Anime

Overlord Episode 12: Is This a Game or Reality?

Overlord’s 11th episode, called “The Bloody Valkyrie,” raised as many questions for me as it answered. The episode started with Ainz teleporting to Shalltear’s vicinity with Aura and Mare. Ainz immediately ordered the brother and sister to scout the area for enemies. Since they both carried world-level items, he gave them strict orders to retreat if attacked […]

Anime

Gate Episode 12: Yao Ha Dushi’s Despair, Itami’s Ascendancy

The last episode of the first season, titled “What Would Itami Do?”, started by giving us a clear understanding of what the fire dragon did to Yao Ha Dushi’s people. To put it succinctly, it massacred them. I’ve always liked Gate’s animation, and I have to say that seeing the dragon ruthlessly burning dark elves […]

Anime

Overlord Episode 11: Confusion and Understanding

When we last saw Shalltear, she was in human-appearance mode, slumped over slightly, eyes vacant. That image haunted me all week. She was such a powerful character, so full of life, that seeing her so broken hurt. What did such a state mean for our heroes? This week, the episode begins with Ainz Ooal Gown sitting on […]

Anime

Gate Episode 11: Diplomacy in the Special Region

Gate’s balanced presentation has impressed me since episode 1. For example, Gate presents the Self Defense Force (SDF) as capable but not infallible. Also, while they fought the fire dragon, Itami‘s reaction to Tuka’s nudity wasn’t a bloody nose (as I see far too often in anime); he really didn’t even react because they were in the […]

Anime

Overlord Episode 10: Wow, That’s an Ugly Vampire!

Well, “ugly” is prejudicial. Unexpectedly fierce? Appallingly vicious? I’m struggling to describe how Shalltear Bloodfallen looked to me when she went into full bottle mode in True Vampire, the latest episode of Overlord on FUNimation (or here for information if you’re not a subscriber). Last week’s episode (review here) ended on a shock: Albedo announced that the […]

Anime

Overlord Episode 9: The Dark Warrior

I started watching Overlord, streaming on Funimation, late in the season, so I just got caught up. The story begins with the main character playing a server-hosted game that’s about to be shut down. He’s the last of his friends to be online, and he’s determined to stay until the very end, when the hosting company […]