It has been more than two years, yet no word on Overlord Season 5's release has been made public.
Based on the series of light novels from Kugane Maruyama and So-bin, the Overlord anime kicked off its journey back in 2015, coming to the West by way of streamer Crunchyroll.
The show has been missing in action since the end of Season 4 in 2022, despite Maruyama-san continuing his work on the light novels, a manga adaptation being released, and a sequel series manga that debuted in April 2024.
When Could Overlord Season 5 Release?
No official release timing for Overlord Season 5 has been made public, but there is reason to believe it is coming.
Kugane Maruyama - the man behind the light novels the anime is based on - previously indicated he plans on ending the series after 18 volumes.
In May 2016, Maruyama posted on his X (formerly Twitter) account, revealing "Overlord is scheduled to be completed in 18 volumes," but he did not disclose when he sees that happening:
"As someone asked, Overlord is scheduled to be completed in 18 volumes (if KADOKAWA allows it to be published).
No, it was....There's bound to be a small margin of error (like this time)! Maybe... some country will be destroyed in the prologue to balance things out!"
A Season 5 of the Overlord anime would likely cover the events of Volumes 15 to 18 of the light novel. If this is the case, it could be possible the team behind the animated series is waiting for the light novels to be fully released before taking a stab at a fifth season.
As of writing, it is unclear when Maruyama plans to release Volumes 17 and 18, so fans could still be waiting for quite some time for the anime to return.
In the meantime though, a movie adaptation of Volumes 12 and 13 is in the works, at least filling some of the void left in the anime's absence.
The Overlord film (fully titled Overlord: Holy Kingdom) was originally announced back in October 2021 (via Games Radar) but is set to finally come to theaters in Japan sometime in 2024.
It currently, does not have a stateside release, but one can assume given the popularity of the animated series, that the movie will eventually make its way across the Pacific.
Overlord Season 5's Potential Cast
If/when Overlord Season 5 does make its way out to the public, fans can expect much of the series' core cast to return along with it.
This, of course, is led by Ainz Ooal Gown (played by Satoshi Hino in Japanese and Chris Guerrero in English). Since the very beginning, Ainz Ooal Gown has served as Overlord's main character and protagonist, as a former salaryman who is transported to a mysterious world.
Joining Ainz will surely be some of the floor guardians that the series' protagonist has gone up against in the last few seasons, with some of them going on to join him on his quest for power.
These floor guardians include the succubus Albedo, the suit-wearing demon Demiurge, and the twin dark elves Mare Bello Fiore and Aura Bella Fiora among others.
A full list of the expected Overlord Season 5 cast can be seen below:
- Albedo - Yumi Hara (Japanese) / Elizabeth Maxwell (English)
- Demiurge - Masayuki Katou (Japanese) / Jeff Johnson (English)
- Lumière - Saori Ōnishi (Japanese) / Jennifer Alyx (English)
- Mare Bello Fiore - Yumi Uchiyama (Japanese) / Megan Shipman (English)
- Aura Bella Fiora - Emiri Katō (Japanese) / Jill Harris (English)
- Ainz Ooal Gown - Satoshi Hino (Japanese) / Chris Guerrero (English)
- Antilene Heran Fouche - Yukari Tamura (Japanese) / Monica Rial (English)
What Could Happen in Overlord Season 5?
Plot specifics for Overlord Season 5 have not been made public. However, seeing as the anime is an adaptation, fans can read ahead to get a sense of where the series will go next.
Thus far, the anime has covered the events up to Volume 11, with the upcoming big-screen film set to tackle Volumes 12 and 13.
That means Season 5 will likely be an adaption of Volumes 14-18.
Volumes 17 and 18 have not yet been released, but fans looking to get a peek at what is to come can find it in the pages of Volumes 14, 15, and 16.
These three entries into the light novel series see the world of Overlord on the brink of war.
Things start as Nazarick declares war on the falling Re-Estize Kingdom. This puts main character Ainz Ooal Gown in the middle of what comes to be known as the War of Annihilation.
This sees the Sorcerer Kingdom and Re-Estize Kingdom go to battle in a conflict that is still ongoing in the light novels.
Seeing as Ainz's guild headquarters is located smack dab in the middle of what will become the battleground, he and his fellow guild members will have to take up arms to bring down the overreaching sorcerer clan.
Beyond that, the story remains unknown, as fans eagerly await the conclusion of the Overlord story on the page.
Overlord Season 5 is now streaming on Crunchyroll.
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