Overlord (Episode 6) – Journey
Momon is on a quest with Nabe and the Swords of Darkness. Their mission is to protect Nfirea Bareare which sounds easy enough. Of course, there are plenty of monsters waiting to strike. Too bad, they have no idea what they’re up against!
Overlord (Episode 6) – Journey
What did you watch?
There’s nothing quite like a good adventure, especially when there are goblins and ogres involved. It makes the hearty stew that much more satisfying as you sit around a campfire and get to know a little more about your comrades. Seriously, it’s a good job they haven’t made a full-dive system like the game that spawned this world because I don’t know if I’d be able to come out of it. Anyhow, let’s get back to the campfire. There’s bound to be some entertainment.
What happened?
Things were going well. They’d made good time and were almost in the area ruled by the Wise King of the Forest. Momon was curious about such a creature, but that would have to wait as a horde of goblins and ogres was bearing down on them. Momon told the others to stay with Nfirea and make sure no monsters got to him. He would charge into them head first and disrupt things. The Swords of Darkness were fine with that plan, although they would offer what support they could from the backlines. However, when Momon killed the first ogre with a single slash of his sword, they quickly realised that his fancy armour wasn’t just for show. He might be the strongest warrior alive!
They quickly defeated the monsters and decided to set up camp there. Best to get a good meal in you before continuing after a battle like that. As they ate, they discussed where their party name came from. It involved a legend about thirteen heroes – one had four black swords called the Swords of Darkness. They each carried a black dagger as a placeholder for when they finally found the real swords. Momon reminisced about his old friends and then snapped at Ninya who suggested he might find new allies like them. The others told Ninya that he couldn’t take back his words, but could make up for them. Peter commented that he believed something happened to them, leaving Momon alone.
What did you think?
Yep. Nothing like a good adventure. I love this episode because of how calm it is. Well, that and the amazing fight where Momon cut through the ogres like a hot knife through butter. They didn’t even stand a chance. Anyhow, back to the calmness. There’s so much that you can learn about the characters from scenes like this which is why they are such a common trope in fantasy stories. It’s even better when you have two groups coming together as it makes their conversations feel more natural. I loved the little details like the heroes of the legend or Ninya’s thoughts about his lost sister. There aren’t many more details, but it grabs hold of you and makes you curious for more. I want more. More and more and more!
What was your favourite moment?
I think I’ve mentioned it before, but my favourite thing with overpowered characters is the reactions they demand from those around them. This episode gave us it in the form of the Swords of Darkness and the Ogres. I’m pretty sure they had a moment’s hesitation when Momon sliced the first one in half. He had to taunt them into attacking some more and then cut them down too. This led Peter to wonder if he might be an Orichalcum level adventurer which would make him one of the strongest people in the kingdom. Not bad for an overpowered mage wearing a suit of armour that changes his class. I’m looking forward to many more reactions.
Who was the most impactful character?
Well, it has to be Albedo and the Ainz Ooal Gown body pillow… right? Seriously though, why does Ainz even have a bedroom? He doesn’t sleep… Oh, hang on. It’s not for sleeping! Am I right, Albedo? Wink, wink!
Anyhow, that’s enough of that. In this episode, I don’t think there was one person who really stood out. It was much more about the group dynamics and learning about one another. In that respect, this was a great episode because we did learn about the group. We got hints about their motivations and how they work together. We even learned that Nfirea is worried that Momon will steal his girl, and quite frankly if he wanted to there’s nothing Nfirea could do about it. Maybe that’s the origin of his name?
What have you learned?
Clementine is crazy! Apparently, she was part of the Six Scriptures of the Slain Theocracy until they kicked her out for being too crazy. This is the same group that gave us the mage that tried to take on Ainz Ooal Gown. So, she’s strong, crazy, and apparently loves nothing more than killing. It’s nice to have some genuinely evil characters in these sorts of stories. That’s something that’s been brought up again recently with Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End and it’s quite refreshing. For a long time now, every villain’s actions have required some sort of explanation. There needed to be something that happened to them making them the victim too. It’s fine once and a while, but sometimes, they just need to be a little crazy. A little bit like Clementine!
Other posts in the series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – End and Beginning
- Episode 2 – Floor Guardians
- Episode 3 – Battle at Carne Village
- Episode 4 – Ruler of Death
- Episode 5 – Two Venturers
- Episode 6 – Journey
- Episode 7 – Wise King of Forest
- Episode 8 – Twin Swords of Slashing Death
- Episode 9 – The Dark Warrior
- Episode 10 – True Vampire
- Episode 11 – Confusion and Understanding
- Episode 12 – The Bloody Valkyrie
- Episode 13 – Player VS Non Player Character
- Bonus
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Nice post ✉️
I like your distinction between the villain who is bad because they were damaged and the villain who is simply an f-ing psychopath.
Thanks. There’s room for both and I find it gets a bit boring if it’s all one way. Although, there’s nothing quite like a moustache twirling psychopath.
In the case of Overlord, Ainz Ooal Gown is a villain unless you’re directly under his protection. He is the ultimate villain and darkest evil. He has destroyed cities, crushed kingdoms, and slaughtered armies without the slightest compunction. Yet he’s the protagonist.
I don’t believe he thinks of anyone but himself as real or any characters other than his retinue as having any value. They are just sprites on the monitor of his mind – not even insects. If it is all pretend, he’s free to do what he wants without moral qualm. He’s still hoping to seek out another “real” person.
Yeah. The quest to find other players shows how everyone else pretty much means nothing to him if they don’t have a use.
It’s fascinating because he is the protagonist and we’re following his story so it’s hard to separate protagonist and hero since the two are so often kind and the same.
At the same time he can’t help but treat his own group of NPCs as real people and feel affection for them. Even Albedo, who clearly wants to get it on with him. He can’t let himself do it. It wouldn’t be fair to her because she doesn’t have free will in the matter. She’s written that way.
That further confuses things because, we see him being so nice to them, almost grandfatherly. So, we believe he can be like that with anyone, and then he saves Carne Village, but it’s only because it has a use to him.