Overlord

[ I've read polish version of the book so my review may contain some diffrences]

In the year of 2138, DMMORPG was a very popular word. It states for Dive Masively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game.
But.... There was a title that was was well better than any other DMMORPGs...
YGGDRASIL

After 12 years of service, the game is about to be shut down for good. Momonga - The leader of guild called "Ainz Ooal Gown" decides to spend last hours in the game before he'll be forced to log out and leave all that he and his friends built throughtout the years. He went to the throne room to rest with his many NPCs but as the clock above his wrist hits 00:00:00, nothing happens and soon after he is stuck in the game or he thought so for some time.
Momonga gets to learn that the world he is in is not the world of Yggdrasill but a way diffrend one only rulled by the rules of the game with the diffrence that all of NPC have their own will.

Will he survive and become the overlord of all worlds ?
Only time will tell

Book itself is very interesting and once touched it can't be thrown away. I really liked the way the author described the world and guild.

Overall: 8/10

You can describe this light novel with one word: a power-trip.
The story is based on what I like to call the pyramid of power-trips. Its only goal is to create as many of them as possible.
Every character has a set place in this hierarchy and on top of it is our main character Ainz.
It goes something like this: a new character is introduced. This new character then goes on to have a power-trip destroying the good (or bad) guys until he is met with a similar fate.
Now repeat this over and over again with different characters and minor variations and you can see how it quickly becomes dull.

Just like in many works with an overpowered main character, the focus shifts away from the MC.
There is almost no character development and ironically the antagonists get most of it.

The MC goes against his traits and does irrational things just to have more power-trips (a.k.a. the Lizardmen arc).

The MC simply starts at the top and stays there.

The main character is described as acting only with his own interests in mind and that is a trait that can really make a character deep.
But does the author really need to fill prologues/epilogues with these words over and over again in order for the reader to get it?

I'd say the world building and the character design itself is good and if you are a fan of power-trips, this light novel is definitely for you.

Bruh what can I say about Overlord that hasn't already been said? This is about everything I'd want out of a story of this nature. But for this review, I want to focus on something most people probably wouldn't give so much attention to in this story: comedy.

I'll admit, the comedy isn't a huge part of it but for me really adds to my enjoyment. Overlord, in its real sense, is an ironic comedy and does a fantastic job of showing it through Ain's (Momonga) character. This guy has to be the luckiest man alive. He's about average intelligence and highly over or under complicates things; so much so that he has hardly an idea what's going on most of the time. His closest subordinates are coming up with so many big brain plays all the time and Ain's just has no clue what's going on. In spite of this, his suboridents loyalty and admiration run so deep they are essentially blind to all his weaknesses and believe he himself is the ultimate big brain. WHAT GENIOUS IRONY.

[Very minor spoilers for vol. 12 ahead]
A perfect example of this. when Neia Baraja meets Ain's in the Holy Kingdom arc. This volume had me dying right from the start of the two's relationship. Ain's is so far paranoid over every little thing that he believes Neia hates him and that he's screwing up Demiurge's plan. On the contrary, Neia is infatuated with Ain's, almost as much as his own subordinates are, that she basically puts him up on a pedestal and revears him as a god. And just the way she converts so many people of theHoly Kingdom into the Ain's loving faction without Ain's even knowing himself is so funny.

But aight, I think imma conclude this here because if I don't I'm just gonna be gushing over this for another 5-6 paragraphs. In short, read Overlord, the light novel is fantastic and covers so much more than the anime was able to. Trust me, this is inadvertently, one of the funniest things I've ever read.

Premise: I decided to write this review to give the perspective from someone who did not enjoy this novel, since I have only seen overly positive reviews thus far. To note, I dropped this novel around early volume 7, since I just ran out of patience for it, but 6-7 volumes seem like enough to write a review for a 9 volume story.

To start with the good! Art (10): The art is quite cool and I like it a lot. But like all novels, not much art. Regardless, this bumped my overall rating up from a 3 to a 4.

