Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World – Episode 3 Recap & Review

Guardians of the Crimson Demon Village

Episode 3 of Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World begins with the girls continuously calling Megumin’s new feline companion her name to irritate the real Megumin. Megumin asks her classmates to give it a new name, so Yunyun suggests “Ink,” and Megumin rolls with it. She plans to change the feline’s name to something else once she’s grown more attached to it as her familiar.

Suddenly, a teacher informs the girls that monsters are running rampant in the area, so the afternoon class will be a free study in the library.

In the library, Megumin asks Yunyun to hand over “The Unfettered Lord” book she’s reading. Yunyun prattles on about some books about friendship, and Megumin suggests Yunyun drop the rival charade. Suddenly, two classmates Funifura and Dodonko ask Yunyun to be friends with them, and Yunyun accepts their offer. As Funifura and Dodonko braid Yunyun’s hair, they share details about the type of men they’re looking for. Meanwhile, Megumin’s gets into it with an annoying spider while reading a book.

The girls ask Yunyun what types of boys she’s into. Yunyun admits she likes mild-mannered males. At the same time, Megumin uses one of Yunyun’s hair bows to attack the spider, annoying Yunyun. Yunyun yells at Megumin for ruining her bonding moment with Funifura and Dodonko. Suddenly, Bukkokori arrives using a teleport spell.

The girls confirm you can only register three readily-available spots, and ask Bukkokori why he chose the library as the spot in question. He admits he chose it because this is a place Sokketo liked visiting in the past. Bukkokori reveals some intricate details about Sokketo’s life that picture him as a stalker.

The girls attack Bukkokori with books, as Megumin admits she’s known him since they were young. Bukkokori takes Megumin and Yunyun with him to spy on Sokketo. Megumin tells Bukkokori he should give up on chasing Sokketo, but he begs them to ask Sokketo what type of person she’s looking for in a spouse.

After arguing, Bukkokori says if Megumin helps him out he’ll treat her and Komekko to a meal. Bukkokori turns invisible and tries to get close to Soketto, but she catches onto his scheme and attacks him. Megumin tells Soketto that Bukkokori wanted to tell Soketto something.

Soketto asks Bukkokori why she hates her so much since he likes to follow her and tried ambushing her now. Before Bukkokori can correct Soketto’s misunderstandings, a pack of One-Punch Bears startle the group. Bukkokori uses his inferno spell to attack the bears, but Soketto gets roped into it.

Afterward, the gang returns to Soketto’s home. She gives Bukkokori a free fortune for attempting to save her. Bukkokori asks Soketto who his future lover will be, so they all peer into Soketto’s fortune-telling orb, but no one appears. Everyone pities Bukkokori, and Soketto confirms that there have been instances where her fortunes aren’t correct.

Bukkokori runs out of the building with tears in his eyes. Yunyun asks Soketto if she peered into her future before, but the latter confirms that fortune-tellers can’t predict their own future. In class, Yunyun asks Megumin if she thinks things will work out between Soketto and Bukkokori, but Megumin says Bukkokori should focus on finding himself work to pay for her meal. She tells Yunyun she’s more interested in fulfilling her goals than getting roped into romantic tomfoolery.

Megumin says if she were ever a part of a party of adventurers, she’d like to fall for someone who’s dashing and peerless. The same teacher from earlier tells the girls that lower-level monsters have infiltrated the facility, so they must walk home with someone.

Megumin spots Funifura and Dodonko asking Yunyun if she’d like to travel home with them. Upset, Megumin leaves the school grounds alone, but Yunyun catches up with her. Yunyun asks Megumin if she can walk home with her and promises to look after Megumin with her dagger. Megumin tells Yunyun she’s a prodigy and doesn’t need protection.

However, Yunyun crumbles Megumin’s pride by reminding her she used her as a shield when they fought the One-Punch Bears the other day. Before they’d battle, Ink shows up and stops them. Megumin tells Yunyun she can accompany her home. The episode concludes with Yunyun reminding Megumin that they’re rivals.

The Episode Review

This chapter of Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World gives us a decent introduction to Soketto’s character while showcasing more of what Bukkokori offers. Bukkokori definitely feels like a replacement for Kazuma based on his perverted antics and strange brotherly dynamic with Megumin. It’ll be interesting if the anime ever puts Bukkokori in another drastic situation that’d force him to act more seriously. It’ll help his character feel more dynamic instead of one-noted.

On that note, many will enjoy the development given to Megumin and Yunyun’s character dynamic the most. There have been minor segments where Megumin wants Yunyun to recognize her as a friend but Megumin’s pride continues to get in the way of that. It makes the episode’s final moment between Yunyun and Megumin charming, as many would rather see them as companions than rivals.

Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to seeing both girls develop their craft as future archwizards. Overall, this was a fine episode with fun comedic bits. Moments involving Bukkokori getting pelted with books and learning about his future lonely life will make many people laugh hysterically.

The animation was fine but there were instances where the character designs for our cast and the One-Punch Bears looked slightly off. Hopefully, the animation and art quality will pick up once our girls finally dabble into magic-related studies.