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Volume 1 - Anime Season 1 Ep 1- 4
- Ainz floating in the night sky and gazing upon the breathtaking sight of the New World, while musing to himself that "it might be interesting, world domination." The subtle-yet-epic score
helps. - Gazef Stronoff standing up to an entire battalion of summoned angels for the sake of Carne Village. It's no wonder he is one of the few New Worlders Ainz truly respects, and why the man is regarded as the kingdom's greatest champion.
- Two words: Black Hole. Ainz one shots one of the strongest summoned creatures possible by normal people in the world. Made even more spectacular in the anime, as we get to see the monster suddenly sucked into the void, and the sudden darkness that falls afterwards. If that wasn't enough to establish his badass cred, nothing is.
- Even before that he even uses Negative Burst to eliminate all 40 Archangel Flames and Hell Flame to kill Principality of Observation, who was said to have the highest defense among the summoned angels. Nigun should have accepted Ainz's offer.
Volume 2 - Anime Season 1 Ep 5- 9
- The skeletal dragons animated in episode 9 do not disappoint. Neither does Nabe's battle with them.
- Ainz's fight with Clementine, full stop. They first exchange banter, with Clementine claiming that only Gazef Stronoff, Brain Unglaus, Gagaran and Luisinberg are capable of beating her. Ainz, who is in the guise of an armored warrior and knows that he overshadows Gazef (and thus her) by a long shot, calmly states that he won't fight her seriously, no matter what. What follows is Clementine spamming martial arts to try and injure Ainz, with no results whatsoever before she finally tries to end everything and stabs him in both eyes with a fire and electric sword. Because Ainz is a lich, the attack does absolutely nothing to him. When Ainz finally drops his warrior guise and reveals his true nature, he explains to her why he didn't fight her seriously — because as a magic caster, Ainz didn't even consider Clementine worth using a spell on. He then proceeds to slowly and painfully bear-hug her to death, with Clementine flailing, screaming and bleeding all the way; ending with her ribcage crushed and her spine being snapped in two — the light novel adding the mention that her ruptured organs were forced up her throat and out her mouth. Considering all her Kick the Dog moments and her Smug Snake attitude, seeing Clementine writhe and ineffectually flail in his arms as she's slowly crushed before her mangled corpse is unceremoniously dumped to the ground like a sack of potatoes was quite satisfying.
- Ainz's calm Evil Gloating all the while only makes it sweeter, as if he was utterly assured of his victory right from the start. The best part is that, despite stating that he didn't really care about the Swords of Darkness, he dragged out Clementine's death specifically because she took her time killing Ninya.(While Clementine was struggling to get out of Ainz's grasp after he revealed himself)
Ainz: This is why I gave you a handicap. You're all bark. There is no need for me to fight a mongrel of your level seriously. If I had cast the weakest spell I know to defeat you, it would have been a waste of MP.
(Clementine starts screaming in rage and fear...)
Ainz: What's the matter, bitch? Did you not like my answer? Hmm... (casually removes the daggers from his eye sockets) These are in the way...
Clementine: You got to be kidding!
Ainz: Alright, lets begin...
(Ainz's eyes glow red as he starts to tighten his grip on Clementine's waist...)
Clementine: Wait! Stop it! Stop it!
Ainz: I had considered killing you with this. [brings out one of the daggers that belonged to the Swords of Darkness] It would have been poetic justice at its finest...
(Stores back the said dagger)
Ainz: Then again, death by blade... Death by broken bones... Death by crushing... There's really not much difference, is there? In the end, you die.
(As his grip tightens, Clementine proceeds to panic, punching and biting him to absolutely no effect.)
Clementine: LET GO, YOU BASTARD!
Ainz: Stop your squirming.
(All while that was happening, the tags of the deceased members of the Sword of Darkness fall one by one from her armor...)
Ainz: You took your time killing her, didn't you? It's only fair to give you the same treatment. Slowly, and painfully...
