Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. Happy Halloween everyone. Now normally, me and my gang would go off on some crazy Halloween adventure which would tie into a horror movie and end with public destruction or people getting beaten up.
(Seras): You know, the good times.
(Nitsuj): But this year we’re trying something different. We’re gonna have a traditional Halloween this year. We’ve got decorations, we’re handing out treats, we’re throwing a party later on tonight, and of course we have Overlord. In a time when isekai anime was on the rise, Overlord separated itself from the pact. Instead of the main character being a good guy who wanted to help everyone around him, Ains was a villain, a guy who only cared about his guild and the members in it. It was different, unique, and spoke to your inner villain. Madhouse did an incredible job with this anime and earlier this year they bought it back. That’s right, Madhouse, a studio infamous for never doing second seasons gave us not only a second season of Overlord but also a third season recently. I’ve review the second season earlier this year. While not a bad season I didn’t like how it shifted the focus off of Ains but the third season bought it back to Ains and erases any hint of good in him. Usually, I wait a month or two to review it since it just ended but it’s the holidays and we’re changing things up so I say we take a look at this anime and let our darkness run free. This is Overlord S3.
Opening and Ending Theme
So for season 3 they decided to switch things up by having Myth & Roid do the opening and OxT do the ending. The opening is “Voracity” by Myth & Roid. Much like the second opening I wasn’t a big fan of it but as the season went on it started to grow on me and I find myself liking it. I just love the lyrics and the dark atmosphere the song creates. It gives you a rush of power as everything around you is in chaos and you stand there admiring all of it because you are responsible for this madness because you are an overlord. Not to mention the beat is addicting to listen to. While I like the song I think the first two are better.
The ending is “Silent Solitude” by OxT. Once again a good ending that is both peaceful and chaotic at the same time. The whole song is bittersweet as it feels like it’s being sung from the perspective of Ains and the other members of Nazerick who are monsters that feel sympathy for no one and relish in their pain and torture. I also enjoy the slow pace of the song as well as it allows us to take in everything that has happened in the episode. While the second ending is still my favorite, this one comes in at a close second.
Episodes 1-5
The third season starts off with Ains thanking Sebas and Solution for all their hard work in information gathering and granting them one wish (such a benevolent ruler to his servants). Sebas wishes for all the necessities to be provided for Tuare so Ains gives him plenty of gold and even allows Sebas go out on a date with her to pick what she wants. Solution’s wish is a little darker as she wishes to eat live humans. Ains begrudgingly allows this but she won’t be allowed to eat innocent humans. He also grants Entoma a wish where all she wants to do is kill Evil Eye and steal her voice should the time ever come (talk about holding a grudge). After this not much really happens as Ains takes a slime bath (that sounds good. (Corbin): Oh it’s the best. It’s like getting full body massage without having to move) and decides to give the floor guardians a day off. The girls summon a bicorn and Albedo tries to ride it but can’t as apparently bicorns can’t be rode by pure maidens which means Albedo despite being a succubus (so that’s what she is. All this time I thought she was a fallen angel), is still a virgin (well the man you love is missing the one bone that matters so that’s understandable. Scene here: https://youtu.be/l3sHnsarhyQ). As for the boys, Ains invites them to bathe with him in the baths (guys night on the town). We get a few laughs such as Ains practicing his posing and phrases (scene here: https://youtu.be/StWJCGlFoZw) which impresses Mare when he puts them into practice. This leads to a very touching scene where Ains says how thankful he is for everybody in Nazarick, even going as far as calling them his treasure. This actually brings tears to Mare’s eyes and as for Albedo, her floodgates finally explode as she tackles Ains to the ground and tries to have sex with him right in front of Mare and a maid (she finally snapped on us. Is it wrong to say I’m surprise it took this long for her to make a move? I feel as if this should have happened sooner). Even when the spider assassins try to stop her, she just blows them away with ease and continues to ride Ains (scene here: https://youtu.be/v-j8p7lQZWk, this season is already off to a good start). We also get to see the bath scene with the guys chilling the girls fighting after the credits (scenes here: https://youtu.be/2bWvgTq4jXQ and https://youtu.be/ySQrYSuJFBE).
