As with all my reviews I will be presenting a short backstory regarding my relationship with the series I am reviewing. With Ranking of Kings this backstory is extremely straightforward. I had been told by a handful of my friends that this anime was a must watch series. That being said, much like so many others I passed judgment on it prior to actually watching a second of this anime. I wrote off Ranking of Kings as "childish" due to its Sunday morning cartoon style of animation. The reality is that Ranking of Kings is many things, however, childish is certainly not one of those things. In this review I will be discussing Ranking of Kings' strengths and flaws along with why I believe it is a must watch anime! __As always I will be keeping my review completely spoiler free so be at ease knowing you can continue to read without being spoiled!
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Animation/Art Style:

I'm going to go ahead and address the elephant in the room when it comes to discussing Ranking of Kings right off the bat. Ranking of Kings' absolutely has a childish art style but it in no way has poor animation. This is a necessary distinction to make because one of the most commonly used criticism of Ranking of Kings is that it is poorly animated due to its art style. This could not be further from the truth. As with almost all series that Wit studios produces, Ranking of Kings is beautifully animated. The animation is seamless despite it appearing a bit rough due to the art style. A perfect example of just how incredible animation of Ranking of Kings has is when Bojji fights against enemies. It is important to differentiate that the animation is extremely well done but the art style is different from the norm in anime in order to truly appreciate the knockout job Wit studios has done in animating this story!

Now to address what is without a doubt the biggest detractor for Ranking of Kings, its art style.

Much like many other people who criticize this series, I believe that Ranking of Kings' art style holds it back a tremendous amount. I say this with an extremely heavy heart because I truly love the story that Ranking of Kings tells (as I will get into later). The reality of the situation is that I actually really enjoy the art style of Ranking of Kings. You may ask, "If you enjoy the art style then why are you critiquing it and calling it Ranking of Kings' greatest flaw?" This is an extremely valid question to ask. I am criticizing the art style of Ranking of Kings not because I don't enjoy it but instead because it holds back this anime from being taken seriously by a wider audience. While Ranking of Kings absolutely nails the cartoon aesthetic, it in turn greatly hinders its story from being experienced by its intended audience. Ranking of Kings' art style has a very childlike vibe to it but at the same time the series attempts to tell a very mature and in depth coming of age and self realization story. The result is that Ranking of Kings' masterful depiction of a Sunday morning cartoon greatly deters a more mature audience who may enjoy this story a lot from even giving it a fair chance.

Characters:

Ranking of Kings is a very interesting case of how to develop characters. I say this because it initially appears to have a very vanilla and generic cast of characters. However, as the story progresses, each character grows a great deal. We begin to understand not only the characters a bit better but also their motives and how their motives effect the characteristics and lives of other characters they interact with. In many ways the world, characters, and motives of each character in Ranking of Kings work together to paint a broader picture of who each character is in the grander scale of Ranking of Kings. This is true of nearly every major character of Ranking of Kings!

One example of this is our main character, Bojji. In the first couple of episodes we are supposed to be nothing more than a sob story character who has the bare minimum of character. While Bojji's character 100% pulls at your heartstrings throughout the duration of Ranking of Kings, it is his displays of strength, perseverance, and kindness that truly bring forth the most emotions in me!

While Bojji is a fantastic underdog character, he is in reality the poorest example of what I am referring to in the previous paragraph describing the characters. Other characters such as Hiling and Daida are examples of characters who appear cold and unlikable at the beginning of the story but as the story progresses so too does the viewer's understanding of them as humans. Bosse is yet another example of what I spoke about earlier regarding the characters in Ranking of Kings. He appears to be this incredible king but as more and more of the story unfolds the more we understand just how flawed of a human he truly is!

These are just a handful of characters I wanted to address in order to emphasize how incredible of a job the story telling in Ranking of Kings does in creating characters who have substance far greater than initially believed. The same can be said for characters such as Kage, Miranjo, and so many other characters in the story of Ranking of Kings. As the story and the world of Ranking of King progresses so do the characters and the viewers understanding of each character. This is a large part of what makes Ranking of Kings such an unforgettable series for so many people!

Story:

Now I will bring up what is without a doubt my favorite aspect of Ranking of Kings, its story! Ranking of Kings on the surface level looks like just another feel good, underdog story but the substance of the story reaches far beyond that. Sure it tells the underdog story of Bojji as he looks to achieve his goal of becoming the king of his father's kingdom but as the story continues the viewer begins to realize there is so much more to this story that just that! It is a story of politics, it is a story of betrayal, it is a story of fighting to justice, it is a story about what it truly takes to be a king, but most importantly it is a story that teaches the viewer the importance of trust, kindness, and love for those around you! I'd love to go into specific examples of what makes this story so unforgettable for me but that would involve going into spoilers. To put into perspective just how incredible I think the story of Ranking of Kings truly is, I would put it in the same league of story telling as stories such as Attack on Titan and Vinland Saga , two series who are among my all time favorites. This intertwined with the impact the story has on the characters as the story progresses truly does make it a one of a kind experience. The primary reason I want to refrain from going into specifics, outside of spoiling, is that this story is a story you must experience for yourself in order to appreciate it to the full compacity!

Soundtrack:

When it comes to soundtracks in anime I tend to not be too picky, as you can see in my previous reviews. I believe that in most anime the soundtrack is there simply to fulfill the role of building an atmosphere rather than to distract the viewer from the story. For this reason it takes a lot for an anime's soundtrack to blow me away. There have only been a couple of soundtracks that have truly gone above and beyond to the point of emphasizing their soundtracks as a major strong point, those series being Cowboy Bebop, Fruits Basket 2019, Made in Abyss, Tower of God, and Your Lie in April. When looking at Ranking of Kings' soundtrack it does a very good job building the atmosphere of a medieval kingdom and adventure but does not go above and beyond. The main soundtracks I want to emphasize are the ones that play while emotional moments are depicted. The one thing Ranking of Kings' soundtrack does excel at is drawing out emotion from the viewer! The series also has two fantastic OPs, though I feel the first OP is far more fitting than the second OP (even though I liked the second OP better as a song), and a fantastic first ED as well! Overall, I found that the soundtrack of Ranking of Kings did a fantastic job building the overall feel of the series but didn't do anything that went above and beyond like the previously mentioned anime I felt did.

Final Verdict:

I enjoyed Ranking of Kings a great deal. When first looking at the art style of this series I did not anticipate it delivering such a heartfelt and well done story and I believe that is where the true flaw of Ranking of Kings lies. It has an art style that appears a bit "childish" while it has a story that is fair more fitting for a mature audience that can truly appreciate the complexity of the story being told. It has a story that was extremely well thought out with great attention to detail throughout. Plot points connect and give the viewer additional perspective and greater appreciation for the story being told as the series goes on. It has a cast of characters who are surface level at first but then grow a lot in depth as the series progresses! The only reason I don't find it to be a masterpiece like so many other people do is because the art style, while very well done and enjoyable, does not feel befitting of a story as complex and mature as the one Ranking of Kings puts forth. Outside of that, Ranking of Kings is absolutely a must watch for anyone who enjoys a complex story with a good cast of characters so long as they are willing to look past what to some is a "childish" art style.