Overlord II

Ainz Ooal Gown, the undead sorcerer formerly known as Momonga, has accepted his place in this new world. Though it bears similarities to his beloved virtual reality game Yggdrasil, it still holds many mysteries which he intends to uncover, by utilizing his power as ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. However, ever since the disastrous brainwashing of one of his subordinates, Ainz has become wary of the impending dangers of the Slane Theocracy, as well as the possible existence of other former Yggdrasil players. Meanwhile, Albedo, Demiurge and the rest of Ainz's loyal guardians set out to prepare for the next step in their campaign: Nazarick's first war…

Overlord II picks up immediately after its prequel, continuing the story of Ainz Ooal Gown, his eclectic army of human-hating guardians, and the many hapless humans affected by the Overlord's arrival.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Momonga Main

Hino, Satoshi Japanese

Albedo Supporting

Hara, Yumi Japanese

Bloodfallen, Shalltear Supporting

Uesaka, Sumire Japanese

Gamma, Narberal Supporting

Numakura, Manami Japanese

Demiurge Supporting

Katou, Masayuki Japanese

Sebas Tian Supporting

Chiba, Shigeru Japanese

Zeta, Entoma Vasilissa Supporting

Shindou, Kei Japanese

Beta, Lupusregina Supporting

Komatsu, Mikako Japanese

Evileye Supporting

Hanamori, Yumiri Japanese

CZ2128 Delta Supporting

Seto, Asami Japanese

Cook, Justin Producer

Kikushima, Kazufumi Producer

Isogai, Noritomo Producer

Fukao, Satoshi Producer

Reviews

Jul 1, 2024

Momnga_Ainz

Recommended

This is not a full review, but rather explanation why I feel Overlord stands above the standard.

Something are good because they are good, and somethings are good because they are something that others are not. For me, Overlord is good not because I feel it objectively shines above all other in terms of story and characters (though I feel they are certainly above average), but because it scratches a very specific craving I've developed over the years with excessive anime consumption.

To put it short, I've had my fill of holy savior protagonists, the messiahs, the good boys, the infallible morally just protagonists. I am also ... sick to death of the edgelords that talk all dark and edgy, yet also never do no actual harm to anyone who isn't literally so evil they eat babies for breakfast. Also I am sick of settings that make antagonists facing these protagonists so reprehensible that killing them is a just act and their assets spoils of war for the side of justice. In short, black and white morality in all aspects.

What I wanted, was either a pragmatist or a hedonist who, upon given powers far greater than those around them, would act as I would assume most people would act if they had the chance: self-servingly. Source: History of the humankind.

Overlord is not perfect, but it scratched that itch of mine that has been growing for years now. Here we finally have a protagonist that does not act as would be morally good, but as how he will reap the greatest rewards. And the world around him does not conveniently make all of his opponents so cartoonishly evil that him killing them and taking all they have defaults to just actions.

Reviewer’s Rating: 10

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Apr 11, 2023

Banana-Pudding

Mixed Feelings

This is my 2nd time trying to complete season 2 of Overlord. Make no mistake, season 1 is absolutely amazing and a must watch, so when season 2 came out some while back- I was really hype. I think I dropped it by episode 3 or 4. Buuuutttt now with 4 seasons under it's belt, I figure I'd give it another go. And yeah- it was alright.

To sum fairly quick, this season follows Ains Ooal Gown and his ragtag group of gang as they try to take over the land. Except, it's not- this season focuses on world building, and world building it does. Like......a ... loooooooonnggg time. Too long. And too boring. They dedicated 3 whole episodes on Lizardmans when honestly- very few really cares. Listen- world buidling is important and necessary yes, but we're here to see Ains Ooal Gown and his gang, not two lizards flirting. Or a bunch of humans who are irrelevant to the plot take up 15 minutes of screen time every episode. Truth is- I just don't care and couldn't wait for those parts to be over. If your audience is feeling that way- well that's kind of a failure.

Okay with that said- when the show DOES get down to business, it was very good. The climax of the show is supposed to be a twist to the audience, even though it's kind of obvious. Still- very solid plot to end season 2. You get to see more layers of secondary characters like Sebas and Demiurge. Sadly, I think that was it for Nazarick's group. I would've loved to see more Momon, Albedo, or Shalltear, but eh- I'm sure that'll be coming in the future. The show does introduce some interesting human character- actually just 2. The princess will surprised some (love her twist), and Evileye is adorable.

How about the interactions? Sadly, quite mundane, at least for the most part. All very standard and no one jumps out. Except for Demiurge, who is freaking awesome. Oh, and Evileye is also pretty good. I like her snappy and truthful nature. She's about the only human I hope lives through Nazarick's take over.

So to sum up, season 2 is a big mess, but still enjoyable in some parts. If you're a hardcore Overlod fan, I recommend it. If season 1 was just "good" to you, then I woudl pass. Regardless, after this onto season 3 I go (which I hear is really amazing).

Reviewer’s Rating: 7

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Dec 22, 2022

RebelPanda

Not Recommended

I have never understood why Overlord receives so much praise.

It is practically a generic isekai light novel adaptation, but with older characters, giving it the illusion of maturity. Overlord is not mature, it's not remotely well written, its visuals don't even look good. The character designs look cool, and all but that isn't enough to carry a boatload of mediocrity. Both this season and the first were at best disposable entertainment, like any other isekai light novel adaptation. What's the appeal of it? Is it that Momonga is a ridiculously overpowered self-insert protagonist and his legion of ladies all want him?

