Might I say, just how surprised I am? Like I am legitimately, unimaginably surprised. I've been on an anime Binge recently specifically for shows I had been on hold for a very long time. I did watch the first 2 episodes of Overlord back when it first aired, and I did think it was pretty good, came back, it was still very good. At first, a Solid 8. But then....as I watched on..something...did not sit right...something...was wrong.....by the end of my viewing, I would give this series, a Solid 2. So what happened?
Just about everything I don't like about this series so far comes back to one singular thing. The fact that Ainz is being Evil AND EVIL IS BAD- No No No, I'm kidding. I'm not going down that route like others have. I have no problem if the protagonists are evil. Anyways, its Conflict. I either found every "Conflict" very boring, or very unnecessary and not worth even being a conflict. I found no tension, nothing to really keep me going "Ooooo How is he going to get himself out of this?" Obvious this is due to our casts Overpowered nature. Its clear they are all overpowered so there is no reason to even think that they could possibly lose, let alone even struggle. One of the most frustrating moments I found was in the middle of the season when Ainz and Nabe were up against those uh....whatever the old necromancer guy and the edgelord woman's names were. (Goddamned she was such an Edgelord....) I was not mad at all as Ainz was up against the Edgelord and he just crushed her. That was satisfying. It was Nabe vs. the Old guy that got me going, because for a bit, when she was up against those skeletal dragons, and we actually saw it looked like how she was struggling, for the first moment in the series, I felt tension. I felt ENTERTAINED. Finally a fight that doesn't just end in complete Overpowered Annihilatio- Oh wait nvm she was also holding back the whole time and it was just because Ainz had to give her the command to do so, then BOOP, GUY IS A PILE OF ASH! This outcome just feels....disappointing, much more disappointing than if she had just been using her Overpowered Powers from the Start of the fight. I was speechless.
There was also the conflict at the end of the season, definitely not as bad as the rest of the season by a long-shot. Might be going off topic here but, but might I say how bizarre I find it that they just spoiled Shalltear fighting Ainz in the opening? And I can easily come up with a way so that it wouldn't have spoiled something so crucial, or at least what I thought would be crucial to the series. So we see how Shalltear is wearing this epic armor during this fight, probably wouldn't be able to tell it was her if it weren't for her face just being out in the open there. Cover it up, put a mask or something there. Not only would this have not given away that for whatever reason Shalltear would fight Ainz, but it would have enhanced the lead up to when it looks like Ainz is actually putting some sort of effort into an actual fight. After all leading up to it, Ainz has had to use little to no effort in a fight. But thats all just being nitpicky I guess. I did find Shalltear and Ainz fighting to be interesting, and I was wondering, "Ooo what happens, Shalltear betrays Ainz and the others? They have a falling out? What reason could it possibly be-" Its mind control....ok got it....And even as she is mind controlled Shalltear will still praise Ainz as she tries to kill him. Thats...cool I guess?
Now on the topic of them being too overpowered. I do like my overpowered characters. One Punch Man being a great example, the series itself is about just how broken the Main Character is, I would probably say the same about Overlord, yet I still find that aspect about Overlord being the reason I despise it so much. I think it could be due to One Punch Man's Overpowered aspect being used in a more comedic sense than Overlord. However I have seen people argue that Overlord is actually a Black Comedy, yet I never found any of it entertaining or comedic, even though, I also like my fair share of black comedy.
Ok so maybe its because its an Isekai MMO type of anime? Well, no again, because I also love Isekai, and even if they aren't good, I could usually find something that always entertained me throughout them, whether it be something stupid or.....stupid.
I also find the lack of Character and Motivation incredibly dull. Ainz is the only one who has any motivation I can really decipher. He wants to gather information on the world, and spread his name in order to catch the attention of possible other players who got trapped just like him. Side note I'd like to point out something I found confusing with this motivation in mind, back when he first joined the guild and was discussing their money situation with Nabe, he talked about how they couldn't use the currency they had from the MMO world, because for one its not their world's currency, which is fine, but also it would "Give away that they are from [Insert the Name of the MMO world that I can't spell] to any possible players" I find this strange because, well, I thought thats what he wanted to do, so either I am incredibly mistaken on what he meant, or even Ainz has no clue what his actual motivations are. Does he want to find other players or not? Is he afraid or other players because they might be just if not as strong as him? IDK anymore. Why does he fight Shalltear towards the end even though they could easily defeat her with all of them in sheer numbers and power, seeing how they will revive her either way? Idk can't be to prove himself able to rule them because by default they're characters were literally written by him and his Guild buddies to always be loyal to them. I could be wrong but thats how they all make it seem.
The other characters, mainly Ainz's subordinates, during the beginning, I really did love their characters. Hell I love their designs, I'll give credit where its due. But then I realized something, all they ever do is either a quip or something funny, very rarely of the time which I liked...orrrrr just sucking up to Ainz as usual, 90% of the time. This does make sense, Ainz is their lord/god after all, one of many of their "creators" from the Guild. However, it gets repetitive and annoying at times, seeing them stroke that bone...heh... Anyways I also found it disappointing that not once did I find any of them actually have their characters develop. This could be due because maybe the descriptions their creators gave them are just their entire characters set in stone until the end of time? I hope I'm wrong.
Now I know I'm gonna sound crazy, even insane, but I could legitimately think of reasons why SAO! SWORD ART FUCKING ONLINE, does what I hate about Overlord better. For one, Kirito does struggle, he has had his hard times, and his motivation, pretty obvious and standard, to get out of this game, and later to save his Waifu Pillow, (I call Asuna that because her "Character" is basically the equivalent of being a pillow). And overall, I am entertained by SAO more than Overlord.
Alright thats all I'm going to actually Praise SAO, I'll wash my mouth out with soap later. But just those few things, are done better in SAO than Overlord from what I can tell. It just boggled my mind how much I dislike, no DESPISE Overlord. I don't even think its just because of all the reasons I've given, it just...makes me want to hate it? I have no clue. This has never happened to me with a series before. Not even the series I would go so far as to say a one have made me feel this way, and remember I give Overlord a 2. Maybe my score will change as I reevaluate things if I do, I could see my self giving it a 4 tops. But either way, I just don't like it. Now all that aside, I do plan to watch both Season 2 and 3...I really do. Because I want to like this series, I want to understand it, why people like it, I really do, I have read on countless people's own takes on why they love it, and I have heard things about season 2 and 3, that may counteract any points I gave about this post on Season 1. So heres to hoping my experience with season 2 and 3 in the future, is better than season 1. Even if the series is just not for me and I do not enjoy it at all, well.....whatever.
Theres your two-cents from a guy who apparently not only just didn't like Overlord, but downright despised it and would give SAO a higher score than a 2. I will accept all forms of insults and threats regarding my "bad taste" to the following P.O. Box: [Insert Nonexistent P.O. Box]
Thank you and have a beautiful day.
