Last updated: 1 November 2026
Overlord is a dark fantasy isekai anime by Madhouse, adapted from Kugane Maruyama's light novels. It follows Ainz Ooal Gown, a player trapped as an undead sorcerer who rules the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Four seasons (52 episodes, 2015–2022) and the 2024 film The Sacred Kingdom have been released.
About Overlord
When the game YGGDRASIL shuts down, player Momonga stays logged in until the last second, and wakes up inside his character, the undead sorcerer Ainz Ooal Gown, in a world that is suddenly real. His NPC servants now think for themselves and worship him as a god. Overlord is a dark power fantasy told from the villain's side of the story, as Ainz builds his legend one kingdom at a time. What makes it gripping is the gap between the two Ainz: inside, he is an ordinary, lonely office worker improvising desperately to keep up appearances; outside, his loyal guardians read world-conquering genius into his every stumble. Around Nazarick, human kingdoms scheme, heroes rise and armies march, never grasping how hopelessly outmatched they are. Animated by Madhouse, the anime runs four seasons of thirteen episodes each, plus recap films and the 2024 feature film The Sacred Kingdom, which fills in the war the fourth season skipped.
Overlord is a TV anime from 2015, first released in Summer 2015. It belongs to the Action and Fantasy genres and is listed as a completed series. The summary above is written by the AnimeYug team in our own words.
Official Trailer
Story & Plot
In 2126 the virtual-reality game YGGDRASIL, famous for its freedom, is ending after twelve years. Momonga, leader of the guild Ainz Ooal Gown, sits alone in the Great Tomb of Nazarick among the NPC guardians his old friends created, and stays logged in past the shutdown to say goodbye. Instead of logging out, he finds Nazarick transported to a real, unfamiliar world, and the NPCs alive, loyal and waiting for orders. Trapped in his skeletal avatar, his emotions dulled by undead calm, he takes the guild's name as his own to draw out any other lost players.
To learn about this world, Ainz poses as the dark adventurer Momon while his guardians quietly extend Nazarick's reach. Every kingdom that tests the Sorcerer King learns the same lesson at a different price: the lizardmen, the Re-Estize Kingdom, the Baharuth Empire and finally the Sacred Kingdom all bend, break or burn. It is a conquest told from the throne room, where the scariest thing is how easily it all happens.
Story Arcs & Episode Guide
The Overlord anime is split into story sagas. Here is every saga in order, with its episodes and years.
| Arc | Episodes | Years | About |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season 1: Arrival in the New World | 1–13 | 2015 | Adapts volumes 1–3: Nazarick arrives, Ainz poses as the adventurer Momon, and Shalltear is turned against him |
| Season 2: Lizardmen and the Kingdom's Underworld | 14–26 | 2018 | Adapts volumes 4–6: Cocytus faces the lizardmen while Sebas and Climb uncover the kingdom's criminal empire |
| Season 3: The Tomb Steps Forward | 27–39 | 2018 | Adapts volumes 7–9: workers invade Nazarick, Enri defends Carne Village, and Ainz declares war at the Katze Plains |
| Season 4: The Sorcerer Kingdom | 40–52 | 2022 | Adapts volumes 10, 11 and 14: Ainz founds his kingdom, visits the dwarves, and the Re-Estize Kingdom falls |
Why Watch Overlord
- A villain's-eye view: the story is told from the overwhelming overlord's side, not the heroes'.
- Ainz's double life (genius conqueror outside, improvising office worker inside) never stops being funny and tense.
- Nazarick's guardians are a full cast of monsters, each loyal, terrifying and oddly endearing.
- Human kingdoms get real stories too, which makes Nazarick's shadow falling over them land harder.
- Four complete seasons plus a feature film, adapted from one of the best-selling light novel series ever.
Who Is It For?
Overlord is rated TV-MA in the US, so it is for adults and older teens. Expect graphic battlefield violence, mass death treated coldly, dark humour, some sexual content and a hero who is often the monster of the story.
Main Characters
View all characters →
Voice Actors
The Japanese voices behind the main characters of Overlord.
- Ainz Ooal GownUndead ruler of Nazarick and the Sorcerer KingdomJapanese voiceSatoshi Hino
- AlbedoOverseer of the Floor Guardians, devoted to AinzJapanese voiceYumi Hara
- Shalltear BloodfallenVampire Floor Guardian of Nazarick's first floorsJapanese voiceSumire Uesaka
- DemiurgeDemon Floor Guardian and Nazarick's strategistJapanese voiceMasayuki Katou
- Aura Bella FioraDark elf Floor Guardian who commands magical beastsJapanese voiceEmiri Katou
- Mare Bello FioreShy dark elf Floor Guardian with nature magicJapanese voiceYumi Uchiyama
- CocytusInsectoid Floor Guardian and honourable warriorJapanese voiceKenta Miyake
- Sebas TianHead butler of Nazarick and a master martial artistJapanese voiceShigeru Chiba
- Narberal GammaBattle maid of the Pleiades who poses as an adventurerJapanese voiceManami Numakura
- EvileyeMasked adamantite adventurer of Blue RosesJapanese voiceSaori Hayami
- Brain UnglausGenius swordsman haunted by his duel with ShalltearJapanese voiceKōji Yusa
- Gazef StronoffThe Re-Estize Kingdom's Warrior CaptainJapanese voiceHiroshi Shirokuma
- ClementineSadistic former Scribe of the Black ScriptureJapanese voiceAoi Yūki
- Renner Theiere Chardelon Ryle VaiselfBrilliant princess of the Re-Estize KingdomJapanese voiceKiyono Yasuno
- Neia BarajaSquire of the Sacred Kingdom's paladinsJapanese voiceYoshino Aoyama
Staff & Production
- Original Creator
- Kugane Maruyama
- Animation Studio
- Madhouse
- Series Director
- Naoyuki Itō
- Series Composition
- Yukie Sugawara
- Music
- Shūji Katayama (Team-MAX)
Manga & Source Material
Overlord is a light novel series by Kugane Maruyama with illustrations by so-bin. It began online in 2010 before Enterbrain picked it up for print, and it is planned to end with its eighteenth volume.
