In Japanese, it means "Another World," and it also refers to a media genre where characters find themselves transported to those other worlds. Yes, that would include The Wizard of Oz. Yes, that would include numerous novel and anime franchises that rose to popularity in the last decade. Yes, I actually reviewed a few of those franchises' movies already. And yes, here is another.
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom actually takes place during the anime's fourth season, which aired a few years ago. A text crawl spins us the tale of Satoru Suzuki, who finds himself the last player standing in the MMORPG YGGDRASSIL when its servers shut down for good. When they finally shut down, Satoru finds himself in the game as his avatar, the skull-headed "Sorcerer King" Momonga. He takes the name of his old guild, Ainz Ooal Gown, and sets out to conquer the game world as a sort of benevolent dictator.
This time, Ainz is visited by the Paladins of the neighboring Sacred Kingdom, which has been conquered by the evil Jaldabaoth and his army of monsters. The Paladins request Momon, Ainz's strongest warrior, to fight Jaldabaoth, but Ainz decides to join them instead. Of course, it turns out the entire siege on the Sacred Kingdom is part of Ainz's "benevolent" conquest. But neither Neia Baraja, the squire enthralled with Ainz, nor Remedios Custodio, the skeptical veteran Paladin, find out about it. Oh well, maybe next time.
Those already familiar with Kugane Maruyama's lore will get the most mileage here. Those who haven't will have a lot to deal with during the course of 135-minutes. Barely anyone in Ainz's entourage, barring Jaldabaoth, better known as Demiurge, and the sniper-maid CZ, who becomes Neia's best friend, get much character time. A few pivotal scenes, such as Neia talking out of turn in Ainz's presence, happen off-screen. It's quite easy to mentally checkout during a few exposition scenes. Its biggest hindrance, however, is something that I will highlight below.
It's kind of hard to care about the plot once Ainz's machinations are revealed. Sure, the opening crawl may have hinted at Ainz's campaigning, but we believe his benevolence when the Paladins meet him. There are a few characters who show up just to die during the opening siege. But we care about them enough that we want Ainz to deal unholy vengeance on Jaldabaoth. That pivotal flashback reminds us that he is the villain of his own story, and those victims are just pawns to him. Remedios was right to distrust him, even if that distrust is somewhat overboard. It's perhaps comforting, then, that several other villains in the series are not only unaffiliated with him but are much worse.
It's also comforting that Ainz is an easily flustered dork. Surprising, but true. He's quite awkward around Neia, which leaves his stationary mouth agape, and we briefly hear Satoru's thoughts in an inner monologue. Those humanizing scenes make that pivotal flashback harder to swallow. We get a nice friendship between Neia and CZ; individually, Neia is a decent viewpoint character, while CZ's monotone personality is instantly endearing. There's a surprisingly hilarious scene where a horrific monster general stops the fight to gush over Neia's new bow, a gift from Ainz himself. The end of that fight leads to a surprising punchline.
What else can I recommend about it? The animation is quite impressive, especially in the fight scenes, although some conclude rather abruptly. You'll feel it when things get gruesome, particularly with the fate of the Sacred Kingdom's Princess. There are some great monster designs, especially with Jaldabaoth's alleged monster form and the aforementioned general. Those who don't care for the gruesomeness will find the scenery pretty enjoyable. The production design is stelar, while what we see of the magic system - such as a microphone crystal - is nifty. The score by Shuji Katayama is fine; it fits with the dark gothic aesthetics, but it isn't too memorable. The overall sound presentation is wonderful, particularly with its impactful magic spells and immersive crowd scenes.
Ainz's machinations will make a lot of sense if you've watched the series beforehand. I was barely familiar with the series, but his ultimate scheme was a lot to take in as I watched the movie. Now, with more context, they make some dark sense. In a way, it's a good case study on how good people are swayed by obviously evil individuals. That's what Neia's story arc is all about. If it gets you curious on her later role in the story, then its thesis has done its job. It's quite relevant, that's for sure.
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