Story (5): The overarching premise of the story is actually quite good: The main character starts in an RPG styled world as the most powerful character in existence, with an army of elite AI's that have absolute servitude programmed into them, which he knows. The main character is actually just a regular guy from Earth, so he needs to adapt to this new environment.

Based on the premise alone, it feels like the story has a lot of potential, but unfortunately, not much actually happens with this interesting world and setting that has been built up. Instead, we learn about the main character…but, there is not much to learn other than his internal struggle of "oh noz, if I don't act evil, the AI's won't like me. boo hoo. Whatever shall I do? I know! I'll just have this dilemma for 6 volumes straight of how I don't want to be evil, but I can't help it since I want to be liked by my AI's which have already been programmed to love me forever.” Life is just so hard for our overpowered protagonist. I tend to find his ranting to be a bit cringe-worthy.

Seguing from that thought, I also find Ainz to be *incredibly* unintelligent. While it is absolutely fine and sometimes even encouraged to have a dumb main character, it does not work in this story as he just does not have the capability to be a leader. Due to the overpowered main character's lack of leadership over his battalion of subservient AI's, they go around advancing the story on their own. While again this sounds good and has potential at first glance, there really is no cohesive goal in sight, and this lack of coordination between the respective AI's leaves all that they do to feel very empty. :(

Character (2): The story is mainly about the characters, but I personally find them to be dull overall.

- Ainz (main character)
Like previously mentioned: dumb / cringeworthy / lack-luster leader / insecure / overpowered

I find his the internal struggle, "how to get his AI's which have already been programmed to love him forever, to love him." tiring to read about. He wonders why the AI's get confused what his goal is; of course it is because he's been putting up a facade up and confusing everyone instead of getting it together, taking charge and saying things directly.

I am not against flaws. In fact I have read manga where the main character has a facade contrary to their true thoughts and abilities, such as Angel Densetsu and Transfer Student Storm Bringer, where the juxtaposition between the truth and perceived reality in these stories is done extremely well. So it definitely is possible to have a main character where the perceived reality and the truth do not match up. Alas, this is one where all has gone wrong.

- Other characters (AI's)
The AI's initially seem to have distinctive personalities, but we quickly see that all have the trait of being over-confident. So while it is a mix-mash of different characters, they all have the same vibe. Other than perhaps Albedo, it's more like generic villain A and generic villain B. etc. All in all, the AI's did not add much to the story for me. Nor did I come to love any of them.

The main character is really like the only character for most of the story tbh. No one else is fleshed out as much.

Enjoyment (2): I personally did not enjoy this novel for reasons already stated. Everyone enjoys things differently, so perhaps the faults that I have pointed out, you will not mind. I hope that is the case, as reading this novel was a long journey for me.

Conclusion/tldr;: Due to the lack of leadership of the overpowered main character in this story, events unfold contrary to how he plans, as his minions stew up their own plans. The main character's unintelligence limits the abilities of his army, which also proceed to be stupid as well, and ultimately causes strife throughout the story when there should be none. *This large fault is particularly unfortunate as this novel seemed to desperately want to be tactics/strategy based.*

While reading this story that is a play of idiots, one gets accompanied by the internal struggle of the insecure main character, "how to get his AI's which have already been programmed to love him forever, to love him."

All in all, Overlord felt overrated for me.

A series that quite clearly seems to be trying to ride the isekai wave after sword art online made waves with it's debut, this one attempts to market itself as new and unique and different, but in reality is rather bland, and it's attempts to do so are rather pathetic.
The series describes the main character as being transported to a new world with his video game avatar and NPC's but the only relevance of video games here seems to be to justify the main characters asspulls as "video game logic", or "because it follows video game rules" etc.
The main character being evil seem to be the gimmick this isekai decided to run with but apparently it is simply the gimmick, and not an integral part of the story. The initial volumes see the MC doing little to no evil, instead it almost feels as though the author is testing the water on how much evil (or in this case jerk behavior) the audience can stomach before they drop the series entirely, but he spends so much time doing it, that by the time we actually get around to the MC doing "evil" stuff, it literally contradicts prior written character behavior and the "evil" seems to come from the most contrived and senseless scenarios.
It is true that this series seems to follow the "villains" as the main character, but make no mistake, this is not the kind of villain that is understandable or interesting or charismatic enough to hold the weight of a franchise or move a story forward. This is the kind of disposable, bland villain you find in B movies. Look past the gimmick and the aesthetics and you see a series that is particularly bland and has little to no substance.

