Ousama Ranking

From a classic folktale (The Emperor's New Clothes) to an allegory that's worth more than a thousand words, absolutely NO ONE ever could've fathomed that mangaka Sosuke Toka's work would become more than just a classic underdog story. And instead, it took us the audience to new foundations and heights that really stand amongst the best of the best in the only way that this relative unknown author could've done, teaching us cases of human charateristics in morality, friendship, sacrifice and so much more that we just underestimated how grand everything just naturally works in every step of the way. Simply, wow, and I mean, ... WOW.

The thing that makes Ousama Ranking a.k.a Ranking of Kings work feels childish (or childlike rather) and tomfoolery, but trust me, it just simply works and exudes nothing but quality and quantity as the series progresses with each mysterious step into pure whimsical fantasy as one could get. And for a show that really is this coming-of-age story that's set in medieval times about a deaf boy becoming king and his Shadow companio escaping the treaches of malign, I'd thought that I was watching the game "A Boy and His Blob" come to life, and it is THAT engrossing to seal the deal about the protagonist Bojji and his companion Kage about their own life journeys. But what Sousuke Toka did to elevate a simple story, to simply say that we weren't prepared for what's to come, is truly an understatement to how this is a classic case of subverting tropes and naturally glossing them together to make a plot so life-manipulatively magnificent to knock our socks away. It's a tactic building upon tactics that just warrants you to pay VERY CLOSE attention every minute and every second, because one blink, and you'd miss a beat (unlike SOME people who just chooses to be ignorant and remain full of bias). Case in point, I would've never thought that the generic clash of "good vs. evil" will have that many metaphors built right into it, and Ousama Ranking is without a doubt, the new master in knowing what makes the core theme work without having to fall behind to tropes (y'know, just like all shows out there being so generically contagious). This adventure fantasy feels tight, slick, filled with all of the feelings and emotions that would wreck any viewer (plus yours truly), and above all, shines best in its own right that there's no equal out there that could match the likes of Ousama Ranking.

To wedge the knife cutting deep into the heartstrings, how does one manage to do character writing so deep and rich in philosophical humanity that there's always answers for every question? Only Sousuke Toka can do that, and for all the basis of watching Ousama Ranking in these past 6 months, I have felt nothing but happiness, love, sadness, anger, and the most important of all: the fear factor that continues to shake as the series progresses. Every character is not just a cardboard cut-out, because each and every one of them has a purpose to carry their own dreams and ambitions to the extreme points of sacrilegious lamentation, even going as far to the point of pursuing infighting when things go south. I don't wanna go too deep with the characters here, because that would make for an absurdly long essay that could match the likes of Wikipedia (and technically spoil the series for what's to come). But, make no mistake that from the simplest (Bojji and Kage) to the most complex (kings Desha and Bosse) of characters, nothing says more than rareified exquisity when human beings (plus a shadow) can very naturally be their imperfect versions of themselves the way they see others too, topping up with the mysteries of their own backstories that filled with tremendous amounts of weight that is both heartfelt and relatable. This is to the point where I can finally mention the currently famous meme out loud: *smack slipper on the floor* "E-M-O-T-I-O-N-A-L D-A-M-A-G-E"! And boy, Ousama Ranking is truly an emotionally damaging series for all the right reasons, which are layers upon layers of what defines perfect, yet imperfect humans, with no-nonsense "padding" drama.

Author Sousuke Toka's manga art style isn't the best and feels rough, and that's where Wit Studio under the guidance of debut director Yousuke Hatta comes in, and it truly elevated this unknown manga that has gone without an English translation right until the anime came out.

Speaking about Wit Studio first, the animation studio is obviously going through a transition phase that's leaning away from the days of Attack on Titan and (hopefully not) Vinland Saga. And what came out of it is a totally brand new Wit Studio that is once again ready to experiment on shows of other formats like Great Pretender, Vivy: Fluorite Eye's Song and the upcoming season's Spy × Family collab with CloverWorks, all while retaining the same quality that the studio has garnered the notoriety from all these years. And I still have to say that ANY Wit Studio production will never ever miss the mark when it comes to strikingly beautiful visuals and breathtaking animation, and Ousama Ranking is no different in that regard. Being a childlike fantasy that meanders close to Studio Ghibli's stories, and filled with an action-packed adventure that can rival studios like Ufotable and Studio Bind (because Mushoku Tensei really set the bar too high to insanity), Wit Studio always delivers, and delivers hard with passion and dedication to the craft that it's basically next to flawless at all.

And what's a studio without the dedication and hard work of the staff team behind Ousama Ranking, most particularly debut director Yousuke Hatta. Having worked as episode director with high-profile people like Shingo Natsume (One Punch Man S1, Boogiepop 2019, ACCA: 13) and Yuzuru Tachikawa (Death Parade), it left more than enough experience for the newbie director to execute his own craft in Ousama Ranking, and it really shows considering the unique and vibrant aesthetics with distinctive art style with simplified faces and expressive animation that fits well, almost the point of paying an omage within the lineage of the directors who helmed Sonny Boy and Mob Psycho 100 respectively. The staff team under Yousuke Hatta also MUST be given props for going above and beyond to adapt the manga up to 11, because it could not be said enough that this was a team effort that's a match made in heaven.

Most crucially, what's an anime without music, and while most cases the music always is anime's saving grace when everything else fails, but Ousama Ranking just clearly defies logic to present 2 sets of OSTs that just more than fits the theme and mood of the series. And while I prefer the 1st Cour's arrangement with King Gnu and yama, Vaundy and milet aren't slouch musical artists either, and all 4 songs are great in their own right. In the 1st Cour, the happy-go-lucky aesthetics served Bojji and Kage's journey well with King Gnu's OP song "BOY" which is one hell of a bop, and yama's ED song "Oz." that's a reference to The Prince of Oz to signify the symoblism of a not-so-simplistic fairytale journey. And when the 2nd Cour came in with Vaundy's "Hadaka no Yuusha", that's when all hell broke loose with a slow, but steady gung-ho song with the finest sakuga OP animation heralded by Jujutsu Kaisen's OP director Shingo Yamashita, it's yet another impressive work in the books and you can feel every inch of that influence. milet's ED "Flare" is a nice song to purposefully round things up as a whole, or should I say "People makes the world go round".

To say that Ousama Ranking is perfection, more than subjectivity and the classic tale of what it means to be an underestimated underdog's rise to success, I'd think that there's a better way to sum this show as a whole, and that's starting and ending with metaphors. See, this show has laid the hidden meaning of "A chain is only as strong as its weakest link", and putting this in Ousama Ranking's context, realistically sums it up as: "You're as strong as your weakest link." There is NOT a single shred of doubt in my mind that Ousama Ranking will be remembered for months and years to come, and it's the new, modern classic of jaw-dropping, awe-inspiring motivation at its finest.

Perfection is and will always be subjective; but to me, the beginning of Ousama Ranking is pure perfection. That’s the reason I’ve written my first preliminary review, just to tell you guys and to remember how amazing my first experience with Ousama Ranking was. Please note that my score may change in the future, but I am reviewing episodes 1 to 6 – and it’s a solid 10.

For starters, let me make it clear; Ousama Ranking takes place in a medieval looking world and looks like a fairytale. It is full of colour; green, blue, yellow, light brown. I think it’s adorable-looking and what we’d ... call the epitome of wholesomeness. That’s the reason some people compare it to Disney or Studio Ghibli – not me, anyway. To me, it’s a unique story with a unique execution, so far. It also has its dark side and there are always uncomfortable events happening, hindering the protagonists’ journey. I cannot describe the way evil is portrayed in this anime - the use of evil figures is mysterious, and there are always good-willed people that end up making evil deeds as well. But what makes this fairytale special is the feeling of hope it radiates, as well as assurance that there will be joy, love and positive or meaningful outcomes as the story proceeds.
Episodes 4-6 were darker and focused mostly on the world build up, which was something totally different from your average anime series. Until now, the story is full of morals and beautiful metaphors. The fantasy, as well as the emotional impact this anime succeeds in making always amaze the watcher. There's no doubt this show is special, its early near-9 mean score says it all.

