Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World! Volume 1 by Natsume Akatsuki (translation by Kevin Steinbach). Originally published by YenOn, December 2019. Approx. 224 pages.
In my opinion, the best medium for the immensely popular Konosuba's brand of comedy is the animated form. This is not a knock on the light novels or the manga; it's just that the show (at least the first season, that is) juggled that perfect, endearing balance of frenetic lunacy.
However, for a property as significant as Konosuba, side stories are a foregone conclusion. And what better place to start than with the most popular character and top waifu, the Arch Wizard Megumin? This brings us to Megumin's Turn!, Volume 1 of the Explosion on this Wonderful World side story light novel series. Wow, don't they love those long titles?
Let's take a look at the summary, and then talk about how they handled the story itself:
"My name is...
One year before a certain useless goddess and NEET extraordinaire hit the scene, Megumin, the "Greatest Genius of the Crimson Magic Clan," is hard at work. Ever since a life-changing encounter in her youth, the young wizard has dedicated her every waking moment to the pursuit of the ultimate offensive magic, Explosion! (Well...every moment not spent hustling food from her self-proclaimed rival.) And while the big sister's away, the little one will play. On a routine trip into the woods, Megumin's little sister, Komekko, finds a strange black kitten. Little does she know that this cat plays a key role in unsealing a Dark God's tomb..."
Well, that's pretty much the book in a nutshell. I mean, we knew about that much on Megumin's pre-party life, so this novel just runs with that. It is all harmless fun; chronicling day to day life in the Crimson Magic Village. Day in and day out we're treated to Megumin's one-sided 'rivalry' with Yunyun; as well as mishaps in the magic school. Highlights include witnessing the actual event which sparked Megumin's mission to acquire Explosion magic, as well as seeing her adorable, precocious younger sister (Komekko) follow, in a way, in her footsteps.
All in all, this is no work of art or literature, but it's definitely a lot of fun, bolstered by the fan-favorite lead. Some of the scenarios are generic or mundane; and would be hard pressed to elicit a laugh if it weren't for the beloved players involved.
Characters:
Assuming you're reading this, you know well who Megumin is. If, by some reason you don't, Megumin is a egomaniacal teenaged arch wizard who has dedicated her studies to learning a sole spell - Explosion magic. Explosion is extremely damaging; destroying everything in its path - including the intended target and anything around it. It consumes massive amounts of magic points; usually in excess of the caster's amount, leaving them incapacitated after casting. Megumin is cocky, overdramatic, a consummate chunibyo. Her daily life consists of trying to con her friend/rival Yunyun out of food because her and her little sister live a life of unsupervised, abject poverty courtesy of her ne'er do well parents. Yes, a core aspect of our protagonist is her comedic attempts to stave off childhood starvation.
Yunyun, Megumin's long-standing 'rival', who is actually more of a forced entity in the anime series, actually rises to the occasion in going from background character to lead. She brings her big-busted,
ditzy, heart of gold personality to the fore; making a nice contrast to her scheming, conniving friend.
As you can see in the pic above, we get to meet some of the other students in the magic school. Sadly, for the most part (save for one small arc later on), they are relegated to being little more than window dressing.
As mentioned, the scenes with Megumin's sister, Komekko, are well done. It is easy for kids in these stories to teeter into the realm of absolutely annoying; but, being somewhat of a miniature Megumin, Komekko steals the scenes that she is in.
Within the Komekko interludes, there is also a demon named Host, who adds a good deal of levity to the proceedings.
Other characters are simple on deck for plot advancement. But it's ok, since it's Megumin's story anyway.
Writing:
The writing is actually pretty good here. It's not easy to write for situations where the onus is on quick physical responses; shocked faces, exaggerated gestures, etc. However, Akatsuki does a good enough job conveying those scenes as pen on ink.
Again, this is just the long version of historical events we already know about Megumin, combined with some basic situational comedy. It works because it involves Megumin, and becasue of Akatsuki's skilled writing.
