Overlord

Obligatory spoiler warning because Overlord is a masterpiece that must be experienced first-hand. So apparently what Sword Art Online needed was for Kirito to be a skeleton wizard and Asuna to be Mahouka's Miyuki. The concept of this series is the same as what most people are already familiar with; A guy is playing a game, and then he's suddenly trapped in it because of some unexplained reason. Overlord does absolutely nothing original aside from having a few aesthetic and irrelevant differences from the rest, and people seem to consider it as a brilliant masterpiece because it apparently managed to appeal to those who wanted to play as the bad guy in a roleplaying forum. The original LN has some pretty nice art and cool character designs. That's about the only good thing about the series as a whole- Everything else, including the writing, ranges from mediocre to genuinely awful. Apparently when Madhouse realized that they were going to be animating One Punch Man, they saw Overlord's amazing budget saving potential- Most notably, zooming in the unmoving skeleton man's face so they don't have to animate anything at all while he's talking. The animation is really subpar, and there's a lot of terrible looking CGI in the show while it's not focusing on Momonga's face. It only truly picks up in quality at the very end of the series, and even then, it doesn't manage to be very impressive. The OST is very forgettable to the point that I might even consider it one of the worst in the shows I've seen- Basically take whatever Yasuharu Takanashi does and make it even more generic than some of his worst works. That about describes it. Visually and aurally, it's definitely below average. But surely despite all that mediocrity, the writing must be amazing. After all, the main character is a skeleton wizard and leads an army of Saturday morning cartoon villains. Despite the series attempting to present the protagonist and his group as evil, the best it does is having them kill completely unlikable characters that barely get more than a minute of screen time. That's some evil right there. Momonga is an incredibly boring character. Aside from providing exposition after exposition through his internal monologues from his experience with the MMO when describing what's happening on the screen, he really does not have much personality. His entire character motivation is to find out about the world he's trapped in, just like the viewers- Basically, it can be summed up that his motivation pretty much does not exist because it simply exists as a parallel to the plot itself. Furthermore, he's very powerful- Apparently overpowered MCs are acceptable as long as they're not designed like teenage boys, which makes it admitedly harder for neckbeards to relate to. But Momonga's degree of power exceeds even that- He's powerful to the point that nearly nothing poses a serious threat to him. This is a problem in storytelling because no conflict is ever relevant- Momonga's powerful enough to just solve it easily without any effort. One could say that it was the writer's intent to make Momonga seem powerful and impressive, but it doesn't even do that correctly. Power is relative, so when Momonga just one-shots random fodders that spend more time boasting about themselves than actually showing what they're capable of, it's not impressive in the slightest. A key example of this happens in the fourth episode, where the bad guy summons what is supposedly a super-powerful monster, and when Momonga kills it, it's supposed to look impressive. But the audience doesn't know what this monster was even capable of, outside of the bad guy boasting about its supposed strength, so it just feels completely flat. While he makes all these unnecessary convoluted plans about how he would spread his name around the world to catch the attention of those who might have been trapped in the world like him, he essentially just solves all his problems through his raw power. His problems are more self-imposed than anything due to his tendency to be incredibly paranoid due to his fear of something that “might” be more powerful than him. And to make it worse, he just outright contradicts himself near the end of the show by risking his life in an unnecessary one-on-one combat due to his ego. Brilliant. And to make it more brilliant, there really was no reason for the MMO backdrop at all- It's a completely unnecessary addition. The series could have worked just as well with Momonga being a genuine evil skeleton lich in a genuine fantasy world instead of “some guy trapped in a MMO world that became REAL.” All this does, essentially, is to give an excuse for some parts of poor storytelling to exist, such as exposition dumps from Momonga based on his experience with the MMO, and floor guardians being completely, unquestionably loyal to him for no reason. The series never references back to the real world, so it might as well not exist- And since the audience has no idea about the said MMO, it only emphasizes the point about this just being a pointless hook, and a justification for awful storytelling that relies on the backwards idea of “Tell, don't show.” All the floor guardians and Momonga's lackies are uninteresting and flat- They have some interesting designs, especially the maids, but all their personality is about as interesting as a rock. First few episodes make it clear that they absolutely adore Momonga, and they spend their entire screen time thinking and/or talking about how great Momonga is. One of the worst examples is Albedo, who spends every moment of her screen time doing just all that. She never does anything outside of praising Momonga, whether he's in the same scene as her or not- Comparing this to Mahouka, she's basically this series' equivalent of Miyuki if Miyuki did absolutely nothing outside of praising Tatsuya, which makes Albedo far, far more annoying. Remember how people absolutely despised Miyuki because she wouldn't shut up about her onii-sama? There's an exact same character here, if arguably worse, but Albedo gets a free pass because her target of affection looks like a skeleton wizard and has a fanservice design. There's also nothing interesting about floor guardians' interaction with one another, as all they talk about is how great Momonga is and how they should do their job and serve him. I guess the assumption the author made was that his target audience was so stupid that they needed to be reminded of the obvious every scene, every line. Another awful aspect of this series is the pacing- It's always painfully slow. A lot of people seem to defend slow pacing by claiming that it's character development, but there's no development. I'm not sure where people got the idea that character interaction equate to character development, but I guess just listening to pointless filler dialogue gives some people a false impression that something must be going on even though nothing is really going on. This is especially noticeable in the episodes where Momonga teams up with a lower class group of adventurers to complete a quest- The show spends several episodes attempting to develop this group of nobodies by giving them cardboard personalities, but in the end it's completely pointless. They're not likable because they haven't really done anything, their interaction with Momonga is pretty bland, and the series makes it clear that they're not important to begin with. And surprise, it turns out they were completely irrelevant. Amazing character development for characters that never mattered with pointless, drawn-out character interaction that did nothing for everyone in the cast. If all that wasn't enough, the series doesn't even tie itself up properly- The last part of the show involves one of Momonga's minions, who is just as powerful as he is, suddenly being brainwashed through the power of plot convenience because the author thought an actually threatening conflict was needed around …

Overlord is the kind of anime you begin watching with some reservations. "A popular MMORPG game traps its players inside and the players now have to play the game where the consequences are quite real". Sounds familiar? Well, that's exactly what happens in Overlord, however, the advantage with me is that I haven't seen shows like Sword Art Online, so while the plot was known to me the inherent flaws and stereotypes were not. The show quickly sets itself apart from its contemporaries by giving us a protagonist who plays the role of an antagonist and loves it. After a brief period of confusion, the ease with which Ainz/Momon takes charge of his servants and powers is refreshing to see. Every move he makes defines his character as a person who is a veteran of MMORPG games. And while he uses his tactics as he would in a game, he knows the consequences of his actions and accepts them without hesitation. The Art and Music of the show compliment each other brilliantly, and the characters are a good mix of perverse, lovable and obedient. If you've ever had a dream of ruling your own world, then this show will make an excellent guide.