- Written by Kugane Maruyama and illustrated by so-bin
- First serialised online on Arcadia from 2010, then published in print by Enterbrain from 30 July 2012
- Sixteen volumes were published as of July 2022; the author has announced the series will end with volume 18
- Volumes 17 and 18 had not been released as of late 2026
- The official site reported over 14 million copies in circulation for the series
- A manga adaptation ran in Comp Ace, with a sequel manga, Overlord: New World, from 2024
Music
Two acts define the sound of Overlord: OxT and MYTH & ROID swap opening and ending duties across all four seasons, and OxT also performs the theme of The Sacred Kingdom film, “WHEELER-DEALER”.
Opening Themes
- “Clattanoia”by OxTSeason 1 opening (2015)
- “Go Cry Go”by OxTSeason 2 opening (2018)
- “Voracity”by MYTH & ROIDSeason 3 opening (2018)
- “Hollow Hunger”by OxTSeason 4 opening (2022)
Ending Themes
- “L.L.L.”by MYTH & ROIDSeason 1 ending (2015)
- “Hydra”by MYTH & ROIDSeason 2 ending (2018)
- “Silent Solitude”by OxTSeason 3 ending (2018)
- “No Man's Dawn”by Mayu MaeshimaSeason 4 ending (2022)
Series Timeline
- 2010
Kugane Maruyama begins serialising Overlord online.
- 2012
Enterbrain publishes the first light novel volume on 30 July.
- 2015
The Madhouse TV anime premieres in July; Season 1 runs for 13 episodes.
- 2017
Two recap films, The Undead King and The Dark Warrior, retell Season 1 in cinemas.
- 2018
Seasons 2 and 3 air back to back across the year, 13 episodes each.
- 2022
Season 4 airs from July to September; volume 16 of the novels confirms the series will end at volume 18.
- 2024
The film Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom opens in Japan on 20 September, adapting the skipped volumes 12–13.
Quick Answers
Is Overlord finished?
Yes. Overlord has finished airing, so you can watch the complete story from start to end without waiting for new episodes.
What genre is Overlord?
Overlord is a Action and Fantasy anime. You can browse more titles like it on our Action anime page.
When did Overlord release?
Overlord first released in Summer 2015. It is a TV series.
How many episodes does the Overlord anime have?
The TV anime has 52 episodes across four seasons of 13 episodes each (2015, 2018, 2018 and 2022). There are also two recap films from 2017 and the 2024 feature film Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom.
Will there be an Overlord Season 5?
No fifth season has been officially announced as of November 2026. The light novels are also nearing their end: author Kugane Maruyama has said the series will finish with volumes 17 and 18, which have not yet been released, so more anime remains possible but unconfirmed.
Is Ainz the villain of Overlord?
In story terms, yes, that is the point of the series. Ainz protects Nazarick above everything and commits terrible acts against the new world's people, while the show keeps you inside his head, where he is a lonely, improvising ex-office worker. The tension between those two views drives the whole series.
Does the anime cover all of the light novels?
Not yet. Seasons 1–4 adapt volumes 1–11 and 14, and The Sacred Kingdom film adapts volumes 12 and 13, which Season 4 skipped. Volumes 15 and 16, and the planned final volumes 17 and 18, have not been animated.
Watch Order
Here is the release order for Overlord and the series connected to it. Start at step 1 and work your way down.
- 1OverlordTV series (2015): this series; Season 1, 13 episodes. Start here.
- 2Overlord: The Undead KingRecap movie (2017): retells the first half of Season 1 with new scenes; optional once you have seen the season.
- 3Overlord: The Dark WarriorRecap movie (2017): retells the second half of Season 1; optional companion to the first film.
- 4Overlord IITV series (2018): Season 2, 13 episodes; the lizardmen and the kingdom's underworld.
- 5Overlord IIITV series (2018): Season 3, 13 episodes; Nazarick declares itself to the world.
- 6Overlord IVTV series (2022): Season 4, 13 episodes; the Sorcerer Kingdom is founded.
- 7Overlord: The Sacred KingdomMovie (2024): adapts light novel volumes 12–13. Its story sits between Season 3 and Season 4's events, so it works right after Season 3 or after Season 4.
Where to Watch
Overlord is officially available to stream on these platforms:
Streaming availability changes often and differs by country. Please check the platform in your region.