Overlord

For me personally, this is an absolutely brilliant show! Just the fact that the main male protagonist chose the Necromancer as his avatar and started a guild with only non-human-looking characters is enough to indicate he is an interesting character, and the fact that he almost immediately decided to conquer the entire world here and the methods he used to do so indicate to me that he has got his head screwed on straight. In other words, having a seven-foot-tall skeleton as the main male protagonist is a really great idea! Plus, I just skimmed the first seven chapters of the manga and even that was really really good. It is also quite dark, which contrasts nicely against all the cheerful and colorful fun shows like Sword Art Online and Log Horizon. Granted, some clichés and tropes crop up, like the "Boobie Grab" in the very first episode even though they at least justified it well... Also, despite the fact it is a harem anime series, this show looks really original and Albedo especially is just awesome, plus Shalltear and Nabe are also very interesting characters. In addition, there are also various little things and interesting twists that have managed to entertain me so far (the user with the nickname "Touch Me", Hamsuke - The Wise King of the Forest, etc...). I found the manga and the anime series were really appealing, and so if I have time I am probably going to pick up the LNs somewhere. In other words, I was completely satisfied, even the fight scenes looked really good and the CGI "Skeletal Dragon" was probably one of the best CGI creatures I have seen in an anime series so far. All in all, maybe if I tried hard I could find a few minor shortcomings, however, I do not want to spoil my enjoyment of something that managed to appeal to me and entertain me so well. Along with Gangsta, Overlord is the best anime series of the anime season Summer 2015 for me. 9.7/10. (21/11/2019)

It is so easy to find faults with this follow-up to the first season of Overlord, especially when the main shortcoming is the all-too-common absence of the main protagonist. After all, everyone expects to watch the main male protagonist rise upwards, conquering everything around him along the way. Well, you should have watched a different show, because, in this show, they spend quite a bit of time on what we call worldbuilding. In other words, this show does not simply revolve around the main protagonist. It is interesting to see how the NPCs, who were previously flat and only acting on pre-programmed action, begin to think for themselves and work towards a common goal. Well, this is what happens during the second half of this season because the significance of the first half of the season with the lizardmen still kind of escapes me. While in the second half, I got to know the character Sebas with his weaknesses and I also got to know the cunning and perfect sense of subterfuge displayed by the Demiurge. Yet I do not know what I was supposed to learn from the first half of the season. Mainly, I suppose, how the courting rituals of lizardmen work. I guess I also saw things that even the main character had no intention of seeing. I am wondering if the whole anabasis lizard thing was somehow extremely beneficial to the plot and if the new characters in this subplot were going to be somehow important to how things develop in the future. I have no doubts about the second part, and I believe we are going to see more of the psychopathic princess Renner, or maybe Evileye (my new favorite character), because after all, even Brain Unglaus is coming back. In other words, I do not really know what to make of the second season, because I could easily do without one half of it, while the second half is again just divine and shows how our main character has "everything under control," even though many times he himself does not know how to. However, this whole show, the strategy of playing by yourself a little bit and with other people a little bit, still amuses me a lot, and I still like Overlord. I am still looking forward to future episodes – just please do not make them as irrelevant as those with the lizardmen. 7.5/10. (03/04/2018)

Season three of Overlord follows a similar course to that of the previous season in my opinion. The beginning was kind of lackluster, full of unnecessary crap (because I really needed to know that there was a virgin succubus, for example) and filler. I thought the first episode was more like bonus episode (OVA) material and definitely not an introduction to a new season. I did not find the whole Carne Village Arc all that interesting, even though on the other hand it was at least more relevant to the storyline that followed than the Lizardmen Arc (sorry, but I just cannot get them out of my mind) in the last season. The second part with the invasion of the tomb by the adventurers was better, much more interesting with a very good ending that reminded me that the main male protagonist of this show cannot be described as a pure character (he is more like a villain here). What about the ending? The season builds up brilliantly and it is an example of what it means to be truly OP, and that it can be awfully appealing under certain circumstances. I was once again feeling on top of my game during the last few episodes, I really enjoyed them, and I am now looking forward to the next installment. One thing I want to say is that the way the seasons starts up is always really weak (but I get, that even these parts are part of the source novels). 8.2/10. (02/10/2018)

Definitely better than the previous two seasons. There's nothing here that I didn't enjoy or that distracted me from the main storyline. No lizard courtship, scenes of everyday life in the village of Carne, or other filler. Sure, you could say that the opening plotline with the empire or the dwarves could be thought of as similar digressions, but to me, they were important, intriguing, and fun parts of the series, and they didn’t feel redundant. Oh, and the second half is literal carnage. It's interesting to watch Overlord’s actions and to realize, with a chill running down my spine, that I'm watching the other side of the story than is common in fantasy. Instead of wondering if Overlord will take over the world and how much more epic the journey is going to be, you start to wonder if anyone will be able to stop him, and you gradually come to the realization that someone probably should... Luckily, this series also introduces new and interesting antagonists who could play a big role. It hints towards a big faction being formed, so the future confrontations could be epic and insane. Everything is well thought out and put together, and all the world-building truly pays off. At the same time, everything keeps expanding in new directions. Many characters get closure, some unexpectedly quickly... What the story goes to show is that the biggest and most dangerous monster that set everything in motion is nothing but a human. Heightened and intense emotions (Renner) as well as stupidity (Philip) can sometimes do more harm than you’d expect. It's simply a breathtaking series. I'm looking forward to the continuation of the story (in the form of a movie this time), and I pray that Kugane Maruyama will find new strength and motivation to write, get over his burnout, and return to his original plan, which is that the Overlord novella will have at least 30 parts, and the anime a few more seasons. His talent is undeniable and it would be a waste for an office job... 9/10 (27/09/2022)