Anime adaptation revolving around RPG and MMORPG themed worlds can usually be a hit or miss. As a fan of MMORPG games in real life, there should be expectations with the world fiction such as the monsters, mechanics, story, setting, and overall execution. Where does that put Overlord? A bit overboard? Underwhelming? It’s not really like that but Overlord is the type of show that can be hard to judge. The series is based on a light novel that originated from a Japanese web novel. The original source has about 9 volumes although the adaptation by Madhouse studio consists of only a single cour. (13 episodes) That usually sets off a red flag with the story pacing. And it isn’t wrong either as the first two or so episodes carries a weak weight on itself. Taking place in the online world of Yggdrasil, we meet Momonga, a salary-man who apparently tried to log out at the very last minute. Things go a bit wary and he gets stuck in-game as an online avatar in the form of a ‘skeletal lich’. It also just happens so that the avatar is also a very powerful wizard. What’s more is that the NPC around him also exhibit their own personalities as if they are alive and have minds of their own. Essentially, the story marks its territory at the Tomb of Nazarick. The first two episodes establishes Momonga (or going by his in-game name Ainz Ooal Gown) as someone with immense powers. Now, I have a problem with overrated characters and Ainz is no exception to this. The show demonstrates his invulnerability to poison along with elite fighting skills, weapon set, and even an intellectual mind as the story progresses. However, the series also takes a few different turns. Monomga still display his human traits as he interacts with the NPCs he encounters. Apparently, they serve him like he is their God so it takes time for him to adapt. Momonga’s personality also becomes suppressed and he displays cunning behavior throughout the show. However, I would not say that he is an arrogant character as he is quite loyal, honest, and respects his servants. As the story progresses, there is a lack of feeling he develops towards death. (Given the irony that he himself is a skeleton, a personification of death) The show can be taken to light from different perspectives. From the perspective of a light novel reader and adaptation, it’s easy to say that the series focuses quite a bit on Momonga. Almost every episode highlights his role, personality, or overall character. The relationship building and associations he establishes with other characters are also played out in a variety of ways. This can be seen with the seductive Albedo who is utterly in love with him. Even among the Floor Guardians of Momonga’s guild, she is one of the most loyal and obsessive towards Momonga. It doesn’t help that the show also introduces rivals such as Shalltear who shows sexual tendencies. The show’s initial impressions sets off this red flag as it almost makes fun of itself. It also introduces other characters that each get a little bit of his or her screen time such as the Mare and Aura twins, butler Sebas, Cocytus, and intelligent demon Demiurge. In relation to Momonga, they all seemingly show an undying love and respect for him; just expressed definitely from one way or another. As a bit of character driven story, this is really a miss as the characters are unappealing from first impressions. Only Momonga can be legitimately interesting as we want to find out his potential as a guild master and person in real life. It makes us wonder what he is capable of with his new role and how these new changes can apply to his character. The remainder course of the show opens up realms of possibilities. Like most MMORPG worlds, Yggdrasil seems to be resourceful with landscapes, guilds, and monsters. The story mechanics of the series is explained such as weaponry, skills, and monsters that exhibit its world. It’s nothing original when compared to some other MMORPG style shows. In the past, series such as Sword Art Online and Log Horizon also has fantasy game mechanics; albeit in different fashion. For Overlord, it slowly does this while unraveling the main course of the story. There’s also some common monsters you’ll usually find in fantasy worlds such as goblins, undead beings, and even angels. What makes Overlord stands out a little bit more is that the show is more than just about conquering and survival. I think the key word is the title itself, “Overlord”. This is because Momonga/Ainz is actually trying to take over the world as the new ruler. So in a way, he wants to be an overlord despite his lack of inexperience. This is clearly shown throughout the show with his intentions. As both a character and story driven series, it will definitely takes patience and adapting to get used to the show. I actually recommend re-watching some scenes to get a better understanding of the series’ intentions at few cases. Examples such as Momonga’s lack of remorse towards death, Albedo’s distasteful view on humans, and other ideals makes the show appealing. It makes the NPCs feel real. In addition, the game mechanics such as spells, weaponry, magical items, and potion making really brings out its fantasy realm to life. There’s some good amount of action as well although fairly predictable with Momonga’s newfound skills. In addition, the story also makes it clear that he isn’t the only character that matters. Others he encounters and associates with such as the Sword of Darkness and his own battle maids get their additional spotlight too. The story also introduces antagonists with their own independent malevolent intentions. It shouldn’t take too long for viewers to realize that Overlord isn’t just Momonga’s personal show. But for all its creativity, the series suffers much from the over emphasis of Momonga. It focuses far too much on his character while adding the ridiculousness of his servants’ love for him. The first two episodes will likely be a make or break for most viewers as the feeling of an MMORPG game feels isolated. There’s also die-hard comedy with character rivalries, expressions, and overall tone of their generalization. I will say the show has a diverse cast of the characters though. And given the set up for the world, it introduces plenty of important ones to bring the best of Momonga. However, be very aware of the pacing of this story. The first half really tests the patience of the viewers despite foreshadowing some future events and making small promises of improvement. While it’s doing all of this, the comedy is also a hit or miss with its controversially timed scenarios. And lastly, it seems like the adaptation itself is more of a tease for viewers to “read the novels”. Madhouse puts their work into this show’s animation style. Taking place in such a fantasy world, the colors are focused on the characters rather than the background. Characters are diverse and decorated distinctively that makes them look unique. Momonga/Ainz is obviously the one that stands out the most with his skeletal avatar. When on the road, he takes the form of a dark warrior encased in an armor that makes him look like a badass hero. And that’s really an underrated word. Among Momonga’s followers, the term ‘badass’ can be applied to several characters with their designs such as Albedo, Shelltear, and the battle maid Nabe. There’s also the monsters introduced that is classic to most MMORPG worlds. Human characters are created to look human and most of them gives the impressions of themselves as adventurers. As a fantasy adventure, the show is also no stranger to action and violence. In essence, the action is decent in terms of fantasy standards. It’s the type of stuff you’ll see often in MMORPG related games. On the other hand, the violence creates a grimmer tone. There’s no censorship with the blood and even gore-like scenes during battle sequences. Fan service also exists with Albedo’s role in the story. But what really brings …

[NO SPOILER REVIEW] Let me start this review by stating the reason I started watching Overlord; it had an 8.14 on MAL. I figured it must be pretty damn good, considering it was the second highest rated new anime of the Summer 2015 season. Wow was I wrong to assume that. Story: 3 - Poor So this anime starts off with a really generic crappy MMO story, nothing amazing about it, nothing that hooks the viewer. However, you can't always judge an anime by its first few episodes. Gurren Lagann had a pretty slow beginning; as did Rokka no Yuusha and numerous other shows, so it's nothing to be ashamed about. About 4 episodes in, I found myself thinking, "Oh Boy, I bet something cool's gonna happen and this show is gonna become amazing to overcome it's lackluster start!". But the story just never hooked me. Ever. Was there a story? It's been 10 minutes since I finished watching and already I'm beginning to wonder if there was any semblance of plot in that giant pile of garbage. But you know what? Story isn't everything. K-On!, WataMote, Gintama, all lack a straightforward and cohesive story, yet they are some of my favorite animes of all-time. Art: 1 - Pathetic So in terms of artistic design, it's probably the worst anime I've ever seen. I am taking into account that it's 2015, and this anime looks like a garbage-tier animation product from 2001. Seriously the original Yu-Gi-Oh looks nicer than this. The CGI is actually great 100% of the time, 10% of the time. So I guess it has that going for it, which is nice. Sound: 3 - Poor Was there an OST? I can't recall. I know the Opening was pretty good, and the Ending was so bad that I skipped it half the time. So all in all, sound is one of this anime's better aspects, because it makes itself scarce. Character: 4 - Decent I feel like if I had read the manga, the characters might have been okay. But I didn't. I watched this anime. You know how there are a plethora of extremely generic anime male leads with the same look and personality? Brown short-medium hair, with a plain looking face, and a very bland personality, with no real character at all? Well this anime tries to cover up its extremely generic male lead by putting him in this "cool" looking MMO Undead Lich skin. But it doesn't work. He's still generic. He's still uninteresting. The side characters all have okay aesthetic designs (besides Shalltear, who is just stupid amounts of cliche), but we don't get to know any of them on a personal level, so the design is mostly wasted. If you are interested in the really bad acting that pornstars do in the beginning of their videos (like pretending to be a pizza guy, a mailman, a nurse, an innocent virgin schoolgirl) then you will be pleased to know that 2 of the 3 "main" female side characters emulate this form of acting every time they're on the screen. Unfortunately, this kind of thing is not quite my cup of tea, so I'm only adding 5 points to this category's rating for it. In terms of character development, there is none. I'm trying incredibly hard to think of one example where a character is different from how they were when they were introduced; but there is no example. I'm reaching for stars that don't exist. Enjoyment: 2 - Dreadful I think watching this anime was the first time I seriously considered gouging my own eyeballs out. I might need some sort of third party confirmation on this; but was this show supposed to be funny? I felt like it was missing a laugh track. I didn't smile a single time during the course of the show, but I feel like it might have attempted to be funny a few times during each episode. Again if somebody could PM me to confirm my suspicions that'd be great; because I honestly couldn't tell. Overall: 3 - Poor I have years of MMO experience. I regularly watch shows of the same genre. I am a straight male. I am this show's target demographic. I feel like my words have to carry some amount of weight here. And so this is my final verdict: This show is a work of "Art"; if you consider "Art" smearing your own feces all over a wall and then furiously licking it up whilst listening to the the Barney Theme Song on loop for 5 to 6 hours.

