Overlord (LN)

Description

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In 21st century, world entered a new stage of VR games…and “YGGDRASIL” is considered top of all MMORPG…but, After announcing that all its servers will be off, the internet game ‘Yggdrasil’ shut down…or so was supposed to happen, but for some reason, the player character did not log out some time after the server was closed. NPCs start to become sentient. A normal youth who loves gaming in the real world seemed to have been transported into an alternate world along with his guild, becoming the strongest mage with the appearance of a skeleton, Momonga. He leads his guild “Ainz Ooal Gown” towards an unprecedented legendary fantasy adventure!

Associated Names
One entry per line
Ōbārōdo
オーバーロード
不死者之王
오버로드
Related Series
Altina X Overlord Special Collaboration Booklet (Side Story)
Overlord (WN) (Web Novel)
Recommendations
Dungeon Defense (18)
A Berserker Mob, I’m Going to Participate in the Main Story (5)
The New Gate (LN) (5)
Death March kara Hajimaru Isekai Kyusoukyoku (WN) (5)
Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (WN) (5)
Kyuuketsu Hime wa Barairo no Yume o Miru (4)
Recommendation Lists
  1. Strong misunderstanding
  2. enjoyed my time
  3. OP MC's
  4. light novels
  5. ALLJP+

Latest Release

Date Group Release
09/20/22 Hitori v16c5 part3 +...
09/11/22 Hitori v16c4 part5 + c5...
09/04/22 Hitori v16c4 part4
08/28/22 Hitori v16c4 part3
08/22/22 Hitori v16c4 part2
08/21/22 Hitori v16c4 part1
08/14/22 Hitori v15c3 part2-4 +...
08/07/22 Hitori v15c2 part3 + c3...
07/31/22 Hitori v15c1 part3 + c2...
07/24/22 Hitori v15c1 part1-2
07/23/22 Hitori v15 prologue
07/28/22 Hitori v15 illustrations
06/08/20 Hitori v14 epilogue
06/05/20 Hitori v14c4 part11
06/02/20 Hitori v14c4 part10
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126 Reviews sorted by


Zek
HOMOSENSEI rated it
September 24, 2016
Status: v10
If you came here wanting for more after you've finished watching Anime, then this wouldn't fail to entertain you. I suggest reading back at the start since the anime left out quite a few plot points, and his all-mighty Ainz-sama's incomprehensible thoughts (sarcasm). Even being one of the most powerful figures in the new world, he refrains from doing things that would garner attention, until that is, at the start of late chapters, where he swoop down a certain army with only one spell, and thus starting his life in... more>> the middle of spotlight.

The best thing I could point out is the comedic events, the emperor of an empire mistaking his shallow actions to have ulterior motives, which in fact, has none and is purely out of coincidental. Also his followers treating him as something calculating, and even above them although they are more powerful than him in terms of strength and in intelligence.

Once you've kept up with the latest chapters, you will certainly agree to Demiurge's statement, "People slightly advance treating themselves as something superior above everyone, is easier to read than people who are idiot and oblivious to things." <<less
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Seregosa
Seregosa rated it
June 19, 2023
Status: v16
Honestly I'm incredibly fed up, bored and disappointed with this novel.

I used to adore it, to love it more than almost any other novel when just several volumes were released. I read it several times, kept up to track with the novels, read the WN, read the manga, watched the anime, listened to the voice dramas, hell, I even read some fanfic for fun. Dunno, I just really loved it.

However, as I read more and more novels over the years and got back to this to read up to volume... more>> 16, I realized just how tr*sh it truly is as we get further into the story. Ainz never really changes and his incompetence becomes more and more annoying since he's carried by everyone and he's always too s*upid to realize that those around him doesn't have the same wishes and goals as him, like trying to find "playmates" for aura and mare, pretty sure they're quite old even if young for dark elves, meanwhile, none of the people in nazarick want anything to do with the lowly beings outside, except for the butler that has a case of puppy love for the r*pe s*ave turned maid.

