Just finished Overlord Vol 1. It was okay. Lots and lots of set up, of course. It’s a twist of isekai, which is nice. The computer world vs the real world vs the new “post shut down” world is interesting. I kinda want to see more of the world, but it keeps treating things like a LitRPG and talking about game stats, spells, and items. Not really interested in LitRPG. Like at all. Not sure I’ll keep going with the series.
For what it's worth, I strongly recommend sticking with
Overlord, at least through the end of the third volume. It's one of the best
isekai series out there, mostly because it's one of the very, very few which makes the protagonist super-powerful but doesn't become wildly gratuitous as a result. Ainz's cautious nature and refusal to take anything for granted (without going overboard about it, like in, say,
Cautious Hero) makes him a much more sympathetic character than he otherwise would be, as his victories (mostly) feel earned rather than
fait accompli.
That said, it's worth underlining that the series is, at its core, a very black comedy, mostly around how much Ainz is willing to countenance his extremely evil underlings' misinterpretations of what he wants in his attempts to save face in front of them.
On a fun note, if you stick with the series, you'll quickly start to notice where its informed by D&D 3.X, mostly in terms of the spell system (though there are differences) and certain assumptions about various types of monsters (e.g. undead are inherently immune to mind-affecting effects, etc.).
Just finished Slayers Vol 1. It was good. The voice of the narrator/MC was delightful and funny. General Japanese fantasy, no isekai in sight. I will definitely read more of the series, but I want to poke around and read some other LNs first. The closest thing to a complaint I have about the book is there's a serious lack of description and worldbuilding. Though reading the afterword explains why. The LN was written as a one shot for a contest. The author packed a lot of action in and skipped over most of the description and almost all the worldbuilding beyond what was absolutely necessary for the plot. Looking forward to more of both in the later volumes.
I never did read the light novels for these, but I remember watching the anime a good thirty years or so ago. It was fun stuff. There was a meme back then, to the tune of "
Record of Lodoss War is what every D&D campaign wants to be;
Slayers is what every D&D campaign eventually turns into."