The concept of this anime is familiar to most of you. A player gets stuck into video game (e.g. SAO, Log Horizon) where he/she is trying to find a way out. The very simple difference between Overlord and other doppelgängers is the approach. In overlord you get like the antagonistic (the main villain) kind of feeling. The second difference is that MC is already capable of doing almost anything and is clearly out of every single ones league. The way the story forwards is cool in its own way. The idea is probably nothing fresh or new but quite enjoyable. Story: 8 With Madhouse Studios as the producer you can't complain about the art. Fight scenes & character designs are especially cool! What comes to the music, I didn't myself see it as the best (excluding the OP and ED) Art: 10 Sound: 8 The character design was absolutely brilliant. The MC is seen as a firm leader while inside he is just your typical gamer. Every other character was either prefectly fit into story or was otherwise funny Overall I enjoyed this anime throughout every episode always leaving me thrilled to see the next one. With a big cliffhanger left in the end I eagerly wait for possibly the next season? Character: 10 Enjoyment: 10 Overall: 10

Otaku power fantasy #doesitreallymatter - overlord Overlord is the anime that was adapted from a LN which is adapted from a WN (web novel), and frankly it suffers from almost all of the problem of a WN or LN power fantasy. So your enjoyment lies entirely on whether you are the type to like a PF or the type that hates it. And I hate PF from the bottom of my heart, so this review would mostly focus on how bad a PF is. A bit of background first, Japanese WN adapted LN usually have the problem of being a power fantasy, famous (or infamous) examples include SAO (though Kawahara said he would fix some of it) and Mahouka (which the author would throw a tantrum like a 5 year old every time someone says something remotely bad about his work). This trend originate from the harshness of Japanese society, due to the strict system and poor economy, so people wish to escape from the suppressive feeling of their daily life. Understandable, but it makes for poor entertainment for the rest of the globe who watch their works. Story - 3 First good point, the premise, a man becomes a skeleton overlord ruling over a lair of evil servants and try to take over the world. Man that premise seems so refreshing in a sea of mediocre works, it would be dark, exciting, awesome and etc. And then you get trolled... The premise is not a complete lie, but it is a lot boring than you imagined it to be. First thing that should tip you off this is a very bad PF is the fact none of the enemy poses a remote threat to Ainz and his OP servants, that right, NONE! It took the author, 4 to 5 books to introduce a character that can maybe beat one of his servants if his servant doesn't wear any armor and only throw super weak spells while this character suit up in full gear and unleashe her full might. (Man I wonder who will win....) This is the beginning, later on we would get entire arcs just so at the end of it all we could, suck Ainz's non-existent penis and see how "awesome" he is (or his servants is, but they are all his yes-man so it's the same) This is like watching fully armed soldiers killing kindergarten students and telling you to cheer since it is an awesome fight. And it is as boring as it goes. It is conflict and competition that make a story, and since Ainz don't have a rival I guess there is no story. Character - 3 Meet Ainz and his group of yes-man that have little in life beyond kissing his ass. There is the pretty vampire (who is totally into him), the succubus (who is totally into him), the dragon butler, the demon butler, the cute mascot twin night elves, the big bug thing, a group of maids, and a bunch of other minions who are not important enough to get a lot of screen time. And all of them are loyal to the core (with little other purpose in life), which fixes the problem of possible betrayal that every other dark lord need to face. Yep life is sweet for Ainz beyond the fact he doesn't have a penis. Ainz for all of his amazing Powers and other things, is a beta pussy harem protagonist with the new "how to be a emotionless robot" input that came from Tatsuya and the MC of AZ (the egg guy). Two wrong doesn't make a right, and beyond his appearance, Ainz have little separating him from the pool of mediocre MCs. The guardians of the floor and by extension all the other servants serve only as his yes-man, with little personality beyond that. Every time they show some individuality, it goes "nope I should be a slave, fuck personality, lol". Ainz is this thing that is completely blocking their development, which is a shame, cause they would make much more entertaining MC than he would. And before you ask, NO, quirks are not personality, they are quirky, but still 2 or 1-dimensional. The other characters serve as jobbers and ants to die or gaze in awe at Ainz, with little influence on the plot if any at all. Art, sound- 9, 7 Don't really care but it is madhouse, so good job for them. Overall - 3 I did a review for the novel as well, and I hold my view from back then, it is a decent PF, I just hate PF and think it is cancer of novels. It's like a blowjob, empty pleasure, and that is all it ever will be.

