(L) Ousama Ranking

[SeijiSensei]

I thought the willingness of Kage's mother to forthrightly describe her activities as an assassin was rather admirable.

Some of the character designs remind me of watching "Fractured Fairy Tales," which was part of the Rocky & Bullwinkle franchise many years ago. That long-nosed knight trying to track down Kage was the spitting image of evil knights in FFT.

[frubam]

Kage backstory so sad =0(.

I thought Domas was squarely in Bojji's corner, but now, I'm not so sure. It feels like he was treating Bojji with high regard to his status, but then he was so taken in by Prince Daida's swordplay, I thought he was gonna switch sides. But then when Bojji dodged all of Daida's attacks, I thought for sure, "This is going to be the moment Domas fully embraces Bojji as the future king". Guess I thought wrong =0v. I didn't know what Bebin was talking about when he said Bojji was "playing dirty". Its a shame that the proclaimed strongest swordsman in the land is so rigid and short-sighted, that he can't see that there's more than one way to fight. He also didn't see that Bojji landed several strikes on someone of Daida's level w/o tiring or getting hit himself. Guess its gonna take Bojji coming to the rescue for him to realize his error(maybe in this ranking game? Never looked at the synopsis for this story =0P).

Small thing, but I'm surprised that people outside of Domas can understand sign language. Bebin doesn't even seem like the kind of person who would care to understand such a thing or associate with Bojji enough to use it. Maybe all members of the royal house were ordered to learn it, since even the queen could understand him, even though the queen seems to hate his guts. It might be more interesting if they WEREN'T ordered to learn it, but then that idea might not make sense, given the motive of certain parties involved.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I thought the willingness of Kage's mother to forthrightly describe her activities as an assassin was rather admirable.

But his mother was right, and was a respectable ideal to take that if they got assassinated, they really didn't have any right to complain, since they killed even children if ordered. Still, seeing a mother fight to the death to protect her child, despite whatever sins she may have acquired in her lifetime, is a heartrending thing to watch =0u.

Originally Posted by Kanon

And most people won't watch it because of the art style.

Well, to be fair, the protagonist doesn't look as cool design-wise as many of the protagonists in his ilk. Don't judge a book by its cover, sure, but sometimes that cover doesn't elicit enough attention to even warrant a glance amongst other things that catch your attention. Kaiba has taught me otherwise how huge the disparity can be between art style and story, but that doesn't make my previous statement any less true =0v.

[Guardian Enzo]

Saying mean things about Bojji is bad.

[leongsh]

Episode 3
If the first 2 episodes did not make it clear enough, this episode continues to show that there's a lot more depth than what it shows on the surface. It may look kiddie but it is very much geared towards young teens and above.

So far, it shines bright as the best new show of the Fall 2021 season.

[Kanon]

That was another great episode, with a pretty big surprise. Given their short interaction in the first episode, I thought the Queen hated Bojji, but it's the complete opposite. She loves him just as much as her own son, if not more. It's understandable she wouldn't want Bojji to become King, because that would mean putting a humongous burden on his shoulders, and she only wants the best for him. Really nice subversion of the evil stepmom trope.

The other surprise was the freaking Devil popping out of Bosse's corpse. Did Bosse make a deal with him, and that's the reason Bojji is deaf-mute and physically weak? The story may have taken some inspiration from Dororo there.

Bebin was seemingly killed, but given that his body was taken away, I'm guessing he's actually fine.

We're only three episodes in and this show has had more story than most anime this year. And there are twenty more to go. Good times ahead.

[Wandering Soul]

Considering how stepmothers are often portrayed in settings like this, I find Queen Hilling to be a pleasant surprise. She has a strong maternal instinct towards Boji as well as her son and has a strong bond with him. Even the scene of her going against the King's comes off as her honestly thinking Daida would be a better King and sparing Boji a burden.

Bebin may have been seemingly killed, but it seems more like he went into hiding. Given how he was suspicious of the mirror's influence on Daida, he is probably going to work in the shadows to protect the Kingdom.

[frubam]

Man, when I saw Bojji in the window, I TOTALLY thought of Game of Thrones was about to happen .

I am impressed with the number of secret supporters in Bojji's camp. The sneks, the Queen, the Spear dude(although it was apparent after ep2), its really nice to see that there were people that really supported him, and that he just wasn't a child hated by everyone due to his size and impairments.

Gotta talk about mah boi Kage, injuring himself to escape, only for Bebin to be lying in wait for him. I'm like "bruh, can't Kage get a break!?!?", lol. Its interesting, cause its subtly apparent that Bebin might have actually sensed the sincerity in Kage's voice and believed him. He didn't kill Kage, and as a char that doesnt' seem like he'd hesitate to do so, he must also believe in Bojji, to some extent.

