Forum - View topicEP. REVIEW: Overlord IV
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Nordhmmer
Posts: 1028 |
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...and it's this kind of thing that impinges on my enjoyment of the show. It's often light-hearted and comical but then there's this annoying and discordant, "oh and by the way we're committing genocide, hur-hur-hur."[/quote] :...yet comedic misunderstanding/ miscommunication is one of the narrative motifs most used throughout Overlord  with earlier story arcs building upon the last story wise,and (with exceptions) to the body count.
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nategator
Posts: 1 |
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"...and it's this kind of thing that impinges on my enjoyment of the show. It's often light-hearted and comical but then there's this annoying and discordant, "oh and by the way we're committing genocide, hur-hur-hur."
Honestly, it's the author going all in on the characters that makes the series better than most. The comedy stuff is pure anime tropes -- yandere hot girl, quietly self-doubting MC misunderstood and clearly over his head, salaryman iseki'd, MC running away from icchi, etc. etc. It's been done a million times and is chicken soup for the audience's soul. You get that all the time in anime. It's fun, don't get me wrong, but folks eventually get bored when it is just tropes. But what makes this series interesting and not just another retread is that it goes all in on isekei'd into something edgy story. That's a more challenging story and for anime, is kind of rare. The NPCs are monsters so their instincts are monstrous. The MC is a skeletal being so his emotions and humanist instincts are suppressed. The OP and NPCs are OP'd, so behave like real OP characters would and tend to steam-roll the opposition once they get tired of playing with their food. We got lucky that this show is being run the same time as The Devil is a Part Timer Season 2. In the latter series, the Devil and his minions are generally generally good dudes when taken out of their roles, just like any part-timer trying to get ahead or housewife trying to manage a limited budget. This show is thematically its opposite, a harmless gamer/salaryman becoming more of a monster as he is isekei'd into another world. Also, the story poses an interesting question I don't think we will fully resolve until the end. Who is Ainz, really? Is this whom the MC always was if he had been OP'd in the "real world"? Or is he playing a role and in over his head? Not for nothing, his personal NPC was dressed like a German soldier. The MC frequently identifies the NPCs with their creators. So, when we look at the MC's NPC creation...should we be shocked the MC bumbled into a genocide? We only catch a glimpse of the MC in the game -- then he was full Overlord mode laughing in delight over crushing the heroic looking adventurers. Something to think about when we play GTA or go slaughter some random mobs in an RPG. Westworld has been playing with these kinds of concepts too, so it's a topic getting covered a bit. |
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Blood-
 Bargain Hunter Posts: 23857 |
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@ nategator - I'm a longtime anime fan, so I'm familiar with the concept of a show that can combine goofy comedic tropes with conceptually harsh stuff. Sometimes that mix works for me and sometimes it doesn't. Overlord is an example for me where it doesn't. I actually like the goofy comedic anime tropes but then I have to contend with, "ha ha, for the millionth time Ainz is embarrassed by Albedo's obsequious lust and one second later I'm reminded that these same delightfully silly entities are slaughtering innocent people." It just doesn't sit well with me. I understand that's a purely subjective viewpoint but I can't escape it.
I think the concept of following monster characters and seeing how that monstrous nature plays out is an interesting one but then mixing in the goofy comedic anime tropes takes me out of it. |
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TarsTarkas
 Posts: 5861 Location: Virginia, United States |
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I wouldn't say there is a complete lack of free will. Yes, some things are baked in, because of Yggdrasil. Everyone brought over, must play their part. Which I think is by design, by whatever entity that summoned them over. But Ainz is trying to get them to think for themselves too. Also, this loyalty to Ainz is necessary. Without it, the Tomb of Nazarick would fall apart, without it the "Good" citizens and the "Evil" citizens of Nazarick could not work together otherwise. Look at how much trouble Sebas got into rescuing Tuare. |
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Ishida_Akira(fake)
Posts: 113 |
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Albedo might have understood why Ainz sent those nobles where he sent them at the end of episode 10, because of what Ainz said to her when he gave her the "gift" from said nobles.
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Ryujin99
 Posts: 193 |
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I'd also say it seems like a distinct maybe that Albedo understood Ainz's reasoning, though I'm sure she's more than happy not to accept any "inferior beings" into Nazarik regardless of the reasoning.
Edit: removing quote that really wasn't necessary. |
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Nojay
Posts: 112 |
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Second Prince Zanac wasn't one of my favourite characters in this show but he really has redeemed himself in this series. At the end he got to be King, de-facto but he did it the hard way, not by being crowned in a fancy ceremony but by putting on armour and picking up a sword and stepping up to the position the way the real kings of old did. He never did get to wear a crown, that's all.
