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The closer you get to someone, the higher the chances you get hurt, and the higher the risk of you ruining your relationship with them. The more time you spend with them, the stronger the bond becomes. However, at some point, you must face reality i.e. to farewell them. It may be due to several reasons like shifting abroad, changing or graduating from school. Once you no longer have a common interest/goal, you become distant willingly or unwillingly. Those bonds you once formed with others rusts away. Even if you promise to keep in touch with them, either you move on or they do. Those ... bonds you once formed, break apart and now only serve as your memories; memories you may look back on with melancholy or a smile. If you’re one of those who moves on unwillingly i.e. you keep in touch with them but they no longer do. People that were so close to you gradually become distant over time. At one point of your life, you may question the value of forming these bonds with others. The genuineness of the bonds you once formed with others. The value of these bonds which eventually fall apart once you part your ways with them. Does friendship only last till you/them are useful/convenient to them/you? Having a delightful conversation infrequently with others makes one your friend? Is friendship mainly dependent upon self-interest? Is it even worth it to engage in such superficial things? That is the point when you begin distancing yourself from others. You don’t need to form these fake bonds anymore. OR you just like others wear a veil and continue to repeat the cycle of forming and breaking these bonds.

As for the former one, that is just the beginning. You begin to see the world from a different view. You see through people and their conversations. The same conversations you may have held in your past with others now seem fake. You avoid those conversations which involve pointless/fake laughs just for the sake of it. You seek genuineness in your bonds with others now. However, the outcome of you finding one may be unpredictable. You’re no different than the other except you seek genuineness in your relation with others and dismiss fakeness. Yet, despite seeking genuineness, you yourself may not know what exactly it means to be genuine. How can you define something as genuine? The pain of genuineness? In other words, that is a question/curiosity to be held when the former goal is achieved.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS

That is how Hikigaya Hachiman was. Throughout the course of the story, we see his harsh views and hateful snarks towards people. People deluded by the “magic” of youth. Declaring youth a lie, deceit and a vain delusion. The reason why Hikigaya was like this wasn’t that he hated and despised everything, or had no choice but to live this way. He lived the way he did because he didn’t trust the world enough to express himself to others. He disregarded such superficial things as meaningless. He didn’t need to be a part of these superficial relations with others. However, there was something he wanted. Something he always longed for. He hated everything except for that. But he never had it so he had thought it didn’t exist. All he wanted was something genuine. Something devoid of false understandings or deceptive relationships. A request to the service club from Hikigaya himself...

“What I want isn’t words. I surely had something I really wanted. It’s probably not mutual understanding, to be friendly with, to be together or anything like that. I don’t want to be understood. I want to understand. I want to know. I want peace of mind from knowing. I want tranquility. To want complete understanding is an extremely self-righteous, overbearing and an arrogant thing. It really is despicable and repulsive. I can’t help but be disgusted at myself for wanting that. But what if they feel the same way? What if there’s a chance we can have a relationship where we can push that ugly self-satisfaction on to each other? I know that won’t ever happen. I also know that something like that won’t ever come within reach. But still I want something genuine.”


Story:

“Given that we clearly know how each other feels, we can’t go on like this…”

“The loser has to listen to anything the winner says…”

“I don’t want to forgive my errors or mistakes. Because I can’t afford to be wrong anymore.”


Despite being really close friends, it’s about time Yuigahama and Yukinoshita ended it properly. As things can no longer continue to be the same as they used to be. No matter how fun, mesmerizing their time spent together was. It’s time to end it. And it’s up to Hikigaya to decide. Deeply pondering, constantly thinking, wanting to understand, coerced by his peers, guided by his teacher, making sure not to make the same mistakes as before, to arrive at an answer. Something that can be declared genuine. Something that he or the others won’t regret. Running away isn’t an option. It’s time Hikigaya made the decision. He can no longer continue doing things the way he did before. It’s about time to come to a conclusion without affording to be wrong.

“If something were to not change no matter how much time passes, and if it didn’t fade away no matter how long it was cast aside, then I would have no reluctance in calling that genuine. This was different from those false feelings that would vanish after waiting for so long that you end up parting from them.

If something does not disappear despite turning your face away, or averting your eyes from it, or pretending not to see it, or being forgotten, then it shouldn’t be wrong to call it a genuine desire.”

