Overlord (2015–2022) User Reviews (78)

Best trap in game anime

[ptcdkccy · 9/10 · 29 September 2022]

From past experience I find the majority of the trap in game anime to short anime with mediocre entertainment value and storyline. Characters tend to be poorly put together or random NPCs that don't matter. Half the time the storyline does not even make sense in these type of anime but Overlord is fantastic and one of my favorite.

I found Overlord to be a binge watch anime that I can't get enough of. Amazing action scenes with a overpowered main character with frighting powers. His name is Ainz Ooal Gown and I have not been able to decide if he is a good guy hero type or a ruthless dictator bad guy. His companions tend to sway both ways as well which makes predicting what happens impossible.

Just like any good anime it has the perfect amount of pervertedness and a ton of humor. The storyline is great and will keep you in suspense just long enough to have you on the edge of your seat. Even the scenes that are not plot fulfilling tend to be very entertaining and a no point was I bored.

I wish I could of gave this anime 10 stars but while it's perfect for what it is, it's just not quite a masterpiece but equally entertaining.

cool RPG style anime

[joelherro · 8/10 · 30 September 2015]

I don't have much experience with role playing games, so a lot of the references to moves, energy, strength, skill, etc. In this anime were lost on me. Although I have seen plenty of shows where someone gets trapped inside a game, TV show or movie, so it was still enjoyable.

Momonga is playing Yggdrasil (an online RPG I assume) and the game is shut down. Instead of logging out, he decides to stay and then realises he's trapped in this online fantasy world. Since his character was a Supreme Being (practically a God), things aren't so bad for him, as he has a handful of powerful guardians to protect him. Of course, being god-like, he doesn't really need them, since he's nearly invincible anyway. He then decides to conceal his true form (a skeleton-type dude) and go on the lookout for his previous friends (who were all Supreme Beings) by becoming a low-level adventurer who wants to spread his name (now changed to Ains Ool Gown?) by defeating as many powerful enemies as possible.

At first I wasn't into this show, but after a few episodes I was hooked. Watching Lord Ains defeat even the most powerful enemies thrown at him with ease was pretty cool, and they didn't shy away from the violence either. A bit rough for little kiddies though. Check it out.

Lord Ainz is unstoppable!

[jmherman-66219 · 9/10 · 5 November 2017]

This is a complete and utter great anime. Lord Ainz is both badass but merciful, and he makes for a great main character. The animation style is beautiful, and the story has a deep meaning. It is your proper setup to an amazing series. Season 2 is already in the making and hopefully this can become a long running series, I wouldn't complain! This deserves a watch if your in to fantasy and action, I won't spoil too much.

something different

[curosatiilks-34997 · 10/10 · 19 August 2018]

Wanna find out what will happen if you find yourself in a middle earth like world with god like powers carma value -500 and army of monsters under you command well then this is just the thing you are looking for

Surprisingly Entertaining

[peterfmodel · 10/10 · 22 August 2018]

There is little original or new about the premise, young man trapped in a MMORPG game with incredible powers, the way its done is amazingly entertaining. While all powerful, the world is unknown and the attempts at exploring this new world is both entertaining and interesting. However, we are not dealing with the good guys here. While Momonga shows an ability to help the helpless and avenge the wronged, he is not a good guy. This balance is actually critical as the key tension is the balance between being a good guy and being an evil character. Well worth the watch, i only wish the DVD's would come out quicker so i can fully view season 2 and 3.

AMAZING!!! I definitely recommend it!

[kamejyne · 10/10 · 18 January 2019]

This was such an incredible and amazing surprise!! From the first episode of the first season to the last episode of the third season I was so excited. The way the story goes on is so unexpected and I love the fact that these are not you're typical anime characters, where you can always predict who is gonna do what. Plus it's so funny. I can't wait for the next season and see what happens next!!

a complete satisfaction for anime fans. Ainz Ooal Gown for president

[shamushkhufu · 10/10 · 20 June 2017]

This is one kick ass anime with all the right ingredients to make this a tour-da-force to beat. I started watching this anime at the same time as my hero academy and hunter x hunter which are also both magnificent anime. of all the 3 I enjoyed this the most probably because it's so short and I guess it's personal opinion really but this satisfied my craving for action and magic. hunter x hunter is a class act and a very intelligent anime which the other two cannot touch in that department. but the characters in overlord are all mysterious and I can't wait to see the full potential of Ainz Ooal Gown. A fellow reviewer hit the spot when him/her said that the series was far too short. and it ended on such a high that it almost made me angry that they only made 13 episodes. I WANT MORE AND CAN'T WAIT FOR SEASON TWO, THREE, FOUR AND FIVE :)

One dimensional and not thought out. Sort of stale and doesn't make sense.

