Ainz Ooal Gown appeared in 2015 TV series called Overlord. Ainz Ooal Gown (アインズ・ウール・ゴウン), formerly known as Momonga (モモンガ), is the main protagonist of the Overlord series. He is the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, Overlord of the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and the creator of Pandora's Actor. He is regarded as the highest of the Almighty Forty-One Supreme Beings by the NPCs of Nazarick.
In the New World, he is the Sorcerer King of the Sorcerer Kingdom and the most powerful magic caster in the world. His other identity is famously known as "Momon," a dark warrior and leader of Darkness, an adamantine ranked adventurer group of that nation. He is an adamantine class adventurer and the strongest adventurer known in E-Rantel.
Ainz Ooal Gown has the appearance of an Overlord, an undead skeleton creature who is devoid of skin and flesh. He tends to mainly wear an elaborate, jet-black academic gown adorned with golden and violet edges. When he has no clothes on, his whole body alone is purely made up of just his bones. He also has a dark red orb floating under his ribs that emanates a feeling of dread.
Furthermore, he has a type of tiny dark red glow radiating from inside his empty eye sockets. Sometimes, however, that glow can become largely intensified, leading it to elicit faint reddish flames flickering about in both his two eyes. Additionally, Ainz has a dark halo-like object glimmering right behind his head.
In his dark warrior persona as Momon, Ainz wears a fully jet-black body armor adorned with purple and golden markings. Not only that, but he also wears a red cape out of admiration for his friend Touch Me. He is even equipped with two large swords on his back while carrying them both behind him.
In the presence of the Holy Kingdom envoys, the Sorcerer King Ainz Ooal Gown wore a different vestment attire than his usual getup. The hem and sleeves were made of spotless white fabric, and they were lightly decorated with gold and purple. It was bound up at the waist with a sash. He wore gloves that were colored the same as his garments, fitted with metal plates that sparkled in all the colors of the rainbow.
While Ainz is a cautious and stingy person, he will always try to plan ahead and control details beforehand in order to avoid any haphazard actions that can endanger Nazarick's existence. This means going so far as lying to the inhabitants in the New World that he can't use one of his Super-tier spells for years to come after using it once. Since being transferred to the New World and becoming an actual undead being, Ainz has felt himself becoming very cold and calculating while his emotions are repressed. He was not the least bit afraid of lying to or provoking his combatants, using each and every trick he can think of to overcome the odds. He takes satisfaction from experimenting with his powers by measuring the extent of it to the point where he heartlessly brainwashes and kills people. Everything Ainz aims to do was to better himself, rack up accomplishments, and master new ways to use his magic and stats in the New World.
Being the collector and hoarder that he is, Ainz spent his time and money in YGGDRASIL amassing a formidable amount of items regardless of its actual value. One-Time Event items share space with easily obtained common drops in his inventory, as nothing is ever thrown away. These include items which he cannot personally use, such as swords, armors, and scrolls. While most of them are stored in his Item Box, some are left in his private room in Nazarick and E-Rantel. Also, Ainz's arrival in the New World has since further expanded his interest in other things that now include plants, animals, and even sentient races that are later "stored" on the 6th Floor of the Great Tomb of Nazarick. He is ambitious and open enough to look for ways outside the tomb to bolster Nazarick as a whole. As the guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, he loves to reminisce about the wise words from his fellow guildmates as they may hold some meaning now in the New World, which the NPCs wholeheartedly agree to.
Since he is loyal to his friends and the NPCs created by them, he acts with a certain degree of nobility, when leading his devoted followers properly. It was so they can faithfully have a Supreme Being to look up to and depend on since he is the ruler of the Great Tomb of Nazarick and the last Supreme Being to have stayed with them even after their creators left them behind. It was to this extent that he follows the whims of his followers' plans hatched up by them, particularly Demiurge and Albedo. To maintain the facade of a glorious and intellectual ruler with tremendous wisdom, he deceptively lets the two greatest minds of Nazarick reach the conclusion that everything they did were part of his long-term grand schemes all along. Ainz would bluff his way out of certain situations like it without the latter noticing his ignorance and incompetence. Ainz allows his two advisors to do the explaining to the rest of the NPCs for him, as he himself had no clear clues or ideas about what they are planning.