However, before things were to be ended properly. There was something that still needed to be corrected. That was the relationship between Yukinoshita and Hikigaya. A relationship not based on trust, but something more severe which required a correction. Something like a trial to prove she can do things herself without always relying on him, so she could be more open/confident about her future choices as well. Which came in the form of managing the prom all by herself, an event proposed by Isshiki Iroha.


Characters:

The character cast of this series is absolutely outstanding. And the conversations and dialogue held amongst the characters is phenomenal as well. With the characters, even side characters, having remarkable personalities and the show having a rather distinct premise compared to others, it makes the whole series undeniably stunning and captivating. Something you would delightfully look forward to. From those painful or heart-breaking times to extremely humorous and heart-warming moments, this show possesses it all.

At this point, you watching this series already have an understanding of the main and side characters of this series. The only point that comes to mind would be explaining Yukinoshita's intention behind managing the prom all by herself which may have seemed unreasonable. This is a test, something which happens all the time. From getting the results for your music or manga entry, to competing in a sports event, participating in the auditions of a singing contest, taking an exam or starting your career. There will always be that one period where you’ll have to face yourself honestly.


Art/Sound:

The art style is the same as the previous season which perfectly fits the theme. The visuals were great, and the animation created was optimum for this type of show.

The opening shows the montages of the events that are about to happen while the ending covers nostalgic moments of the past; the time spent together as the service club. Both the opening and the ending songs are fantastic, and are sung by Nagi Yanagi and the voice actresses of Yui and Yukino; just like the previous two seasons.

The voice cast once again does a splendid job at delivering the thoughts and many emotions of our characters. And it couldn't have been any better. The soundtracks of this show are exceptional as well. They help compliment the mood and enhance the viewer's watching experience. The most outstanding soundtrack in my eyes is "Yui no Ketsui". A soundtrack which gets played many times in the show and it's such a heart-warming soundtrack; to the point I recommend listening to it individually.


Overall, feel. studio did its best to fit and deliver such detailed content in only 12 episodes. Something which was really humorous and entertaining, yet didn't lose sight of the premise of the show. If there was something I'd complain over, it would be about the number of Hikigaya's monologues adapted; which were very few.

To me, this show isn't all about who gets to be chosen. As both of the female characters had a great personality, making each really attractive in its own way. So disregarding everything else that the show offers doesn't seem right to me. At the end, seeing Hikigaya develop over time is so satisfying and exhilarating to watch. And well, who doesn't want to see Hikigaya rap?! Do desu ka, Kamakura-san?

Love, a force of nature, experienced by every living being. A complex set of emotions held strongly towards someone special. Someone who you cherish being together, is the world to you, can truly rely upon, just their absence takes the light from you. Experiencing it makes you see the world in a new light. However, how can one prove being in love with someone? You like them, so you love them? You’ve fun being together with them, so you love them? One has to have clear evidence to prove they love someone rather than hastily following their hearts. So how can one scientifically prove love ... = love? There needs to be some proof to make the final judgement. Yes, as you may have already noticed, I’m referring to this series.

RikeKoi is a series regarding the science and research department of the national Saitama University, which holds the statistical analysis of all the information from the world. The series follows with two post-graduates, Himuro Ayame and Yukimura Shinya, conducting their normal every day researches till Himuro suggests she may be in love with Yukimura. Upon hearing this, Yukimura questions the reasoning behind her conclusion and what even is love? Is being together fun, the increased heart beating when together, etc. enough to conclude this? The possibility of your heart beating faster could also be due to several unknown elements. Thus, leading to the research of this complicated subject.

The story is primarily about this research fused with comedy and romance. We see the main characters performing different experiments eventually resulting in hilarious moments. With the help of three other main supporting characters, they’re able to gain new heights in their experiments as well as the research with utmost objectivity. The use of physics and statistics and other math related stuff is really high in this manga which is fun to read and gives off the amount of effort put to think of such ideas. And as the research continues the need for more sample increases which leads to several pairings of the characters. The impact of the three other supporting characters is a lot in this series making them just as great as the two main characters. To the point I’d say they’re also the main characters and without them the series wouldn’t be of the same caliber.