[dmayer-05593 · 6/10 · 25 August 2022]

The worst part of this anime is the overarching bigger picture plot that is never discussed and hardly ever reaches any conclusions. Of course that is the fact that the mc is stuck in a video game and never answers any of the questions to why he is trapped in that world and what will he do about it to figure out how it happened. Only head canon theories can the fans lean towards but this show should bring some closure to this point that he might never get out of this matrix. They are milking it dry of Ainz taking over the lands and becoming a ruler but nothing about his "real life" origins or a need to return back. Sword Art Online literally did it in 12 episodes and us the viewers knew exactly what was going on with all those people being stuck inside the virtual environment. No investment mystery box that makes you want to keep watching. It doesn't matter, things just happen and we are supposed to feel engaged to know more about it. It isn't a slice of life. Not enough cliffhangers of intensity to generate conversation.

Perfect anime

[CyrusXxXxX · 10/10 · 17 July 2018]

This anime has everything and I am really enjoying watching it.

Keep up the good work!

Fascinating, but far too brief

[q_leo_rahman · 7/10 · 2 March 2017]

When you are trapped in a virtual reality game, the natural thing to do is to find a way out. But when your VR persona is that of the most powerful demon sorcerer ever, that's when things get interesting.

The whole show is carried on the shoulders of the title character, the Overlord. Satoshi Hino gives a terrific dual performance as the mage demon master Ainz Ooal Gown and as the human player Momonga providing a monologue and narrative. Ainz serves as the anti-heroic character who strives to conquer the world for his own desire, and Momonga is the simple player who only wishes to locate other gamesters like himself in the new world. It's a fascinating character and Hino does him great credit with his voice.

Beyond the Overlord himself, the rest of the cast are not as developed, but they get enough time and character to stand out; Yumi Hara in particular makes a lasting impression as a passionate demon who gets emotionally carried away frequently. The animation and music is also above average and complements the story well.

The show, however, is far too brief to tell its story adequately, and so is confined to introducing its characters and the world and only a brief space to show them off, and then ends on a cliffhanger. This is an incredible story that deserves more than 13 episodes, and its being cut off so early makes the whole fantasy tragically disappointing. Thankfully, the story is carried on in the manga that runs in parallel to the show, so if you want more you should check out that comic.

As brief as it is, the show is still a fantastic saga that deserves a lot of love and makes for a great watch.

Brilliant anime with spectacular plot

[syafielite · 10/10 · 28 September 2022]

Absolutely brilliant anime and loyal to the light novel although too many the light novel are hundreds of pages per volume. They execute the anime adaptation masterfully. It's totally one of the finest rpg style anime out there with unique style and incredible well done plots.

The world eventually is fleshed out in some interesting ways and some of the side characters like Enri are interesting the problem for me lies in how generic the world presents itself, we have a convoluted magic system that can do everything until it doesnt, knigths that are either boy scouts or just living garbage, no actual plot structure every arc feels very disconnected from the next and an actual interesting cast of monsters that get shafted for generic fantasy characters for the most part.

If you like Isekai you will enjoy Overlord as an overall anime is average.

A good, if flawed anime.

[GenreBandit · 7/10 · 22 June 2020]

I'll start by saying it's a good watch overall. While the whole "being trapped in a video game" thing is tired, this book adaptation does well in execution. The characters are well acted, the story lines interesting and complex (usually in a two-faced political sense), and most characters likeable.

Now here's where the show falters for me:

1. Much of the show (especially the second season) actually kicks Ains's story to the side to spends several episodes on side characters, building them up as their own protagonists, only to have Ains kill them off and never be mentioned again, essentially wasting the viewer's time and emotional investment.

