‘Overlord’ Season 3: Expect War, Intrigue, and a Whole Lot of Casualties

Graham Host
TV Anime
TV Anime

With the second season of Overlord barely over, fans are already rejoicing at the news of a third season set to air in July later this year. While most shows are hard to predict, Overlord has the advantage of being closely based off a series of light novels.

Main characters of Overlord Anime
Ainz Ooal Gown (centre) with primary followers.

The first two seasons of Overlord have covered the events from the light novel’s Volume 1 to Volume 6, and we expect Season 3 to keep up the pace. With this idea in hand, we can make some educated guesses at what we’ll see in Season 3.

SPOILER ALERT: Warning, this article contains spoilers from Season 2 of Overlord. Proceed at your own risk.

Where We Left Off

Overlord is set in the New World with Ainz Ooal Gown seeking to better understand this new land. Accompanying him are the powerful AI members of his guild who were left behind by the other players.

Overlord New World Map
A map of the 'New World'.

With the guild placed firmly between three great human kingdoms – The Slane Theocracy, Re-Estize Kingdom, and Baharuth Empire – Ainz Ooal Gown and his followers have already spread their influence into the Re-Estize Kingdom. Under his adventurer alias, Momon, Ainz has garnered fame and admiration while his servant, Sebas, gained control of the criminal organisation known as Eight Fingers.

Discovery

Nazarick Overlord Anime
The tomb entrance into Nazarick.

Wary of the New World, Ainz has ordered his servants to take care to avoid detection, but that’s set to change. At the beginning of Volume 7, which the first episodes of Season 3 will almost certainly match, Ainz arranges the ‘discovery’ of his home base, Nazarick.

Deciding that there’s nobody in this world capable of withstanding his might, Ainz coerces an advisor of the neighbouring Baharuth Empire to stage an attack against his guild. With an excuse to strike back, he orders two of his best to kill their elite soldiers as a grisly reply. Such events have already been hinted at when the closing scenes of Season 2 introduced the Baharuth Emperor and his Imperial Court Wizard.

War

For all those who love a good fight scene, rejoice – it’s highly likely that Overlord Season 3 will feature another war.

Volume 9 details the Magic Caster of Destroy arc. Following the manipulated ‘invasion’ of Nazarick, Ainz forces the Baharuth Empire into letting him partake in the yearly invasion of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

Skeleton Archers from Overlord Anime
Ranks of Skeleton Archers from the Lizardmen War.

As previously seen in the Lizardmen War, the guild of Ainz Ooal Gown is significantly more powerful than any force the New World can muster. This time, he seeks not just to subjugate but to instil such fear that nobody dares challenge him again. Volume 9 specifically mentions Ainz killing 70,000 men with one attack, so we can expect a lot of casualties in the episodes ahead.

A New Kingdom

Overlord Banner
The crest of the Sorcerer Kingdom.

Back in Overlord‘s second episode of Season 1, Ainz considered conquering the New World. Although it was a musing thought to him, the passing comment about world conquest drove his followers to lay the groundwork for global domination. Volume 9 ends with him declaring the establishment of a new power in the land — the Sorcerer Kingdom

Unlike most rulers though, Ainz Ooal Gown seeks to create a world equal for everyone, human or not. Protective, loyal, and even willing to take requests from his subjects, he is very much the benevolent dictator. Even so, Ainz tends to rule with an iron fist. If somebody acts against him, the full might of the Sorcerer Kingdom will turn on them. If timed correctly, this could nicely tie-in with a mid-season break.

Political Intrigue

King Ramposa III and Gazef Stronoff from Overlord anime
King Ramposa III of the Re-Estize Kingdom.

Of course, nobody gets far in this world without enemies sharpening knives. When Ainz takes those shaky first steps to becoming a world leader, members of all three human kingdoms will be making plans to take him down. The events following his rise to power are detailed in the Volume 10 story arc, The Ruler of Conspiracy.

Even as they make plans to topple his kingdom, Ainz will have his own lieutenants making headway in turning members of the opposition to his side. Perhaps most astounding is the allegiance of Princess Renner of the Re-Estize Kingdom. Under the pretence of diplomatic relations, Renner secretly prepares to sacrifice her kingdom to Ainz Ooal Gown for a position under his command.

Filler

No good anime gets by without at least a few episodes of unrelated content, and Overlord is no exception. Attentive readers might have realised that I have only covered the contents of Volumes 7, 9 and 10. That’s because Volume 8 is a pair of side-stories.

In one (the more likely to be shown), Overlord revisits Carne Village. Carne Village was the first settlement Ainz discovered in the New World and he placed it under his protection after an attack by the Sloane Theocracy. Volume 8 follows the day-to-day lives of the inhabitants of Carne Village and how they have grown accustomed to the protective presence of a goblin army Ainz left them.

Carne Village Overlord Anime
Carne Village from above.

As for the other entry, it details the daily life in Nazarick. Between trying to introduce the idea of a spa to his AI followers and impose the idea that men and women should have separate sections, it has Ainz investigate a disturbance around Carne Village and briefly crosses over with the first.

Overlord Season 3 is set to release July 2018.

FANDOM is the ultimate destination for celebrating your love of anime. Visit the link below for all of FANDOM's anime coverage!

Graham Host
Graham Host was a proud member of the Fan Contributor program. In his spare time, he enjoys the works of Terry Pratchett, DC Comics and a wide assortment of video games. Under no circumstances should he be fed after midnight.