(This has been adapted from my blog/reddit thread. Spoilers ahead!) Hanging out in the front of Ironforge. Karazhan runs. The snowy hills of Northrend. World of Warcraft is not just a game, it is its own, complete world. Beasts to slay, treasure to find, and quests to complete. Dailies for gold. Instances for gear. Fishing for fun. There is so much to do that it more or less became my second life for a sizeable chunk of my teenage years. After going to school, chatting with friends, and taking care of what needed to be done in the real world, I would hop onto the computer and become someone that was not technically me but might as well have been. That sounds bonkers, but it is the truth. The amount of time, the resources, and the effort I sunk into that game were enough to make my avatar a natural extension of myself. Of course, I did not don armor, I did not ride an undead horse, and I did not have a gray beard, but I shaped my character into the kind of person I saw myself to be. I was always big on questing. I loved going to the different countries like Stranglethorn Vale and Tanaris, searching high and low for those distinctive yellow exclamation marks above Hemet Nesingwary or the Goblins of the desert. I will never forget, for as long as I live, how I was one of the earliest players (within the first year or so) to earn the “Insane in the Membrane” achievement before it was nerfed. The requirements were being near or at “Exalted” reputation for some of the most obscure factions. Ones like Darkmoon Faire, which needed thousands of gold and cards, and Ravenholdt, which needed me to make a brand new “Rogue” class character specifically tooled to steal over 2000 junkboxes from enemies. Getting the “Feat of Strength” took months, but it was worth it. The tedious work earned me a sweet new title of “the Insane” next to my character’s name. But that was not what ultimately made the game worthwhile. What made World of Warcraft worthwhile were the people around me. The guild I was a part of, my brother going with me to get some levels, and the various friends I made throughout my time in the Eastern Kingdoms is something that I will always hold dear. The game is way too addictive and way too much of a time-sink. And the game was not always smiles. But the memories I have of the game and the people I played alongside are and will only ever be positive. Overlord gets at the same notion, how the past, while no longer with us, never truly leaves. However, unlike my time in World of Warcraft, Overlord is not all positivity. STORY Unfortunately for Overlord, its narrative is somewhat sloppy in its execution. Plot lines are unresolved, entire areas are ignored, and its overall purpose is lacking. Often relying on the same trope – that Ainz Ooal Gown is impossibly strong – the show stops itself from doing much of anything else, severely hampering the experience. The anime has essentially three arcs: the opening arc, the undead arc, and the Shalltear arc. The beginning arc is mostly setup. Characters are introduced, parts of the world are explained, and Ainz Ooal Gown’s absolutely overpowered self is made known. Nothing wrong exists at this point since the anime is simply gearing itself for the rest of the season. The problems start with the second arc. First, the anime moves away from the literal home base of Nazarick. This would be fine but the show introduces and works with another new character (Nabel) rather than using the already-established and yet-to-be used rest of the cast like Albedo, Cocytus, and Demiurge. Second, the anime then continues to introduce more people, like a bunch of random adventurers and the protector of the forest, that further detract from what the anime provided earlier. Third, and worse still, these adventurers are killed and the protector of the forest is hardly referenced again, meaning their inclusion means little in the grand scheme of things. Fourth and furthermore, simple tactics like explaining more of the world – how the magic works, the various factions, and so on – and not fully showing specific moments – the assassin attacking the adventurers, what happened immediately after saving the alchemist’s grandson, and so on – create holes in the narrative that stop the narrative from staying afloat. The point of this arc is to extend Ainz Ooal Gown’s reputation further, in order to attract attention and gain fame. But because the following, final arc does not build off of what happened in the second arc, the plot comes off as directionless. Having this problem already occur between the first and the second, and then having it occur again between the second and the third, disjoints the narrative, thereby ruining the tale Overlord is telling. This third arc, featuring Shalltear’s “betrayal,” does not stop Overlord’s downward trend. Disregarding the shift from spreading reputation to saving Shalltear, the plot introduces another new character (that is used only once), the background forces-at-work are very briefly alluded to (while still making next to no sense), and the outcome effectively returned everything to how it was before the debacle (meaning it was a diversion that minimally affected the narrative). All the while, the rest of the cast is still underutilized, the world is still unmapped, and the previous plot points – like the original general he helped and the need for more reputation – are forgotten. The cause for these dilemmas: Ainz Ooal Gown. More specifically, it is his elite status that causes the narrative to tumble over itself. Interestingly, the point of the show is the overpowered-ness. Watching him wreck a group’s trump card with just his finger. Seeing him literally hug a woman until her insides explode. Witnessing him going through legendary weapon after legendary weapon. The anime always has to showcase him in his ridiculously unfair state but doing so takes away from the rest of the anime. He is super-strong, so the rest of the cast is unneeded and thus is not shown. He is super-smart, so going into detail about the world and the magic is pointless for him. He is super-awesome, so diverting attention to other plot lines that do not involve his esteemed abilities would ruin the magic. Paradoxically, the anime’s biggest strength is also its biggest weakness. Weakness continues in Overlord’s shoddy attempt at creating a theme. Throughout the season, there are distinct moments of reminiscing. Ainz Ooal Gown has recollections of the past, he feels longing when trekking with the random group of adventurers, and near the end he clearly wishes for his old comrades to still be with him now. The show is trying to get at the notion that nothing lasts forever. Life eventually moves forward, people come and go, no matter how much one wants it otherwise. The problem, though, is that he is still there, he is still lasting. He is performing the same role – leader of a guild – as he has always done. In essence, he wants the old days back. But when so little is given about his past escapades let alone his past comrades, this theme, of cherishing what once was yet looking forward at what is to come, loses value. A potential argument in favor of this theme is that foregoing the past is difficult. It is not easy letting go when those days gone by were so memorable. However the anime never makes this type of thinking clear. For example, there is a what-should-be tender moment where his lackeys invite him to berate Shalltear, the purpose being to get him standing and moving forward. But the reversal of authority in that scene – where his followers, especially Albedo, “help” him – is too contrasting with the entire rest of the season’s “Ainz Ooal Gown is the greatest” motif. Another example is his reaction to the death of the random adventurers. Initially he is more annoyed than caring since they were tools to further his reputation. But his offhand comment calling himself a “hypocrite” makes it confusing since for…

Thoroughly enjoyed this series and long for a season 2. Series took me back to the old D&D days plus refreshed the excitement that series like SOA brought to us. It was great taking a ride with a bad ass that looked the part and had the skills and smarts one hopes for in a main character. Great Story line with allot of action and never dragged. Great Good- Bad guy with all the signs of an evil overlord that takes you off guard with the fact that he may be the most honorable and just overlord Yggdrasil could hope for.Highly recommend!

What do you get with Overlord? A good, enjoyable anime which is one of the seasons best (not really hard this time) also if you long for some good ol' overpowered main character fighting - this show is for you. The story centers around a guy (do we know his name?) who is the last remaining player (?) in the online game YGGDRASIL. His alter ego is Momonga, later Ainz Ooal Gown, a powerful undead Necromancer and also the guildmaster of the successful guild Great Tomb of Nazarick. The other members have already left the game long ago, but left him with their belongings and also the personal created NPCs, which serve as guardians of the Tomb (guild hall). Like other people already wrote the story takes some time to get going, probably even another season, nevertheless is interesting. It starts like this: On the day the game is supposed to shut down, Momonga can't log off - he is trapped (how original). Now everything centers around managing the guild and helping NPCs while finding out why he's trapped and if there are others like him. Personally i think the characters are the shows weakest point owed to the 13-episode size. We have the player, the vampire gothic loli Shalltear (who the fuck designed her vampire form?!) and the submassiv loving demon girl Albedo - the rest isn't worth mentioning in fact apart from the battle maid Narberal you won't see much of them. Character development ? Nope. The show ends with this typical "pressed content preview", you know that one were they lay the rootes for a 2nd season without promising anything. If it doesn't get one i probably wouldn't watch it again - let's hope it sells well

The most captivating 'stuck in a game' story I've seen so far, and I've seen quite a few. I simply can't find anything to fault in this anime. It's hard to believe they could keep such a breakneck pace through the whole series without it feeling rushed either. Pure bliss from the opening to the end of every episode (and what a great opening it is, by the way). The protagonist finds himself in a new world - and a new, undead body. He brings with himself his sensibilities from his own life, but finds he no longer actually feels the moral compulsions of his previous human self, making his character an interesting mix of ruthless and mindful. There's a strong focus on exploring a new and hostile world, and finding the differences between the world's "systems" and what the protagonist is used to. On the other hand, he doesn't start off weak and have to level/power up to, but instead arrives as a supreme being defying the laws of the world. That's a unique angle I don't remember seeing before in this kind of series. The only thing that'll improve this series is a second season.

I'm about to upset some folks, but this anime is low effort trash. From the opening scene, this anime felt like something written by an untalented self-published writer who watched too much SAO. The dialogue is heavy-handed and clumsy, the central character is extremely overpowered and invincible, the overt haram theme is out of place, the characters are severely underdeveloped and one-dimensional, and every problem which arises is summarily dealt away with a heavy application of plot armor. The animation leaves a lot to be desired, with computer generated content jarringly out of place. I suppose I could see a preteen enjoying this anime, although the sexual themes and gore put it squarely out of the appropriate realm for that audience. I do not understand how this received more than a single season, but here we are. 🤷🏼‍♂️ I forced myself through all 4 seasons, hoping to find out why this show it so highly rated, but my search was fruitless. Overlord is the sort of anime you put on for background noise or because you're profoundly bored, IMHO.

