World Building in Anime (Overlord & Darling in the Franxx)

Stupid Sexy Skeletons, or Stupid Sexy Robots? Whatever you choose, you're in for some great world building. I dunno, it made sense in my head.
watch overlord: funi.to/2tnn5V9 - Franxx: funi.to/2oLJJlB
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In the depths of his Mother's Basement, Geoff Thew creates videos analyzing the storytelling techniques of anime and video games. He has been named the number one Worst KZbin Anime Reviewer by The Top Tens.

[@Mandemon1990]

This video: Darling in the Franxx has some of the best world building Recommended next: How Darling In the Franxx Wrecked Its Worldbuilding

[@ryannixon4138]

greatest sequels of all time

[@asteraxx2262]

U took the words out of my mouth

[@precisecalibre6986]

"How to pretend you have solid world building before the shocking reveal!"

[@batu5180]

I've been getting that video in my recommendation several times now, that's why I watched this video first

[@3333-h4v]

@Bennet Olander wtf same lol

[@GoblinLord]

Fun fact: Momonga's name means "flying squirrel" in japanese, he's literally a evil overlord named flying squirrel

[@KrazedHeroYT]

Well, his guild's other members have funny names, such as "Lord Touch-Me".

[@HazeEmry]

@@KrazedHeroYT to be fair, Touch Me-sama's full name is actually Touch Me If You Can because (forgive me if I'm wrong) he was the top non-human PC in Yggdrasil

[@shadowblade9666]

@@HazeEmry he also had a glitch that made him literally untouchable.

[@lordfelidae4505]

shadow blade I think he was just that good.

[@theindiefox347]

@@shadowblade9666 That's actually not true. But he was the World Champion of Alpheim. Basically he got the class [World Champion] and that dope set of armor from it. When he finally left the game he was around top 3 in Ygg.

[@nekomatsu2846]

"A good example of world building is darling in the franxx"- Ow little did He know...

[@GreedyTet]

^

[@dio8451]

Sure, VRM does kill the world building in the later episodes, but the show's earlier world building is still really, really good.

[@Daosguard]

He added a video later called "How Franxx wrecked its world building"

[@yemmohater2796]

@@dio8451 Once I saw the exposition dump episode, realized "oh crap, the worldbuilding wasn't vague in a "show-don't-tell" way, it was vague because it wasn't thought through.

[@andrewferro8558]

I love hindsight.

[@phantomfire183]

I like how people say Overlord is like an "edgelord's power fantasy" but anyone who actually likes / loves it don't watch it for that reason

[@Abdega]

It’s like when people call Jojo “muscle hentai” I mean they aren’t wrong, but that’s not why people watch it

[@jonathanredacted3245]

I mean if they played it straight it would be, but instead they injected a healthy dose of comedy into it and made it a black vs grey if not outright black vs black situation.

[@thomasbraithwaite1381]

Yeah, they watch it for Albedo.

[@butchballx7030]

PhantomFire Overlord Fans like us are Suckers for Lore and Overlord Provides

[@titlo3646]

@@Abdega speak for yourself! I love watching Joseph Joestar flex

[@andrew-paulclements1502]

"Do you explain how the internal combustion engine changed our world in casual conversation" **Opens mouth** I- "Of course you don't" okay **closes mouth**

[@Azerty72200]

Andrew Clements Yeah, that was pretty harsh. :'(

[@thescrapsmith446]

Who doesn't love combustion engines

[@rogercoulombe3613]

the fine points of engineering and thermodynamics are a favorite topic of mine for long car rides.

[@thescrapsmith446]

Combustion engines> steam engines

[@rogercoulombe3613]

If by "steam engine" you are specifically referring to the old piston type engines, then generally yes. However, if you are comparing I.C.E.s to steam plants with turbines, then it is significantly more complicated and depends on application.

[@thegardenofesim1174]

Finally a KZbinr that actually understands that overlord is not transported and got trapped inside the game but rather in a new fantasy world inside a game body You sir are a legend

[@moogenberserk9148]

The Garden of E sim 117 but isn't it still a game? He uses menus...

[@thegardenofesim1174]

moogen berserk but the world itself is entirely different for the world he and his npcs was transported into is not Yggdrasil

[@moogenberserk9148]

The Garden of E sim 117 but the menus?

[@foogod1838]

moogen berserk The only menu in the New World is the one in the throne room. That's because the throne is a World Class Item.

[@simplyminimalist6302]

Whaa

[@maxranierus3574]

I hate when people say that Overlord is too similar to SAO or Log Horizon, when in the fact they are *VERY* different!

[@NeGoPoS]

Tell me their name and I will make sure they end up 6 feet under. *HOW CAN THEY EVEN DARE*

[@GoblinLord]

Honestly Overlord is more similar to Log Horizon than SAO, But only in game mechanics, as in, you just do things instead of going through 30 menus. That is where the similarities end though

[@a.velderrain8849]

You're right. Log Horizon is way better than Overlord.

[@ItsSupercat94]

@@a.velderrain8849 Can you tell me why? Been planning on watching it.

[@a.velderrain8849]

@@ItsSupercat94 Log Horizon is what would have happened had the people behind SAO actually played an MMORPG once in their life. Elder Tale, the game in Log Horizon, has all the aspects of a real world MMORPG, and every little detail matters to the plot. It's clear the writer really considered what might if an MMO became a real world, and thought about what might happen with things like NPCs, item flavor text, the game economy, etc. And instead of friendship and determination being all you need to achieve victory, the characters triumph over their obstacles by working together as team, with everyone learning how to perform their party roles just like in a real MMO. It's clear there was a lot of thought put into the story and world building, and the characters.

