Overlord: The Undead King- The Floor Guardians
In this blog, I will be discussing the second episode of Overlord that covers the second chapter, intermission and a part of the third chapter. The second episode contains many elements that will be used and referenced in future volumes and episodes thus making it a very important one.
There's nothing much to discuss in the second chapter as it is primarily a dialogue between guardians and Ainz's insecurity of the guardians being disloyal and fearing for his life. He calls for a gathering of Guardians to satiate his fear and curiosity about the now live non-player characters. Although there isn't much to discuss, one must note how realistic Ainz's mind was as an undead- the inquisitiveness, the ability to keep his cool, take rational countermeasures and act accordingly. The verisimilitude of the series is one of the key reasons that make the series what it is even though it is a world of fantasy- the metaphysics of the world are well explained and are presented critically through questions and the inquisitive mind of Ainz. The series bends towards the realism end of the spectrum from classicism but uses formalistic techniques to strengthen both the story and discourse.
Ainz's point of view is always one of realism essentially, as he cannot experience any intense human emotions and always progresses his development in a way that benefits Nazarick. But when the focalization shifts to a human or any other character, one can understand how formalism strengthens the verisimilitude and the reality of the world. For example, when Ainz leaves(focalization shifts to external and the point of view to third-person), the feud between Albedo and Shalltear uses a formalistic approach by adding coloured auras to their frames, capturing the humour and the intensity of the situation in the intermission well. In the light novel, the only source of humour and anxiety would be the dialogue, but here, the visuals and the music enhanced the scene.
Albedo, Shalltear and the anxious Guardians
The final part of the episode involves Ainz disguising himself in armour to sneak out of Nazarick to explore his surroundings(one will later see that it is Momon's outfit in the later episodes, although no clues are dropped in the light novel; no, fidelity is maintained but it just appears later in the light novel). He fails to accomplish this as he is confronted by Demiurge's minions, the Evil Lords. I shall discuss the depiction of the Evil Lord Wrath in the anime(visuals and music) and the light novel(paintings and text) when the time comes in future blogs containing intermediality, but as it is a part of this episode I have included the pictures.
Nevertheless, Ainz flies up into the night sky(now accompanied by Demiurge, who insisted on tagging along for security) and is captured by the beauty of the starry sky. He then reminisces about his guildmates and, in particular, Blue Planet, who loved nature. This melancholy and loneliness Ainz feels aren't suppressed by his undead traits(as they were not that strong), which one should take note of- especially when he feels the beauty and talks casually about world conquest. This is one of the most important events where Demiurge takes these casual statements of Ainz(which were clearly meant to be a joke) seriously and starts preparing for world conquest leading the story in a definitive direction while still keeping it open.
I believe I have given enough context to talk about the passive emotion conveyed to the viewer. Ainz always felt lonely even when surrounded by others- there was a certain void he feels that isn't intense, but it stays throughout the series, motivating him to move on with his plans and find his guildmates in this world(don't forget that Ainz is undead). This kind of passive emotion is also one of the reasons why Your Name or Kimi No Nawa became one of the best anime movies to be made. This passive emotion was realistic, take note, which made both masterpieces, giving people a sense of reality whilst being in a fantasy.
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