>>204232170Those are actually very interesting themes and very relatable given the world we live in. The problem, again, is the execution, and the fact Maruyama originally planned to drag out this whole moral exercise into a two dozen more volumes of world building, following this pattern you describe seems to defeat the point.
Call it being anal, but I think there's a general outlook on Overlord that agrees character growth has been poorly handled. The story started excellently by showing what sort of creature Shalltear really is, a vile abomination. The issues started when the Nazarick crew started being portrayed as a little bit too untouchable, never being put into actual danger, real conflict never truly arising within the Nazarick ranks.
There have been so many warning signs about Nazarick, extremely evil alignments, capacity for limitless cruelty, the main figure abandoning his humanity... except there have been no situations that would make the readership question idolizing Nazarick as an entity. The protagonist cares just a little bit too much about every single one of them, and the progression never introduces any actual dissent amongst their ranks despite good-aligned or honorable figures like Sebas or Cocytus having plenty to object about.
I find that the above almost infectiously spread to the fans who now idolize these characters, which in itself is an interesting moral experiment, but ultimately may lead to wasted potential. Because if everyone is just fanboying over what cool things will happen to their favorite characters, much like they would level up in a video game, the entire message and philosophy of it gets lost somewhere in-between.
