Megumin
Megumin |
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Full Name | Megumin |
Kanji | めぐみん |
Rōmaji | Megumin |
Alias | Crazy Explosion Girl (頭のおかしい爆裂娘) Psycho Girl (サイコ, Saiko) Duxion Slayer Explosion Maniac (爆裂狂) |
Characteristics | |
Race | Human |
Previous Race | Demon (Temporary) |
Gender | Female |
Age | 14 (Current) 13 (Former) 12 (Bakuen) |
Hair Color | Brown |
Eye Color | Crimson |
Professional Status | |
Affiliation | Crimson Demons Kingdom of Belzerg Adventurer Guild Megumin Bandits Explosion Goddess Lalatina |
Previous Affiliation | Shiny Blue |
Class | Arch Wizard |
Previous Occupation | Student |
Personal Status | |
Status | Alive |
Relatives | Hyoizaburoo (Father) Yuiyui (Mother) Komekko (Younger Sister) |
Lover | Kazuma Satou (More than Friends, but Less than Lovers) |
Abilities and Equipment | |
Magic | Explosion Magic |
Equipment | Rod |
Debuts | |
Light Novel | KonoSuba Volume 1 |
Manga | KonoSuba Chapter 1 |
Anime | KonoSuba Episode 2 |
Game | in the life |
Portrayal | |
Japanese Voice | Rie Takahashi (anime) Maaya Uchida (Drama CD) |
English Voice | Erica Mendez |
Appearance
Megumin’s full apperance.
Megumin is a young girl with shoulder-length dark brown hair (appearing smooth black in the light novel) and striking crimson-colored eyes, which give her a somewhat languid look. Her features are doll-like, complemented by fair skin and a light complexion.
She dresses in traditional witch attire, consisting of a black cloak, a red robe, orange boots, and a black wizard’s hat, all adorned with gold borders and trimmings. She also wears a black choker, a belt, and fingerless gloves. Her right leg is wrapped in white bandages, while her left leg is clad in a black stocking. Megumin carries a brown staff, which initially features a floating blue gem. After the 4th episode of the first season, the gem on her staff turns red.
Personality
Megumin is most renowned for her obsession with Explosion Magic. After being saved by a mysterious stranger using the spell, she became captivated by its unparalleled destructive power, dedicating years to studying and saving points to master it. Despite its many drawbacks, she continues to use the spell recklessly, often coming up with excuses to cast it daily, even when it causes trouble for herself and her party. Megumin refuses to accept any form of explosion other than her own, rejecting Kazuma’s tinymites in particular.
Like most Crimson Demons, Megumin exhibits a chuunibyou personality, frequently using archaic Japanese dialect and striking dramatic poses. However, her act can be easily dropped, revealing a more vulnerable side. She is also an attention-seeker with delusions of grandeur, often boasting about her supposed genius and talent, and fantasizing about becoming the next Devil King. While she enjoys “cool” and destructive hobbies, she also has a secret affection for cute things, which she refuses to admit in order to maintain her “cool” image.
Although Megumin is often described as weirdly smart and the most reasonable of her party members, she is still childish and immature. She is short-tempered, quick to react aggressively to provocation, and willing to use her Explosion Magic on those who upset her. Competitive to a fault, she keeps a notebook tallying her wins and tries to assert dominance over her friends and rivals, even resorting to cheating to ensure victory. These traits led her to be considered “a ruffian” in her school.
Megumin is often treated like a child due to her appearance, a fact she dislikes, particularly when referred to as “child,” “loli,” or “jailbait.” In an attempt to appear more mature, she often acts like a grown woman and tries to flirt with Kazuma, though her understanding of adult behavior is somewhat misguided. She also uses her relationship with Kazuma to look more mature in front of her friends.
