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Overlord Season 1 Review

Overlord is a dark fantasy isekai anime series that premiered its first season in 2015. It’s such a fun, very underrated show.

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“It looks like you’re too weak to even play around with“

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When a popular MMORPG is scheduled to be shut down permanently, veteran player Momonga refuses to log out. As NPCs begin to develop personalities and minds of their own he decides to put his skills to use as the game’s new overlord. This is one of those isekai anime that are in the subgenre of video game worlds in the vein of ‘Sword Art Online’. I have to say that I prefer this show over that overrated mess. I didn’t expect that I would have as much fun as I’ve had with this show, or the first season at least.

The show is different than your usual isekai anime. The protagonist isn’t a hero and he certainly ain’t an antihero either. He is very much a villain, so this made the series fresh and intriguing. He’s not supposed to be likable or easy to empathize with, which made some of the people whom he killed quite tragic. Momonga (or Lord Ainz) is fun at times as this obvious no-lifer incel obsessed with hot girls and being, well, an overlord. But he became more and more unlikable as the season progressed and the lack of stakes in regards to his opponents was a bit frustrating, though definitely original for the genre.

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The NPCs are made to serve him basically, so they ended up being slaves pretty much, which was fine with me as this fitted the narrative so well. Albedo is this very sexy and horned up girl who is so obsessed with the main character to the point where she would beg him to have sex with her, obviously playing up the male gamer fantasy in the process. I found her to be quite hilarious. Shalltear is another terrific creation as this badass vampire girl. The female characters are terrific on this obviously female-centric series.

Aura and Mare are this sibling duo who are amusingly so dressed in opposite gender clothing. Cocytus and Demiurge are underdeveloped by now and I do have an issue with the show not developing its male characters properly. The voice acting is fantastic here while the humor is top-notch. This is a dark, bloody and gory series that doesn’t spare its side characters at all, but there are sporadic moments of humor that very much acted as great respite from all the action and violence on display. The sexual situations were especially entertaining and the dialogue is deliciously over-the-top.

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I did find Overlord’s animation to be somewhat problematic in its overwhelming use of CGI, but at least the character designs are strong, the action effects are great and most of the backgrounds were well detailed and interesting to observe. The soundtrack is not the best and too hardcore metal for me, but the overall score and sound are quite good. The first season is well paced, but it did get too cluttered with details and world building. There are way too many of these NPC characters and I do wish that other real human players get introduced sooner rather than later. But the action is suitably exciting and the video game mechanics are well mined for some fun and colorful battles.