Overlord (Novel)

Description

From Yen On:
For twelve years, the virtual world of Yggdrasil has served as the playground and battlefield for the skeletal lord Momonga and his guild of fellow monsters, Ainz Ooal Gown.
But the guild's glory days are over, and the game is shutting down permanently. When Momonga logs in one last time just to be there when the servers go dark, something happens and suddenly, fantasy is reality. A rogues' gallery of fanatically devoted NPCs is ready to obey his every order, but the world Momonga now inhabits is not the one he remembers.
The game may be over, but the epic tale of Ainz Ooal Gown is only beginning.

Type

Novel

Related Series

Overlord (Spin-Off)

Overlord The Undead King Oh! (Spin-Off)

Associated Names

Amir (roman)

Повелитель (ранобэ)

اورلرد (رمان)

اوفرلورد (روايه)

オーバーロード

不死者之王

오버로드

Groups Scanlating

Baka-Tsuki

Flying Squirrel Overlords

Imoutolicious LNT

Skythewood

Latest Release(s)

v.Blu-Ray 6 Special c.Prologue by Skythewood 9 years ago

v.9 c.Afterword by Skythewood 9 years ago

v.9 c.3-4 + Epilogue by Skythewood 9 years ago

Search for all releases of this series

Status in Country of Origin

16 Volumes (Ongoing)

Completely Scanlated?

Anime Start/End Chapter

Starts at Vol 1 (S1) / Vol 4 (S2) / Vol 7 (S3) / Vol 10 (S4)

Ends at Vol 3 (S1) / Vol 6 (S2) / Vol 9 (S3) / Vol 14 (S4+ Movie 3)

User Reviews

N/A

Forum

5 topics, 12 posts

Click here to view the forum

User Rating

Average: 8.8 / 10.0 (417 votes)

Bayesian Average: 8.63 / 10.0

53%

19%

12%

Last Updated

April 25th, 2025 9:37am PDT - 2 weeks ago

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Genre

Action Adventure Comedy Drama Fantasy Sci-fi Seinen
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Categories

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Category Recommendations

Overlord

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Recommendations

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Monster

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Author(s)

Maruyama Kugane

Artist(s)

so-bin

Year

2010

Original Publisher

Enterbrain

Serialized In (magazine)

N/A

Licensed (in English)

Yes

English Publisher

Yen On (16 Volumes - Ongoing)

Activity Stats (vs. other series)

Weekly Pos #743

(-14)

Monthly Pos #1356

(-191)

3 Month Pos #2057

(-658)

6 Month Pos #3696

(+70)

Year Pos #4149

(+362)

List Stats

On 1838 reading lists

On 495 wish lists

On 62 completed lists

On 50 unfinished lists

On 517 custom lists

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Forum Posts Click to view the forum

Overlord Novels to End with Volume 17

5 years ago

There is no harem and hence the tag should be removed.

9 years ago

Overlord volume 10, release date confirmed.

9 years ago

Not a romance

9 years ago

Why is Volume 6 so crap?

9 years ago

User Comments [ Order by usefulness ]

So much wasted potential

by rhin33
10 years ago

Rating: 6.0 / 10.0

This has become tiresome. I don't have much fun reading it. From time to time I check the volumes when completed but my hype is at its lowest point.
I started Overlord with the mindset: "Oh, great! MC is overpowered skeleton. It will be fun to read and there will be a couple WTF moments."
But no. It become pretty depressing. The main cast after the first introduction is actually boring. The interactions between them are tame and maybe the only remotely interesting character is Sebastian. After all he is the only one shown to think a little out of the box. The rest are just overpowered killing machines. The MC on the other hand is... just retarded! What evil? He is timid and self-conscious. He goes on a killing spree for some random self justified reason and on top takes himself too seriously.
I find the side characters fun but they tend to be killed from the MC and party. So much wasted potential. Thanks goodness Enfrea survived or I would have dropped this on the spot.

As for the harem. He is damn skeleton! Why is there a need for harem?! Yea, I get it why Albedo and the necro girl like him but he is skeleton -> he has no thingy -> no future in relationship -> so no one should care and the whole thing should be excepted as a gag.

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Another disappointment

by Midnight Carnival
10 years ago

Rating: 3.0 / 10.0

If you were getting your hopes up because you read that this MC is evil, don't, because he is not, he is just petty. And sad.
The story also falls in the harem cliche and there is not one line of dialogue in this novel that you haven't already read in any of the mass produced manga/novels that are so common today.
This is not as bad as "Arifureta", but is nowhere near "Legend of the Moonlight Sculptor" (novel also ruined by a petty MC and a pointless harem), "Arc" or the "Play to Live" saga

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Evil Alignment MC

by malk
10 years ago

Rating: 8.0 / 10.0

There are some things you need to note before reading this light novel. 1. The main character is pure evil alignment. Evil alignment means evil acts (i.e. gore, blood, and ruthlessness). 2. The main character is from a non-human species that was hunted by sport by human characters in the previous game, thus he has no sympathy for humans. 3. The main character is of a lich race which, when the game becomes real, start to blunt his human emotions and empathy. 4. The mc was a lvl 100 (highest lvl) in the previous game and is at this point very OP.