Self-conscious about her preadolescent body, Megumin often deflects comments about her figure by claiming that it will develop later, though her poor nutrition and genetics suggest otherwise. She feels jealousy towards her friends’ more developed bodies, sometimes reacting with fits of rage, including slapping their breasts in frustration. Her desire to become a great spellcaster is partly driven by her belief that doing so will lead to a more attractive body.
Having grown up in a poor family, Megumin learned to fend for herself from an early age. She would hunt or steal food, even resorting to eating discarded bread crusts and, at times, cute monsters or insects. She also used underhanded methods to survive, such as stealing Yunyun’s lunches during their duels and blackmailing Kazuma to join his party.
At the start of the series, Megumin was self-centered and cared little for others, focusing only on her sister and using friendship as an excuse to share her burdens. She often acted tsundere, masking her true feelings for those she cared about, including Yunyun and Kazuma, and being harsh with them. However, over time, Megumin learned to be more open and honest about her feelings, eventually expressing affection for her loved ones.
History
Early Life
Megumin was born in the impoverished Crimson Demon Village to Hyoizaburoo and Yuiyui. As a child, she often wandered alone, as her parents were busy trying to sell their wares. With few toys, she resorted to scavenging the village for anything that caught her interest. Even at the tender age of five, Megumin demonstrated a remarkable intellect, far beyond most of the other Crimson Demons. One day, against the warnings of the adults, she ventured into the mysterious Tomb of the Dark God, where she unknowingly tampered with a puzzle that acted as the deity’s seal. The disturbance released a monstrous creature of pure violence, which attacked Megumin. However, she was saved by Wolbach, a powerful mage, who sealed the creature with an Explosion spell. Impressed by Wolbach’s magic, Megumin eagerly requested to learn how to cast Explosion, even though Wolbach cautioned her against the impracticality of such a spell.
Wolbach eventually agreed to teach Megumin the spell, and after several days of training, Megumin’s flair for dramatic incantations and poses resulted in unexpectedly powerful explosions. Despite Wolbach’s advice to learn other useful spells, Megumin was fixated solely on mastering Explosion. Her dedication to the spell was unwavering, even after she became capable of learning other advanced magic. Before Wolbach left, Megumin promised to show her the power of her own Explosion spell someday.
School Days Arc
By the time Megumin turned twelve, she had become highly resourceful, often foraging for food with her younger sister Komekko. Their parents’ extended absences left the girls to fend for themselves, scavenging the forests and rivers for sustenance. One day, after catching crayfish, Megumin met Yunyun, another Crimson Demon girl, whom she mistakenly thought was hungry and gave one of their catches to. That same day, her parents returned from a successful sale, and the family was able to enjoy a feast. Megumin was also presented with a new school uniform for her upcoming enrollment at the Red Prison school, where she hoped to further her magical education.
At school, Megumin was aloof and distant from her classmates until Yunyun, eager to challenge her, declared herself Megumin’s rival. Megumin excelled in magic, topping her class despite a rivalry with Yunyun that often found the two competing for food. Megumin’s meager diet, a result of her family’s poverty, often left her embarrassed about her underdeveloped physique, especially in comparison to the more well-endowed girls in her class. Her lack of physical strength was compounded by her tendency to avoid physical education classes, often using elaborate excuses to skip them.
Megumin’s school days were filled with small, humorous rivalries with her peers, and she frequently found herself in playful competition with Yunyun, with whom she had a complicated friendship. During one memorable incident, Megumin and Yunyun, along with their classmates, spent a day playing in the snow, leading to a series of snowball fights and arguments. Despite their differences, Megumin began to develop a sense of camaraderie with Yunyun and the others.
Adventures and Growth
Throughout her school years, Megumin’s obsession with Explosion Magic only deepened. She often participated in various misadventures with her classmates, including a series of humorous and sometimes dangerous encounters with Bukkororii, a neighboring Crimson Demon, and other villagers. Her interactions with Bukkororii were often antagonistic, though they would occasionally find themselves working together in strange situations. Despite her quirky and somewhat eccentric nature, Megumin’s determination to master Explosion Magic remained her driving force.