The kingdom is in bad shape; the Big Four is reduced to 1 right now(I assume Bebin still alive) and the evil mirror is left to its own devices by controlling Daida. I hope Bojji will come back before calamity befalls their kingdom.

The devil though intrigues me the most though. I thought when it pointed, it wasn't being noticed, but when it pointed to Bojji, everyone focused on him(Bojji). Really curious why it laughed at him(if it WAS laughing AT him, and not something else). It clear Bojji was special to it for a reason, and I can't wait to find out what it is =03.

Originally Posted by Kanon

That was another great episode, with a pretty big surprise. Given their short interaction in the first episode, I thought the Queen hated Bojji, but it's the complete opposite. She loves him just as much as her own son, if not more. It's understandable she wouldn't want Bojji to become King, because that would mean putting a humongous burden on his shoulders, and she only wants the best for him. Really nice subversion of the evil stepmom trope.

Yes, that warmed my heart so much, it was beautiful (^,^ )! I had a slinking suspicion she might have cared, since she knew sign language herself, and ordered Domas to kill the supposed highway robbers in ep 1, but I expected the stereotypical route for her character given her desire to see Daida on the throne.

Originally Posted by Wandering Soul

Considering how stepmothers are often portrayed in settings like this, I find Queen Hilling to be a pleasant surprise. She has a strong maternal instinct towards Boji as well as her son and has a strong bond with him. Even the scene of her going against the King's comes off as her honestly thinking Daida would be a better King.

Bebin may have been seemingly killed, but it seems more like he went into hiding. Given how he was suspicious of the mirror's influence on Daida, he is probably going to work in the shadows to protect the Kingdom.

I'd have a suspicion that her love for Bojji would have opened the door for Daida to hate Bojji. The Queen's healing skill looks like it takes a heavy toll on her(love the mechanics of it too) and I can see her expending herself to heal Bojji, but not Daida. That usually gives way to the darkness in one's heart, as I can't see any other way how he'd follow the mirror over everyone else; at least not with the current information.

Good point on Bebin too, I didn't think of that. Might also have to do with Kage's secret mission. Heck, maybe it WAS Kage that saved his bacon there, and not the sneks like we would initally believe.

[serenade_beta]

One part I like about this anime is that the adults aren't really stupid for the sake of moving the plot. So we have the protagonist and antagonist, but all of the side characters are interesting as well, can invest in their thoughts. The swordmaster who doesn't see Bojji fit to be a king, the spear guy who thinks Bojji is fit to be a king and is willing to act on it, and the snake guy who realizes something is behind Daida.

I think the snake guy probably faked his death. He has to act on Daida's orders, so he pretends to do so and leave the public, and plans to cooperate in the back to find who is controlling Daida. Maybe?
I wouldn't be surprised if the earth magic thing was done by his snakes.

The demon is what killed the king, from the inside, and he came out after his job is done to laugh at the new useless king before leaving and probably returning to his master, who sent him to assassinate the king.

[Kanon]

I'm going to put this under spoiler tags just in case. Man, what an episode!

Spoiler for episode 4:

There were hints that Domas had been ordered to assassinate Bojji, most notably the scene where he asks the other guy if he'd be willing to follow any order. Bojji then getting seemingly attacked by someone threw me off the scent though, even more so when Domas, who was all alone, attempted to confront Bebin over it. But it turns out the knives weren't poisoned, Domas is the one who poisoned the meat, and that means Bebin saved Bojji (I assume he was also the one who got his bag back). Back then, at least. Because now, Domas has thrown Bojji straight into hell. He clearly cares about Bojji, but his loyalty to the crown is stronger.

Things progressed on Daida's side too. I wonder what obtaining his father's strength entails exactly, but I'm pretty sure it won't be good for him or anyone else.

At this point I'm already willing to declare this my AOTY.

[Wandering Soul]

Domas is clearly split between duty and his fondness for Boji, but in the end, duty won out. He regrets it and Boji clearly is not dead, so he'll probably be racked with guilt when Boji comes back.

It's ironic that the reason they are trying to kill Boji is so he's doesn't become a puppet king, not realizing their current king is pretty much a puppet himself.

As for the crazy old man, with the mention that some kings who win the King ranking go crazy due to thier reward, I have to wonder if he is one of those past winners.

[Blaat]

The moment Domas said "we're not in a position to judge whether the orders are right or wrong" you just know what was going to happen. Luckily it does look like Bojji has a protector lurking in the shadows, who could it be?

We also got a glimpse of the wider world with the king ranking judge, that monster in the forest, the hunter (possibly a former king?) that weird creature resurrecting animals and the Gates of Hell.

[Kanon]

Originally Posted by Blaat

The moment Domas said "we're not in a position to judge whether the orders are right or wrong" you just know what was going to happen. Luckily it does look like Bojji has a protector lurking in the shadows, who could it be?

