Review of KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!

Waga na wa Megumin! The foremost and greatest mage among the Crimson Demons! Because Yunyun allowed me to pursue Explosion magic on that day, I became who I am now! Let the storm blow! Let the flames roar! Explosion magic is the stuff of dreams! It is the ultimate magic that turns the impossible possible! For the presumptive in the hearts of the Otaku, 2016 was a rather iffy year of finding out what makes or breaks the AniManga scene at that brief moment in time. Shows like Boku Dake ga Inai Machi a.k.a Erased and Showa Genroku Rakugo Shinju showed the people that anime still had awaysto go with experimentation of the unique and niche; JoJo's Bizarre Adventure Part 4: Diamond Is Unbreakable still showcasing the best of what JoJo has to offer at the time; and modern classics in the making from Bones's Mob Psycho 100's premiere season to MAPPA's Yuri!!! on Ice. I loved the hell out of Summer's Kono Bijutsu-bu niwa Mondai ga Aru! a.k.a This Art Club Has a Problem! and Amanchu!'s premiere season...for a rather decrepit year that isn't as noteworthy as the modern day. Of course, factoring in that 2016 was also the same year that one VERY noteworthy AOTY show would break almost unfathomable scores of records for the critical reception almost unseen and/or unheard of back then: the masterpiece-regarded work of novelist Tappei Nagatsuki's Re:Zero kara Hajimeru Isekai Seikatsu a.k.a Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World.

At the other corner, there's Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! a.k.a the well-known franchise that we now know as KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World!, that also broke the internet for the now-recognised novelist Natsume Akatsuki's work on a parody fantasy Isekai that easily tops as one of (if not) 2016's best when it comes to pure gag comedy at its finest. And now, 7 years later, from the same parody Isekai maestro himself, comes the fully adapted 3-volume LN spin-off of one of the greatest anime gals of all time: the proclaimed Explosion Magic Crimson Demons arch-wizard Megumin herself, set a year prior to the events of the main series.

This is "Waga na wa Megumin!"'s backstory of how she became quite the distinguished character from the KonoSuba franchise, from a nobody back in her Crimson Demons clan to the unhinged "Explosion magic once-per-day use" of a arch-wizard. Of course, we got some subtle ideas of how the Crimson Demon clan was explained in both seasons and the Legend of Crimson movie, but not in a level of detail that is this intriguing and fun to watch of what the clan was like, not just from Megumin and her greatest rival Yunyun's perspectives. Megumin herself is a NEET, that is an undistinguishable fact, that precedes her Chuunibyou traits, and in the growing town of the Crimson Demons, she does not partake in this venture alone into becoming the "reliable" adventurer who honestly, just wants to party her way and not care about the world. We already know about Megumin's family: the "like father, like daughter" dad of Hyoizaburo, the cunning mother Yuiyui, and the hearty and very outgoing sister Komekko. If you didn't catch that, watch the Legend of Crimson movie first, because it technically is an OVA of sorts that's still canon for the main series.

But this is outside the scope of Bakuen!, as this trip specifically follows the lives of Megumin and Yunyun as developing Crimson Demon girls with their intriguing ways of living that are a slight heft out of the ordinary. The typical girl, for one, like Yunyun and other classmates like Arue, Funifura, and Soketto, right down to the instructors like Pucchin, each have their own magic power strengths that anybody who was born with an inkling of is destined to harness through their growing-up years and is ready to contribute to the Adventurers' Guild when they are of age and ready to play their part in parties. That is all except Megumin, who, after encountering Explosion magic, has always been her go-to objective as she seeks out the woman who unleashed this exact power to learn from her the greatness of a power wielded unlike any other. Alas, through the trials and tribulations, the Crimson Demons are what and who they are, primarily seen through Megumin and Yunyun's exploits as they take turns harnessing their powers and improving upon them, until their eventual arrival in Axel, where the main series starts with Megumin meeting Kazuma, Aqua, Darkness, and the like.

It's really fascinating watching Megumin's life from another POV, as if the main series and the movie itself aren't enough, Natsume Akatsuki did pitch in effort to make a story about her and her exploits before the KonoSuba series ever took off the way that it does. Through her interactions with fellow classmates, most particularly with her long-time rival Yunyun who ends up following her like a stalker, you get to see who Megumin is in more ways than one, not just the "all-knowing" Chuunibyou who can execute Explosion magic, which is the only strong and weak power in her arsenal, aside from the familiar cat demon Chomusuke (who goes by many names in the spin-off). And her VA, the well-known Rie Takahashi, always manages to make Megumin very spot-on with her colourful flavours of life that are reminiscent of the main series, though a bit more filtered since this was her starting point of all places. Nevertheless, it made watching the Crimson Demon Explosion girl a lot more tolerable but fun, and that's all that matters in the KonoSuba world: gag comedy is at the forefront of the franchise.

Even as Studio Deen took the reins for the main series with the 2 seasons in 2016 and 2017, it felt intentional for the low-budget studio to go ham, and that's exactly what it did when it came out, to the amusement of all who appreciated and enjoyed KonoSuba for what it is. Despite the Legend of Crimson movie being produced by J.C.Staff in 2019, both this spin-off and the eventual Season 3 are handled by studio Drive. The 2015-founded studio may not have seen better days with some lacklustre showings at the start, but after the takeover from Brain's Base for Fumetsu no Anata e a.k.a To Your Eternity's Season 2, it seemed like the studio may have found its better footing adapting action works instead, and this leads us to the present moment now with Bakuen! Indeed, the spin-off is the studio's best yet, as all the details are much more refined than what Studio Deen mustered back in the day. And though I will miss the goofiness of the former studio in terms of expressions and the like, Drive is really committed to bringing the KonoSuba vision back alive after Season 2 in 2017, and if this showing is what we'll see in Season 3 coming soon, then KonoSuba is in very good hands.

Each and every OP song in the KonoSuba series, which includes both seasons and the movie, is composed and sung by Machico, and she has pumped out great songs for the franchise up to this point. Well, that is until Bakuen!, and dare I say that while I admit that her previous OP songs were good, they didn't age all that well when it came to remembrance. But Bakuen! proved me wrong, and Machico's OP song "Stay Free" is more than just a great song, it's a well-rounded song that I can finally have something to remember about the franchise by while waiting for Season 3 to come soon. Megumin and Yunyun's Rugrats-like frazzle of an ED is interesting to say from a visual perspective, aside from being an absolute goofball of a song from a narrative standpoint.

No matter if you're a casual or a die-hard KonoSuba fan, you ought NOT to skip the Megumin spin-off series, because it's ultimately still part of the entire franchise and contributes its own element to add to the overall story, which is already great and memorable on its own. We've seen Megumin and the Crimson Demon Clan's movements for three times now, and to get the full package of how Natsume Akatsuki would've penned it as a prequel story, I'm really glad that more than just for more KonoSuba content alone, we went back to the roots of how the franchise has been conceived as the way it is, thanks to one fiery girl and her pension for the near-impossible.

Waga na wa Megumin! Arch wizard and wielder of Explosion magic!
Axel’s foremost mage, and she who will one day master Explosion magic! Ekusupurojon!