Of course his sister Renner often did wear a crown of sorts, that little mini-crown thing she wore as a hat. Funny that... |
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andramus
 Posts: 170 |
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I was wondering what you mean by that. Do you mean your perception of the character has been redeemed or that he underwent a redemption arc? I can understand the former but if it's the latter I personally don't think that's the case. I don't think the character has changed overly much over the course of the series. He was always trying to do his best for the Kingdom but that wasn't readily apparent in the beginning. Our first introduction to the character was calling the "lovely" Princess Renner a monster. At the time we initially thought Princess Renner was a wonderful person doing her best for the Kingdom so Zanac's insult towards her seemed like dickish behaviour. Only it turns out Renner actually was a monster. |
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Nojay
Posts: 112 |
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More, I think, that my perception of him changed. He was presented to us early on in the anime as a cynical and untrusting type and maybe not that intelligent, the sort of personality that nobles and minor royalty are often assigned in such shows. Once it was clear he was associated with Marquis Raeven (who clearly was not an idiot) things started to change, but I still saw him as greedy for power and willing to toss what principles he had in the bin to inherit the crown over his older brother simply because he wanted it. In episode 10 of this season, when all is lost, when the nation he now leads is heading towards certain destruction and there is nothing he can do about it, Zanac can smile and face that future with determination to die as a King must die. It's possible that version of Zanac is the same foppish Second Prince who made his first appearance in season 2, just well-disguised (that ability to hide their true nature may run in the family...). Back then I rather dismissed him as a minor character, Generic Conniving Royal Idiot #2. My view on that has changed. |
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Emerje
 Posts: 7353 Location: Maine |
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Two thoughts:
I'd like to think that the reason why Zanac didn't tell the nobles that came to kill him that he already plead for their surrender was because he knew what Ainz would do to them. For him this was a type of revenge for their betrayal. Note that before their talk Ainz had said he was going to make this war a real battle with no quick deaths unlike the previous, but after talking to Zanac he actually changed his mind. It's a rare few humans that can influence him like that. Bonus thought: what does he want the armor and sword so badly for? Who does he intend to put in it? Emerje |
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Nojay
Posts: 112 |
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Momonga is a packrat, he keeps everything, even things like Mask of Envy which is a "Loser! Don't even have a girlfriend you can spend time with in Xmas Eve!" limited-edition item. He did say, on examining Razor's Edge before his duel with Stronoff that it was a weapon that could kill him. He may have been lying, to deceive any remote observers like the Thousand Mile Astrologer or maybe it was just to make Stronoff feel better. If it is in fact true that Razor's Edge does hold enough data to kill Ainz as he is today in the New World then getting hold of it and keeping it out of other people's hands or even destroying it (Greater Break Item should work) is the smart move. |
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2Old2Care
 Posts: 12 Location: California |
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I'm sorry, but I do not find Ainz's excuse for executing genocide on decent people, just to make his friends happy entertaining.
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Leviathonlx1
Posts: 199 |
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Doesn't help the story has nothing that can even be a challenge for him whatsoever and he has no real control over his minions who are doing even more barbaric and incredibly evil things since he's such a dense protagonist. |
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danpmss
 Posts: 769 |
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I think it was the author who once said something along these lines, but t's supposed to be an Adams Family-like black comedy (filled with misunderstandings and developments leading towards an impending doom), mixed in with an intimidating dark fantasy horror epic (within the perspective of anyone who is unfortunate enough to be on the other side against an unstoppable force). You won't be very pleased with the direction this is going if you are not a big fan of that sort of upsetting/horrifying humor haha It's way more obvious in the books, as you can gradually see Ainz slowly but surely losing more and more his humanity living as a Lych King heavily deprived of emotions because of his current body (while proceeding to hilariously conquest the world accidentally til the point he finally realizes his subordinates have been following their agenda based on what they though Ainz was talking about). At one point he couldn't really do much about it and his façade went so far that he just decided to make an Utopia of his own (while still trying to find clues to anyone from his world that still may be around), even because (at least according to the books, he actually couldn't risk going against Nazarick's agendas and be found to be an impostor posing as himself, even because, funny enough, he IS an impostor posing as Lych King in a certain way. Ainz can't really go against Nazarick by himself, On the other hand, you have the actual "main character hero" perspective of the books, the human side fighting against the Adams Family of Nazarick, who, much like the former, gets their way in almost macabrely "funny" fashion (usually humurous from their own perspective instead, horrific form anyone else's, in that case). The villains get a considerable amount of screentime themselves and technically are the main cast, but they aren't exactly someone you should be rooting for, but expecting to be evil even for the sake of it (not to the same degree as the Adams Family, of course, as they were full on evil for the lols, at least Nazarick has a lore driven purpose haha). It's a matter of keeping your expectations in check, if you can't handle the villains doing attrocities while being technically the stars, you will not be happy with what's to come. |
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Random Name
Posts: 645 |
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Kinda odd were getting comments like this on season 4. I mean isnt it obvious what to expect by now? Also whats wrong with enjoying fictional evil beings doing evil things? I've never once thought while watching I wish someone would challenge Ainz but rather look forward to the crazy antics and world domination.
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