[This review is spoiler free!] TL;DR: If I had to rank the Overlord series, the LN is supreme. If you are a detailed oriented person, I would definitely recommend this. If you are curious and don't like lots of words, the manga is the right one for you. If you are interested and like good animation (and that's about it), the anime could be it for you!

I would like to preface this review by saying that I have not finished Overlord in its entirety. I have watched the entire first season and skimmed through the second season of the anime. I've also read 13 chapters of the manga and just barely started the Light Novel today.

This review in particular will be mostly focused on the light novel and manga, respectively. If you haven't or are considering watching the anime, don't. Honestly, don't even bother with the manga either.

In terms of writing, the light novel is superior in every way, shape and form. The chapters are long, and detailed. Although I've just started the light novel, the amount of detail greatly impressed me. It was more than enough to convince me that Overlord might actually be somewhat worth the hype it gets. Everything the anime and manga lack can be found in the light novel; although, it is also told at a considerably slower pace.

In the first chapter of the LN, a single NPC maid that is never mentioned again gets probably 1000+ words of pure description. From her slender build, to her "ample bosom", all the way to her expressionless manner and the former guild member/mangaka that designed her maid outfit. That is the level of description we are talking about. Albedo, the fan favorite, gets 5 beautifully descriptive paragraphs about her looks alone too, In terms of writing, the LN outshines any other forms of Overlord. However, if you hate reading and get tired of looking at words for an extended period of time, the LN is **NOT** for you.

Even I, a big fan for LN and reading, grew a bit tired after the first chapter. It felt like it went on forever, and ever. Reading all 90+ of these will definitely be a treat though.

The LN expands on so much more lore and background than the manga or anime could ever dream of. Not only does it give a better perspective on the real world that Ainz and his former guildmates lived in, but it better details his motivations.

To begin with, in the anime, I thought Ainz was simply looking for his friends just to do so. He was very quick to accept the reality of the situation and settled in without a second question. Without a doubt, this aspect is still present in the manga and LN, however there is a semi-proper explanation about it, which I greatly appreciate. Any details you might be confused about or simply curious on could most likely be answered from reading a chapter of the LN. (Add: The characters are a lot more fleshed out too.)

As mentioned earlier, if you are not interested in a ton of words, you should then look into the manga, which is the second best thing. Compared to the LN, the manga feels like more of a cash grab. However, this doesn't mean it's a bad thing. You can expect some chapters that break the fourth wall though and tell you to buy the newest volume though. Overlord got adapted into an anime surprisingly fast compared to other hit series, which isn't totally shocking. Nonetheless, the manga is much faster paced than the LN and anime.

This does have it's own faults too. During certain arcs, characters will mysteriously pop in and out of scenes at their convenience. At first, this puzzled me. The anime does a better job at explaining these random appearance, but they can be easily overlooked. If you are someone like me, who watched the anime before reading the manga, you might feel like the pacing is **too** fast, however, after the 7th or 8th chapter you will quickly adjust to it.

Comparing the anime to the manga, I definitely liked the Ainz manga design. Although the manga tries to be too edgy at times by hinting at sexual punishment and rape at times, the darker and less animated/cutesy Ainz is definitely my preferred. After the anime adaption notice, I found the art improved a bit which was also nice.

