Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World – Season 1 Episode 9 Recap & Review

Destroyer from the Crimson Demon Village

Episode 9 of Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World begins with Megumin telling Yunyun not to worry about monsters attacking them while they’re on their way to Axel. A woman and her child stop Megumin and Yunyun from arguing over seats. She asks them if they plan to be adventurers, and Megumin confirms they do. Megumin tells Yunyun it’d be best for them to find traveling companions. After showboating, the carriage stops, and the crew asks Megumin and Yunyun to take care of a few monsters.

Megumin and Yunyun discover they’ll be fighting an earthworm monster and are startled. Yunyun uses her fireball spell to defeat it to prevent Megumin from using her explosion magic. The crew informs the girls there are more earthworms, scaring them further.

Everyone eats a delicious meal at night, and the crew thanks Yunyun for handling the earthworms, making Megumin jealous. The woman’s daughter comforts Megumin and asks if she’s stronger than Yunyun. Megumin confirms she is and promises to showcase her true strength if another monster interferes with their quest for Axel.

After everyone else heads to bed, Yunyun and Megumin discuss Yunyun’s battle with the earthworms. Yunyun tells Megumin she feels more confident after her fight and appreciates the crew’s hospitality. Suddenly, a colony of bat creatures stops by, but Yunyun defeats them without Megumin’s help. The crew thanks Yunyun for her help, and some men ask her to join their party. While Yunyun tries asking Megumin to join her party, she overhears the men talking ill of her. They leave the campsite in the morning, and Megumin boasts she’s the last resort hero. This is why she had Yunyun handle the weak monsters.

More monsters show up, and Yunyun takes care of them alongside most of the crew without Megumin’s help. Arnes show up with a plan to take Chomusuke from Megumin and Yunyun. Arnes confirms all the monsters were her doing, upsetting Megumin since Arnes’s monsters made her look inferior to Yunyun. Megumin throws Chomusuke into the air to bait Arnes to fly and retrieve her. Yunyun attempts to stop Megumin from using her explosion magic to blow Chomusuke and Arnes up. Arnes prepares to destroy Megumin and Yunyun with a large magic ball.

Megumin notices she’s wearing a bracelet from her father’s shop and thanks Arnes for buying from them. This makes Arnes angrier because it’s Megumin’s father’s fault that terrible men are attracted to her. Yunyun prays to multiple gods to save them from Arnes’s wrath. Suddenly, they all sense a divine presence hurling toward Axel. Chomusuke uses this opportunity to get free from Arnes’s grasp. Yunyun catches Chomusuke, allowing Megumin to use her explosion magic to defeat Arnes.

Megumin wakes up in the carriage, and the carriage owner and little girl thank her for her help with Arnes. Yunyun tells her it’s best if they don’t wind up at the same parties. However, she warns Megumin that she plans to train hard to settle things with her when she’s learned advanced magic.

The episode concludes with Megumin and Yunyun arriving at Axel.

The Episode Review

Before heading to Axel, it was inevitable that Yunyun and Megumin would run into a few problems before arriving there. Thankfully, they utilized their skills to overcome the hurdles that stood in their path. This episode was littered with many repetitive jokes and gags that didn’t land as much as in previous chapters. Furthermore, most battles took place offscreen.

While it’s played for laughs and to show how lazy Megumin is in comparison to Yunyun, it would’ve been great if the anime would’ve shown some of Yunyun’s fights with the creatures. Thankfully, the final confrontation with Arnes was fleshed out and gave fans a humorous and thrilling power struggle between her and Megumin.

Although it’s unfortunate to see Arnes exit the tale this soon, she at least went out with a “bang.” Many may wonder what the light was that shined over Axel during Arnes’s bout with Yunyun and Megumin. It’s possible that this could be the moment when Aqua and Kazuma reincarnated into the world. It’s also possible it could’ve been the fabled “hero” character from a few episodes ago.

Hopefully, we’ll find out soon since we’re only a few chapters away from this anime’s finale. Overall, this was a fine episode of Konosuba: An Explosion On This Wonderful World. It’s a joy seeing Yunyun and Megumin interact with each other. It’s going to be upsetting seeing them eventually part ways, though. Nonetheless, I’m looking forward to seeing what lies ahead for our pair and Chomusuke in Axel.