Hello my friends.
Ranking of Kings
Genre: Fantasy, Comedy, Slice-Of-Life
Studio: Wit Studio
Welcome to another entry of my blog.
Now. I finished early, and right now, I have the opportunity to watch an anime that really got me from the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. Well… I really wanted to watch this from a very long time, but it wasn’t during the season of the Crunchyroll Anime Awards that I deciced to try.
Once more, the title says it all. As well as this adorable face.
Behold…
I must be honest first. I was not able to watch as much episodes as I wanted, but I managed to watch the first one, as well as some clips on YouTube of this fantastic anime, and hopefully, for the occasion, that will be enough to give a sincere, complete opinion about Ōsama Rankingu.
Anyway… Before I start, I must ask again the typical question, my friends.
Are you guys ok? Feeling healthy?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
Then, let’s ensure God save the King in Ranking of Kings.
PREMISE
Based on the manga written by Sosuke Toka, and published by Echoes and Enterbrain, Ranking of Kings (王様ランキング) tells the story of prince Bojji, the first son of the legendary King Bosse and crown prince of the namesake kingdom. Bosse is a giant that was once the strongest man on earth, in other words, a legendary hero. The problem with Bojji is that he is the opposite of his father, he is deaf, weak, and physically inferior, which is why many people inside Bosse consider him unfit for the throne. One day, Bojji meets Kage, the last surviving member of the Shadow Clan of Thieves that once ravaged the kingdom of Bosse; Kage robs Bojji, or at least he thinks, because Bojji was willingly giving his belongings to Kage. Better still, Bojji can read Kage’s lips, allowing them to communicate to each other. From that encounter, Bojji and Kage start living adventures around the Bosse Kingdom to become stronger, and becoming the greatest king ever existed.
By the way, the term «Ranking of Kings» refers to a system, in which an assembly that represent the Gods rank the monarchs based on their power and their prosperity, and the one who reaches top is endowed with the Divine Treasure Vault, a ginormous power doted with amazing treasures and divine gifts.
However, the ranking of kings is the cause of the madness of many kings.
Finally, there are judges that evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of the kingdoms.
Now I am using a lot of images for the anime, I will talk about this later.
But first I must clarify that Ranking of Kings started publication on May 20, 2017 (Happy Fifth Anniversary), and as of May 2022, it has compiled thirteen volumes.
The studio that brought us Ousama Rankingu was none other than Wit Studio, which does not need presentation, especially after producing Vinland Saga, Vivy: Fluorite Eye’s Song.
And our top anime of the spring/autumm of 2022, along with Cloverworks.
Moreover, Ranking of Kings was released between October 21, 2021 and March 25, 2022, for a total of 23 episodes, and Bojji was awarded Best Boy at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards of 2022, beating Odokawa from Oddtaxi, or Senku Ishigami from Dr. Stone, season 2.
Finally, Ranking of Kings was written by Taku Kishimoto (Erased, Haikyu!!, Fruits Basket), and the music was composed by MAYUKO.
STORY
One of the first elements that hooked from Ranking of Kings was the one that probably most of you also noticed beforehand. The animation. In my personal opinion this animations looks so… retro. I remember, when I was a child, that there was an anime version of Tales from the Grimm Brothers, that I used to watch a lot, and when I saw Ranking of Kings, the first thing that came to my mind was the Grimm Fables.
Look.
Or we also have Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds.
Honestly, every time I think of Ranking of Kings, all these retro cartoon and anime come to my mind. It is like Sosuke Toka saw these anime as a child and decided to pay a tribute to them through Ranking of Kings. In fact, all the story feels like a fable form either Grimm Brothers or Hans Christian Andersen, the clothes, the setting, the atmosphere, the fantasy, and the morale.
I said once and I will said it again… Ranking of Kings is a beautiful fable that understands the feeling of our childhood memories, at least in my opinion. I hope I am not the only one who thinks like that.
Now, from now one, I will base the rest of my thoughts from the first episode and what I could watch so far from YouTube. I really like the introduction to the system of ranking of kings done on the first seconds.
You tell me that this is not epic!!
Also, the chemistry between Bojji and Kage feels really authentic. At the beginning you got this feeling that Bojji is extremely naive, if not dumb, for the way he addresses to Kage, giving his cloths, as if he does not really understand his position, but then, you slowly noticed that Bojji has bigger abilities and is more self-reliant than you think, as well as his heart, because not everyone in the Bosse Kingdom will do what he did for Kage. Also, there is part in which all the citizens of Bosse make fun of him because of his deafness, and he acts as stoic as possible. But then…
As a matter of fact, the episode clarifies that itself.
It is really amazing.
And then, the episode goes to introduces us some of the other characters, Prince Daida, Bojji’s half-brother; Queen Hilling, Bosse’s second wife, Bebin, Daida’s mentor, Domas, Bojji’s mentor, and of course King Bosse, who will reveal his past as the story progresses.
And from there, the world-building of Ranking of Kings become wonderful.
I didn’t feel like that with a fantasy non-isekai anime of 2021 since…
CHARACTERS
Like I just said, Ranking of Kings has a lot of interesting characters that the series will take its time to introduce and develop better. But for now, I want to follow four in particular.
Queen Hilling, who presents herself as a harsh, ruthless queen consort, but then you will discover that she is more than what we see.
Daida, one of the best swordsmen of Bosse Kingdom, to the point that he defeated his own mentor. And that has, in my opinion, one of the best moments of Episode one.
And finally, both Bojji and Kage. Definitely he is an excellent main characters, because he is so well-written. He is a good reference of how a character with disability should be constructed. Introducing to the fans the main weakness, the one that our main protagonist must overcome, and then… his strengths, in an unique way that immediately establishes the identity of our lead, naturally wishing us to know more, to go with Bojji on his journey.
And finally Kage, who… kind of reminds me of Inosuke from Demon Slayer.
Both are brash, impetuous, blunt and very brutally honest, but both are loyal and protective of their friends.
Probably the characters are not as memorable and unique as in Kimetsu no Yaiba, but are really beautiful.
CONCLUSION
Ranking of Kings is very entertaining and indeed one of the best fantasy anime of 2021, along with Mushoku Tensei: Jobless Reincarnation and To Your Eternity, and Bojji is one of the best male protagonists of the year. Pretty well-deserved award at Crunchyroll Anime Awards.
If you like the first episode, you will enjoy the rest of the anime. In fact, I should go and continue watching the rest. But until then, I have to say that you will enjoy as well.
But first… I want to choose a queen of my own. Who that could be? Perhaps… Lena Milizé?
No!! I already choose my queen. Mona Megistus, from Genshin Impact.
And the reason is pretty obvious.
The best, cutest, most perfect derriere of Genshin Impact!!!
I said it again!!! No regrets!!!
See you next time. And thanks for stepping by.
Jainituos Presents 