Konosuba's first season was pretty fun with a charming cast and great humor, but it had a pretty basic plot. But with a second season, there's a chance it could be even better!
Season 2 has pretty much given up on the Devil King plotline, which I actually think is great. Given how generic and standard it was in Season 1, I think having this season focus more on a variety of character-centric subplots worked wonders. Megumin gets a rival named YunYun (who's actually a super enjoyable character to watch), Kazuma is dealing with the consequences of Season 1's finale and has to pay a massive debt, Darkness's family gets more development as she deals with an arranged marriage, Wiz has another Devil King commander join her shop, and best of all, Aqua meets her cult. I especially love how the cast (plus Wiz) actually leaves town for the last few episodes, it leads to an interesting change of scene. I found myself enjoying most of these storylines as they give each character their time to shine while allowing the comedy to take the forefront. Speaking of which...
The comedy is so good this time around, right from the very first episode, I can sense an improvement in the writing. The dialogue is fast-paced, the running gags are clever, and the episodes are much better and bringing disparate plot threads together in a funny manner. I liked Season 1, but this season made me burst out laughing way more often. The animation has faced a bit of a change this time. It's a bit more stiff around compared to Season 1 and Megumin's explosions don't look quite as good (trust me, that's very important), but it's also far more expressive and cartoonish, working really well for the comedic tone of the show. I'm surprised at how divisive it was, I think the goofier visuals fit the series to a tee and was way more enjoyable to watch. The visuals also play up the video game elements of the world a bit more, which was pretty cool. I also adore the new OP, it has a catchy theme and seeing the party do that dorky dance just gives me so much life.
Once again, most of the episodes were pretty funny, but these were my favorites:
Give Me Deliverance From This Judicial Injustice: Wow, this episode really doesn't forget anything. Kazuma's arrest uses pretty much every major plot element from the series, from small subplots like the magic sword, to big secrets like Darkness's real name and Wiz's past working for the Devil King, to Kazuma's perverted habits that he finally gets called out for. It gave me serious Chrono Trigger vibes just with a far more comedic bend. I also thought Aqua trying to free Kazuma from prison was absolutely hysterical.
A Friend For This Crimson Demon Girl: This was easily Megumin's best episode, from the introduction of Yunyun, to her getting a cat, to her hilarious fight with Kazuma in the latter half of the episode, and the way in which all of the disparate sketches and story elements blend in the final scene was just great.
Servitude For This Masked Knight: It's always fun when the party fights a big villain like Verdia, so this episode was great. Vanir's mustache-twirling attitude was super fun to watch, especially when he possesses Darkness and the two start to talk over each other, made even better with the amazing voice acting for both Darkness and Vanir. It also resolved pretty much everything from the first half of the season and left things on a oddly happy note for once?
Goodbye To This Irritating Living World: This episode was just a riot. It didn't really have a noteworthy plot or anything, though Kazuma dying again was pretty funny, it really just had a lot of my favorite jokes from the series. Like Kazuma hiding in his kokatsu, the katana sequence, Vanir working at Wiz's shop, "Chunchunmaru", and best of all, Aqua's beautifully animated freakout that might just be my favorite scene in the whole show.
God's Blessing On This Wonderful Party: This may have been an even better finale than the first! I was surprised at how intense the big battle with Hans was, it was fun, well-animated, and action-packed. Wiz being there made the conflict feel more personal and her letting loose was awesome, Megumin's massive explosion was insane, and Aqua landing the final blow was just so satisfying. And even if there wasn't a cliffhanger this time, the sweet ending did a good job of tying everything up.
Overall, I adored this season. The character-driven storylines were entertaining, the comedy was sharp and consistently phenomenal, and the animation, while a bit weaker than last season, was energetic and fit the show really well.
5/5 Stars
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