The art of this series is great. Even great isn’t enough to describe it (I might be exaggerating, but I really like such art style). Nonetheless, this art style does suit the series, and all the expressions of the characters are very well-drawn. Many people may criticize the art with their reasoning being that the female characters of this series are hot, hence why majority of the people would read or like it. While the female characters are attractive in this series, it doesn’t mean one should disregard everything else the series offers. In case, you mistake it for an ecchi series (due to the cover) it’s not.

If you’re a fan of comedy series with romance in it, I highly recommend reading it. But if you’re someone who doesn’t like love being associated with games, takes “love” seriously or are looking for a serious romance series then sadly this isn’t for you. Apart from that, this is a great read!

Konoe Youtarou, a high school student, who is perfect at housekeeping and lives alone due to his parents working in separate homes, as a butler and a maid. Being always left alone, he decides to never work as someone who takes care of people. However, soon after the power of the premise comes into play and he meets a beautiful ojousama on the way to school, Saionji Tsubasa (who you see on the volume cover). And is baffled to learn that he’ll be now serving her as her butler. Given no other choice, our Youtarou-kun accepts this one-sided offer. Now the first period begins which ... is PE, our Youtarou-kun is asked to change the ojousama’s clothes. Which he obviously refuses to do so, at first that is. He’s soon told that everything, literally everything, has to be done by him. And it won’t do if it isn’t our Youtarou-kun. Giving it some thought he doesn’t hesitate and does what he’s supposed to do. Apparently, taking care of her at school wasn’t the only thing in the deal. They also had to live together at Youtarou’s house. Thus, the life with the first ojousama begins… until the second ojousama barges in, in the second chapter.

Kujou Minori with her personal maid, Sugino Kaho, arrives at Youtarou’s place. And informs him that he’ll also be taking care of her from this chapter onwards. Given no other alternative, our Youtarou-kun accepts the offer. Kaho, who soon quits after arriving, is hired by Youtarou’s parents so that she could guide him regarding various aspects of taking care of women. And thus, a life with taking care of the ojousamas who can’t do anything begins...


Story: 7

A daily slice of life, where we’re shown Youtarou-kun changing the clothes of the ojousamas, doing the laundry, escorting them to the bath, displaying several other skills and more. As the story progresses, the challenges get harder! However, our Youtarou-kun doesn’t hold back either, he keeps getting stronger in resolve and faces those challenges head-on. And over time the girls develop feelings for him, directly or indirectly. Aside from taking care and guiding the girls, we also see at times Kaho-senpai thoroughly teaching Youtarou-kun the essentials of becoming a butler~

The story (or fanservice) keeps getting better and better after every chapter.


Art: 8

The art is very good and easy on the eyes. And the ecchi scenes are also done well. And so are the expressions of the characters at various situations.


Character: 8

The series primarily focuses on four characters: the two ojousamas, Youtarou-kun and Kaho-senpai. As of now, there isn’t much about the characters’ past except for some minor details.

Furthermore, Youtarou isn’t the same as many other harem male characters you see, he is different which is relatively obvious from the job he’s doing. Like many others, he doesn’t hesitate in interacting with the female characters and isn’t like those typical idiots who can’t perceive a thing about love. Moreover, we see him growing as the story progresses. And so do the two ojousama. And Minori’s one-sided rivalry with Tsubasa can make her very daring at times. As for the side characters, they aren’t really memorable and don’t have many interactions with the main characters.


Enjoyment: 10

This series doesn’t have much to offer. As it’s just about our Youtarou-kun’s daily routine of taking care of the two ojousama. Therefore, if you like reading ecchi series in general, then this is a must read. And the absence of a wimpy male character makes it a lot better. There’s also romance but it isn’t the main premise. It’s a fun read if you’re reading for a good time!

Overall: 8

Ever thought of taking a risk, a risk that’d even put your freedom, life into jeopardy just for the sake of THRILL? Well, anyone who’s sane enough wouldn’t do such a thing, that’s what the majority of people would think/say. BUT what if the word sanity itself didn’t exist among the most privileged/rich/ruling families of the world? And everything was just decided on a single game of chance?

Kakegurui features a similar setting in the form of a unique school that prepares its students for such upcoming reality they’d face in their world, that is gambling, while also teaching basic education like normal schools.