At the start of episode 2 we sit in on meeting going on between Ains and the main personal for Nazarick. Thanks to their actions last season, they control the underworld of Re-etsize and are moving forward with their next plan which is world domination (https://youtu.be/CeKjN-tdMkc) since Ains has already started with Carne village. At first Ains is shocked by this (scene here: https://youtu.be/Qh_NxkCuAUg, that wasn’t on the table but okay I’ll eat it) but once he calms down he realizes this might not be a bad idea as it’ll help spread his name and if possible find the people who controlled Shalltear as well as potential players who got stuck in the game as well. Demiurge and Albedo believe that their next step should be to announce Nazarick to the world by creating their own nation. After this, we focus a majority of the episode with the citizens of Carne village. We see that the village has been fortified to keep invaders out and they teamed up with the local goblins who aren’t evil and are actually protecting the village (this is new. Usually goblins are the ones attacking instead of defending). We also see that Nphirea is still in the village and has created a new purple potion which is possibly stronger than the red potion Ains gave him (most impressive. Your knowledge will serve Nazarick greatly in the future). As far as the romance goes between him and Enri it’s not going anywhere as the boy is obsessed with medicine (get your priorities straight man) and Enri is battling her own demons as the fear she experienced in the first season still haunts her. When the two go out to pick herbs with a goblin escort, they see a kid goblin get attacked by barghest (a large wolf with a chain. Looks like something that should be in Persona) and save the kid. The kid reveals himself to be Agu fourth son of the Gigu tribe leader Ah and tells them that the Giant of the East and the Demon Snake of the West have partnered up with each other and he was attacked by their minions.
In episode 3 Nphirea and the others bring Agu back to the village just as Lupisregina aka Lupis one of Ains’s maids arrives. Agu explains how the Forest King’s disappearance has upset the balance between the Giant and Demon Snake and how Ains’s presence has them scared that they’ve decided to mobilize and take him down (many have tried, and many have died). Their plan was to use the goblins as foot soldiers or scapegoats if the situation got desperate, but the goblins said no to that shit (they may not be the most civilized but they’re not stupid) and ran out in different directions. With Agu in the village the other goblins fear that his presence will alert the minions of the Giant and Demon Snake to the village. Lupis offers to tell Ains their situation and have him help but Enri says no saying this is their village and they have to protect it (stop being so prideful and think about the safety of your village. You literally have someone who could solve this with just a snap of his fingers. Use that). Nphirea agrees with Enri (stop thinking with your dick) and decides to ask the Adventurer’s guild for help and gives Lupis the purple potion to show to Ains. That night, the goblins found a few more goblins from Agu’s tribe as well as some ogres who swear their loyalty to Enri. Because of the ogres, Nphirea has to stay behind and tend to their wounds which means Enri has to go to E-Rantel. While the goblins will go as her guards they aren’t allowed in the city (with reasons that should be obvious. I know that sounds a little racist but it’s not) and once she arrives she gets stopped by customs for having that rare magic horn that Ains gave her. Apparently, the horn is very rare and worth thousands of gold coins. They don’t buy her story into how she got the horn and grow more suspicious of her until Ains comes in (in adventurer mood) and vouches for her. Nabe interrogates her on why she’s here and once she gets her answers she takes her leave. After selling the potions, Enri goes to the guild in the hopes that they’ll take her quest but according to them her request will only be heard by the highest class of adventurers and she’ll have to cover their fee. At first the receptionist is annoyed by her request but after Enri’s quick nap, the receptionist’s tone changes and she’s more than willing to help her (Ains had a talk with her). With her business done in the city, Enri returns to her village where after a vote, the village has decided to name her their new chief (yeah, she earned it). At first Enri doesn’t want the position but after talking to Lupis and Nphirea who encourage her to take the role, she agrees to do it (scene here: https://youtu.be/VnIugtIJGoA).