However, playing the role of a dignified person is very tiring and stressing for an average salaryman like Ainz, making him feel as though sometimes he would wishfully develop the desire to run away from his duty while making up excuses to make that situation possible. Despite everything he did for the sake of Nazarick, Ainz has done so to show the NPCs that he does happen to care for them. He considers himself like a father figure to Pandora's Actor and his friends' NPCs, tending to their well-being and needs first before everyone else. At the same time, he goes as far as to offer them rewards for their diligence. Due to the harsh work environment, Ainz and his guild members were raised in from the real world, he shows signs of concern for the workaholic nature of Nazarick's residents, worrying that his subordinates are overworking and pushing themselves too hard without rest. He is willing to make some adjustments to the NPCs' work schedule by including rest breaks into it for as long as need be until they have a full recovery.
When he was crowned king of his newly-formed country, the Sorcerer Kingdom, this trait also plays a certain key role in earning loyalties among his countrymen. For instance, the Guildmaster Ainzach describes Ainz as being a rational person who makes wise decisions carefully, commending him for being an intellectual, but merciful ruler. Additionally, Ainz is open-minded to others' opinions of the actions he has partaken, appreciating their criticisms and learning from his mistakes, in which the Floor Guardians can't do to help him. There are also times where he is nicely playful and other instances when he appears as a bit lonely, reflecting on the fact that he has no close companions from his guild to confide his troubles to or talk with like in the past. Once you have gained his favor and Ainz opens up his heart to someone as a friend, he is surprisingly gentle.
Furthermore, Ainz is not only looked upon as a thoughtful and generous person but also by outsiders of Nazarick who work for him while kindly rewarding them with YGGDRASIL items due to their hard work. In a way, Ainz is true to his word and oath, when he honorably accepted certain conditions made by individuals in the form of promises held to a high degree without betraying them. He has a benevolent nature of ruling over his nation peacefully without bloodshed, figuring there is still always room for reasonable negotiation. Yet at times, however, Ainz would feel paranoid and pessimistic that his Floor Guardians or other NPCs that follow after them may someday abandon him if he doesn't live up to their expectations.
Nonetheless, he only does things that will benefit Nazarick or himself above all else, whether it's information or prestige. Although he does have a sense of justice and doesn't hate humans as much as his followers, Ainz holds no deep attachment to them, and he feels nothing toward their deaths. Ainz does not view humanity as an enemy, but he will kill humans with no hesitation for the sake of advancing his goals. Even so, he wants to avoid conflict with other players, especially the ones who are human and are willing to protect their kind. After killing Shalltear with his own hands, he became a lot more vigilant and hostile against players or other foes with World Items that could possibly harm Nazarick in the near future.
Aside from the NPCs of Nazarick, the only players Ainz will show the most concern for are his past companions. With that said, he can still come off as ruthless and heartless to those outside Nazarick like the invaders who attempted to rob the home of his guild members and lied to him about getting permission from them. In an act of aggression, it came a point where Ainz would loudly unleash his voice of rage while admitting that he has no attention of letting any of them escape alive and get away with the invasion.
On the other hand, Ainz has a competitive side to him, regarding the actions of players within the New World as what motivated him to not fall behind in terms of technological development. Likewise, everything he does is all for the sake of Ainz Ooal Gown, the Great Tomb of Nazarick, and the Sorcerer Kingdom altogether. For that reason, Ainz is secretive about the information he may have gained, refusing to disclose anything in case it serves Nazarick's interest. Since Ainz prioritizes knowledge as utmost importance to him, he also likes to participate in doing random experiments with the sole purpose of obtaining valuable information on the New World's inhabitants, martial arts, magic, items, or even their way of life, such as religion.
