Overlord

Overlord (オーバーロード, Ōbārōdo) is a Japanese light novel series written by Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin. It began serialization online in 2010, before being acquired by Enterbrain. Sixteen volumes have been published since July 2012. A manga adaptation by Satoshi Ōshio, with art by Hugin Miyama, began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Comp Ace on November 26, 2014. Both the light novels and the manga are licensed in North America by Yen Press since 2016.

The novel has been adapted into an anime television series adaptation by Madhouse, consisting of four seasons with thirteen episodes each, with the first season airing from July to September 2015. Two compilation anime films recapping the events from the first season were released in Japan in February and March 2017, respectively. The second season ran from January to April 2018, the third season ran from July to October 2018, and the fourth season ran from July to September 2022. An anime film has been announced.

Synopsis
Yggdrasil is a virtual reality game renowned for the freedom it offers its players. After a simple tutorial, players are left to explore the world and can customize anything and everything, from their classes to their weapons. However, in the year 2138, the game sees its final hours as its servers shut down at midnight.

Momonga, a devoted player of Yggdrasil, decides to spend the game's last hours inside his guild, Ainz Ooal Gown. Strangely, at the stroke of midnight, the game does not log him out. Instead, Momonga finds himself transported to another world, one that is seemingly identical to that of Yggdrasil. Facing an already abnormal situation, he discovers that the NPCs have gained sentience.

Trapped in his avatar's skeletal body and desperate to uncover the cause of his predicament and find other players like him, Momonga sets out to take control of the new world with the help of his loyal subjects.

Light Novels
The light novel series written by Maruyama, with illustrations by So-bin, began its serialization online in 2010 via the novel publishing website Arcadia. It was also uploaded to the novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in 2012, prior to Enterbrain's acquisition. As of July 29, 2022, the series has been published by Enterbrain in sixteen volumes, with the first volume released on July 30, 2012, and the sixteenth volume released on July 29, 2022. Yen Press announced its license to the series in October 2015 for North America and began publishing the novels in English, with the first volume released on May 24, 2016. Maruyama has stated that the series will end in its seventeenth volume. In the afterword in the second part of the 16th volume, it was announced by the author that the series will end at its eighteenth volume.

Manga
A manga adaptation by Satoshi Ōshio, with art by Hugin Miyama, began serialization in Kadokawa Shoten's manga magazine Comp Ace on November 26, 2014. Overlord has been published in English by Yen Press since June 28, 2016, in Italian by J-Pop since May 18, 2016, and in Spanish by ECC Ediciones since October 31, 2017.

Spin-off
Overlord: Fushisha no Oh! (オーバーロード 不死者のOh!, Overlord: The Undead King Oh!) Serialized from "Monthly Comp Ace" March 2017 issue. Juami is in charge of Illustrate. Spin-off 4-panel gag. Overlord: Fushisha no Oh! has been published in English as Overlord: The Undead King Oh! by Yen Press since November 12, 2019.


 * 1) The First edition was published on January 10, 2018 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-106385-9
 * 2) The First edition was published on February 10, 2018 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-106386-6
 * 3) The First edition was published on July 26, 2018 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-107170-0
 * 4) The First edition was published on February 26, 2019 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-107898-3
 * 5) The First edition was published on September 26, 2019 (released on September 24) - ISBN 978-4-04-108686-5
 * 6) The First edition was published on April 25, 2020 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-109624-6
 * 7) The First edition was published on November 26, 2020 (released on November 25) - ISBN 978-4-04-110816-1
 * 8) The First edition was published on July 26, 2021 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-111591-6
 * 9) The First edition was published on January 26, 2022 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-111592-3
 * 10) The First edition was published on July 26, 2022 (released on the same day) - ISBN 978-4-04-112705-6
 * 11) Released on March 25, 2023 - ISBN 978-4-04-112706-3