2. Ains's (the protagonist) allies, the NPCs him and his friends created, constantly worship him. It was humorous at first, but after three seasons, this gets very, very grating. Some scenes are literally just stroking the ego of the main character, who is in actuality a huge turbo virgin who never leaves his house.

3. To use a video game term, being a shut in and doing nothing but leveling up and getting the best items, Ains is way too OP (overpowered). The show only gets its value by expounding upon the backstories of its side characters that exist within the video game, the ones that aren't Ains or the NPCs who serve him. His fights are somewhat boring, because again, they only serve to stroke the main character's ego.

3. Ains is wholeheartedly, unapologetically evil. Something went wrong when he was trapped in the game and he lost any humanity he had. Sometimes the show will build up a character's backstory for several episodes only to have Ains or his NPCs kill them brutally and anticlimactically. Or have them tortured and then killed. Or enslaved. The show does a good job to make sure you dislike its protagonist, and root for his enemies. Maybe that's by design, but it's not for me.

its ok, probably could have been better

[Shadowstripe · 5/10 · 18 August 2019]

The main character is so overpowered as a max level rpg player gone full "no lifer" he owns every rare epic legendary godlike item that has ever existed in the game, nothing is a challenge, he is pretty much the Sherlock Holmes of rpgs, he can understand explain and counter any setup just without any of his flaws.

minor gripes some of the rpg mechanics aren't consistent, in one episode the overlord has to equip a cham to grant himself the power of flight in another he simply calls out a spell name. also for a necromancer his spell types seem all over the place and not really restricted to necromancy magic.

in my opinion the worst thing part about this show it could have been set 100% in an actual fantasy world about the last 'supreme being' waking from a slumber in his tomb finding all the other 'supreme beings' had left and be nothing todo with a guy sucked into an rpg and nothing would be lost. not to say that is a bad thing but the rpg premise is wasted.

first season was at least semi interesting you have the evil overlord type guy actually being the good guy for a change, the trapped in an rpg as an undead but my interest was lost somewhere in the second season where it seemed they weren't going anywhere with it.

You will fall in love with RPG

[bobbyaxe-30152 · 10/10 · 19 August 2018]

Although the series is based on RPG style there is nothing that needs an explanation while watching as the moves and skills are named dictionary appropriate (that is you can understand exactly whats happening even if you've never played an RPG game before) The original language of the series is Japaneses i will recommend watching the English dub as it is well interpreted. it has excellent character development even what seemed like fillers have come to play huge rows in the newer seasons begging to differ its intent. all round i cant wait to see what happens next.

Overlord in top 3 of Isekai anime.

[shubhambhusari-84830 · 10/10 · 27 June 2021]

It was an amazing anime, worth watching. It wasn't childish like sword art online, more mature, grusome and etc. The character development was good. But most of it i loved the openings of anime especially season 1. I wished the story should have been more interesting and thrilling but it wasn't bad at all. For story 8/10. Its worth watching.

OVERLORD WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

[steveo7777 · 9/10 · 3 December 2021]

First of all absolutely fantastic series and makes us look at ourselves as individuals in today's world and the society we're in. My point being what would you do if you can do what you want with no consequences? Bad, good inbetween well my opinion of this series is if your small in the world you make a choice. This person is in my opinion had that choice and thinks more about his and not there's.

Instant Affinity

[huamilim · 10/10 · 31 October 2016]

For those who love being at the top of the world, This is the anime for you - I felt an immediate affinity to the show right from the very first episode. I love the main character, and I thoroughly enjoy putting myself in his shoes as I watched the series.

Mild Spoilers:

This anime is about a being who's the strongest in his universe, right from the get go, much like how saitama is in one punch man (my #1 favorite). Because of this plot setting, the journey focuses more on politics, decision making, and his interactions and relationships with the rest of the world around him. I especially enjoy the different personas he adopts as he explores and finds out more about the people, their problems, hopes, fears, and dreams in life. Much like how a God sees a child. And the dynamics can be so exquisite and complex.