[@jacobthurmond6210]

Just let your characters explore and live it. “The world is not in your books and maps. It’s out there” -J.R.R. Tolkein

[@NnoitraSYS]

magus bride does this expertly

[@cheesejuice_]

then sudden 3 pages long description of nature shows up

[@Mathignihilcehk]

Did you just quote Tolkien on NOT info dumping... the same guy who wrote dozens (if not hundreds) of pages of pure exposition dump? Not going to lie, Tolkien is a master of making exposition dump feel awesome... but he is the worst person you could possibly reference to suggest not using exposition dumps.

[@jacobthurmond6210]

mathig nihilcek upon reflection that was bad wording...

[@NnoitraSYS]

Descriptions of nature are not necessarily info-dumping, at least not in the manner that phrase is defined her. Describing the immediate setting is important in a book--it does not have visuals like TV, where the scenery's existence is not viewed as info dumping. Of course, one can go overboard with this, but info-dumping in this sense is about dropping large amounts of information unnaturally regarding the mechanics of the world. It comes across as forced and unrealistic. Also, just because he's using a Tolkien quote does not mean he's talking about the author's works. Going off that quote alone, it ties into what Jacob initially stated, aka what's effective when it comes to world-building.

[@ArbiterRevan117]

Thank you for actually acknowledging that Overlord takes place in a separate fantasy world. I can't tell you how annoyed I get whenever someone says/assumes Momonga is "trapped in the game."

[@jakkubus]

Yeah, he is not trapped in a game. He was spirited away to a shitty and cliche fantasy.

[@moogenberserk9148]

But he uses menus and everyone uses game terminology !

[@Beelzebub_Oga_Tatsumi]

Jakub Składowski okay what’s shitty and cliche bout it?

[@neuldjaan2655]

only the throne room has menus... the throne is a world item itself.

[@jeykritov5123]

its hard to explain to the people who never read the novel

[@Rikuo86]

"It's important that we be able to buy into the fictional worlds being presented in the media we consume." This statement is so important. All to often I've seen artists, writers, and such use the whole "it's fantasy it's not supposed the be realistic" argument to justify ignoring criticism of certain element's of their work. The complaint is not about realism in and of itself. The complaint is that you presented something to the audience as authentic, but is so inherently ludicrous that even within the confines of your work it makes not a lick of sense. The lack of realism just exacerbates it. You can get me to believe the impossible, but not the improbable.

[@luizhenrique4967]

its 1 of the things that jojo so good. The world in each part has a set of rules and the characters follow it without being in contradiction with this rules, until the rules change for some major event or introduction of a new power.

[@Orikron]

Yeah, I'm totally watching Darling in the Franxx for the world building.

[@typhoonzebra]

The Suicidal Muffin yes

[@troyeason8238]

The Suicidal Muffin "who wants a muffin!?"

[@dohickey7184]

Waifu powered mech consoles

[@KehnWay]

Ichigo would've been best girl in most series but zero two man

[@TheBlackDemon1996]

Yeah... That's code for sex, right?

[@PoldaranOfDalaran]

I suspect that a lot of the worldbuilding is done as it is in Overlord because the creator was a tabletop RPer who has had experience building worlds in the same way.

[@khalilrahme5227]

I know this is superlate, but i did read he is a DnD fan somewhere

[@flames2089]

@@khalilrahme5227 The reason he even started writing is because his Friends didnt have time to play DnD with him

[@YataTheFifteenth]

@@flames2089 peak modern fantasy author right there.

[@nenmaster5218]

The Fanservice is so sad.

[@samlewis6487]

​@nenmaster5218 Fanservice, in and of itself, does not make a story bad. It can, if the series prioritizes it over the story, but from what I've seem Overlord handles it pretty well

[@S50Sinner]

I actually do casually talk about the internal combustion engine... A lot. I need more friends.

[@realitysmasher6192]

Ricardo I'll be ur friend. It sounds like a really interesting subject too :)

[@S50Sinner]

Thanks m8. I'm just obsessed with cars, but also a lot of other mechanical and pre-digital technologies. Hydraulic control systems are a thing, and they're AWESOME, it's literally a simple computer that uses liquid or air instead of electricity. You can find me talking about and messing with cars all day, but internal combustion really is awesome. It's technology that feels organic in the way it works. It's noisy and shakes a lot and feels like its alive, every variation in design results in a different personality for the engine. I struggle to relate to computers, I can't feel them, only respond to visuals. With cars, you can feel and hear them and you know what they're doing, but more importantly you know what they're *trying* to do. They talk to you, if you listen.

[@realitysmasher6192]

Ricardo hmmmm never thought about cars that way. Well I'll try to listen. Though I have to say u really are enthusiastic about this stuff, do u do anything in that profession (like car's engineering or something?) or do u want to be? Anyway I hope u will find some rl friends that will share ur love and enthusiasm to this subject.

[@S50Sinner]

I'm studying mechanical engineering, I'm also in my university's off-road racing team. I actually do have some enthusiastic friends (The racing team), I was mostly joking about the fact I represent a very small portion of the population. Appreciating cars is as simple as driving a handful of vehicles of different types and from different eras. I find the 80's and 90's cars have the best blend of mechanical and analog systems, as newer ones start to delve into the digital. Some people really like the feeling of more modern, smarter cars, with computers cutting in hundreds of times per second to make tiny corrections. If you drive the same family sedan or minivan all your life, you may go the entire time never finding cars interesting because the cars you know aren't very interesting, but I urge everyone to try out driving a weird car at least once, it can be a friend's car, a test-drive at a dealership or a rental, but once you try a few different vehicles you start to notice how their personalities differ.

