Konosuba: An Explosion on this Wonderful World! Volume 2 Review

Over the summer, publisher Yen Press began releasing Konosuba: An Explosion on this Wonderful World!, a prequel series following Megumin’s childhood. Filled with explosions and chunibyo antics this series got off to a great start, but does it continue to prove a good read? Today I’m here to check out Volume 2 and find out if it remains worth your time.

As we reunite with Megumin, we find her hard at work developing a potion for a sickly friend and living out peaceful days at school. One day Megumin returns home with friend Yunyun to find her little sister Komekko has gone missing and familiar Shadow being stolen by a powerful monster.

Megumin quickly deduces from the state of her home that the monsters must have taken Komekko as well as Shadow and gives chase with Yunyun in tow, but now our mage is faced with a life-changing decision. Does she put her hard-earned skill-points into learning advanced magic to fight the enemy or risk losing everything to continue down her path to explosion magic?

If you’re familiar with the main series of Konosuba already then you’ll be well aware of the choice Megumin makes, but that makes this volume all the more interesting. It’s not about the choice itself as much as how Megumin came to it and how Yunyun and Shadow tie into things.

Speaking of Shadow, the young familiar has been suspicious since her introduction in the first volume and this time we (and Megumin) get to learn more of her secrets as the series moves forward. As a creature that seemingly appeared at random in the main light novels, it’s always nice to find out more about her past.

The one concern I do have by the end of this volume is where we go from here. There was a good ending point with the final chapter of this volume, but instead, the series continues for another three volumes. I’m certainly not going to complain about the opportunity to see more of Megumin’s adventures, but I do hope there is a goal in mind.

I feel it’s worth saying how impressed I am with Kasumi Morino’s work on this manga adaption again this volume. The characters are very similar to Kurone Mishima’s for the light novels and the world is drawn wonderfully. Morino also has a good eye for action scenes, with easy-to-follow scenes even with a wide range of spells being thrown about by the cast. There is also some wonderful colour artwork depicting the cast at the start of this book, which is a feast for the eyes.

As previously mentioned this volume of Konosuba: An Explosion on this Wonderful World! comes to the West thanks to Yen Press. The series continues to be translated by Kevin Steinbach and the translation reads well with no problems to note. Yen Press currently have the third volume scheduled for release in December.

Overall, Konosuba: An Explosion on this Wonderful World! continues to be a worthwhile read for fans of the Konosuba franchise. Although it’s unclear what the series intends to do next, as a Megumin and explosion fan, I’m certain I’ll enjoy it regardless.