One day, after the village was attacked by Demons of the Dark God, Megumin realized that her skills were not enough to protect those she loved. Faced with the possibility of losing her sister Komekko and the threat of dark forces taking over the village, Megumin made a difficult decision. She abandoned her singular focus on Explosion Magic to learn Intermediate Magic in order to help her classmate Yunyun in the fight against the Demons. This marked a significant shift in her development, as Megumin began to understand that sometimes, personal ambition must give way to the needs of others.
In a dramatic confrontation, Megumin faced off against the Dark God’s minions, her Explosion Magic ultimately being the key to saving her sister and the village. Despite the challenges and frustrations she faced, Megumin grew into a powerful mage, learning the importance of teamwork, sacrifice, and the value of the friendships she had forged along the way. Her bond with Yunyun, once a rivalry, evolved into one of mutual respect and understanding, as both girls learned that true power lies not in solitary strength, but in the bonds formed through adversity.
Megumin’s journey from a quirky, self-absorbed child to a brave and skilled mage highlights her evolution as a character, blending humor, heart, and action into her adventures.
Abilities
Like Aqua and Darkness, Megumin suffers from being too specialized. While being a master of arguably the strongest spell in the Detonation Series, Explosion Magic, it has too many demerits. Moreover, she refuses to learn other spells and wastes all her skill points on increasing her raw destructive power, effectively making her a one-time-use glass cannon.
Magical Talent:
Because she is a member of the Crimson Demons, Megumin has high stats in terms of Intellect, being the highest in her party, and Magical Power, being naturally gifted in magical ability and having high mana reserves as a result. Were it not for her desire to focus solely on Explosion Magic, Megumin could even surpass Yunyun as an Arch Wizard, being a prodigy who managed to reformulate the Explosion chanting spell to make it more potent. Although she doesn’t use other magic spells, Megumin is still very talented in other witchcrafts, like magic tools and potion creation.
Explosion Magic:
A special brand of magic in the Detonation Series that allows the user to summon a single beam of light, which detonates at the target, creating a devastating blast of pure magical power. It is the most powerful magic spell, learned by immortal beings like undead and gods, with enough spare skill points to learn it. However, the magic has several demerits: it consumes too much MP, being a single-shot spell (in Megumin’s case, she always collapses after using it, becoming immobile and defenseless); the magic is also so powerful it can affect the surrounding landscape, being dangerous to use in dungeons that can collapse over the user; finally, its noise attracts all the monsters in the surrounding area.
Skills:
Besides magic, Megumin devotes all of her skill points into skills to improve the power of her explosions, instead of using them to increase her MP:
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Explosion Magic Increase: Increases the power of Detonation, Blasting, and Explosion magics.
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High-Speed Incantation: Decreases the time of incantation. Thanks to this skill, Megumin doesn’t need to recite an incantation, although it decreases her Explosion magic firepower. However, by the end of the series, she has already mastered the spell to use its full power without an incantation.
Relationships
Kazuma Satou
Kazuma and Megumin share a long history. She describes him as someone idle when wealthy, yet hardworking when in need of funds, and perverted, yet reliable in emergencies. Their relationship is close, with Megumin being the most emotional member of the party, especially when Kazuma didn’t want to return from the afterlife. She is also highly defensive of him when strangers speak ill of him. Megumin confessed her feelings for Kazuma after the fight against Wolbach, and they became more than friends but less than lovers. Despite keeping it a secret initially, the rest of the group found out after Darkness confessed to Kazuma. Their relationship has progressed, with several close moments, including an offer of intimacy during their second trip to the Crimson Demon Village, and a kiss after Aqua ran away. However, they decided to wait to take their relationship further once everyone was safe.