Recommended if you're a fan of everyone's favorite Archwizard, and who isn't?
Cover:
Artwork here is provided by Kurone Mishima. The interior is peppered with a fair amount of black and white illustrations, and there are some nice fold-out color pieces at the beginning. What can I say except that the artwork is exceptional? And that cover - simply beautiful. The composition, detail, and color work - all perfect.
See you all next time - in the interim, why not enjoy some explosions?
One year before a certain useless goddess and NEET extraordinaire hit the scene, Megumin, the "Greatest Genius of the Crimson Magic Clan," is hard at work. Ever since a life-changing encounter in her youth, the young wizard has dedicated her every waking moment to the pursuit of the ultimate offensive magic, Explosion! (Well...every moment not spent hustling food from her self-proclaimed rival.) And while the big sister's away, the little one will play. On a routine trip into the woods, Megumin's little sister, Komekko, finds a strange black kitten. Little does she know that this cat plays a key role in unsealing a Dark God's tomb..."
Well, that's pretty much the book in a nutshell. I mean, we knew about that much on Megumin's pre-party life, so this novel just runs with that. It is all harmless fun; chronicling day to day life in the Crimson Magic Village. Day in and day out we're treated to Megumin's one-sided 'rivalry' with Yunyun; as well as mishaps in the magic school. Highlights include witnessing the actual event which sparked Megumin's mission to acquire Explosion magic, as well as seeing her adorable, precocious younger sister (Komekko) follow, in a way, in her footsteps.
All in all, this is no work of art or literature, but it's definitely a lot of fun, bolstered by the fan-favorite lead. Some of the scenarios are generic or mundane; and would be hard pressed to elicit a laugh if it weren't for the beloved players involved.
Assuming you're reading this, you know well who Megumin is. If, by some reason you don't, Megumin is a egomaniacal teenaged arch wizard who has dedicated her studies to learning a sole spell - Explosion magic. Explosion is extremely damaging; destroying everything in its path - including the intended target and anything around it. It consumes massive amounts of magic points; usually in excess of the caster's amount, leaving them incapacitated after casting. Megumin is cocky, overdramatic, a consummate chunibyo. Her daily life consists of trying to con her friend/rival Yunyun out of food because her and her little sister live a life of unsupervised, abject poverty courtesy of her ne'er do well parents. Yes, a core aspect of our protagonist is her comedic attempts to stave off childhood starvation.
Yunyun, Megumin's long-standing 'rival', who is actually more of a forced entity in the anime series, actually rises to the occasion in going from background character to lead. She brings her big-busted,ditzy, heart of gold personality to the fore; making a nice contrast to her scheming, conniving friend.
As you can see in the pic above, we get to meet some of the other students in the magic school. Sadly, for the most part (save for one small arc later on), they are relegated to being little more than window dressing.
As mentioned, the scenes with Megumin's sister, Komekko, are well done. It is easy for kids in these stories to teeter into the realm of absolutely annoying; but, being somewhat of a miniature Megumin, Komekko steals the scenes that she is in.Within the Komekko interludes, there is also a demon named Host, who adds a good deal of levity to the proceedings.
Other characters are simple on deck for plot advancement. But it's ok, since it's Megumin's story anyway.
Writing:
The writing is actually pretty good here. It's not easy to write for situations where the onus is on quick physical responses; shocked faces, exaggerated gestures, etc. However, Akatsuki does a good enough job conveying those scenes as pen on ink.
Again, this is just the long version of historical events we already know about Megumin, combined with some basic situational comedy. It works because it involves Megumin, and becasue of Akatsuki's skilled writing.
Recommended if you're a fan of everyone's favorite Archwizard, and who isn't?
Artwork here is provided by Kurone Mishima. The interior is peppered with a fair amount of black and white illustrations, and there are some nice fold-out color pieces at the beginning. What can I say except that the artwork is exceptional? And that cover - simply beautiful. The composition, detail, and color work - all perfect.
See you all next time - in the interim, why not enjoy some explosions?
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