Sneaking Into the Empire

The best thing about Overlord IV Episode 4 is how it contrasts with Episode 3. In Episode 3, we got the impression that Ainz has everything figured out. It’s like he’s playing 4D chess while everyone else is playing 2D chess. But, Episode 4 shows us that’s not the case.

In reality, everyone else is playing 2D chess and Ainz is eating glue in the corner. They think he has everything planned out because things generally work out in his favor. Yes, Ainz is strong and has capable allies. But, more than that, he’s in the right places at the right times.

At the start of this episode, we get a great example of exactly what I mean. We learn that Ainz didn’t actually plan to interrupt Emperor Jircniv’s meeting. This wasn’t supposed to be some power move where he flexes before the Theocracy.

Ainz didn’t know Jircniv would be in the Colosseum that day. He didn’t plan to fight in the Colosseum when he entered the country, either. And, he didn’t even want Jircniv to know he was there, so he snuck into the country. But, he ended up in the right place at the right time.

We also got another example of this at the end of the episode. After Ainz defeats the Warrior King, he’s about to leave when Jircniv calls out to him. I thought Jircniv was going to attempt to play up his good relationship with Ainz to appease him.

But, that’s not what happened. Instead, Jircniv begs Ainz to make the Empire a vassal state of the Sorcerer Kingdom. Ainz just wanted to recruit some new adventurers. What he got was an entire Empire. This is the epitome of what I mean when I say things work out in Ainz’s favor.

The Humble Merchant, Osk

Once it’s decided that Ainz will fight in the Colosseum as a way to recruit adventurers, he needs an opponent. And of course, there’s only one possible opponent for Ainz to go up against — the strongest. Luckily, Ainz’s new guild master friend has a connection to the promoter of the Warrior King.

This promoter is the “humble merchant” Osk. Considering the mansion Osk lives in and his collection of weapons, I’m not sure “humble” is the right word. But, when speaking to the Sorcerer King face to face, it’s probably a smart idea not to brag.

Osk himself isn’t all that interesting. The most interesting thing about him is that he has an information network. And that information network was able to get information from the Theocracy leadership. So, either Osk has a connection within the Theocracy or he has a mole planted there.

The character I want to know more about is the one Osk calls “Headhunter Rabbit.” As the adventurer’s guild master says, she’s a member of the Rabbit Man race, comes from the East, and is rare. Usually, the demi-humans are all bundled into one race. So the fact that Rabbit Man is its own race is unique.

I’m also going to assume that Headhunter Rabbit isn’t her name. It seems more like a title, to me. You know, like Warrior King. Or, it could even be a trade name like what adventurers use. I doubt Evileye’s real name is Evileye.

Another weird thing about Headhunter Rabbit is that she has massive, scarred hands. We don’t know the story behind the scars on her hands. But, we do know that Osk is oddly turned on by them. I don’t want to kink shame him, but giant, scarred hands aren’t for me.

Ainz vs. the Warrior King

Warrior King is the title given to the strongest warrior of the Colosseum. The current Warrior King is also considered the strongest of all the Warrior Kings. But, even that means nothing when his opponent is the one and only Ainz Ooal Gown.

Ainz’s fight against the Warrior King was pretty cool at times. But, because Ainz is so much stronger than the Warrior King, the fight lacked any real excitement. I know there was never going to be a chance that Ainz would lose the fight. Still, I’d have liked Ainz to at least have enough of a handicap to give the impression it could happen.

In this fight, Ainz limited himself by not using any spells and by not using (most) of his magic weapons. Those limitations didn’t go anywhere near far enough. He should have used no magic weapons. And he also shouldn’t have used any of his skills either.

I thought we were going to see Ainz in an actual melee fight (not as Momon). But, he relied so heavily on magic weapons and his skills that it wasn’t much of a fight. He used fire skills, energy depletion skills, and more.

It’s surprising that what Ainz did was within the rules he agreed to. Wasn’t the original wording of the rules “no magic,” not “no spells?” So, wouldn’t magic weapons and skills still be against the rules? Sure, even without any of that, Ainz could still one-shot the Warrior King. But, still.

Anyway, enough of me complaining. I’ll end this section of the review by praising the animation during the fight. Usually, people think of Overlord as having terrible animation. But, some of the shots during this fight were very good. I especially liked the fire animation.

Conclusion

What do you think about Overlord IV Episode 4? Did you like seeing the contrast between how people view Ainz and how he actually is? Will the bunny girl get a job as one of Ainz’s maids? And, how did you feel about the fight against the Warrior King? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 5 is available now.

What Are the God-kin?