However, ... this isn’t it! Kakegurui undoubtedly has one of the best “realistic” facial expressions that normally people wouldn’t make in front of you, and you know precisely why ;). But this show is honest, straightforward and amusing. Plus, those expressions completely add to the mood and make the series more enjoyable. Moreover, it has an impressive execution, and the soundtracks totally enhance the experience! The details included to the expressions like the visual effects in the eyes, etc. further contribute to the experience. And the facial expressions of the characters are very well expressed. Furthermore, the show is very innovative when it comes to the games played during a match. And the mind games and cheatings performed during those matches are very enjoyable. And the games played are pretty straightforward and easy to understand.

Alright, now to the important events that took place prior to this season...

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MILD SPOILERS

Jabami Yumeko, the main protagonist, transfers to the Hyakkao Academy, a school that prides itself on tradition and prestige, being more than 100 years old is a school where money and your gambling skills are all that matter. And once you’re down on money, you instantly cease being a human and are taken as a “housepet” according to the school rules. And once you’ve plunged to these depths, you can never climb up again and remain the same for the rest of your life. And on her first day, she is challenged by Saotome Mary, the best gambler in her class, to a “friendly” gambling game. Who is later defeated by Jabami, after she figures out the whole scheme behind the game and becomes a housepet after being indebted to her for about 9 million yen. And later she frees Ryouta Suzui, Saotome’s housepet and who helped Saotome during the whole game as to make her win against Jabami, as a slight token of gratitude for making that game stimulating for her.

Now the system of the school works like this, that is... all of the student body donates money to the student council which regulates the gambling throughout the school. The amount you contribute determines your rank, and the rankings are typically announced on an irregular basis. And if you’re in the bottom 100 of the 3,000 student body, you become a housepet. Hence, why the skilled gamblers are the most popular and those who aren’t become the object of oppression. And this all began two years prior to the transfer of Jabami, when Kirari Momobami, the current student council president, took office after transferring to the school and defeating the previous president by gambling for the position. All the elite gamblers were taken into the student council. And by pushing through reforms, the donation and the housepet systems were created. Thus, explaining as to why and how Ryouta and Saotome became house pets. While Saotome’s case being severe, since she was defeated by Jabami on the same day as the donation deadlines.

Itsuki Sumeragi, the only first-year member of the student council and the daughter of one of Japan’s biggest toy makers, who contributed a lot of money to the student council to become a member, takes notice of Jabami after her win against Saotome right after transferring to the school. And challenges Jabami to a card game with the stakes being 20 million yen. But Jabami is defeated and had to pay 20 million yen to her which was impossible for her to and so she again challenges Sumeragi. However, this time the stakes being all of her fingernails and toenails! Nonetheless, Jabami wins this time and also exposes her trickery.

Now with the defeat of Sumeragi, the student council takes notice of Jabami and begins to see her as a threat. And shortly, Jabami challenges Yuriko Nishinotoin, one of the members of the student council and also the president of Traditional Culture Research Club, to a game. But in the end, Jabami losses the game due to an alteration caused by the student council president. And now having a debt of 300 million yen she becomes a house pet. Noting how she was intentionally defeated, Jabami decides to gamble with the mighty president.

And soon after, all of the housepets are given their life plans by the student council. However, they’re once again given an opportunity to repay their debt by participating in the “Debt Swap Game”. For the game Jabami gets paired with Saotome, who had been further debted to 49.6 million yen after her defeat against Yuriko in the same game which took place right before Jabami’s match with Yuriko. Sayaka Igarashi, the secretary of the student council, becomes the judge for their match. Jabami and Saotome play against Kiwatari, who had assaulted Jabami earlier as she was a housepet, and Tsubomi, another housepet, who also used to get bullied by Kiwatari. After an intense mind game, Kiwatari losses and gets 310 million yen in debt to the student council. Which he has no choice but to pay or become a housepet. After receiving the money they had won from the Debt Settlement Party, Saotome becomes a “human” again, however, holds a grudge against the student council for what they had done to her. Meanwhile, Jabami doesn’t repay the debt and decides to remain as a housepet.

Midari Ikishima, one of the members of the student council and who somewhat saved Jabami from getting raped by Kiwatari, challenges Jabami to a gamble before she could challenge the student council president, which ends up in a tie. Meanwhile, we also see the student council president trying to persuade Saotome to join the student council. Which she outrightly refuses to accept.