That said, this series is quite short for 13 episodes, and Really Really needs a follow up Season 2 ASAP!

If you found my review helpful, give it a shot, you won't regret it!

An "eh" Isekai

[TheSBot9000 · 6/10 · 11 April 2021]

As the title implies: This is an Isekai anime (An anime where a character gets transported to an unknown world) where a guy gets trapped in his MMO character in a new fantasy world, with his previous NPC companions now gaining full autonomy (while maintaining an incessant undying loyalty to the guy). As a high level player, Ainz Ooal Gown comes to find out that he is in pretty much every sense of the word: invincible in the world that he now calls home.

While the concept was cool for the first season as the main character tries to understand the state of the world, his capabilities and his plan going forward: the series unfortunately suffers from the fatal flaw of making Ainz an omnipotent character. Even through the latest season: there's been essentially no character who's able to come close to the power level of even Ainz' inner circle. This leads to an exposition that relies more on overcoming abstracted political issues rather than some form of tangible villian which may or may not be an issue depending on your point of view. Much of what Ainz' does in order to overcome these tasks is less than savory and makes him seem more like a villian than a protagonist that we should care about too.

In short: while not necessarily a bad series: I feel like much of the potential was wasted in this one. If you're looking for an Isekai, I'd recommend Re:Zero instead.

why why why?

[miladvaziri · 8/10 · 21 October 2018]

I really don't understand why producers create new and good characters and then kill them by "Ainz Ooal Gown" , they want us to like this charater because it's main character of anime, and beside him create some other good characters like "Gazef Stronoff " or "lizardmen" or the humans who for first time went to his castle, and i really don't understand the philosophy behind this, maybe the producers watched Game of thrones before making the story and wanna kill so many good people :-/

Season 4 is incompete (Holy Kingdom Arc is missing)

[lichtgruen · 6 April 2023]

Overlord is an atypical Isekai anime where the hero's background in the real world is not mentioned at all. That is ok, because this anime thrives entirely on the character that the main protagonist possesses in the New World.

I really enjoyed the first 3 seasons of the anime, although other reviewers criticized the lack of a backstory.

The fourth season though is by far the weakest season of Overlord.

I watched it within two days, like the seasons before, but by no means understood everything. This includes in particular references to the "Holy Kingdom", whose arc was skipped in the anime, as I only found out later. According to Wikipedia, the fourth season covers light novel volumes 10, 11 and 14. A movie was supposed to cover the Holy Kingdom Arc (light novel volume 12 & 13), but so far I haven't been able to find any information about it. Maybe it hasn't appeared yet - or perhaps it never will appear at all.

It's decent, somewhat entertaining but still kinda weird

[trimmsthem · 7/10 · 24 December 2022]

So I finally went through the entire series of Overlord. I quite enjoyed myself even though there was some of that weird stuff being pushed out onto the real world with "boys dressing in girls clothes" crap. Really weirded and creeped me out, but luckily that wasn't a major point in the show. Just shortly mentioned once or twice and fell off of plot. The action was cool but there were some inconsistencies with Ainz's character from being benevolent to malevolent. Please make it make sense. The plot was pretty dry too. My questions always were why are you fighting these people and why are you taking everything away from them? Sure, we're told about someone who killed Shalltear but was quickly forgotten. Not to mention, we never learn any of Demiurge's plans when not even Ainz knows what he's doing. Doesn't make sense , but whatever. Some people might not like it but that is entirely up for you to decide. Don't listen to anyone else's thoughts or opinions on anything until you weighed things out for yourself. This isn't a horrible series but it's not a great one either. So you judge it first.

Gives me a SAO/Ghost Rider/He man vibes!

[Irishchatter · 8/10 · 4 September 2018]

Every fan especially Anime YouTubers I follow have talked about this so why not give it a try? I really enjoyed it like Momonga does remind me of the baddie from He man and Ghost rider all in one! It's interesting that for real, he sounds like a very clumsy yet sweet guy but when hes in the game, he's like such a true leader giving a bit of tough love to his guilders. I've never really seen a character in anime that could pull off a double life like that lol!

Really liked the hype of fights involved involved in this, good start to a fantasy series, 8/10!