In his dark warrior persona as Momon, he is viewed by people to be very dignified as a worthy adamantine adventurer, yet not willing to make others uncomfortable around him. True to his nature, Momon is also very faithful and honorable, when he refused Nfirea's request for the Swords of Darkness, prioritizing them first as it was something he accepted before anything else. While he holds great trust with his comrades, he refuses outside aid if they happen to slow him down during his job. Let alone that, he would use some of his spare time to exchange greetings with every single adventurer's group in the Re-Estize Kingdom. Out of respect for his fellow adventurers, he doesn't like to reap the rewards for himself and wants those who took part in stopping the disturbance within Re-Estize to be paid equally, as well.
In and outside of the tomb, he is quite mindful of Nazarick denizens' negative behavior towards foreign lifeforms beyond their home territory, feeling that he needs to be very considerate and wise on who to bring with him on his exploration journey and when traveling to other places like the Dwarf Kingdom. Taking advantage of his authority over Nazarick denizens while in the highest position of power, he will enforce and impart his words onto them so that they do not act out of conduct in front of him. In the face of his guests at a meeting, this means going so far as to scold and admonish his subordinates if they speak out of line or turn, correcting their disrespectful behaviors while offering a sincere apology at the same time.
After staying in the New World for some while now, he starts to realize that his friends may not have transferred with him, accepting the fact that they will never come back. Realizing he is losing interest over time in bothering to find them, Ainz turns his focus and objective to ensuring the NPCs' happiness over anyone else, while the citizens of the Sorcerer Kingdom come second to it. He even feels motivated to learn and grow stronger in his own way by accumulating knowledge about what's in the New World that distinguish itself from YGGDRASIL like their unique magics, talents, martial art skills and items. In other words, he wants to self-improve himself not only as a magic caster, but as both a warrior and a ruler of a nation too, seeking guidance from people who have experience on the job, be it through physical training under Cocytus face-to-face in a duel or or observing Emperor Jircniv from a distance.
In the year of 2138 before taking on the name of Ainz Ooal Gown in the New World, Momonga was his original name as a player in YGGDRASIL. But in reality, he was a human being by the name of Suzuki Satoru, his true identity. Whenever Suzuki left home while heading to his workplace, he wore an air filtering mask and goggles to prevent himself from being affected by the toxic air outside. He used to be the sort of person who wasn’t bothered by seeing the corpses of orphans since he encountered them so often on the streets that it was hardly a rare occurrence for him anymore.
Early in his life, Suzuki lost his mother when she overworked herself to death. Her death occurred in the kitchen of Suzuki's home, where she collapsed on the floor while trying to make his favorite dish. He vividly remembered seeing it happen with his own eyes in the morning upon waking up. In terms of receiving fatherly love from his father, he claimed to have never experienced something like that before in his life.
On the other hand, Suzuki Satoru was an elementary school graduate and salaryman who lived alone in a broken-down apartment. Because Momonga did not have any real family or friends to support him, he dedicated his whole life instead to the DMMO-RPG, YGGDRASIL, and just his guild. His life was an endless cycle of going to the office to work. He had often seen kids who had just graduated elementary school working alongside him on the job. As a salaryman, he recalled how his bosses announced to their employees that they would only begin work once everyone including himself had arrived on time. Thus, all he could do was suppress the urge to go home, because he truly understood how they felt. The kind of people Suzuki hated by far were those who rejected other's opinions without offering solutions of their own as well as crappy customers who knew nothing.
Sadly, fun memories of the times he spent with his friends as members of Ainz Ooal Gown were all he had in the game compared to the real world. Momonga's daily livelihood to the game had even gone so far to the extent where he used up most of the money financially obtained by him from working to have it purely used for YGGDRASIL. His salary earnings were meager, but he still lived above the poverty line. Momonga had an ample balance in his bank accounts, yet he had no idea how to spend that money. In the end, it was apparent that Momonga had already spent almost one-third of his monthly salary on cash purchases for the game.
When Momonga first began playing YGGDRASIL, the idea of killing heteromorphic races was a common practice in YGGDRASIL. At that time, he was one of the targets who was hunted down and killed by PKers multiple times. Having enough of the harsh treatment, he was very close to quitting the game until Touch Me's words had saved him.
