often referred to simply as KonoSuba, is a Japanese anime television series based on the light novel of the same name written by Natsume Akatsuki and illustrated by Kurone Mishima. The first and A second seasons of the anime produced by Studio Deen aired in Japan on Tokyo MX between January to March 2016 and 2017 respectively. An anime film adaptation produced by J.C.Staff, titled ', premiered on August 30, 2019. An anime television series adaptation of ', produced by Drive, aired from April to June 2023. A third season, also by Drive, aired from April to June 2024. A fourth season has been announced. In addition to Tokyo MX, the series is available for streaming on Disney+ in Japan, Crunchyroll in selected regions and MeWatch in Singapore.
The series follows Kazuma Satou, a boy who is sent to a fantasy world with MMORPG elements following his death, where he forms a dysfunctional adventuring party with a goddess, an archmage, and a crusader.
Akatsuki first learned that an anime adaptation was in development in January 2015. At the time, he was living in Fukui Prefecture and had been called to a meeting in Tokyo. However, he was unable to go as his house was buried in snow, leading to him being informed of the anime adaptation via phone.
Koichi Kikuta and Momoka Komatsu served as chief animation directors for the series, with the former working on odd-numbered episodes and the latter on even-numbered. While Komatsu's character designs closely resembled those of the light novels and had more attractive appearances, Kikuta based his designs on children's shows like Pokémon as he felt KonoSuba story was similar to those found in them.
In May 2015, Kadokawa announced that an anime television series adaptation of KonoSuba was green-lit. It was produced by Studio Deen and directed by Takaomi Kanasaki, with scripts written by Makoto Uezu and character designs by Koichi Kikuta. The first season aired on Tokyo MX from January 14 to March 16, 2016; it was later broadcast on eight other networks and several video on demand streaming networks. The series also aired on Disney+ in Japan.
An original video animation (OVA) was bundled with the ninth light novel volume of KonoSuba in June 2016.
A second season was announced after the airing of the first season's final episode. Kanasaki returned to direct the season at Studio Deen, with Uezu and Koichi also reprising their roles as the scriptwriter and character designer. The season aired on Tokyo MX from January 12 to March 16, 2017. A second OVA was bundled with the light novel's twelfth volume, which was released on July 24, 2017.
In July 2021, the official Twitter account for the KonoSuba anime confirmed that a new anime project was in production. The project was later revealed to be a third season of the main series and an anime television series adaptation of KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World!. Both series were produced by Drive and directed by Yujiro Abe, with chief direction by Takaomi Kanasaki. The rest of the main staff returned from previous seasons. KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! aired on Tokyo MX from April 6 to June 22, 2023. The third season aired on Tokyo MX from April 10 to June 19, 2024. A third OVA was released theatrically in Japan on March 14, 2025, and on Blu-ray and DVD on April 25.
A sequel to the anime series was announced in March 2025, which was later revealed to be a fourth season.
Masato KÃ Âda composed the music for all three seasons and the adaptation of An Explosion on This Wonderful World! For the first season, the opening theme is "Fantastic Dreamer" by Machico, and the ending theme is performed by Aqua (Sora Amamiya), Megumin (Rie Takahashi), and Darkness (Ai Kayano). The second season's opening theme is "Tomorrow" by Machico, and the ending theme is by Aqua (Amamiya), Megumin (Takahashi), and Darkness (Kayano). For An Explosion on This Wonderful World!, the opening theme is "Stay Free" by Machico, and the ending theme is "Jump In" by Megumin (Takahashi) and Yunyun (Aki Toyosaki). The opening theme for the third season is "Growing Up" by Machico, and the ending theme is by Aqua (Amamiya), Megumin (Takahashi), and Darkness (Kayano).
Outside of Japan, KonoSuba was simulcast by Ellation-owned Crunchyroll in several regions such as North America, and by Madman Entertainment-owned AnimeLab in Australia. Crunchyroll released an English-language dub of the series that is commissioned by Burbank-based Bang Zoom! starring Arnie Pantoja, Faye Mata, Erica Mendez and Cristina Vee on January 15, 2019 for the first season, second season on February 25, 2020, and the third season in 2024.
Discotek Media has acquired the home video distribution rights in North America and released the first season and its OVA on Blu-ray on May 26, 2020 as well as the second season on February 23, 2021. In the United Kingdom, Anime Limited released the series on Blu-ray on 12 October 2020.
Like its light novel counterpart, the anime has received positive reception for its comedy, parody of the isekai genre, and faithful adaptation of the light novels. Reviewing the first few episodes, Anime News Network (ANN)'s Theron Martin described the second episode as "the funniest episode of anime I have seen since Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun aired", while also praising the series' musical score. The voice acting has also been a subject of praise; Nick Creamer of ANN commended Sora Amamiya and Rie Takahashi's roles as Aqua and Megumin for the energy provided in their performances, while Martin applauded Jun Fukushima for his work in voicing Kazuma, considering his dry tone an additional factor in the show's humor.
From the Legend of Crimson release in Japan, Daryl Harding, writing for Crunchyroll News praised the story and comedy of the film noting that the "classic humor of (the TV series) translates well to a film runtime." Daryl Harding did criticise the film by stating that "It doesn't look too different than the TV series" even with "more effects placed over the animation during scenes of explosive magic."
In contrast, a common criticism of the anime was its inconsistent character animation, one that was described as "low budget" as characters appeared off-model. Koichi Kikuta responded by stating such design was intentional, hoping to "bring out the individuality of each character" rather than the prettier artwork in the light novels; to do this, Kikuta's animation displayed "their more human sides, like their unflattering traits and their distressed moments." Crunchyroll's Kim Morrissy considered the animation to be humorous, especially fitting in a comedic anime. Kotaku writer Richard Eisenbeis explained much of the series' humor derives from the deconstruction of Kazuma's hopes of becoming the hero of a fantasy world, instead realizing he is forced to struggle his way through the world. Comparing Kazuma's problems in a fantasy world to those in real life, Creamer wrote about a sense of relatability between the series' protagonists and the audience, as the party deals with issues like debt and taking questionable jobs because of high pay. On a critical note, Creamer disapproved of Kazuma's negative attitude, which he felt harmed the comedy in the series.
In 2016, the anime was voted as the tenth-best TV anime in the Newtype 2015âÂÂ16 Awards. KonoSuba also finished runner-up for Best Comedy in the Crunchyroll's Anime Awards 2016 to Haven't You Heard? I'm Sakamoto. In 2019, the anime won "Isekai Series of the Decade" at the Funimation's Decade of Anime poll, where the fans voted for their favorite anime across multiple categories.