Even uttering the words "MMO anime" triggers a lot of violent and ambivalent thoughts among the community in 2015. After a slew of shows of dubious merit based on playing a video game, or being trapped inside of it- it's understandable that the community is a bit gunshy on the concept. Rest assured though, that anime with the Madhouse tag on it are in good hands, as it's more often than not a high quality and faithful production. Overlord is not your nouveau Sword Art Online. Overlord is not your No Game No Life, and it's most certainly not .Hack://Sign. Artwork and Animation: 8 Again, Madhouse produced anime are almost always synonymous with quality. Great consistency in character detail and motions, and some very pretty 3D spellcasting that looks a lot like it was pulled from Death Parade. The character designs are great, their movements fluid, and even a 3D CGI dragon can't put this one down in the dirt! Sound and Voice Acting: 7 Satoshi Hino, despite all of the roles I haven't seen him in, really kills the Momonga/Ainz character. A dual commanding and menacing, and 'normal' inner monologue voice sells the real live and in-game versions of Momonga well. He's backed up by a plethora of talent in Yumi Hara as Albedo, Sumire Uesaka portraying Shalltear, and Manami Numakura as the cold Narberal. On a musical note: typical fantasy game stylings, with a healthy mix of EDM, especially the groovy ending song. Nothing to complain about. Characters: 8 Momonga/Ainz is our main, in the real world a no life salaryman, but ingame, a maxed out, god-class skeletal mage with powers noobs can only dream of. A fearsome combatant in any arena, guild leader, and general badass, he's seen and done everything that the MMO Yggdrasil has to offer. Apprehensive about his new surroundings and the unknown dangers it may hold, Ainz takes a cautious approach to this new scape and acts logically when presented with dangers: buffing the crap out of himself and out thinking the goons after him. But he's not above trolling them a little. He's rather catlike- playing with his food before he eats it. Next up is the fan favorite Albedo: the NPC turned sentient, slavishly devoted guardian of Ainz. As the boss of the other NPCs of the guild castle "Nazarick", Albedo holds considerable sway over the other characters, including Ainz- partly because of her obsequious treatment of her unrequited lover (due to a mix-up in her NPC coding caused by Old Gregg). She's fiercely protective of him, and thinks any attention paid to him by a female character other than herself is a dire insult to her affections- to which she will fight to the death to protect. Secondly, we have the ice queen Pleiades Battle Maid Narberal. She serves as Ainz's escort while adventuring, and absolutely despises humans, seen by the undead who populate Nazarick as less than contemptible slime. Kind of like Zubat. Humans are a lot like Zubat to the denizens of Nazarick. Rounding out our important ladies is Shalltear Bloodfallen, an extremely pretentiously named pint sized vampress. As childish as her body indicates, Shalltear also has an inexplicable crush on Ainz's lifeless bony body, and is even more bloodthirsty than Albedo. She also happens to be the most capable fighter in the castle, and the most dangerous. Overlord does have quite a few characters introduced at the beginning, though it's quickly apparent which ones will actually matter throughout the course of the show. Most of them are either common fantasy monsters, strange fantasies of players, and other "lol, MMO" types. Story: 7 The story is broken up into several distinct arcs- the first among them introducing the character of Momonga/Ainz and his place in the new world, after being transported in from Yggdrasil. It starts on a small scope and scale, and gradually gets more complex and larger as Ainz gains new knowledge about the world, and his influence spreads throughout. As it progresses, what we see through Ainz's eyes thickens alongside the plot. This show isn't about trying to escape from a death game, or even about playing a game really. A rose by any other name would smell as sweet, and this is true for Overlord. If one was not directly told that Momonga was an MMO player and a near constant usage of gaming terms spewing forth from his lifeless lips, this would come off as just a fantasy series- which works in its favor. The "gameplay" is not important, as the story takes the forefront. After probably three episodes, I wasn't even thinking about a player playing the game, but rather what kind of adventures that this character would get into, and thankfully that's what Overlord delivered. There are quite a few laughs in here, some serious moments, and some well choreographed fights, all with that delicious Madhouse taste. Props to the original material though, for being engaging enough in humor, action, and story to keep it interesting. Enjoyment: 8 I liked that instead of lording his way around from day one that Ainz was rightfully cautious about exploring and testing his magic, compatriots, and abilities in the new world. He played as a real person would- instead of rushing into unknown circumstances and possible game ending death, he sits back and tests things on a small scale, questions others about how the world works, what's effective, and what's not, and then chooses to strategically act upon said information gathering. Unlike many Gary Stu style protagonists who start from nothing and work their way up without tension, we know from the very beginning that Ainz is a maxed out character with untold powers. The tension comes not from Ainz's lack of ability or fear for his life, but instead ignorance of the world at large, and treachery from his own ranks - beings that were, in Yggdrasil, powerful enough to bring down even max ranked players like himself. Overall: 8 My pick for anime of the season. This was by far the least disappointing show, and definitely exceeded expectations and proved me wrong of being "Madhouse's SAO". Recommend? If you like a gamer-feel for an anime without stupid plot contrivances and utter failures in writing as in other shows of the MMO persuasion, this is worth a try. As a pure power fantasy series, it's excellent.

To sum up this terrible anime its like playing world of Warcraft as horde undead just upset over little pvp in game your playing then getting friends being op player joining that world as only player than murdering real people to advance he plans but thing is he has none its never explains why as human with thoughts feelings his undead character avatar why he thinks ok killing thousands yet cant deal with gross monster girls coming onto him seems its to try and add fan service and laughs yet doesn't at all with everything else going on. The first season he seem to have goal searching for his friends but that plot drops off a cliff as following seasons its not even mentioned just more OP MC winning everything nothing going wrong side/support characters basically just cheering squad never achieving or growing as MC does everything all the time his choices always work out 100% nothing backfires he never grows no one questions his choices or puts up any kind of fight nothing can hurt him. Honestly fans of this show rave about be its from bad guy point view as if new thing in anime which isn't when asked them to plot or why he way he they cant explain as its never covered its just some nerd shut in murdering people who had nothing to do with a game he played because has power to as if that's what normal humans do. ( I mean if backstory was a nazi died in WW2 reincarnated maybe it make sense ) The ark isn't that bad until you start seeing horrible CGI effects they add just cheapens the whole thing. Spend whole time wanting MC to die so boring op Side characters are more endearing but air time is short and never really get to grow Support character are worthless cheer squad/fan service The whole show is pointless just seem to going for constant shock value rather story driven everything happens to lead into setup for MC win in quick and easy gruesome way just constant filler episodes that add nothing journey/plot just like what was build up for?

How does this happen? How can a series with so much potential just roll over and die, failing to achieve even the basic level of its premise? Welcome to Overlord, the master at poor writing, completely soulless characters , gratuitous CG and lacking sound. Where does Overlord fail? Does it have any redeeming qualities? Let's find out! Story: Overlord sells itself as a story about a evil mastermind trying to cement his legacy. The lead character, Momonga, is a computer-gamer turned trapped dictator who wants to "learn" about the world around him and how its different from the game he used to know. The story is made up of small little arcs that have little to do with each other and feel more like side quests than anything. However, unlike other episodic series, Overlord shows you none of the culture of the world, none of its vivacity, and instead gives you a tour of a hollow, pre-made shell of a fantasy world. Along the way, viewers get complementary exposition dumps, random game terms and long strings of dialogue that succeed at only taking up precious air-time, all free of charge! There is no meaningful conclusion, no real progress in the story. Furthermore, due to the sheer difference of power between Momonga's team and their foes, there isn't even any tension in the battle scenes. They (Momonga's band and their foes) just whip magic/skills at each other until one side gives up in the face of the undead might of Momonga's team. What the show does succeed at (barely) is portraying a feeling a loneliness within Momonga. Being trapped in a game all by one's self should be a harrowing experience and the very few moments I believe Overlord got it right was when I saw the cracks in Momonga's ice-cold exterior and saw the human underneath...of course, the show never does anything meaningful with that and that possible character development is just conveniently forgotten. Art: CG has always had a bad rap when it comes to anime and Overlord is a prime example of CG done...well, decently. The CG skeleton guards and dragons were not actually that bad, but the CG soldiers, on the other hand, are jarring against the drawn landscapes, which, by the way, don't show much variety. Iconic set pieces are extinct in the world of Overlord. Prepare for forests, forests and more forests. Oh wait, you like graveyards? We got you covered! How about castles? Castles IN your Graveyards? Graveyards IN your Castles? Whew. So many choices! But seriously, the only aesthetically good part of the series are the character designs for Albedo and Momonga. Everything else is...well, empty. The animation is sub-par to downright ugly at times, even. Sound: OP? Unremarkable. ED? Meh. BGM? What BGM? I literally took no notice of it. I actually tried to listen for it a few times near the end, but between all the dialogue, it got kind of drowned out. The voice acting was okay, but with subs, that shouldn't be a problem in the first place. The only character who I thought had an exceptional VA was Clementine, a minor villain. Character: There is a massive cast although the majority of Momonga's grunts hardly get screen time for the important bits. Oh, you get Albedo. Tons of Albedo. Her and her obsession with the big bony MC himself...and that's all you really get from her. Oh, and everyone on his team hates humans. Why? Because they were made that way. Not exactly a compelling reason, is it? What do you really know about Nabe? Cocytous? Shaltear? Probably not much more other than their first, generic impressions, huh? Behind the clunky, forced interactions of the various characters, unexplained backstories and other holes is one of the most empty cast of characters you'll ever see in an anime. You know they're loyal? And? What are their roles? What do they do? Some of them are on screen enough that one would think they'd development some how, but nope. It's like they're on a loop. "I love you, Momonga-sama!" "I hate humans!" "Momonga-sama is so powerful!" Seriously? Is that ALL they can say? They can't even pull of their generic roles with finesse. The filler girls from SAO had more characterization than that. Enjoyment: Looking back, other than for a decent first episode, it's hard to recommend this series to anyone. The characters are completely hollow, the story is an clustered mess of generic spirit, the art and sound are barely decent and the premise itself does not come to fruition. Inferno Cop was one thing, but Jesus Christ, how did this show even get the green light for production? That's about 6 hours of my life I will never get back. I cannot, in good confidence, give this anime anything higher than a 3/10. It is a borderline failure as both an original work and even as a clone of SAO, which looks like ambrosia compared to this seething pile of sewage. Thank goodness it at least looks and sounds passable or I'd give it a 2. All I can say is this: If you're looking for an evil mastermind, look no further than the staff behind this show. They're out to waste precious minutes of your life, one pathetic episode at time.