[@NotAFakeName1]

Ricardo computers are a little more than just visuals, but it's much more subtle than with an engine. You've gotta be knowledgeable enough about the systems at play and have a strong enough intuition/grasp of cause and effect to be able to diagnose problems. Whereas anyone who notices there car vibrating can probably figure out they should replace the tires or adjust the suspension.

[@LordOsiris499]

Favorite detail about Overlord that has no relation to the story: The ocean isn’t salty

[@flames2089]

We're talking about Maruyama here. It'll come back to hit us in the last volume somehow. ~My opinion after reading Volume 14

[@shinymetagross1666]

@@flames2089 Ainz is going to start a bottled water company and salt the ocean so that people have to buy from him.

[@flames2089]

@@shinymetagross1666 Big Brain. He'll be called a saviour of people yet again lmao

[@loford9432]

My favorite detail is that terminal velocity does not exist.

[@helium-379]

RIP DITF The world building completely melted apart and evaporated in to the sky never to be seen again.

[@dracoslayer16]

I loved Darling in the Franxx's unusual world with it's mysterious conflicts and high-tech theme as it reminded me a lot of Chrome Shelled Regios but taken much further down the dystopian route. I nearly cried when the show decided it was a good idea to literally throw around 20 episodes of world building and mystery directly into the trash can. None of it mattered, none of it led to anything, none of it made any sense, and all of it wasn't even replaced with anything interesting. It makes no sense at all how someone can put so much thought into a story only to lose interest in it right at the finish line!

[@sethyoder7996]

R.I.P Darling in the Franxx's story. :l

[@KarolisDanys]

Seth Yoder it’s possible for season 2

[@Focus-oo2oy]

UR MOM V 3 well VIRM didn’t die,and end of the anime there was sentence” and the new story begins”

[@ignoremypaststupidity2719]

Seth Yoder it was good before they rushed a stupid end into like 4 episodes

[@burningpotato9447]

@@ignoremypaststupidity2719 they should have made a movie that actually explained the last arc in detail instead of it being rushed

[@mastertoenail11]

I would explain to my friends how the internal combustion engine changed the world in casual conversation though...

[@mothersbasement]

Are you sure you're not a character in a bad anime?

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

I just realized how to make exposition dumps work flawlessly. The person giving them just has to be giant nerd who's probably at least slightly autistic. You learn some important aspect of the world while simultaneously learning about the character.

[@davidattenborough1631]

YumLemmingKebabs now I'm just imagine autistic characters wandering around Shounen world's like DB and OnePiece XD

[@michaelmeissner7545]

All the while, helping clarify the actual characteristics of autism-spectrum disorders, resulting in a reduction in misinformation and stigmatism of those diagnosed! So wholesome!

[@tenebraequeene]

Ethan Miller wait. So you mean luffy?

[@thescrapsmith446]

> not constantly talking about combustion engines Pathetic

[@johnreid2221]

Me and my friends casually talk about combustion engines

[@ClaraRenway]

Ahh, the good old days before Darling in the FranXX became trash.

[@Grievingbow]

SENKRAD well 16-24

[@traskforge]

hey the last few episodes were amazing to laugh at

[@karystmania5509]

SENKRAD first 13 episodes are the best and i try to forget about the last 13

[@troycrann3933]

And everyone trashed black clover

[@DuztS]

SENKRAD the last episode is so bad and rushed it literally gives you depression

[@mattwilliams4902]

3:00 I once heard on a podcast that everyone in fantasy media needs to follow up exposition with the phrase “But you already knew this, because you work here.”

[@Xick]

It's compliance training. We get it every year.

[@TheXev]

Not so much fantasy media as much as "Shonen" genre stuff. Explaining things and having a "stupid character" is the bread and butter of shonen anime and is used as a tool to force explaining stuff for the sake of explaining stuff. Sometimes the stupid character isn't the main character in shonen series, but many times it is. (Goku/DragonBall, Naruto/Naruto, Onoda/Yowamushi Pedal, Luffy/One Piece, etc. ) I am not sure I have ever observed this behavior outside of the shonen genre, but if anyone has please feel free to give me a few anime/manga series as examples.

[@Dragonoid269]

Don't forget Ash from pokémon, he started of as a complete newbie pokémon trainer that needed Brock and Misty to explain most things to him, and after the Johto league they decided to reset all his character development so people could explain him the same things he already learned all over again. For a non shonen show, I think sailor moon may count.

[@Axterix13]

It's just pretty standard to the farm-boy Hero's Journey routine, regardless of target demographic. Really, the person who ought to be the hero is the person with plenty of training and/or experience. A noble, not the farm boy; the actual wizard rather than his brand spanking new apprentice; and so on. Make the protagonist a person fresh off the farm, though, and you can explain all the rules about magic, prophecy, political structure, and so on to the audience with the excuse that someone is informing the main character.

[@E1nsty]

I hate those with a passion.

[@CapnCinnamonBunVideogamemaster]

I’ve never seen Darling in the Franxx but due to memes I understand that Zero Two is best girl.

[@Orikron]

Actually, Goro is best girl.

