The best time to watch a popular anime is right when it begins airing, the second best time is right now! Overlord has found itself ranked among the most bingeable anime series of all time, and it’s easy to see why.
This isekai adventure where Suzuki Satoru is plunged into the world of his favorite video game — Yggdrasil — right as its servers close has many compelling twists on an already popular genre. Stories from the acclaimed light novels have been adapted into an anime and films series by Madhouse, as well as an OVA and ONA by Studio Puyukai. A new film, Overlord: Holy Kingdom, just hit theaters in November 2024 so there’s no shortage of Overlord content for those looking to start the series.
The only problem is that with so much supplemental material for the series it can look overwhelming at first for folks who want to watch it for themselves. There are two major ways to check out Overlord – in release order and chronologically.
How to watch Overlord in release order
The exact release order for Overlord is admittedly quite confusing, especially with the absolute deluge of special content that has come out for the series. For those who want to see every part of the show from start to finish, here’s how to make that happen.
- Overlord: “The Maid Tea Party” (2014)
- Season 1: Overlord (2015)
- Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades (2015)
- Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades – “Nazarick’s Great Crisis” (2016)
- Overlord: The Undead King (2017)
- Overlord: Manner Movie (2017)
- Overlord Movie: Ple Ple Pleiades (2017)
- Overlord: The Dark Hero (2017)
- Season 2: Overlord II (2018)
- Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades 2 (2018)
- Season 3: Overlord III (2018)
- Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades 3 (2018)
- Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades – “Fugitive Clementine” (2018)
- Season 4: Overlord IV (2022)
- Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades 4 (2022)
Watching all of Overlord in release order is certainly an option, but this much content can be overwhelming for someone new to the anime. Luckily, if you decide to watch only the events adapted from the light novels, things are much more manageable.
How to watch Overlord in chronological order
If you just want to get the basics of the story from start to finish, things get a whole lot less complicated. You can even watch the first episode dubbed for free on YouTube. How cool is that?
Like most anime, Madhouse’s Overlord doesn’t adapt every arc from its source material but it gets pretty close. Here’s how each season and each film line up with the light novel volumes.
- Season 1: Overlord (2015): Adapts Volume 1 (Ep. 1-4), Volume 2 (Ep. 5-9), Volume 3 (Ep. 10-13)
- Overlord: The Undead King and Overlord: The Dark Warrior
- Season 2: Overlord II (2018): Adapts Volume 4 (Ep. 1-5), Volume 5 (Ep. 6-9), and Volume 6 (Ep. 10-13)
- Season 3: Overlord III (2018): Adapts Volume 7 (Ep. 6-8), Volume 8 (Ep. 1-5), and Volume 9 (Ep. 9-13)
- Season 4: Overlord IV (2022): Adapts Volume 10 (Ep 1-4), Volume 11 (Ep. 5-7), and Volume 14 (Ep. 8-13)
The easiest way to enjoy one of the top anime in the isekai genre is by watching each season in chronological order. If you really want to speed things up, you can watch the first two movies instead of the first season. The Undead King covers everything that happens in the first four episodes of season one and The Dark Warrior recaps the rest of the season. Both movies also feature some extra scenes so if that sounds like something you’d want to see, definitely watch them even if you watched the show.
The Overlord: Ple Ple Pleiades series, while fun, doesn’t adapt any storylines from the light novels. That being said, some fans enjoy the character insight and the more comedic tone the OVA provides. While not required viewing, watch these if you like cute animation and want to learn more about the characters.
What about Overlord: The Holy Kingdom?
The feature film, Overlord: The Holy Kingdom, was released in Japan on Sep. 20, 2024 and in North America on Nov. 8, 2024. The movie adapts the story from volumes 12 and 13 of the manga, thus putting it chronologically after the first four seasons of the show. Technically speaking, the new film fills the gap between episodes seven and eight of season 4. There’s no “right” way to watch Overlord, but we’d recommend either watching the film after episode seven or after you’ve finished the season. The fate of the show likely rests on how well this film performs in the box office, so keep that in mind if you’re a fan — but no pressure.
So how should I watch Overlord?
For someone just jumping into the series to see if they’ll like it, there is no reason not to make things simple and go in chronological order. For those really short on time, the first two movies serving as recaps for the earlier seasons could also be a great way to dip those toes into the anime waters and see if the whole series is worth investing your time in.
However, if season 1 feels like anime perfection after watching it, or that first movie makes the series seem irresistible, consider checking things out in release order. The silly chibi art specials will make much more sense when viewed alongside the proper seasons, after all. Either way, they aren’t necessary to understand the plot in any capacity so skip or enjoy them, your choice!
Overlord is available to stream on Crunchyroll, Funimation, and Hulu.
Published: Dec 1, 2024 12:37 pm