One of the great things about watching animated shows, is that the creative teams are allowed a variety of choices when deciding what to adapt or create into a season. In any given season, you may get 2 or 3 similar shows that use the same setting but come up with different ways to engage an audience. In recent years there has been a trend of shows focused around a person or group trapped in a fantasy/online game universe. Series like No Game,No Life and Sword Art Online__ are the best examples of how this scenario is handled. But neither show was able to play with concept and the absurdity quite like Konosuba- God's Blessing on this wonderful world. While the show may seem shallow in its nature, its cleverness and ability to play with the viewers expectations are outstanding.

_Konosuba _from its beginning episode revels that it has the patience to give its jokes a huge payoff. Every introduction for a character is an example of how to frame a joke. Kazuma -the male protagonist- is a shut in who stays up late to play games and do nothing of importance with his life. His awkward death is caused by his own misunderstanding, forcing him to act out of character to save a student. Kazuma finds out from a goddess named Aqua that he in fact didn't save anyone and died pathetically from the shock of being hit by a slow-moving tractor. In a unregeal like manner, Aqua laughs at Kazuma and makes fun of him for his pointless death. This behavior is what drives Kazuma to get revenge on Aqua by bringing her into the fantasy world and out of her life of comfort as an arbiter of the dead. Thus setting the show the in motion.

The amount time for those two jokes is only ten minutes, which is just an example of how entwined the comedy within _Konosuba _is. It is unrelenting in providing the audience with a certain trope or style for each character and then inverting it until it stands on its own. Darkness, the crusader in the Kazuma party, is an extreme machoist. To the point that even villainous foes are off put by her interpretations of what will happen to her should she fail in battle. Their "mage" Megumin, is aroused by destroying things with explosion magic that she can only use once a day. These are just two of a handful individuals that inhabit the shows textbook exterior.

Of course my exuberance for Konosuba's comedy and characters comes at an inconvenience, due to the over abundance of unnecessary lewdness that some female characters are depicted in. This presence of such material is not irritating just distracting from the overall rhythm established by the continuous comedy. In fact, the show needs to use this lewdness to hit punch lines (Kazuma accidentally stealing panties once he has learned a thief skill, having two characters in need of a bathroom while their house is haunted, Darkness becoming aroused as she loses her armour in battle) otherwise the behavior and reaction to certain jokes will fall flat. The show plays with the expectation of having attractive characters, most memorably in a bath scene in later episodes. This subversion by the studio staff is what makes the viewing of the Konosuba a treat. But throughout the ten episodes there are numerous shots of Aqua's butt at a low angle, unnatural swaying of breasts and ridiculously dressed bartenders unused in jokes or gags. It is merely fodder, that distracts from the flow of an episode at inconvenient times.

It is unfortunate that the staff went along with this decision to edit shots in such a manner. I would strongly advise people, both veterans and newcomers of the genre, to watch this show if it was not for this flaw. Of course I understand the reasoning for this, all shows are just advertisements to sell something related to the source material. This is the unavoidable truth when dissecting Japanese animation. The best way to sell something to a male dominated audience, would be to appeal to the lustful desire that comes from an attachment to a character. In the case of Konosuba, the sex appeal and sophomore humor were going to be hand in hand if the show was going to make fun of harem scenarios involving a shut in and three women. Ultimately it just took a step to far, making a timely comedy feel cheap and lazy in certain portions of its run.

Recommending Konosuba is not even a debate. You should watch it. The only advice is that you prepare yourself for moments that may or may not feel needed. Whether you are a person who has watched 5 shows or 100, give the show a chance to impress you. The voice acting is superb, and the progression of the story is unhindered by the comedy, rather it is propelled forward from the disasters and collateral damage that is left in Kazumas wake. One could only hope that a second season would be released, until then all anyone can do is wait.

Things of Interest

I failed to mention that Studio Deen was responsible for the show. Kudos to them for putting together a great staff for the show. Especially to the sound direction of Iwanami Yoshikazu.

And speaking of Studio Deen, some of the animation is awkward in wide shots. Not to the level of Log Horizon, but it's there if you look for it.