The plot and the world of the story are quite well done and although there are similarities with Overlord they are in an acceptable margin to be just an inspiration.

Edit Note (Chapter 36) : The main character Alice is showing signs of becoming more and more different from Ains' personality from Overlord as the chapters progress. But for the time being I still stand by what I say below.

The problem is when it comes to the characters especially the main character and her servants. They are clearly reskins of Ainz-sama and her floor guards (Overlord Main Characters).

If you have doubts the spoiler is a "fun fact" by the author in the author's notes of chapter 30. Change in the text Alice for Ainz-sama (Protagonist of Overlord) and make your own opinion.

Spoiler

5. The reason why Alice ~~Ainz-sama~~ possesses so many items that can summon creatures or entities from the game Monsterland ~~YGGDRASIL~~ is:

- Alice ~~Ainz-sama~~ is a collector who enjoys collecting many items, even if they are considered trash.

- All of the guild's wealth and her friends' belongings who left the game were inherited by Alice ~~Ainz-sama~~ until they returned to playing. If one of Alice's ~~Ainz's~~ friends returns to the game, Alice ~~Ainz-sama~~ must return their belongings.

- In other words, Alice ~~Ainz-sama~~ is effectively holding the entire guild's wealth [Re: Create] ~~[Ainz Ooal Gown]~~.

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Honestly, the series has a lot of potential and that's why I give it 4 stars (although I think it would be more correct 3.5 stars) but it has to distinguish itself from Overlord shadow.

Lastly, I hope it stays true to the name Alice the Evil and the Corrupted Eternal Demon Lord race and doesn't start creating some utopian kingdom where everyone lives happily.

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unnamed00000001

Status: chapter 26 : drinking poison

Oct 19, 2023

First of all... The similarities with Overlord, the well-known light novel which even has the anime and manga adaptations, are, to say the least, uncanny. Of course, it might just be that the author of Overlord and Fallenlily are both into DnD and have almost identical views, values, philosophies, etc., but I find it hard to believe. In fact, I am almost certain that the writer took their 'inspiration' from Overlord. When something happens once, it is a coincidence; when it repeats over and over again, it is a pattern. While reading, every chapter I drew parallels between events, characters, their attitudes, naming conventions, and more, to the point of it being too unbelievable to be a mere chance. Yes, "system" itself is slightly different, tiers are different, there are unique races and abilities, but the way things are written and presented, sometimes it felt like a cheap parody or remix. Alice's personality is basically Ainz, a little dumbed down and more emotional. Her relationship with the servants is not just similar, but practically the same. If we swap names in a conversation of Alice and one of her subordinates to Ainz and one of his subordinates, apart from the lower quality writing (and I do not mean it in a degrading way - Overlord LN is a professionally written and edited book, which is why it is more polished), you will hardly be able to tell a difference. Same with synopsis - swap the name and pronouns, change Monsterland to Yggdrasil, and it will be a 100% valid synopsis for Overlord.

The grammar is fine, I haven't noticed any obvious mistakes or typos, or at least not many. The writing itself could be better, but it is not unreadable. Well, I say that, know that my standards are high. Looking at some of the works (abominations) on this site, it is better than average, I suppose. There was a chapter where True Abyssal Dragon Lord was shortened to "TADL", and this "TADL" thereafter appeared five times per paragraph for the rest of the chapter, which made it hard to take anything happening seriously.

And as you can see, despite all of my preaching, I give this 3 stars. Personally, I cannot say this was boring or completely unenjoyable. But as I said, it felt almost akin to reading an Overlord fanfic. This novel is pretty much in its infancy, and maybe later on it will diverge from the copycat setting.

Other notable similarities with Overlord (if anyone is interested, for some reason) :

Spoiler

Princess Ivy - Princess Renner: Personality, position, role, the character itself, really. She even calls her subordinates "loyal puppies". I suppose she is not a complete copy, since Renner's main motivation was to be with Climb. But everything else - yeah.

The way Alice's Tower of Nazari-...... Azaroth was transitioned into the new world. The reactions of its inhabitants, etc..

Alice's original world was filled with pollution. Her attitude toward the preserved and untainted nature of the new world.

The overused trope of misunderstandings between the superior (Alice) and her subordinates is omnipresent, and will probably play a key role later on, just like in Overlord, and many other similar novels.

Alice's subordinates misunderstood her intentions, and now think that she wants world domination. Just like in Overlord. Oh, and but the way, it was proposed by a subordinate of hers who looks suspiciously like... no, who looks almost exactly like a gender-swapped version of Demiurge. Yes, I am serious, check the end of chapter 16.

... There may be more, since I am not the best reader, and it is possible that I have missed something.

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Do not take this review to heart. I have re-read Overlord not a small number of times (shadowed only by Reverend Insanity), and no matter how improbable, it might have killed my brain cells and gave me those weird hallucinations. But I must say that I am more or less certain that this is not the case.

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