The bulk of the book’s second half spends time slowly setting the table of the world immediately surrounding Nazarick. I liked that we immediately got the sense of a living and breathing world with people going about their lives that existed independently of Momonga’s little fiefdom. We also get introduced to the political dynamics of this world, and although they weren’t anything too special or interesting I definitely wanted to see Momonga get himself involved in them for interests sake. And that he does after a village situated near Nazarick is attacked by bandits, giving Momonga the opportunity to gauge his powers relative to the residents of the world as well as gain information. This was quite heavy on the dialogue overall just as in the first half of the volume, but it felt like comparatively less happened in this space, making this segment feel like a little bit of a slog at times despite being interesting on the whole.

Naturally, Momonga’s expedition led to a couple of fierce battles which were interesting because of Momonga’s struggle to balance fitting into this world clashed with his desire to demonstrate his overwhelming power to influence the world around him. However, once Momonga’s power relative to the rest of the world was demonstrated, the battles lost a lot of their tension. This caused this volume’s climatic battle to fall a little bit flat because it felt quite dragged out in comparison to what actually happened in it, and as a result it felt as though the second half of this volume probably could have been trimmed down by quite a bit to avoid dragging along. It was still quite fascinating to watch Momonga do his plotting and slowly gain confidence, but the political dynamic explored didn’t feel quite as interesting as I thought it might have. However, this was still primarily about setting the table for Momonga’s future adventures, so I wasn’t overly bothered by this second half because I still felt that it did a good job portraying Momonga’s slow process feeling out this new world.

As a side note, Yen Press did a fantastic job with this physical release by including all of the illustrations and character profiles in colour. The illustrations are absolutely stunning, and are definitely unique in compared to the anime-inspired illustrations most other light novels have. The book is also printed on higher-quality paper than their usual light novel releases, giving this volume a premium feel.

Final Thoughts

Overlord Vol. 1 is a compelling look at the Momonga’s process of coping with being given virtually unlimited power in a richly developed world. I really enjoyed the way Yggdrasil was introduced through Momonga’s wistful recollections of the glory days of Ainz Ooal Gown, and this gave the story a personal feel that made me emotionally invested both in Momonga’s own story as well as that of his burgeoning kingdom. The characters are given interesting personalities, and I really liked seeing their interactions with Momonga for the way they cemented his unique position within the world. Although the second half of this volume drags a little bit at times, I liked the way that it introduced the broader world that Momonga will be inhabiting. This volume was all about setting the table for Momonga’s future adventures, and it definitely succeeds in characterizing him in a fascinating and impactful manner.