This Week in Anime
Does Ranking of Kings Nail the Landing?

by Steve Jones & Monique Thomas,

Wit Studio's sweeping fantasy series wrapped up this season. Did it live up to its expectations to be one of the best series of the year?

This series is streaming on Crunchyroll and Funimation

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed by the participants in this chatlog are not the views of Anime News Network.
Spoiler Warning for discussion of the series ahead.


@Lossthief @mouse_inhouse @NickyEnchilada @vestenet

Steve
Nicky, it only took an entire month's worth of free time, but I've finally finished Elden Ring! And as good as it was, I'm ready to move onto something different. No more stories about decrepit demigods, powerful giants, crumbling kingdoms, crafty mages, deals with the devil, undying guys in weird overly decorative armor, ri—

Ah, crap.
Nicky
I too, enjoy Kirby games.
That's a good point. Video games do indeed contain multitudes. But so does Ranking of Kings! Which not only just finished up, but also stars a protagonist at least as adorable as Kirby.
And potentially just as powerful! Bojji really is a contender for one of the Best Boys in anime. But is he strong enough to hold up the rest of the show?! We'll find out with the second half of Ranking of Kings!
Yeah, it's been a good while since we last checked in with the little guy. I don't think we had even gotten to see his tiny killer thumbtack in action. A lot has happened since then, and the second cour certainly did evolve into a much different beast than the first—perhaps necessarily so, but also not necessarily to its overall benefit.
The first half held a promise of adventure, political machinations, and fairytale-esque wonder. But after entering the underground for training with King Desha's brother, the cunning Despa, and then swiftly exiting to defend Bojji's home kingdom from the evil doings of the witch Miranjo controlling a group of freed dangerous criminals, I've found the second half to be mostly a straightforward series of battles interweaved with backstory for our antagonists.
It's tough! That first half is a really difficult act to follow, with each episode feeling like a new revelation that expanded our understanding of Bojji's world. The problem is that you eventually have to tie all those threads together into a coherent narrative with a middle and an end. That's an unenviable task I'm sympathetic to. But that sense of wonder is one of the second part's big casualties.

And there are plenty of other casualties because a lot of people sure do get stabbed.

The second half is both more straightforward plotwise but it's much less focused than the first as it's juggling a lot more pieces, motivations, and characters. There's a lot of battles and Studio WIT does a great job of delivering them. Lots of side characters get their own time to shine in the fighting ring. Even Queen Hiling gets a piece of the action with her super strong healing powers at play! As casual viewing, it's a fun watch and the animation mostly delivers with how many fights there are. Some look better and worse than others.
I love Hiling so much. Having a character around who can heal pretty much anyone back to full health would feel like a narrative cheat code if she didn't sell the sheer exertion of it so well. Nobody in the anime grimaces better than her.


Plus I adore the goofy bell-shaped armor she wears to hide her many pouches of mana-infused Ecto Cooler. Queen of slurping.
She's so on point, she's my second favorite character after Bojji even though she has a mean introduction. The show goes through a lot of lengths to show how she really just cares about being a good mom to her sons and that means you really don't want to see her get murdered. Ranking works best when it keeps things simple and Hiling is a good example of that. I also think her and bodyguard Dorshe are cute together, but so is the lady knight Ann. We also saw Hiling pushed to her limits here and as we see, she can't really do things like replace limbs, or eyeballs.
You're right, she does get to enjoy the best of both worlds when it comes to hot and strong vassals. It's good to be the queen.
This is bisexual culture. Also, both of them are WAAAY better than her husband Bosse who has taken over the body of their younger son, Daida through magic forbidden blood rituals involving a Corpse Slushie.
One of the things Ranking does very right is really dig into the fact that Bosse was not a great guy. Not evil, but not good king material either. And DEFINITELY not a great dad. Dude stole his one son's body and stole the other's strength before he was even born! I don't know anything about parenting, granted, but I don't find that very cool.
It's actually kind of hard to get why so many of the Four Pillars respect him other than his brute strength. In the first half he's shrouded in mystery and I can't say the second half really deepens his character. Like, I guess he killed some orcs at some point? I wanna know his tax policy.
I mean I guess he put out that fire once. That was nice. Still doesn't make up for all the son crimes though.
or daughter crimes, apparently, or war crimes, really a lot of crimes happening.
It's funny, too, that almost all of his issues can be boiled down to a single line of dialogue he exchanges with Bebin.

Ladies, if he describes you like this, DO run away and DO NOT trap your soul inside a magic mirror in a misguided gambit to spend eternity with him.
Miranjo was equally shrouded in mystery for the first half. Her motivation seemed to stem out of pure love for Bosse but of what nature it's hard to tell. They seemed to have a bit of a tragic romance vibes to them, but the show never really clarifies and then Bosse says that and it becomes very confused what the audience is supposed to think of them. Like yo, she killed Bojji's mom in front of him!! Before she gets attacked herself.
Oh yeah, that's probably the gnarliest scene in the entire season, and that's saying something considering about half of it revolves around fighting a guy who can reconstruct his entire body back from being pummeled into black goo. But mini-Bojji getting soaked in his mom's blood as she shields him with her body is ROUGH.

