Overlord

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In the author's own words:

"The main character of the book is a skeletal mage, leading a large evil organization like the last boss of a game.
I don't believe the main characters in novels and movies who rescue people without asking for anything in return.
Readers who acknowledge that prioritizing yourself is the right mentality will enjoy this book.
It's very direct."

After reading it, he was right.

Story + Character + Enjoyment -
... This series is in the view point of the invaders instead of the more common angle of the invaded.
It takes heavy inspiration from d&d and other mythology and has a distinct "strategy + game" feeling to it.
The protagonist of Overlord isn’t the type who only deals with the danger right before them, but one who will take the initiative to accomplish his goals and gain benefits for himself.
Detailed descriptions and subtle future hints are abound but do not defer in the enjoyment even for a reader who does not like reading that much.
The characters are all well characterized and developed even for those who do not have much screen time since the direct writing style really brings out the personalities in a clear and concise manner.

Art -
Beautifully drawn art by so-bin that fits the series and everything in it.
Marvelous.

Overall -
10/10
If is something to compare it to it would be Tolkien books.
Truly a masterpiece in the making not just in novels but in all of literature.

Overlord: Um Agridoce talvez muito doce quando precisaria ser intenso.

(For English readers, I've included the translation at the end of the review.)

Introdução:

Overlord é uma light novel que me causou sentimentos mistos. Por um lado, a obra me proporcionou um refrescante contraste com os protagonistas perfeitos (perfeitos gênios, perfeitamente poderosos, perfeitamente confiantes) que proliferam no gênero, ao apresentar Ainz Ooal Gown, um personagem mais idiota e sortudo. Ao mesmo tempo, a repetição do humor e a falta de desenvolvimento de certos aspectos do mundo me deixaram com ressalvas.

Pontos Positivos:

* Protagonista Refrescante: Ainz Ooal Gown é um protagonista que nós entrega essa faceta a Percy Jackson. Em ... vez de ser um ser extremamente poderoso e inteligente, ele é mais propenso a cometer erros e depender da sorte. Essa característica o torna mais humano e relatável para o público.
* Humor Ácido: A obra possui um humor ácido e divertido que satiriza diversos elementos culturais e do gênero isekai. No entanto, como mencionado anteriormente, esse humor pode se tornar repetitivo e cansativo para alguns leitores ao longo da história.
* Construção de Mundo Rica: O mundo criado por Maruyama é rico em detalhes, com uma complexa estrutura social, política e religiosa. As ilustrações de So-bin complementam a experiência, dando vida aos personagens e cenários.
* Entusiasmo pelo Desfecho: A história te prende e te deixa ansioso para saber como tudo terminará. A trama é repleta de reviravoltas e cliffhangers que te fazem querer continuar lendo para descobrir o que acontecerá a seguir.

Pontos Negativos:

* Humor Repetitivo: Como já mencionado, o humor da obra pode se tornar repetitivo e cansativo para alguns leitores. Apesar de ser divertido no início, a constante utilização das mesmas piadas pode acabar diminuindo o impacto das mesmas.
* Desenvolvimento Inconstante do Mundo: Apesar da riqueza de detalhes, o mundo de Overlord tem suas ramificações constantemente podadas. Isso limita o desenvolvimento da história e impede que o leitor explore todo o potencial desse universo.
* Falta de Foco em Personagens Secundários: A história se concentra principalmente em Ainz Ooal Gown, e os personagens que compõem este mundo são pouco explorados. Isso limita o desenvolvimento da trama e impede que o leitor se identifique com outros personagens além do protagonista.

Sentimentos Mistos:

Embora eu goste muito de Overlord, reconheço seus defeitos. A obra te deixa com sentimentos mistos, pois ao mesmo tempo que te diverte e te prende com sua história, te deixa com a sensação de que poderia ser ainda melhor se explorasse todo o seu potencial.

Recomendação:

Se você procura um protagonista que te conecte, um humor ácido e um mundo rico em detalhes, Overlord é uma boa opção. No entanto, esteja preparado para o humor repetitivo, o desenvolvimento inconsistente do mundo e a falta de foco em personagens que poderiam enriquecer ainda mais esse mundo.