In the anime, he was shown to be surrounded by a group of PKers in their attempt to finish him off while mocking his character avatar. However, as they were about to carry out the PK on Momonga, Touch Me suddenly came to his rescue and defeated them simultaneously. Since then, both Momonga and Touch Me made friends with seven others like them together to form the First Nine, which started out as a PvP/PKer clan, known as the Nine's Own Goal.
At some point in time, during a meeting with his clansmen, Touch Me thought of disbanding the Nine's Own Goal and wanted to form a guild and recommended Momonga to be their leader. Once the clan was dissolved and the members present agreed to accept Momonga as the guildmaster, he and friends created an official guild called Ainz Ooal Gown. Carrying out the role as the Guildmaster of Ainz Ooal Gown, Momonga was now tasked with miscellaneous work, such as contacting people in the guild from this moment forward.
Right after the guild was created, Momonga would lead Ainz Ooal Gown and its members to an unknown dungeon called the Great Tomb of Nazarick thanks to the efforts of his friend, Nishikienrai, for locating it. Due to Momonga's leadership and cooperation with his guild members, it led to the guild being able to conquer the Great Tomb of Nazarick and shortly afterward, also acquiring a World Item called the Throne of Kings the same moment they cleared the dungeon. The dungeon would later serve as Ainz Ooal Gown's future guild base while dealing with the invasion of players intruding on their location.
On the other hand, there were other players who started to perceive the guild of heteromorphic races as evil beings that must be defeated at all costs. Hence, the guild members of Ainz Ooal Gown, including Momonga, thought that it was only proper for them to become real monsters. It was indicated during the players' invasion of their guild base that Ulbert suggested they should also act as final bosses unless the enemies were able to reach them.
During those years, Momonga and his guildmates spent most of their work and effort focused on building their guild weapon, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. In addition to that, Momonga and his guildmates created their own customized NPCs, which for him was Pandora's Actor. He made Pandora's Actor to not only preserve the identity of Ainz Ooal Gown, but to serve in protecting the guild's Treasury for starters. At some point in time, however, nearly 37 out of his 41 guildmates quit the game altogether, leaving the guild and giving away their player's equipment to Momonga. Not only did they quit the game, but they also deleted their character's avatar completely. This was due to the real-world issues that they had to deal with. He would later store most of his guild members' equipment in the Treasury for safekeeping. Momonga also made all of the Avataras in the image of his guildmates who quit the game.
Prior to them leaving the guild and YGGDRASIL, Momonga would return straight home after work every day and log onto the DMMO-RPG ahead of everyone else. It was something he did during the era when the guild was still actively thriving with plenty of members online. There, he would also begin making preparations in Nazarick before his comrades came online. He would summon numerous undead to protect himself as well as hire NPC mercenaries to hunt down monsters with the guild's goal in funding Nazarick. Extremely dedicated to the game, he was used to playing on his own most of the time when everyone else was offline or inactive in YGGDRASIL.
Since most of his guild members had already quit the DMMO-RPG, Momonga continued to stay behind and kept their guild base running. He had begun solo hunting areas and farming for things by himself to a nearly ridiculous degree to earn the gold needed to maintain the Great Tomb of Nazarick. The dungeon seemed to be in top-notch shape according to Herohero, as he apparently had taken notice of Momonga's efforts to manage it as their guildmaster. Herohero believed that Momonga's devotion to maintaining the dungeon for this long was in hopes that they would one day return to the game and play with him again. Because of that, he did not bother to build new friendships with other players and avoided them, as well as the high-difficulty areas he used to visit when his guild members were still around. Then, he would deposit his earnings in the Treasury before logging out. This had been his routine almost daily. As such, he did not have much contact with some of the NPCs and hardly knew a thing about them until now.
Nonetheless, the tedious labor Momonga had spent while maintaining their guild base financially had managed to paid off, as no players were able to conquer the Great Tomb of Nazarick even after the game's shutdown. This also applied to the number of times and efforts he put forward into the game to prevent the guild's rank being formerly 9th from dropping any further than 29th as its current ranking. Strength-wise, Momonga did it all on his own as he was the only manpower who happen to be active daily within the guild.