It’s happening. It’s finally happening. At the start of Overlord IV Episode 3, Ainz brought up that someone brainwashed Shalltear in Season 1. Now, I know this doesn’t actually mean that we’re going to get to the bottom of that any time soon. But, it’s nice to see it wasn’t forgotten.

From what I remember, the implication at the time was that other humans (players) were behind it. If true, that’s a huge deal. As far as Ainz knows, he’s the only player stuck in the game world. So, confirmation that there are other players — even enemies — would be positive.

If there are other players, that could mean the other members of Ainz’s guild exist somewhere too. And, in case you forgot, finding his friends is Ainz’s goal. The reason he’s taking over the world is so that he can find his friends.

Now, a bit later in the episode, the leaders of the Theocracy discuss how to deal with Ainz. Based on the reports they have, no human could win against even Ainz’s army — forget Ainz himself. But, one of the leaders mentions that the combined power of two God-kin could defeat such an army.

We’re shown what these two God-kin look like. But aside from that, we know nothing about them. We don’t even know what God-kin are. Still, based on context clues, we can make some basic assumptions about them.

Albedo & co. call Ainz and the other players Gods. So, God-kin wouldn’t be the Gods themselves, but rather those closely connected to the Gods. So, to me, that means the God-kin are on par with Albedo, Demiurge, Shalltear, etc.

The Theocracy leaders also think Ainz is a descendent of a god himself. Little do they know, he’s the real thing.

Adamantite Adventurers

As we know, Momon is the strongest adventurer in all the lands. And as the strongest, that puts him in the adamantite adventurer rank. In case you forgot, the ranks go copper -> iron -> silver -> gold -> platinum -> mithril -> orichalcum -> adamantite.

Now, Emperor Jircniv hired a team of five adamantite adventurers to be his bodyguards. Their job is to protect the Emperor while he meets with members of the Theocracy. And, these adventurers aren’t any adamantite adventurers. They’re Silver Thread Bird, the strongest adventurers in the entire empire.

At this point, I should remind you that Momon isn’t your typical adamantite adventurer. The members of Silver Thread Bird aren’t on the same level as Momon. Despite being adamantite adventurers, they’re still humans. Momon is an undead “God.”

As you may recall from the first part of the episode, the Theocracy leaders mentioned the human limit. When referring to Ainz’s army, they said it was too much for any human to handle. But, as we know, Ainz could handle it. And, because Ainz and Momon are one and the same, Momon could handle it too.

Also, you may have forgotten (I did), but Momon’s “power level” is off the charts. When it came time to measure his level, it was too high for the adventurer’s guild to measure. So, while Momon is an adamantite adventurer, that’s only because a higher rank doesn’t exist.

If Silver Thread Bird confronted Ainz when he appeared, I’m not sure they’d survive. They might be able to survive if their goal was to escape. But, as adamantite adventurers, I don’t see them doing that. Instead, I could see them fighting against Ainz to the very end — and losing.

A Meeting with the Theocracy

Speaking of Ainz appearing, he showed up at Emperor Jircniv’s secret meeting. Jircniv invited members of the Theocracy to join him at the Colosseum. The Emperor selected the Colosseum in an attempt to prevent eavesdropping. The roars of the crowd will drown any conversation out.

Even before their meeting got interrupted, I can’t say it was going in the Emperor’s favor. The Theocracy is wary of the Empire because Jircniv has been cooperative with Ainz. In Jircniv’s defense, he’s basically Ainz’s hostage. But, it doesn’t look that way from the outside.

When Ainz shows up at the Colosseum, he doesn’t help to alleviate the Theocracy’s concerns. He speaks to Jircniv in a familiar manner, playing up the fact that the two of them know each other. And to the Theocracy leaders, this is a huge red flag.

Rather than stick around to converse with Ainz, the Theocracy leaders make their exit. And, much to my surprise, Ainz allows them to leave. I was sure that he’d tell (order) them to stay and watch his fight. He could even use a spell to prevent them from leaving.

But, destroying the Theocracy isn’t Ainz’s goal at this point. For now, all he wants to do is keep his potential enemies separate. By making the Theocracy believe Jircniv is his ally, Ainz stopped any cooperation. He’s dividing and conquering his enemies one by one rather than taking them on all at once.

I have to say, I enjoyed this episode a lot — especially the parts with Jircniv. It was great to see Jircniv know that Ainz was pulling all the strings and yet have no way to stop him. He recognizes the situation he’s in and he’s desperately trying to find a way out.

Conclusion

What do you think about Overlord IV Episode 3? Do you think I’m right that the God-kin are NPCs created by players? What adventurer rank would you put above adamantite? And, what was your first thought when the challenger turned out to be Ainz? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 4 is available now.