Elementos Adicionais:

* Comparação com Percy Jackson: No início da minha review, mencionei a similaridade entre Ainz Ooal Gown e Percy Jackson. Ambos os personagens se consideram "idiotas", mas para aqueles ao seu redor são quase tão deuses demais para este mundo.
* Lapsos de Seriedade: Apesar de ser uma obra predominantemente humorística, Overlord possui alguns momentos de seriedade que exploram o passado de Ainz Ooal Gown e seus sentimentos em relação ao mundo em que se encontra.
* Contradição na Crítica: Reconheço que a crítica pode parecer contraditória em alguns momentos. Ao mesmo tempo que elogio a riqueza do mundo de Overlord, também critico a falta de desenvolvimento de certos aspectos. Isso se deve ao fato de que a obra possui um grande potencial, mas ainda não o atingiu completamente.

Conclusão:

Overlord é uma light novel que vale a pena ser lida, mas que também possui seus defeitos. Se você está buscando uma leitura leve e divertida, com um protagonista diferente do usual, essa obra pode te agradar. No entanto, se você espera um desenvolvimento profundo do mundo e dos personagens, o título da minha crítica poderá encaixar com o sentimento "Um Agridoce talvez muito doce quando precisaria ser intenso".


###EN-REVIEW###

Overlord: A Bittersweet Delight That Could Be More Intense

Introduction:

Overlord is a light novel that evokes mixed feelings in me. On the one hand, it provides a refreshing contrast to the flawless protagonists (perfectly intelligent, perfectly powerful, perfectly confident) that permeate the genre by introducing Ainz Ooal Gown, a more idiotic and lucky character. On the other hand, the repetitive humor and lack of development in certain aspects of the world left me with reservations.

Positive Points:

* Refreshing Protagonist: Ainz Ooal Gown is a protagonist that reminds us of Percy Jackson. Instead of being an extremely powerful and intelligent being, he is more prone to making mistakes and relying on luck. This characteristic makes him more human and relatable to the audience.
* Acidic Humor: The work possesses a sharp and amusing humor that satirizes various cultural elements and the isekai genre. However, as mentioned earlier, this humor can become repetitive and tiresome for some readers throughout the story.
* Rich Worldbuilding: The world created by Maruyama is rich in detail, with a complex social, political, and religious structure. So-bin's illustrations complement the experience, bringing the characters and scenarios to life.
* Excitement for the Conclusion: The story keeps you hooked and eager to know how everything will end. The plot is full of twists and cliffhangers that make you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.

Negative Points:

* Repetitive Humor: As mentioned before, the humor in the work can become repetitive and tedious for some readers. Although it is entertaining at first, the constant use of the same jokes can eventually diminish their impact.
* Inconsistent World Development: Despite its richness in detail, the world of Overlord has its branches constantly pruned. This limits the story's development and prevents the reader from exploring the full potential of this universe.
* Lack of Focus on Secondary Characters: The story focuses mainly on Ainz Ooal Gown, and the characters that inhabit this world are poorly explored. This limits the plot's development and prevents the reader from identifying with characters other than the protagonist.

Mixed Feelings:

Although I enjoy Overlord a lot, I acknowledge its flaws. The work leaves you with mixed feelings because, at the same time that it entertains and captivates you with its story, it leaves you with the feeling that it could be even better if it explored its full potential.

Recommendation:

If you are looking for a relatable protagonist, sharp humor, and a world rich in detail, Overlord is a good option. However, be prepared for the repetitive humor, the inconsistent world development, and the lack of focus on characters that could further enrich this world.

Additional Elements:

* Comparison with Percy Jackson: At the beginning of my review, I mentioned the similarity between Ainz Ooal Gown and Percy Jackson. Both characters consider themselves "idiots," but to those around them, they are almost too godlike for this world.
* Moments of Seriousness: Despite being a predominantly humorous work, Overlord has some moments of seriousness that explore Ainz Ooal Gown's past and his feelings about the world he finds himself in.
* Contradiction in the Review: I acknowledge that the review may seem contradictory at times. While I praise the richness of Overlord's world, I also criticize the lack of development in certain aspects. This is because the work has great potential, but it has not yet fully reached it.

