ENGI Becomes the Franchise's Fourth Animation Studio
KonoSuba has never stayed in one production house for long, and Season 4 keeps that streak alive. As detailed in the announcement covered by Japanese anime news site Anime Anime, ENGI takes over animation production for the new season. That makes four studios across the franchise's run: Studio Deen handled seasons 1 and 2, J.C.Staff produced the 2019 film KonoSuba: God's Blessing on This Wonderful World! Legend of Crimson, and Drive animated both the 2023 Megumin prequel spinoff KonoSuba: An Explosion on This Wonderful World! and Season 3 in 2024.
The creative leadership is far more stable than the studio history suggests. Takaomi Kanasaki, who directed the earlier seasons, returns as chief director, with Manabu Kurihara directing. Series composition writer Makoto Uezu and character designer Koichi Kikuta have both been with the anime since Season 1, and sound director Yoshikazu Iwanami and composer Masato Koda complete the announced staff.
The new ultra teaser visual shows all four party members from behind, walking under the tagline "Let's head out on a new adventure."
The Full Party Returns
Based on Natsume Akatsuki's light novels, illustrated by Kurone Mishima and published under Kadokawa's Sneaker Bunko label, KonoSuba follows Kazuma Sato, a shut-in gamer who dies an unglamorous death and gets reincarnated into a fantasy world. He drags the self-absorbed goddess Aqua along as his companion, then builds out his party with Megumin, a mage obsessed with a single explosion spell, and Darkness, a knight whose fantasies run wild. The anime premiered in 2016, got a second season in 2017, and has since expanded into the Legend of Crimson film, appearances in the Isekai Quartet crossover series, the Megumin spinoff, and 2024's Season 3.
Season 4 brings back the voice cast intact: Jun Fukushima as Kazuma, Sora Amamiya as Aqua, Rie Takahashi as Megumin, and Ai Kayano as Darkness. The supporting cast returns too, including Yui Horie as Wiz, Aki Toyosaki as Yunyun, and Masakazu Nishida as Vanir.
A 10th Anniversary PV and an Exhibition Round Out the News
The Season 4 reveal came at the anime's 10th anniversary event on July 26, which also premiered a 10th anniversary promotional video cutting together footage from every series broadcast or released since the TV anime debuted in 2016. The video is now up on the KADOKAWA Anime Channel on YouTube, and it runs on "fantastic dreamer -10th Anniversary Arrange ver.-", a newly rearranged version of Machico's Season 1 opening theme. The rearranged track is already out on digital platforms.
The event also unveiled the key visual for KonoSuba Exhibition Cheerful, a 10th anniversary exhibition. Advance lottery ticket sales are open through August 9 on e+, a Japanese ticketing service.
Looking Ahead
Season 4 is slated for a 2027 broadcast in Japan, with no season window, premiere date, or episode count announced yet. There is also no word on international streaming for the new season. The franchise's track record points in a familiar direction, though: seasons 1 through 3, the Megumin spinoff, and the Legend of Crimson film all currently stream on Crunchyroll.
For readers who want to get ahead of the adaptation, Yen Press publishes Akatsuki's original light novels in English, with the series available through volume 17.