And she's not too happy about it either.
At first, I was trying to give Miranjo benefit of the doubt, as a witch, and one who lost her body, I really expected to be able to parallel her to Bojji's disability struggle and ostracization as a witch. But that's not really what happens?

Not that bad and horrible things don't happen to her but the explanation is uhh...messy....
To put it lightly, lol. So, the "problem" that Ranking runs into comes from a well-intentioned place that prioritizes empathy and forgiveness for its villains. Nothing wrong with that, that's a tried, true, and noble place to approach conflict from. Unfortunately, Miranjo does a lot of rancid stuff, so the narrative, presumably, believes it has to put a lot of extra work into making her sympathetic. And doubly unfortunately, the best answer Ranking comes up with is inventing an entire nation of evil cowards who live to be subjugated and possess literally no redeeming qualities.
That also happened to be heavily similar to the real-world historical Korea and Miranjo's people clearly are an analogue for Japanese people who can use magic. And then use that magic to "help" these poor backwards people who should clearly be grateful for their generosity! And then it's Oops! All Historical Revisionism!! King Bosse reveals the backstory of these two nations in his Mind Palace Theater, and it's generally hard to swallow how the story makes this comparison at face-value once you realize what it is. It's not presented with any subversive commentary and while Bosse has no reason to lie, he's also an asshole. He's also obviously biased due to his guilt from killing Miranjo's unnamed wizard father with his club.
It's a big gross mess that turns Ranking's entire thematic argument into a house of cards. Everyone in the world is complicated and capable of both good and evil—except for THESE assholes defined solely by their nationality in the most convenient colonialist terms possible. It sucks! It's so beneath the series' usual sensitivity that it boggles the mind to imagine such a huge blind spot.

And like, it already DID the whole "purportedly evil clan that actually turns out to be misunderstood" with Kage's people. The story clearly knows that prejudice always belies injustice. Which just makes the Gyakuza stuff all the more frustrating.
And worse, it makes you doubt the creator's intentions with depicting such a tale so callously once you realize the parallel. Such beliefs aren't uncommon in Japan among right-wingers and are used to discriminate against Korean diaspora. Depiction isn't necessarily belief but it should be done carefully. For those who want further reading can check Lynzee's episode reviews (Episode 18, specifically) and this article.

Honestly, it's an extremely small part of the show that'll likely fly over people's heads that are unaware of the history but turns out to be a MASSIVE bummer once you recognize it. It's also too complicated to linger on for the scope of this TWIA for how separate it is without taking up the whole column, but it really shouldn't be ignored.

Even if we assume the best case scenario, it's still lazy writing that handwaves Miranjo's many mistakes away as a product of her suffering at the hands of actual monsters. She and the Gyakuza people both deserve richer characterization than that. And I mean, I do like the idea of Bosse and Miranjo developing this unhealthy codependence in response to their trauma, and I think it's good to explore how it spirals into such a disaster. Just wish the foundation wasn't built on the narrative equivalent of a peat bog.
You don't really need the parallel for that though, and having Miranjo come from a privileged group doesn't really make me sympathize with her more, and I didn't need it to sympathize with her. I could already tell she had a lot of problems from Daida's perspective inside The Sunken Place. But honestly, even if it wasn't there? I didn't really feel convinced by the rest of their backstory either, especially with the aforementioned vagueness around their relationship. And I'm a sucker for found families!
Honestly, the underworld bros ended up with a more compelling background for their current familial woes. Miranjo and Bosse make literal deals with a devil, but Desha, Despa, and Ouken each gamble away a piece of their soul in order to usurp the throne from their tyrannical dad, and it takes a toll on all three of them and their relationship.
And we get much less time dedicated to them. Which is a shame because most of the actual episode count is trying to figure out how to get around Ouken's terrifying power of immortality and loss of sanity/humanity. Honestly, the fights with Ouken feel the most drawn out, but I ultimately like the reasoning behind it and they're always well choreographed and an immortal fighter is the pure kryptonite to Bojji's pacifist technique.
I like that he keeps his dapper little mustache even when he becomes an unholy immortal stain on Creation.

But yeah, I also wish his goo didn't soak up so much of the second half's runtime. Like, the whole cour being just the siege on Bosse's castle is such a step down from the first cour's travelogue exploring the high and low extremities of the world. Tho I guess Bojji and Despa do visit the River Styx at one point, which counts for something.
I don't even mind all the groups running around, I loved seeing King Desha come in with all his glorious Waluigi-ness and try to assess the situation within the castle only to run into Domas' party of two who are trying to do the same. They confront each other only for Domas to get totally humiliated and kicked in the balls and also crying and also a lot of stupid things that maybe stimulates the morosexual part of my brain like when a man asks what the Spanish word for tortilla is.
Domas' penance for pushing Bojji into a bottomless pit is that he now gets owned at every possible opportunity, and I think that's only fair.
You gotta constantly dunk on men to cleanse the toxicities, until they become full Himbos. But even the show doesn't entirely let him off the hook. Bojji feels conflicted when he sees him and I really liked how the show doesn't push him to forgive someone who betrayed his trust even if he's truly very sorry and isn't going to do anything to hurt him anymore. Which is a lot more scrutiny than Miranjo gets tbh. Despite being a much smaller conflict, it's an important conflict for Bojji and really displays his growth and the support he gets from others.
All the Bojji-centric stuff remains top-notch, really. He takes a step back, just because there are so many other characters with so many other problems that need to be addressed, but Bojji still shines like the star he is, even when he has to tackle the toughest decisions head-on.

