KonoSuba Light Novel Reviews!

After having checked for a new KonoSuba translation update for about the 5th time in the last hour, even though I know the day and time at which it will be updated, I realised I needed to gather my thoughts on why I love this series so much.

As such, I intend to start a review/discussion here on the blog. Keep in mind, these reviews are going to be spoiler-filled. I will be going through what I enjoyed best in each novel, what I found could be improved and how I feel they could take the story and characters.

Now, with the current season up for people to watch, I will skip by the first two volumes as they are covered in the anime. The second season will be coming up soon but for now, it's still plenty of ways away.

There is some disparity between the anime and the books and as such, I will state some of the noteworthy things within this article. The upcoming review articles will then delve into the series on a by volume basis.

AGAIN, THIS IS SPOILER-FILLED TERRITORY. ONLY READ IF YOU DO NOT CARE ABOUT SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES.

So, what did the anime miss out?

1) There are references to showcase that Chomusuke did in-fact debut when Megumin debuted. Who's Chomusuke? We'll go into more detail in future reviews.

2) The anime scrubs over how the group met Wiz, which baffles me as Wiz is one of the more important characters in the series. This portion is only explained via blunt exposition within the anime.

3) The anime also skipped over how Kazuma met Dust and his party. Admittedly, this portion of the novel only served to showcase how Kazuma is a total badass when a) he isn't trying to be a lazy NEET and b) his party isn't there to ruin everything for him.

Disclaimer: Kazuma's TRUE badassery is shown in Volume 6

4) The same portion of the novel also introduced an enemy type: the Rookie Killer. It is by no means very important but there are references to it in future volumes.

5) In Volume 2, Kazuma and Aqua explore a dungeon and eventually purified a lich that was living within it. It would be fine to leave this little trip out of the anime but this dungeon is the very same dungeon that houses the villain for Volume 3. I guess they're going to simply ignore the initial adventure with the lich, which is a shame considering the whole focus on Kazuma and Aqua for that one chapter was well worth the read.

6) Darkness' name reveal to Kazuma in the final episode of the anime did not happen in Volume 2. They discover her name in the next volume which is a critical part to the story moving forward.

7) You know the anime opening? I bet there was a girl in there who you were wondering when would show up. The girl with the generous chest wearing black. Go back and watch it. You'll know who I'm talking about. She gets introduced in Volume 3 and her outfit is SO much better in the light novel. Anime fanservice can indeed ruin things. And yes, she's another great character.

8) The novels, much like any sort of novel-screen transition feature more details regarding the characters, world and story. These things can go without explanation but it's always nice to have some context to any situation.

Other than that, you should be ready for the other novels. Till next time!

PS. If you can't find the translations, do not worry. You can just look for some fanfiction. Trust me, it's worth your time.

PPS. At the time of writing, the light novels have not been given the greenlight yet for an official English translation. When that does happen, I will most definitely buy the books. In the meantime however, I have to maintain my insatiable hunger for this series.