Momonga is a typical isekai ... protagonist. An overpowered character doesn't become good just by not being a teenage boy. Skeleton or kid, there is no difference. Skeletons are cool and all. I like them as much as the next guy, but he's not a very interesting character beyond his intimidating design. He is entirely devoid of substance, only existing to continue the story. Even his character art fails at conveying the intimidation. The light novel's designs look amazing—but this adaptation's art lacks detail. His skeleton face remains unanimated in conversations; his voice is undeniably booming, the actor puts on a fantastic show, but there's no impact.

Momonga being a villain changes almost nothing. Everyone still loves him anyway, and he acts like the generic 'nice guy' harem protagonist. He's always speaking in his friendly guy voice in his head to remind us, he's not actually a real villain. It's lovely how nice of a guy he is really–wait, stop right there... If the villain protagonist isn't even a villain, then this show is literally just the same as anything else… Like the meek voice hiding behind the intimidating demonic skeleton exterior, Overlord masquerades as something far better and more original than it actually is. The philosophy of: "How can I self-insert if my main character isn't a good guy?" breaks any potential this show had to become something original.

It's funny how Overlord shamelessly admits that its female characters are coded to love Momonga, but that doesn't make it better writing. A story's world should ebb and flow without the audience needing to be there. Here it feels like a pandering fest; the characters bend over backward to praise Mr. Skeletor, he wins nearly every fight, and there is no substance.

This new season of Overlord isn't all harem bullshit; it tries a few new things… and fails at all of them. For some reason, whenever the story follows any character other than Momonga, it becomes insufferably dull. We got classic stories to be loved for ages, like the tribe of lizard idiots who inevitably get taken over by Momonga, the compelling backstory for Momonga's butler (aka Plank of Wood), some random knight guy, and a princess with a dark secret! Remember how Overlord's first season had somewhat slow pacing at times? This is 10 times worse! Entire episodes are dedicated to characters that we don't have a reason to care about. We're forced to watch them fighting in their stupid battles and their boring melodrama, and all of it barely connected to the characters introduced in the first season. In the end, the stories come together, but does the moderately entertaining end justify the tiresome means? Not at all.

It's rare for anime to put me to sleep, but Overlord's first three (lizard-focused) episodes truly tested my fortitude. The only plausible reason for the story breaking off from Ainz to follow the lizard people is to keep his harem junk from becoming too repetitive. The thing is, Overlord will be redundant no matter what crap they shove down our throats during the filler episodes. Isekai anime are so oversaturated that only making more of the same isn't enough these days. I've seen so many of these isekai power fantasies—perhaps Overlord was more original when the light novel first began publication, but today it's trite, overdone, a waste of time.

At least the few episodes Momonga gets are slightly more entertaining than the filler ones. He and the people around him have eye-catching character designs, wacky personalities, and enjoyably overdone voice acting. There's almost no substance to any of them, but at least they're fun to watch in small doses. The thing is, this new season is barely about the actually exciting characters. The only one in Momonga's legion who gets a backstory is his butler (the blandest of them all). He has an even intimidating personality but none of the charisma necessary to hold up entire episodes independently. There was a small amount of development seen for a few members of the enormous cast, but it's for the boring ones that no one is watching the show for. An occasional twist in a character's personality following a surprising betrayal may offer some fleeting intrigue, but you will quickly realize that all those twists exist. To momentarily add a fresh coat of paint to a cast of rotting cardboard cutouts.

Momga's episodes were at least better than those about random bland side characters, especially during the last three episodes of this season. We see all-out violence using nonsensical magic to create exciting gorefests and lots of angry expressions. It's still never what I'd call good, but it's passable entertainment. Momonga's storylines do tend to get repetitive quickly. An issue arises among his legion or in the world; he is literally the most powerful being in the universe and kills shit, then gives us a comment on it in his 'nice guy' voice, rinse and repeat. The only reprieve from the mind-numbing formula is the final few episodes, full of gory action, plot twists, and even betrayals that actually had me surprised. Although I struggled to care about the turns the plot took or the characters who took radical changes, it provided a fresh perspective on the tired story, even if for a moment. Sadly, the action-packed moments weren't much better than what we've seen before from Overlord, plagued with issues caused by a rushed production.

The action scenes are lackluster at best. Madhouse is airing three anime just this season alone, so it would be unreasonable to expect flawless quality, but this is just flat out the same mediocre visuals as the first season. Action scenes rely on zoom in on still shots, unanimated motion tweens, and jarring CGI. Environments are dreadfully ugly to look at; dull colors, low res repeated textures, a lack of detail, and defining traits. It all feels so lifeless and flat. It's the kind of show I would have forgotten entirely if I wasn't reviewing it.

The soundtrack is equally mediocre, totally forgettable. The bog-standard sort of booming orchestral music fades into the background. The opening was ok; a generic rock song. The ending track "Hydra" was wonderfully wispy with haunting vocals. It was the best part of the show, the only reason why I was hesitant to drop it all season.

Anything separating Overlord from the hordes of low effort isekai adaptations we see every season is only superficial; neither the audiovisual nor writing are above average. The main character being a 'villain' is just a cheap facade, the setting is lifeless, and even the cool designs are diminished by lackluster visuals. Overlord is overrated. It's just more of the same boring isekai drivel.

Reviewer’s Rating: 3

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