[@ithinkwerebrothers]

The Suicidal Muffin damn straight

[@BigT.Larrity]

I usually can't resist pink hair, but fuck no Ichigo is best girl by far.

[@austinnoliphant]

LOL

[@hunterz1x321]

False. All of you are wrong. Ochako Uraraka is best girl. Anime awards.

[@joshuacomer6628]

Sponsored by Funimation instead of crunchyroll? NANI?!?!?!?!?!

[@hasturxix]

Darling in the FranXX has that semi old school art style with a pretty well rounded cast. I really like how the series' has been focusing on character development and the world they live in by making it point that things are different without being blatant and in your face about it.

[@adhdweirdo4314]

2:25 love how he used Percy Jackson as a sort of example, definitely one of the better children’s books because the author works with kids, at a school. Genuinely a big fan of Rick Riordan, he’s surprisingly good at writing diverse teenage characters of different ethnicities and sexualities for an old guy.

[@sleepyfrog3640]

Overlord is very fun to watch, not only because the characters are super cool but also because of the world they’re in. If it was a game, I’d definitely give it a shot : ]

[@Cascascap]

It's fucking pay to win tho.

[@kingmaou]

Cascascap therefore super realistic.

[@JohnnyElRed]

The future Earth where Momonga lived before was ruled by megacorporations and the polution was so thick that people lived without knowing the colour of the sky. I don't think pay to win is below of these megacorporations if it's profitable.

[@viraltang]

A tragic timeline without Jim Sterling.

[@JustusLynetta]

slothkingn1 Give it another arc.

[@AustinAMV]

I watch hentai for the world building.

[@arsetothem]

especially if that world is full of flying naked pollen girls (and boys) rather than giving allergic people sneezes or rashes... they fuck em

[@sonks8337]

arsetothem you. Where. Source.

[@ladymidnight4282]

arsetothem tell me more

[@im.mr.tsunami6953]

arsetothem sOuRCe PLeAsE

[@AtomicFire41]

I watch hentai for the mind breaking

[@neetscum8067]

I do enjoy the Overlord anime, however a lot of the detail and content from the light novels is harder to transfer over than that of per se, a manga. Light novel to anime adaptions are always very hit or miss for me, and though Overlord is definitely my favorite series ever, it's transfer to an anime is good at best, it really does lack the CRAZY amount of detail that goes into the light novels and even the web novels, it's that amount of detail that made the series niche, and I understand many people's gripes with the anime, just wish it transferred better so people could understand what I and most of the other novel readers love about it. Don't get me wrong though, I still love the anime, just, I'll always love the light novels more.

[@fajaradiputra8545]

True, author literally make a 3 page long backstory for someobe who is about to be killed in 1 punch

[@MrDenimLP]

@@fajaradiputra8545 It was that lich that called himself The Undead King wasn't it.

[@cookieelement3467]

@@MrDenimLP Even better. All 5 of those guys got in depth backstories, each over a page, paragraphs of information about each one's life, relationships, ideologies, how they changed and became the 6 arms. Then one paragraph with like 5 sentences describing Sebas killing them. I was dying laughing. He spent so much time building up the hype then immediately killed them all for what can best be described as a gag.

[@cringelord1809]

Overlord season 1-2 has been godlike so far

[@UCH6H9FiXnPsuMhyIKDOlsZA]

"Do _you_ ever explain to your friends in casual conversation how the internal combustion engine changed the world?" Yes, and they're bloody sick of it

[@greeninferno1339]

2:20 “yeah, like Greek mythology being built off of by...” *sees Rick Riordan* “HELL YEAH: exactly!!!”

[@yoursinisterdoge2785]

That was the good shit in my adolescence.

[@skyroreacts5986]

I love Overlord ❤

[@travioly]

I really enjoyed your in-depth looks on Darling in Franxx, so I’m realllyyyy hoping you do more analysis on it

[@karystmania5509]

Whats funny about the Taking Over the World trope in Overlord is that it was just an offhand joke by Ainz that everyone else whole heartedly believed, so now he has no choice but to go along with it. XD

[@pawthorne7089]

It's not really that surprising that Overlord has great world building, it was written by a D&D nut after all.

[@noneofyourbusiness3288]

An author's ability to solve conflict with magic is DIRECTLY PROPORTIONAL to how well the reader understands said magic. - Brandon Sanderson's First Law.

[@VonTheGlitch]

Awesome video, as a Dungeon Master world building is an important topic to me! Can't wait to see more video about it!

[@Vandreand]

Hunter x hunter's world is great. But I don't wanna live there.

[@rdnetala]

Angel Egel I'd love to use nen, I just wouldn't get involved in any fights, just become a hunter learn nen and live comfortably.

[@MadCatAttack123]

same with one piece..

[@daviddalton8861]

Really? I think the OP world would be great to live in. There's an area that rains syrup, not even kidding.

[@Vandreand]

Pepito Bandito Would you take the hunter exam? O.o I wouldn't dare.

[@justinmajor9728]

David Dalton Diabeetus

[@TheCapitalLetterM]

I think a reason we have a lot of fanfiction over actual original stories with original worlds is the complexity of worldbuilding. It's a tricky process, of being forced to come up with the rules, logic, and history of a new world, which is why lots of people go to pre-existing worlds in fanfiction rather than original worlds. (Yes, I know, waifu's and husbands are part of it but I've seen legitimate fanfiction that creates actual original stories within the preconceived worlds while ditching the characters of the said world in favor of new characters.)

