a man when it’s convenient."

- Kazuma Satou

Kazuma is the main protagonist of Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, a 17-year-old game-obsessed shut-in, becoming one after having his heart broken by his childhood friend in middle school. While returning home from buying a video game, he attempts to save a classmate from being hit by a slow-moving tractor he mistakes for a speeding truck, and dies from acute stress reaction. As a result, he is sent to a parallel reality and becomes a role-playing game character. He has average stats in crucial categories, but above average intelligence and extremely high luck, neither of which are important for adventurers. Regardless, he becomes one and learns basic skills such as steal, archery, monster detection, and basic magic. Because he never chooses a class, Kazuma is referred to as an "Adventurer" and is able to learn foundational abilities and spells that would otherwise be exclusive to a single class, and learns to overcome the limitations of his classless status by combining skills and spells in unexpected ways. Kazuma lusts on almost all the females he sees, except Aqua, who even when he acknowledges her as attractive can't seem to get excited by her, even when trying. He is initially seen as just perverted and hopeless by his female companions, but as time passes he proves to be reliable and useful when the situation calls for it, that along with other good traits he has leads to Megumin and Darkness eventually falling in love with him. Kazuma finds Darkness extremely attractive but her personality turns him off, and while seeing Megumin only as a child at the start of the series, as time passes he starts to find her attractive as well, eventually falling in love with her and accepting her confession, entering a state of "more than friends, less than lovers".

Kazuma rejects Darkness when she confesses to him, but that hasn't stopped her from trying to seduce him, even stealing his first kiss and forcing herself onto him to win over his affection. Eventually, Megumin and Kazuma shared a passionate french kiss while trying to have intercourse, before the battle against the Devil King, but a running gag in the later volumes of the light novel is that every time they are about to get intimate they get interrupted. Megumin promised Kazuma to give him "something incredible", once they returned home after defeating the Devil King.

Abilities
"It makes me grateful that all the wonderful events transpiring here make me grow as a person."

- Kazuma Satou

His signature weapon is his sword due being more experienced in short-range melee combat. He also uses other weapons like his bow which has precise aim using his snipe skill. He can also learn a variety of other skills from other classes such as Mana Swap, Freeze, Create Water and Steal. These abilities are usually taught by other characters of varying classes but can't learn any advanced skills due to his class. Despite his class limiting himself to just using basic skills, he has shown to combine them for a more powerful attacks such as combining his ice and water skills during his rematch with Kyouya Mitsurugi. Statically, Kazuma is shown to be average in most traits but has above average intelligence and abnormally high luck. Due to this, he managed to nearly put an entire casino into bankruptcy due to his consistent wins. However, due to his class, Kazuma is typically slain multiple times throughout various points, usually prompting Aqua to revive him. Kazuma is most well known, however, for his underhanded tactics that he uses to compensate for his lack of raw power, such as creating the earth and blowing it in the eyes of his enemies or using steal as a distraction. Thanks to the immense wealth that he gathers through the course of the series he also buys more expensive equipment such as high-grade manatites to cast stronger spells.

TV Anime
An anime television series adaptation produced by Studio Deen aired on Tokyo MX between January 14, 2016, and March 16, 2016; later broadcasting on eight other networks and several video on demand streaming networks. The series was simulcast by Crunchyroll in several regions such as North America, and by AnimeLab in Australia. The series was directed by Takaomi Kanasaki and written by Makoto Uezu with character designs by Koichi Kikuta. An original video animation (OVA) was bundled with the ninth light novel of KonoSuba in June 2016. The anime's opening theme is "Fantastic Dreamer" by Machico while the ending theme is "Chīsana Bōken-sha" performed by Aqua (Sora Amamiya), Megumin (Rie Takahashi), and Darkness (Ai Kayano). On January 7, 2019, Crunchyroll announced that the series would receive an English dub. The first season's dub made its debut on January 25, 2019, with the second season's dub being released on February 25, 2020.

SEASON 1
Discotek Media released the first season on Blu-ray in North America on May 25, 2020. The series was animated by Koichi Kikuta and Momoka Komatsu, with the former working on odd-numbered episodes and the latter on even-numbered. While Komatsu's character designs closely resembled those of the light novels and had more attractive appearances, Kikuta based his designs on children's shows like Pokémon as he felt KonoSuba 's story was similar to those found in such shows.

A second season aired between January 12, 2017, and March 16, 2017. The second season's opening theme is "Tomorrow" by Machico, and the ending theme is "Ouchi ni Kaeritai" by Aqua (Amamiya), Megumin (Takahashi), and Darkness (Kayano). Crunchyroll later added the second season. A second OVA was bundled with the twelfth volume of KonoSuba in July 2017.