If you've read this far into the review, I take it you are interested in the Overlord series. You can read my anime Overlord reviews, which are also located on MAL. Given how harshly I've critiqued Overlord until this point, the manga and the LN (mostly) certainly are something. I reviewed season one of Overlord to be mediocre at best, and season two to be a total snoozefest. If you truly are interested, start with the LN if possible. If you aren't into that, the manga isn't half bad either!

(Almost anything is better than the anime, in my opinion,,,)

"Conquering the world is a very interesting idea."

(There are quite a few allusions to minor spoilers in this review, fair warning.
I have read 9 Volumes.)

There is an inherent truth in the world of anime, manga, and light novels; this truth is that far more often than not the protagonist will bear remarkable similarities to the image of a "Virtuous Hero"! That guy with the friendly demeanor who will help anyone and everyone. That often times young hero will hold the mindset of not letting anyone they know get killed. They won't give up and believe that even the villains deserve a chance at redemption. If they see someone in need they will lend their help free of charge. From mundane day-to-day tasks to a conflict fraught with danger and potential death, these heroes are always there to lend a friend, ally, or on occasion a complete stranger their ever so capable hands. Overlord is not that kind of story.
Another fundamental fact also exists that there are very few anime, manga, or light novels that have their protagonist as a villain. The character that will kill any who get in their way, will victimize innocents, the type that will look back on the blood they've shed and smile as they continue to swathe their way through a crimson tide. Overlord is not that kind of story.
Overlord is one of those stories that has the protagonist feel real. He's not perfect or morally righteous but nor is he evil or blood-thirsty. I mention this now because I saw that misconception as being the greatest form of interest in this series. With allusions to stories such as Death Note, Overlord was initially illustrated to me (along with many others) as a story following an Undead Lich as he sought to take over the world. While that is certainly not a lie it is also far from the truth. However, this series is unquestionably one that is worth reading.


Allow me to make one thing crystal clear: This is NOT a story about being trapped in a video game. Anyone who is laboring under the delusion that this story is akin to Sword Art Online or Log Horizon I urge you to throw your hoe into the ground, straighten your back and wipe the sweat from your brow. Despite the initial picture you may have woven thanks to the synopsis, it is far more accurate to say that our protagonist is transported to a fantasy world with his in-game avatar being the catalyst for his conveyance into this new world. Sword Art Online was obviously a video game. Log Horizon was a video game with real life elements but it was still a game, with raids, drops from killing monsters, the purchasing of buildings through a system run by the world. Overlord is real life with a few elements reminiscent of a game.
The story predominantly follows Momonga (Or Ainz Ooal Gown, as I will be referring to him from now on, Ainz for short) as he and the eternally loyal bastion known as the Great Tomb of Nazarick seek to claim this new world as their own. I was immediately enthralled by this premise. Quite simply, I adore stories of conquest. From my childhood spent building fortifications with Legos only to have it come under assault by my army of Lego Orcs (I can thank Lord of the Rings for that one), to my many days spent playing Warcraft 3 as I surged into human establishments with my army of undead. I have always enjoyed that concept of conquering whatever adversary stands in front of you through the use of strategy. Overlord has not left me feeling dissatisfied in that regard even in the slightest fashion. Though that is not to say you should expect an all out war from the very beginning. A substantial amount of time has been devoted to the more subtle elements surrounding world conquest, principally that little commodity known as knowledge. Overlord subscribes to the assessment that knowledge is power, a correct conclusion if I do say so myself. Thankfully though, intelligence gathering does not stand as Nazarick's single asset; to quote Game of Thrones: "Power is power", and believe me, Nazarick has an abundance of power, so much so that the golden chest it resides in was blasted apart due to the swelling within, the power then shattered the vault and poured out into every passageway in the building.
Though an implication may have already arisen, allow me to definitively state that this author has poured in an extensive amount of detail into this fantasy world. The world powers and their relations to one another. The individual states of the countries' governments and the factions formed, the social classes present within these countries. Crime, the magic in the world, the magical items, alchemy, swordplay, the system of the guild that utilizes these fantastical elements, every single one of these concepts are delved into with a phenomenal amount of detail.


