Overlord Watch Order: When to Watch Every Season & Movie

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Binge-watch the anime in release order or chronologically

Co-authored by Glenn Carreau

Last Updated: February 22, 2026 Fact Checked

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Release Order

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Chronological Order

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All Arcs & Movies

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Can you skip the movies?

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Where to Watch

If you’re interested in exploring the popular isekai anime Overlord, you’ve come to the right place. Overlord follows an obsessive gamer who gets transformed into his own in-game avatar, and promptly sets out on a journey of world domination. Watching Overlord in order shouldn’t be too confusing, but to give you the smoothest viewing experience possible, we’ve created a guide with easy-to-follow watch order lists—plus a breakdown of each season and movie!

The Best Overlord Watch Order for New Viewers

Overlord (2015) - Season 1, 13 episodes
Overlord: The Undead King (2017) - Movie
Overlord: The Dark Hero (2017) - Movie
Overlord (2018) - Season 2, 13 episodes
Overlord (2018) - Season 3, 13 episodes
Overlord (2022) - Season 4, 13 episodes
Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom (2024) - Movie

Section 1 of 5:

How to Watch Overlord in Release Order

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Generally, fans agree that it’s best to watch Overlord in release order—the order that its creators intended it to be viewed. And even if you’re a fan of viewing shows chronologically, the anime and movies are more or less released in chronological order, anyway. So, here’s a breakdown of Overlord’s seasons and movies in release order:^{[1]
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- Overlord (2015) - Season 1, 13 episodes
- Overlord: The Undead King (2017) - Movie
- Overlord: The Dark Hero (2017) - Movie
- Overlord (2018) - Season 2, 13 episodes
- Overlord (2018) - Season 3, 13 episodes
- Overlord (2022) - Season 4, 13 episodes
- Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom (2024) - Movie

Section 2 of 5:

How to Watch Overlord in Chronological Order

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If you’re really committed to watching Overlord chronologically, you can still mostly follow the release order—with just one small adjustment. The Sacred Kingdom technically takes place partway through the fourth season; so, to watch Overlord chronologically, you should watch The Sacred Kingdom after episode 7 of the fourth season.
- Overlord (2015) - Season 1
- Overlord: The Undead King (2017) - Movie
- Overlord: The Dark Hero (2017) - Movie
- Overlord (2018) - Season 2
- Overlord (2018) - Season 3
- Overlord (2022) - Season 4, episodes 1-7
- Overlord: The Sacred Kingdom (2024) - Movie
- Overlord (2022) - Season 4, episodes 8 - 13

Section 3 of 5:

All Overlord Seasons & Movies, Explained

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Overlord, Season 1Season 1 ofOverlord covers three main arcs: the Undead King arc (episodes 1-4), the Dark Warrior arc (episodes 5-9), and the Bloody Valkyrie arc (episodes 10-13). It also introduces fans to Momonga (also known as Ainz Ooal Gown), who is so dedicated to his favorite multiplayer RPG (role-playing game) that he finds himself trapped within the game as his avatar, a powerful undead mage.^{[2]
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- The Undead King arc: The first arc covers Momonga’s transformation into his avatar, who is also the leader of an evil guild in the Great Tomb of Nazarick. Inside the game, he discovers that the NPCs (non-player characters) have become sentient as well.
- The Dark Warrior arc: Momonga (now going by “Ainz Ooal Gown”) goes undercover to learn more about the world. Under the name “Momon,” alongside an NPC named Naberal (“Nabe”), he travels to the city of E-Rantel—only to encounter an evil order of spellcasters.
- The Bloody Valkyrie arc: In this arc, one of Nazarick’s floor guardians, Shalltear Bloodfallen, incited a rebellion. Ainz must discover why she suddenly went rogue—and if something deeper is afoot.
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Overlord: The Undead KingThe Undead King is the first Overlord movie, and it essentially recaps the anime’s first season from episode 1 to 7. While there are a few new scenes added here and there, the story doesn’t change at all—it’s still the same one told in Overlord’s first season, condensed down to 1 hour and 42 minutes.^{[3]
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- Release date: February 25, 2017
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Overlord: The Dark HeroOverlord: The Dark Hero (or sometimes Overlord: The Dark Warrior) is a follow-up to The Undead King, recapping the first season from episode 8 to 13. Again, there are a few new scenes and lines sprinkled into the movie, but it’s largely unchanged from the anime version. At 1 hour and 33 minutes long, it covers the end of the Dark Warrior arc through the Bloody Valkyrie arc.^{[4]
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- Release date: March 11, 2017
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Overlord, Season 2Overlord’s storyline continues in the second season of the anime, which consists of two major arcs: the Lizardman Heroes arc (episodes 1-5) and the Men in the Kingdom arc (episodes 6-13). It focuses more on world-building than action, as Nazarick (led by Ainz) starts to consolidate its power.
- The Lizardman Heroes arc: Nazarick targets a clan of lizardmen, the Green Claw tribe. Meanwhile, a lizardman named Zaryusu Shasha aims to unite all lizardman tribes so they can defeat Nazarick (specifically, Ainz’s underling Cocytus).
- The Men in the Kingdom arc: This arc introduces a new character: Climb, the bodyguard of Princess Renner in the kingdom of Re-Estize. At the same time, Ainz’s head butler, Brain Unglass, pays a visit—and a demon emperor called Jaldabaoth lays siege to the kingdom, forcing Climb and Brain to try and save the day.
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Overlord, Season 3The third season ofOverlord takes Ainz’s goal of world domination to the next level as he forms the “Sorcerous Kingdom of Nazarick.” It consists of three main arcs: the Two Leaders arc (episodes 1-5), the Invaders of the Large Tomb arc (episodes 6-8), and the Magic Caster of Destruction arc (episodes 9-13).
- The Two Leaders arc: This arc is primarily set in Carne Village, focusing on Enri, Nemu, and Nphirea; it also takes place concurrently with the events of the Men in the Kingdom arc from the previous season.
- The Invaders of the Large Tomb arc: A group calling themselves “Foresight” volunteers to travel from the Baharuth Empire to investigate a mysterious tomb that suddenly appears—and find themselves pitted against Ainz Ooal Gown.
- The Magic Caster of Destruction arc: Ainz and the Sorcerous Kingdom get involved in a war between Re-Estize and the Baharuth Empire, taking both by complete surprise.
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Overlord, Season 4In the fourth season ofOverlord, Ainz begins to shape his new nation, the Sorcerous Kingdom, into a utopia—at least, the type of utopia he’s envisioning as an undead lich. The season has three arcs: the Ruler of Conspiracy arc (episodes 1-4), the Craftsman of Dwarf arc (episodes 5-7), and the Witch of the Falling Kingdom arc (episodes 8-13).
- The Ruler of Conspiracy arc: While Ainz tries to build his kingdom into a utopia for all races, the rest of the world starts plotting against him to weaken the Sorcerous Kingdom of Nazarick.
- The Craftsman of Dwarf arc: In this arc, Ainz visits the Dwarf Kingdom alongside Aura and Shalltear and discovers that the dwarves are in the middle of a conflict with the Quagoa. Naturally, he gets involved.
- The Witch of the Falling Kingdom arc: In the final arc of the season, Re-Estize declares all-out war against the Sorcerous Kingdom of Nazarick (and Ainz).
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Overlord: The Sacred KingdomUnlike the previous two movies,The Sacred Kingdom isn’t a recap. It contains a new story: one in which the Sacred Kingdom is in danger of total ruin, threatened by the Demon Emperor Jaldabaoth. Their neighbors, the Slane Theocracy, call on Ainz Ooal Gown and the Sorcerous Kingdom for help—and together, the three nations attempt to defeat the villainous Demon Emperor.^{[5]
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- Release date: September 20, 2024
- The Sacred Kingdom is an adaptation of the “Roble Holy Kingdom” arc from the Overlord light novels.

Section 4 of 5:

Can you skip the Overlord movies?

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The two recap movies are skippable, yes. As we’ve mentioned above, The Undead King and The Dark Hero movies are both recaps of the show’s first season—so, if you watch the Overlord anime, you technically don’t need to watch the movies, too. However, since the movies contain a few new lines and scenes, diehard fans might want to see them anyway. Plus, the movies can introduce Overlord to new viewers in a more convenient, streamlined way.
- The third movie, The Sacred Kingdom, isn’t a recap—so you should watch that one, regardless of whether or not you skip the first two.

Section 5 of 5:

Where to Watch Overlord

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Thankfully, Overlord is a relatively recent franchise—and it’s all available in one place. You can catch the entire anime (4 seasons) and all three movies on Crunchyroll’s streaming platform (with a subscription). Additionally, if you have a Crunchyroll subscription, you can watch the anime through Amazon Prime or YouTube TV.