Episode 4 starts off with Ains scolding Lupis for not telling him about the Giant and Demon Snake (yeah that guy of stuff is vital. This is how big organizations collapse, lack of communication). The reason why she didn’t tell Ains is because she thinks of the village as just an experiment or toy for Ains and if it should get destroyed than no skin off his back (but of course he doesn’t have any skin to give since he’s all bones, https://youtu.be/SmVtJoZVpMY). Ains explains to her how valuable Nphirea is when it comes to making potions that won’t grow dull overtime (hell, Ains even admits that he wanted to chain the guy up and Nazarick and have him work for him exclusively). The village is valuable to Ains because Nphirea is in the village and Nphirea is there because Enri is there. Therefore, in Ains’s book, as long as those two (including Lizzy) are there, that village is of great value to him and he won’t let anything happen to it (that, and he’s not as heartless as they think). With Lupis finally understanding the importance of the village she leaves amazed at Ains’s level of intelligence and thinking ahead while Ains and Aura head out to meet the Giant and the Demon Snake. They head out where on the ride to the giant’s territory, Ains and Aura share a moment and talk with each other (it’s like a daughter and father moment. A very strange moment but a moment nonetheless). They talk about who they like the most and Ains even talks about looking for a village of dark elfs in the future so that Aura and Mare can see their own kind (plus, they’ll be great archers and warriors to have on the team. Scene here: https://youtu.be/1OfI8YYHls4). They finally reach the Giant’s nest where the giant isn’t a giant but instead a really big troll (who’s doing their job and spreading lies all in an effort to make up for the fact they have no life) who’s name is Guu. As for the Demon Snake, it’s just a weak looking Naga named Ryraryus (something something) Indarun (he’s so weak I’m pretty sure Aura could take him with both hands tied behind her back, while wearing a blindfold, wearing leg weights, and just for kicks we can give Ryraryus a rare spear even). Guu thinks Ains is weak because he has a long name but Ains stands his ground and challenges Guu to a fight one on one (troll e skeleton) which he accepts (poor troll has no idea what he’s getting into. (Chibi Isis): Just like the people involved in the live action Scooby-Doo movies). Guu hits Ains with his magic sword which has no effect whatsoever on Ains. He tries using his fist but that doesn’t work either. Ains finally gets bored and just starts beating Guu up with a staff which he survives thanks to his amazing healing factor (it’s on par with Wolverine and Deadpool). Guu finally admits defeat and Ryraryus quickly surrenders to Ains becoming his servant (I won’t say loyal because the snake hasn’t bared his fangs. But even if it does I’m sure Ains could handle him. Scene here: https://youtu.be/Xlq4kY2tVDg). With the Giant and Demon Snake issue resolved, Ains moves on to his next agenda, taking out the village to get Nphirea, Enri, her sister Nemu, and Lizzy to join up with Nazarick.
In 5 the village gets attacked by Guu who got turned into a zombie (well the zombie troll experiment was a success. Good job Ains). We really don’t focus on much of the fighting but instead on Nphirea and Enri. A troll manages to sneak into the village and Enri and Nphirea have to stall for the time otherwise the troll will flank the goblins and village watch from behind in a pincher attack. They take the robes of the goblins and use that to get the troll’s attention. Nphirea throws a potion which messes with the troll sense of the smell so he can’t tell the two apart. Nphirea and Enri take turns running around to keep the troll distracted but it eventually regains its sense of smell and can now tell the two apart (Enri smells nice while Nphirea reeks of a boy longing to mate with a certain village girl). Nphirea decides to man up and take on the troll himself while Enri goes for help. He even confesses his love for her (I would normally say death flag here but he’s in Ains’s favor, he will live). Despite his attacks not doing much he manages to hang in there until he takes a nasty knee to the chest and manages to survive. Just when the troll is about to go in for the final attack, he gets saved by Lupis just as Enri had returned with reinforcements. Lupis kills the troll (by burning it to death) and the goblins and town watch managed to defeat the Giant and take his sword. With the village safe, Nphirea and Enri take a rest where Enri isn’t sure if she’s in love with Nphirea but she knows that she doesn’t want to be away from him (close enough). A few days later, Nphirea, Enri, and Nemu go with Lupis to go have dinner with Ains in Nazarick (Ains has invited you into his home, https://youtu.be/uQ8AgWNSVoo). The only real laugh we get here is Enri being nervous and we get a cute moment of Ains being nice to Nemu and showing her around. We end with Nphirea realizing he’s nowhere near Ains’s level but Nphirea says that’s okay because she loves guys like Nphirea (scene here: https://youtu.be/1slHrhaONeo, keep playing your cards right Nphirea and you’ll be watering a whole new kind of garden).