After the match between Ikishima and Jabami, Kirari leaves the school for the time being to resolve some matters among her family. Acknowledging Jabami as a huge threat to the current student council and the whole school system, and due to the disappearance of Kirari, Yumemi Yumemite, one of the members of the student council and who also works as an idol, takes on the task to crush Jabami with Manyuda Kaede’s assistance, the accountant of the student council. And she soon sends Jabami a letter of challenge… After the dismissal of Itsuki Sumeragi from the student council due to her loss against Jabami, she joins Jabami after hearing the rumors that she was going to challenge Kirari Momobami and asks her to let her be a member of the student council after she becomes the president due to her own personal reasons. After the meeting between Yumemite and Jabami, the stakes are decided that is, if Yumemite won Jabami would’ve had to become an idol while if Jabami won she’d reveal Yumemite’s true personality towards her fans by making them listen to her conversation between both of them, which would end her career as an idol. After a close match Jabami defeats Yumemite and reveals her true personality towards her fans. However, the fans accept her... And then Jabami asks the culprit, who had delivered her the things to threaten Yumemite, to show up. For which Yumemite accuses Manyuda. To which he refuses and urges Jabami to prove it and stakes his position if proven guilty. And then Jabami demands Manyuda to settle it by gambling with the winner being the correct one, which he declines. However, Jabami, who had remained as a house pet, now challenges him to a formal match; a formal match is the one right given to a house pet. With this right, a pet can challenge anyone to a match once, which happens to be a tradition for members of the student council to accept. Manyuda accepts the offer, admitting he had underestimated her and would no longer make the same mistake. The vice president of the student council becomes the judge and decides on playing “Choice Poker”. A game similar to the normal poker, but the one betting more money would get to choose the winning hand, the weaker or the stronger. And placing no limit to how much money one could bet.

After winning the first turn, Jabami loses all of her chips on the second turn. To continue the game, Jabami asks Sumeragi for help, since they were “friends”. After an intense betting to win the choosing decision, both Sumeragi and Manyuda end up betting their own lives, both for the game’s sake being worth 10 billion yen. Which is decided by Kirari herself, and it’s revealed that the vice president, the judge, was Kirari all along. Hence, Manyuda decides to choose the winning hand, but ends up falling into Jabami’s “manipulation” and loses. And thus, the match concludes with him being fired from the student council. And as a result of owing more than 10 billion yen, he becomes a house pet. And going through all of this, Jabami and Kirari finally end up gambling with the condition being that the one who loses leaves the academy. With Yomozuki Runa, the best loli in the whole series (and one of the best lolis in anime), being the judge. And the match ends up with a tie. After this Kirari dissolves the student council.

Now the second season directly picks up from where the first season ended…That is with the defeat of more than half of the members of the student council (5 members) and a tie between Jabami and Kirari. Kirari dissolves the student council and decides to conduct elections for the seat of the student council president, of course through the traditional way i.e. gambling. Moreover, the one becoming the student council president would also rule the Momobami, the chief family of the Momobami clan. And in this election, everyone’s offered an equal chance. Even the human pets can participate.

And since ruling the Hyakkao Academy also means ruling the nation, all of the heads of the -bami families that form the Momobami clan send representatives to take part in the battle. Thus, an all-out battle among all the students begins! In addition, we get to see more of Yomozuki Runa! What more could one ask for?! And we also get to know a bit more about the vice president <3. And the second season retains all of the elements of the first season which made it great to watch, and it even reassures its viewers by featuring Ikishima in the first episode. And the whole season only focuses on the elections.

And the show doesn’t forget about its characters from the previous season. However, some are in detail and for some we only get a glimpse of what they’re doing, which I do think is alright since it’d be unnecessary anyway. And the show tells us all the necessary details we need to know regarding the characters, new or the old ones, and the school. And doesn’t tell us anything which it deems irrelevant like the normal education system in the school, what the teachers do after teaching the students, the adults in this world, etc. And I do think there’s nothing wrong with this, since those details are rather unrequired and add nothing to the plot. So now is the plot the issue? I wouldn’t say so. Since, like I’ve said before, students from powerful families in the political and financial world attend this school and since Momobami Kirari’s family is the ruler of the nation, while she herself being the head of the clan. It’d make sense about the funds of the academy or the rules, etc. Not only this, in Hyakkao Academy students are evaluated through their social status, since studies and extracurriculars aren’t necessary for people who are destined to have power over others. For them it’s rather important to be well versed in tactics, reading an opponent, etc. which are abilities they have to prove and obtain through gambling. So such details are unnecessary and not needed, and criticizing the show because it doesn’t provide these details about something/someone is rather stupid and indicates you never paid attention to the show. Furthermore, the new characters are reasonably decent. And if you like the characters of Kakegurui, in general, you’ll certainly like the new characters as well. And the character development is also decent. It doesn’t leave any of the characters introduced previously behind, but doesn’t show them much either unless they’re involved with something which would somewhat have a significant impact on the plot.

