KonoSuba's anime is great and has plenty of characters that us viewers can definitely not relate to. The choice for the voice actors just felt natural and the cast seems to have fun working on the anime. If you liked all that, you'll definitely enjoy the light novel. In fact, I dare say the light novel is better than the anime. There's just something about reading the light novel that makes it fun to read during my past time. I've only read up until the 9th volume and haven't had the time to read again, but picking the light novel wasn't a hard thing to do. I'm not much of a reader myself, I've only completed like 3 or 4 novels prior, but I guess that's the charm of light novels. This will be an overall review of the light novel, not per volume since I can't be bothered (haha). I mean this could also be the anime's review since the anime does a good job of adapting the light novels. (May contain spoilers of the first few chapters/volumes)
Characters
Images used are from the anime
Satou Kazuma
Kazuma is a hikikomori, a NEET, and an advocate for true gender equality. His friends like to call him Kuzuma (kuzu referring to scum) which is quite the accurate description for his personality. Though with that said, Kazuma is an amusing character that gives cynical comments towards his friends. He died in the real world trying to 'save' a girl from a 'truck' which led him to meet Aqua, the goddess that would reanimate him into another, game-like, world. He is expected to save this world by defeating the demon king, basically the end-game boss.Aqua
Ah the weakest link in the party. I'm joking. Aqua is a water goddess that allowed Kazuma to be revived in the first place. She was dragged into the other world by Kazuma as he was allowed to pick anything to choose anything to accompany him to his adventure in this world. Why? Kazuma was annoyed by the fact that he was being laughed at by Aqua as she tells him the story of how he died. I didn't like her at first but I figured out that she was just a klutz of a goddess and is actually kind of cute.Megumin
My favourite character of the series is here. Megumin is a mage from the Crimson Magic Clan (a highly respected mages clan) who can only do one spell, Explosion. Megumin is obsessed with the spell Explosion that she doesn't bother learning other spells or skills, and she can only do it once, which makes her a glass canon in battle. With that said, this is what makes her stand out to me, not to mention the fact that she is a chuunibyou. She stands out as this fragile girl that constantly requires Kazuma or another party member to carry her back after casting the spell. Darkness
Darkness is another member of the party that could also be considered useless. She looks quite dignified in the picture but trust me she is anything but. She is a total masochist and her dream is to meet a man that would treat her as a slut and just complete trash. She's well-mannered in formal encounters but becomes a complete masochist while she's with her Kazuma. I mean, what's not to like? Reading a girl get off? Sign me up.Later on in the following chapters and volumes they will encounter semi-important characters such as Wiz, Vanir, Chomusuke, Iris, and many more.
Review
The KonoSuba series is a great light novel series to read if you're looking to have a fun time reading and not fatigue yourself with big words. The story starts off with Kazuma's death as he tried to save a girl from a truck. It was revealed later on by Aqua that Kazuma actually died of shock and the girl would've been fine even if he didn't do anything as that 'truck' that he saw was actually just an old man's tractor. Even his doctors laughed when they heard what happened. This in itself is a great way to start off an isekai series. It's a good laugh that's way out of expectation. Later on, Kazuma decided to give himself another chance by living in another world that's in danger of the Demon King's shenanigans. This is a good way of introducing the world that we, as readers, are going to experience alongside Kazuma and his friends later on. Though cliched, it's done well enough to not be boring.
As they get used to the life in this new world, they decided to actually start adventuring and recruit some members by putting up a pamphlet. Along the way, they met Megumin. They decided to try her out by killing some giant frogs on the field. Sure enough, her explosion magic was a blast. Until Kazuma realises that she can only do explosion magic and that she can only do it once a day. The way this part was delivered was amusing and fun. The author is playing on the typical trope of an overpowered character with one weakness, and over-exaggerating it to the max, by making her completely useless after just one explosion magic. Later on, they met Darkness, a beautiful crusader. Too good to be true? That's right. Though she can tank enemy attacks, she can't hit them, at all, and she's a masochist to boot. Oh sorry, I meant that as a positive. Not much to say here but hilarious first impression, and with all the main characters introduced, the whole premise of the series is starting to shine light. A bunch of useless characters that party up and somehow make a natural fun group of friends. It's like our own group of friends, assholes that somehow fit each other.
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