Many plot holes everywhere that will clearly not get resolved or get worked on as the story is just about finished at this point. Things like clementine, who had potential, or the dark necromancy organization she helped out. The loli vampire had nice potential both for romance or at least story, but she faded out quickly, although she did get her own parallel universe side story volume. Many world items that never got used properly or even showed up. I mean, you can only cover so much in 1-2 volumes more.

But, yeah, I just feel utterly disappointed in the direction after several volumes, not only is the story development very slow and he never really leaves his comfort zone at the starting location and very little is actually explained about the world itself and its various locations and inhabitants. He never fights any difficult battles, always being able to keep himself cowardly and safe with dominance, except for when he fought his own underling vampire and assumedly in the last volume where he'll likely fight that OP dragon. All his more bold moves were only possible because his current undead state suppresses all his emotions, same for the killing and so on. Every now and then he starts going psycho on us with his OP abilities, usually because someone pretended to know about his old friends or because they threatened nazarick in some way.

So, later on we start notice something. The story is going nowhere and even shows signs of rushing towards an end and completely irrelevant side stories. Spending a ton of time on things like some random holy kingdom with shitty side characters and shitty plots, I hated every moment of it. Same with the whole "let's bring down the kingdom" crap. Urgh. The closer to the end we get, the more haphazard and s*upid the plot becomes, which has clear reasons. The author lost his passion and desire to continue, which has been mentioned many times, often with excuses like being pissed for an extra volume he released at an event being translated to english by fans because he wouldn't let it be released officially or some other inane excuse. Oh, the horror. Not the english readers fault that they're slow AF at translating or if he c*ckblocks everyone by not selling it, who cares if it was an event item. Basically, he tired of writing novels. That's fine and all, but honestly I wish he would just drop it or axe it instead of rushing everything, dragging things out with half-as*ed plot and bad writing.

I feel insanely much disappointment for a novel that could've been so much more. I don't particularly blame the author for losing motivation, f*ck, it's only human, motherf*cker's been working on this crap since 2010. The first several years were good, then he clearly started to lose interest more and more, even a bit praiseworthy to keep on going for so long. I know I would personally lose interest after a few years at most, which is why I wouldn't set out to write a novel that takes so much time to complete. I think the entire series deserves a 3/5, the first several volumes a 5/5, the latter half about 2/5. Because the author just couldn't up and drop it or axe it quickly, I will forever be left with a sour aftertaste when thinking back of this novel instead of recalling how great it was at the start. I guess part of it is also because I've read so many novels now that the plot here feels rather low level with the protagonist being unattractive compared to more cunning, competent and perhaps even evil ones. <<less
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grimehound
grimehound rated it
January 25, 2021
Status: v14
There are 1 star or 3 star ratings with dumb reasons over here. The Story is almost perfect but these people always wanna make dumb accusations about the novel saying for example, the lizardmen was only given a cameo after 2 volumes from their introduction. Mate, that was intended for future purposes. Not gonna blame you anyway cause that's an old comment. Anyway The novel is really good with great world building, exciting scenes and very nice writing. This novel never made me bored from reading straight from volume 1... more>> to 14 and I keep wanting more overlord volumes to read. <<less
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dolla
dolla rated it
December 22, 2020
Status: v14
I do not know why some people are rating so low. This is literally the best isekai novel there could be, like it is theoretically the best it could get. There are all the elements an isekai should have but the author portrays them in so non traditional way that you are entertained. It is not at all generic novel, it has world building, adventuring, world domination, cruelty, tragedy, magic, sword, dragons, yandere. The best thing about the novel is that MC have long term goals, finding his mates, securing... more>> the Nazarick.