The following paragraph contains some minor spoilers about the story and it is not really important in my opinion – unless you want to know some basic things that happen in the first episodes, I suggest you’d skip it.
With a powerful and emotional start that even made me cry at times, Bojji’s journey to becoming the king begins. Bojji is a kind-hearted child, but there’s something that makes his life harder; he’s deaf and incapable of speaking clearly. He is one of the two sons of the kingdom’s king, who is seriously ill. His little brother, Daida, does not believe in him and acts egoistically, looking for ways to sabotage Bojji and become the next king. Almost nobody believes in Bojji, but fortunately, he is not alone. He has made a new friend; Kage, who is a small black, mysterious creature with an interesting backstory I am not going to spoil. As the story proceeds, it is clearly seen that many characters such as Daida, his mother, Bebin, Domas are deeper than they seem and hide a side that's not easy to be seen from the first episode. This kind of character writing is written with care and uses an effective technique to make the audience excited with plot twists unexpected turns of events. But like I said, this paragraph was not important because you can’t feel Wit studio’s great execution just by reading about it.

The soundtrack deserves to be mentioned too, especially the OP and ED songs. The famous Japanese band King Gnu, who are one of the most popular j-bands out there due to their huge success with Hakujitsu, return to anime after their debut on Banana Fish (2018). Their OP is great here, but yama’s heartwarming ED is even more amazing to me; the song fits the anime so well that it makes the end of the episode even more emotional.

To summarize Ousama Ranking’s introduction, I’m already convinced this is going to be an unforgettable anime. Even if it is set in a fantastic world, its morals are touching and important for our 21st century society which, at times, may not be as developed as it should be. So, have a seat and enjoy Bojji’s journey until the end. You will definitely love that little boy and his story.

Ousama ranking had almost everything going against it, a very poorly planned release schedule of Oct 15th which made it get overlooked as it got a release date which was a bit late, A very childish and plain art style that made a lot of folk mistake it as a children’s show.

it’s kinda funny because the show is about the underdog’s rise to success, the anime also kind of falls in the same underdog of the season category xD.


It’s hard for people to not get invested in an underdog story, there is always this magical feeling we get when the underdog beats the favorites ... against all odds, it’s hard to describe but it’s truly special(Leicester city anyone ?). So the first episode does a very good job of establishing bojji , the main character as the underdog of the story, now this could have made it a good anime by itself, but I guess I underestimated the scale and ambition of the creators.


The underdog is just different, actually not weak. bojji has his own strengths, He is is no underdog it’s just he was born and built differently. The show boldly retconned its own ending and gave us something really fresh. We are all guilty of believing that bojji stood no chance and the interesting twists it provides are more than enough to make up for the retcon.

People may be moved by the emotional aspect of the story but for me, the story is what sealed the deal! The usual tropes are played brilliantly to make us get used to character archetypes but then it boldly shatters them all. It gets hard to differentiate ally from foe. All the characters are complex and not actually the one-dimensional archetypes they seemed to be in their initial introductions. The heavily Disney-inspired art style may cloud your judgment but there is no GOOD and EVIL person in here there are just, people.

I tried my best to highlight this hidden gem.
Now for the review,


Art and animation (9/10) Honestly, a very tough call to make by the mangaka and Wit studio. The art style is low budget sure, there is no doubt it is inspired by Disney movies of old. However, I believe it does a very good job of creating preconceived tropes about certain characters, And then breaks these tropes royally XD, It almost feels like it snubbing Disney lol. The animation is very tame during action scenes. Fluid and well-choreographed swordplay realistic and common sword/spear techniques even us common folk are aware of are used and definitely set the fact that despite appearances the show is really High budget, and the animators behind it (Wit studio is already pretty famous for its quality)clearly know their stuff.


Story(10/10) by far, the strongest point of the entire anime, the plot may be simple at first kings are ranked according to their ability in multiple aspects, which serves as a very grim reminder of how unlikely a candidate bojji really is. However, the story suddenly and quite brilliant transitions into a much deeper mystery, I will prefer not to dive into it because it is best if you experience it by yourself.

Characters (9/10) tropey at first, Although there is a lot more to them than seems to be. No one character is truly unlikeable. This is like game of thrones pre-season 6 level good characters. Every character is neither good nor bad, everyone does everything for a reason, There is deceit, betrayal, redemption, and more! The show does what many others fail to do - make the characters human. There are some force sob stories that may break the realism at some points but that’s just me I guess.


Sound and VA (10/10) Bojji is a mute and deaf kid, the use of sign language in this anime is pretty apt and very well done. The VAs do their part rather well the emotions really can be seen in their voices during tense scenes and add a very good depth to emotional scenes.OP is fantastic and hassome really good music the art and animation in it are also very polished and well done (although I feel the lighting in OP is much better than what we see in the actual anime which kinda sucks). The ED is also a very good song and a personal favorite, but the art in it is rather weak.



This anime is really good I can recommend it to everyone without hesitation, if it is able to have a firm grasp on its story and characters like it has so far, I can assure you it has the potential to be one of the greatest anime series to come out in all time and surely the rating so far reflects that. It tends to have cliffhanger endings so if you can wait, wait for all episodes to come out and binge away.

TL;DR Ranking of Kings had several amazing first few episodes and if the rest of the series followed it could have easily been a 9. There were legitimate stakes, the mystery surrounding the characters was intriguing, and the struggles of the protagonists were well handled. The middle half of the show is not as gripping as the first handful of episodes. Character motivations get spelled out for the most part and they do not live up to the mystery and intrigue shown at the beginning of the show. There are also issues with pacing, an overuse of tropes, and some characters getting completely shafted in ... terms of development and screen time. What follows is a resolution that does not fix the previous issues and instead makes weirdly questionable decisions morally.

There are also some badly injected takes on real world events concerning Japan and Korea that paint Korea as one-sidedly evil. The politics do not apply to most viewers; however, they are concerning when viewed in a vacuum.

The art style invokes that of a clean looking storybook fantasy and holds up for the most part. The opening and ending songs and visuals are stellar throughout the run of the show as well.

I don't normally watch shows as they air, but Ousama Ranking's first half had me gripped to the point where I wanted to see everything that followed as it unfolded. What I got was disappointment. Below is a much more in depth look at why I feel this way. Spoilers are present to fully explain why I gave this show a 5.

------------Story and Characters - 5------------

What initially drew me to Ranking of Kings, the story, starts out with immense promise. Two competing sons for the right to the throne; Bojji, the designated successor yet crippled from birth as well as kindhearted and talented in his own right. The other Daida, a younger stronger and much more arrogant prince. The first few episodes of the show revolve around who supports which prince, with each character having various stated and unstated reasons for doing so. Characters with development at this point were multilayered and had compelling individual struggles.

The protagonist Bojji struggles to fit in because he is weak, small, gullibly kind, deaf, and mute. He finds a friend in Kage who recognizes his will and talent in combination with his kindness as something great. The sword master in charge of Bojji struggles between loyalty to his master and the potential he saw in another. Queen Hilling was shown at first to be harsh towards Bojji for his gullible demeanor and fully supported Daida over him, yet it is also shown how much she truly cares for him as her son. The mysterious Spear Master and Snake Charmer had their own reasons for being loyal to Bojji and Daida respectfully with each showing potential for further development. Daida himself is power hungry and craves to be as strong and as great as his father. Together with a magic mirror giving advice, Daida was willing to do anything to cement his rule. When first watching the show, I was not sure what to expect from any of the characters and I found myself pleasantly surprised at the quality of writing despite the simplicity of the premise. Eventually, the contention between the two princes is put on hold and the rest of the show starts to slowly falter.

There are many debates as to whether or not the second half of the show is worse or not. Some say the quality is the same, some say it is not. I'd say the second 2/3rds of the show start to show significant problems and do not hold up overall. There are a handful of reasons for this being the character developments, the plot as a whole, pacing, the political allegory, and the tropes used.


-----SPOILERS------

Starting with minor complaints, some segments of the show focused one-sidedly on either Bojji and Kage or people living in the kingdom. Some episode plots were paced weirdly and going up to two episodes with barely any development for Bojji's plot thread felt weird after seeing him every episode. Similarly, suddenly cutting to the kingdom which had been irrelevant for several episodes was also jarring at times. There are also multiple unresolved plot threads and characters introduced that go nowhere or are irrelevant. The source material is a web manga currently being published so I hope they eventually go somewhere meaningful.