The reviews for this series are split between 1. people who know what they're getting into and enjoy the process and mindset of a main character that's been put in a real world rpg with an evil alignment and 2. people who are squeamish about blood, gore, and evil and seek to criticize the main character for being evil alignment. This series is so far pretty good. You just have to know what you're getting into before you start. Personally, I want some more instances of him using deception and evil mastermind-like plans to supplant his enemies, but the series hasn't gotten that far yet for me to see much. At the moment though, it's done a good job of showing the mistakes and learning process you'd have to have to adapt to a completely foreign world (the only thing transported to the real rpg world is his guildhouse) and proceed to conquer the world. He's cautious, but that in itself is necessary given the circumstances. Overall, the characters are very balanced in diversity of looks and personalities. They all are very loyal to the MC, but they all have very different personalities. I'm interested in seeing where this goes.

Things I like: 1. Likeable characters, 2. Wide range of races and rpg-like skills, 3. A sense of wonder about this new world, 4. New viewpoint (evil alignment) when compared to the super-good superhero alignment that tends to over-saturate rpg reincarnation genres.

Things I dislike: The main character is simply TOO op. In the world he's sent to, anything above tier 5 is considered a "legendary" magic and the MC is capable of easily using tier 10. He hasn't had to think flexibly and be a true evil mastermind and strategize simply because he has nothing in this world that rivals his power. He can overpower literally anything seen so far in this world. He does face a challenge that causes one of his npcs to become incapacitated, but it's unknown at this time whether the enemy just got lucky or if they will indeed be an entity to rival the MC.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Better than I expected.

by ZombieObed
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

The main character reminds me of Summoned Skull.

It has the typical, transported to another world while playing a VR game feel, but the difference is that the main character is the only one transported. Once in this new world, all the NPCs from his guild become sentient and he keeps the appearance of his avatar from the game.

The plot has so far been decent. It goes a little slower than others, but it's been enjoyable. The MC is simply exploring and learning.

There are some scenes that can have a lot of gore; however, it's a novel not an anime. If you don't like it, just skim through it. I do.

Edit 8/26/2015: The later novels are interesting because the author doesn't forget about his cast. One thing that is hard for big casts is to give each character their limelight, but so far each new novel focuses on a member of Ainz ooal Gown.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Disillusioned.. again!

by sivador
10 years ago

Rating: 2.0 / 10.0

alphaGulp nails the review on the proverbial head' my take in one word "Boring.." excessive groveling' characters without personality / subservient / basic slaves or drones that exist to please the main character, when some decent characters appears they are simple killed off so not to take the spot light.. heck even the bad duds are more interesting that him! he basically is Josef Mengele transported to a real fantasy world "òh lets experiment with human to see if my abilities works" at first I didn't mind, they where assassins right' killed a lot of town people, but then adventurers or witnesses "he can hypnotize people into forgetting or change memories" so killing them is unnecessary, no one in the planet can defend himself from him or even his minions! all of them are Overpowered unrepentant monsters' ( except the dragon butler' Cool dud! ) example I found myself roting for a bandit to win? (a freaking kidnapper/rapist/murderer) his fight with the loli vampire.. the default personality of everyone of the secondary characters' ( they could have been written as wicked an cunning & I'll be ok with that' after all they are devils right!? ) is the same as the enemies that appear to fight the Power rangers when I watched them 20 years ago XD you want them' to get beaten. XD his entire objective is to gain knowledge of the world he's inhabiting.. he is filthy rich, he could pay for any info he'll ever wish to obtain, or ask the people that are indebted to him' the town people for the first volume or the apothecary from the second, he rather kidnap & torture the info from whenever' "I DONT RECOMMEND THIS" just go read https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=64917 or https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=119997 or https://www.mangaupdates.com/series.html?id=114694

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Good, but evil.

by Danae_D
10 years ago

Rating: 7.0 / 10.0

It's compelling and a nice twist on the normal story, but the MC seems to have no compassion at all, and both the author and the MC treat the deaths of those who aren't the closest of friends as nothing worth worrying about.

Overall, feels like a prequel to a generic hero story of how a truly evil character begins his reign of sheer power and fear.

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A new concept of another world

by bakaleaf
10 years ago

Rating: 8.8 / 10.0

Might contain a little bit of spoilers ( I'm not sure If I'm spoiling anything)