SEASON 2
Discotek Media will release the second season on Blu-ray in North America in 2021. On July 25, 2017, Jun Fukushima and Takahashi, the voice actors of Kazuma and Megumin respectively, announced plans for a new KonoSuba anime project, later revealed to be a new movie, ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson''.

On July 18, 2021, the official Twitter account for the KonoSuba anime confirmed that a new anime project was in production. The project was later revealed to be both a third season of the main series and an anime television series adaptation of KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!. Both series will be produced by Drive and directed by Yujiro Abe, with chief direction by Takaomi Kanasaki. The rest of the main staff are returning from previous seasons. KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! premiered on April 6, 2023, on Tokyo MX and other networks. The opening theme is "Stay Free" by Machico, while the ending theme is "Jump In" by Megumin (Takahashi) and Yunyun (Aki Toyosaki). Crunchyroll also licensed the series.

SPIN-OFF
On October 6, 2018, it was announced that characters from KonoSuba would appear in Isekai Quartet, a crossover anime also featuring characters from Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, Overlord, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil.
 * Staff:
 * Original work - Natsume Akatsuki
 * Original Illustration - Kurone Mishima
 * Director - Yujiro Abe
 * General Supervision - Takaomi Kanazaki
 * Series Composition - Makoto Uesu
 * Character Design - Koichi Kikuta
 * Art Setting - Kayoko Tomono, Miho Norimatsu
 * Art Director - Yukiko Maruyama, Eri Yamanashi
 * Art - Atelier Emsa
 * Color design - Saori Yoshida
 * Director of Photography - Naoki Eto
 * Shooting - EXPLOSION
 * 3D Director - Kana Imagaki
 * Editing - Yoshiko Kimura
 * Sound Director - Miwa Iwanami
 * Sound Effects - Yasumasa Koyama
 * Sound Production - HALF H・P ​​STUDIO
 * Recording - Takayuki Yamaguchi
 * Music - Masato Koda
 * Music Production - Nippon Columbia
 * Music Producer - Kentaro Anai
 * Producers - Rie Ogura, Keiichi Tokumura, Hiroyasu Taniguchi, Hideo Momota
 * Animation Producer - Toru Miyakoshi
 * Animation Production - Drive
 * Production - Konosuba Bakuen Production Committee

The third season is set to premiere in 2024.

Theatrical film
'KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson' (Japanese: この素晴らしい世界に祝福を！紅伝説, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Kurenai Densetsu) is a 2019 Japanese animated film based on KonoSuba light novel series by Natsume Akatsuki. Produced by J.C.Staff, the film was directed by Takaomi Kanasaki from a script written by Makoto Uezu and stars Jun Fukushima, Sora Amamiya, Rie Takahashi, Ai Kayano, Aki Toyosaki, Yui Horie, Masakazu Nishida, Sayuri Hara, Tetsu Inada, and Maria Naganawa. In the film, Kazuma Sato and his party travel to Crimson Demon Village, Megumin's hometown, where they battle a powerful general of the Demon King's army.

In July 2017, an anime project based on KonoSuba was announced. The project was revealed in June 2018 to be a film adaptation of the light novel, with Kanasaki and Uezu returning from two seasons of KonoSuba anime series to direct and write the script, respectively. The title of the film was revealed in November 2018.

''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson'' premiered in Japan on August 30, 2019, and was released in the United States on November 12. The film grossed over $7 million worldwide and won awards at Newtype Anime Awards.

Synopsis
Following a recently failed quest, Kazuma Sato, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness are visited by Yunyun. Yunyun explains about the letter from her father telling her to have a son with Kazuma to make their child avenge the people of Crimson Demon Village, her and Megumin's hometown, when they get destroyed. They discover that bearing a child with Kazuma is fabricated by her classmate, but Megumin decides to check her village's condition so Kazuma's party asks Wiz to teleport them.

After defeating a group of female orcs and an army of goblins with Yunyun and Crimson Magic Clan members' help, Kazuma's party arrives at the Crimson Demon Village and visits Yunyun's father, who admits exaggerating the aftermath of the attack on the village by one of the Demon King's generals named Sylvia. Afterward, Kazuma's party visits Megumin's house and meets her family, who becomes interested in Kazuma for his fortune. Later night, Megumin's mother Yuiyui sets up Kazuma to sleep with her daughter, but Megumin escapes the room. The following day, Megumin tours Kazuma and Aqua around the village by visiting her school and the storage building that holds the Mage Killer, a weapon capable of destroying the world. They later find Darkness fighting Sylvia and her army, but Sylvia retreats after learning the defeat of Verdia, Vanir, and Hans from Kazuma. Later night, Sylvia manages to take Kazuma hostage and brings him to the storage building to steal the Mage Killer, but Kazuma traps her inside and reunites with his party. She then fuses with the Mage Killer and begins destroying the Crimson Demon Village. Kazuma's party finds a rifle as a counter-weapon and uses it to kill Sylvia.