As far as characters go, everyone from the underworld remains fine as a character, the spearman is the most compelling of the four knights and Hilling is fine aside from one aspect. The rest of the cast did not fare well in terms of development. The biggest aggressor to this is Kage, who started out as gruff yet supportive and ultimately ended up as nothing but a mouthpiece for Bojji. His troubled past led to a sour demeanor that eventually changed when he decided to support Bojji, which he did by protecting his life and paying for his training. After this, Kage does not do anything of note except talk for Bojji because he is mute, give play by play commentary during fights and altercations, and cry. Kage hardly ever shows off his once gruff personality, instead it feels as if he was created to serve as a way for the viewer to understand Bojji's every mumbled word. In particular, his emotional crying is overused to a ridiculous degree.

The swordsman tries to kill Bojji in episode 5 and then spends the next 18 episodes wallowing in pity over the fact that he betrayed his master. He went from driven and experienced to being lectured by every character in the show and being treated like a child. His student, a supporter of Bojji from the beginning, is portrayed as inexperienced and naive yet he is shown in a more mature and knowledgeable light than the swordsman on multiple occasions. In addition to this, the swordsman resorts to comical levels of self harm and pity on multiple occasions. Even after swearing newfound loyalty to Bojji, he constantly looks for ways to get himself killed in atonement even after multiple characters tell him he is wrong for doing so. What started out as an experienced tutor who questioned loyalty over potential was reduced to a bumbling sob story who can't decide between loyally serving, killing himself for redemption, or crying on the floor for forgiveness. In particular, his crying is overused to a ridiculous degree.

The spearman is the most compelling of the initially introduced knight cast, struggling between two factions of loyalty. This isn't particularly groundbreaking and his hypocrisy and wishy washy nature is even frustrating at times, but, comparing him to other cast members he oddly stands as one of the few mildly decently handled characters. Like others, he still breaks down and cries but not to the point of significant overuse.

The snake charmer does not get any character development aside from a handful of lines and scenes that show he is kind but pretends to be mean as a facade. He doesn't cry which makes him alright.

Last of the knights is the big muscleman in charge of protecting Hilling, he does just that and is one of the few characters to actually suffer consequences from being attacked. You could easily argue that this makes him the best character between the four knights which I find sad considering he barely has any nuance in his personality.

Overall, each of the knights showed promise at the beginning and by the end two were barely developed. One was bastardized from a multilayered man with ambition and drive into a devout Bojji afficionado who can't control his suicidal impulses or his waterworks, and only one of them ended up being passable as a character. An additional small gripe I have with all of them is that they decide to support Bojji over their king in the end. Even the Snake Charmer who was entirely in support of Daida and Bosse decides to support Bojji.

Speaking of Bojji, some find issue with the fact he went from essentially powerless to potently strong in a 4-episode training arc. Personally, I don't have issue with it because the logic behind why it worked flowed well. Bojji was initially already very swift, he was just taught how to take advantage of that. I don't have many issues with Bojji as a protagonist, but he does cry too much for emotional scenes to feel effective.

I do take issue with the fact that nearly every single one of his doubters form the beginning changes their tune with ease. Bojji went from misunderstood as stupid and naive to being seen as a driven saint compared to everyone else. I wish that other characters were not as quick to immediately fall head over heels for the newly strong Bojji.

Daida is betrayed by the mirror and locked away and his consciousness in his body is replaced by Bosse. During this confinement Daida has a complete change of heart from entirely ruthless to sobbing over the misfortune of the brother he ordered executed. The Mirror, a woman named Miranjo. becomes the primary antagonist. Bosse is left ambiguous for most of the show, all that was known about him was that he was a strong king. Through flashbacks, we find out that Bosse one dimensionally cared about strength and the relationships he developed aside from Miranjo were all superficial. There isn't anything inherently wrong with this development, however the writing concerning the events and how Bosse developed as a character leave much to be desired. All the loyalty and trust he inspired as well as the loving relationships he had feel hollow and pointless in the grand scheme of things. He claims to love Hilling and his sons yet could care less about their deaths. Bosse cried at least 4 times about Miranjo, yet he did not have a single emotional crying scene for either of his sons or wives. More meaningful content happened in flashbacks and past events than anything that Bosse did in real time during the story.

We also find out that Miranjo basically caused every single bad thing to happen in the entirety of the story. I wont go into specifics but Miranjo made Bosse a king because he made her happy. Then she wanted to spend more time with Bosse which involves stripping him of his kingdom so she tries to get everyone in his family killed. Bosse just sits back and agrees with this because all of his relationships are superficial. The ultimate resolution to this is Bosse rightfully dies and Miranjo is completely forgiven and Daida decides he wants to marry her. Daida decides to do this because he spent 17 episodes in a mental prison watching her past unfold. After watching the 3 to 4 year old and cradling her, he watches her grow up and develop feelings for his father. After all of this, he decides to marry her. This single development brought down the score of the show from a 7 to a 6 for me, it completely comes out of nowhere, is morally questionable, and the resolution for the cause of all their suffering is given a '''''happy''''' end. We are then left with the horrendous quote 'hate the sin not the sinner,' which is horribly ill fitting considering a particular aspect of the flashbacks shown.

Some argue that the author wanted each character to get a happy end and that is the purpose for why he wrote this story. There is nothing wrong with that, but the way he did it was horribly executed. In multiple flashbacks throughout the show, characters die, are disfigured, tortured, and have lasting consequences. During the real time events of the show not a single major character dies. There are multiple fake out deaths of which include multiple characters getting stabbed through the chest, given poison, ripped in half, mauled by beasts, and bonked on the head really hard. Every single one of these mortal injuries was cured by Queen Hilling's healing powers. By the third or fourth complete reversal of death on hilling's behalf it became apparent that there were literally no stakes in the second half of the show. Even towards the end when her healing abilities were spent and everyone was essentially dead everyone was miraculously brought back to life. The way in which this story was written established death and stakes before immediately backing out and taking away the possibility entirely.

Emotional fight scenes are undermined by the fact that they probably have no real stakes when the only shown stake can easily be fixed with healing magic. Emotional scenes in general rely far too much on characters crying, realizing the error of their ways and then resolving to change or just keep crying. It is easier to name members of the cast that do not break down and cry than it is to name each one that does. I have brought the subject of crying up multiple times because I personally believe that its overuse to a ridiculous degree was that detrimental to the quality of the show.


My final large complaint concerns the flashbacks to a conflict between two cultures. One culture is fighting for freedom and helps out a poor culture while the poor culture turns out to be entirely evil and sadistic and willing to betray the kind culture at the drop of the hat. What we are given is a thinly veiled allegory for Japanese and Korean conflict, with the Japanese depicted as the benefactors to an ungrateful and 'evil' Korean culture. I am in no position to lecture anyone on the morality behind the political allegory used in this show, however, from an outsider's perspective, the author let his politics get in the way of conveying a story. That awful quote from before 'hate the sin not the sinner' loses all meaning when you look at how the author portrays the Korean people. They are literally irredeemably evil and torture an innocent girl for the sake of doing so. The audience is not meant to sympathize them, but we are meant to sympathize with the girl they tortured who ended up doing just as many horrific actions because she wanted to make someone else happy. There is no moral ambiguity for the Koreans in the flashbacks, the audience is fully meant to hate the sinner in this case. Again, supposedly the author wanted a fairytale everyone is happy ending, yet he decided to make one sided ethnic racism a key component to his happy feel good story. I am in no position to lecture anyone on their politics but I found this incredibly distasteful and immensely detracting from the show.


------------ Overall 5 ----------

I really wish the rest of the series was as good as the first few episodes. The author wanted a happy fairytale where everyone got a good ending yet set the scene for a completely different story. Emotional development is reliant on crying, there are no real stakes, and characters are a mess by the end. The best part of the show is that the art style is clean aside from a few minor animation issues and the opening and ending songs and animation are good. If you can overlook those aspects, then maybe you'd enjoy Ranking of Kings. I did not end up enjoying anything past maybe episode 8, but those first few episodes were good enough to not bring this show down even lower.

Ah yes, another Manichean story that is taking advantage of- Wait, good characters? An interesting universe? No lines of expository and long-winded dialogues? An great production? What is it?