Aqua
Megumin and Aqua share a good relationship, with Aqua supporting Megumin’s pursuit of Explosion Magic and Megumin not being easily annoyed by Aqua’s antics. When Kazuma stopped accompanying Megumin on her explosive ventures, Aqua secretly joined her, demonstrating their bond. Initially skeptical of Aqua’s identity as a goddess, Megumin came to believe it, though she chose to pretend otherwise.
Darkness
Megumin and Darkness interact normally, without being bothered by Darkness’s masochistic tendencies. While they sometimes clash—particularly when Darkness competes for Kazuma’s affection—they remain friendly. Megumin doesn’t mind Darkness’s antics and tolerates her quirky nature.
Yunyun
Megumin and Yunyun share a competitive relationship, especially after Yunyun declared herself Megumin’s rival. During school, Megumin would tease Yunyun, even stealing her lunch. Despite this, Megumin cares about Yunyun, disliking the way others take advantage of her naivety. Megumin would accept Yunyun as a friend if she ever stopped being her rival.
Yuiyui
Yuiyui, Megumin’s mother, tries to make decisions she believes are best for her daughter. After learning of Kazuma’s wealth, she attempted to create a situation where Megumin would sleep with him, trying to force an engagement. She even used a Sleep spell to prevent interference from Darkness and her husband, keeping Kazuma and Megumin locked in a room together for several nights.
Arue
Arue has been friends with Megumin and Yunyun since their school days, ranking just behind them. She is the one who gifted Megumin her eyepatch, which was an old one of hers that had started to wear out.
Funifura and Dodonko
Megumin holds a grudge against Funifura and Dodonko for manipulating Yunyun to take her money. Though they want to be her friends, Megumin believes them to be troublemakers and doesn’t appreciate their teasing, often countering them when they try to provoke her.
Wolbach
Wolbach was the one who saved Megumin and taught her Explosion Magic. Megumin is deeply grateful, despite the toll the lessons took on her. She became heartbroken when Wolbach seemingly didn’t remember her, and the loss of her mentor left Megumin vulnerable and depressed.
Chomusuke
Though Megumin often refers to Chomusuke as an emergency ration and uses her as bait, she has grown attached to the cat. She is protective of Chomusuke, though she finds the baby dragon traveling with them to Arcanletia cuter.
Cecily
Cecily and the Axis Order helped Megumin in Arcanletia, and Megumin feels indebted to her for their assistance. She continues to interact with and help Cecily, though Cecily persistently harasses and tries to seduce Megumin.
Princess Iris
While Megumin is jealous of how close Iris and Kazuma are, she eventually becomes friends with Iris. They frequently “play together” in their bandit gang, with Iris calling Megumin her “boss.” Megumin tries to protect Iris’s innocence from the world’s harsh realities.
Equipment
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Magic Rod: A staff with a huge curved head, at the center of which a piece of Manatite levitates, used for boosting the power of spells cast, similar to how a magic wand works. Originally fitted with regular blue Manatite when crafted by Funifura’s father before the rod was gifted to Megumin, it was later upgraded with a piece of red high-quality Manatite.
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Light of Reflection Scroll: A scroll that allows the user to employ the Light of Reflection spell. Megumin used it in the fight against Host.
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Sword of Shack the Ripper: A sword belonging to Shack the Ripper, which Megumin wielded to cut up all sorts of nonliving objects with startling effectiveness.
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Highest-Quality Manatites: In the final fight against the Devil King, Kazuma gave Megumin a bag full of pure Manatites, allowing her to use Explosion Magic multiple times at will.
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Demon Ring: A cursed ring that grants the user “Demon Eyes,” but with the price of slowly turning them into a demon. Megumin acquired it from Wiz’s Shop, almost becoming a full demon (with a pair of horns) until Aqua lifted the curse.
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Crimson Eye Lightning: An electric eye beam. It could reflect Yunyun’s Lightning, but it’s too painful for the user.
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Crimson Eye Bind: An eye beam that paralyzes the target.