I don't understand how the premise of this story would sound interesting to anyone: OP lvl999 guy gets SAO'd into a new land and then decides to role-play as a rookie adventurer, during which time he beats up weaklings for marginal benefit when there are thousands of better decisions he could make to reach his goals. This whole anime is like watching an NBA player play semi-seriously against kindergartners. There are no interesting characters, the plot is slow and pointless, the storytelling is all over the place, the art design of characters is ugly and ridiculous, it's chock full of terrible CGI and bad animation, an endless stream of stupid attack names that seem like they were chosen by letting a 3rd grader pick out "cool" words from a hat. All of his followers are flat cult follower boot-lickers who treat his middling IQ plans as genius. The action consists solely of face-slapping character we don't know with no emotional or plot build-up to make it enjoyable. This is not how to write an OP protagonist story. The only good part of this is that him becoming skeleton guy robs him of an appetite for ecchi, even if there are pointless sexual asides from his follower harem anyway. Imagine all the worst qualities of isekai and OP protagonist stories and this one has them all.

Overlord is just okay I feel like people over praise Overlord because its similar to SAO with traits of overpowered MC gets stuck in game but different because it doesnt focus on romance then introduce harem or have almost rape or almost incest but honestly if you look at it independently Overlord isnt that amazing. People just over exaggerate because of all the bad things it manages to avoid doing You have this guy who allegedly gets stuck in an MMORPG and has no way to get back to the real world so he gathers information about his new world and (for some reason) tries to find if anyone else is stuck in the game also. Art: Fair The art was fair, it was not amazing or bad. there was a few fight scenes here and there and they were animated decently. They also use CG in a few scenes but it actually looked okay Sound: I honestly dont remember much of it and i just finished watching it. I skipped most of the opening and ending but i do remember that the opening was kind of good but in the end skippable because it was just okay Character: Poor Throughout the 13 episodes of season 1 (plus the first 2 episodes of season 2) we never find out much about this Momonga who is allegedly stuck in the game, and they never show the real world for contrast or show any reason or desire for him to go back to it. On top of that he is surrounded by NPCs come to life and they have no backstory or relateable motivations. they were programmed to love and worship the MC and that is what they do Basically its like these are the characters and these are their traits. I felt no attachment to them. Infact if some of them died it would not be a big deal and I think even Momonga wouldnt mind They are just tools for the story and they are just tools he uses Overall the characters are not that memorable as characters. you can remember Albedo who was kinda erotic and remember the demon in a suit coz he looked cool but it would be the same if you just saw a poster of them Story: Fair The story was kind of interesting as like many stuck in game stories are. First 2 episodes were kind of just introducing the characters and alleged premise so they are really boring. i actually dropped it for a long time after the uninteresting first 2... but dont stop watching there because things start moving in episode 3 I really feel like overlord would make a great game but as an anime it was lacking something. (i dont want to say passion, emotion or mystery because those sound cliche) Enjoyment: Good Overlord is actually really enjoyable like the equivalent of watching someone play a video game Overral: Fair Overlord season 1 feels like a simple prologue and it has the capacity to grow into something nice (or maybe its just an advertisement to go buy the light novel) season 1 is not bad but its not great either. I definitely recommend people to watch it if they have free time or really want a stuck in game anime

I'm gonna be totally honest here and put it all on the table right now before I start this review: this show was basically garbage. I do not, and probably will not ever understand the hype and critical success that this anime got. I can't even give it points for creativity since it's basically just a ripoff of SAO with a few minor changes to effectively dodge copyright. But if I'm honest, even SAO had less annoying and redundant characters than the disaster that was Overlord, and a plot that made even a smidgen more sense. I'm a huge fan of Madhouse and everything that it does, but this show was legitimately hard to watch from even episode 1, with a dull and poorly-paced story, pathetic and bland characters, and a protagonist that made me wonder how this author thought he was a good idea to place in the reins of narration. Story: 3 Let's start off with a bang, rating the story at 3. It revolves around Momonga, the fictitious and other-worldly persona of our protagonist, who we scarcely are ever reminded of throughout the plot of this trainwreck. Momonga is caught inside of a game he played with some friends after it is unfortunately shut down. That is really the only explanation we get as to why he is stuck in the game, and even that makes no sense whatsoever. So right off the bat we have a huge plot hole that leaves a lot to be desired, but hey, not very many shows can accomplish it all. Momonga longs to get out of the game and return to the real world, so he decides that if there are any other people like him left in the game, maybe getting his name out there will help them find a solution. He gets caught in a lot of side-quests along the way, which is pretty realistic to how MMORPGs can be sometimes, admittedly. But some time between episode 1 and episode 13, something goes horribly wrong. The story takes no real direction and gets no real antagonist or major plot arc. Any villain is easily outsmarted and out-strengthened by Momonga and his posse, making all the major battles feel so flat it's like they were just there to blow some time. We're introduced to villains that look like they could be strong and foreboding, but they never get any actual time to show their stuff before they're blown to pieces, so we never know exactly how strong Momonga or the villains are. A lot of people compared this show to One Punch Man on the basis that they had very similar premises and plots. And this is true, but the difference of quality in the two shows is extremely noticeable, just by they way they are executed. OPM never takes itself too seriously, and our overpowered protagonist is actually bored with the power that he has. His goal is to find a real challenge, and when one potentially comes in its last major arc, it turns out he was just sympathizing with his enemy and really could punch him into the sun at any given time. In addition, Saitama just looks goofy, so the show is meant to immediately come across as almost parodic. This makes the emotional or awesome moments just that much more impressive. OPM's central conflict revolves around the fact that nobody notices the amazing stuff that Saitama does, which is jarringly different from the way everybody just kisses Momonga's ass the entire show. In contrast, Overlord takes itself far too seriously, considering Momonga suffers the exact same symptoms as OPM's Saitama. However, Momonga continually serves as internal exposition, and leaves little to the actual plot or other characters, or even the viewer's own intuition. Momonga doesn't give us time to think or breathe before he's doing something new (and usually extremely effective), and it makes you wonder how this guy was ever just a normal dude. He possesses crazy strategic advantages over his enemies, which is strange even for an avid RPG player. I could get into all the little plot holes and issues that this show presented, but a lot of my issue lies within other areas as well, and saying everything here could cause potential spoilers. In addition to everything stated above wrong with the plot, Overlord uses the fact that it's an RPG as a scapegoat for a lot of the shit it pulls. If it weren't for a few details of the show and its exposition, it would be easy to forget that it's all a game. That is, without Momonga reminding the viewer of it in his head every 5 goddamn minutes. It uses its game-based setting to excuse its shitty background character designs, lazy character writing, and overall poor story structure throughout the entire show. Art: 9 Not gonna lie, Madhouse (very briefly) delivered a lot of beautiful visuals with Overlord. The character designs are all so unique and diverse, and the animation was pretty good for the first few episodes. The quality significantly drops over the course of the show, but it keeps its interesting color schemes and awesome designs all throughout. The background characters are all pretty boring-looking and flat, but I'll leave that to the fact that it is an RPG and most NPCs are just copy-pastes of all the other ones. Sound: 4 The OST for this show was pretty much dreadful, with a lot of jarring music that just did not fit the scenes and atmosphere I'm sure it intended. Besides that, the voice acting was overall pretty flat as well, while the OP and ED were good to a certain extent. The OP was extremely generic, full of bad CG skeletons and blocky transitions. In its defense, the song was pretty damn catchy. The ED was also horribly simplistic, with just a lot of blinding, creepy shots of Albedo (arguably the most annoying female character in anime) and, while the song in the ED was also pretty catchy, it just didn't fit the tone of the rest of the show, nor Albedo as a character. I'm sure they intended for her to be creepy and edgy, but everything she did in the end just turned out embarrassing and comically obnoxious. I was either facepalming or laughing at the stupidity of her writing. Overall, the only thing that brought this OST up from a 1 to a 4 was the fact that the OP and ED were catchy. Character: 1 I would give this a 0 if I could. Easily some of the worst-written characters in anime came from Overlord. I could say so much, but let's start with the protagonist, Momonga. Momonga is the flattest, least dynamic MC I have seen in any anime. And, yes, I did watch SAO. Kirito was better somehow. Momonga just seemed to know EVERYTHING and was able to do EVERYTHING and he was idolized to the point that it made me sick and bored as hell to keep watching. He left no room for competition or a proper fight, and for a guy that's supposed to be evil, he really only kills the bad guys or characters that are just so unlikeable you don't care if they kill him or if he kills them. His moral compass is all over the place, as he only seems to keep the peaceful NPCs around for information or for spreading his name. I get it, he wants to go home and these NPCs can help him. But he's also supposed to be a human, so you'd think he'd show a little more compassion or anger or SOMETHING besides just what you'd expect any fantasy overlord to be. He holds no value as a protagonist, or as a character in general that we want to follow for 13 episodes. He is basically any generic game-based, light novel adaptation anime protagonist except now he's a ~~skeleton~~ ooh. His posse consists of a bunch of people that are absolutely crazy for him. That's it. That's the extent of their characters. They are just so horribly hard to watch, and you'd think that they'd eventually gain their own personalities as time goes on and become more dynamic as they go on. Nah. Instead, we just get some weird brainwashing (for REASONS that are not explained) that is supposed to turn them into antagonists for Momonga to defeat and have remorse over fighting, but instead they still fall over their feet worshiping him. Albedo is the worst of it, as she is literally programmed to be horribly in love with him. She gets in his way and never listens to hi…