How can I set Ousama Ranking? Imagine if Yoshiro Kimura and Akihiro Hino in a bar, talks to create a story in collaboration, while Kimura would be in charge of creating characters and Hino a fantastic universe.

That's the only feeling I can get when watching a new episode of this show.

In the beginning the story that Ousama Ranking wants to tell is not original and I'm sure this will turn someone away, I felt that feeling ... at first of having a "medieval naruto" at first, but after seeing all the other episodes, I was happy to see the story following different steps than I would imagine. Of course, even though the story goes in different directions, still has clichés and although I was aware about it, the clichés are executed decently enough that the projection of the story isn't a demerit at all. I would say that this anime doesn't have a concrete "worldbuilding" but an "expansion" and I have to say that I felt immersed in the universe that Ousama Ranking demonstrated in a few episodes, it's a bit ironic that compared to the fantasy animes of the year, this is the universe that comes closest to a common PS1 decade JRPG than the most frustrating attempts of Light Novels, although it lacks a bigger construction, the passion the author has in exploring it through the perspective of Bojji, creating a conflict between a boy's innocence and a world ruled by adults turns interesting.

Ousama Ranking have two types of narrative regarding this universe, "show, don't tell" which was used very well in the first two episodes and "don't show, don't tell" during episodes 3 and 4, a lower quality than the first episodes, the main flaw of the anime, I assume that this is not the author's fault but rather the hasty adaptation of its events, events that are important and end up losing their impact and their moment breather to build individually.

Even with these flaws as an adaptation for few episodes, Ousama Ranking shows good qualities and I would say that a good part of them are the characters and how they drive the main plot, I would like to highlight the most interesting character of this show as Domas (yes, feel free to throw stones here) and the conflict is evident between empathy and loyalty in your actions, even though are a character that people hate, the writing is quite acceptable to develop your motivations for your actions and do so get into a conflict, the story working on a depth character like this fascining me, many of his characters do not have a derisory morality like "evil guy" and "good guy", breaking the chains of Manicheism, obviously Domas is not the only character but still is one of the biggest points of how this story is committed to building characters as it progresses with the plot.

Of course, the story has major flaws such as Bojji's deafness being quite incoherent which ends up facilitating the narrative rather than creating a challenge and the structure of flashbacks as a way of telling stories, the idea itself is not bad, but it becomes little repetitive on the structure of narrative, although the anime writer is struggling to make it "less repetitive", but in general I say that Ousama Ranking has more qualities that end up generating successes than defects.

Last week i told how Platinum End was manichean who made his whole beginning a complete trash and I didn't expect a shounen from the same season to break these patterns in an interesting way, some people might call this as something "predictable" but this doesn't impact the story in general, after all these are the points that provide layers to the characters and their qualities are evident in the trajectory, characters like Hilling and even Daida are getting construction and I value how the story establishes time for entire structure, Hilling as a character who promised to be an "evil generic stepmother" has become a human character given his connection to Bojji, although justifying the characters actions by flashback is such a common trope, I value the characters overall and how their actions objectively reflect the perspective of the world.

About the dramas, it becomes difficult for me to analyze, a lot of reasons from me being a rock for things like that and being aware of how authors exaggerate the concept, although personal reasons and even factors that include me not getting emotional, I always I try to look beyond this drama to focus on the characters. One of the reasons why Vivy turned out to be such a disappointing story for me is because the authors were more focused on creating a drama without a solid foundation of their characters (I've spelled that in my Vivy review, in case you want to read), finishing them all as superficials characters and without screen time. Here the opposite happens and I'm relieved about it, even if the drama is exaggerated it is possible to attribute value to what it provides to the characters, although part of Ousama Ranking does this (by an emotional protagonist) it is undeniable how much of it builds the characters and define a new stage for them to act, for example: characters like Hokuro, even though he is the least interesting character in the story, he gains his prominence based on backstory dramas, but his whole idea of ​​being a counterpoint to Domas is convincing, his actions and emotions are understandable thanks to what the drama provided, thus building part of your character for the climax event, obviously this is not something innovative but it is very conscious to be pleasant, after all it is a story that is willing to add layers to its characters.

The production is easily the most ambitious of Wit Studio in years and I'm glad everyone on the staff has enough passion to carry this show, the amazing backgrounds by the talented Yuji Kaneko and the simple designs by Atsuko Nozaki make an interesting combination, I talked little about Bojji and Kage, although they are protagonists with a solid story, much of what makes their stories convincing to the public is in the commitment to great animation, the smallest details are filled in thanks to a strong production team, details these like the person who cheated on Kage when he was younger crying after being killed, it can be quite "melodramatic" but it adds humanity without having to force a backstory or stuff like that, a very conscious writing by an author along with people who love animation doing scenes like these impactful.

I am not one to write reviews but I have to share how this made me feel. (EP 1 - 6 Review)

As time has gone on and I have aged, things haven't been so easy. Growing up becomes a chore and you're eventually stuck in this repeating cycle of wake up, work, eat, sleep. Things get hard so you box up your emotions as this is the only way you are able to cope with the difficulty that is life. With the little time I have after my work shift ends I normally sit in front of a screen and try to drown out ... any thoughts I'm having until it's time for bed. This time I decided I would flick on Funimation and chuck on whatever was recommended to me.

That's when I came across Ousama Ranking.

After the first episode, I was stern-faced and after the last, I sat tears streaming down my face flustered and frustrated at what this child has put me through.

Ousama Ranking's first 6 episodes had the effects of watching someone fall out of love with you. Surrounded by all the chaos and heartache you clutch on to the good times as ultimately you don't want it to end. You empathize deeply but understand that this is a learning experience. You cry due to the overwhelming sadness you feel but eventually you will smile at the beautiful times you shared.

Thank you for making this 26-year-old robot feel human again.


Rating: 10/10

Ranking of Kings was a standout in the roster of 2021 by looking like a European fairy tale. It also began as a typical underdog story about a weak prince nobody takes seriously trying to win his right to the throne, before becoming more elaborate by including themes such as psychological issues and political intrigue. Unfortunately it doesn’t do much from a point on and thus it never escapes the fairy tale vibe it began as. Most of the conflicts are resolved way too fast and in ways that insult your intelligence.

1) Selfish people and traitors will be changing their mind when they see the ... prince cry a lot or never give up, and will be forgiven almost immediately.

2) Bad guys are turned into misunderstood people with a last moment sad flashback that is making them tragic in an instant (even if they have caused harm to thousands of innocents) and are never punished.

3) Most negative consequences such as fatal injuries go away before you know it. Also fake deaths are abundant.

4) There is no sense of tension or high stakes when betrayals, horrible acts, and injuries can be undone so easily. It wouldn’t be a problem if the author never made it seem like stakes exist, but he does all the time and constantly deflates every conflict with cheap fixes.

It’s nice to see a show taking a more serious approach with its material, but let’s not pretend it does an exceptional job. The lack of negative consequences make it come off like yet another escapism fantasy for people who wish they will be forgiven for all the shitty things they have done, simply by crying a lot. We live in a society where someone can have his entire life ruined by eating a jelly bean, and the easiest method for making people forget all the crap you have done is to manipulate them through their emotions by crying in front of a camera. Ranking of Kings relies way too much on people crying for making you think they deserve a happy ending instead of punishment for all the crap they did, and it reaches levels of insanity the closer it gets to the ending. One of the characters is even given a marriage proposal as a reward for crying despite being the most horrible person in the world.

Also ignore anyone who considers this to be an instant classic or something as grand as that. It’s a very niche show that appeals to fans of fairy tales who seek something more elaborate. Most casual anime fans will not bother watching something that looks like a European fairy tale or will not be fond of a simple coming-of-age story they can find elsewhere, preferably with magical samurais and big titty ladies. As for the veteran watchers, they will most likely dislike how it gives a happy ending to people that deserve years in a torture chamber.

Ousama Ranking had a ton of hype, a passionate fandom and excellent reviews. The reviews mentioned, among others, a layered and nuanced story with deep, realistic characters and great originality. All those were nowhere to be found.

First of all, the positive: The art is very good. It looks a bit simplistic but it has nice, simple character designs, facial expressions and backgrounds and it is pretty fluid. Additionally, the worldbuilding is pretty interesting, the world looks vast and full of different peoples and places to explore.

