Overlord III

Episode 6

The business with Carne Village may not be entirely done for now, as it's referenced in this episode as a possible destination for certain characters. However, it's at least on hold for the moment while the story shifts its focus to what's going on outside of the immediate sphere of Nazarick, setting up a big and fairly complicated story arc.

In the Re-Estize Kingdom, they're still picking up the pieces from the Jaldaboath affair, and we finally learn the startling scope of the citizens that Demiurge absconded with. (Frankly, it's an unbelievable number unless Nazarick is far vaster than it appears to be.) Gazef Stronoff is still raising some tensions over his lack of nobility, and I have to think that this will lead to something down the line. Brain stepping into the role of his successor is interesting but hardly unexpected. Renner barely makes an appearance, but her eldest brother looks like he'll be the most trouble going forward. Meanwhile, much is going on in the Baharuth Empire, where the chief wizard Fluder is doing experiments with undead that might pique Ains' interest if he knew about them and the Emperor – the fellow we saw at the very end of last season – is taking an interest in Nazarick himself. He's also apparently progressive in his reforms, having deposed some inefficient nobles, which naturally doesn't sit well with them.

More immediately relevant to the plot is what the adventurers in Baharuth are up to. The notion that non-Guild-affiliated adventurers are called Workers is intriguing, and we get introduced to one quartet, called Foresight, which is featured prominently in the opener and has an involving set of relationships and problems. They're going to be part of a greater mission to investigate a recently discovered ruin with a village nearby. Clearly it's either Nazarick or its stand-in, as Ains shows up as Momon with Narbarel to be the security detail for the mission's base camp. So is this a scheme that he's running, or is he just positioning himself to deal with a potential problem?

What I liked most about the way this episode laid things out is how interconnected everything already feels. One of the members of Foresight is the eldest daughter of a deposed noble family who is saddled with incompetent parents, to the point that she seeks to move her younger siblings away, quickly connecting her to the bigger problems in Baharuth. She also has the ability to sense the level of someone's magical power on sight, which could prove quite troublesome if she ever meets Momon and Narbarel. All of this contributes to fleshing out a more complex picture than we've seen before. Added to that is the first appearance of an elf in this setting (or more precisely, a half-elf) that I can recall. The series generally continues to shine in its introduction of new characters, who may have some flavor of traditional archetyping but still clearly come off as individuals. Just one episode into their appearance and I'm already starting to get invested in what happens to Foresight.

In other words, this is all setup, but it's setup done well.

Rating: B+

Overlord III is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.