Planning to Fight the Sorcerer King

Overlord IV Episode 2 made me realize how much of the series I don’t remember. For example, I don’t remember anything about Princess Renner’s storyline. But, based on what we saw at the end of the episode, I can assume she’s working for Ainz Ooal Gown.

And, with that information, the earlier scene featuring the princess makes more sense. I wondered why Princess Renner was asking Evileye so many questions. But, now it’s clear that she was attempting to gather information for the Sorcerer Kingdom. Though, I’m not sure Ainz needs the information to be successful.

Additionally, the information we as viewers get from this scene isn’t anything new. We got confirmation that there’s nobody around (that Evileye knows of) who can defeat Ainz. Though, she does say that the adventurer Momon might stand a chance against him.

So, why does none of this information matter? Because we know that Ainz and Momon are the same person. All this scene did was confirm how much stronger than everyone else Ainz is. Why not throw in some new information? Maybe Evileye’s heard a rumor about another adventurer on par with Momon.

Something I do remember from earlier in the series is from the very first season. Back then, someone was able to control Shalltear. And I’m pretty sure the implication was that this was another player from the real world. But, we haven’t heard anything about other players since then.

This scene could have been an opportunity to reintroduce that other players exist. Sure, Ainz believes that his former guildmates are somewhere in the world. He’s brought that up a few times. But, that’s just an assumption on his part. What about the other players? Or, are the ones interfering actually his guildmates?

The Re-Estize and Sorcerer Kingdoms

Despite the appearances everyone is putting on, they all want to partner with Ainz. As I mentioned, Princess Renner is already working alongside the Sorcerer Kingdom. And, we see that Prince Zanac is no different. He too wants to align with the strongest kingdom around.

The main difference between these two siblings is how they go about it. Princess Renner is subservient to the Sorcerer King. Though, she may be being controlled by him. I don’t actually remember if she’s working for Ainz of her own free will.

Prince Zanac doesn’t want to be subservient to Ainz. He doesn’t want his people to see him as bowing before another ruler. And he likely doesn’t want Ainz to view him as a retainer. Prince Zanac wants to be on equal footing with Ainz — even though we know that won’t happen.

It seems pretty clear to me that the Re-Estize Kingdom isn’t going to be independent for much longer. I don’t see it getting destroyed like whatever kingdom used to be where the Sorcerer Kingdom now lies. But, it won’t surprise me if Prince Zanac doesn’t survive this transfer of power.

At one point, Prince Zanac says that he’ll award his sister by gifting her some backwater province. In his mind, he’s going to be the next ruler of the kingdom. But, Princess Renner feels the same way. She sees herself as the next ruler of Re-Estize, albeit serving beneath the Sorcerer King.

And, something I noticed is that Princess Renner didn’t seem to be as merciful as her brother. It didn’t look like she plans to let him live out his days in a faraway province. I think she’s going to be the one to orchestrate his assassination.

Albedo’s Diplomatic Trip

I was quite surprised to find that Albedo’s trip to the Re-Estize Kingdom was diplomatic in nature. Though, it’s not to forge any kind of relationship with the current ruling family. Her goal is to incite a revolution of those loyal to Ainz within the kingdom.

What I don’t understand is how she planned all this out. As we saw, Albedo has Hilma Cygnaeus working for her. I don’t know if Hilma is actually one of Ainz’s underlings or someone Albedo found on her own. But, regardless, Hilma’s role is to introduce new lords who want to make names for themselves to Albedo.

So far, this all makes sense to me. But, what doesn’t make sense is how Philip Montserrat became involved. Yes, I know he introduced himself to Albedo and proposed holding a banquet for her. The problem is, that doesn’t explain how he became central to Albedo’s plan.

Albedo and Hilma are the ones pulling the strings. And so that means Philip’s introduction to Albedo should be part of the plan. But, it doesn’t seem like it was. From what we saw, he decided to introduce himself to Albedo upon seeing her.

Now, I did consider that Hilma could have used magic to control Philip. That makes sense since she and Albedo view him as a pawn. But, even that doesn’t quite add up. Why not? Because Philip’s infatuation with Albedo horrified Hilma (and disgusted Albedo).

If Philip was being controlled by them, this shouldn’t have become a problem. So, maybe Hilma told Philip of Albedo’s arrival ahead of time. And in doing so, she may have made an offhanded comment about how getting close to her would benefit him. It’s possible Hilma manipulated Philip and underestimated him at the same time.

Conclusion

What do you think of Overlord IV Episode 2? Did you remember that Princess Renner is an ally of the Sorcerer Kingdom? Do you think Prince Zanac is going to survive this season of the anime? And, how far into the series do you think we’ll get before revisiting plot points set up in Season 1? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 3 is available now.