Now, off to the negative.

First of all, the story is NOT realistic in any meaningful way. The anime is trying ... to show us that the protagonist is suitable to be the next king while he is a complete imbecile. It's not just that his body is weak and he is deaf and dumb, he is just stupid and completely unsuitable to be king, not making one correct decision. He only has the plot armor and the generic shonen trope that "he has heart". The guy is supposed to be something like 15 years old and he acts like a toddler.

Secondly, the other characters are also generic shonen stereotypes. Without getting into spoilers, there is the whiny rival type who will eventually accept the protagonist and join him against a common enemy, the tough looking but actually loyal and good guy, the silent badass and the useless sidekick who is a plot device to save the protagonist and spout out plot info. The main villain is the villain of a quite recent, vastly superior anime, which I am not naming in order to not spoil either anime, dumbed down for children. The only remotely interesting and layered character is the queen.

One other problem is that the anime doesn't even stick to its own rules. The deafness is NEVER important. Not only can the kid read lips but everyone speaks to him and they even shout out his name when looking for him. Also, in the rare action scene weapons costantly change size for no reason at all. Characters are saved by several Dei Ex Machina and there do not seem to be any real stakes. Also, the exclusive way the anime uses to convey character information is via long flashbacks. That's, in my opinion, the very opposite of nuance. In those flashbacks the characters are given generic, sad backstories and we are supposed to feel for them just because of that. Their actions still carry no weight whatsoever. Finally, they constantly use the greatly annoying trope of "Character sees something and has a shocked expression but you don't learn what he saw until 5 minutes later", and its best friend, "character whispers to other character, other character looks shocked and you don't learn what was said until later", as well as laughable cliffhangers as if that would make it suspenseful.

Despite all this criticism the anime is not rubbish. It looks good and is not terribly annoying to watch if you turn your brain off or if you are 12 years old. It's not actually horrible, just don't go in expecting anything even slightly mature or deep. It is a generic underdog anime to the bone and it's decent at doing exactly that. Just dont let the (for some reason extremely passionate) fandom fool you that you will be watching something special.

Ousama Ranking is an anime that seems to be more of the same, and yet it constantly leads you to a deviation from the story. At times it tends to seem exaggerated and ridiculous, and at others totally emotional and innovative.

Story 10/10: The story centers on Bojji, a weak and deaf prince who cannot even hold a children's sword. As his firstborn, he sustains his enormous desire to become the most powerful king in the world. However, the people around him refer to him disparagingly and have no intention of accepting him as king.

Characters 10/10: Here's a series that has real emotional depth and dramatic ... resonance. It is an anime where each action, thought and event of the characters are marked and are totally important since they show us their purposes and meanings.
This is where it separates from the rest of animes, when I tell you that no character is cliche or empty, they are all deep and contribute something to the story, they do things that one would not expect and constant changing relationships.

Art & Animation 8/10: In this I have to congratulate WIT Studio, they have been able to improve the art of manga and bring it to a totally beautiful and captivating reality. It is known to bring the contrast of animation for babies with a story for adults.
The art is totally striking and colorful, characters and backgrounds not so detailed and simple, but with surprising animation in the fights and general

Sound 10/10: The sound of this anime is just perfect, the soundtrack totally fits the anime, using instruments of the time or that take you to a "Medieval" world.
If you have not appreciated the soundtrack I would tell you to give it a try

Enjoy 1000/10: This anime leaves you hooked at ALL times, not only at the end of the chapter or at the beginning like many, it always leaves you wanting more and to know what will happen

Overall: I recommend this anime, I would be glad if it is something that all anime fans see and it is given the recognition it deserves

Ousama Ranking seemed rather childish to me at first,(and it still is) with its OP and the childish, rounded-out animation style; I watched it without many expectations, but it may just end up as the anime of the season!

With good, dynamic animation complementing its art style, it's quite a sight for the eyes. And story-wise, it uses a childish outlook accompanied by a subtle maturity that could be suitable for many ages.

I don't have much to say about the characters but the characters are absolutely amazing! the characters can make you cry for a happy occasion, it can make you sad and it can make ... you shocked because of what they did. only a few animes can make me feel those emotions continuously.

there is a reason why this has such a high rating so do give this anime a try you won't regret it also don't be fooled by the childish cover, this anime is actually classified as seinen.

seinen meaning -"Seinen anime and manga tend to be of a more violent and/or psychological nature than shonen series"

Spoilers

When a poster of a boy sitting on a throne wearing nothing but his underwear and a cape next to a shadowy figure whose unique design I’ve never seen before, you best bet I was intrigued. Scrolling through seasonal anime on MAL, this one quickly caught my eye. As I always do, I added it to my list and I wait. This one seems special, and I don’t want to dampen the experience by watching something weekly. But as the season went on, the show grew in popularity, and it rose to the top of the MAL charts. Now that intrigue has turned into interest ... and, dare I say, excitement. I’m not one to buy into the hype; I’ve been disappointed one too many times, but there was something mysteriously captivating about that poster. It was simple; it didn’t try to cram in the entire cast; it was itching my curiosity in a way I haven’t felt in a long time, inviting me to explore its world and story. After months of delayed gratification, there were finally enough episodes that I can comfortably binge, and so I did. What came of it? Well, I was already well-prepared to be disappointed, but certainly wasn’t prepared for the deep, emotional satisfaction this 9-hour journey Ousama Ranking put me through.

Holy fuck, the animation quality is on another dimension. Like what in the fuck am I watching? How is this even possible for TV anime? And guess what? Most of it is hand-drawn goodness. Unlike Attack on Titan, where they have 2D characters soar through a 3D landscape, the backgrounds here are hand-drawn. Watching all of these fight scenes, especially Prince Bojji vs King Bosse, was a sight to behold. Seriously, watching a hand-drawn background move around as Bojji flies through the air made me deeply nostalgic for no reason. And the actual fight choreography was nothing short of impressive. The movements felt crisp and had a good flow from action to action, but it was also snappy when it needed to be. I could actually follow what’s going on for once, and with none of the flashy nonsense we see in Demon Slayer. What’s even crazier is how the characters emote in the middle of a fight. I remember in the first episode, when Prince Daida had a spar with Domas using wooden swords, I could see the frustration building up in Daida, and then he shook his head to refocus. The way his cheeks moved in a goopy manner and the sweat flying off his face was so cool to see. And well, speaking of emotions, Ousama Ranking has some of the best crying animation I’ve ever seen. Crying is usually attributed to 1 or 2 emotions, usually overwhelming joy or grief, but really, crying can run the whole gamut of emotions. Be it frustration, anguish, or fear, the way tears fall and how the eyes and face contort communicate so much information visually that it’s hard to describe in words. It’s Wit Studio, so I’m sure they used CG here and there, but it was so well integrated that I legitimately couldn’t tell. Legit, whenever I thought I saw CG, I paused to stare at the freeze-frame, and I swear it was hard to tell the difference. I would go as far as to say Ousama Ranking has set a new production standard for other studios to strive for. This is some next-level KyoAni shit.

But enough gushing over the animation. It’s no good if there isn’t a good story to back it up, and I’m glad to say it does. First and foremost, Bojji and Kage’s relationship is a dynamic I don’t think I’ve seen before. Well, protagonist and mascot sidekick is something we’ve seen a million times (everyone knows Pokemon, right?), but Ousama Ranking has a different take on this trope. You see, mascot characters typically serve 1 function, and that’s to be cute. They’re only there as a pet that follows the protagonist around for emotional support, but these charas can get tiring after a while. Not only are they amorphous blobs that don’t take human shape, but a lot of them also have a vocabulary strictly limited to their name and some weird noises. Emotions are conveyed through facial expressions and tone of voice, so needless to say, these charas can only communicate a very limited set of simple emotions, but Ousama Ranking switches this up a bit. Bojji is deaf, so he can’t speak. Kage can speak, but has an amorphous body. This presents a unique challenge for both the animators and voice actors to convey emotions in a more expressive way, and I love it. Just the way these 2 charas act and interact breathes so much life into the show; it’s so much fun to observe such a refreshing dynamic. Bojji, being the one who can use facial expressions, serves as the emotional core of the duo, while Kage is the mouthpiece that connects them to the outside world. It’s a beautiful, symbiotic relationship that I can’t help but adore. Even after only a couple of episodes, when Kage disappears for an extended period of time, his presence was missed. I would like to point out that most of the characters have very literal, straightforward names. King Bosse is the boss of his Kingdom, duh; Queen Hiling is a healer, duh. Anyone who’s seen Naruto knows that “kage” means “shadow,” and well, Kage is literally a shadow…and metaphorically. Yes, all of these very literal names also have metaphorical implications, but most notable of them all is, of course, Prince Bojji himself. I’ve seen enough anime to know that “Bocchi” means “all alone” in Japanese, so Prince Bojji is literally--and metaphorically--all alone. And what happens when you’re all alone? Well, you’re only left with your shadow.