While Ainz is the preeminent character in this series, we've also been made privy to the perspectives of many of the other characters present in this story. This has helped pave the way to a veritably fascinating cast. These perspectives aren't just limited to the allies of our main character, we'll hear from friend and enemy alike as they perceive the events of the plot.
Allow me to introduce Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, the Supreme One, the highest of the Almighty 41 Supreme Beings, the Supreme Overlord of Death. Clearly the inhabitants of this world hold a fondness for the word "supreme", no? Ainz is a character that is enchanting to read about. Formerly your average human serving as a member of the Japanese work-force, Ainz is now a skeletal Lich and finds himself the leader of an organization whose members feel undying loyalty and love towards him. Ainz is immediately presented as both smart and responsible as he tries to maintain the appearance of the leader his subjects have envisioned. Then devoting himself towards the discovery of the nuances of his new body, his power and capabilities, as well as the details of the world he suddenly finds himself existing in. We see two sides of Ainz, one being the Ruler of Nazarick, the Ainz that is exhibited to the world, the Ainz that emanates a constant state of power, knowledge, and control. But then you have the Ainz that resides solely in thought. The Ainz that struggles over the mental taxation he feels, the one that has to rigorously think through every scenario to try and present the powerful demeanor, the Ainz that takes notice of how cold and calculating he's become, and the Ainz that ponders the intrinsic lack of emotion capable of being felt by one who no longer has a human body. Far from evil and still retaining a slight sense of justice, Ainz is one who doesn't feel emotion towards the nameless human he saw struck down, he doesn't cause suffering for fun, but nor does he hesitate should the need arise. He casts off the notion of taking action because it is "the right thing to do", rather he intervenes in situations where he stands to gain a profit.
The only other character I am going to make specific mention of is Albedo. Albedo is the Overseer of the Floor Guardians and is extraordinarily in love with Ainz. In the Layman's terms of this site she's a Yandere. Inordinate feelings of anger and jealousy at her beloved's interaction with another female? Check. Immense feelings of joy and pleasure upon receiving praise from her beloved? Check. Desire to kill love-rivals so as to spend eternity with her cherished one? Well, half-check. Suffice to say, Albedo is characterized by her excessive love and devotion towards Ainz.
The remainder of the cast I am not going to delve into, I am however going to bring the spotlight towards the dynamic that exists between many of these characters. The Great Tomb of Nazarick is my personal most cherished element that exists in this series. The Great Tomb of Nazarick serves as an organization of monsters all in service to their ruler. Every single denizen of Nazarick shares one cohesive thought: absolute, undying loyalty and service towards Ainz Ooal Gown. I hold an unequivocal adoration towards that simple sentiment. The denizens of Nazarick view humans as lower life-forms, equivalent to the cockroaches that we find so repulsive. They will slaughter an entire village without a moment's hesitation or guilt, they will torture with a smile as they feed humans their own limbs. Nazarick can be described as a genuinely evil organization. Though its an interesting fact that any cruelty dealt against humans is perceived as normalcy. Humans don't consider the ants they crush underfoot and neither does Nazarick. Yet despite their "evil" actions they're kind to one another. They get along, sharing in bouts of laughter and tears alike. Not every member gets along with one another perfectly, but more often than not they hold affection towards one another, affection that can even be referred to as love. This mindset is also held by Ainz as he is 100% devoted towards Nazarick and every single member he rules over, in both duty and love Ainz is standing alongside this group of monsters.
Despite all my words of praise I do still hold two issues with these characters, well two characters in particular: Ainz and Albedo. The dilemma I hold with Albedo is the exhaustive extent that her feelings towards Ainz are displayed. I love that a character like her exists in this story, but I find myself feeling annoyance when she continually displays only the aspect of her that causes strife and discord with the other characters. She loves Ainz, everyone knows and understands this, but when she continually starts arguments with her allies simply due to perceived jealousy, well, I can't say I enjoy that. In essence, she's obtrusive to the interactions between the other characters.
The single greatest fault I held with this series was actually Ainz himself. I do not know how it was perceived, but I tried to stress how fascinating I believed Ainz to be. I truly enjoyed the duality he presented. However, I eventually reached a threshold where this constant state of struggle was only recognizable as a placation to development. You see, Ainz and the rest of Nazarick's thoughts and plans weren't in a state of harmony with one another. Initially this disconnect was something I viewed with interest and intrigue, but it came to serve as a source of slight aggravation. Too many times did Ainz restrain his allies. For too long did Ainz's inner monologue serve as a source of naive grief and confusion. Ainz himself became a constraint to the progression of the plot. That's not to say I actually disliked him because of this. Ainz still remains a fantastic character and an excellent addition to protagonists that aren't perfect heroes. The actions he has taken at times can be perfectly chronicled as evil, villainous acts taken against the denizens of this world. I really wished I could have sooner dropped the preface "at times". Thus was my endemic grievance with Overlord, it may not be shared by others but I felt the compulsion to share it alongside the other subjective assessments I held.