It is 5/5 for me. <<less
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veneficae
veneficae rated it
July 23, 2020
Status: v14 epilogue
The novel would be way more interesting if only the characters the author developed actually gets utilized instead of thrown away without the characters doing anything. One could argue that the characters development are used for world building but there are other ways to world build without spending a volume or 3 to develop a character just to kill them off without utilizing what is established. Hell, the one of the most developed side character who debuted in the first volume gets killed off without this character doing anything of... more>> importance. It's like spending 8 hours cooking up a thanksgiving dinner, carefully crafting every minuet dish, plating it up gorgeously, and then proceed to throw it out into the tr*sh. <<less
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riku_93
riku_93 rated it
April 29, 2020
Status: v13
In the beginning, it was amazing. The first 2, maybe 3, novel made me a fan of Overlord. There was some stuff that made me facepalm or thought it was s*upid, but overall, I enjoyed it and wanted more. However, it soon became a chore. The world sounds nice and intriguing, but they don't really go into much. Character wise, some are interesting especially when they are not being annoying with their constant praise to the MC. Others are made to be important and then just cutoff which seems pointless.... more>> The MC is one of the main reason why I lower my rating of this novel. To me, it seems like the author doesn't know how to portray him. In the beginning it was fine because the MC was still getting use to his new body and the effect it has but now it is just annoying. Not exactly sure how to explain it but to me, he seems inconsistent. In eridanired123's review it explains how I feel a bit about the MC. I think at around vol. 7 is when I really started to lower my opinion on Overlord, but after vol.13, I'm just going to stop and hopefully forget this. <<less
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Ozys
Ozys rated it
February 28, 2020
Status: v13
one of the best handling of OP MC category I've ever seen. MC knows he and his subordinates are OP but they are still being careful in case there's other being as strong/stronger than they are. MC actions actually affect the world and we can see the changes in the world and basically just everything around it adapting to the existence of the MC. MC actually has goal and know what to do to achieve it instead of your usual OP MC just killing evils and gathering harem. People actually... more>> acknowledge that MC is OP and treat him accordingly. MC actually uses his brain, he knows taking over the world can't be done with only raw power. Side characters have emotions and feelings, good world building and character development. We know MC is strong but we would still wait in anticipation whenever MC or his team get on a fight and hope that they can win. Good comedy, good story, one of the best handling of OP MC category I've ever seen. <<less
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DarkberserkerAA rated it
October 12, 2018
Status: v13 epilogue
"Do we really accept mediocrity as being master piece and bad as being mediocre?" - DarkberserkerAA

I'm not gonna properly review this novel and I just gonna say my opinion. First of all this novel is one of the most complete novel i've read. What I mean of complete is the story is coherent, the characters are well written each have their own unique personality, normal reactions of each characters, that it makes you feel that they are really people. Most novels neglect on building personalities of each character and focus... more>> only on few, which lead to bad writing. I mean most novels out there are just doing rinse and repeat thing that you will get bored reading it.

Conclusion - Don't compare this novel to tr*sh novels out there that have plot armored MCs. This novel have realistic rpg system that the MC won't have a sudden power up like most ofnthe tr*sh novels. And don't get the wrong impression of Ainz being a good MC cause he looks more human that has emotions and thoughts than any other MC out there.

P.S. - I don't really like the concept of good people and bad people cause some people view you as good and some view you as bad, you can't be only one in the point of view of all people.

Update: Most of the negative reviews came from the anime watchers. They build their own conclusion without knowing the stoty behind what happened in the animr. I'm kinda sick of those guys trying to be edgy, thinking the Overlord is a kind of den of sadistic people. Most people here came for literary and leisure reading. Not some den of trying to be edgy people. In other words "try hard" they act like that cause they are pretending to read and understand the novel itself. <<less
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EvilGenesis666
EvilGenesis666 rated it
September 1, 2018
Status: v13 afterword
Epic novel. The detail and hard work author put into it is just crazy, I mean each chapter has over 30k words in it so you can see how hard he tries. While he does take lengthy breaks between each volume, their quality stays the same if not better so the wait is worth it.

Now, for the main character of this book - he is a skeletal magician who leads a vast evil organization, and he is meant to feel like the final boss of a game. Because of that,... more>> those readers who don’t believe in saving people without a reward (as is common in LNs or anime) and put themselves first will enjoy this book. While he does appear evil and calculative to common people (humans) and inteligent and divine to the residents of Nazarick, his inner thoughts are actually quite comedic. I mean he is trudging along, barely knowing what he's going to do and trying to look good, and no one realizes how many mistakes he's making. He's sweating bullets and his enemies are gasping that his intelligence knows no bounds. I would say the stat he has maxed out the most is luck, since it's impossible for so many things to coincide to his plans.

