Ainz must quell a rebellion, whatever the cost.
Creative Staff:
Story: Kugane Maruyama
Art: so-bin
What They Say:
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers):
For the past two volumes, Kugane Maruyama has made Overlord a delight to read. He’s made the world large by exploring it with Ainz Ooal Gown. He makes fights entertaining with various villains and Ainz cunning about the MMORPG he’s currently trapped in. So it only makes sense for him to take a pause and try to make sense of what’s going on for the readers. While it’s a risk, it’s something that for the most part pays off.
Coming off of a victory, one would expect to be happy and celebrate. However, this is not the case as Ainz Ooal Gown Discover that a rebellion has occurred. Now, it is up to Ainz to discover what exactly lead towards the rebellion. Squash the rebellion and make sure that it never happens again. But as he delves further into the causes, he then starts to see just what the true makeup of this world really is in this third volume of Overlord.
The story in this volume makes sense if viewed from a lens of a return to the core. In that sense, it is to say that now that we have explored an aspect of the world we want to bring things back to home so that we can create an anchoring point. This type of mechanism is used in order to not expand on what things are going on but in other to give readers a sense of root for where they’re still focused at. For Overlord, it is shown by having the rebellion. Again, Ainz is not an adventure, but rather and overpower ruler, who is a human trapped inside the video game. There’s still a lot that he would need to figure out. For instance, what about the character interactions. He finds out and we find out later in the volume that while there are programmed ideologies for the various NPCs, they tend to go their own way once out of their routine. It gives them a sense of realness and life that will take aback both readers and Ainz.
The action again in this volume is superb. Maruyama makes the action see more kinetic than in previous volumes. It may have to do with the approach in this volume with the climactic battle. Sure, in this volume we get brutal deaths as well as gruesome violence. However, the circumstances that force Ainz to quell the rebellion make it all the more meaningful and well-planned. With his emphasis on planning and working about details from Ainz, the action feels deliberate as it is brutal. Seeing Ainz pushed to his limit, having to risk it out in what becomes a slugfest, emphasizes the efficiency and speed of the battle as Maruyama’s writing make people want to turn from page to page.
The biggest problem with Overlord has to do with its explanation. It feels at times gets too worried about trying to explain various concepts within the MMORPG. It seems like a bigger trade-off than it needs to be. While explaining these concepts would be integral to understanding how things function, it does not come off as a necessity of understanding why all things are intricately woven together. It hampers the reading style of the book and unfortunately holds back the potential of actually giving discovery for the readers about the various new circumstances that are based upon the MMORPG’s mechanisms.
Again, so-bin art for Overlord is really well done. The watercoloring combined with the art style help to make the characters stand out in their various scenes. It makes an immersive experience that gives a sense of gravitas to the book that at times feels missing with the writing at times. Take for instance Chapter Five’s artwork. It beautifully details the action scene, showing the power of Ainz as he prepares for the major battle of this book.
It keeps on feeling repetitive but it’s true: Maruyama has created yet another solid volume. With a lot of action in this entry, he makes the characters alive, having a purpose to their actions. The background work for this volume also appends to the characters making the world more believable and entertaining given the circumstances of Ainz trapped in a MMORPG. With so-bin’s art to drive the rest home, Maruyama creates yet another entertaining volume to read.
Grade: B+
Age Rating: 16+
Released By: Yen Press
Release Date:January 31st, 2017
MSRP: $19.99
