(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.
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[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.
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[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.
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[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. Another example is Nabe, a girl who gets introduced in the first arc. She's pretty bland at first but as the arc progressed, she turned into a likable tsundere character.
Now time to point out the issue in the Characters section. After the introduction, we don't get to see the rest of the minions that much and we don't get to see most of them fight with Momonga which I would have preferred. In the first arc, it's just Momonga and one or two or three of his minions fighting side by side. In short, the minions should have gotten more screentime.
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[Enjoyment]: (8.5/10)
If you're a gamer just like me then you'd understand why I still enjoyed the series even though the latter half of the plot doesn't seem to know where it's going. The constant use of MMORPG terms and the interesting characters is what made me enjoy this show from the first episode until the final episode.
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[VERDICT]
"Overlord" is not the greatest "player stuck in the game" subgenre anime that I have seen but it's definitely a great anime series to watch. Is it better than SAO? I'll leave that up to you because I don't want to start a war. What I love about the series is that it feels like you're watching a player play a MMORPG game and it really feels like a game with its constant use of MMORPG terms. Overlord should have probably expanded the first arc because after the first arc ended, it felt like the show didn't know what direction to go. I did like the characters of the series, especially Momonga and Albedo and their character interactions.
[OVERALL]: (7.7/10)
Pros:
+Great first arc
+Constant use of MMORPG terms
+The show feels like a game
+Consistent and smooth animation
+Great and interesting characters
+Momonga is OP but his human side is what kept him an interesting character
Cons:
-Poor 2nd arc
-Directionless plot after the 1st arc
-Not enough screentime for most of Momonga's minions
-Mediocre OP and ED theme song(s)
-Inconclusive Ending