The illustrations... Spectacular scarcely does them justice. Incredible is a travestied description. This art is nothing short of gorgeous and is easily stands as the pinnacle of illustrations I have had the pleasure to see associated with Light Novels. I am clearly not a writer for an art magazine, but I can encourage you to seek out these exquisite illustrations and observe them with your own eyes.

A story that strays away from a morally virtuous protagonist. A series that will follow the monsters who slaughter in glee and the humans that fear them alike. It's dark but refrains from having an sense of overbearing despair. You will peruse the thoughts of those who have to stare inevitable death in the face as they face an existence that is beyond their wildest night mares. You will hear the laughing of the monster that roams the halls of a building as they seek more death. Joy and despair, insanity and serenity, sadism and mirth, the vast array of viewpoints allows us to see these emotions from the perspectives of those who are feeling them. You'll laugh in amusement from the witty dialogue, but you'll also laugh in sick fascination as monsters make victims of "the good guys". I have no doubt these words have been long since anticipated, but if the aforementioned elements are even remotely interesting to you then Overlord is a series I recommend wholeheartedly.

I wrote this review for the novel after watching the episode 13 and also finished reading all the volumes of overlord that had been released so far, which is till volume 9. So I have at least quite an understanding of the story so far. But I would not put any spoilers in the review and just general info that people can see from the novel's synopsis description.

But before I write my review, there is this one glaring point of the series's story setting that a lot of people seemed to be confused about lately that I have to point out.

Many people tend to be confused that the main character has been stuck in the game world he is playing in but the truth is that it is Experimented and Proven many times that he is instead Transported into a new fantasy Reality world where Yggdrasil players either don't exist or uncommon to the point of being called legends that only exist hundred of years ago. The only thing he is "stuck" in is his skeleton game body when he was transported from his game virtual world to another fantasy reality world. Also another thing, he is not a kid or a teenager, but instead is a blue collar salesman.

So after clearing that up, let's start my review of the novel. I advise people to rate my review fairly with open mindedness and after proper understanding of the series and not base on personal reasons, rashness or eccentric personal bias which seems to be quite common lately...

Story: 9
The novel's story is quite dark, evil, brutal and despairing at times and the novel's story is quite detailed and exciting to read which draws in the reader's curiosity and interest in knowing more of the story, but sometimes it may be quite tedious to read the highly detailed descriptions and multiple dialogues of the story. But people who are interested more on how the story is developed would find this interesting. Some people who lacked the attention span, patience or the interest in the story and wanted more actions and excitements immediately may find the novel's start to be boring. But people who actually wanted to enjoy the story's world and development would find that it's story is quite interesting, attention to details and descriptive with points of the story from different perspective.

Many people who started reading and enjoyed the novel are there for the literature story in the first place. Some people may find the story to be developing quite slowly at times due the story development but it comes with a lot of important plot points which might have otherwise caused confusions to the readers if some info points was lacking and skipped just to make the story faster.

