How to Watch OVERLORD in Order

It’s a beautiful day, the local lizardmen seem to be rallying together for something and there seems to be some sort of giant hill in the middle of a grassy plain that wasn’t there before. Welcome, friends, to the OVERLORD watch order guide!

Based on the light novel series by Kugane Maruyama, there's quite a bit to talk about regarding the OVERLORD anime. For starters, a new OVERLORD movie, OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom, is currently out in theaters. Before that, though, there are four anime seasons and a couple of movies to get through. You may be wondering where to start watching our favorite undead leader, Ains Ooal Gown, take over the world as we know it. Well, look no further! This guide will help you catch up with everything OVERLORD before barrelling right into the next chapter of the hit isekai anime series.

OVERLORD WATCH ORDER

• OVERLORD

  • The Undead King Arc (Episodes 1-4)

  • The Dark Warrior Arc (Episodes 5-9)

  • The Bloody Valkyrie Arc (Episodes 10-13)

• OVERLORD: The Undead King

• OVERLORD: The Dark Hero

• OVERLORD II

  • The Lizardman Heroes Arc (Episodes 1-5)

  • The Men in the Kingdom Arc (Episodes 6-13)

• OVERLORD III

  • The Two Leaders Arc (Episodes 1-5)

  • The Invaders of the Large Tomb Arc (Episodes 6-8)

  • The Magic Caster of Destruction Arc (Episodes 9-13)

• OVERLORD IV

  • The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc (Episodes 1-4)

  • The Craftsman of Dwarf Arc (Episodes 5-7)

  • The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc (Episodes 8-13)

• OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom

  • The Paladin of the Holy Kingdom Arc

The Undead King Arc (Episodes 1-4)

It’s DMMO-RPG YGGDRASIL’s last day online. Come tomorrow, the servers will be turned off, the world and its adventures never to be experienced again. A few people are still logged in, though, including Satoru Suzuki (whose in-game avatar is named Momonga), the leader of a guild filled with undead and generally evil player characters that use The Great Tomb of Nazarick as a guild hall.

Only, the game doesn’t turn off. The clock keeps ticking, and the NPCs suddenly seem to gain free will, talking to Momonga and asking him questions. They’ve certainly never done that before.

Momonga’s guildmates are gone. The NPCs they created can now talk and think for themselves, for better or worse. On top of that, Momonga is now in charge of a large tomb filled with monsters and the undead, all of whom must learn about the new land they find themselves in. And, you know, maybe consider taking over the world.

The Dark Warrior Arc (Episodes 5-9)

Learning about the world around you is difficult when there’s nothing but beautiful grassy plains and a tiny village nearby. In this arc, Momonga (now going by the original guild name Ains Ooal Gown) goes undercover to learn about the world around them, get a little cash, make some cash and gain a little influence.

Ains poses as Momon, an adventurer clad in dark armor, and heads to the city E-Rantel. With him is Naberal, one of Nazarick’s battle maids, who is going by the name Nabe. Together, they meet local adventurers and go on quests.

An evil, secret order is closing in. Evil magic casters and ruthless warriors stand in Ains’ way. All the while, a great beast roams the nearby forest, known only as “the King of the Forest!”

The Bloody Valkyrie Arc (Episodes 10-13)

Things start coming to a head here, with one of Nazarick’s own floor guardians suddenly going rogue. Shalltear Bloodfallen is normally a very loyal vampire who guards floors one to three of Nazarick. Only now, she stages a very unexpected rebellion.

Why has Shalltear betrayed her friends? What’s her goal? Is there more to this than meets the eye? There are tons of questions, but don’t worry! Ains will get to the bottom of this. Wild battles are in store for our undead friends as the first OVERLORD season comes to a close.

Next comes the first OVERLORD movie. OVERLORD: The Undead King is a one-hour and 42-minute-long movie that recaps the entire first season of the anime. There are a few extra scenes and new lines here. The story, however, is exactly what you see in the first season.

This is a great place to start if you want a refresher before diving into OVERLORD Season 2. It’s also the perfect opportunity to get that one friend who’s a little hesitant to dive into an anime with multiple seasons, OVAs and movies into the greatness of OVERLORD. And hey! Extra scenes and other little goodies will always get me to sit down for another watch!

Like the first OVERLORD movie, OVERLORD: The Dark Hero recaps the second half of OVERLORD Season 1. It’s one hour and 33 minutes, starting toward the end of the Dark Warrior arc and ending with the Bloody Valkyrie Arc. Like OVERLORD: The Undead King, this movie also has some extra goodies sprinkled in. Think extended scenes, additional lines, etc.

