English Dub Review: Overlord “A Boy’s Feeling”

I’m hooked on a feeling…that this episode is not so great.

Overview (Spoilers Below)

This week, we return to the streets of E-Rantel, where three warriors, Sebas, Climb, and Brain, find themselves joining forces in a chance encounter within the city’s dangerous streets.

We begin with Climb, who finds the imposing Gagaran and mysterious Evileye, two prominent members of the Blue Roses, passing the time over a good drink. Fending off Gagaran’s aggressive advances, he delivers the message from Lakyus informing them of their plan to free he slaves from the city’s brothel. With the official business done, the two Blue Roses take the time to give Climb combat advice and discuss recent events in the adventuring world. Most notably, Momon and Nabe have emerged as a two-person adamantite ranked adventuring team, following their series of legendary deeds around the kingdom.

After Climb departs from the inn, we see Brain Unglaus take a breather from living in Gazef’s attic and head into town, where the two cross paths witnessing an innocent man getting beaten down by some drunk thugs. Both of them see Sebas, who is quickly becoming a hero of the downtrodden, swiftly save the man and dispatch his tormentors with ease. Not wanting to let such power go un-examined, Climb goes to speak with Sebas; Brain, curious as well, follows the boy, but doesn’t let his presence be known.

Climb pleads with Sebas to teach him such power, which Sebas agrees to, but only after examining the young warrior to get a feel for his character. After concluding that this boy is indeed an honorable man with strength in his heart, Sebas teaches Climb a valuable lesson: how to overcome the fear of death. Assuming his fighting stance, he unleashes an overwhelming killing intent on the boy, filling him with terror and testing his resolve. But with the thought of his mistress, Princess Renner, in his heart, he manages to stand against the attack and passes Sebas’s test of strength. Sebas commends Climb and wants to continue, but soon the two are interrupted by Brain, who saw the whole thing peering from around the corner of the alleyway.

Brain laments that he has no courage, amazed at Climb’s strength of heart, and is also overcome with a desire to learn from Sebas. Of course, things are never easy on the streets of E-Rantel, as the three are ambushed by assassins in the employ of the Eight Finders, looking to take Sebas’s head. The three heroes stand together to take on the assassins. The fight is over relatively quickly, (These fools are no match for my main man Sebas) and Climb demonstrates his martial and emotional strength by besting one of the assassins with a mighty slash.

Our three heroes find themselves in a newfound partnership with each other, and at Sebas’s suggestion, decide to make a move to assault Succulent’s brothel and bring an end to the slave trade in E-Rantel. The episode ends as the three march to the door of the brothel with determination in their eyes, ready to take on what danger lies within.

Our Take:

This week’s episode falls off a bit from the strong showings Overlord has given us the past few weeks. A combination of stiff writing, somewhat weak voice performances, and too much expositional dialogue bog the episode down in an underwhelming fog of lukewarm scenes. I’ve always insisted that anime is a visual medium and must focus on “Show, not tell”, and episodes like this really embody what happens when that visual need is not met. However, for what it is, it’s not bad, and the meeting of Brain, Climb, and Sebas is the satisfying culmination of several weeks worth of setup. Plus, Climb overcoming his fear of death at Sebas’s teachings was a sincerely moving moment, and something I would like to see more in the future. But, despite that glimmer of emotion, this episode doesn’t quite hit the mark.