The story following Bojji is your typical shounen underdog packed with a hidden OP ability and hyperbolic time chamber, but considering how charming Bojji is as a character, this is hardly an issue. What’s more compelling is the unfolding conspiracy at his home kingdom and how each character plays a role in that conspiracy. It’s been a while since I’ve seen characters this multi-faceted. Some characters we believe to be allies, like Domas and Apeas, end up betraying Bojji at some point in time. Other characters that initially appear to be antagonists turn out to be our friends, like Hiling and Bebin. This makes the plot unpredictable in a way I enjoy. Not only are their motivations well-justified, but it also highlights how there are many angles to a given conflict. There are no “picking sides” in this story like you would see in Star Wars; there isn’t a “good side” and “evil side.” Real life is hardly ever that simple. No, there’s only the individual, and each individual has their own idea of what’s righteous and just; what one person thinks is “the moral thing to do” will hardly ever align with the next. Not only that, there’s a constant battle within each character to “do the right thing” and not cave in to their selfish desires. A good example is king Desha. In order to overthrow his tyrannical father, he was forced to commit genocide because it was the “right thing to do.” He experienced anguish and guilt over the atrocity, but how much of that was motivated by greed for power? It’s kind of impressive how pretty much every relevant character has a duality to them. Hell, the devil only wanted to stay pretty, and even the drunken no-life rando who raised Kage has a sympathetic side to him, and it really makes for a compelling story.

And probably the most sympathetic character of them all is Miranjo, who serves as an excellent foil to Bojji. They’ve both suffered a childhood riddled with betrayal and loss, but what separates them is that Miranjo caved into selfish desires. Miranjo lost trust in the world, while Bojji had the strength to forgive and the courage to trust his allies, both of which are fairly traditional western values. By the way, there’s a lot of Westen symbolism in here: David vs. Goliath, Snow White, Holy Mother Mary. I feel like I’m rambling at this point because I’ve only finished the show like half an hour ago and scrambling to organize my thoughts. Anyways, Ousama Ranking is a great show, and it didn’t disappoint. Thank you for reading.

One of the best anime of this season, not make an edgy bs story with kill character easily.

The art is beautiful, the mc is chad. Never blame anyone in his life, not like some stupid mc that try to kill everyone just because is different from him.

The movement is pure lethal, magnificent and cool when in the fight.

The most important thing is that you bored for some stupid mc, not grateful mc, harem bs, cool-hearten mc, some look-like style animation or some edgy anime that people called cool because the author just kill everyone, this anime is absolutely for you, man. Just try it at-least ... one episode.

Thanks for WIT studio to make this masterpiece.

This Review is in Brazilian Portuguese and English

The adaptation of Ousama solves the main problem of the manga, the artistic part. Because in the manga there is an excellent work of narrative and character building, but in general the manga designs are ugly, but then Wit nailed this work and delivered its wonderful team of directors and animators, who made something visually beautiful, keeping the essence of the original work, something that few studios get, so first I want to congratulate Wit Studio.
In the sound part, this will probably become the best work of Yasunori Ebina, sound director of Naruto and Promare, in this ... work he returns to the sound quality of these anime and does a great job.
The narrative is well constructed, based on the conflict of its characters, who generally have an excellent construction when they are chosen to have relevance to the story. So I would like to cite a construction of characters, the of mom, which is the stereotype of the evil mother, but in reality, here in Ousama the evil mother does what she does because she feels guilty for having brought a disabled child into the world, in a society that despises them.
Nothing is as it seems, and this is reflected both in the characters and in the narrative, full of plots and exciting twists, something that reminds me a lot of Aot, something that for me, Shingeki fanboy, I loved lol.
Finally, in just 6 episodes, Ousama Ranking managed to stand out and conquer its space as a work of the highest quality, something that so far is deserved, a true Masterpiece.


OVERALL: 98




PT-BR:


A adaptação de Ousama resolve o principal problema do mangá, a parte artistica. Pois no mangá há sim um excelente trabalho de narrativa e construção de personagens, mas em geral os desenhos do mangá são feios, mas então a Wit pregou essa obra e entregou sua equipe maravilhosa de diretores e animadores, que fizeram algo visualmente lindo, mantendo a essência da obra original, algo que poucos estúdios conseguem, então primeiramente eu quero parabenizar a Wit Studio.
Na parte sonora, esse provavelmente se tornará o melhor trabalho do Yasunori Ebina, diretor de som de Naruto e Promare, nessa obra retoma a qualidade sonora desses anime e faz um ótimo trabalho.
A narrativa é bem construída, baseadas no conflito de seus personagens, que têm no geral uma excelente construção, quando são escolhidos para ter relevância a história. Sendo assim gostaria de citar uma construções de personagens, a da mãe, que é o estereotipo de mãe malvada, mas na real, aqui em Ousama a mãe malvada faz o que faz pois se sente culpada por ter trago ao mundo um filho deficiente, em uma sociedade que os despreza.
Nada é o que parece, e isso é refletido tanto nos personagens, como na narrativa, cheia de plots e reviravoltas empolgantes, algo que me lembra muito Aot, algo que pra mim, fanboy de Shingeki, eu amei lol.
Enfim, em apenas 6 episódios Ousama Ranking conseguiu se destacar e conquistar seu espaço como uma obra de altissima qualidade, algo que até o momento é merecido, um verdadeiro Masterpiece.


NOTA GERAL: 98

*Contains slight Spoilers*

While on the surface, Ousama Ranking may appear to be a cute Ghibli-esque show full of magic and wonder, it’s so much more than that. It’s a riveting tale of loss, grief and overcoming obstacles, and is by far one of the best anime of the past year.

Admittedly, I was a bit slow to pick up Ousama Ranking. I normally watch every seasonal every season, but wasn’t really gripped by the promotional PV and posters from the show. I assumed it would just be some cute adventure story with a prince. It wasn’t until about a month and a half ago that ... I gave it a try and I instantly regretted not watching it from the start. From the very first episode, Bouji’s story grabs your attention and you can’t help but want to see him succeed. A little deaf boy who is seemingly disregarded and not taken seriously by his attendants and even his own family. Despite his handicap and preconceived notions about him, Bouji sets out to become stronger. He doesn’t allow his disability to dictate his life and is determined to become someone worthy of the crown. Who doesn’t love an underdog story, right?

On Bouji’s journey, we’re introduced to a slew of interesting characters with their own motivations and backstories, as well as a sinister plot to undermine his kingdom. Each one of the characters we meet adds something new to the story and aid in Bouji’s development. What I really liked about the type of storytelling we got here, is that it reminds me of literary classics in the sense there’s not really anything deep or crazy intricate going on in the plot, instead we have a simple story of overcoming adversity. As everyone knows by now, simplicity does not equate to bad writing. In fact, being able to adequately get the point of a story across in such a short and concise way is really a sign of literary talent.

While Ousama Ranking’s story is simple and sweet, it’s not without its flaws. Without going too much into spoiler territory, I was disappointed with the way Bouji’s brother Daida’s arc was wrapped up. In the second to last episode, he makes a proposal to a certain character that I really feel undermined his arc and was questionable writing at best. It’s one thing to get the tradtional shonen talk-no-jutsu “I forgive you” spill that we’re accustomed to, but to do that… just really made no sense to me.

Alas, nothing’s perfect and I was still largely satisfied with the way Ousama Ranking turned out. Its combination of lovely art, surprisingly good sakuga, great voice acting and a powerful tale of overcoming adversity made it one of my shows of the year. Ousama Ranking gets 10 mirrors out of 10.

