My grading criteria: Story: /25 Art: /10 Music: /10 Characters: /20 Enjoyment /15 Thematic Execution /20
STORY: 11.2/25
The story isn’t by any means messy, it’s just that I struggled to care about the plot this season. In the previous seasons, we saw a whole lot more emphasis on side characters and their developments, which was great. From the Lizardmen arc in Season 2, to the Two Leaders arc with Enri and Nphirea in Season 3, say what you will about the arcs, but personally, they just felt way more impactful than whatever what shown in this season. This season focused a lot on Ainz taking over kingdoms and empires, for his goal of destroying the Re-Estize kingdom. There were a lot of political strifes and discussions sprinkled throughout as well, but it felt so insignificant. The jump from arc to arc felt very self-contained and not connected enough, which really lowered the significance of Ainz’s opposition throughout the series. Sure, there are some plot twists, and some rather satisfying and shocking moments, but I didn’t take much away from the plot this season compared to the other three seasons.
ART: 7/10
This show still looks a tad mediocre, but the CGI was slightly less prevalent, although clearly present. Not as jarring, but not the best still.
MUSIC: 8.4/10
The one thing that Overlord has kept consistent throughout the years was its music. The OP and ED were pretty solid once again, and worth listening to over and over.
CHARACTERS: 10/20
The characters from Nazarick never really intrigued me a whole lot, and with the focus being on them a bit more this season, it felt much more boring to me. Ainz is still the same as over, though he seemed more cold this season, Albedo is still her same fun self, Aura and Mare are still powerful, overall just much of the same. One key difference which felt a bit shocking to me was how “childish” Shalltear felt in this season. At some points, she felt like a newcomer learning the ropes of how the Nazarick group functioned, which was kind of weird. It was great to see Pandora’s Actor getting a chance to shine this season though.
Once again, I found the side characters and opposition of Nazarick more interesting, from Jircniv, Zanac, and many more, it’s always fun to see the futile schemes of Ainz’s opposition.
ENJOYMENT: 9.5/15
There were some exciting moments, but a lot of it was boring, which was unfortunate.
THEMATIC EXECUTION: 9/20
A key element in Overlord is how they execute Ainz’s supremacy over every other group in the world, and this time around, it felt really flat. The deaths that Ainz caused felt too quick and easy, and lacking in intrigue. Didn’t really feel for anyone, since the characters weren’t exactly developed very well.
OVERALL: 55.1/100
It’s always fun to watch the futile struggles of Ainz’s opposition, but I wished they focused on the opposition more to be honest. We know how powerful Ainz is, so I’m ok with him getting less screen time. The side characters are in my opinion what makes this show more compelling, and I felt considerably more bored of this season than any other. The movie will be coming out later on, so I’ll be sure to give that a watch when it comes out.