He also leads the best action scene in the whole dang season, fighting a literal and metaphorical battle against his giant dad with perspective tricks, fireworks, and foreshortening aplenty.


Man, Studio WIT is really good at animating tiny people fighting big people for some reason.
Episode 21 is basically a full episode of pure undiluted animation. One of the biggest displays of raw artistic talent of any show this season. And this was already on TOP of having one of the most beautiful and banger OPs that's somehow even more stand-out than the first one!
That's the impeccably talented Shingo Yamashita on OP2. If you enjoyed either of the Jujutsu Kaisen OPs, you'll easily recognize his style, but the additional softness he layers on to fit Ranking's tone elevates it to a whole 'nother level. I only have to think about certain cuts from that OP and I start welling up. It's that good.
The ED's no slouch either. And focuses on Kage's ever adorable support and loyalty to Bojji in a charming picture book style.
Oh yeah Kage is still incredible, of course. Love this little fried egg with all my heart. He might just be a support character, but this being a show about the importance of having support, he's an invaluable cast member.
He's such a good egg. He also got one over Ouken once and saved everyone. And even got to talk to his momma egg in the underworld.


And it's all that little stuff that makes it hard to dislike Ranking even when it flounders. Besides, production and pacing, it's a breeze to watch, especially week to week like I did. Watching an episode was never a bad time and it's only when I had to start scrutinizing some of the show's logic that some parts didn't hold up.
Yeah, for every "Daida marries Miranjo," we get a heaping handful of lovable moments like Kage realizing the despair of having to live like a responsible adult, so the series' net goodness remains positive through the end.

Though it doesn't mean those parts aren't a bit of a blight either. Ranking went from a bonified S-tier show to maybe a B-tier, and at worse a C-tier show, and it flips based on whatever particular moment my brain chooses to focus on. There's still a lot of it that didn't really make a lot of sense or felt undeveloped for me, some of the cast members could've been utilized or explored more or simply didn't feel necessary. I could've gone for more Snake Dad Bebin but he and most of the Four Pillars, don't ever really end up having a whole lotta impact despite having a lot of set-up.

And a lot of other sections of the plot feel like they wrap too neatly to feel satisfying.
Like, seriously, I've never related to Hiling more. What the hell, man. Didn't we just do a whole arc about why rushing into a messy codependent relationship with a monarch wasn't exactly the best thing for Miranjo? And now you wanna put a ring on your magic mirror buddy right after she tried to turn your body into a Volvo for your dad? Forgiveness is good and all, but let's maybe pump the brakes.
Also, DAIDA IS YOUNGER THAN BOJJI!! MIRANJO IS LIKE AN ADULT?! I think, it's hard to tell with the art style and the unclear timeline of events. And also Daida maybe is similar to Bosse in many ways including his confused relationship with Miranjo where he sees her as a mentor and something to be protected? It's all sorts of hecked up. And everyone else besides Hiling who is an overprotective mom figure is just...cool with it? Even Bojji is just fine with it! Look, just because she suffered in the past doesn't mean she'll be held accountable, or that everyone hurt by her will be okay with it. See what I mean by earlier when Domas is held more responsible for a single attempted murder vs Miranjo's laundry list of suffering? Some of which is very personal!
It ain't great, and it's a testament to how much I like most of the rest of the anime that I can still count it among my favorites from this season. And, to be fair, it's not like Ranking's source material stops here, so maybe some of these concerns will be addressed eventually in the story. Like, it's funny that it takes almost the entire length of the show for the title to become relevant again, which is, admittedly, a pretty good hook should we ever get a sequel. Makes you think it might have a compelling master plan after all.
Also we got this one glimpse of Hilling holding her two beloved children right before that so maybe it's Good Actually.
Beaming with powerful mom energy.
I also maybe have a whole folder of Domas' stupid dumb face crying and/or blushing because some people on the animation staff keep trying to feed me (a mistake). I am a woman of simple needs and 2/3rds of them can be covered by looking at some drawings of really attractive anime characters.
See, that's me, only with pictures of Despa and his loyal steed.
I see no difference. I also really do love how it wraps things up for Bojji's character arc. You can see how much everyone comes to grow and respect him and his true strength of character.
Could he be a great king? He sure as heck could, and he proves it. Would he rather go on more adventures with his flat and prone-to-tears buddy? Yes, and he is correct to do so. Bojji is more than a king; he's a good friend.
That's a good place to leave the show on. I admit, I'm still invested in the wider world that I wouldn't be against coming back for more, but I'd also be more wary of the execution with how everything got handled. But on it's own, this much is satisfying. Let's all give three big cheers for our boy,

Bojji!!

Hip, Hip, Hooray!!

Have a good one, kid!
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