Contains slight spoilers.

First things first: This anime is NOT suitable for kids.

The art is gorgeous. Vibrant colors, lush backgrounds, smooth animation, distinct characters and even somewhat of a retro vibe. Definitely drew me in instantly.

Sound is fine. Nothing outstanding.

Story is lacking. Mostly uses betrayals for shock value and in place of a decent plot. No original ideas. Tries too hard to elicit certain emotions from the viewer.

... Most characters are pretty much stereotypical. A "don't judge a book by its cover" message is hammered in right from the start.

What caused me to give it such a low score and ultimately drop it? It's deceptively violent, which absolutely turns me off.

A whole species is massacred. You could argue it's deserving of this fate since its members are assassins who self-admittedly even kill children.
A child character is beaten up by his own brother so badly he suffers several broken bones. The aftermath is shown.
A frozen dead body is ground up (I'm not kidding) in some kind of a giant blender to be made into a potion - which the dead person's young son is supposed to drink (again, not kidding).
A creature is beheaded.
A character chops off his own hand after he pushed another character into a pit that leads to the underworld.
Most of this is shown on-screen.

That's a nope from me.

As for the rating, I go with MAL's definitions: 1 = appaling.
The lovely art doesn't change the score.

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see" -Mark Twain.

When I first saw Ousama Ranking, or Ranking of Kings, I was like most people and thought this was another kid's show that wasn't worth my time.

And then I watched it.

I can say that, without a doubt, this is one of the best anime of the "year" (counting both the end of 2021 and the beginning 2022). And before the next half of the series comes out, I'd like to write a review of first 11 episodes on why this is a show everyone needs to watch once. And ... I hope this is a review everyone can find helpful.

I rate shows on seven aspects, five of which hold the most importance. Animation/Editing/Settings, Plot/Execution, Characters/Dialogue, Music/Sound Design, and Messages/Cultural Themes/Impact. Each of these are rated out of 20. 5 extra points are added for the anime's OP and ED each.

Animation/Editing (19/20): Good art is subjective for everyone, and what one may find Picasso worthy may be trash for another. So, I try to keep unbias thoughts when looking at different styles of anime. That being said, bias did overtake me when I first saw this anime, and I'm sure many others felt the same when first looking at the anime's poster. However, don't be fooled by the anime's childish, Ghibli-like style. The animation and editing within this story is beautiful, from it's paint-like backgrounds to its use of warm and cold colors depending on its setting. Plus, one may not expect it from an anime like this, but the fight scenes in this anime are also beautifully animated and choreographed, with the camera positioned in amazing angles and motion feeling as fluid as water. WIT Studio has shown once again their craft in anime, with sakuga so clean its hard to tell where the it stops and starts in certain scenes. The simple use of sign language is a perfect example of this, showing that sakuga is not just used for fanservice and fight scenes. Overall, while I think it's top quality, I can understand it's not the absolute best of the best in some people's eyes. However, I would think it would be a crime to rate it's animation anything lower than a 18/20.

Plot/Execution (19/20): Ousama Ranking is not trying to be anything new or special, in fact, quite the opposite. It's another fantasy story in a world filled with fantasy stories, so it's premise is nothing special. However, it's also important to consider execution of these premises as well, and this anime succeeds where other's fail. It's simple and probably overused in concept, but the way it uses its worldbuilding is much more natural than most other anime. Concepts and locations, as well as the inhabitants of this world, are revealed in such a manner which allows easy understanding of its story without needing to spoon feed the audience with obvious information. A perfect example of the "show don't tell" methodology that many other fantasy anime fail at doing. Even then, when such information is revealed through dialogue, its much more natural than simple exposition, something I will cover later on. And while I know some may find these concepts overused, keep an open mind how many anime are able to execute on their concepts effectively, or shape them in a way that makes it their own. In my opinion, Ousama Ranking may not be anything new, but it's not trying to be. What it's trying to do is tell a new and entertaining story through old and overused concepts, then shaping them into their own.

Characters/Dialogue (19/20): Despite all the good aspects I've talked about so far, this is truly where the story shines. Bojji, Kage, and the rest of our Ousama Ranking cast is the true reason why you watch this show. Their struggles, powers, journeys, and backstories are so entertaining to watch, considering that each is fleshed out to be a three-dimensional, believable "human." I say "human" because some of these characters are not human at all, take Kage for example, but everyone feels REAL. They have their own feelings, thoughts, and goals they work towards without ever divvying from their set personalities. And every character, and I truly mean EVERY CHARACTER is never just a cardboard cutout as their first meant out to look like. Each character's backstories are beautifully constructed that allows the audience to root for them or, at the very least, understand their side of the story. Even the beastly monsters, who are all animalistic, are given short but understandable backstories that show that they're not just blood thirsty killers, but normal animals living their lives. And, of course, Bojji is Best Boy.

Music/Sound Design (19/20): Once again, just like art, good music is different for everyone, and I try to keep a clear mind when listening to its music and sound design. And, while I may not be a music writer or sound compositionist, I can tell when a lot of thought, passion, and creativity is put into a song or sound. Without a doubt, this anime's sound design is amazing. The background music used always sets the tone of the scene it's trying to tell, whether its a sad or dark moment or an uprising and inspiring, emotional interaction. I don't have the skills to properly describe each aspect in detail, but I can tell you that, both in fight scenes and ofttimes, the sounds and audio used are amazing. The only way to understand is by watching the anime yourself.

Messages/Cultural Themes/Impact (20/20): This part may seem weird to many, but I think it's important to consider while watching an anime. What exactly is this anime trying to say or show? Where does it pull inspiration from? Who is working on the anime and what kind of impact can it have on others? This may not seem important, but it does have a major impact on the enjoyability of a show. Would Dragon Ball be as enjoyable if Akira Toriyama turned out be a serial killer? Would Naruto and One Piece be as fun to watch if they only spouted political ideas? Real world themes have a big factor in anime and stories as well. But Ousama Ranking's themes are, just like its other aspects, are amazing, even inspiring. So far, in just 11 episodes, it indirectly tells its audience to love who they are and respect those with disabilities, showing how strong they really are. Of course, these themes are nothing new, but how many anime and shows can boast these ideals and keep up an entertaining and relevant story at the same time? I have also already touched upon the themes and inspirations so far, both being inspired by fantasy themes, races, and monsters, but all give a unique spin on things that only Ousama Ranking can claim to be. The Emperor's New Clothes by Hans Christian Andersen also makes a reference in here, which I find adorable, considering the twist they add to that story's theme. If you do not know about The Emperor's New Clothes and its relation to Ousama Ranking, I suggest looking it up and watching the first episode of the anime. But overall, this anime conveys real world themes while still keeping a relevant story that doesn't preach it's ideals at the cost of its characters or world.

OP (4/5) ED (5/5): The most important thing before an anime starts is its OP, which hypes the audience up to watch it, along with its ED, which says goodbye to the audience every episode to reflect on what they just saw and keeping them interested to watch more. In an OP and ED, its important for the music to reflect the anime's overall themes while having animation that syncs with the music. However, it is also common that most anime also show the cast of characters that take place in the anime. So, its important to hint at who these characters are and what happens in the anime going forward without revealing too much before the actual episode starts. Ousama Ranking's Boy by King Gnu and OZ by Yama are some of the best songs this year, in my opinion, and just their soulful and powerful lyrics and singing alone would rank them up high. However, along with their beautiful, simple, and child-like animation, they allow the anime to stand out even more and hold onto the audience's heart with nothing more than dreams and wonder.

Overall, tallying up, Ousama Ranking ranks 105 out of 100 for me. This anime will always remain as one of the best in my entire life and I'm sure that, when I'm old and forgetful, I will still remember it. I can only hope that the second half will be just as good, but knowing WIT Studio and everyone involved, I'm sure this will be a classic in the making. I desperately encourage anyone to try this anime and I beg of them to try this anime. Despite its art style and child-like appearance, I can guarantee you that no anime will be quite like Ousama Ranking.

If anyone else has any opinions on my review or Ousama Ranking, let me know.

The best way I can sum up my experience with Ousama Ranking is disappointment.