Art: 9
The art quality is very good, as many people had said before that the novel's are quite well done but this is something left for people's personal taste and interests... But speaking it in general, the art is very detailed, beautiful. But all in all, it is something that is well done.

Character: 9
One of the main protagonist that you will never expect to see a lot in story even till now. A skeleton as a main character with a blue collar working salesman's mentality behind it. The person is very logical, emotionless but interestingly funny at times, who does the most realistic and logical reactions and actions people should expect if they are transported into another world. Keeping up his act as an overlord outside but whining and shouting inside about tiring things and situations. He also never consider his powers to be overpowered since the his skills are known in games and always think that there is someone such as players stronger than him out there.
The introductions of the many other side characters were also very unique and interesting too. They all have their own detailed designs, personalities, settings and developments.
Sadly the only thing lacking in this novel is a strong enemy character that the main characters have to face and overcome... But it is actually fine, since story wise, the story is actually still interesting and mainly draws the viewers to be more interested on how the process the MC used took over the places or even the world, the perspective and reactions of different people in the story which you normally won't see in other stories at times, and also main point of the story that is expected of how the strong overlord crush the enemy in the end after the intended development for it along with the expectations and despair which all together makes it something even more interesting and refreshing to see too, just like picking the fruits after it is ripe for the taking.
Also it seems there are people rating down the series due to the mc not having an usable underpart? Well, he can actually do it if he wants to and afterall, it's also better for the mc to think logically than thinking using his lower body like some other pervert mcs which are annoying. Besides, it seems pointless for some people to even point this out to talk down a good series.

Enjoyment: 10
Well the novel may not be a master piece for some people. But it story is a great literature that is the most descriptive, well developed, highly rated and one of the higher quality light novel out there that is highly encouraged by many people to read it to understand their world even more. That is the novel's purpose, as there are many people who enjoyed the novel are there for the literature story in the first place.

Also, there are points which mainly show how different it is from some more commonly known similar series stories settings.

Firstly, unlike the typical hero fantasy stories that are a dime of dozen out there already with almost Similar and Familiar stories and settings. Of course a story from a villain's perspective would perk people's interest than the typical power from friendship troupes, where you always would expect a certain people to survive in the end or just simply no one dying at all. With many things that are being quite common these days, this actually make this novel more unique and stands out.

Secondly, in this world where pretty much everything was cliche, a different, darker virtual gaming world to another world story is actually more new and interesting to people comparing to the typical virtual game or reality to fantasy stories that are quite common out there like no game no life, log horizon, SAO, problem children, etc with similar familiar overlapping fantasy settings or even other different typical stories with a shiny hero or a dense innocent kind mcs, instead a setting different from the typical familiar ones would be fresher one to see.

Finally, if people Do want to immense themselves in settings, atmosphere, plots and details of the story other than just immediate mindless action stories that are dozens out there, they would definitely welcome this novel. Given how much of a potential this novel's story have, even till the latest volume I had read so far.

Overall: 9
Overall, the novel is quite an interesting and addicting read for a story, if the further story's volume continues to be just as interesting to read, it will still easily continued to be rated 9 by me.

I'll keep this brief. I really like Overlord. Excellent story that both fulfills a desire to feel a bit villainous, rational, but sometimes "good" through our main Character. For a "transported to another world" premise, the cliches are for the most part avoided and the issues related are dealt with in reasonable, rationable ways. I don't mind an overpowered MC every once and awhile, and this novel does seem to provide the views of plenty of the poor underpowered saps.

