Konosuba: Legend Of Crimson

I absolutely adored the first two seasons of Konosuba, so I couldn't wait to finally get a chance to see the movie: Legend Of Crimson. While it wasn't super ambitious and not all of its jokes landed, it was definitely as fun as the rest of the series.

Legend Of Crimson is about Kazuma's party heading over to the Crimson Demon Village (where Megumin and YunYun live) to stop a chimera named Sylvia and her army of orcs, another stop in their quest to defeat all the generals of the Demon King. Given how little development they got in the series compared to Darkness and Aqua, it was really nice to see Megumin and Yunyun (especially the latter) get a lot of time in the spotlight. Not only did we get to see their family and hometown, but this film had a lot of genuinely affecting moments for Megumin and Yunyun. Probably the most impactful parts of the film were scenes like Yunyun's backstory, Kazuma's heartwarming exchanges with Megumin and Aqua, and that final heart-shaped explosion. Even with all the jokes and bickering, this film proves more than ever just how much the characters secretly care for each other. However, outside of the character work, the general story is still fairly basic as far as Konosuba is considered. Even with the new location, this film did mostly just feel like an extended episode of the series. Coming after Beldia, Vanir, and Hans, I found Sylvia to be a bit of a weaker villain due to her more serious attitude (as well as a questionable joke that I'll elaborate on below). In addition, aside from the importance to Megumin and Yunyun, I also found the Crimson Demon Village to be nowhere near as memorable or creative as Arcanretia from last season, probably since most of the film is devoted to the fight with Sylvia and the slice of life antics are compressed in a single montage. Still, that fight is pretty damn spectacular, nearly topping Aqua's God Requiem from last season.

Similarly to the rest of the series, Legend Of Crimson contains the same rapid-fire comedy that I love to see from Konosuba. There are tons of hilarious moments here like YunYun asking Kazuma to have kids, Aqua teasing the orcs, Kazuma and Megumin being locked in a room together, and the antics with Kazuma's cannon. However, not all of the jokes landed. This series could poke as much fun at Kazuma as it can, but those two trauma jokes definitely rubbed me the wrong way (a guy being raped isn't funny, and it's not nearly as traumatic as learning Sylvia has a penis). Not to say Konosuba can't have black comedy, it absolutely does and is usually one of the most consistently funny shows I've ever seen. These just happened to be the rare jokes that went way too far for me. Thankfully, the presentation is as fantastic as it always is. Apparently, this film changed animation companies from DEEN to JC Staff. While I'd normally say that could only be a good thing due to DEEN's track record, the artstyle and animation looks pretty much exactly the same as the original series. That's not a bad thing, though, Konosuba has always looked beautiful and expressive and this film is no exception. The voice acting is also as fantastic as always, solidifying Konosuba's english dub as one of my absolute favorites. And of course, the RPG-esque music is still great, with the show's main theme being utilized really well in pivotal parts of the final fight.

Overall, Konosuba: Legend Of Crimson was a fun addition to the series with its usual sharp writing, memorable characters and fantastic presentation. However, it doesn't quite live up to the show due to its lack of ambition and some particularly weak jokes.

3/5 Stars