Mute, deaf, and weak, characteristics that have diddly-squat with being a king. These are the traits given to our main protagonist Bojji-sama. Next to inherit the throne after the late Bosse-Sama. A world renown giant, famous for being the strongest entity to ever live. You can only imagine the torment our protagonist has to go through to fill in the giant shoes his father left for him, pun intended. And with that being said, I think this is one of the most unique premises to be conceptualized in a long time. Like most, I was initially thrown off by the artstyle and I had already had plenty of shows from that season on my plate so I wrote it off initially. Many of which disappointed me. But thread after thread on /a/ I kept seeing the damn thing being posted, usually with something along the lines of, “Why aren’t you watching me? The greatest show of the season?” I figured it was bait until the third episode rolled around, I gave in, watched it, and became absorbed. That begs the question, was this actually the greatest show of the season?
Firstly, let's address the elephant in the room. DO NOT be deceived by this show’s artstyle, a common mistake among viewers. I thought the artstyle was unique from the start, but it did look like a “child’s” show initially so I brushed it off. However I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like the aesthetic of the show even before watching it. Something about it, maybe it was the airiness of the style or the unique character designs, but something about it demanded my attention. Perhaps it was the show's high contrast and deliciously bright color palette
The show’s greatest aspect is the amount of depth it gives to its characters. Each character is layered beyond belief, the way characters act and react to certain situations vary. And when I say a character has depth, I don’t mean that they look evil but are actually good. A more accurate simplified depiction would be to say that nothing in this show is black and white, and that everyone and everything resides in this gray area, even Bojji himself isn’t this perfect underdog of a woe is me archetype that you root for, for he too is flawed beyond his aforementioned shortcomings. This is another example of a show that benefits greatly from having almost no inner-dialogue, where we can hear characters' thoughts. The nuance and subtlety delivered sheerly through the facial expressions and body movements makes you understand the stakes of a given situation. Along with the depth this show gives its characters, this show also loves throwing curve balls at you.
Now I’m a sucker for any sort of media that keeps you on your toes. Whether that be anime, music etc, but when it comes to anime specifically it’s a double edged sword. On one end you could get a brilliant show like Samurai Flamenco that will sweep the rug from under your feet the moment you think you’ve nailed down the kind of show it is. Also a show like Sonny Boy falls on this side of the sword as well, a series that you’re better off just letting it kick your ass the first time around before taking a breather to fully grasp all the themes it psyched you out with, for round 2. On the other side of the spectrum you get the multitude of atrocious anime that go a million miles an hour without giving a moment's reprieve to understand what’s going on due to the lack of coherent explanation the show does. Some notable examples of this include Garzey’s Wing and Cross Ange, both shows famed for their low quality. I’m happy to announce that Ousama Ranking is the former. For me at least.
Though I'll say for me at least because this actually a point of contention for most fans, and nonfans alike. Because about halfway through the show's run, it becomes a battle shounen of sorts. With a name like “Ranking of the Kings” I half expected some form of battling to happen at some point, however many were displeased at the direction it decided to go when it did, because up to this point most thought that this was an adventure coming of age story, which it is. But after Bosse’s Kingdom(Bojji’s father) is invaded and overrun by evil doers, it shifts the focus from the world building onto the in-fighting at the palace over the throne. I did not mind this at all, though I will say there is one episode in particular where Bojji is almost not at all present and all we get are the royal guards fighting each other with not much else happening aside from the characters you root for getting jobbed. It doesn’t help that the animation quality also takes a dip during this part, almost as if they knew these few episodes were just filler for what’s to come. This null in quality lasted maybe an episode and a half before it picked itself back up again and absolutely decimated my expectations.
Now the only gripe I have with this show lies with the ending (which the sequel series actually fixes so this point is rendered somewhat nulled but still exists in this season), which I’ve learnt to understand and appreciate more so overtime but initially was thrown off by it. Basically, the big bad of the series is essentially let off the hook. In fact, I’d go as far to say as they’re rewarded despite everything they’ve done up to that point. And no matter how much they bring up this bitch’s backstory, you don’t empathize with her. Anyways, that and the light animation dip for an episode or two are my only legitimate complaints. My only other nitpick is Kage being reduced to a cheerleader for bojji after such great development.
So is this the AOTS of its season? Yes and no, for it was split across two seasons. And I consider both cours one complete season. However, during the season it aired, it was competing against both Sonny Boy and Odd Taxi and between those three I chose Sonny Boy as my AOTS. However, for the second cour this season was released, this is most definitely the AOTS and has quickly become one of my all time favorite series. Good job Ousama Ranking, I only wish the manga translations were up to date so I can continue this marvelous journey that has just begun.
Ps- Forgot to mention that the music during the show is great too, but the OPs and EDs for this show are incredible.