Episodes 6-9
The second arc of the season starts with Ains and Nabe in Arwintar the imperial capital of the Baharuth Empire. They’ve been hired to guard a group of Workers who have been hired to raid a newly discovered ruins. The Workers are similar to adventurers accept they don’t have to follow the rules of the guild which is both a positive and negative. It’s a positive in the fact they aren’t tied down by the guild’s rules and can take on any request they want (even if they’re illegal). It’s a negative in that if they get in trouble they’re on their own, no one can come to their aid, and they’re basically taking on requests where the reward may or not be real (it’s like working with or without a union). Through the rest of the episode we just get introduced to new characters who will play a part in this arc. We have Fluder the imperial mage of the empire who’s experimenting on how to control dead knights (Ains could give you some advice on that) and has been asked to investigate Ains and his alter ego Momon. Next up is Jircniv the young emperor of Baharuth who can sense a change is on the horizon with the appearance of Ains (a change that will shake this world forever). We get to know the members of one Worker team known as Foresight which is composed of 4 people. Their leader is Hekkeran an easy-going man, Roberdyck a holy man who became a Worker to help those in need for free, Imina a half elf who is also Hekkeran’s lover, and finally Arche the youngest member of the team who is a magic caster and comes from a family of fallen nobles. Her family lost their status after the rise of Jircniv and fell into debt as they refused to accept their status being gone. Arche now works as a worker in the hopes of paying off her parent’s debt and leaving with her twin sisters. We learn that Foresight is one of the Worker groups who volunteered to take on the job of raiding the new ruins.
So in episode 7 the Workers enter the Tomb of Nazarick (and since they entered private property without permission it is within Ains’s right to kill them and nobody can complain about it). After exploring the outer area, the Workers make their way down below where their deaths have but been assured. They get chased by the undead and teleported to various parts of the tomb where they come across some of the more interesting members of the tomb (including an okama slime creature). My favorite part of this episode is Hamasuke fighting this douchebag of a Worker who has elves for slaves and mistreats them (hell, he actually cut their ears. That’s messed up). Hamasuke just completely owns the guy and kills him much to the pleasure of the elves who kick his corpse when the fight is over (how would you guys like a job at the tomb?). We end the episode with Foresight entering the colosseum (scene here: https://youtu.be/uWP8P0Ts1_I. Oh wow, you guys get the royal treatment. Lucky you).
Episode 8 is dark (this anime is called Overlord for a reason and you guys said you wanted to see the dark stuff well here it is). Foresight enter the colosseum where their opponent is Ains (and all his skinless glory. Also, barbarian skeleton? Someone’s been watching Conan the Barbarian one too many times). Hekkeran tries to talk their way out of their predicament but his attempts backfire and just wind up pissing off Ains (thus, he shall be the first to die). So, they have their fight where Ains goes easy on them only defending himself against physical attacks and not using his magic. He than unleashes his magic which causes Arche to puke a rainbow because of how powerful it is and how they have no chance in hell of beating him (Arche just had that moment where she realized she and her party were only level 15 and they’re currently fighting a level 100 boss). Ains stops playing and decides to start killing, starting with Hekkeran (called it) by giving him the Vulcan death grip on his face. Realizing they’re all gonna die, Imina and Roberdyck tell Arche to run while they hold off Ains who says he’ll give her a merciful death by sending Shalltear to kill her (that’s not a mercy killing, that’s a Mortal Kombat fatality). Ains takes care of Imina but keeps Roberdyck alive as he plans to experiment on him, and Arche meets her death at the hands of Shalltear (and the residents of Nazarick don’t let her body go to waste. Scene here: https://youtu.be/OJAyAeklAoY). After the credits, we see Aura and Mare arrive at the palace of Jircniv where on behalf of Ains they declare war on them and kill everyone in the garden (scene here: https://youtu.be/Zy3oNgCG2LE).