A dying Sylvia encounters Verdia and Hans in the afterlife and fuses with them to be revived as a giant monster. Wiz and Vanir arrive at the village for a business trip but end up joining the fight. Wiz collects the Crimson Magic Clan members' magic and transfers it to Megumin and Yunyun, while Kazuma deals with Sylvia to buy them time. Megumin and Yunyun destroy Sylvia with their combined powerful attack, with Kazuma getting perished as well. Afterward, Kazuma is revived and returns to Axel with his party. While on a picnic, Megumin asks Kazuma to put her experience points into another skill to be a useful mage without relying on her main magic. She casts her final Explosion skill as a farewell but finds it much stronger than usual, realizing that Kazuma disregarded her request and put the points on it instead. As they meet up with others, a heart-shaped smoke from the explosion forms in the sky.

Music
"Wikipedia Main article; KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson (soundtrack)" Masato Kōda was revealed to be composing the soundtrack for ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson'' in June 2018. In April 2019, Kayano, Takahashi, and Amamiya were revealed to be performing the first ending theme music titled "My Home Town" (マイ・ホーム・タウン), while Machico returned to perform the second ending theme music titled "1 Millimeter Symphony" (1ミリ Symphony). The film's original soundtrack was released on September 4, 2019.

Production
In July 2017, voice actors Jun Fukushima and Rie Takahashi announced on a radio program at HiBiKi Radio Station an anime project related to Natsume Akatsuki's light novel series KonoSuba, but they did not confirm the nature of the project. In June 2018, the project was revealed to be a film adaptation of the light novel and to be produced by J.C.Staff instead of Studio Deen, which animated two seasons of KonoSuba anime series. Takaomi Kanasaki was announced as the film's director, along with Makoto Uezu as the scriptwriter and Koichi Kikuta as the character designer. In the same month, Fukushima, Sora Amamiya, Takahashi, Ai Kayano, Yui Horie, and Aki Toyosaki were confirmed to be reprising their respective roles in the film as Kazuma Sato, Aqua, Megumin, Darkness, Wiz, and Yunyun. The film's full title was revealed in November 2018 to be ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson''. The light novel's fifth volume, titled Let's Go, Crimson Magic of Explosion!, served as the inspiration for the film.

Marketing
A teaser visual for ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson'' was released in November 2018. Two teaser trailers for the film were released in December 2018 and February 2019, while two full trailers were released in March and July 2019. Promotional partners for the film included Cure Maid Café, Pomme's Omelette Rice, Yaro Ramen, Roll Ice Cream Factory, and Shinjuku Alta.

Audio CDs
A radio drama CD, featuring a different voice cast to the anime, was released by HobiRecords on March 1, 2015. A second drama CD, along with an original soundtrack by Kouda Masato and a character song album, was released in March 2017.

Video games
A PC video game developed by game creator Tachi, titled ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! In The Life'', is bundled with the first Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume of the anime series on March 25, 2016. The game is developed using the software RPG Maker VX Ace. Another video game, created by Team Ladybug and Krobon, titled ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Revival of Beldia'', is bundled with the limited edition of first Blu-ray Disc/DVD volume of the anime series' second season and was released on April 28, 2017. The game is a side-scroller with gameplay resembling the Mega Man series.

A visual novel adaptation for PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 4, ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Judgment on this Greedy Game!'', was developed and published by 5pb., and was released in Japan on September 7, 2017. The game features an original story, in which Kazuma discovers a cursed ring that allows him to steal the underwear of others near him. He learns the only way to undo the curse would be by raising enough money. Judgment on this Greedy Game! introduces an "Underwear Judgment" system, where the player assists Kazuma in returning lost underwear to its rightful owner. Like the anime, Machico performed the opening "Million Smile", while Amamiya, Takahashi, and Kayano sang the game's ending theme "101 Pikime no Hitsuji". A Nintendo Switch port of the game was released on the Nintendo eShop on December 17, 2020.

