RogerBW's Blog

2017-2018 fantasy, continuing light novel adaptation in 13 episodes: AniDB. Momonga, the VR MMORPG player who found himself stuck in the game world when the servers shut down, lives on as a super-powerful lich, and continues to…

Well, it's not quite clear what he's trying to do. One episode seems like setup, but most of it never gets mentioned again; four episodes deal with the subjugation of some lizard people, for reasons that are not at all clear; and the last eight deal with a fight against a criminal syndicate, in which Momonga's main goal is to establish his adventurer persona's reputation among the other people on the side of good.

But he's off-stage a lot of the time, and the focus is largely split among his minions and retainers. That was the part I found interesting in the first series, more than the tales of a guy who can beat up anything he wants to; they're both powerful and limited in their imagination, but some of them are starting to wake up as independent creatures..

But we also get lots and lots of fighting where people call out their attacks (fine if you like that sort of thing); and a woman who's pretty much only there to be rescued from things, even if there are other female characters who are a bit more proactive.

Any long-term plans have basically been ignored for now, though there's some suggestion that season 3 will get a bit more serious about the main narrative rather than minor characters' personal stories.

If you haven't seen season 1, you may be a bit lost; the MMORPG references are gone, and Momonga just happens to be a terribly powerful guy. If you have, this is an enjoyable return to the characters, but in plot terms it's relatively dispensable.