Episode 9 is set up for some pretty cool stuff to come in the future (will we get to it in the third season? Yes). Jircniv, his knights, and Fluder his mage advisor make their way to the Tomb of Nazarick where Fluder needs to chill because he freaks out big time when he sees the death knights and the maids change the weather (I swear he’s gonna have a heart attack. That or death by multiple orgasms). After a nice glass of what I assume to be orange juice, they go to meet Ains where Jircniv apologizes for the Workers and even presents the head of the noble who hired them as an apology gift (https://youtu.be/700RUrcCqqQ?t=18s). Ains accepts the gift and turns the head of the noble into a death knight right before their eyes (which I’m sure made Fluder orgasm on the spot) and with this Ains forgives them of their past actions since Demiurge acted out of line earlier by trying them to kneel before Ains. However, Ains now knows he can’t stay quiet now that the world knows of his existence and decides that he and the others must rise up and fight. Jorcniv wanting to protect his empire forms an alliance with Ains and they leave the tomb in one piece (well that went well, nobody died this time). Of course, on the ride back to the empire Jorcniv realizes that Ains is too dangerous to have around and fears that he’ll rise up and kill them all. He decides that his next step is to get all the major kingdoms of the world to form an alliance and fight against Ains but he won’t suggest it (if Ains finds out it was him he will kill him in his sleep). He’ll pretend to be on Ains’s side and when the time is right betray him (yeah that won’t work. Demiurge has already predicted it). He also realizes that Fluder is working with Ains and he’s right. When Ains arrived in the empire he went to meet Fluder and showed off his power (which again, I’m sure made Fluder orgasm) and Fluder pledged loyalty to him in order to learn the secrets of magic (scene here: https://youtu.be/Zy3oNgCG2LE).
Episodes 10-13
Not gonna lie, episode 10 gets you really excited for what’s to come. The empire has sent a letter to Re-Estize saying that a part of their kingdom belongs to Ains (everything belongs to Ains). They demand that Re-Estize give the land back peacefully or risk going to war with the empire and Ains (although I would love to see a good slaughter the saint inside me wants to give you this advice, don’t fight Ains. He’s gonna kill you all and turn you into death knights). After a short discussion between the king and his nobles which are divided into two parties (and just like our political parties they only care about themselves) with each one supporting a different heir to the throne, they agree to go to war with the empire and Ains despite Gazef warning them that Ains is not someone they should fight (well at least one of them is smart). We fast forward two months later where the Re-Estize army heads out to face the empire and Ains (their death will be painful, cruel, sadistic, and really fun to watch).
Episode 11 starts off with Barbro the eldest prince of Re-Estize heading to Carne Village by order of his father to talk to the villagers about Ains in the hopes of learning more about him. At first Barbro is displeased by this (you should be thanking your father, it’s gonna a massacre on the frontlines) but then realizes he can use some of the villagers to negotiate with Ains and get him to withdraw or if he should kill them, expose Ains as the lowlife he is. Once they arrive outside Carne Village, the villagers are given a choice. Allow Barbro in and give him information about Ains or be considered enemies of the state and killed for treason (I choose the option that ends in your death, majesty). The villagers refuse to sellout Ains and thus they decide to fight this losing battle all while the kids along with Enri and Nphirea escape out the back. The plan unfortunately doesn’t work as a cavalry unit spots them and chases after them so Nphirea decides to buy them time by fighting all by himself (no you can’t die yet, you still haven’t made it to second base yet). Enri takes out her goblin horn and blows it where she summons an entire army of goblins (complete with a strategist, archers, mages, knights, cavalry, and even assassins. This is so silly and awesome at the same time). The goblin army manages to fight Barbro’s forces and make him retreat where the army’s morale is low (they lost to a bunch of goblins. This is like the equivalent of losing to a midget in basketball) and their night is about to get worst as Lupis shows up where we find out it was thanks to her that the goblin army showed up (Baron: Hey if she’s calling me I would show up too. Am I right boys?). She’s comes to finish them off and she’s bought the goblins to help her out (scene here: https://youtu.be/hK7yXsAw7VU. Well Barbro, it’s been nice knowing you).