Side characters are also very well done. Each one has their own personalities and their own quirks so they don't feel bland and the thing that connects them all is their loyalty to their master (MC). While they are blindly loyal to Ainz, he tries to teach them to think with their own heads and not just take whatever he says as absolute truth. My favorite side character has to be Demiurge who is basically like a combination of Sora and Shiro from No Game No Life but extremely strong (and evil). I love how he plans things 1000 steps ahead of the enemy but it's funny how he thinks Ainz is actually planning 2000 steps ahead and worships him for it, while he just makes up things on the go. Actually, here is a paragraph from the v9 which perfectly explains how Ainz is feeling while he is dealing with Demiurge's plans and his over-the-top opinion of him:

Spoiler

"Hooh... Ainz-sama’s plan, huh. I see. A special plan concocted by someone with the same name as me. Making the Baharuth Empire ally with and struggle against Nazarick was part of that plan too, huh... I have no idea what that’s all about. If only I could ask this Ainz fellow about it!"

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Concerning plot, it is very well thought out and well executed. Many things are foreshadowed several volumes before, the detail in every chapter is intense and we see every characters thought process. The only bad thing I could find is that author took too much time on some of the side stories and details. While some people might like it, I wasn't very happy that author dedicated an entire VOLUME to a side character.

On the other hand, there were some volumes which I liked very much. For me, the best one was undoubtedly volume 9. It was packed with so much comedy and action that it is amazing. To paraphrase it briefly, it was something like this :

Spoiler

The Emperor trying to rationalize things about Nazarick that make no sense. Because they don't. They're all from video games and anime and just popped randomly into his world.

Why are these elves crossdressed? Because their designer was really really into that. Why are the women so beautiful? Because they were designed that way. What is Ainz scheming? Nothing. He just wants to be a really good host. Why are they so powerful? Because they have higher levels in an RPG video game.

And he comes away from the whole thing going, "Ainz is a really hyperintelligent politician of unmatched subtlety." When really, Ainz was just cluelessly picking his nose. And Demiurge is off to the side cackling, "JUST AS PLANNED."

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Would recommend this novel to anyone who wants to read a masterpiece with intense detail, foreshadowing, well thought out plot and character and is tired of wish-fulfilling isekai novels with self-righteous MC whose author tries to justify and heroize every action that the MC does. <<less
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DarthBlood
DarthBlood rated it
April 22, 2017
Status: v11c4
It's so hard to put how I feel about this story into words. I love it so much, but at the same time, I despise it.

Like all the other reviews have pointed out, it's an OP MC being thrust into a game world turned real. Each chapter is probably 20k+ words, compared to the maybe 2-3k word chapters on sites like Wuxiaworld or Gravity.

What I love about it. The massive world building. It's not the MC that makes this good, it's the multitude of other characters that play a... more>> part, because a true OP MC like this just isn't fun to witness. On a scale, if a normal human was lvl 1, a strong warrior was considered lvl 20, and the most knowledgeable mage was lvl 50, the main character would be lvl 1000. That's how OP he is. It makes everything pointless. So huge sections of the story focus on the weak humans or demihumans (lizardmen, dwarves, goblins) and how they play into a bigger world of politics and war. There are countless plot lines that intersect and admittedly, and if you don't like verbiose and lengthy reads, this wouldn't be for you.

What I hate... god do I hate it. Everything in this story is built on misunderstandings. Every single problem comes up due to a misunderstanding, and every solution usually is based on a misunderstanding as well. It doesn't help that the MC is your stereotypical beta Jap that's defined by how much of a whiny loser he is. Here's an example of a major misunderstanding. The MC is in an alliance with someone (let's call him X). X is the ruler of a country. X is scared of how OP the MC is, and calls in people from a nearby religious country who hate undead with a passion in order to try to kill him. The MC is doing his own thing, and visits X's country to try to recruit adventurers for his own plan. They accidentally bump into each other at a local arena while X is hosting the religious nuts. The MC, being the beta Jap that he is, greets X super politely, wishes him well, and all that. X freaks out because he thinks his plan of trying to kill the MC has been found out and that the MC has been spying on him the whole time. The religious nuts run away and X, thinking that the MC is going to wipe out his country, pledges his country to the MC, who is super confused about what is going on.

