Ousama Ranking

[MFauli]

The web manga centers around Bojji, a deaf, powerless prince who cannot even wield a children's sword. As the firstborn son, he strives hard and dreams of becoming the world's greatest king. However, people mutter about him behind his back as "a good-for-nothing prince" and "no way he can be king."

Bojji is able to make his first ever friend, "Kage" (shadow)—a literal shadow on the ground who somehow understands Bojji well. (Kage is a survivor of the Kage assassin clan that was all but wiped out. No longer a killer, Kage now makes ends meet by stealing.) The story follows Bojji's coming-of-age as he meets various people in his life, starting with his fateful encounter with Kage.

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Episode 1:

Now THAT is anime of the season material! Wow. Banger first episode.

The music and artstyle is so nice. It feels like an anime from 30 years ago with the fluid animations of 2021.

Boji is such a lovely little guy. Made me tear-up when it was said that he's deaf and can't talk (i hadn't read the synopsis). And everyone's varying degrees of mean to him And he puts up a brave smile and walks confident ... until shedding some tears when he was alone in his room

Kage somehow being the only one who's voice Boji can hear explains why Boji is so ecstatic about that otherwise ceepy shadow.

And wow, the two fights were amazing. Not really sure why the synopsis says Boji can't fight when clearly he's a genius of sorts.

Anyway, will continue watching tomorrow. Fantastic start.

[MFauli]

Episode 2:

Omg, my tears started flowing when Boji realized that Kage was in the same room and he wiped away his tears and instantly smiled.

I'm not sure I can take these emotions, damn....

[MFauli]

Episode 3:

Caught up already 🙈

Another awesome episode. That fight between Bebin and the spear guy was short, but fucking intense. Felt like I was watching Jiraiya fight Pain in terms of gravitas.

The characters in this anime are oozing depth. At first it's easy to dismiss them as stereotypes, but every single one of them has an unusual amount of realism to them.

Didn't expect Kage to disappear for that long, hopefully Boji and him can reunite soon.

[neflight86]

A good watch so far. The simplistic art isn't my style, but it serves to have more fluid action animation, so it's a wash. Just when the stories amount to being cry bait, there is always a sliver of goodness to give some more depth to the situation. It's good stuff, and the intrigue has me hooked.

[MFauli]

Episode 4:

So only nefligh and me are watching this? Guys, don't make this another Fumatsu no Anata e-thread ;(

Anyway. What a great episode! It was less tear-inducing, but so, SO chock full of bonafide interesting adventure. It actually felt a bit like watching a Legend of Zelda-anime. The giant monsters, the weird old man (probably a king, too?) and the soul-distributing cloud thing. And then the pit of hell. Everything is so intriguing! I haven't seen such an interesting fantasy world since watching Princess Mononoke.

And wow, Doumas betrayal. I wonder what's going on here. He could have just let Boji eat the poisoned meat had he wanted him dead. I assume the mirror ordered Doumas to do it. The only way I see Boji surviving a literal hole to hell is if that creepy red devil intervenes. We'll see.

[shinta|hikari]

Art looks like shit.

[MFauli]

Art looks like shit.

Wow. I hope you're just trolling. If that's your reqson for not watching ...

[KrayZ33]

Art looks like shit.

It most certainly doesn't. But I really don't want to watch a character that looks like a fancy shin-chan do stuff either.
Not sure why they go with such a shitty stylized "main character" when the rest of the show looks as good as it does. Doesn't do or add anything and I'm confident enough to say that without adding the "to me"-part in that statement.

[MFauli]

It most certainly doesn't. But I really don't want to watch a character that looks like a fancy shin-chan do stuff either.
Not sure why they go with such a shitty stylized "main character" when the rest of the show looks as good as it does. Doesn't do or add anything and I'm confident enough to say that without adding the "to me"-part in that statement.

I only watch the anime, so this is just my speculation, no spoiler:

I assume Boji looks the way, because he's Bosse's son - who's a literal giant. Actually, wasn't the first wife of Bosse's a giant, too? So Boji looking weird is not just style.

[KrayZ33]

Just because one guy has a really absurd pointy nose and so does his child doesn't mean it's "not just style".

Or rather, it doesn't make a difference. The nose is still absurd and pointy and looks like s*** - as Shinta put it.

It's like saying "this heavy-plate-costume has a heart shaped boob window because the author wanted to portray the vulnerability of this character and that under her hardened shell, there is a soft spot."
In the end, it's still a plate armor with a blatant weakness that just doesn't work the way it's supposed to.

