Background:

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I (and many others) were quite disappointed to not have season 3 last year, instead we have the megumin spin-off (which is a lot less interesting but still not horrible)

When this season is announced, again i was pretty intrigued, to see the main cast return again, with a new studio
and so, i decided to watch it.

(this will have spoilers lol)

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Animation:

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Drive has improved over the spin-off, and can sometimes rival the original in terms of quality, which is a nice addition, unlike the stiff animation their previous projects had.

The Explosion is still wonderful, and never gets boring or old, it gets even MORE EXPLOSIVE IN THIS ONE.
but most things like the character designs, movement, stayed relatively the same compared to the first and second seasons of the show.

the sound design is still quite impeccable, and the action scenes, just mostly never miss (the ones with Darkness are the ones i personally like the least though.)

___ Characters: ___ It has some good, some bad, but the good far outweighs the bad, in my opinion.

Let's start with the main party:

All of them retain their characterization in some or all of capacity, except for ONE in particular, (Dark) ness/Lalatina.

She was established before as a super brave yet masochistic crusader who would take as many risks if it meant for pleasure for herself (right around in the first half), and although her masochistic side is still prevalent here, there are quite a bit (of) insane shit happening in the Dustiness family, and it really affected her, to the point where she had to LEAVE the party because of a wedding and Aldarp.

When she was "rescued" by the party, she deeply regrets leaving the party, and really missed Kazuma, Aqua, and Megumin, leading up to an end on (the) highest note for her character as a whole.

On the topic of Kazuma, Aqua, and Megumin, this is mostly a comedy, so character developments are not very common, although it's intentional by design.

Once in a blue (moon), Kazuma gets some reality checks up his sleeve and it's quite funny to see it in action.

Vanir: Makes a very important role in Darkness' character arc, explaining everything relating to Darkness and her own family, which makes him one of the core parts of why Darkness' arc is so great, and i liked him for that reason alone, although his own demon powers are entertaining to witness.

Next up are the new(er) characters of the cast:

Iris: Despite her isolation of the outside world, deep down she has a very endearing soul, and wanted to know more, so that's why she has to bring Kazuma into the kingdom with her, and that's pretty wholesome

I don't like her "big brother/sister" name calling though, it's kinda weird since Iris herself is a child and not blood related.

Maxwell, has a very "crazy" introduction (literally being crazy), and is quite intimidating to look as he breaks the spines and bones out of Alderp for pleasure, and it is a very scary sight despite super lacking in remembering/recalling things he needs to do.

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Story:

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Despite its quite promising world-building and very vibrant atmosphere, there are some complaints i had watching the show:

The story is indeed deep, but the pacing of everything seems pretty off-putting, and i don't really like the random padding out scenes all that much.

I understand the lack of exploration of the world is completely by design of the script, but, i was expecting a little more than what we got in this season, compared to other seasons, this doesn't have the same "action-y" feel as the others.

The jokes are creative, and that's definitely the main selling point of the story.

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Overall thoughts

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If you enjoyed this far into Konosuba, and still pissed that Drive made a Megumin spin-off (like mentioned earlier), then consider watching this new season, it's like eating that same candy bar you've had for years.