First MC is another Above God realm character ( there is a character list guide so look at it)
Theres a clear objective in the story one for the MC and another for his minions (as of now I can't call them his companions)
The lack of harem theme is a big minus if the harem was fix I well say it above 10 for the rating.
So far theres is a clear indication of harem but MC interaction with the female characters is rather low. Despite that the Female Characters are promising.
So many mysterious thing to solve some are obvious while others are a little bit surprising.
First off all one must understand that when the MC was transfered in another world he was not alone.
He transfered along with his whole base guild with all the NPC he and his guild members created.
Does all his action so far was investigation about the unknown world and making sure that his guild base well be safe to any unknown attack. He distrust with the NPC is a given since all of the NPC was created by his 40 companions which the NPC called supreme beings. but for the NPC the 40 supreme beings had left and only 1 remained that would be our Boner MC.
So far It is a good story the inhuman action is understandable after all his not human.
What most reader so far commented is a little bit funny.
alphaGulp in regards for this person comment
1st the MC does not OWN them the creator was his 40 companion that is why MC is inferior to them.
2nd they are undead and there setting was basically they hate the human race because MC felt inferior to them and MC undead nature also affect his current mental status so thats why he ignore all of there action towards humanity but still MC tried at least to reduce the damage as much as possible.
3rd Each NPC has a unique behavior base on there creator so its a given that there action much be well explained so that the reader can have a grasp of there creator personality as such in the story MC often explain and compare the NPC with there creator.
Finally the NPC's only follow him because his the guild master is what the MC thought so all his action is not to support them but is to make sure they don't go against him. Like I said MC is well aware that the NPC if not equal but more powerful than him (although as you read you well realize that MC is still the strongest)
Over all its a good material to read I recommend it to all its something you can enjoy reading 😀

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What's not to like?

by 4techlock
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

It got battle maids, loli vampire and yandere demon lady among other things... plus

The MC is now living his game character (which is an lv100 lich) in a real world, come hell or high water, he will lead his army of darkness to rule the world.

@alphaGulp: MC's alignment is total evil. This isn't SAO, where your cutey mc gets the girl and saves the world. If that torture part makes you squeamish, get off. It'll get more daunting as more conflicts and killings occur in the path of world domination.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Switches to gore and lots of torture part-way through...

by alphaGulp
10 years ago

Rating: N/A

It started off really cool (in the first few chapters), but then it became a bit disappointing when the MC was revealed to be (in fact) nothing more than a self-centered creep largely in line with his purely sociopathic AI-minions-brought-to-life.

That would be bearable, I guess (I'm used to most MC's being nothing more than OP jerks), but THEN the story takes a huge turn into horror, as we are forced to bear witness to chapter after chapter of 'guilty'/bad people from this fantasy world being slowly tortured to death by the monsters that the MC controls...

Frankly, if someone is so rotten and dangerous that there is no other choice but to kill them, then just do so as quickly and painlessly as possible - there is really no need to do the same evil onto them that they did to others.

Torture does not make sense, nor does it interest me, especially when the story CLEARLY STATES that there is absolutely no need to torture anyone, since they have mind reading/control magic anyway.

Those people who derive a morbid pleasure from torture and pain will enjoy the later chapters, but I sure didn't!

But then perhaps even more annoying, since I also just started skipping the horror (entire chapters), is how the 'evil' MC becomes (or reveals himself to be) such a freaking pansy, in fact:

So, for starters, we learn that the MC as an undead is supposedly largely free from emotions (must be nice for people who don't want to deal with their issues and prefer to try to forget them instead), so one would expect a nonchalant MC, who should be LESS affected than most by emotions like EMBARRASSMENT and who should also be more rational.

But no! Instead, we have this delusional pansy who plays the victim to such a degree that he speaks as if his lame WOW ex-guild-mates (who dumped his sorry real-life-avoiding ass for greener pastures) were DEAD/MURDERED.

And then constantly the MC/author tries to drum up support and empathy for the MC, because, like, really, it is just SO traumatizing to be dumped or rejected by friends (like who didn't live that at least once as a kid?) - which even then is fine, 'cos I'm not going to hate on someone just for being such a wimp, but THEN he tries to use it as a demented justification for torturing and abusing people, because supposedly the MC is a victim and he's also just trying to survive in a dangerous, uncertain world!

But hey!? Does he not understand karma at all? His murders, lies and abuse will end up making him some very motivated enemies (indeed everyone else should clearly seek to protect themselves from him and his world domination plans), so he is just planting the seeds of his own destruction.

But anyhow, getting back to how the MC is supposed to be undead (and hence uncaring about murder / etc.), but then he gets so embarrassed from riding a giant hamster, and throws a hissy fit when his minion gets trapped and his first attempt to free it fails?

I get annoyed when things are that contradictory and incoherent. It's a shame though, since there are some chapters that were really quite fun.

When I first started reading, I hoped that the MC would end up being a NICE GUY stuck with a bunch of EVIL (but under his control) AI minions. That would have been tons of fun, as that kind of juxtaposition can create lots of dynamic situations.

It was a real let down to see how it turned out instead - so much potential wasted! Especially since it just does not work for the 'evil' MC to constantly be playing the victim card. He is far too lame.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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Nostalagia

by kronpas
10 years ago

Rating: 10.0 / 10.0

As someone who quitted my job literally for WoW for almost a year, I feel great sympathy with the main char, esp the overwhelming loneliness once you decide to quit the fantasy world you ve dedicated so much of your life to be back to fleeting reality. The novel's world is also drenched in MMORGP-ness, which is something the author doesnt even try to hide. This is a must read for every MMO player out there.

... Last updated 10 years ago

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