(The last of the silver tags fall off, presumably Ninya's...)
Ainz: I've enjoyed this dance...
(Ainz wraps his other free arm around Clementine's back, to the point that she was squeezed so hard that her ribcage and spine are crushed into each other, and her ruptured organs splatter out of her mouth. Ainz nonchalantly drops her pulverized remains)
Ainz: I forgot to tell you. Try as I might, I have a tendency to be... hypocritical. - The Manga adaptation ramps this up by having Ainz deliver the Killer Bear Hug One-Handed.
- Ainz's calm Evil Gloating all the while only makes it sweeter, as if he was utterly assured of his victory right from the start. The best part is that, despite stating that he didn't really care about the Swords of Darkness, he dragged out Clementine's death specifically because she took her time killing Ninya.
Volume 3 - Anime Season 1 Ep 10- 13
- Pretty much everything Shalltear does in episode 10. She casually tears a group of brigands to pieces without even trying, defeats Brain Unglaus (one of the strongest warriors in the world) without even trying, and when she assumes her true form... the results are as horrifying as they are awesome.
- Though, an even bigger one goes out to the group which seemingly manages to control her and make her rebel against Ainz.
- Except they didn't. Shalltear, while in the process of being mind-controlled by a World Class Item mind you, manages to fight it off long enough to critically injure (and also kill a warrior who tried to block her) the item's user, thus preventing them from making any use of her.
- Though, an even bigger one goes out to the group which seemingly manages to control her and make her rebel against Ainz.
- Ainz' fight against a mind-controlled Shalltear Bloodfallen does not disappoint. It's one of the very, very rare fights in the series that actually drives both combatants to fight to the full extent of their power and sees very creative strategic thinking from both parties.
- The ending of the fight between Ainz and Shalltear Bloodfallen shows just what Momon means when he says "Ainz Ooal Gown knows no defeat": Ainz starts voicing how he deceived Shalltear since the start of the fight, and reveals that he faked his own HP with one of the 27 buffs he cast before engaging her. Then, when Shalltear flies into a rage and attacks, Ainz summons the armor of Touch Me, utilizing magic to be able to wield the warrior-type equipment he, a caster class, would normally not be able to. He then proceeds to curbstomp Shalltear to the floor using the vast array of weapons his old guild members wielded through the use of the small wood slabs he picked up before the fight started, including Takemikazuchi's sword, Nishikienrai's double daggers, a giant armored fist, PERORONCINO'S BOW (which makes Shalltear absolutely FLIP), and a giant axe, the last one costing him a few hit points, before finishing off the entire fight in one fell swoop: the timer he set on Bukubuku Chagama's watch beeps, and Ainz reveals that now, he accomplished his final objective: lower Shalltear's HP just enough to use ANOTHER super tier magic to wipe the rest of her life points, and since he is focused a lot more on magic defense than her, HE'LL survive the hit. And when Shalltear points out the magic would never get ready in time, she sees an item in Ains's hands that he uses to IMMEDIATELY drop the cast time to zero. The fight ends with Shalltear being utterly ERASED by the super tier magic, and admiring the fact that Ainz was right: the fight was his from the beginning.
- Aura gets one near the end of the fight. For a moment, Ainz hesitates to use the item that would drop the casting time to zero, nearly costing him the battle. Shalltear nearly takes advantage of that moment, but she is briefly frozen in place by Aura's Death Glare. Aura is miles away, and she was able to paralyze someone who is otherwise a lot stronger than her with a simple glare!
- A subtle one, but Ainz's both inner monologue AND verbal promise that whoever brainwashed Shalltear and caused him pain by having to kill her not once but twice WILL pay. The Slane Theocracy better hope that he never finds out what they did...