The Lizardman Heroes Arc (Episodes 1-5Opens in a new tab)

As OVERLORD Season 2 begins, we focus on a group of lizardmen who live not too far away from the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Zaryusu Shasha is a lizardman from the Green Claw Tribe. His goal? Unite all the tribes to stand in opposition to the forces of Nazarick. Because if they don’t, it could mean the complete and total annihilation of the lizardmen. It’s up to him, his pet hydra Rororo and the lady lizardman Crusch Lulu to stop Ains’ underling Cocytus and his army of undead.

The Men in the Kingdom Arc (Episodes 6-13)

This arc focuses on several gentlemen living in the kingdom of Re-Estize, namely the hero Brain Unglaus and the young Climb, the official bodyguard to Princess Renner. Things get a little more complicated when Brain Unglass, Ains Ooal Gown’s head butler, shows up on the great overlord’s order… and possibly with an agenda of his own.

Things get even more complicated when Re-Estize finds itself under threat from a great demon emperor calling himself Jaldabaoth… who is Demiurge, commander of all of the former NPC forces of Nazarick. The once-peaceful Re-Estize is thrown in complete and total pandemonium. Can Climb and Brain Unglass overcome their greatest foe yet?

The Two Leaders Arc (Episodes 1-5)

This arc at the start of OVERLORD Season 3 is a bit of a side story, focusing on what’s going on in Carne Village with our old friends Enri, Nemu and Nphirea. Despite this being the first part of OVERLORD Season 3, it technically takes place at the exact same time as the events in The Men in the Kingdom Arc in OVERLORD Season 2.

Technically, you should probably watch an episode or two of the Men in the Kingdom Arc, then switch to this arc before finishing off the prior arc. If you don’t? No worries! The two arcs are perfectly watchable one after the other, and they are in whichever order you please! Follow your heart here!

The Invaders of the Large Tomb Arc (Episodes 6-8)

The group known as Foresight has volunteered for a special mission: figure out what on Earth is up with that gigantic, mysterious tomb that appeared out of nowhere seemingly overnight. This quartet — Arche Eeb Rile Furt, Hekkeran Termite, Roberdyck Goltron and Imina — from the Baharuth Empire may look like an extremely capable bunch, but are things going to go their way? They are going up against Ains Ooal Gown and the entirety of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, after all.

The Magic Caster of Destruction Arc (Episodes 9-13)

The annual war between Re-Estize and the Baharuth Empire is again upon us. Nothing to worry about, just the usual… until Ains and his brand new nation, the Sorcerer Kingdom, decide they want to get in on the fun. What’s usually a normal battle everyone knows the outcome to soon becomes all-out warfare.

The Ruler of Conspiracy Arc (Episodes 1-4Opens in a new tab)

Ains Ooal Gown has a new nation all his own in OVERLORD Season 4. What’s he going to do with it? Well, he’s thinking of turning it into a sort of utopia for all races, but, you know, undead lich style. What does the rest of the world think about the latest nation on the world stage? Considering they’re all enacting plots to oppose Ains and his nation along with him, nothing good.

The Craftsman of Dwarf Arc (Episodes 5-7)

Aura and Shalltear take a little trip with Ains in this arc to visit the Dwarf Kingdom. However, things aren’t all sunshine and roses in the land of the dwarves. It turns out they’re being threatened by the Quagoa. What’ll Ains do after stepping into the middle of this conflict? Only time will tell.

The Witch of the Falling Kingdom Arc Episodes 8-13

There’s been a lot of political conflict between Ains’ Sorcerer Kingdom and, uh, basically everyone else on the face of the map. This time, though, Re-Estize declares full-out war against the Sorcerer Kingdom.

A brand new OVERLORD movie is here and is the newest anime edition to the isekai series! Currently showing in theaters, OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom falls right about here in terms of story arcs and chronological order.

OVERLORD: The Sacred Kingdom is described as follows:

After twelve years of playing his favorite MMORPG game, Momonga logs in for the last time only to find himself transported into its world playing it indefinitely. Throughout his adventures, his avatar ascends to the title of Sorcerer King Ains Ooal Gown.

Once prosperous but now on the brink of ruin, The Sacred Kingdom enjoyed years of peace after construction of an enormous wall protecting them from neighboring invasions. But, one day this comes to an end when the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth arrives with an army of villainous demi-humans.

Fearing invasion of their own lands, the neighboring territory of the Slane Theocracy is forced to beg their enemies at the Sorcerer Kingdom for help. Heeding the call, Momonga, now known as the Sorcerer King Ains Ooal Gown, rallies the Sorcerer Kingdom and its undead army to join the fight alongside the Sacred Kingdom and the Slane Theocracy in hopes to defeat the Demon Emperor.