KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2

Episode 4

As expected, Darkness is back this episode in a big way (and in more than one sense!). As expected, she's gotten herself roped into a marriage meeting, although the “culprit” is her father rather than the noble lord from episode 1. (The prospective mate is the noble's son, however.) It shouldn't be a surprise that she's none too thrilled about it, as since her normal predilections make it clear what she would rather be doing instead. As is often the case with her though, the boundless degree to which she's willing to take her masochism can still catch viewers off guard, which is where her best jokes usually lie.

Of course, her appearance in this episode is also a factor. Ridiculous degree of décolletage aside, Darkness actually dresses up quite sharply, whether in her initial fancy outfit or the dress she wears for the appointment, and this irony is also part of the joke. The series continues to tease us with fanservice without actually showing much, so I'm even starting to wonder if the artistic team's peculiar way of drawing big breasts isn't part of the joke as well. Boob animation seems to be deliberately unflattering even beyond the season's very loose artistic style – which, on another note, produces yet another selection of wonderful facial expressions. (I'll continue to tolerate the series' art being a notch below standard if it continue to deliver on those.)

It's much more than just appearances that make this episode hum, however. Darkness is as gloriously twisted as you can get, with her fantasy mate being a conglomeration of every deplorable trait imaginable for a husband and thus the total opposite of the genuinely goldenhearted nobleman's son. Of course, part of the joke is that she's describing Kazuma to a T, whether either of them realizes it or not. Neither even seems to connect the dots when she lauds his behavior that she sees as lascivious, or when he seems to know just the right buttons to push to get the better of her in their duel. In a clever reversal of the normal misunderstanding expected of observers in situations like these, the nobleman's son does seem to get it, and it's possible that Darkness's father is putting the pieces together by the end too. Certainly, Darkness's brassy proclamation at the end of the episode only muddies the waters further.

As much as this is Darkness's feature episode, Kazuma is every bit as important to its overall success. Making a protagonist as unpleasantly conniving, self-serving, and yet still endearing as Kazuma isn't easy to pull off, but KONOSUBA does it right. The series wouldn't be nearly as much fun if he were played as the straight man who gets perpetually victimized, because there's something relatable about his form of selfishness. That makes him more likable than a character of his type probably has any right to be.

Now what, exactly, did Megumin screw up in dealing with those marauding monsters while Kazuma and Aqua were involved in Darkness's matter? It's definitely something to look forward to for next episode.

Rating: A-

KONOSUBA - God's blessing on this wonderful world! 2 is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.