Overlord Anime Film to Open This Year
A television special about the Overlord anime film project, which will cover the Sei Ōkoku-hen (Holy Kingdom Arc), announced on Monday that the film will open in Japan this year. Cast members Satoshi Hino (Ains), Yumi Hara (Albedo), and Masayuki Katou (Demiurge) hosted the special, which also previewed new anime footage.
The film project was first announced during a 2021 live special for the anime. While the 2021 special did not announce the cast and staff of the new film project, the television anime's cast members Hino, Hara, and Sumire Uesaka (Shalltear) made the announcement, and presented messages from the television anime's director and series script supervisor.
The first 13-episode Overlord television anime series premiered in Japan in July 2015. Funimation streamed the anime series as it aired in Japan, and the company released the series with an English dub on Blu-ray Disc and DVD in November 2016. The second anime series premiered in January 2018 and ended in April 2018. Crunchyroll streamed the second series as it aired, and Funimation streamed an English dub. The third anime series premiered in July 2018. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired, and Funimation again streamed an English dub. The fourth season of the anime premiered in July 2022. Crunchyroll streamed the anime as it aired in Japan, along with an English dub.
Kugane Maruyama began the original Overlord light novel series online in 2010, and Kadokawa's Enterbrain imprint began publishing the series in print with illustrations by so-bin in 2012. Yen Press is releasing the novel series in North America. The company is also releasing Hugin Miyama and Satoshi Ōshio's manga adaptation.
The franchise's story takes place in the year 2138 when virtual reality gaming is booming. Yggdrasil, a popular online game, is quietly shut down one day. However, the protagonist Momonga decides to not log out. Momonga is then transformed into the image of a skeleton as "the most powerful wizard." The world continues to change, with non-player characters (NPCs) beginning to feel emotion. Having no parents, friends, or place in society, this ordinary young man Momonga then strives to take over the new world the game has become.