User blog comment:Dream Focus/Tolkien influences/@comment-26815449-20181128044642

This series is not just influenced by Lord of The Rings, fans have noted that this story also has many similarities to the board game Dungeons and Dragons.

For example, the "Beholder", the big floating eye ball with tentacles shooting spells and laser that we can see in the manga and soon in the anime, is something directly from DnD and not LoTRs. Moreover, "Demon Lord" is not something that exists in LoTRs, only in DnD and popular Japanese Light Novels.

It's true that this story has a lot of LoTRs Easter eggs, but there are other elements later as well.