A dungeon crawler game for the PS4 and Vita, titled ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Labyrinth of Hope and the Gathering of Adventurers!'', was released in Japan on June 27, 2019. An updated version of the game, ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Labyrinth of Hope and the Gathering of Adventurers! Plus'', was released in Japan on August 27, 2020, for the PS4 and Nintendo Switch. A mobile gacha game titled ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Fantastic Days'' was released for iOS and Android devices on February 27, 2020. An outfit crafting game, ''KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Love For These Clothes Of Desire!'' was released on September 24, 2020, for the PS4 and Switch. A dungeon RPG, ''KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on this Wonderful World! Cursed Relic and the Perplexed Adventurers'', was released for PS4 and Switch in 2022.

Popularity
The KonoSuba light novels have been quite popular. By March 2, 2016, the 11-volume series has a total of 1.5 million copies in print, each volume selling 136,000 copies. In January 2018, the light novel series ranked first among the top 50 best selling digital manga and light novels in worldwide stores by BookWalker. By February 2019, the light novels had 6.5 million copies in print. In a review of the first novel, Andy Hanley praised the series' comedy reflected in the "tired genre" as well as its cast finding them appealing based on their traits. However, Hanley criticized the short length of the first volume. The series won BookWalker's 2016 Grand Prix Award.

In 2016, the anime was voted as the tenth-best TV anime in the Newtype 2015–16 Awards. KonoSuba also finished runner-up for Best Comedy in the Crunchyroll's Anime Awards 2016 to ''Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto''. In 2019, the anime was chosen as the favorite Isekai series in the Funimation 'Decade of Anime' fan polls, where they vote for the favorite anime series through decade in various genres.

Critical response
Like its light novel counterpart, the anime has received positive reception for its comedy, parody of the Isekai genre, and faithful adaptation of the light novels. Reviewing the first few episodes, Anime News Network (ANN)'s Theron Martin described the second episode as "the funniest episode of anime I have seen since Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun aired", while also praising the series' musical score. The voice acting has also been a subject of praise; Nick Creamer of ANN commended Sora Amamiya and Rie Takahashi's roles as Aqua and Megumin for the energy provided in their performances, while Martin applauded Jun Fukushima for his work in voicing Kazuma, considering his dry tone an additional factor in the show's humor.

From the Legend of Crimson's release in Japan, Daryl Harding, writing for Crunchyroll News praised the story and comedy of the film noting that the "classic humor of (the TV series) translates well to a film runtime." Daryl Harding did criticize the film by stating that "It doesn't look too different than the TV series" even with "more effects placed over the animation during scenes of explosive magic."

In contrast, a common criticism of the anime was its inconsistent character animation, one that was described as "low budget" as characters appeared off-model. Koichi Kikuta responded by stating such design was intentional, hoping to "bring out the individuality of each character" rather than the prettier artwork in the light novels; to do this, Kikuta's animation displayed "their more human sides, like their unflattering traits and their distressed moments." Crunchyroll's Kim Morrissy considered the animation to be humorous, especially fitting in a comedic anime. Kotaku writer Richard Eisenbeis explained much of the series' humor derives from the deconstruction of Kazuma's hopes of becoming the hero of a fantasy world, instead realizing he is forced to struggle his way through the world. Comparing Kazuma's problems in a fantasy world to those in real life, Creamer wrote about a sense of relatability between the series' protagonists and the audience, as the party deals with issues like debt and taking questionable jobs because of high pay. On a critical note, Creamer disapproved of Kazuma's negative attitude, which he felt harmed the comedy in the series.

KonoSuba's characters, especially those in Kazuma's party, have garnered favorable reactions in the anime community. Creamer described the group as possessing a "strange but endearing chemistry," as the members are unfriendly with one another, yet are close. Morrissy added the party's "emotional bond is also evident in the ways they interact with each other. My favorite thing about the anime is that it takes the time to draw these nuances out onscreen and express them with visual flair." Megumin in particular has been considered one of the series' most popular characters, winning Sneaker Bunko's official Favorite KonoSuba Character poll. She was also the sixth-highest vote in Newtype's 2015–16 Awards for Best Female Character (Kazuma was third in the male category) and received the most "Other" votes in the Best Girl category in Crunchyroll's Anime Awards 2016. In an interview with internet personality The Anime Man, Natsume Akatsuki described Megumin as giving off "a pure and elegant atmosphere" like one of an anime heroine or waifu, hence her popularity among fans.

Ban in Russia
In May 2021, KonoSuba was one of five Isekai-oriented anime titles (along with Zombie Land Saga, That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime, Princess Lover!, and Nekopara) that were given a limited ban by the Russian government for their depiction of reincarnation, which was alleged to encourage suicide by lawmakers

Trivia
'' to be added. ''

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