[@zinkheroofyoutube8004]

Some fanfiction (AUs) do the opposite Take these premade characters and put them into a new world

[@damosmashg7782]

Thank you MB for once again delivering with your deep understanding of shows. I can’t tell you how many people have just dismissed the show (darling) because they completely missed the subtleties of it or actively made fun of it for the things that had deep meaning that they just didn’t understand. You are a cut above.

[@Slenderguy56]

13:43 "Anime that will capture your heart!" *sees Black Clover* Me: More like your ear.

[@raimondibro]

Oh how the times changed lol

[@nextjaco6057]

Up next: "How Darling in the FranXX Wrecked its Worldbuilding"

[@TheLorzan]

Rewatching this after the franxx finale really hurts

[@TheDarkChaplain]

I'm always amazed at how late (as in, right at the end) the sponsorship notice happens, with the description and video title indicating jack all outside of the advertisement itself.

[@zeehero7280]

Another great thing about overlord, Momonga/Ainz actually was not planning to take over the world but because his servants, especially Demiurge think thats his plan he goes along with it, even not having a plan himself.

[@itsme2313]

"Do you ever take the time to explain to your friends the intricacies of high rise living; or how the internal combustion engine changed the world in casual conversation?" Yes, I do. You forgot that I'm a kind of person that watches anime and pays attention. I also don't have any friends.

[@chilfang2422]

Good thing Mastermind in the Franxx exists to show how good DitF could've been

[@strongarm852]

As good at the world building in the Overlord Anime is, it pales in comparison to the source material, being the Overlord Light Novel. Muyama is in a league of his own when it comes to light novel authors, and it shows because the length of the average overlord novel is double the length of the average light novel.

[@IronSightsonBigGuns]

As a history major, am I a statistical outlier for world building?

[@anastasyavie6236]

Overlord is my guilty pleasure anime, I just love it so much because they have MC that to OP without any suddenly increased power in the middle of a battle, he just OP, because he is and seeing people in awe of his power, is so entertaining for me.

[@ask_carbon]

I am glad people are finally paying attention to overlord!!!

[@JohnnyElRed]

Yeah. It really had less populrity that it deserved.

[@meowrage9165]

Watch the new episode you will love it

[@seawind930]

Overlord Sux.

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

I paid attention to Overlord when only season one was out because people compared it favorably to Log Horizon, and the only reason I don't regret it is that now I know I won't like it. Momonga's basically just an edgelord's power fantasy.

[@Exel3nce]

I think the anime is not that great. It feels like its more for those people who already know the source material

[@DragonballBlack]

I need to watch that second anime like yesterday

[@daviejones8862]

You might want to hold out a while longer. I've watched it since the start and...it's a slog. The world building is interesting...but it conflicts with the plots the writers want to tell. It could turn into something good but it's a 1/3 over and outside of 02, the characters are distinct but stock and boring (Futoshi, the fat one, likes food...that is the entirety of his character)

[@skeletor8951]

It's a real fine show. Don't let this other guy discourage you, yeah the development of some of the characters has been rather lacking but they're getting there, and most of the primary cast has been very well established thus far. It's just part of the territory when you have a 10-man main cast. It's also gonna be 24 episodes, so there's plenty more room for this sorta thing.

[@DaGoon_]

n080dy123 yeah I agree. The show can afford to go at the pacing it's going because it has that two cour runtime. The world building so far has been admittedly slow but they've been spending a lot more time focusing on the main casts' lifestyle, world view, and relationships all while keeping up solid animation and some pretty dope fights. We're unraveling the mysteries of this world as the characters do as they've been fairly sheltered and not given a lot of information that they didn't specifically need to know to fulfill their role as child soldiers. I'd definitely give it a watch.

[@MaxIronsThird]

I would say, don't, the show is really slow, there is no plot, we're 8 episodes in and we know nothing about the world. The first episode is the only one you could say it's actually a good episode throughout, and it's not even that great.

[@DaGoon_]

Maxi Iroh We know a fair amount about the show and as Geoff stated the world building all makes sense in the context of the show especially considering the lack of overt expository scenes

[@XFry333X]

Overlord is underrated big time. Idk why it's slept on so hard.

[@robinrougijainen1771]

id say 90% of the viewers are the LN readers and the rest are people that didnt left during national geografic ark

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

I watched the entire first season and I have to completely disagree with it being underrated. Planetes is underrated. Overlord is just another edgelord power fantasy without the pretense of the protagonist being a hero.

[@Exel3nce]

I dont think the anime is doing a good job. I bet the LN is much much better

[@android19willpwn]

that first episode is real hard to get through, man. I *know* it gets better later but it still kept me from watching.

[@YumLemmingKebabs]

It really doesn't get better. It just kinda meanders around trying to be provocative and show off how overpowered the protagonist is, and then it ends.

[@Barnesofthenorth]

Malazan book of the fallen did world building amazingly it not only believably explains things but it uses your lack of knowledge to hide certain plot twists giving you extra information and a huge plot twist in 1 go.

[@hannahb5090]

Good world building definitely means you have more information than you share with the audience. So so much more info. An excellent video.

[@EightPhasesofTwilight]

Took the time to read the Overlord LN after the first season came out. (Cause I didn't expect a second one at all.) The lizardman arc threw me for a loop at first but it grew on me pretty quick. The translation was a 'little' wonky but overall loved how the story was unfolding. Glad to see that being commented on~

[@edgardelibojr.4450]

The people that made the eng. Translation for the books sucked a little but the online translation was top tier

[@sancturillore]

FINALLY an anime youtuber who understands that Overlord is a fantasy isekai, not a "trapped in a game world" series.

