A premiere date for the third season of the KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! anime still has yet to be announced, but fans of the show can see more of its lovable but morally bankrupt adventurers in a new art book.
As reported by Crunchyroll, the latest KonoSuba art book, entitled Mishima Kurone Art Collection Book 2 Blessing!!, will be released in Japan on Feb. 1, 2022. The 148-page book will feature illustrations by artist Mishima Kurone, who illustrated the series' light novel adaptations. Publisher Kadokawa has released one of Kurone's pieces from the book, as well as its cover illustration. In addition to reprints of illustrations created for the novels and the anime series, the collection will also premiere new art work that features the series' cast in new costumes. The book will retail for 3,300 yen, or about $30 USD.
The company also released a promotional video for the art book as well, which features narration from Sora Amamiya and Jun Fukushima, who play Aqua and Kazuma in the anime respectively. The video also announces that the light novel series, which first began publication in 2013 and concluded in 2020, has now achieved a circulation of more than 10 million copies.
KonoSuba tells the story of Kazuma Sato, a teenage nerd who dies a particularly embarrassing death and is given the chance to be reincarnated into a RPG-like fantasy world with a special power of his choosing. Kazuma tries to cheat the system by choosing to bring the goddess Aqua to this new world with him, much to her chagrin. The two then form an adventuring guild with the explosion-obsessed mage Megumin and a woman named Darkness, who has become a punishment-absorbing paladin for notably non-pious reasons.
The series was created by author Natsume Akatsuki in 2012. Akatsuki's original novels have since been adapted into light novels, manga, and anime, and has also spawned a number of spinoff series. The anime series premiered in 2016 and was produced by Studio Deen, the animation company behind the TV adaptations of Seven Deadly Sins and the original Fruits Basket anime. The anime has received generally positive reviews and received a second season in 2017. A feature-length animated movie, entitled KonoSuba: God's Blessing on this Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson, was released in 2019. Last July, a third season was confirmed to be in production but currently has no premiere date.
The KonoSuba light novels and manga are available in English from Yen Press. Both seasons of the anime are currently available for streaming on Crunchyroll and HBO Max. The movie can also be streamed via Crunchyroll.
Source: Crunchyroll, YouTube
