Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom

Well, Overlord has returned and returned in full glory, again. Just better than ever, as movie budget allowed creators to do technical shaenigans TV show was not really able to pull off. But let's go back to beginning, initial idea of cutting Sacred Kingdom arc wasn't, in my opinion, the best. Whole structure of it fits ideally in the middle of Overlord IV, or rather should. But as we all know creators did good job adapting volumes 10,11 and 14 into season 4 without undermining importance of said arc. Volumes 12 and 13 of the novel were left out and one of my favourite (andpossibly majority of WN and LN fans) arcs had became a movie. And it was done brilliantly. Reason why Demiurge wasn't much of a character in Overlord IV was because he was in the Sacred Kingdom as demon Jaldabaoth with his army of monsters. Now, the whole thing does few great things actively walking between what happened in Overlord 4 and the events of the movie itself. Especially managing between some reworked scenes to fit the storyline and what is happening at what point of the 4th season (the whole thing is taking place simultaneously with the events of the Overlord IV). And, oh boy, this movie is bonkers. I grew more chest hair just by watching it. It also is best adapted novel to anime in the series, 135 minutes runtime helped great deal, even with usual cuts. But let's focus a bit on technical stuff, it is definitely best looking Overlord to date. Both 2D and CGI styles are buffed and on speed, animators outdid themselves here by miles compared to seasons 1-3 (I believe season IV is a massive step up technically). The planning, stills and backgrounds are smooth and rarely eyesore, which is a big upgrade too as sometimes in the show differences between movements and stills were way too visible. Animation itself is smooth af, general animation style is sharper and consistent. Choreography is peaked this time, battle scenes (final one!!!) perfectly executed and pumped enough adrenaline to sit in the edge, the fights choreography also amazing, especially between our main characters when Ainz steps in to do his usual fuckery. Sound design is also nicely upped here, with bigger budget mix itself sound more full and whole experience was much more immersive. As of the music itself it's the usual stuff, bombastic epicness destroying cinemas speakers perfectly blending with the action on the screen. Sound mix itself is stead and very much delivers what it supposed to: maximum enjoyment. Now, from the writing point of view there were few cuts, some could say few too many, can agree with that myself. Unfortunately 2 volumes squeezed in 7 episodes runtime requires some, but it wasn't nearly as bas as I expected, it wasn't bad at all, most of the things that were cut out not going to be massively missed and if anything only for LN readers. It's bit more serious and definitely much more violent. Sacred Kingdom arc on its own is very violent. I'd say the writing itself is the biggest up for me rather than a con as it perfectly blends with Overlord IV, especially at the end. Both LN and anime fans should be more than satisfied and happy. I was. To sum this bit of a review in a few sentences: It's the best Overlord to date, definitely justified cutting the events from the 4th season to present it to us as a movie. Bigger budget, bigger team, bigger everything, bombastic experience. As it should be. Obviously watching it without watching prequels is pointless, it also should be watched AFTER watching Overlord IV, the experience will be much better and will reduce confusion. But I doubt anyone will watch it at this point without watching rest of the show. It's more violent, more intensive and incredibly paced, it sounds better and definitely looks better. Perfectly balanced between LN and anime, for once. All hail Ainz Ooal Gown! All hail Overlord! KINO.

Watched this movie last night and I must say this is not Movie quality, but I enjoyed it anyways. Story: 7 If like me you have read light novels 12 and 13, this is adapted straight from them with no new content. The story might actually be a downgrade from the books but that is just inevitable as its shorter than what we've come to expect. Rune Craft? Ainz's antics are on full display here, and will probably get a laugh or two out of you. Art: 6 For a movie I expected sharper visuals and more animated combat scenes however I was disappointed to see that this isbasically standard TV quality of Season 4, with some horrible angles and budget constraints that are very obvious. The big final fight isn't even shown and is over off screen in 5 seconds. Characters: 6 It is Overlord with more Overlord characters, unfortunately Albedo and most of the crew only have guest appearances or do not show up at all(just like the books). With the time given the characters of which there are three mains besides Ainz and only one is well enough develop because she doesn't need to develop at all. They do not have the time to flesh out the other two characters at all both of whom have a massive presence and are very well developed in books 12 and 13. Music: 5 There is no music tracks I can remember and I watched the movie not even 20 hours ago, thus I will rate the music as standard and I think there was a remix of one of the anime season openings in the credits. Overall Thoughts: 6 This is what id classify as a TV movie forced into theatres. There's not enough here to warrant going to see movie in theatres unless your a big fan of the show. It also doesn't help that they repeated one scene three times. It's good, but its not movie theatre prices good. It lacked memorable fights, music and how this is R rated is beyond me. I think if they added a few more graphic scenes (like 10 more minutes worth)they skipped in the books this would have been a better less rushed feeling movie. If they remade this as season 5 and pretend this movie was supposed to come after season 5 everything would be good and this would just be another "movie" that's just a condensed season.

The film was made in the Overlord style so many love, it feels satisfying to watch the way the story is told and even the animation was good. Any fears that the film may had been rushed were unjustified, the love put into this project can be felt while watching it. It is probably one of the best films I have seen so far, it definitely is a worthy addition to the Overlord franchise. LN readers may miss a few scenes, but considering how few screentime the studios had to work with, the result is still amazing. While some moments may feel very fast paced,they also convey the feeling of Overlords regular fast pace, and so it is a good experience. I recommend this film to anyone who liked the previous seasons or manga.