The series has a unique art style and interesting concept. I liked how the bright “picture book” style contrasts with some of the darker themes that come up. I was invested for the first 10 or so episodes because of the story, art, great music, and good fight animation.

However, the writing and pacing destroyed my investment in the second half of the first season. In order to avoid spoilers, I will not list anything specific, but pretty much all of the deaths got reversed in some way. This is the ... BIGGEST problem I have with the series, so it’s not something I could avoid mentioning. It destroyed the stakes in the story, because if a character seemed like they were definitely dead, they would get “revived” not even an episode later. It got so out of hand that I started rolling my eyes and hoping for characters to die for good. It’s especially bad because one of the strengths of the series is that it does a good job fleshing out the backstories of side characters. After mourning the “death” of a character, seeing them come back makes it feel like the writers are toying with your emotional investment. It feels like nothing has weight in the story. Rather than a serious story with a childish art style, it turned into just a childish story, because they were unable to let even somewhat major characters die, over and over again.

Another downfall of the second half of the first season is that they would interrupt intense fights. Although I love learning more about characters and their backstories, they would tease an intense fight with a cliffhanger, but then show a flashback or irrelevant scene and cut back to the fight already being over. I don’t know if it’s because of budgetary reasons, but it’s a huge letdown and seriously frustrating. On the flip side, I looked forward to the fights because they would show some pretty awesome/unexpected moves and had great animation.. it just sucks that they would interrupt the flow and then sometimes skip it altogether.

My last gripe is with the progression of the main character’s strength. I love a good underdog story, but the whole point is that the underdog works to gain their strength throughout the story. The main character starts off being weak and incompetent, which is fine, but I expected him to grow his strength by facing off with stronger and stronger opponents throughout his journey. Instead, he becomes one of the strongest people in the world after training, mostly off screen, for 2-3 episodes. After training we see him battle small fry once, and the other strong characters (with an exception) instinctively know that he’s unbeatable. At his core, he did not change, despite there being a few scenes where they attempt (and fail) to show some sort of growth in his resolve. His power feels forced and unnatural, like something given to him rather than something gained through true growth. He becomes way too powerful, absurdly fast.

I see some people recommend this as a series you can enjoy if you want to shut your brain off, but I disagree. I think it’s just disappointing and not worth a watch.

Osama Ranking is a disappointment with a lot of wasted potential. It is a show with a nice premise and a strong opening trio of episodes that slowly descends into an average revenge story and bad Deus Ex Machina.

Let me explain:
(Minor spoilers ahead)

Bojji is a mute-deaf Prince in a medieval European setting with the dream of being the best King in the world.
The first impression is that the story is going to be about the emotional journey of Bojji overcoming abuse and prejudice of society and family, doing the best for his kingdom despite his disabilities. The first emotional aspect is that Bojji is ... incredibly aware of the mockery he is submitted to, which he can tell by not only the physical language of others but also through reading lips. Now, I get that Bojji knows he is being abused but how can a Mute-Deaf know exactly what people, and even animals say about him if he never heard a single word in his life? Not that I was expecting realism but the shows opens with heavy emphasis on Sign Language, so one would expect that this would a reoccurring element of the show, but the moment other characters learn that Bojji can read lips sign language gets thrown out of the window and characters that know it stop using it completely. The author/show had the opportunity to teach something to the audience but instead just ignore one of the distinguishing elements of the story.

The biggest problems I have with the story is that the show had the opportunity to show how medieval people lived with disabilities, build a long arduous story of overcoming the odds and becoming the best King in the world but after a few episodes Bojji starts getting thrown into the sidelines and a succession conspiracy starts taking place but instead of him being directly involved in unfolding the mystery, he goes into a Training Arc while the mystery slowly unfolds regardless to him. The mystery has indeed something to do with him and he gets involved but it doesn’t feel like he truly contributes heavily nor did it feel like his accomplishments and power were truly earned.

Just to add a final note on presentation and music:
The art style is highly reminiscent of Princess Knight, Heidi of the Alpes and anime from the World Masterpiece Theater. Personally I love it, I grew up in Europe in the 90’s and these anime were popular on TV, the style is Old School but not necessarily bad.

Music is great, it is very medieval with orchestral elements and a lot of 3/4 and 6/8 time signatures which are part of the Medieval/Renaissance style of composing.

All in all, Ousama Ranking anime could have brought a lot fresh air to the anime landscape with it’s Old School style and standout premise but went to an unsatisfactory fantasy mystery I personally did not find necessary or interesting.

I wanted so badly to love this series in its entirety. Hells, I was warned by a friend but I didn't listen, I was drawn in to it by the beautiful animation and music - the classical literature slightly presented in a different angle - all combined to form something new.

Of course I was drawn in badly, and I'm a crybaby I'll be honest I cry easily and I was perhaps in a tearful mood so this anime suited me incredibly.

That is.

That is.

Until the ending they decided upon.

I had noticed of course as the story and mystery unravels itself, the ... more well... Subpar it became but I held on in hopes of fully understanding and comprehending the entirety of the series' story.

Alas. Alas.... My heart was stomped out the moment <spoilers> came back and said such ridiculous words in the second last episode. There would be nothing left to save this story. It was over. I merely continued watching the next episode half heartedly out of mere respect of the start and what could have been's.

This could've been a truly wondrous series. Could have. Perhaps one day someone might be interested in rewriting this story, fleshing out the characters more and ah perhaps not... Do whatever this anime had gone down into.

Everything that was good about this anime was ruined, nullified - by the end. A story is a whole. Even if the start is stupendous, the middle decent, but if the ending is awful - then... Then it taints the entire series into truly a poorly written one. Perhaps the writing had never been good, we were simply lured in from seeing familiar classics rehashed into what the beginning teasingly promised could be something so much more with a veil of intrigue drawing us deeper in and watching until the end for... For what are we but fools hoping to see a fantasy they were so very interested in be as good as its start? I held on my hope but I feel bitter now like it was for nothing.

This isn't the animator's fault. Nor the voice actors. No. The fault lies in the writer.

A poorly written but well animated and voice acted anime.

...I even sought out fanfiction but not many wrote an AU. Merely cute character interactions. Fair enough. Perhaps I'll take a turn at it one day. Perhaps not. I have other priorities.

But I suppose this is just like reality isn't it, such disappointment is... a stark reminder of life.

I wanted this to be a spoiler free review but I have to first of all - address the incredibly disturbing thing at the end.

<SPOILERS FROM HERE ONWARDS> .
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DAIDA IS A CHILD. MIRANJO IS NOT.

JAPAN STOP WITH YOUR RIDICULOUS CHILD/ADULT RELATIONSHIP FANTASIES HELLS

Most reviews are extremely subjective, so I am going to summarize the facts first and leave personal opinion at the very end, so one can skip it.

Let's start with the main thing - this is an anime. Realism in anime is as rare as the eclipses. Nonetheless, the industry is doing well without it. This particular series, however, tries to include reasonable behavior of things for no apparent reason. The MC is made prince, since a boy with disabilities would not survive even in that utopic feudalism, then display him as a complete dimwit that does not understand the impression he makes by walking half-naked ... through the town.

PseudoSmarts.
At first, one might consider the case reasonable, since the "shame walking" was a price paid for social interaction he was lacking. That, however, is not correct - it is implied that MC has talked to other fairy creatures before.

Lip-reading.
This makes sense the most, since it would be a nightmare to watch every single character signing the MC whatever they want to tell him. But, at the same time they made him to turn on being called, granted an ability to read not only lips, but whatever tool an entity uses to speak, instead of just making him able to understand fairy things by magic, which would make sense.

In short: for the reason unknown, author(s) decided that their work has to be realistic to some extent and it made this peaceful and, surprisingly, entertaining series much worse.

At first, I have given this series 1/10, since there are far more worthy series, but that would be just as unfair. It is certainly not as good as what the rest of the reviews state it is, but, so far, does not cause any nausea.

Personally (contains soft spoilers):
The "speech" of MC is incredibly annoying and the fact that he is trying makes zero sense.
The supporting characters are made to call the d e a f MC while looking for him in the woods...
The storyline of 6 episodes has better dynamic than both parts of Re:Zero's second season - is good.
Instead of logic and reason we have a product of an unholy act between author's fantasy and realism.

All these aspects of the series do not affect the viewing, if you are not analyzing every frame of it.