Every time the MC lands in a bad situation, he credits it to there being other players like him who have transcended to this world, and so he acts super cowardly in almost everything he does. The problem is... EVERY bad situation has been a coincidence. In the latest chapter I'm reading, he loses his mental connection with two Death Knights that he summoned to go kill some demihumans and assumes that a player has killed them, which makes him super cautious. In reality, the Death Knights fell off a bridge into a dark crevice. I'm sick of the constant s*upid misunderstandings that define this story, but the superb translation and seeing the viewpoints of the other minor characters is what keeps me going. <<less
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clowred
clowred rated it
January 28, 2016
Status: --
I'm always giving 5 stars to any novel I start reading at the beginning. Then depending on the way the story develops I take some of them. Now, after I managed to read about five volumes, I can say one thing at least. The story is absolutely fantastic. But, it has two misfortunes, the pacing and the characters. Normally one would say that if these two are bad then the entire novel goes down the drain. Well, not exactly.

The pacing is bad because the first volume presented the story... more>> in a complete different manner. The side stories are taking too much space and Momonga allies are... well, unstable may be the best way to phrase it. Now, the characters have awesome personalities, but instead of development we see a regress in terms of complexity and straightforwardness and we are stuck with emotional worries that are slowing the already snail like pace. Sadly, this story lost its luster, and now no matter what will happen, it will stick to a select number of readers that were actually looking for something that starts from the second or third volume rather than the first one. Still, I'm impressed how the author managed to create such a novel that distances itself from the general system. <<less
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firedrake110
firedrake110
June 14, 2022
Status: v14 epilogue
I love seeing all the different reviews of this series. It's a tidal wave of people going "5 Stars, masterpiece, " crashing against those small islands of "I can't appreciate how good this is, 1 Star." The writing, worldbuilding, and character work is all 5 stars, no question. This isn't a story that focuses on one perspective - to properly showcase the depth of the supporting cast, it has to move around and regularly check in with the many different moving parts scattered across the varied countries and organizations. Yes,... more>> Ainz is the central pillar around which the story is built, but the world is much larger than him, and if you're only capable of appreciating first-person power fantasies, you're in the wrong place (you're also basically a degenerate Isekai addict like Gigguk, but I'm not much better so I won't judge XD) <<less
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somerandomreadingenthusiast
somerandomreadingenthusiast rated it
April 6, 2022
Status: v14
Great transmigration novel, the fact that he doesn't want to kill humans and wants to create a country where all races are equal while being undead is kind of comedic, although the fact that he doesn't crush his enemies while clearly having the strength to do so made me want to drop this many times but it does seem to make sense as the story would just go like "he transmigrated, instigated wars and took over the world, the end" so I guess it makes sense, and the fact he... more>> doesn't know his own plan of conquering the world made me laugh, great read, recommend it. <<less
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Kedluben
Kedluben rated it
June 29, 2021
Status: v14c12
This is until volume 13 really a masterpiece. Everything is so detailed and the variety of characters is just perfect. It is touching, yet funny and exciting. This is just how it should be. The novel about one parent trying to protect relic of his friends and of course endless loyalty of his and his friends' children. It just pity, that author doesn't care about it anymore.
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xtheconner
xtheconner
May 5, 2021
Status: --
I love this series, and I am really sad that due to the author not really wanting to write anymore the ending for it is becoming extremely rushed— the author said that he had enough ideas to write another like 50 books, but since he was getting tired of writing he wanted to finish the series before book 20—this probably explains the inconsistencies in behaviors like the ... more>>
Spoiler

war against the kingdom (ie the destruction of the kingdom with minimal expenditure on Ainz's side 😉) — (he said that his reason for destroying the kingdom via war was because it was the easiest way to make his people happy... but... wha?? I dun gettit)

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as well as the culling of side-plots etc

So basically, great story, great potential, wish author would go back and rewrite some of the last books and continue writing until the end of his real imagined story, but... at least we had a fun ride thru the first bunch of this

I would recommend it, but keep in mind that the volumes in the teens are basically a rushed ending, so don be too disappointed —still itz grate writing and plot—it could def do without the whole Albedo's obsessional love of Ainz, and
Spoiler

when he is on the carriage with that girl from the holy kingdom, the whole "omg he is so amazing—he lowers himself to talk to me even tho im just a nobody and he is a king, omgomgomgomgomg" thing kinda got old fast... not that I dont get the point of it but...

