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Sometimes you just need a good villain, and while the previous seasons of Overlord have done that well, this season blew that concept out of the ballpark. This season delved into the deep and dark parts of being the villain to humans and it executed it spectacularly. I was hooked the entire time, even through the more political scenes, as there was so much to think about when they were happening. Ainz really decided he was done being the nice guy and went full bad, Albedo got some amazing character "growth" (more like an exploration of her ideals but still), and the Princess has to ... be my new favorite character.
All around a very bloody and intense season, where there was always something going on and always someone being really cool

Special mention to the OP which is such a banger I still can't stop listening to it.

Here's a short review for those who don't want spoilers, nor want to read the goodness knows how many words my full review will be: It was good. Was it anything groundbreaking and never done before? Not really. Does that make it at all bad? No, not at all. It characters were diverse and interesting to watch, the story was enjoyable and was written in a way that me as a watcher was able to understand everything going on. Oh and not to mention the music was great. Overall, the story gets a 10/10 in my books. It wasn't perfect, but I'm of the opinion ... that not being perfect makes it even better, and it hit all of the right spots I want to see when watching an anime from this genre.



Here's my long rant/review broken up into four parts:

Characters:
I consider there to be 4 main characters, and 8 semi-main characters. Mana, Makino, Sakura, and Kotono were really the main focus of the story. Does MAL list them like that? No, but I don't particularly care. They were the most fleshed out characters of the entire bunch, with the most interesting backgrounds and character growth over the entirety of the story. That doesn't mean that the other girls didn't get anything. Actually, I'd say that I was very impressed with how they handled the other girls. As a writer I know just how hard it can be to juggle characters and to achieve a balance, but Idoly Pride felt like it achieved that probably as best as it could. That doesn't mean that everyone got the same amount of screen time or in depth background, but they were all interesting and I never found myself dreading when a specific character came on screen. The main 4 I mentioned earlier really stood out for me, not just in this show, but in all the anime I've watched (which lemme tell you, is a lot). There were a few cliches yeah, but that's kinda just anime for you. However, what they did with those cliches is what really drew me in and kept me watching. Kotono starts off as a typical little sister type, with a bit of tsundere vibes going on, but they only kept with that for a few episodes before letting her grow and change into the character we see by the end of the anime. Sakura probably got the least change out of the 4, but I still think she got plenty of story driven development. Did I see the twist with her heart coming? Yes. But, when I realized what was going on, I wasn't upset, instead, I was impressed and so excited to see where they went with it that I had to physically get up and walk away so I could process my excitement. Watching her grow into her own person and discover who she really was alongside Kotono was heartwarming and enjoyable, and it hit all of the right notes for me.

I feel like Mana and Makino have to be talked about together and on their own. From the other reviews I've seen here, not very many people talk about them, they usually focus on the girls. Which, makes sense, it is a show about them. But the underlying plot was about Mana and how everyone coped with her sudden death. And while yes, it's mainly shown through Kotono, we also see a great deal of it with Makino. It's not often in an anime that the male "side" character gets so much love and care put into him, but Makino I felt really got that. I could feel his pain during the last episode, and I cried right along with him. The love story between Makino and Mana was one that I don't think I've seen a lot. It's one of both happiness and pain, where in the end they have to say goodbye. The pain of losing a loved one is hard and lingers for so much longer than we could ever think. And I think that hit me the hardest with these two. I think you get my point, and I'll talk about the ending in my story section.

Songs:
Oh my goodness they were just amazing. I'm listening to them on Spotify right now as I write this and they are all a certifiable bop. The mix of the song along with the AMV was so much fun to watch every single time, no matter what group was on stage at the moment. The CGI was genuinely some of the best I've seen ever, and it's amazing to see how far technology has come. It really sucked me right into the atmosphere of the show, and I could feel the emotions it was trying to get me to feel, which is really the sign of a good song.