I wrote this review after watching the episode 13 and also finished reading all the volumes of overlord that had been released so far, which is till volume 9. So I have at least quite an understanding of the story so far. But I would not put any spoilers in the review and just general info that people can see from the anime's synopsis description or at most first episode. But before I write my review, there is this one glaring point of the anime's story setting that a lot of people seemed to be confused about lately that I have to point out. Many people tend to be confused that the main character has been stuck in the game world he is playing in but the truth is that it is Experimented and Proven many times that he is instead Transported into a new fantasy Reality world where Yggdrasil players either don't exist or uncommon to the point of being called legends that only exist hundred of years ago. The only thing he is "stuck" in is his skeleton game body when he was transported from his game virtual world to another fantasy reality world. Also another thing, he is not a kid or a teenager, but instead is a blue collar salesman. So after clearing that up, let's start my review of the anime. I advise people to rate my review fairly with open mindedness and after proper understanding of the anime and not base on personal reasons, rashness or eccentric personal bias which seems to be quite common lately... Story: 9 The anime's story followed the novel's story tightly so far, skipping only the unnecessary dialogues. Some people who lacked the attention span, patience or the interest in the story and wanted more actions and excitements immediately may find this anime's start to be boring. But people who actually wanted to enjoy the story's world and development would find that this anime's story is quite interesting, attention to details and descriptive with points of the story from different perspective. Many people who started reading and enjoyed the novel are there for the literature story in the first place. Sadly, the anime can't be too descriptive about the story But the producers did not sacrifice it to lower the story's quality, just to satisfy certain viewers. Which is a plus for an anime with good story and action. Some people may find it slow at times due the story development but the anime managed to at least squeezed in all the important plot points in the anime without skipping it, which might have otherwise caused confusions to the viewers if some info points was lacking and skipped just to make the anime faster. Which Madhouse actually learnt their lesson after being bashed by people about their rushed production on Mahou Sensou and Mahouka Koukou no Rettousei. Also, a lot of the minor details in the anime's story was left out so it may not be as detailed as the novel. But, since the anime was made to advertise the novel in the first place, therefore if the people want more details about it, they have to read it from the novel. If the anime is just as detailed as the novel, that will defeat the purpose of making it in the first place. Art: 8 The art quality is very good, though as many people had said before that the novel's art may have been better but this is something left for people's personal taste and interests... But speaking it in general, the art is very detailed, beautiful and did not get ruined by censors for now, it may follow similar art styles to the manga at times. But all in all, it is something that is well done. Also, there won't be too much awkward fan service either given that the main protagonist is an undead skeleton. Sound/Music: 8 The opening song is epic, the background musics were fitting for many situations in the anime, especially the action scene musics that fits and adds to the mood and atmosphere greatly. The only thing I wished more of, was for producers to make better use of the ending credit song instead of focusing the good song on just Albedo... Character: 9 One of the main protagonist that you will never expect to see in anime till now. A skeleton as a main character with a blue collar working salesman's mentality behind it. The person is very logical, emotionless but interestingly funny at times, who does the most realistic and logical reactions and actions people should expect if they are transported into another world. Keeping up his act as an overlord outside but whining and shouting inside about tiring things and situations. He also never consider his powers to be overpowered since the his skills are known in games and always think that there is someone such as players stronger than him out there. The introductions of the many other side characters were also very unique and interesting too. They all have their own detailed designs, personalities, settings and developments. Sadly the only thing lacking in this anime and even the novel, is a strong enemy character that the main characters have to face and overcome... But it is actually fine, since story wise, the story is actually still interesting and mainly draws the viewers to be more interested on how the process the MC used took over the places or even the world, the perspective and reactions of different people in the story which you normally won't see in other stories at times, and also main point of the story that is expected of how the strong overlord crush the enemy in the end after the intended development for it along with the expectations and despair which all together makes it something even more interesting and refreshing to see too, just like picking the fruits after it is ripe for the taking. Also it seems there are people rating down the series due to the mc not having an usable underpart? Well, he can actually do it if he wants to and afterall, it's also better for the mc to think logically than thinking using his lower body like some other pervert mcs which are annoying. Besides, it seems pointless for some people to even point this out to talk down a good series. Enjoyment: 10 Well the anime may not be a master piece for some people. But the story's novel is a master piece literature that is the most descriptive, well developed, highly rated and one of the higher quality light novel out there that is highly encouraged by many people to read it to understand their world even more. That is the novel's purpose, as there are many people who enjoyed the novel are there for the literature story in the first place, so it is something that people would be expecting from the anime too but the anime would Not be as detailed to put some points in one episode. Just saying it. But here's the point, the anime is popular not because it is a master piece but because there are many other reasons for it. Firstly, unlike the typical hero fantasy animes that are a dime of dozen out there already with almost Similar and Familiar stories and settings. Of course an anime from a villain's perspective would perk people's interest than the typical power from friendship troupes, where you always would expect a certain people to survive in the end or just simply no one dying at all. With many things that are being quite common these days, this actually make this anime more unique and stands out. Secondly, in this world where pretty much everything was cliche, a different, darker virtual gaming world to another world story is actually more new and interesting to people comparing to the typical virtual game or reality to fantasy animes that are quite common out there like no game no life, log horizon, SAO, problem children, etc with similar familiar overlapping fantasy settings or even other different typical animes with a shiny hero or a dense innocent kind mcs, instead a setting different from the typical familiar ones would be fresher one to see. Thirdly, It is one of the animes that do not fill the screen with censors which is very unpopular these days and certainly some parts of the anime's story and action may be rated to be more…