Volume 4 - Anime Season 2 Episodes 1- 5
- The Lizardmen, while ultimately beaten, put up a valiant fight against the forces of Ainz Ooal Gown, with special mention going to the Shasha brothers for managing to successfully trick Cocytus into letting his guard down. With Shashryu running a distraction to buy his brother time, Zaryusu coats his sword in his own blood to make it slippery and take advantage of Cocytus' constant Barehanded Blade Block showboating to stab him. Even if he had contingencies in place to ensure he would never be harmed by the sword to start with, he is clearly impressed, and that kind of ingenuity and resolve is one of the many reasons he requested Ainz to spare the Lizardmen instead of having them all killed to begin with.
- When Ainz is convinced to spare the Lizardman and simply conquer rather than slaughter then wholesale, he puts out all the stops to make sure his would-be subjects know how outmatched they are. First is the legion of skeleton warriors with magic equipment, who perform a procession for Ainz's entrance. Then... That swamp bog that provided the lizardmen a tactical advantage? Ainz casually freezes it over, which is enough to convince the tribal chieftains that they're outmatched. Then Gargantua tosses a cube of earth and rock ripped out of the ground into the middle of the bog, and the skeletons form a set of stairs to allow Ainz to walk up on top with his subordinates. Then, when the Shasha brothers approach, Demiurge uses his Compelling Voice to make them prostrate. This display is so compelling that Shasryu straight up begs Ainz to accept their surrender out of hopes of avoiding a slaughter.
Volume 5 - Anime Season 2 Episodes 6- 9
- When a knight by the name of Climb happens to see Sebas' powers after Sebas rescued a boy from being beaten up, he decides to ask Sebas to teach him to be strong. Due to a lack of time, Sebas decides to test him by attacking Climb with one punch and a very powerful bloodlust. At first Climb couldn't move a step fearing of death. However, with thoughts of Princess Renner, he finds the strength to move and evade Sebas' punch, impressing the latter in the process. That kid's will is very strong.
- For bonus points, Brain Unglaus also happened to be in the vicinity. Even though Sebas was not even targeting him, Brain - who is somewhere close to the level of Gazef Stronoff and thus easily one of the strongest human warriors in the Kingdom - was left paralyzed with fear from the Killing Intent. There's more to being strong than just pure power and Climb is the perfect representation of this.
- When Sebas is first attacked by Assassins, they throw a trio of knives at him. He catches them so quickly that from their perspective, his arms didn't move at all.
- Everything about Sebas, Brain, and Climb storming the Eight Finger's brothel. Sebas going straight up Vigilante Man on the mooks on the first floor including the Fat Bastard who threatened him and was the one who severely beat the girl he rescued from the brothel. Brain covertly clearing out the basement and then beating Succulent while rescuing Climb using a single strike. Even Climb got a few awesome moments by clearing out traps and holding his own against Succulent to the point where the more experienced fighter started to sweat.
Volume 6 - Anime Season 2 Episodes 10- 13
- The entire battle between Sebas and members of the Six Arms, except Succulent, who was taken out by Climb and Lockmeyer, a rogue. Lets just say Sebas manages to Curb Stomp all 5 members with a single hit! They should have listened to his warning:Sebas: [To the 4 members of the Six Arms] Don't try to annoy me by attacking me one at a time. If all of you come at once, you might last 10 seconds.note
- In the Anime adaption, he kills them all in less than ten.
- In her fight against Entoma, Evileye manages to be the first New World denizen to defeat a YGGDRASIL who is fighting her seriously.
- Brain Unglaus manages to do what he utterly failed to do in his first duel with Shalltear after running into her once more. He actually cut her fingernail on the first attack this time around. A private moment for him, that is.
Volume 7 - Anime Season 3 Episodes 6- 8
- While this volume is more focused on Nightmare Fuel than anything, the fight between Erya and Hamsuke qualifies. After Hamsuke introduces herself and asks for Erya to do the same, the arrogant blademaster replies that he sees no worth in giving his name to a mere beast. Hamsuke, who's usually The Ditz, replies to this with an uncharacteristic and incredibly Badass Boast: "Then, I will erase you from memory as a fool without a name, I shall!" and proceeds to very thoroughly humiliate the obnoxious swordsman (who's said to be comparable to Gazef Stronoff in terms of skill, by the way). Despite receiving ample heals and buffs from his elf slaves, Erya does not get a single blow in before Hamsuke finally cleaves off his arms with a single Martial Art and crushes his head with her tail.
