Overlord (Episode 9) – The Dark Warrior

Momon faces Clementine, the girl who killed Ninya and the other members of the Swords of Darkness, while Nabe stands before Khajiit and his plans to become immortal. Which side will emerge victorious?
Overlord (Episode 9) – The Dark Warrior
What did you watch?
It’s been another slow and steady road to get to this point, but now it’s time for Momon and Nabe to show everyone what they are made of. I love everything about this series, but this arc is still one of my favourites, and this episode is the reason. Rather than waste more time here, let’s just dive in. Try not to get in the way now, this is going to be brutal.

What happened?
Khajiit was impressed that Nabe was able to kill all of his mages in one go, but he had another card ready and was delighted to announce his skeletal dragon. Of course, skeletal dragons are immune to magic which makes them a troublesome opponent for a magic caster like Nabe. She wasn’t deterred though, vowing to simply beat it to death with her sheathed sword. After knocking it over with one strike, Khajiit was stunned. He forced it back to its feet and continued the fight, eventually summoning a second one. What was Nabe going to do now?
Meanwhile, Momon continued to test Clementine, using her as a way to experiment with martial arts skills and maybe learn their weaknesses. She was getting frustrated by the aimless swinging of his swords, especially as it made it hard to predict his movements and get close enough to strike. Finally, she found an opening and tested his armour, even slashing through his visor. However, he took no damage. It did show him that playtime was over, though. He called to Narberal Gamma, instructing her to unleash her true power. Meanwhile, he dropped his swords of beckoned Clementine to attack. She did, driving two daggers into his eye sockets. Rather than dying, he wrapped his arm around her and held her to his body which was now his true form. She panicked and thought to escape, but it was useless.

What did you think?
Well, it had two amazing fights and a lot of posturing and monologuing. Normally, that might be a little bit of an annoyance, however, Overlord has an amazing talent for making the monologues and dialogue that much more interesting. I’m not sure if it’s the confidence with which everyone speaks or the range of looks and reactions that follow. I can understand the desire to hold back skills and abilities to use as trump cards when times get tough, but I also think that if you can end it that quickly why bother to drag it out unless there’s something to be gained? Arguably, Momon did have a reason, but I think Nabe could have just ended it at the beginning. However, I noticed she stabbed Khajiit with one of the black daggers from the Swords of Darkness. Could it be that it was personal for her too, and that was her way of avenging them?

What was your favourite moment?
This episode showed Momon at his terrifying best. It also gave us one of the most shockingly realistic moments as Clementine fought to escape Ainz’s grasp. She cracked her own teeth, and no doubt did damage to her arms and head as she hit, headbutted, and did anything to get away. Ainz, simply held firm. He showed her the black dagger that belonged to Ninya and told her how he had planned on killing her with it, but death is death. What did it matter which way she went, as long as she did? That showed me that there was an element of revenge in his decision to kill her. He can claim he barely knew them, but it was clear that he liked them. Anyhow, seeing Clementine go limp as Ainz crushed her was brutal. Did she deserve it? Absolutely, but that didn’t make it any more pleasant.

Who was the most impactful character?
One element that really sold this arc for me was Clementine and a big factor behind that was the VA. I’ve been watching the dub this time around and I absolutely love Mikaela Krantz’s performance. Clementine has a fascinating voice that shifts through various ranges depending on how playful or vicious she’s feeling. Combined with some wonderful lines, Clementine really stole the show over the last four episodes. In a way, it’s a shame that such a brilliantly twisted character has been killed off, but at the same time, it was really needed after she killed the Swords of Darkness.

What have you learned?
I’m not a massive fan of fights going on for too long. More than one episode and it feels like it’s being drawn out and padded considerably, which it usually is. So far, Overlord has done things right. In this episode, we had two complete fights where nothing felt like it didn’t need to be there. That’s what I try to get from my fights when I’m writing. I try to consider how it might play out in real time and attempt to convey that. Fighters can’t just keep going and going and going without their abilities getting sloppy. They can’t take hit after hit and keep getting up. At some point, the accumulation of the hits will make an impact. I love big flashy fights, but I like them to be somewhat realistic.

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 ????
Thanks !!!!
“Fighters can’t just keep going and going and going without their abilities getting sloppy.”
Thank you.
Just, thank you!
Man, it’s nice to see that acknowledged!
Thanks. I think shounen anime needs to get this memo!