Although the new characters are appealing, in general, they aren’t as good as compared to the previously introduced characters. Unlike them, most of these don’t leave any significant impact on you and are there just for the “sake of gambling”. And once they lose, it’s over, they become irrelevant as if they were never there. And despite having entertaining games the thrill factor has quite dropped compared to its prequel. Moreover, Jabami’s character has been reduced to a “gambling freak” which wasn’t the case in the first season. Despite her love for gambling she did have some other motives too which now have been completely ignored. There’s no depth to her character, and she’s there just so she can gamble and experience the “thrill” and nothing else.

The second season, just like its previous season, has impressive soundtracks and voice acting. Especially the voice acting, the way they instantly change their tones with respect to the situation and convey the character’s feelings is really remarkable and astounding. And if there’s something memorable from this show, it’s definitely the voice acting. Plus, the OSTs played during a gambling match or at any situation completely intensify and compliment the mood. Moreover, the opening and the ending of the show don’t disappoint either.

The animation of the show is of a decent quality and doesn’t have any negative effect on your enjoyment. However, the amounts of details on the faces and other such aspects are impressive. Like the extra little details they add on the faces to make them look more realistic like the nose, the wrinkles, the shading, etc. And this even goes for the eyes. And it’s not frequent when you see these aspects in an anime series. And such detailed faces really add to the excitement and the enjoyment of the viewers, and they can sometimes be really hilarious.

However, those insane faces are not for everyone. But simply discarding the show by using buzzwords like “edgy”, etc. is rather stupid and immature to some extent. And I’d recommend you to pay such people no mind unless they are able to explain how and why it’s bad, etc. I recommend watching Kakegurui to those who enjoy psychological thrillers. And to those who can handle savagery/sadism to some extent and as explained before, to the people who highly appreciate soundtracks, visual effects, etc. And if you liked the first season, you’ll definitely like this one too.

This is the first time I've ever felt about reviewing a particular show on MAL. Perhaps, my love for this show is significantly greater than any show in existence? What I’m about to state in this review is relatively the truth...

Alright, so what's Overlord III about? What has Ainz-sama achieved so far till this season? What were the main events that took place before this season? Has the premise of the series changed?

THIS REVIEW MIGHT CONTAIN MILD SPOILERS.

So, previously in the first season we see Momonga somehow "mysteriously" getting teleported to a new world or getting trapped into a game called Dive Massively Multiplayer ... Online Role Playing Game, also known as DMMO-RPG Yggdrasil (while Yggdrasil being the new release of the game), on which he spent his whole life at, and finally created the guild weapon, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown, a symbol of the guild namely Ainz Ooal Gown. Now when the game’s about to see its end, we see the guild members leaving the guild, and hoping to spend their lives much better since they had spent most of their life on this game, which they realized was worth nothing. Momonga, being the guild master, was quite furious over the shutdown of the game and blamed his guild members for not spending their last moment with the game. And calling them traitors, when they actually had spent their whole time on the game and without their efforts, the Overlord, Ainz-sama would’ve never achieved such strength and power. Or shall I say such arrogance and ignorance? Now being teleported to a new world, and being shocked at how this event took place. Momonga summons his guardians and orders Sebas, the butler, to investigate the surrounding of the great tomb of Nazarick. And see if they had really been teleported to a mysterious place/world, while ordering the floor guardians to stay on guard. Then we see Momonga-sama taking a tour of the first floor in his great tomb and being discovered by Demiurge. We see Demiurge outsmarting Momonga-sama. Which outrightly surprises Momonga-sama. But being the great overlord, it also meant him being “all-knowing” and he just couldn’t let any of his harem members realize that. Now, while being accompanied by Demiurge, Momonga-sama utters, “...taking over the world might be enjoyable.” Which he obviously didn’t mean it at all, but Demiurge was really surprised and felt outclassed by such thoughts of Momonga-sama. Thus being a side premise of this season.

