Anime Review - Overlord

[yasr_multiset setid=3]By: VeteranCroagunk If you are a gamer, particularly an RPG or MMO gamer, then you know all too well the fantasies that dance through your brain as your imagination slips you into the universes of the games you love. You have the powers and the skills of your favorite characters. You adventure through and laugh at insurmountable odds. Glory and relics of legend become the throne that you rule from. This escapism is the reason we game. But what if you couldn’t escape? What if you really did become a piece of the game’s world? Suddenly you find yourself living the life of the fabled character you have crafted through inexhaustible dedication to a guild or grinding. Would you accept your fate and become the legend you always yearned to be, or would you crumble over the loss of reality and the altered existence laid out before you? Enter Overlord. A die-hard fan and proven leader of the fantasy realm based Dive (virtual reality) MMORPG “Yggsdrasil,” Momonga introduces us to the story of Overlord in the final moments of the game’s existence. We find Momonga logged into the game’s servers, reminiscing about and saying good bye to the game that he has dedicated much of himself to, during its 12 year run. Momonga has achieved legendary status in Yggsdrasil, and ruled over one of the most powerful guilds as a lich king with immense magical skill and power. As the clock tolls the final moments of the game’ s “live” status, Momonga passes out while still logged into the virtual world. When he awakens the next day, he is puzzled to find that the world around him is still that of Yggsdrasil. To Momonga’s amazement, NPCs are now sentient beings, he has retained his powers, and he is now completely the lich king that he played in Yggsdrasil. With the cool and concise calculations he had learned as guild leader, Momonga begins to assess his situation and command the unquestionably loyal servants that he and his friends had created as players, all while starting down the path of trying to figure out what has happened to him. At this point, classic anime tropes begin to thickly layer themselves into the story, but all in ways that are amusing and intoxicating. Game mechanics are retained in the new real world Yggsdrasil and, as a viewer, you being to want to learn as much about Momonga’s new life as he does. Who else inhabits this world, what structure does it hold, and just how powerful is Momonga? Visually, Overlord is perfect for the story it aims to tell. Characters are expertly designed to fit in the fantasy universe, including humans, monsters, demons, and more. The attention to detail and design for equipment and items speaks to the inspiration of a playable RPG that would easily fill hundreds of hours of your time. The environments are lush and varied, providing for a number of venues for the many battles the characters pit themselves to. The colors and special effects of spells and abilities make the fights delightful to sit back and enjoy, as does the choreography.  The music did not particularly stand out, aside from the ridiculously catchy opening and closing themes, which hooked me so bad I watched both for every episode. I even tried to find the opening theme as a ringtone for my phone, but it proved more difficult then I was willing to commit to. Still, the fact that the music was not the biggest hook does not negate from the experience. I have found that some of the best cartoons and anime I have watched know when to make use of subtle music or no music at all, to keep from detracting from the scene that is playing out. Which leads me to the dialogue and banter. Overlord holds true to its game inspired roots, through the characters presenting world mechanics for abilities and magic by voicing the ability name or spell; discussions on items, their rarity, and how they work; and definitions of factions, guilds, and life-forms that flesh out the structure of the world. Gamer or not, you will relish the dialogue and appreciate the attention to detail.  Two complaints come to mind when I reflect on Overlord. First, many of the minor characters have little development or explanation. One of the great things about Overlord is that it paints such a captivating world that you want to learn as much as you can about its inhabitants as possible, and how they fit into this realm of heroes and monsters. Unfortunately, the show is only 13 episodes at the moment, so time is focused on the action that drives the handful of story arcs that comprise the run. Hopefully the show will continue, as the manga does, to allow for more development of Momonga, his crew, his adversaries, and everyone caught in-between. My second complaint is the power creep, or more specifically, the lack thereof. As you quickly see through watching Momonga explore his new world, he is in a class of his own. Even in the show’s final (epic) battle, you never really expect him to experience too much trouble, and there is a profound lack us suspense. Still, although the fights do not pose much of a threat to our “hero,” the flair and skills that are executed leave you on the edge of your seat, eagerly waiting for the next foolish challenger to step up and test their power against the almighty supreme leader of the indomitable Yggsdrasil guild, Ainz Ooal Gown. I immensely enjoyed and burned through the entire series of Overlord, and its supplemental mini-series. You should too!