Conclusion:

Overlord is a light novel worth reading, but it also has its flaws. If you are looking for a light and entertaining read with an unusual protagonist, this work may appeal to you. However, if you expect a profound development of the world and the characters, the title of my review may resonate with you: "A Bittersweet Delight That Could Be More Intense."

Premise: I decided to write this review to give the perspective from someone who did not enjoy this novel, since I have only seen overly positive reviews thus far. To note, I dropped this novel around early volume 7, since I just ran out of patience for it, but 6-7 volumes seem like enough to write a review for a 9 volume story.

To start with the good! Art (10): The art is quite cool and I like it a lot. But like all novels, not much art. Regardless, this bumped my overall rating up from a 3 to a 4.

Story (5): The overarching premise of ... the story is actually quite good: The main character starts in an RPG styled world as the most powerful character in existence, with an army of elite AI's that have absolute servitude programmed into them, which he knows. The main character is actually just a regular guy from Earth, so he needs to adapt to this new environment.

Based on the premise alone, it feels like the story has a lot of potential, but unfortunately, not much actually happens with this interesting world and setting that has been built up. Instead, we learn about the main character…but, there is not much to learn other than his internal struggle of "oh noz, if I don't act evil, the AI's won't like me. boo hoo. Whatever shall I do? I know! I'll just have this dilemma for 6 volumes straight of how I don't want to be evil, but I can't help it since I want to be liked by my AI's which have already been programmed to love me forever.” Life is just so hard for our overpowered protagonist. I tend to find his ranting to be a bit cringe-worthy.

Seguing from that thought, I also find Ainz to be *incredibly* unintelligent. While it is absolutely fine and sometimes even encouraged to have a dumb main character, it does not work in this story as he just does not have the capability to be a leader. Due to the overpowered main character's lack of leadership over his battalion of subservient AI's, they go around advancing the story on their own. While again this sounds good and has potential at first glance, there really is no cohesive goal in sight, and this lack of coordination between the respective AI's leaves all that they do to feel very empty. :(

Character (2): The story is mainly about the characters, but I personally find them to be dull overall.

- Ainz (main character)
Like previously mentioned: dumb / cringeworthy / lack-luster leader / insecure / overpowered

I find his the internal struggle, "how to get his AI's which have already been programmed to love him forever, to love him." tiring to read about. He wonders why the AI's get confused what his goal is; of course it is because he's been putting up a facade up and confusing everyone instead of getting it together, taking charge and saying things directly.

I am not against flaws. In fact I have read manga where the main character has a facade contrary to their true thoughts and abilities, such as Angel Densetsu and Transfer Student Storm Bringer, where the juxtaposition between the truth and perceived reality in these stories is done extremely well. So it definitely is possible to have a main character where the perceived reality and the truth do not match up. Alas, this is one where all has gone wrong.

- Other characters (AI's)
The AI's initially seem to have distinctive personalities, but we quickly see that all have the trait of being over-confident. So while it is a mix-mash of different characters, they all have the same vibe. Other than perhaps Albedo, it's more like generic villain A and generic villain B. etc. All in all, the AI's did not add much to the story for me. Nor did I come to love any of them.

The main character is really like the only character for most of the story tbh. No one else is fleshed out as much.

Enjoyment (2): I personally did not enjoy this novel for reasons already stated. Everyone enjoys things differently, so perhaps the faults that I have pointed out, you will not mind. I hope that is the case, as reading this novel was a long journey for me.

Conclusion/tldr;: Due to the lack of leadership of the overpowered main character in this story, events unfold contrary to how he plans, as his minions stew up their own plans. The main character's unintelligence limits the abilities of his army, which also proceed to be stupid as well, and ultimately causes strife throughout the story when there should be none. *This large fault is particularly unfortunate as this novel seemed to desperately want to be tactics/strategy based.*

While reading this story that is a play of idiots, one gets accompanied by the internal struggle of the insecure main character, "how to get his AI's which have already been programmed to love him forever, to love him."

All in all, Overlord felt overrated for me.