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bhankit
bhankit rated it
September 17, 2020
Status: v11 epilogue
Overlord is a masterpiece. There is no doubt about it. But so are many other tragedies out there. The feelings that it invokes after reading, I don't like them.

I have read other novels with protagonists that are not morally upright. Reverend Insanity and Warlock of Magus World are one of the better ones in this genre. But overlord is different from them.

The MC in this novel is portrayed as an undead being with intelligent thoughts. Since he was a human before, one ends up expecting that he will still feel... more>> something for humans or any other race for that matter. But that is a mistake. The MC here can cruelly exterminate any of the races in NW. But on the other hand, we see that he is caring for his subordinates (NPCs). He can be incredibly considerate to them. This dual preference jarred me quite a bit. It is paradoxical in some sense. He is not motivated by selfishness but by a twisted desire to protect what he had in the past.

Up till this point, it is similar to many of the evil MCs like Fang Yuan who can do anything for their goal. The reason why I don't like it because it seems to focus quite a bit on the suffering of innocents. It is not that other novels in the genre have not shown this but overlord seems to specifically focus on this. Many innocent characters suffer unbearable tragedies and it is shown in great detail in this novel. While I can't say for others, I don't like to torture myself like this. <<less
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Mishor
Mishor rated it
February 6, 2020
Status: v13 afterword
Ive red Overlord back to back several times so I think my reviev holds some merit.

First of all this is a Character driven story its not so much about what they do as it is about their interactions. Second of all it really is not like other OP MC Novels This is much more of a actuall book. What I mean by that is its not spewing out chapters every day. The story is planned out and well executed, things don`t happen for no reason. (There are some cases of... more>> PLOT but its rather funny doesn`t happen often). Id also like to addres what some are saying is a boring MC. Its true that he has a lot of contradictions but he is meant to have them.
Spoiler

He is literraly a everyday joe thrust into a position of unimaginable power. That can`t show weakness.

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. You should not expect things to move at a breakneck pace and everything to be resolved with either voilance or friendship. This is another strong point of this novel there are motivations and goals behind every character that keeps the story going. There is a lot of scheming and politics involved. The fact that MC is the way he is allows for some mysteries if he was truly who his comerades see him as the story would be boring not having any unknowns. He also doesn't choose the voilence option all that often in fear of future repercusions, there is a lot of finese almost every time when a fight breaks out.

This spoiler is about MC power level nothing significant.

Spoiler

It is true that as of right now there are no people able to chalange him directly, altho there is always a looming threat.

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Last thing I wan't to say is about the side stories. There are a lot of them some see them as unneeded but think about them this way can you truly care about a world or a character if you know nothing about them ? There is a slightly to long of a side story considering that it becomes irrelevant pretty quick (you know witch one im talking about if you read it). But the worst part about it is not that its bad, it's the fact that you can't wait to see what happens next with the main cast.

That is my opinion on the book if you wan't a generic OP MC it won't deliver, but if you want an interesting read with actuall characters and story id recomend it with my whole heart. <<less
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silksong23
silksong23 rated it
September 15, 2019
Status: v13
One of the best Isekai OP LN series.

The world is so vast on this series which makes thing more exciting.