[@nesc505]

It is in the first episode of S1. IT IS A TRAPPED IN A GAME WORLD

[@bigdaddyrv16]

nesc505 it literally says in the first episode the world ains is in is not the world of the game he was playing.

[@nesc505]

It's a continuation of the world he is trapped in. It shows that he staying online till the servers are shut down and then he gets trapped in the same world since he can't log out. I don't know how else to see it as he is trapped in the game world

[@bigdaddyrv16]

nesc505 he can't access game functions and stuff he normally could. He no longer has mana or health bars or a HUD. He senses all that stuff internally. The world is completely different and has things that weren't in the game. It's made very clear that after the serves shut down he is no longer in the game world he was in before. All his surroundings are different and he is unfamiliar with the kingdoms and their language. Also in the first episode of s2 some characters were talking about gods of the past that came from yggdrasil and taught their world a bunch of stuff. It's made apparent ains is no longer in the game yggdrasil and has been transported to an entirely different place.

[@nesc505]

Bigdaddy - He no longer has mana or health bars or a HUD. He senses all that stuff internally. That is also shown in the first episode of S1 after the servers are shut down. If he can see it internally means that he is still in the game. Edit - Seems like I was wrong about it being in Episode 1

[@MrRandomName-fb8qe]

Overlord is best anime come at me

[@logon-oe6un]

8:05 I unironically had a conversation about how tall buildings have less natural sound barriers around them, so you end up hearing more sounds than you'd expect. Life comes at you fast.

[@thesandwich5321]

I just wanna say, thanks for these videos. You've seriously improved the way I write, and how I criticize my own work. Thanks.

[@Lumin1a]

I actually loved Darling in the franxx as a whole it was just so different from everything else I do understand why it’s gets hate but you have to admit the world building and the characters are great

[@MegaHasmat]

Ah, so now my completely illegitimate complaint about the Darling in the Franxx uniforms having different red scarf things is completely legitimized because the male uniforms are supposed to be Ys, but it's FUCKING UPSIDE DOWN!! WHO DOES THAT?!

[@jacobottesen5279]

This video reminded me of one of the literary Kings of infodump-free world building: Brandon Sanderson. His works are up to the level of FMA and Made In Abyss, and I think any writer can learn a thing or two from his "Laws of Magic" when it comes to world building. A definite recommendation to anyone interested in the subject!

[@Snowy123]

Overlord perfected the art of world building. Instead of ending their episodes with cliffhangers to keep people watching (cheap dick move), they hint that the world is so much more deep and rich therefore keeping you curious and wanting to know more. While being able to properly finish off character story arch at the end of the season. They keep you interested by saying at the end the season saying "Now we've taken over half of the empire" and we're like wait what? All we've been seeing is action in a single city state, THERE IS AN EMPIRE TO TAKE OVER??

[@HarvestMoonAngel]

Haibane Renmei is the anime the taught me about showing now telling with world building. Loved seeing you put some scenes from it at the end. Would love to see you make a video about that obscure anime.

[@Koppu1doragon]

I honestly keep forgetting Overlord starts off as a game though it occurs to me that instead of having them in a game though could have just had an elder lich waking up after a few thousand years of slumber.

[@soundrogue4472]

3:12 "explain how the combustion engine change the world in casual conversation" Yes actually. Me and my friends like to talk about game genre history and who made the first genre, such as who made action rpgs first, the companies in Japan or the American companies? As well look at the history of some genres.

[@FortuitusVideo]

NeonRogue The parties must be wild.

[@soundrogue4472]

fortutius Video I never been to a party. Well besides birthday parties and even so they were never wild. So I don't know what kind of parties you're going to.

[@ghirahimlefabuleux8984]

NeonRogue I think it was supposed to be sarcastic in order to imply that you and your friends seems boring to him.

[@soundrogue4472]

ghirahim le fabuleux Yeah I know; I'm just taking the piss out of his comment. I'm trying imply that he's a fuck boy, one of those bro douche bags at parties. I was trying to do a false naive sarcastic but that it seems that I have failed...

[@ghirahimlefabuleux8984]

NeonRogue How I genuinely tought you didn't get the sarcasm, sorry then.

[@nekkomemes3647]

One Piece: Did someone say World Building.

[@WondrousWilly]

I love that black clover reference when you talked about characters explaining their world. They beat that horse until it wasn't even a horse anymore.

[@kvothekingkiller9097]

Trigun holds my current favorite worldbuilding trick. We don't find out what the Plants do until one of them breaks down, the same way we wouldn't know that the engine of a car is what makes it move until it stopped working (if we were given no prior knowledge of the real world, of course). The pacing of the worldbuilding is a little odd, but when it delivered it delivered soooooo well.

[@merlinmeurer5339]

The Lizardmen did dump loads of exposition.

[@KehnWay]

Merlin Meurer ngl kinda glad that arc got over

[@sancturillore]

That's actually due to the staff choosing to not make use of a narrator to communicate the pieces of info that were stated in the narration of the novels. Instead they made the decision to make awkward dialogues where the characters spout exposition even if it doesn't make logical sense for them to be talking about it like that. Off the top of my head, I can think of two examples: 1-the meeting of the lizardmen in episode 2 after receiving the message from the Wraith(they talk weirdly about the war they had in the past, as if they needed to explain it even though they all already knew about it for they all took part it in); and 2- The discussion between Lakyus(blue rose leader) and Gagaran(the muscle lady) in episode 6(I think) while they were watching the drug plantation burn(they talked to each other about lots of stuff about who their enemy was and why they were there, even though it made absolutely no sense for them to have that discussion at that time and place).

