It’s amazing to me how ahead of its time Konosuba was. The first season aired well before isekai mania struck. Now it’s just more relevant – and hilarious – than it ever was!
This is thanks in large part to its leading lad: Kazuma Sato. AKA: “What you would actually be like if you were an isekai protagonist.”
Most isekai heroes are simple power fantasies. They have god-like power, every woman in their new world salivates over them, you know the drill. The reason they’re all so dry and lifeless is because they’re not meant to be characters, but rather vehicles of escapism for the audience.
Not Kazuma. Kazuma screwed himself out of the chance for godly powers by spitefully choosing Aqua as his boon. The dude is a perverted wretch that makes women visibly uncomfortable. He’s flat broke, pathetic, selfish, and reckless.
But he’s stupid lucky. Dude’s never lost rock-paper-scissors.
All of that may make Kazuma sound extremely unlikable. But all of that is Kazuma at his worst. At his best, he’s actually a pretty smart and compassionate person. Friendly, too; he makes more than a few friends around the town, and all of them seem to genuinely enjoy his company. It isn’t that he’s a dick, it’s that he’s constantly at the end of his rope because he’s dealing with the Useless Goddess, Ms. Tiny Nuke, and the living embodiment of the words “Harder, Daddy, Harder.”
One of my favorite examples of Kazuma’s kindness comes at the end of the Konosuba movie. When it’s all said and done, Megumin hands Kazuma her character sheet and tells him to pick a magic for her, as she’s giving up explosion magic. But knowing how much that spell means to her, Kazuma puts her points back to it. The tiny walking nuke may drive him nuts, but if that’s what makes her truly happy, then he won’t take that away from her.
In terms of power, Kazuma strikes a nice balance. Rather than being an overpowered god, his skills are more about tricks and cunning. He’s essentially the rogue of the party. One that steals panties and does simple magic tricks.
He’s even got a bit of depth to him. Kazuma isn’t just the funny ha-ha isekai protagonist. Dude has a fair bit of emotional growth.
My favorite case of this is in season one. Kazuma dies once again, and he’s taken to be reincarnated, this time to be sent back to his original world. At first, Kazuma leaps straight into making requests, covering every base he can to set himself up in his next life. He sits down, quietly muttering about how excited he is, about how much better this was going to be…
…as he starts to cry. Chaotic and infuriating as his life with his party may be, he doesn’t want to let it go. When given the choice, he willingly, eagerly even, goes back to the embraces of Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness.
A decision they would only kind of make him regret.
I love Kazuma! He’s a delightful parody of the usual isekai hero and a likable character in his own right. Man is an absolute delight who earns himself a spot right near the top of the list.
Now I just need to talk about Tanya the Evil and I’ll have covered the whole Isekai Quartet crew. At least, for when it still was a quartet.
- Natsuki Subaru (Re:ZERO)
- Kazuma Sato (Konosuba)
- Ainz Ooal Gown (Overlord)
- Kirito (Sword Art Online)
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