- Even better, his thoroughly broken elf slaves all get psychotic grins as they realize their tormentor can't do anything to them anymore and cheerfully witness his death.
- Ainz's epic rage over Foresight's lie. It is so damned big that not even his emotion suppression can stop it.Ainz: You... You pieces of shit! The place where I— That my friends and I together—! The Nazarick that we created! You trample in our home with your dirty shoes! On top of that! My friends! You try and lie in the name of my most valuable comrades! YOU PIECES OF SHIT!!
- While they are eventually killed off with zero effort when Ainz gets serious, Foresight had very good team work that even Ainz praised which allowed them to fight Ainz to a standstill after he had gained some warrior training. Keep in mind that Ainz without warrior training easily dispatched Clementine who as a heroic level fighter and one of the best warriors in the surrounding countries.
Volume 8 - Anime Season 3 Episodes 1- 5
- When Ainz tries to negotiate with the Giant of the East, Guu note and the Serpent of the West, Ryraryus Spenia Ai Indarun note , Guu and his men refuse to pledge loyalty to Ainz even to the point where they laugh at Ainz for being weak since Ainz has a long name and Guu being strong for having a shorter name. So Ainz challenges Guu to a duel since Guu refuses to pledge loyalty to him. Guu tries to attack him with his large sword but Ainz takes the attack directly unhurt, confusing Guu on why his attacks don't damage him even after he punches Ainz. Once Ainz retaliates and damage Guu, Guu's fear instincts kicks in and wonders if Ainz uses magic. Ainz's Badass Boast says it all before he kills Guu and his men with Aura of Despair: Level 5:Ainz: I AM DEATH! I AM THE ONE WHO BRINGS YOU DEATH!
- Props to Ryraryus for realizing Ainz's strength and trying to reason with Guu to not underestimate him. Sadly Guu refuses to listen and Ryraryus tries to escape but was caught by Aura (who's not even as big as his human torso) and ends up pledging his loyalty to Ainz after Ainz kills Guu and his men. Had it not been for Ryraryus' intelligence, his name would not be crossed out of Ainz's kill list.
Volume 9 - Anime Season 3 Episodes 9- 13
- At the battle in Carne Village, Prince Barbro and some of the Royal Army are curb-stomped by the Goblin Army that Enri summoned using her second Horn of the Goblin General. Every unit of the army loudly declares their position before unleashing a beating that made the Royal Army run away without looking back.
- Unfortunately after they've escaped, none of them return back to the Kingdom alive. Just ask Lupusregina and the Redcap Goblins she summoned.
- Demiurge uses his Compelling Voice on Emperor Jircniv and his entourage, much like with the lizardmen. Jircniv is the only one who is able to resist him, at least in the anime. Considering nobody else has successfully done so thus far, even hardened warriors, this is an impressive feat of willpower.
- Props to Gazef for trying to fight one of the Dark Young Ainz summoned. Sure, it did absolutely no good as expected; but it was damn impressive of him to even make the attempt.
- To put this in perspective, Gazef used two Martial Arts, one to detect weaknesses, the other to tell him whatever chance he has of winning. Both tell him nothing, meaning he knows his defeat and death is absolutely certain, and he fights anyway.
- We later learn that the Empire suffered less than 200 casualties in that battle, all of them self-inflicted from trying to run away from Ainz's spell.
Volume 10 - Anime Season 4 Episodes 1- 4
- Demiurge returns from his business in the Holy Kingdom to ask how things are going, and is absolutely flabbergasted to learn that the Empire has submitted to Ainz. While Demiurge had intended for this to happen eventually, he expected months of conflict and bloody attrition, and even then only after the Kingdom had fallen to them. Ainz did it in a few days, with zero loss of life. Demiurge's zeal for serving so profoundly intelligent and farseeing a Supreme Being only increases.