As of volume 13, there are still so many things to look forward on future arcs (which makes me sad that the author announced it's gonna end on volume 30 down to 21 down to 18 down to 17)
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General Tanya
General Tanya rated it
March 8, 2018
Status: v13
This novel is very thrilling and exciting to read. It draw you into the story and make it hard for you to turn back. There is a also lot of deaths (both bad and good guys). If you love the Mr. Perfect with a noble cause where everything is sweet and sunshine then you can stop reading it. The later volumes is only gonna get bloodier. The tittle said it already:Overlord. A naive former human MC (king in training) with a OP army of cute (only in MC eyes) monsters... more>> that try to rule a country in a hostile world. He is basically a undead immortal skeleton that is the father of the strongest monsters, but his territory is in the middle of human countries that are very hostile to any races except humans. Undead and monsters are just hunted down for fame, materials and religion reason. So he tried to protect his children by create a paradise for them. And he doesn't mind staining his hands in blood to accomplish that.

Author really did a perfect job mixing the 4 famous elements: magic+OP MC + transported mc+conquest. I was tired of the cliche MC that end up in a new world and somehow try to save it and be the hero. They always has to go for the sage path, try to make peace and go on some noble quest. I love the terror and the dark humor in Overlord. Author can make the most interesting characters and can invoke readers emotions by given them the death flag or unclear fates. Best about Overlord is the author way of writing the story. Hints and small important details are drop between the lines and there are many things you need to connect the dots with to able to fully understands it completely. Which make it more suited for a more mature audience and readers with good reading comprehensions. It's feel great to pick up these information while many new fans get confuse or doesn't fully understand the story.

Spoiler

Overlord has one of the best evil characters out there and somehow no matter what you just can't fully hate them. Plot is not deep (was never that kind of novel anyway) but the way how they begin their conquest is awesome. Best thing is how author doesn't try to keep protecting the side characters (males or females) and still show the dark side of society. There is no such thing as absolute justice and the good guys always prevail. Reality is harsh if you don't have absolute power. The strong rule over the weak and there is always schemes involve. No matter how sad your story is or how noble you are, if you are unlucky then you just die like anyone else. Author did a good job mixing dark humor in it with tragedy and action.

Power level: MC is consider god in the new world. All his most loyal underlings level is not far from him or some even surpass him. He posses a large amount of wealth, magic items and war gears. He possess enough fire power to wage war with the entire world and still have enough to spare. There are still existence and items in the new world that are a threat to him but he outnumber them by sheer numbers. He basically can destroy them just by throwing his underlings as cannon fodders.

Basically the MC would win and conquer the world in a week if he really wanted to. But then the casualties would be enormous and the world would be destroyed. But that is no what the story is about. MC find the new world very beautiful and want to preserve it. He also love all his underlings and never allow them to come to harm which is why he is always afraid to sent them into battle. It also make it hard for him because the strongest being of the new world is still hiding in the shadows.

We all now how the novel will end:MC taking over the world. But is the journey how they accomplish it that makes the story so interesting. Story is about how a former salary man try to run a country full of monsters and tried to conquer to world without destroying it. Without him, his underlings would have destroy and turn everything into ash already. MC is the one that keep them united and preventing them from wrecking the world. A normal person try his hardest to be a good king to his people (bloodthirsty vassals) and keep the surrounding kingdoms intact while taking it over. There is enough humor, cuteness and action to keep it interesting.

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The Overlord wiki is very details. So anything you don't understands you can go there for answers. Hope you will also enjoy the novel as much a I do. <<less
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ammogram
ammogram rated it
February 9, 2018
Status: v12
If this novel does one thing right it's definitely world building. The story and characters are done well for this medium. The story is unlike most "isekai" with power fantasy tropes and harems galore. You have a protagonists who underestimates himself greatly and thinks his actions through often creating interesting situations and comedic misunderstandings. The story is also told through multiple viewpoints which often expands the story and characters. Although some tropes do exists it is often lessened by the protagonist personality and being. The characters for the most part... more>> have dimensions and dynamics between them creating a more overall enjoyable read. The world it inhabits or "game" and the history of it is truly the string that pulls everything together, making the world of the novel feel more real. With it's lore, game mechanics, different dynamics between nations, etc. Makes the novel easier to fall into and enjoy. This novel does have some problems mainly pacing, execution, and others but overall its is still worth a read. Much better compared to many other novels here.

8-8.5/10 <<less
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