Episode 12 is slaughter (yeah, if you were hoping for a war then I got bad news). Ains makes his way onto the battlefield where he writes the first chapter on this slaughter festival by releasing a spell that kills 70,000 people and then summons these five deformed black monsters that completely annihilate the Re-Estize’s army (of CGI soldiers who all look the same and have no eyes). Ains makes his way out into the battlefield where he comes across Gazef and wants him to join up with him saying that he’ll stop the attack if he does (do it Gazef, join the winning side). Gazef refuses (foolish madman) and calls Ains out for a one on one fight (scene here: https://youtu.be/QGOzXOIqIhg).
The final episode ends on a high note. It starts with Ains fighting against Gazef who according to Ains carries a sword that could potentially kill him (so he can bleed). The fight is over in a flash (literally) as Ains stops time and inflicts a spell of death on Gazef which kills him instantly (that moment when a level 100 monster defeats a level 30 adventurer). In fact, the spell was so powerful that not even resurrection magic will work on him (not that he would want that because resurrection is for noobs). In honor of Gazef’s bravery and as a show of respect, Ains withdraws his forces but tells Climb and Brain to hand over E-Rantel peacefully or he’ll seek his monsters on the city. The king and the nobles hand over E-Rantel to Ains (smartest choice they’ve made in their life) and the next day rolls around with Ains arriving in his new kingdom where the people are scared but they manage to keep them in check using Momon to act as a sheriff and Ains promising not to harm people (scene here: https://youtu.be/alfv-KUcaNo). With this victory the world now knows of Ains and his conquest has only just begun.
Final Thoughts
Man was this season awesome. This season delivers on the dark brutality of Overlord and shows Ains as well as Nazarick in all their glory and at their best. The season manages to do everything right. We get to focus on Ains and see him do what he does best and we got to see a lot of great action and gore from Ains and the members of Nazarick showing off how badass they can be. Also, they have some really good and funny moments. It’s very impressive how they’re able to give Ains facial expressions despite the fact that he’s just a skeleton. The arcs are good and each one is given a right amount of time to tell their story and advance the main plot of series while also giving us insight into why this is all happening. The animation is still good although the CGI can look strange at times. I’ll give it credit by saying that it’s not as bad as other CGI scenes I’ve seen in other animes. The music surprisingly got a huge upgrade in my opinion. I don’t know it just really stood out for me in this season.
Is it better than the other seasons
Yes. So far this has been my favorite season of Overlord. It had the comedy, action, and dark brutality that I wanted to see in the series and hope to see going forward.
Final Score
The final score for Overlord S3 is a strong 8/10 with a must watch stamp of approval. If the second season seemed liked a letdown to you, know that the third season delivers on your expectations and keeps you excited for what’s to come. Will Madhouse give us a season 4, only time will tell. One thing’s for sure, Overlord still remains to be one of the best isekai animes out there. Thanks for reading, happy Halloween, and I’ll see you next time on Project Nitsuj. MUHAHAHAHAHA-
*The AI girls and Jack Bros. come in and shoot Nitsuj with a barrage of BB gun pallets. Nitsuj soon falls to the ground in pain and agony*
(Nitsuj): Why?
(Isis): Keeping things traditional around here. Happy Halloween Nitsuj.
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