Friends and Equals

Overlord IV (Season 4) Episode 1 was better than I expected. I enjoy the Overlord series. But, I know that it can look pretty horrible. So, the fact that this episode looked fine was a nice surprise. Though, I have to admit that not much happened.

Overlord III (Season 3) aired way back in 2018. So, I don’t exactly remember how everything left off. And one thing I don’t remember is who these maids we see in this episode are. Were these maids in the previous seasons? I can’t say that I remember Fith at all.

Of course, I do remember the Pleiades battle maids. But, these aren’t those maids. I do like these new(?) maids, though. Fith is cute, and so is the blonde maid whose job is to stare at Ainz as he sleeps. If these maids are going to stick around, I hope we get names for them all.

At the start of the episode, Ainz said (thought) he wanted to live with all his comrades as equals. While I’m pretty sure this is something he’s brought up before, it’s still interesting. He’s under the impression that he has to rule as a supreme leader.

The thing is, that’s likely not the case. If Ainz actually expressed that he wanted to live as equals with his NPC friends, would they say no? Sure, Albedo and a few of the others would say that he’s way above them in status. But, they all treat him pretty casually already.

Albedo begged to sit on Ainz’s lap — and then did sit on his lap — in this episode. That kind of behavior shows me that it would actually be easy for Ainz to get everyone to agree to his wish. They like him.

The Emperor’s New Clothes

When Ainz debuted the new outfit that Fith picked out for him, I thought it was going to be a short-lived gag. I didn’t expect him to actually wear it for the rest of the episode. But, I have to say it grew on me over time.

Ainz’s original outfit is pretty iconic at this point. But, I’m not against him wearing other things. Now, I’m wondering if this red robe will be his outfit for the entire season. Will he go back to his usual clothes? Or, will he perhaps wear more new outfits?

Also, if Ainz can get a new outfit, what about the other characters? I’d like to see all the character designs get refreshed. I mean, do you not want to see Albedo wearing other things? That seems like the perfect opportunity for some fan service to me.

And speaking of other characters getting new outfits, what about Pandora’s Actor? In this episode, Ainz told him to stop speaking German and saluting him. Getting rid of Pandora’s Actor’s WWII German soldier outfit should be next. If Ainz wants his guild to have a good name, he should try not to get canceled by association.

At least Ainz shot down Flore’s and Mare’s ideas regarding new outfits. It’s great that those two enjoy cross-dressing. But, I’m not a huge fan of female characters wearing male clothes. Female clothes are cuter. Now, if all the characters wore cute maid outfits, I could get behind that.

Demiurge and Cocytus dressed as maids? Sign me up. Albedo and Shalltear wearing pants? No, thank you.

Unfortunately, Albedo also shot down Ainz’s idea to have everyone wear matching outfits. Imagine the drip when the whole guild shows up wearing matching velour tracksuits

What it Means to Be an Adventurer

At the end of the episode, Ainz decides to perform a hostile takeover of the Adventurers’ Guild. He noticed that there are no more monster hunting and security jobs available in the guild. And that’s because the country is completely safe now that he runs it.

After all, any dangerous monsters in the country are most likely Ainz’s underlings. And in the event one isn’t, his comrades are strong enough to handle it without adventurers. As a result, this lack of jobs means there’s a lack of adventurers in the country currently.

So, what genius idea does Ainz have to fix this? He’s going to put the “adventure” back in “adventurers.” To him, the jobs the adventurers lost weren’t true adventurer jobs anyway. How can someone call themself an adventurer if they aren’t out exploring the unknown?

At first, the local guild master was skeptical of Ainz. The Adventurers’ Guild operates independently of all the countries it has locations in. This is because the adventurers don’t want various countries dragging them into wars. And, at first, it did seem like Ainz wanted to use the adventurers as scouts for future invasions.

But, after Ainz explained himself more, the guild master agreed to partner with him. And by partner, I mean that Ainz now controls the Adventurers’ Guild within his domain. This could be significant considering Ainz has an alter ego in Momon the adventurer.

Up until this point, Ainz has kept his Momon persona separate from the nation he’s building. But, this could be the perfect opportunity to connect the two. Now, Momon’s exploits could lead back to Ainz’s country via the Adventurers’ Guild.

Though, to be honest, I don’t remember why he’s kept his personas separate so far.

Conclusion

What do you think of Overlord IV Episode 1? Have you watched the previous episodes more recently than I have? If so, you probably remember a lot more than I do. And how do you feel about Ainz’s new outfit? Do you think he should continue wearing it? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 2 is available now.