- The way Ainz achieved this victory: he requests a duel with the Empire's greatest warrior, a troll even stronger and smarter than the one he'd fought previously, willingly agrees to not use magic, and even turns off his passive damage-negating abilities. He still handily kills the troll and immediately resurrects him before launching into a sales pitch for the new Adventurer's Guild he's launching. Jircniv submits immediately on seeing that there is truly no way to beat Ainz even with all his magic turned off. And of course, Ainz did it all unknowingly: as far as he's concerned, this was just a friendly business trip to him.
Volume 11 - Anime Season 4 Episodes 5- 8
- Ainz negotiating a mutually advantageous deal with the dwarves, simultaneously getting his hands on ores and weapons of the highest caliber (by the New World's standards), and the runecraft branch of magic, which did not exist in Yggdrasil. On that note, his recruitment speech of the runesmiths who have all but given-up on their trade, also counts reigniting their passion by tricking them using an YGGDRASIL sword (which is thus far higher quality, than most things produced in the New World) with 20 runes upon it (which unknown to the dwarves are merely cosmetic).
- A Frost Dragon, supposedly one of the strongest creatures in the New World, literally pissed itself upon meeting Ainz for the first time.
Volume 14 - Anime Season 4 Episodes 9- 13
- Lakyus's uncle Azuth has one pretty much every time he shows up, as to be expected of an Adamantite ranked adventurer:
- His Armor of Reinforcement makes him a magical Iron Man for all intents and purposes. With it he's able to instantly take down a Death Knight and a Death Warrior by himself when an entire city's worth of adventurers failed to do the job.
- When a group from the Black Scripture tries to press-gang him to help the Slane Theocracy in their efforts to stop the Sorcerer King, he not so subtly tells them to piss off when he reveals secret information about one of their leaders being undead, which he got thanks to his connection to Platinum Dragon Lord. This ensures that the Theocracy won't try anything against him knowing he has someone that powerful and well connected backing him.
- Finally he manages to lure away Albedo for a prolonged confrontation and miraculously manages to survive the encounter, especially considering how easily the Floor Guardians tend to flatten anything they face. That last one is downplayed a bit when it is revealed that Albedo was holding back to prolong their engagement.
- Zanac showing his resolve even as he is about to die.
- Moments before, he rides to personally meet with Ainz to discuss the coming battle one final time. He rides alone and shows no fear in confronting Ainz and simply asks for his motives as to why the Sorcerer Kingdom intends to destroy Re-Estize instead of simply accepting its surrender after Ainz tells him that the annihilation of the kingdom is absolute. After hearing Ainz's reasons, Zanac downs the glass of water Ainz offered him earlier (he didn't drink it when it was first offered, presumably thinking it was poisoned) and thanks Ainz for his time. Ainz compliments Zanac silently as he watches the prince return to his camp.
- When he returns to his camp with news that they are basically doomed, his soldiers are frightened and revolt. Some of them propose to simply surrender so their lives are spared, but Zanac declines them and even dares the soldiers to kill him.
- After the soldiers kill Zanac and present his head to Ainz as a show of loyalty, Ainz is a little dismayed that Zanac met an undignified end and they didn't even bring his armor along. Without any deviation from his tone, he orders for the soldiers to be escorted to Neuronist, with explicit instructions to keep torturing them even if they beg for death. After they're sent off, he coldly orders Cocytus and Mare to take charge of his army and massacre the humans with prejudice.
- Brain is able to accomplish what even Gazef could not, enter the realm of heroes. Cocytus notes that Brain, or at least his final attack, was around level 40. Keep in mind that level 30 is already in the realm of heroes, so it is not wrong to assume that Brain became the strongest normal human* in history. What makes this even more impressive is that even though Brain lost without even landing a blow on Cocytus, he still managed to accomplish his goal in facing him (namely protecting the street that held such fond memories for him). Cocytus decides to take a detour after the fight rather than step over Brain's body.