Anyway,
Pros:
Story is great. Really hits a good itch that I love to scratch, with fantasy, magic, crazy powerful characters, battles of wits and technique for strong vs strong characters, and no moments of "bravery saves the day" here. If the strength difference is large enough battles are quick.
Art is fine. Honestly wish there was more, for a reason you'll see in the cons.
Great complex setting.
Overall quite captivating

Cons:
Pacing can be quite awkward. Definitely moments where a scene is so boring and predictable where I skip ahead a paragraph or two. Not too often at all though.
Characters. I can only take so many arrogant characters. Most are great, but jeez, the moment ANY character has the upper hand, it's boasting time (even if it's just the narrator boasting). Leads to a LOT of redundant and repetitive sentences.
Finally, physical description. I don't mind leaving things to the imagination, but far too often is a character's description left like too little or straight up missing. Yeah, there are a lot of characters and places, but sometimes I don't want to feel like the story is a dream I had where chunks of visual data just don't exist.

That's all!

I have read the first 11 volumes, and this review will be based on that. Overlord begins with a player of an MMO in the future. The servers were about to shut down for good as it was an old game. As Ainz, the protagonist, is reminiscing about his time spent there in the marvelous fortress he and his guild members built during that time, it turns out that the servers were not shut down. Instead, Ainz finds that all of the NPC's (non playable characters, a term for video games) have been given life and can speak, and that they are now in an unfamiliar, fantasy world filled with goblins, dragons, giants, magicians, soldiers, adventurers, demons, etc. Sounds like something you've seen before, doesn't it? Well, fret not. This isn't exactly something you've seen repeatedly.

First, Ainz and his main party, the NPC's, are essentially the equivalent of gods in this new world. They are extremely powerful in their abilities and spells, due to Ainz' stats and abilities being maxed from his time playing the game. Second, the main cast of characters are often cold, and in some cases, would even be considered cruel, but ultimately, they are only trying to further their own goals. Ainz' goal, or purpose, could even be considered noble- he hopes to find his lost guild members, whom were also his friends, in this strange world, and eventually, his goal even culminates into trying to change the world into a utopia for everyone. In addition, Ainz is a lich- an undead monster, and his companions are nothing but a group of demon's and undead.

Thus, through most of the series as of 11 volumes, it features Ainz and his group of NPC's trying to discover the world and increase their power and influence over it. That is because despite being exceptionally powerful, not many would favor being ruled under monsters, and neither do they trust them. In additon, despite being gods it is apparent by the end of the third volume there are other individuals in the world whom may rival Ainz's power.

It makes for an interesting concept. Many basic ideas from other stories and settings are used, but the fresh ideas give this tale a unique flavor, and it blends together almost perfectly.

The characters in particular deserve special mention. Ainz is already unique as a protagonist. He is a monster, insanely powerful, and can be both a cruel and a hero, depending on what best suits his needs. He is not a genius, in fact one of his NPC's is even more intelligent than him, but neither is he a hot-headed idiot either, often making calculated decisions. Much enjoyment comes from seeing regular humans and other, far lesser in power individuals trying to overcome Ainz.

The NPCs are a small group of dark elves, monsters, demons, etc which serve Ainz. The primary ones are almost as strong as he is, and most of them were created by his friends. As a result, he has quite an attachment to them as the last remnants of his friends. They as well, are all incredibly loyal to him. They all share a strong bond, and there are tender moments shared between them on occasion.

Of course, there are a few, albeit minimal, number of characters which are dull (all humans, mind you). They take up sections and I find myself skimming over some of the parts that feel dragged out, even if it's necessary for some world building and character motivation.

Art-wise it's pretty good, although neither would I say it especially stands out as fantastic either. I would have liked more pictures as well personally, but I'm not sure what the norm amount is these days for a light novel, either.

Not only is this a fantastic light novel, but as a story in general it works exceptionally well. The characters and direction feels fresh and inviting, despite the fact many of it's basic premises are not. I would highly recommend this series to anyone, especially if they enjoy a fantasy setting.

Pros:
+Fantastic overall cast of characters with unique, tender relationships.
+Fresh ideas added to typical setting give the series some amazing zest.
+Writing is usually fluid.

Cons:
-While most of the cast is fantastic, a few recurring characters are dull
-pacing can move too fast at times and too slow at others