Overlord- Openings, Endings and Intermediality

In this fourth blog, I shall be focusing on what makes anime, anime! Many of them know them by the name of OPs and EDs or Openings and Endings. These are some of the elements which other media don't have, and as an anime enthusiast, I am proud and happy to talk about these that are made with special care and consideration and are the major constituents of beauty in this art form. The visuals, paintings and cuts along with the music or song make great sense and give the viewers an epiphany if they observe well. And to all those anime watchers who complain that openings and endings spoil the series, my answer is 'Silence, lower lifeforms! You do not qualify to speak!' "...just bow your heads and wait for the end, full of gratitude." Please don't take this personally; this is just a reference from Overlord. Nevertheless, I shall say that you are missing out on what anime has to offer to the community.

The Opening of Season one can be regarded as equivalent to that of a masterpiece. The song Clattanoia performed by the band OxT is tailor-made for the entire series and fits perfectly for the anime series- the best opening of all seasons considering its relevance. All openings in anime are formalistic, which causes the viewer to get transported into this parallel world or feel it. What makes Clattanoia special is that the song is a formalistic first-person narrative of Ainz's emotions, thoughts and dilemma-the gradual transformation of Satoru Suzuki(human) to Ainz Ooal Gown(Overlord), while also foreshadowing upcoming episodes and seasons(using visuals). I have mentioned in the previous blog that Ainz is unable to show any exaggerated emotion as an undead, thus making everything viewed in his eyes objective. One might argue that excess lack of emotion may side with formalism, but passive emotion and human vestiges make his point of view almost perfectly realistic(almost to the point of external focalisation, but it's internal), thus dismissing the arguments. The title of the song 'Clattanoia' signifies 'A power where a chain of events leading to mass-despair caused by a single entity or person' or 'An empowered life from misery', which hints at Ainz Ooal Gown.

Let me now focus on one of the foundational ideas that link our topic as a group: intermediality. I had already mentioned it in the previous blog when I mentioned the Evil Lord Wrath. Light novels have illustrators who are responsible for the depiction of the light novel, which help the readers in visualising the story. A published light novel is, therefore, one single product of intermedia made of paintings and text. The intermedial effects of light novels have different targets; here in Overlord, the texts and paintings give the reader the aura of epic dark fantasy and help to visualise the characters. These, when adapted into an anime, would at the least enhance these effects, although they might cut down on less important details.

 

What makes an anime? Opening, Ending, Original Soundtracks along with the animation constitute what we call an anime. 'Opening(OP)' was the intermedium that came to be after repeated occurrences of pop music blending with the series's cutscenes. Likewise, 'Ending(ED)' came to be after repeated occurrences of pop music blending with the paintings(most of the times in LN adaptations; may also be stills) of the series(mostly they aren't cutscenes and are independent). We can see that new intermedia(OPs and EDs) have arisen from existing intermedium(anime)- these are some of the few things that make anime special. Although they cannot stand independently, these are elements unique to anime- the reason I have heavily emphasised the Opening and Ending in this blog. 

Do not confuse them with in-anime songs or songs in a film, as OPs and EDs are used to foreshadow and make other plot-relevant references in the anime. The popularity and the origin of AMVs(Anime music videos) as a new intermedium have their roots in these. Although I haven't talked much about the Ending of Overlord, I will say that all of the Openings and Endings of Overlord really match the series well. The ED Silent Solitude by OxT is as relevant as Clattanoia and my personal favourite, but I have refrained as it serves as an ending to season three.

That's all for the fourth blog. Although I haven't completed my analysis on the first volume, I will be continuing with it from the next blog. I have only decided to post this earlier than scheduled as these subjects are the commonalities in our group. The upcoming blogs shall concentrate individually on the most exciting and stimulating episodes of volume one. Sorry to make this post a bit biased than the usual neutral tone. Thanks for reading!

Here's the link for Clattanoia. Enjoy!