Kugane Maruyama explains why fans have to deal with an undead skeleton for a protagonist in Overlord rather than an eye-candy.

SUMMARY

Kugane Maruyama, the author of Overlord, explained he created an undead character as a protagonist to prevent him from having any weaknesses.
He also stated that the trigger for creating Overlord was his dissatisfaction with the stories that were already available.
Maruyama pays extra attention to make sure that the plot turns and misunderstandings created in Overlord are believable by his audience.

Kugane Maruyama’s Overlord shows an interesting take on a typical isekai series. There are plenty of anime/manga in which the protagonist is stuck in an RPG world, and their goal is to escape from it. But not in Overlord, because when the protagonist becomes the most powerful demon sorcerer, the last thing he wants to do is give it up.

Ainz Ooal Gown in Overlord | Credits: Madhouse

Ainz’s instant decision to stay in the game world is refreshing, to say the least. Another refreshing take is that instead of creating a beautiful game avatar, the protagonist takes the form of a skeletal undead. But why did Mayuyama abandon visuals so easily?

Why Overlord‘s Ainz Ooal Gown is an Undead Monster and Not Eye-Candy

Ainz Ooal Gown in Overlord | Credits: Madhouse

Kugane Maruyama is the writer of the Overlord novel series. The novel has received a manga and an anime adaptation by the same name. The author appeared in an interview in 2017 with Kono Light Novel ga Sugoi!, and answered various questions that plagued the minds of fans, especially regarding the appearance of Ainz Ooal Gown.

So why exactly did Maruyama choose a terrifying undead skeletal creature devoid of skin and flesh? When he could have easily chosen a handsome avatar? In the interview, the writer replied that in the process of making an ideal protagonist, he started chipping away at problems. What was left was an undead character.

Thus, Maruyama’s ultimate goal was to make Ainz a powerful character who would be too hard to defeat. Creating a human or a handsome elf as a protagonist comes with its own weaknesses. But since Ainz is already dead, he has the upper hand in every situation. This is also how his followers were created. According to the writer, since Ainz was an undead, his followers also became monsters.

Overlord is the Result of Kugane Maruyama’s “I’ll do it on my own” Attitude

Ainz Ooal Gown and his followers in Overlord | Credits: Madhouse

In the interview, the author admitted that it was hard to find works that appealed to him or satisfied him. He often couldn’t believe the setting of stories from the same genre. Since it was hard to find works that satisfied him, he thought to try writing his own story, that was the trigger for creating Overlord.

The author explained that he created NPCs as followers of Ainz because before becoming powerful, he was a simple salaryman. With that kind of an average guy becoming a ruler, what kind of people could possibly serve him? That was why Ainz’s followers were former NPCs of the game.

Maruyama also makes sure that the misunderstandings created in Overlord are believable. There are various misunderstandings in the story, but he did not want readers to second guess them or wonder how the characters could possibly go along with such circumstances. Since he himself is pretty cynical, he is careful while creating circumstances leading to misunderstandings in the story so that the thoughts of the characters can be logically explained.