Season 4 Specific Review.

[HotHamlet · 6/10 · 2 October 2022]

So after watching this anime as someone who really liked the first three seasons and really wanted more, i must say i feel disappointed and amazed at the same time. It is such a weird feeling i can't really describe it well enough for many to understand.

The story of this season (obviously) followed on from the last season and the seasons before and it did a good enough job at that i thought. That being the case i must say i am ever so slightly in disagreement with many. I'm not sure how many share this opinion but i've seen people disappointed in not only this season but seasons prior about how Ainz human self is never really a key point ever. I however believe this really doesn't matter for what the show is trying to show. It's a lot like That Time I Reincarnated As A Slime (if anyone has seen that anime) in terms of the backstory of the isekai character isn't important at all. But with almost all isekai shows this is the case unless it's the main plot-point of the show. But for this anime i believe it is not at all a issue. I must say story wise however, the first 7-8 Episodes ranged from a 2/10 to a 6/10 and the anime up until that point was average at best. The last few episodes were so very great however. Especially episode 11 which i think is one of the best anime episodes i have seen in a long while. The ending i thought had a pointless flashback scene but it wasn't necessarily bad, just pointless in my eyes. Story was very similar in rating (if not the same) to the first three seasons.

The characters were absolutely fine. Ainz is just as good as he usually is (bit nothing special). All his allies are in a similar boat and the characters that are the antagonists to the main cast were simply fine too. Nobody stood out, but not a single character was abysmal in any way.

The animation was absolutely passable. Very few moments impressed me visually, but not a single part of the animation disappointed me personally. The animation is as good as it's always been for overlord and i enjoyed it. It is easily passable. I'm not sure if it's something i believe after watching the third season so very long ago, but i feel there is less 3d animation in this season. I could however be remembering completely wrong and this point would be pointless from my point of view. Overall the animation and visuals in general were absolutely fine and i'd argue a little better than average. Far better than most trashy isekai that's for sure.

Story - 6.5/10

Characters - 5.5/10

Animation & Visuals - 6.5/10

Episode 11 - 10/10

A decent addition to the Overlord anime series and one most Overlord fans would be happy with, 6/10.

What is plot structure

[Crutos · 2/10 · 13 September 2021]

The show starts out pretty strong. Plot is established early "figure out where we are and become (in)famous" and we get a show of Ainz's power.

The first half of s1 is pretty good but then it seems like the writers had no plan from the beginning and just started to cram as many of their ideas into the show as possible, wherever possible.

The plot has no structure. The story telling is this show's weakest point. It is all over the place. While the characters are all pretty well written, though undergo no development, the show keeps dropping subplots and taking up new ones while never really returning to and finishing any of the previous ones.

The extreme amount of pointless exposition is also a drag. Do anime writers not now "show don't tell". The dialogue is hit and miss, most often miss, but while they spend ludicrous amount of time on exposition dialogue for stuff that doesn't matter or is obvious, none of the subplots are very well explained. Only the actions during the sub-plot gets any real exposition dialogue when the plot is dropped.

While Ainz's goal from the beginning is pretty straight forward, his actions towards getting there get more and more convoluted at best, at times doesn't make any sense and are even contradictory at times.

Even Death Note with its convoluted "keikaku" had much better plot structures that had a great pay-off and you could follow the "red thread" through-out the story and the actions/thoughts of Light were easy to understand and made sense.

Ainz however seems entirely clueless and has no real direction or plans towards his goals.

Necromancer

[benjamin-04972 · 10/10 · 30 September 2018]

I've seen a lot of anime's over the past 16 years and there are only a hand full i have watched twice, Overlord on the other hand... I have watched over 3 times and i am still addicted.

I have attempted to write a review a few times now but every time i wish to put it into words it only spoils to much. So to keep it short without spoiling anything other then whats in the first Episode.

Hardcore Gaming Nerd gets transferred to his in-game Character on the game's Shut-down, he finds himself in a strange world alone with a bunch of NPC's (none player characters) witch are deeply loyal to him.

Hes overpowered, hes a necromancer, and he loves to make a grand entrance.

I would highly recommend this Anime as a starting anime.