[@merlinmeurer5339]

sancturillore And also that time they talked about him being a traveler.

[@lkaseru]

Exactly, I loved 1st season, but 2s2e was such crappy exposition dump, I had to drop watching it mid episode for few months...

[@williamtimonen6814]

lkaseru I havent even gotten back to it since 2:2.

[@kylenapp8507]

"meaningful and emotionally fulfilling" sao on screen

[@benduford3746]

LIAR!!!

[@Me-uv4ib]

Can you talk about the Danganronpa games I one video?

[@thunderflare59]

That damn bear killed my waifu!

[@Me-uv4ib]

Mine was Ibuki Mioda :(

[@sanfransiscon]

Mine is Tsumugi

[@desahuevate0]

yes he can, but can you pay? cough cough

[@DarkRexx]

That damn bear killed EVERYONE'S waifus :c

[@Kinzokugia]

Wait, your friends don't randomly explain how the combustion engine changed the world? Huh...

[@matt10y27]

What's surprising to me is exactly HOW MUCH canon detail there is for Overlord, like a LOT of details. So much that there's no way they could realistically put even half of it into the show.

[@madohifh2069]

Does anyone know the name of the anime at 3:19 ? Looks hella rad!

[@dohickey7184]

Mado Hifh MB hearted this comment but didn't give the source

[@lichmourne00]

We can see that lol.

[@hollyj3038]

It looks like Vision of Escaflowne. It's on Crunchyroll right now. I watched it as a kiddo and it was good! I was thinking of giving it a rewatch as an adult soon!

[@zethblaid4353]

Mado Hifh The Vision of Escaflowne, from 1996, old but gold, recommended

[@davidnew2144]

It is Escaflowne. That is from the movie which I am not a fan of. Vision of Escaflowne ( the series) is on Funamation and Crunchy roll. Newly remaster in both english and japanese it is one of my favorite animes of all time. Dub is good and not the horrible one shown on fox in the late 90s. One of the best soundtracks of all time by Yoko Kanno ( cowboy bebop and macross plus and many more. Great watch, i have watched the series at least 5 times.

[@assonoso]

3:05 Wait so you're saying this isn't something that normal people talk about?! Maybe that's why I don't have friends...

[@theloca3209]

I like character development in Darling in Franxx,but it looks like alot of them re going to die... but its still ep 8 so we dont know

[@dophatthanh5587]

haha boy were you wrong

[@Hosh-id2lr]

I have a hypothesis. Resorting to living in plantations is the result of depleting resources on the surface, hence magma becoming their primary survival resource. However, magma is also the klaxosaurs food for survival so there’s a survival competition between humans and klaxosaurs which raises the need for using mechas for combat

[@FunTimes62281]

Dude I could listen to you rant about shit you love for hours on end. And I have done that. Keep being passionate man.

[@PanzerRo07]

I think the first season should be rewritten completely with the exception of the relationships between Hiro and Zero-Two, and Ichigo and Goro until ep 15, they should completely scrap the idea of space battles against the aliens and maybe do it in season 2, the first season should be about Plantation 13 kids becoming more and more independent and questioning APE`s decisions eventually causing a revolution where they could ally with other plantation and convincing them to not be obedient anymore and fight for freedom, that from ep 15 onward. Also there must be some changes to the plot holes explaining better how they`re universe works and why is everything as it is. Also in the end they could fight the 9`s squad which would be allies of Papa giving a Robot vs Robot fight, and also the season should be longer than 24 episodes because as you all saw it was a very forced and fast forwarded ending, plus the fight in space should not even be discussed in the first season because until ep 19-20 the action was only on Earth it`s a shitty plot twist also there should be more attention to the secondary characters especially they`re personality at Zorome, Futoshi, Kokoro, Ikuno, Mitsuru, Miku, and also in the ending some of them could die, for ex: Mitsuru dying because he sacrificed himself to help Hiro in a Franxx to get to Zero-Two or something in order to make em more important i don`t know that with what happened in this season could be made a second one if it`s not different who agrees ?

[@yoshifan2334]

And then episode 18 happened

[@nintenfire21]

yoshifan2334 no ep 20 did the worse

[@yoshifan2334]

Ninten RIP, guess they pulled an infinite stratos or whatever that anime was called

[@thefinalday5858]

Papa = pope in spanish

[@thefinalday5858]

Also potato

[@supersayan1962]

Also father

[@williamtimonen6814]

super sayan Maybe its supposed to be both?

[@speedmetalmassiah567]

Papa means pope in like, every European language (with a few minor differences ofc).

[@williamtimonen6814]

speedmetalmassiah567 The same for father to.

[@SirSolomonAriel]

this video helped me a lot, I'm writing a novel and I can say with no loss of pride that world building is not easy by any stretch of the word.

[@neuldjaan2655]

i hope you will be successful in your work..

[@SirSolomonAriel]

thank you, I realized what was wrong with my world building and I now have to edit all of it to get it to work but better to have done it now than later.

