edit: feel free to reply no matter how old this thread gets!
I’m not particularly into anime, I like it just as much as live action shows or other types of animation. Having said that, I feel like watching some and I’m not sure what to pick.
Here’s a list of other anime shows I’ve watched/manga and novels I’ve read, so you can better judge what to recommend. ( would greatly appreciate the story to be completed, I hate waiting years for closure) :
Full Metal Alchemist, Naruto : both great stories, I’ve read the mangas and loved them. They wouldn’t be a priority to watch because I already read them.
Attack on Titan: started with the anime, it was great, switched to the manga, got extremely disappointed with the story development and its ending. It felt a bit like nonsense for me.
Dragon Ball/Z : probably my favourite, I’ve rewatched it recently. I don’t like GT and Super.
Overlord: I’ve read good part of the novel and manga. I’m liking it so far
JoJo’s Bizarre Adventure: please No thanks. Not for me.
Death Note: loved the first arc, not a fan of the ending but no hate for it unlike with AOT.
I also recall Escaflowne and Inuyasha, they were alright but not something I’ve loved or hated. Cowboy Bebop also in this category, excellent visually and great OST but the story wasn’t as gripping.
Other than that… Feel free to suggest any other titles! Extra thanks if you are specific about any versions and why is the show so great.
TIA
This is a great write up, but I’d put Tensei Shitara Slime Datta Ken (TenSura) at the top of the isekai list for any Overlord fan. Unlike Overlord, the main character starts off as the weakest monster, a slime, but the power growth is absurd and you quickly get into the same satisfying power fantasies as Overlord.
As a sort of non-spoiler comparison for those that have seen Overlord, two of my favorite (similar) scenes in the later seasons of each show are the iä Shub-Niggurath scene (Overlord) and the Megiddo scene (TenSura). Feel free to look them up if you don’t care about spoilers and want to see some amazing ultimate attacks out of context.
You’re right - I’ll add it to the list, thanks!
Discussion about the Megiddo scene
Rimuru did nothing wrong! Shion alone is worth more than 10k invading soldiers!
Serious now. This comparison is really cool because it highlights how both Ainz and Rimuru are slowly losing their humanity, but only Rimuru is aware of that. For Ainz, using the spell is basically a “I need people to respect me, right? I’ll show that I’m ultra strong”; while for Rimuru, Megiddo is a conscious moral event horizon, where he actually chose between the life of the monsters vs. the life of the invading army.
And alongside those lines, even Rimuru absorbing Shizu was a way to distance himself to his former human past. For a modern Japanese that would be cannibalism, but he already committed himself to live as a slime.
That’s an awesome way to compare the scenes!
spoiler
You made me realize that, while Ainz has some character development, he doesn’t go through nearly as much as Rimuru does. Same with most of the companions. There’s plenty of character development in Overlord, especially with like Sebas and Brain, but a lot of Rimuru’s companions go through multiple complete transformations of their bodies and their personalities adapt to that, just like Rimuru himself. Full transparency: I’ve only watched the anime for each series, but I plan to read the novels when I get around to it lol.
Also forget Shion, Megiddo gave us my boy Diablo! :P
For me it’s the characters in Overlord, their morals, goals, the atrocities they commit, their intentions and how they feel/think that makes it interesting- much more that the power itself. But I also like the power fantasy element in it, thanks for the recommendation!
The characters in TenSura are definitely less “evil” than in Overlord, but you have a great variety of side characters, subordinates, etc. growing alongside the mc.