I'm not saying it actually looks like s***.
Because the characters look fun and the animation is quite beautiful actually, but I can't get into this show due to the main character looking even more out of place than what I can handle.
Or should I say, I don't feel like I want to get into it because I'm constantly reminded about how I'd prefer a different style.

[MFauli]

Man, I guess you guys will never watch my favorite anime of all time then (Fantastic Children)

[neflight86]

I'll vouch for this being worth watching in spite of the art. The world building is tantalizing, the characters seem much more than meets the eye, and the animation is fluid.

Embrace the picture book aesthetic, and you have a really good shounen picture book.

I presume the wild guy is a king by the tell tale crown.

I suspect that snake guy was actually saving boji from the meat that I suspect dhomas poisoned, as evidenced by his mission reveal. I also think that Kage's "mission" is to help boji from the shadows (the bag showing up), and snake guy is the last person to talk to him on screen...

Getting HxH vibes from this, actually, with how the world building is handled. Warrior Kings with Rankings, assorted organizations keeping the world in balance, and the world feeling vast and ripe for exploring various stories- it feels familiar in a good way.

[shinta|hikari]

I finished Fantastic Children. It was good.

This shin-chan hero is not like that.

[MFauli]

He looks nothing like Shin-chan. You're seriously missing out, Shinta.

I suspect that snake guy was actually saving boji from the meat that I suspect dhomas poisoned, as evidenced by his mission reveal. I also think that Kage's "mission" is to help boji from the shadows (the bag showing up), and snake guy is the last person to talk to him on screen...

... you haven't read the manga, have you? That's a great guess, totally makes sense and I like it. Then I wonder whether Bebin let himself get 'killed' by Apeas to be able to work from the shadows. Or he chose to die because he hated Daida, but didn't dare go against him, leaving Kage with his final wish to protect Boji.

Now I'm just a bit scared for the young fellow that's with Doumas.

Also the queen still has a death flag hanging above her head, or why else would she say 'i have a feeling i'll never again see Boji and Daida'?

Getting HxH vibes from this, actually, with how the world building is handled. Warrior Kings with Rankings, assorted organizations keeping the world in balance, and the world feeling vast and ripe for exploring various stories- it feels familiar in a good way.

Yeah. As I said, the world feels extremely 'rich' in terms of lore and secrets and stuff that's going on. I wonder if there's gonna be a timeskip at some point and we'll see a teenage/young adult Boji. The anime gets 23 episodes, enough time for that.

[DarthEnderX]

Art looks like shit.

The character designs look like shit. The animation is fantastic.

And wow, Doumas betrayal. I wonder what's going on here.

Pretty sure he was just ordered to. Like he said in the inn, it's not his job to question his orders.

He could have just let Boji eat the poisoned meat had he wanted him dead.

He's the one that poisoned the meat. Someone ELSE(I'm guessing Kage, using snake guy's knives) knocked it away.

[shinta|hikari]

He's the one that poisoned the meat. Someone ELSE(I'm guessing Kage, using snake guy's knives) knocked it away.

I didn't think of that, but after reading your comment, I agree. Good insight.

This is an okay story, but a bit meandering. The current king should just die. Reminds me of Joffrey Baratheon.

[DarthEnderX]

I didn't think of that, but after reading your comment, I agree. Good insight.

I think neflight said it first. But thanks!

Reminds me of Joffrey Baratheon.

1000%.

[neflight86]

Yeah; where have a seen a little blonde king that no one likes except for his mother before...?

[MFauli]

Episode 5:

It's incredible how much plot happens in one episode. I almost wish there'd be a bit of slower paced downtime to appreciate the individual scenes more. But that's complaining on a high level.

This show is sooo imaginative, i love it. It feels like a modern day Brothers Grimm-fairy tale with Legend of Zelda-epicness thrown into the mix.

Kage and Boji reuniting was touching. I love the 2nd crying after both tried their hardest not to cry, haha. Interesting also that both are cursed. I wonder who cursed Boji especially. The mirror seems to have been some slender woman in the past?

And WTF went on with Daida? Wow. Throwing Bosse's corpse into a blender. Having a Phoenix hatch, only to decapitate it and turn it into a drink hell of an event. However, I'm worried that Apeas is next to die I figure mirror will somehow manage to get that fluid into Daida's mouth, who than becomes strong and kills the nearing Apeas to show off his new power level. I hope it won't happen, but ... :i

[neflight86]

The scene of the king being ground to paste and mixed with the demon bird's blood was entirely gratuitous, but intriguing, and entirely without exposition. Nice that Daida's pride keeps at least some of his impulses in check.

The underworld king mentioned that Kage also was cursed somehow, and we now know that Bosse and wife were actually considered giants.

Also apparently King Bosse likewise consulted with that dubious mirror...