“KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World” (April 2023, Drive) is a prequel spin-off of the critically acclaimed “KonoSuba: God’s Blessing on This Wonderful World!” (January 2016, Studio Deen) series. This show follows one of the main characters from the main show and explores her and the Crimson Demon Clan’s history.

This show follows Megumin (voiced again by Takahashi Rie) being saved from a returning demon lord by a mysterious lady who shows off her explosion magic which in turn shapes Megumin’s goal to be an explosion magic master.

A few years after Megumin was saved, she enrolls into the Crimson Demon Clan’s magic academy where she meets a shy and timid girl by the name of Yunyun (Toyosaki Aki). Will Megumin be able to learn explosion magic, will Yunyun ever make any friends, and why is Chomuske (Nabatame Hitomi) so adorable?

Like the original KonoSuba, this show is very goofy, in a good way of course. For one thing, Kazuma (Fukushima Jun) is the narrator for the show, which is something that any normal prequel anime wouldn’t do, but this isn’t any other anime, it’s KonoSuba! So it’s unsurprising that media from the same comedic IP is also very silly, especially with how the show explains the problems that are constantly surrounding Megumin.

Something else this show does is intertwine areas and places from the main series, like the capital of water: Arcanletia. Along with that, there are a lot of easter eggs that viewers of the original series will find, really just helping this show raise its silliness to all new heights.

The art style, even if from a different studio, is surprisingly similar to the original series of KonoSuba, the characters look slightly different due to the time gap between the two shows. However, the way magic is represented in the anime is just phenomenal. When the show wants to make a spectacle out of magic, it absolutely delivers, the best example of this is when Megumin casts her first explosion spell.

The music in this show is very well made, something a lot of the viewers of this show talk about is the ending song “Jump In” due to its lighthearted nature, in both art and composition. Showing a short story about Megumin and Yunyun leading to a very relaxing ending.

Unfortunately, this show isn’t perfect, it has plenty of its own flaws and some gripes that Western viewers may find confusing.

Some viewers might view this show as very goofy and say it’s made for kids, then not watch it due to its child-like sense of humor.

Another thing might be how provocative the teenagers in this show are, with the artists drawing them to be much more mature than the 12 and 13 year olds they are. It feels unnerving as a viewer to see tweens drawn to be so adult when they’re still children.

Now although the show doesn’t sound like much to the uninitiated, to someone who has seen the main series, there’s a lot of easter eggs and references scattered throughout the show. Yet again though, the show is a very much turn your brain off type of show, but if that doesn’t suit a viewers taste, then they can go watch something else.