First Look: Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! 2
Oh, what a wonderful start to the anime season. KonoSuba picks up right where it left of, immediately reminding us of it’s on-point humor and the twisted personalities of it’s characters, all of whom you would hate to have in your party in an MMORPG. If you’re new to the show, I highly recommend watching the first season of Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo!, before starting to watch the second one.
In short, the show is about a NEET (a term used in Japan to refer to people who do nothing but spend their time playing video games; the acronym stands for Not in Education, Employment or Training) named Kazuma, who leaves the house to buy a new video game. However, on his way home, he dies in the process of saving a girl from being hit by a truck and meets the goddess Aqua in the afterlife. Aqua tells Kazuma that the girl would have survived even if he didn’t push her away, as the truck was actually just a slow tractor that would have stopped before hitting her. To make matters worse, he didn’t even get hit by the tractor. He died of shock — believing that he was about to be plowed over by a truck. Along with having the choice of going to heaven or reviving in a different world to help killing the Demon Lord, he also gets to bring an item of his choice. He decides to revive in this new world, and chooses to bring Aqua herself with him. And thus, their adventure to defeat the Demon Lord begins.
*Spoilers for the first episode of KonoSuba season 2.
In the first episode of KonoSuba 2, the story kicks of right where it left off in the season one finale with Kazuma going to jail. After a few of Aquas failed attempts of breaking him out, he is to stand trial for accusations of terrorism and having a connection to the Demon Lord, and for better or worse, his defense consists of none other than his three party members; Aqua, the previous Goddess, now playing the role of an arch priest, the quirky magician Megumin, and the crusader Darkness. Aqua than is as endearing, and useless, as ever, and Kazuma is still undeniably one of my favorite male protagonists of all time. We already get to see the two sides of Darkness, one being the S&M-loving masochistic, horn-girl and the other one being the serious, responsible knight of a royal family, which we didn’t see in the first season until the finale. And more importantly, we’re blessed with two Megumin-explosions, although I consider them teasers for the future ones (it’s not a real, “EXPLOOOSION!” without the chants, right?).
KonoSuba 2 is just as fun as I remember the first season being, and this is one anime you shouldn’t miss this winter.
Hype level: Aqua party tricks (4/5)