- Another detail that is important: Brain could have used Razor's Edge, but chose to give it to Climb and instead use his own sword. Despite not having a special weapon, and having to push himself past his body's limits, he did what nobody else has to Cocytus: He swung and landed a hit on him, as evidenced by Cocytus' barriers not activating. For a single strike, Brain, with only his natural skills, and some buffs from potions, landed a successful attack on someone that nobody else could.
- Nazarick is able to successfully fool Platinum Dragon Lord through false information and Pandora's Actor pretending to be Ainz in the fight against the Dragon Lord. As a result, Platinum Dragon Lord is under the false notion that he can defeat Ainz if he goes in person, while Nazarick is able to gather critical intel they can use against him in the future.
- It is revealed that the plan to conquer the Re-Estize Kingdom was actually devised by Princess Renner, and was actually done when she first met Demiurge all the way back in Volume 5. She was successful in manipulating everyone in the kingdom in order to help in this plan, and it all comes to fruition: the kingdom is no more, her act as the Golden Princess remains intact, and she becomes an immortal servant of Nazarick, with Climb soon to follow her in becoming a demon.
- What kicks off this reveal in the anime is Renner's musical number, with the whole thing having perhaps the biggest Animation Bump of the entire series. In an isekai action show, this honor is not reserved for a fight scene, but for a solitary dance. Renner might just be the most gleefully villainous character in the New World, and the entire end of the season is dedicated to showing just how completely she won. And it's beautiful.
- Philip's incredibly foolhardy actions have finally come back to bite him when Albedo arrives and personally slaughters all the people that have ever affiliated with him before meeting the pathetic noble. Albedo gleefully manhandles Philip and proceeds to psychologically torment him to the point he's reduced to a crying mess. While we may not see his torture, we can rest easy knowing that his fate will be far worse compared to what happens to the others.
Volume 12
- We get a look at what the Sorcerer Kingdom is like, and it is everything Ainz imagined it would be. Humans, demi-humans, and heteromorphs, all living in harmony.
Volume 13
- Ainz handles his own against both Jaldabaoth (Evil Lord Wrath) and six doppelgangers using the abilities of the Pleiades.
- Neia and Shizu are able to work together to take down a demon.
- Demiurge's plan is pulled off perfectly, especially the part when he talks to Doppel-Caspond about how the Holy Kingdom will experience even more unrest in the future, and will ultimately submit to the Sorcerer Kingdom.
Volume 16
- When Elf King Decem makes clear his intention to force himself upon what he believes to be his "grandchildren" (Aura and Mare; yes, he's that sick and deluded), Ainz's first instinct is to punch the bastard in the face. No magic, no summons, no minions: he just goes up to Decem, drops his camouflage and punches him in the face while calling him a "fucking pedophile".
Others
- This anime got a second season from Madhouse, a studio infamous for not making second seasons when adapting works (examples include Btooom!, One Outs, and No Game No Lifenote ; due to the hiatus of the manga, were Madhouse to make a second season, they would have go to into Anime original territory). The first season ended, and no word of a second season led fans to believe that the "Madhouse Curse" had befallen this title. On March 10, 2017, however, season 2 was officially announced.
- And now, there's a Season 3
- And now, there's a Season 3
- Speaking of Overlord's season 3, notice the opening and ending theme songs: Voracity, by MYTH & ROID being the opening and Silent Solitude by OxT being the ending theme. Season 3 starts showing more of the darker side of both Nazarick and Ainz himself. Myth & Roid being the darker themed vocalists for Overlord songs, it makes sense that their song would be the opening for the season, while the more action-oriented OxT sing a more subdued and darker ending theme. Gives a kind of twisted feel to the series, if you think about it...