There isn't anything new here. That doesn't mean it isn't the most enjoyable anime of the 2015 Summer Season though. If you're into main characters that kick ass and take names, then this is the show for you. If you're sick of watching NTRs and all that jazz, check out this anime. If you like fantasy, otaku-pandering, and tons of fun in a virtual world that rocks the boat, then you'll love Overlord. Where SAO had uninspiring character designs, Overlord has a cast that is actually memorable and dynamic. Where Log Horizon struggles with pacing, Overlord keeps you on the edge of your seat. Where NGNL was too mainstream for your hipster-weeb-ways, Overlord is here. This isn't deep. This is fun. The story is simple and hilarious. It ignores the real world and sticks to the new one, all the while taking you on a ride that is anything but boring. Art is regular. Sound is regular. Characters are above average and make for an enjoyable harem of henchmen. The Enjoyment. That's why you watch Overlord. It is full of action scenes mixed with light hearted comedy. Anyone with desires of grand power or ambition will enjoy this! You don't watch it for deep political soliloquy or some kind of wonderful plot that leaves you questioning your life's meaning. You watch this because it's fun. Now stop reading reviews and have some fun.

Ever since the huge popularity of Sword Art Online, more and more studios are trying to create a "player stuck in the game" VRMMORPG anime that could garner the same amount of popularity as SAO. Except none have even come close to reaching that amount of fanbase. Now, Madhouse is also stepping in the game with "Overlord" (No pun intended). (There will be SPOILERS in my review) [Story]: (7/10) (SPOILERS) While Momonga, the protagonist of the series, was spending his last few seconds in "Yggdrasil", which was about to quietly shut down, unknowingly got trapped inside the game. The world around him changed and the NPC's (Non-playable characters) began to talk and feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man then strives to take over the new world the game has become. I've been a gamer ever since I was a kid so when I became an anime fan, I was always and still am on the constant lookout for anime shows tagged with a "game" genre. Now, I have found another anime with a premise that's pretty close to SAO and Log Horizon. Is it a good series though? For the most part, yes but I do have several issues with the show and I'll talk about those issues later. The story is really not that complicated. The popular online game "Yggdrasil" is going to end its services and if you're an online gamer, you would know how it feels to have your favourite online game shut its server down. Anyways, the server shuts down and Momonga is still somehow in the game. He later finds out that he's trapped, the world around him felt like a reality and the NPCs began to talk. I was surprised at the latter as much as he is. So what story did "Overlord" offer after being introduced to the world, the characters and etc? Basically, he now wants to conquer the world but he's not doing it like an evil person. He's an overpowered guy and he's actually using his OP skills and magic to help others. The first arc is, to put it simply, spread Ainz Ooal Gowns' reputation. He uses his ridiculously OP skills and magic to save a village, help the adventurers, and etc. The second and final arc is Shalltear's, one of Ainz Ooal Gowns' minions, "betrayal". They honestly should have expanded the first arc into 12 episodes. It felt way too short and left some plot points unexplained. The 2nd arc felt like it went nowhere and it just wanted to show how strong and somewhat strategically smart Ainz Ooal Gowns is by having one of his minions "betray" him. One of the issues that the show has is the direction they're trying to go. Like I said above, the 2nd arc felt like it went nowhere. Isn't the purpose of the show is to spread Ainz Ooal Gowns' reputation? That's what happened in the first arc and that's the whole reason why I love the first arc but in the second arc, it just abandoned that idea and the plot just switched directions. If the show had 24/25 episodes or if it's going to have a second season then I'll forgive the 2nd arc but for now, I won't. After the 2nd arc, it was mentioned that they are still going to conquer the world. That's why I said I'm willing to forgive the 2nd arc if the second season were to occur and were to have the same direction as the 1st arc. Speaking of second season, another issue that I had with the show is its inconclusive ending. Ainz Ooal Gowns conquering the world didn't really happen in this show. We just saw the process of how exactly he's going to do it. What I liked about Overlord is its use of MMORPG elements and I also love how the show feels like your watching a player play a video game and at the same time, having that fantasy world feeling. Like how this is not a game anymore. They use MMORPG terms like skills, abilities, and magic and they even determine how strong a magic is by tier system. The tier system is basically the same as magics that you can upgrade by leveling up or by doing side quests, like Fire (Lv. 1), Fira (Lv. 2), Firaga (Lv. 3) and etc. They really hit the spot by showing one of the Lord's name which is Lord "Touch Me". The Lords here are basically players but the minions (NPCs) call them Lord. Not only is it hilarious but it's also pretty accurate. There's always that one guy in an online gaming world who's going to name his/her character with a ridiculous name like "Touch Me". I'm actually surprised that Momonga didn't even laugh or even giggle when one of the minions mentioned the Lord's name. I laughed at that scene. There's also the comedy which I LOVE, by the way. The comedy mostly comes from Albedo. For example, Albedo getting jealous when Shallter gets all clingy towards Momonga or when she was messing around with a Momonga body pillow. Those are just a couple of examples and she's just hilarious. ______________________________________________________________ [Art/Animation]: (8.5/10) Madhouse doesn't really have the best animation in the industry and Overlord is a prime example of that. The character designs are pretty decent and the background looks good but not the greatest. However, I did love the show's smooth and consistent animation. I loved watching the fight scenes because of how smooth it is and there's that one particular scene which felt great to watch. If only I could post a gif image here. ______________________________________________________________ [Sound]: (6/10) The soundtrack that used throughout the show was pretty great. However, I completely abhore the OP and ED theme songs. This is actually the first time I hated both OP and ED theme songs. Now, the OP and ED theme song(s) The OP theme song is "Clattanoia" by O×T (Masayoshi Oishi × Tom-H@ck) and the ED theme song is "L.L.L." by MYTH&ROID. Like I said above, I hated both the OP and ED theme songs. The OP theme song was annoying, especially the part where he goes "Yeeeeeehhh eeeee yeeeee!!". The ED theme song's use of Engrish is annoying and the song didn't fit my taste at all. I'm just not a fan of rock genre so that should explain why I hate the OP and ED theme songs. ______________________________________________________________ [Characters]: (8/10) This is one of those shows where the characters are way more entertaining than the story itself. This is the reason why I rated the series with a score of 8 instead of a 7. Granted, if the first arc was expanded then the characters and the story would have been the reason why I rated this show with an 8...or maybe 9. Anyways... The first character that we have is the main protagoist Momonga or "Ains Ooal Gowns". A player that somehow got stuck and is now in a fantasy world. He's a skeletal being and due to the amount of time he invested in the game, he's now the most powerful being in this fantasy world. You could say that's he's a level 1000 fighting other beings that are probably lv. 100. It's even shown that even the enemies' most powerful magic can barely scratch Momonga's armour. In other words, he's an extremely OverPowered character. I know what you're going to say. "Oh god, another Kirito". Ehh, I don't think so. The anime started with Momonga already being powerful. It wasn't like SAO where Kirito was Level 1 then a couple of episodes, he's suddenly Lv. 75 with god-like "Jesus-kun" powers and a deus-ex machina. Momonga's human side is what kept him interesting throughout the show. Then there's Albedo, Momonga's yandere minion. Before Momonga switched her personality, she's supposed to be a bitchy slut but now, she's an obsessive yandere. I wonder how she would have turn out if she was a slut. I don't even want to know because Albedo's yandere personality is absolutely amazing and this is coming from a guy who hates yandere girls. She's just so sex-obsessed and because of that, I find her interesting and pretty funny Then there's the rest of the side characters. Most of them are just as interesting as the main characters. For example, Shalltear is also in-love with Momonga and seeing Albedo and Shalltear fight over Momonga is just hilarious…