TV Anime
A 13-episode anime television series adaptation by Madhouse aired between July 7 and September 29, 2015. The opening theme is "Clattanoia" by OxT, and the ending theme is "L.L.L." by Myth & Roid. Both are bands of the musician Tom-H@ck. The anime adaptation covers light novel volumes 1 to 3. A 30-minute original video animation was bundled with the eleventh limited edition volume of the light novel series, which was released on September 30, 2016. Two compilation films acting as a recap to the anime television series were released in 2017; the first compilation film, titled Overlord: The Undead King (オーバーロード 不死者の王, Ōbārōdo: Fushisha no Ō), was released on February 25, 2017, while the second compilation film, titled Overlord: The Dark Warrior (オーバーロード 漆黒の戦士, Ōbārōdo: Shikkoku no Senshi), was released on March 11, 2017. The films' theme song, titled "Crazy Scary Holy Fantasy", was performed by Myth & Roid.

A second season was announced at film screenings of the second compilation film. It premiered on January 9, 2018. It ran for a total of 13 episodes. Outside of Asia, Funimation has licensed the second season for a simuldub. Following Sony's acquisition of Crunchyroll, the series was moved to Crunchyroll. In South and Southeast Asia, Medialink holds the rights to the series. The opening theme is "Go Cry Go" by OxT and the ending theme is "Hydra" by Myth & Roid. The second season of the anime adaptation covers light novel volumes 4 to 6.

A third season premiered on July 10, 2018. The opening theme is "VORACITY" by Myth & Roid, and the ending theme song is "Silent Solitude" by OxT. With 13 episodes as with the previous seasons, the third season of the anime adaptation covers light novel volumes 7 to 9.

On May 8, 2021, a fourth season and an anime film were announced, with the film covering the Holy Kingdom Arc of the series. The staff and cast members returned to reprise their roles for the fourth season, which aired from July 5 to September 27, 2022. The opening theme is "HOLLOW HUNGER" by OxT, and the ending theme is "No Man's Dawn" by Mayu Maeshima. On July 18, 2022, Crunchyroll announced an English dub for the fourth season, which began streaming on July 19. The fourth season covers light novel volumes 10, 11, and 14, while the movie adapts volumes 12 and 13.

A comedy crossover anime, Isekai Quartet featured characters from Overlord in a Chibi style, much like the OVA. It also featured characters from the light novel series KonoSuba, Re:Zero − Starting Life in Another World, and The Saga of Tanya the Evil, all published by Kadokawa Corporation. The anime began airing on April 9, 2019.

Games
A mobile game Mass for the Dead was launched in late 2019 in Japan, with a global (English) version launched in early 2020. It received poor reviews, with reviewers noting it was rather simple and did not offer anything new compared to many other similar gacha games. The global version has been shut down as of March 31, 2021.

A Metroidvania game titled Overlord: Escape from Nazarick was announced on December 17, 2021, for Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and was released on June 16, 2022.

Reception
In June 2015, prior to the release of the anime and manga, the light novel series had about 600,000 copies in print in Japan with eight volumes. By August 1, 2015, the light novel and manga series had a total of 1 million copies in circulation in Japan. On August 4, a 600,000-copy reprint of the novels was announced. As of August 20, 2015, the nine-volume Overlord light novel series and two-volume manga series have, together, more than 1.5 million copies in circulation in Japan. As of September 18, 2015, Overlord light novel and manga has over 2 million copies in circulation. As of May 2016, the Overlord light novel series had 2.5 million copies in print. Overlord has since been named the top-selling light novel series of 2015. As of April 2018, the light novel and manga combined had over 7 million copies in print.

The light novel ranked first in 2017 in Takarajimasha's annual light novel guide book Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, in the tankōbon category. It ranked fourth in 2018.

In reviewing the anime adaptation, Kotaku called the Overlord anime a "magnificent power fantasy" which "brings up a very relatable theme for anyone who has played an MMORPG before."

Trivia

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