Dhruv Sharma
After an impressive season 1, no one really knew what to expect from the second season of ‘Overlord’ and we were certainly not expecting it come out right at the beginning of the year 2018. The first season is just great and the fan following it has gathered is massive. But is the second season a letdown or it actually manages to make the anime even better? That’s a little hard to explain. So before we get into with that, let’s first go through a short summary of the first season.
The first season of ‘Overlord’ is about how a man named Momonga spends most of his free time playing a game where he leads a guild. The game is on the verge of shutting down so he decides to get in a few more hours of playtime before it is offline completely. But strangely the game still runs as it has been since the past 12 years, the only difference is that Momoga now finds himself stuck inside the game and now it’s on him to figure out what’s actually going on. There’s obviously a lot more to it but this description is short and accurate enough to make you a little familiar with the background.
Season one end of a high note and the sudden release of the second season only added to the excitement. Most of us were expecting that second season to have the same pace and style that makes the first season so damn perfect, but surprisingly that was not the case. The characters, the plot and even the dialogues are rushed in such a way that you almost start believing this might be some sort of a spin-off and not the actual series. 4-5 episodes into this season, you realize that it’s about a different arc which is ok because ‘Overlord‘ has always been true to the light novels it is based on. But this surprise season release initially feels like a drag and seems to flattens as it progresses. The story is set in altogether a different arc and the writing is simply all over the place.
Now before you start believing that this is a negative review of the show let me tell you that all of the negatives about the pacing and the style of the show start to fade and some really good things start to emerge subtly. You are suddenly reminded of why you even enjoyed the first season of this anime and the patience really starts to pay off. Season 2 does start off with a pace and story of its own but when it slowly starts to get down to its roots, all of it makes sense and that’s what makes this season better than what I expected after first few episodes. So if you’re still thinking about watching this season then just make sure that you remain patient through the initial episodes and don’t give up on it too soon. Trust me, it’ll be worth it!
Overlord Season 2 Release Date:
‘Overlord‘ Season 2 premiered January 9, 2018 and finished its run on April 3, 2018. This season has the standard 12 episodes and each episode is 23 minutes long. As far as the next season is concerned, you can find the details about Overlord season 3 right here and Overlord season 4 right here.
Overlord Season 2 Plot:
Season two starts off exactly where the first season had left off. Momonga, the great leader of the Great Tomb of Nazarick continues his quest to become the ruler of this new world he is trapped in. This sets in motion a new part or let’s say arc of the show: The Lizardmen. This new arc spans for a few episodes and spends more time focusing on building the world inside the game instead of focusing on the lovable villains for which the shown has been known for. Most of this initially feels like a drag but the conclusion of this arc covers up for all of that and leaves you all satisfied.
‘Overlord’ gets stronger in the next part that takes place in a major city. Another villainous character named Sebas is introduced who only resorts to violence when it is needed and otherwise shows a lot more compassion for human beings, unlike his bloodthirsty allies. This part shows us how different Sebas, the Battle Butler of Nazrick, is from all the others of his kind and yet again we fall in love with another bad guy.
Sebas proves to be a nice warm-hearted villain who does not prefer unnecessary violence but the city he lives in is full of corruption. One of the biggest challenges the city faces is a human trafficking ring where Sebas places his Battle Maids in line. What adds to this challenge, even more, is a creature known as “Solution” who is a bloodthirsty slime that takes the shape of a beautiful girl. This sadistic creature sees humans as nothing but food and her existence is a threat to everyone out there.
Some new characters are introduced to the show which includes “Climb” and his princess benefactor named Renner. These characters and their build-up makes the anime even more interesting and fun to watch. Another interesting character goes by the name Evil Eye who is a powerful sorceress and provides some very important implications to the story. One of the most rememberable characters from the first season, Demiurge the floor guardian, plays a very active role in this season. ‘Overlord’ Season 2 lacks action but it focuses a lot on the character development of the key players in the story which is always a good thing.
Overlord Season 2 Review:
Looking into the story of the anime, it’s good to see that it actually starts to focus on the heroes (who are actually the villains). The pacing of the story is a little off at times but that’s probably necessary to cover the whole thing in just 12 episodes. There are times when the show gives us all the necessary insights on the ones who are actually trying to oppose the protagonist which includes the lizardmen. Each event and plot point of the story has been well knitted and carefully done focusing on all the necessary details. The arcs do seem a little out-of-place when it comes to the order they are placed in. But later it becomes clear that all of this is just being done to build the world around the characters who are important. Instead of beating around the bush and wasting time on the characters who won’t even matter much in the long run, this season does something that ‘Log Horizon‘ had done with its two seasons. The scale to which it is done is obviously much larger here but it sure is an effective method of world-building.
The art and the animation aren’t all that great but it is enough to get by and fulfills the purpose. The 3D effects are not bad at all but the movements of the characters do get choppy at times. The animation remains the same as the first season, which is a little disappointing. But to fair to the makers, because of the lack of action in this season, it certainly was not a necessity. There’s nothing truly impressive about the few combats in the second season but Madhouse surely does a great job with the coloring of these. This to an extent even makes up for the mediocre animation style. Even though the animation is overall gritty and at times even fails to match up with the dark vibe of the show, it never feels rushed.
The sound and music in ‘Overlord’ Season 2 are really well done. There have been substantial improvements in this department as compared to the first season. A lot of it reflects in the background scores as these fit in really well with the scenes of the anime especially the ones that have some light-hearted vibes to them. Overall, the music and the OSTs are pretty good and do deserve a pass grade.
The character development is one department where the anime wins and instead of focusing too much on the old characters it sheds limelight on the new ones. The right balance is created between structuring the story around the old characters and the new ones like the Lizardmen. A lot of people have been complaining about how the protagonist did not receive too much attention in this season but we disagree with that. If you look deep you will notice that certain plot points that focus on the development of other characters also add more color to the existing characters indirectly. One of the best characters here is surely Sebas whose personality is a bit of an exaggeration but that just makes his parts a lot more entertaining.
Overall for this anime, we would just say that ignore all the people who are complaining about its lack of structure. These people are mostly not patient enough to stay with the show for too long and probably gave up on it during the early stages. Many of these haters just hate the Lizard arc of the show because they hated this part of the book as well, which is very unfair. The first half of the show does bring it down a little and makes you realize that a 24 episode season would’ve much better. Maybe the budgets were low on this one and the creators could only afford 12 seasons. Whatever their reason may be for this, it still manages to cover up really well during the second half. It’s a good half season so we will just give it a 6.5 out of 10 as of now. This would’ve been an 8 or 9 if it had only done better in the first half.
Overlord Season 2 English Dub:
You can find the English Dubbed version of ‘Overlord’ Season 2 on Netflix and on the website of their official licensors, Funimation.
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