Information:
Other Names: この素晴らしい世界に祝福を!, Give Blessings to This Wonderful World,
Studio: Studio Deen
Writer: Makoto Uezu
Director: Takaomi Kanasaki
Music: Masato Koda
Type: TV Series, Light Novel Adaptation
Length: 24 mins per episode approx.
Genres: Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy, Romance, Supernatural
Rating: PG-13
Air Dates: 14 January 2016 - 17th March 2016
Alternate Recommendations: D-Frag & Hai to Gensou no Grimgar
Synopsis:
The life of Satou Kazuma, a hikikomori who likes games, all too soon came to an end because of a traffic accident... It was supposed to, but when he woke up, a beautiful girl who called herself a goddess was in front of his eyes.
"Hey, I have got something a little nice for you. Wanna go to another world? You can take only one thing of your choice along with you."
"...then I'll take you."
From here on, the great adventure of subjugating the Demon King will begin for the reincarnated Kazuma... Or so one would think, but it's the labor for obtaining food, clothing and shelter that begins! Despite Kazuma wanting to live in peace, the goddess keeps causing problems one after another, and eventually, they attract the attention of the Demon King's army!? (source:MAL)
Review:
How would you spend your life in a parallel fantasy world?
Would you
spend it slaying monsters, completing quests and getting the girl/man? Well I’m
sure that’s what NEET Kazuma wanted after being transported to a fantasy like
game world after his passing, but unlike all the other game related anime
shows, Konosuba decided to be a little different as the main character is not
the typical power house, “I can defeat anything” type of hero, no instead we
get a weak starter character the feels more like a real game character which
felt refreshing. But the real questions you want to ask is: Does he get the
girls? Well yes and no, as he does get surrounded by three girls over the ten
episodes, however they are far from normal and hold no real affection towards
the main character, which was a refreshing take that made the show feel
different.
The show
itself opens up like any other fantasy series with the main character being
transported to a fantasy land however, after this this is where the shows
differs from others due to the main character who was a NEET while on Earth and
wasn’t particularly strong; he died from shock and being his pants for god’s
sake if that’s not weak I don’t know what is. Furthermore to complicate matters
further instead of wishing for a super powered weapon to the new world, he
takes the very goddess who offers him the choice thinking she’d be a great
help. This however, turns out to be not the case as Kazuma discovers he
underpowered and Goddess Aqua is useless and so begins there journey to defeat
the Demon King and his generals in order to get back home, because you know that’s
how this always work.
However I
found the story itself, to be lacking in this as Kazuma abandoned this idea as
it seems like too much work, which I though weakened the story some more as no
real progression is made aside from main characters doing some occasional odd
jobs and getting into shenanigans, which is okay if you think of this as an
episodic series since each episode is generally fun to watch, having new
enjoyable antics into the mix each time though if you’re looking for any real
plot developments or a conclusion that isn’t a cliff-hanger don’t get your
hopes up. However if this totally your
thing a second season has entered production, so good for you!
Nevertheless
one of the main points and buy far its better point that the show offers is its
wide range of characters, as this based of a RPG-styled game setting there are
quite a lot, though the vast amount of them are background characters from the
guild, there are some who get some time in the spotlight that are interesting
but sadly get no development or much screen time, one of which is Chris the
standard thief like character, who has a great design and fun character but she
just doesn’t get much of anything else sadly along with that one episode she
barely appears in.
But enough
about the bad, lets focus on the good, for one did you know the character
designs in this are really good with plenty to choose from, as each character
feels unique standing out in the crowd which is a great addition especially
with the main characters since they are all unforgettable with great characterisation
that don’t feel like the typical run of mill personalities from game-genre
shows. Instead we get at first a heroine (Aqua) full of herself who has no interest
romantically in Kazuma what so ever and instead spends her time drinking while
learning new party trick skills instead of offensive ones. While the main
character (Kazuma) is as said before completely weak and useless, though he is
one of the funniest of the cast playing the “straight man” in a group full of
wierdos. Later on though the group gets two new characters that help at more
spark to it, from a chunni mage obsessed with explosions to a knight that can’t
hit anything but enjoys to be hit, if that doesn't sound appealing I don’t know
what does. Though even this characters get away completely free as they are
held done by lack of character development.
Now for the last few points about the show,
the art style used is a great fit that while looking bland at times fits the
tone of the show well while letting in plenty of room for experimentation; this
also works well the animation similarly which while looking alright at time can
look beautiful in others mainly around fight scenes and anything containing
EXPLOSIONS! But what really sets the tone of the show is the OST which while it doesn't stand out on its own, fits nicely the series’ fun and games atmosphere where
as the opening and ending songs (plus animations) go along well with this tone
making you feel generally relaxed.
In
conclusion the show was a nice addition to a genre that has been running dry
lately and was s much needed take on that genre. Personally I would recommend
this to anyone after a nice relaxing episodic series that’s short and easy to
watch.
Final Scores:
Story/Setting: 7.2
Characters: 7.3
Art/Animation: 7.3
Sound: 7.6
Final Verdict: 7.4/10 (Good)
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