The feature film debut of hit slapstick comedy isekai anime KonoSuba has been making waves across America. The US theatrical debut of KONOSUBA -God’s blessing on this wonderful world!- Legend of Crimson was last week, and it was marked by a surprisingly stellar box office performance that placed it in the top 15 earners for that week. Fans have been vocal all over social media about their love of the big-screen continuation of this fun and ridiculous TV series. The movie is even scoring nearly perfect scores on film review websites like IMDB, MyAnimeList and even Letterboxd. Most of those reviews come from regular old anime fans, but one vocal fan of the KonoSuba film is a surprising celebrity in the cinema world; Academy Award-winning screenwriter Roger Avary.
What the fuck the screenwriter for Pulp Fiction just gave the Konosuba movie 5 stars pic.twitter.com/l0kTc8ScT6
— Protokahn (@Protokahn) November 16, 2019
Twitter user Protokahn shared the discovery of a jaw-dropping user review for KONOSUBA -God’s blessing on this wonderful world!- Legend of Crimson on Letterboxd, pointing out that the identity of the person who gave the film five stars was acclaimed screenwriter Roger Avary. If you’re at all familiar with the all-time classic Quentin Tarantino film Pulp Fiction, then you’ve experienced the work of Roger Avary. And now, if you head to his profile on Letterboxd, you’ll see that the esteemed Hollywood screenwriter absolutely loves KonoSuba.
Roger Avary himself was quick to notice the tweet on Twitter, responding with an absolutely incredible reply that blew the minds of anime fans everywhere.
Easily one of the best experiences in a cinema I’ve ever had. I would go as far as saying it’s the reason cinema was invented.
— Roger Avary (@AVARY) November 17, 2019
“Easily one of the best experiences in a cinema I’ve ever had. I would go as far as saying it’s the reason cinema was invented.” Hearing the man responsible for the screenwriting behind Hollywood hits like Pulp Fiction and The Rules of Attraction describe an anime film like KONOSUBA -God’s blessing on this wonderful world!- Legend of Crimson that way is absolutely incredible and pretty hilarious.
It’s even more astounding when you take a look at his Letterboxd profile and realize he might not be kidding around. The esteemed screenwriter has watched and rated hundreds of films, with many of his recent watches being other anime films. He gave Ghibli hits like Spirited Away and The Secret World of Arriety three-and-a-half stars, and even rated a critically acclaimed artistic hit like Millennium Actress just four-and-a-half stars. Even massive Hollywood hits failed to impress him as much as KonoSuba did, with universally praised mafia movie The Godfather only scoring four stars from Roger Avary.
Avary didn’t shy away from the hard questions on Twitter, either. When a curious fan asked him “Aqua, Megumin or Darkness?”, he was quick to respond.
It would have to be Megumin, because she shares my daughter Gala’s birthday…and I love explosions!
— Roger Avary (@AVARY) November 18, 2019
Fathom Events describes KONOSUBA -God’s blessing on this wonderful world!- Legend of Crimson:
A video game-loving shut-in, Satou Kazuma’s life should’ve ended when he was hit by a truck, but through a twist of fate, he ends up reincarnating in another world–and dragging the troublemaking goddess, Aqua, the wildly dorky mage, Megumin, and the unrelentingly delusional lady knight, Darkness, with him.
Now, the Crimson Demon village that Megumin and Yunyun are from is facing a threat that could mean its ending. Kazuma and his gang follow Yunyun, who returns to the Crimson Demon village intent on saving it… when they are faced with their greatest threat yet! What will become of the unremarkable adventurer Kazuma’s life in another world?!
Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! is a Japanese light novel series written by Akatsuki Natsume, with illustrations provided by Mishima Kurone. The series began being published by Kadokawa Sneaker Bunko back in October 2013 and eventually inspired three spinoff series, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Bakuen wo! (focusing on Megumin), Kono Kamen no Akuma ni Soudan wo! (focusing on Vanir), and Ano Orokamono ni mo Kyakkou wo! (focusing on Dust).
KonoSuba first started out as a web novel before eventually being republished as a light novel series in Japan. Eventually, it was adapted into an anime series by Studio Deen. A 10-episode season aired from January 13 to March 16, 2016, and adapted the first and second volumes of the original light novel series. A sequel season aired from January 12, 2017, to March 16, 2017, and covered the third and fourth volumes of the light novel storyline. An OVA was also bundled with the ninth volume of the light novel, while a second one was bundled with the twelfth volume.
The series has been also adapted into three ongoing manga series. The main KonoSuba manga series began serialization in Gekkan Dragon Age in September 2014. The other two 4koma gag comedy spinoff manga series, Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Shukufuku wo! Kappore! and Kono Subarashii Sekai ni Nichijou wo!, are also being serialized in Famitsu Comic Clear and Gekkan Comic Alive respectively.
KonoSuba has had a healthy career of crossovers, as well. On October 5, 2018, a spin-off, cross-over series was announced that brought together the massive, colorful casts of four iconic isekai anime; KonoSuba, Re:Zero, Overlord and Youjo Senki. It was produced by Studio PuYUKAI and titled Isekai Quartet. The main cast of Kazuma, Aqua, Megumin, and Darkness were all featured in the chibi comedy anime, with their original voice actors all reprising their roles as the quirky crew of adventurers. The show began airing on April 10th, 2019, and a second season is in production that will add the cast of The Rising of the Shield Hero into the mix.