Continuing on, we see Momonga-sama using the Mirror of Remote Viewing magic item. Where he notices a village being attacked by the knights. To which Momonga-sama rushes to their aid, of course, not with the “true” intentions of saving them. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to call himself an evil overlord in front of his harem. Now Momonga-sama outclasses every knight, and chases them away and meets the Royal Head Warrior, Gazef Stronoff. Now the Slane Theocracy strikes back with a trump card at their hands, a 7th tier magic item. Which again is outclassed by the great Momonga-sama. After the visit to the Carne Village, Momonga-sama decides to change his name to Ainz-sama i.e. the guild name. To which the sole purpose was to spread this name, the name of the guild, and see if he meets anyone else in the new world. His objective was to explore this world and see if there were other players from Yggdrasil, and trying to figure out how he could return back to his own world. Which was the main premise of the season.

Now Ainz-sama orders Sebas Tian and Solution to explore more about this world. And orders Shaltear to accompany him. While him visiting the E-Rantel Fortress City accompanied by Narberal Gamma, one of the maid pleiades, as wanting to be adventurers. To spread the name of Momon, the great adventurer, and again to gain knowledge about the new world. The potion given to one of the adventurers by Momon is taken to the best pharmacist. To which to her surprise is the potion that has the healing abilities of a God. Thus, leading to the meeting of Nphirea with the great Momon-san and Ainz-sama. Momon-san joins a guild for new adventures, since those adventures were of no match to him. Also, so that they could be witnesses to the power of Momon-san, the future’s greatest adventurer. But now, even Ainz-sama or Momon-san isn’t perfect, Clementine, a member of the Slane Theocracy, ruins the plan of the great Momon-san by killing all of the adventurers. To which Ainz-sama responds to by crushing her to death, and killing the rest of her comrades. Meanwhile, we see Shaltear, Sebas and Solution on their mission. And at the middle of their travel, a group of mercenaries halt the carriage and attempt to take them to their place. But they are massacred by them, and later they find out the nest of the humans that attacked them. Now Solution and Sebas part ways from Shaltear. And Shaltear heads towards the nest of the humans to test out the skills of Brain Unglaus, a man who knew martial arts and had fought Gazef on equal terms. To her surprise, is disappointed by the the abilities of Brain as he even fails to pass as a nail clipper. Now Shaltear absorbs all the blood, she had gathered by killing the humans and goes berserk. Massacring even the adventurers who arrived to explore the base of the soldiers turned mercenaries. Until she recovers by seeing the red potion, the potion which Ainz-sama had given to an adventurer. And discovers that the adventurers were actually split in two teams, and the second team was already headed to E-Rantel. Knowing that, she immediately chases them in her blood-frenzy mode. At the end someone amongst that group casted a mind-control spell on her, causing her to revolt against Ainz-sama. Accepting the quest as Momon, Ainz-sama heads towards Shaltear for battle. During this battle we see how great Ainz-sama is, completely surpassing Shaltear. And later revives her and plans to use Sebas and Solution as decoys. Sasuga Ainz-sama was secondarily the premise of the series.

Now outraged by the brainwashing of the only loli in his harem, Ainz-sama immediately launches an attack on the lizardmen. And completely overwhelms them and kills the leaders of the tribe. And makes them accept him as their ruler. This arc was of no importance to the series. The whole event took four episodes of the season. Afterwards, we see the second season focusing on Sebas and on the kingdom. Which again was of no significance. Overlord sure knows how to waste its time on insignificant bullshit. The rest of the season focuses on the Eight fingers. Who are captured by Ainz-sama and are experimented on by his harem. While capturing them, Entoma, one of the insects in the harem, suffers a serious damage by the adamantite adventurers. Who’s later saved by Jaldabaoth, the Demon Emperor. At the end, we see Momon emerges as the greatest adventurer of the world. Since he defeats the great Jaldabaoth. And adds another member to his harem i.e. Evil Eye. Perhaps, the only two lolis in his harem? In this season “Sasuga Ainz-sama” had become more or less a primary premise of the series. The second season itself had so many plot holes, but since the review is about the third season, I’ll only mention the least concerning one in my eyes. That is, no one ever questioned Momon-san about how was he able to beat Jaldabaoth, a magic caster whose power level was of 66+ according to Evil Eye, without casting away his humanity? There’s no way a human could beat such monster. Yet no one bothered asking him anything. And if they had Ainz would’ve had to reveal his identity. Of course, they wouldn’t either, since the whole show is just “Sasuga Ainz-sama” or “Sasuga Momon-sama.” Ainz sure knows how to get praised in every single form.