[@neuldjaan2655]

nathan henshaw i have a feeling your work will be big in tge future, and when that time comes pls let me read it for free. Lol

[@duncanshepherd1631]

I think Ergo Proxy handled it rather elegantly. Most of the backstory/worldbuilding guff that's important to the overall story, but not so much to the protagonist's themselves, was delivered in an episode where they get trapped in a game of Who Wants to be a Millionaire, by just being answers to the questions they were asked. But maybe that wouldn't have worked so well if that also wasn't just a fun episode in general.

[@faustianbargain3739]

Does anyone know the anime at 13:37? The one with the angels? Care to tell me its name, it looks intriguing

[@Asdeer101]

Alex thx man

[@faustianbargain3739]

Thank you :)

[@earendilm]

David Ferber It's very good, reminds me a lot of Haruki Murakami's novel Hard Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World

[@salade5324]

3 months later : "Darling in the franxx world building is shit"

[@arrow_awsome]

starting Darling in the Franxx based off this! wish me luck! :)

[@dougefresh2208]

How was it?

[@lunargamer5261]

I am loving both of these shows, this season. The most effective thing they both do to build the world is to leave a lot to the viewer's imagination. They allow you to speculate on the reasons that things are the way they are or why they work the way they do. If the details they do give fail to intrigue the viewer, it can feel like there is simply very little detail to the world. If the concept does hook you, you get to try to predict the explanations; if it's effective, that gets an audience really invested in the show. Now, we just need to confirm that the actual explanations are as compelling as the mystery.

[@Diego-valdivia]

dude your essays are so good

[@Sergalt]

FunimationNow.com is currently unavailable in your area. -.-

[@microqueen69]

Time to pirate anime :D

[@maxfightmaster4832]

I noticed that you've been using a lot clips from RahXephon lately. Is it possible you can do a video on it or on "Evangelion clones"?

[@mycoinsyourpurse2244]

Read the Overlord light novels. I don't even like reading and they're like crack to me. The anime is okay, but I have a million problems with it.

[@elijahmonture3180]

Yo that haibane renmei support at the end tho, good shit my dude!

[@wright534]

Great take on two of my favorites and a fantastic examination of effective worldbuilding. As a longtime fan of tabletop RPGs, your commentary on introducing details in a believable way matches my own experience and reminds me of how and why players preferred some of my campaign settings over others.

[@graymatter6511]

I really dislike the fact that the images often don’t fit with what you’re saying.

[@steet2]

No anime or manga has the same level of worldbuilding as One Piece. Not even close. It doesn't even use isekai tropes, it just has a very talented author. The fact that it's still so good after over 20 years is a testament to Oda's level of magnificence.

[@namkun78]

As A One Piece fan I agree ... but Overlord has a unique way of world building which I really like (I'm a LN reader) . In One Piece We saw the world through Luffy and Luffy alone and One Piece World is unique and amazingly well written but in Overlord the small characters are used to tell the story ,We can see the plan or scheme of Ainz through the so called not important characters which I have found very interesting.

[@neuldjaan2655]

bro im a hardcore one piece fan but im not that bias... read overlord first and you compare.

[@raidenshotgun5997]

more like getting stale,long time one piece fan but Im getting really tired of the show atm, just read the manga from time to time and I havent watched the anime in a long time,maybe you enjoy it but if this shit goes on for another 40 years yeah I give up, gonna die before he even gets that damn piece

[@steet2]

omar faruk the anime is garbage, manga is god tier

[@SilentKar]

Has anyone else noticed how DnD like Overlord's world building is? I'm not sh*&ing you I even checked the author profile and it says Maruyama wrote it it because his DnD group left him because of life.

[@neuldjaan2655]

i didnt know that.. i know he has played DnD but him writing overlord because of his own experience is sad.

[@bryal7811]

I got that vibe as well. It reminded me of the dragonlance books and how powerful Raistlin was for being able to cast 2nd and 3rd level spells, (windwall to stop a rain of arrows against an army, or fireball to burn down a village.) The spell tiering system in general really made me think of D&D 3.5s system with spell levels being 1-9 (ignoring the super spells overlord added etc.) and how limited humans are to casting within these limits. A normal mage gains a new level of spell every odd level up (1 at level 1, 2 at level 3, 3 at level 5 etc.) A talented mage can cast level 4-5s (level 7 and 9) and be considered peak capability. Anything higher than that is considered legendary. Looking at D&D 3.5, that's a character level gap of 1-6 and 7-10 for the elite. Just like 3.5s system, going above level 10 is considered legendary and sure enough, if you take the spell tiers into account, going above a 5th level spell is considered legendary and inhuman. Level 11 is when you'd obtain your first 6th level spell. Even taking into account fighter abilities. Killing an average ogre (HP 29 in 3.5) is considered a great feat by a very strong human. Crunching numbers, you can see a normal fighter with a greatsword at 18 str, weapon spec and a 2handed power attack can average above 29 in a single hit by level 9 (6+4+2+18=30) Peak capabilities but not quite legendary. I'm probably getting much more out of overlord that the average person because it's reminding me of D&D so much. Not to mention the solid character designs, ever evolving side characters and their grey morals or misguided beliefs. The latest storyline with Sebastian, Climb and Brian is great stuff!

[@VermyScrubs]

Six years on and these two shows aren't even compareable anymore, one killed itself through mismanagement yet its corpse was still somehow present for years after and the other suceeded yet retreeted into the background with only the ocasional mention

[@ullia1426]

Damn, I always love watching your videos, man, but this has got to be one of my favorite. As a growing and fairly ambitious writer, this helped out a lot and opened my eyes to a lot of things I didnt necessarily see before. Thanks for your hard work and very interesting videos