KonoSuba Volume 3 Review

SPOILERS OF THE SERIES AHEAD!

Volume 3 starts off exactly where Volume 2 ended, with Kazuma getting convicted for inadvertently destroying the mansion of a nobleman, the Landlord of Axel, Alderp.

It's best to say now that Volume 3 contains two plots: Darkness' noble heritage and her arranged marriage to the son of Alderp alongside the battle with the Demon King General, Vanir.

So, what happened in this volume?

We are introduced to Alderp for the first time, who Kazuma immediately starts describing as a perverted pig. Which is accurate, considering he comes back in future volumes as both a minor and primary antagonist. In fact, going by how the party deals with the different Demon King army generals, I find Alderp to be more evil than any of them. But we'll leave talking about Alderp out until we reach Volume 7.


This volume also very accurately shows just how masochistic Darkness is. It's a recurrent joke and trademark of Darkness that she takes pleasure in pain. But I had no idea she dreams of being wed to an abusive husband. I also did not consider the fact that Kazuma fits that descriptions quite nicely. That's what plays out very well in this volume. When Darkness was dueling with Kazuma, he won not because he was better than her but because he inadvertently kept arousing her.

Her masochistic side also led to the unfortunate outcome of not being wed to possibly the perfect guy to exist in the KonoSuba universe. Heck, even Kazuma agreed on this. Alderp's son was the perfect human. It's just too bad that Darkness prefers the complete opposite personality in a man.

We also get introduced to Yunyun and Chomusuke in this volume! Remember the unknown girl from the intro of the anime? That's Yunyun! Yunyun is the self-proclaimed rival to Megumin and effectively, the second strongest wizard of the Crimson Magic race. She, unlike every other member of their race, has a normal personality and because of that, was ostracized by her peers. Yunyun attempts to be extravagant in her introductions and she tries her best to play out the role of Megumin's rival but she comes of as just an awkward cutie who in actuality, is Megumin's best friend.

Chomusuke is Megumin's pet cat who can seemingly breathe fire, though only Kazuma has witnessed this and even Megumin doesn't believe him (or so it seems). Chomusuke doesn't actually play a big role in the main plot but serves more as a mascot character for now. But from the spin-off novels, it's understood that she's actually far more integral to the seemingly bigger picture than we think.

The end of the volume also sees our heroes battling Vanir, a general of the Demon King army. Vanir is an interesting fellow as he does not really prefer fighting and seems to be in the whole business just because. He later joins Wiz in running her dead-end magic shop and provides the party with very helpful plot-driving divination which, more often than not, remains to be very useful in their adventures.

All in all, this volume was a little less dramatic and crazy unlike the other volumes but does effectively lay the foundation for many future recurring characters and the development of our heroes.