Story: 1

This season begins with a filler episode; the only episode which was actually worth watching in the whole season. In the episode, it’s revealed how massive the harem of Ainz-sama is; completely unparalleled, incomparable to any harem anime in existence. After the first episode, the story begins its focus on the objective of Nazarick. And thus, the words that Ainz-sama had uttered in the first season. Now Ainz-sama trying to outsmart his harem clearly fails, and then tries to play along their plans, otherwise he wouldn’t be an evil overlord. In simple words, being controlled by them since he’s supposed to be “all-knowing” and great, otherwise, you know, he really wouldn’t be the Sasuga. And the whole premise is “Sasuga Ainz-sama.” The show either forgets its main aim or just casts it away since “Sasuga Ainz-sama” is a very important premise.

In this season, we see Ainz desperately trying to prove he’s the only Sasuga in the world. He tries to stoop to the lowest level just to prove he’s the Sasuga, instead of acting like all-knowing or all-whatever. This season shows that the whole plot of Overlord isn’t as complex as it was meant or shown to be in the first season. From watching this show, it has become clearly evident that it’s just Ainz-sama and his harem squashing ants. And the series gives off the vibes as if even an amatuer could come up with such a mediocre setting.

Since the first season we’ve been seeing Ainz desperately trying to appeal and please his harem. And now, he even goes further by killing and torturing innocent people and accusing them of being evil. Ainz still thinks about his image, despite getting such loyalty and devotion. They wouldn’t dare say “Ainz-sama are you really an evil overlord”? He’s already a god for them. At this point he shouldn’t care about what his harem thinks and just give them orders, yet he doesn’t dare so. Ainz, despite being an evil overlord, still worries about meaningless things.

Continuing on, this series has no plot. We’re constantly introduced to new characters, we get entire episodes of how their lives are, their aim, who they love, etc. What has happened to this series? Why should I care about the ants which will indefinitely get squashed? Ainz will without a doubt rule the world, their fates are sealed from the very beginning. Everyone will either submit to his will or get killed/tortured by him and his harem. This show keeps on introducing more and more insignificant characters who are killed miserably usually with one hit from even the least powerful members of the great tomb of Nazarick. This is a waste of time, yet the show still gets dragged on pointlessly. Ainz can easily conquer the whole world without even using a fraction of his power, yet he and his harem play from the shadows. Plus, the whole series is very slow-paced.

Characters: 1

This show has a very terrible character development. For example take the four episodes in the second season, where we were introduced to lizardmen, their lifestyles, who they love, what they wish, etc. and then they get killed and become test subjects. The third season also does the same, this season has been nothing but a waste of time. Where time is spent on developing minor characters who have no future and will contribute nothing to the plot since no matter what Ainz will have his way and they’ll either get killed, experimented, or becomes slaves; just like lizardmen contributed nothing and their struggle i.e. the drama was pointless and useless.

Animation: 2

The 3D animation looks very cheap and is of extremely low quality. For a third season, this is completely unforgivable. And as for the rest, it’s nothing special. The overall quality has dropped immensely. And almost every character looks the same.

Sound: 2

The voices of the characters in the series was quite satisfactory. This series has been re-using the osts of the first season. It hasn’t even introduced any of the new osts; neither this season nor the previous one. It keeps on playing the same osts which were played in the first season. A very very low effort indeed.

Enjoyment: 1

From the second season, this show had gone down abruptly. And this season is nothing but a disaster with a lot of useless development and unnecessary crap. But I do get the appeal of this show and why many would enjoy it. For example for the harem members. This show has quite a variety of members like vampire loli, a wolf, an insect, a lizard, etc. and there are many other reasons too...

Overall: 1