Story
A story of idols has been done before, I'm not going to say it hasn't been. But the complexity of the characters along with an interesting plot is what kept me watching and kept me from stopping watching once I'd started. The story hit all of the normal plot beats just with a little bit of an extra push to get there. I was never blind sighted by anything that happened, and even with the "twist" with Sakura's heart, it never felt like a twist. There was a perfect amount of foreshadowing, and us as the viewers were given just enough information to see it coming and enjoy it when it came true. That's the joy of "twists", figuring out the twist for yourself and seeing it come true on the screen in front of you. Like I said in my character analysis when I figured it out I was just blown away and excited. It's not often that an anime goes above and beyond to show you a plot point and then carries that out until the end. Really a sign of great story writing there. The competition with all the girls to get to the top, while formulaic and predictable, was still really fun on the way there. We all know where these plots go, no way are they going to lose, but I don't personally think that's a bad thing. I mean, it was even established in the first episode: We are shown them after they have won, and the whole story after that is how they got there. What makes those stories interesting is the journey they take to get there. Sure, they could have gotten all the girls to get along or hate each other at first, but they gave each of them their own personal wants and needs, and threaded the story through them. They all grew into the team we see over a believable amount of time, and with a believable amount of hardships on the way.

And the last episode. Wow. I don't know if I'd say I'm a hard person to blow away, but I do know when I've seen something that has gone above and beyond. And this was that. I *knew* what was coming, and that's what made it so devastatingly beautiful. I felt the same way is your lie in April, and I felt that way now. The gut wrenching pain of knowing that the ending isn't going to be a happily ever after, but is instead going to be a hopeful one. And there is a huge difference between the two. They set it up perfectly, we got hints of it all the way from episode one, and they carried out. Kotono sings as she lets go of her sister, finally ready to move on and let her sister go, no matter how much it hurts to do so, now that she knows that her sister was there at her side the entire time. The pain of a sister saying goodbye too soon was felt. And of course, the pain of two lovers, who never got the chance to ever really love. The pain and sorrow I was able to feel from Makino when he realized just what was going on, and the sadness I felt from Mana as she confessed, was something otherworldly. This anime did something I didn't expect, and that was to allow Makino to really cry. Many times in animes like this, they either do it over the top, with snot and sobbing, or just let the guy let out a few tears before smiling. But no, he was allowed to cry, to grieve a love he lost far too soon. And that grief was portrayed beautifully. It's a sad story with a hopeful ending, and it did both of those things amazingly.

Overall:
It wasn't the most original thing I've ever watched, I don't think anything ever will when compared to my favorites, but this one came probably as close as it could. Its characters were well fleshed out, and enjoyable to watch. The music got me dancing to it, and gave the story more heart. And the story was well paced and interesting to watch, allowing the watcher to both learn with the characters, and to put the puzzle pieces we were handed together on our own. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but it was just right for me.

Putting how this movie into words is hard. It's one of those movies that finds a little piece of my heart and tugs, forcing me to think about a feeling that I'd never really thought about before.

A story of a mother, that's really what this movie boils down to—the pure essence of being a mother, of being a parent really. The love you feel for your child is one that is engraved in your heart, and Sayonara no Asa really embodied that feeling of hardship but also love you feel when raising a child.

The story was beautiful, and felt more like art than ... a traditional story if that makes sense. Yes, there was definitely a plot, but that was second had to the feelings you were watching Maquia experience as she learned how to be a mother to Ariel. You arent meant to pay attention to the story, and the movie as a whole was crafted around that idea. Was the plot that was there good? Yeah, I'd like to think so. It was a basic plot, easy to follow, though it could get a little confusing with the time gaps, but that is to be expected when your main character is essentially immortal. Though that doesn't cause the plot to be a downside, in fact, I think it rather helped elevate the overall story that was being presented.

In a short sentence, this movie made me think of my own mother, and my future. It forced me to realize all of the things my mother gave up for me, and all of the things I may have to give up in my future if I ever decide to become a mother.

I would recommend this not as something to watch because you want to be immersed in a fantasy adventure, or deep characters, but rather as an experience of love and loss, and learning how to move on after that loss.

10/10, will recommend.