The first recap film of season 1 of the anime TV series Overlord, covering episodes 1 to 7. In the year 2138, the popular online VR game Yggdrasil is quietly shut down one day. However, the player Momonga decides to not log out and is transformed into a powerful skeletal wizard upon shutdown. The game world continues to change, with non-player characters beginning to feel emotions. Confronted with this abnormal situation, Momonga and his loyal followers strive to investigate and take over the new world the game has become.
Where to begin? I'll start with the truth. I did not like it.
And that is not because I am a westerner. Nor is it because it's "not my thing." No. I did not like it because the inner monologue, that of an average human, and his avatar's nature, that of an evil supreme being, did not mesh to
... give a clear perception of the main character's overall nature. There was also an unexplained special effect that kept coming over the main character whenever he became highly emotional, which were "soft feelings" that were contrary to his avatar's assigned nature; that of evil supreme being. This frustrating character defect was exacerbated by the main character's personal feelings toward his inner circle as opposed to his treatment and actions when dealing with the human population. The story also has another point of contention in that it appeared as if the writers did not know for whom this series was written. There are adult themes along the lines of language but it fails to follow through with the appropriate fan service to back up its _adult_ dialogue. And lastly there is a disturbing degree of western Woke-ism to this series; enough to make me definitely keep my rating below five stars out of the ten offered.
The main character is just what the summary says he is. He is a real person gamer who is operating within his character of a MMORPG, massively multplayer online role-playing game. I believe the intro states the year in RL is 2036, so the game is fully immersive...? The game is being shutdown, and having massive nostalgia for the time and love of the game, he decides to stay until the very end. When the game does shutdown, a timer begins anew and the main character finds himself "stuck" in the game and actually taking up the role in the game as his clan's Chief/leader. He finds all of his online friends' created characters are fiercely loyal to him and his reign. They continue on as if the game was not shutdown. And the MC finds he has to govern now, not in consensus with his absent friends, but alone. MY CONTENTION WITH THIS SERIES BEGINS HERE.
The MC describes himself as an office drone in real life. He has doubts about leading everyone as an evil overlord, which is not a problematic trait IF his avatar as an evil overlord, fit his human personality. It does not. The series has the thought process of the RL persona uneven with the persona of the in-game character. It leaves the viewer feeling off-kilter and confused as to how they should feel about the RL persona who is supposed to be the viewer's focus.
If the RL persona is not intrinsically an a-hole, BUT he keeps doing evil crap to regular humans through his game character -- because it's what his game character does --, HOW is the viewer supposed to feel about the RL person??? What is the series trying to convey?? One moment he's atoning for a mistake he makes among humans, in the next moment he condemns half a village to death in his dungeons. One moment he's helping a woman and child from being slaughtered, the next moment he's having men, women, and children skinned and fed to roaches. It is very inconsistent (and frustrating) with how the viewer is supposed to perceive the MC. I get the MC and his followers are of an evil faction, but the inconsistencies between the RL's inner monologue and his game character's actions are glaringly annoying.
Not knowing who this series is written for became obvious too. I mentioned fan service or the lack thereof. Some of the female characters want to be the ones who "carry on the great name of the MC" through bearing his children. This would not be an issue IF the MC had not already acknowledged that his skeletal body lacked the appropriate male anatomy to engage with copulating activity. So what in the blue-blazes are the females going on about!?! The series has written in that female dialogue but it doesn't track with what has already been established. And while this kind of talk keeps going on -- which I don't think is age appropriate -- there is that lack of fan service which makes such instances "seinen-lacking". This is also frustrating because it leaves the viewer anticipating but then never delivers.
My last con with this series deals with the ever-insidious, cancerous, influence of **western woke-ism**. There are characters in this series which are both, at the very least metra-sexual; and at worst cross-dressers. Neither of which are mentioned in the series description of credits nor related tags. The series continues with the woke-cancer by appointing women to leadership positions when there are very capable male characters in the same sub-story. There is a team of women warriors in which one of them -- the "burly warrior" -- is literally drawn with a man's face and physically imposing muscular build, but is put in women's armor. The armor, which has cups for her bust, but no cuisses-- thigh armor, but somehow she is wearing greaves-- shin guards. Which doesn't make sense seeing as how nothing about her gives an air of sensuality. It's a nonsensical character. There are a pair of dark elf twins who have been put in cross-dressing attire. The girl is in a pants suit, while the boy is wearing a blouse vest, pleated skirt, and leggins. The armored burly warrior woman has a deep voice, and is crude, while the cross-dressing elf boy is mousy, self-doubting, and is disturbingly feminine in nature; his sister is the exact opposite. Need I mention there is no telling their genders apart without character dialogue to state so? Both the twins sound like girls.
Of all my complaints this last one is the most disconcerting. This series is nearly five years old, so hopefully all my grievances have been addressed and this series is permentally in the rearview of Japanese creatives.
Let us pray to GOD, it stays there. I'm hoping the massively successful introduction of **_Demonslayer_** is an indication Japan is not willing to concede to the terrible horrible entertainment ideologies of the West.
Nuff' said.