The weapons were Bebin's according to Domas, so it's either him or Kage. It's most likely Kage, now that I think about it, and the orders he received from Bebin were to protect Bojji from the shadows.

And yeah, the old man is definitely one those Kings who went crazy after picking their reward. The crown is kind of a dead give-away

[serenade_beta]

One ring to rule them all

...Perhaps?
At least they are just going crazy instead of turning into monsters

[SeijiSensei]

I liked the first three episodes but found them a bit slow. That ended here. Episode four just relentlessly moved forward and covered a lot of content. Doubt this pace will continue for another nineteen episodes, but this was certainly one of the best single episodes I've seen in some while.

[frubam]

Man, would have never guessed Domas poisoned the meat; completely missed that detail, but it makes sense given his betrayal at the end of the episode. The man clearly loved Bojji; sad that he would follow orders to kill him. Ironically, I would have thought Bebin would be the assassin, but this role reversal(in simplistic terms) of Bebin actually being a good guy and Domas being antagonistic feels pretty refreshing.

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I liked the first three episodes but found them a bit slow. That ended here. Episode four just relentlessly moved forward and covered a lot of content. Doubt this pace will continue for another nineteen episodes, but this was certainly one of the best single episodes I've seen in some while.

I actually found the first 3 to be paced quite well. There was a bit of something in each episode that sparked my curiosity, but in ep 4, everything felt like it moved so fast... maybe too fast D0=. I think its because there were a lot more elements I had questions about with no answers.

Four eps in, and I still have no clue about the world they live in. There are so many mysterious and unexplained aspects to the story. It kinda reminds me of Kaiba in a way. Gets me excited to eventually learn about how this world operates and its people =03.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by frubam

Four eps in, and I still have no clue about the world they live in. There are so many mysterious and unexplained aspects to the story. It kinda reminds me of Kaiba in a way. Gets me excited to eventually learn about how this world operates and its people =03.

Seems like a fairly normal medieval fantasy

[frubam]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Seems like a fairly normal medieval fantasy

Really? I don't know anything about the King Ranking; we know the winner gets a reward, and that can affect the winner in a negative way, but we don't know its purpose, how its used, etc. There's the devil in ep 3 ofc, but then there's the strange creature that spit-shot back live animal stock to the forest in ep 4. I mean, that's weird in itself and not part of what I'd call a traditional fantasy. There is a gate to hell and demons, but we haven't seen what they look like, nor what their purposes are. Are these just singled-out oddities or is the world full of unusual wonders?

I dunno, maybe your experience with these kinds of stories is normal by general standards, or maybe I'm just allowing my imaginative curiosity to overwhelm me. I just see it as mysterious so far.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by frubam

we know the winner gets a reward, and that can affect the winner in a negative way
There's the devil in ep 3 ofc
but then there's the strange creature that spit-shot back live animal stock to the forest in ep 4
There is a gate to hell and demons

Doesn't Lord of the Rings literally have all of these? The Rings, the monster Gandalf fights...
I'd like to say maybe not specifically a creature that spits stuff, but I'm not an expert on that series

I'd like to also bring up Deltora's Quest, but my memories of that is even vaguer, so I don't remember if there was anything about the Belt of Deltora that had negative affects on the owner. Demons, devils, anything with fantasy monsters will have that sort.

Just to let you know that I am not saying Ousama Ranking's world is uninteresting or anything. I like it fine too.

[frubam]

Originally Posted by serenade_beta

Doesn't Lord of the Rings literally have all of these? The Rings, the monster Gandalf fights...
I'd like to say maybe not specifically a creature that spits stuff, but I'm not an expert on that series

I'd like to also bring up Deltora's Quest, but my memories of that is even vaguer, so I don't remember if there was anything about the Belt of Deltora that had negative affects on the owner. Demons, devils, anything with fantasy monsters will have that sort.

Just to let you know that I am not saying Ousama Ranking's world is uninteresting or anything. I like it fine too.

I've actually never seen LotR so... maybe Ourank does seem to be normal fantasy to you . Maybe I'm just getting medieval fantasy confused with historically-adapted stories(The King and whatnot).

That being said, shows like The Faraway Paladin, doesn't inspire or intrigue me about anything in its world so far, even though it appears to also have those sorts of elements. It's not bad, but its rather straightforward in its approach, so I don't get excited about it.

Speaking of DQ, was that any good? I remember watching the first 3~4 eps and was interested in it, but subs were super scarce to find and eventually just gave up trying to find any.

[serenade_beta]

Originally Posted by frubam

I've actually never seen LotR so... maybe Ourank does seem to be normal fantasy to you . Maybe I'm just getting medieval fantasy confused with historically-adapted stories(The King and whatnot).

That being said, shows like The Faraway Paladin, doesn't inspire or intrigue me about anything in its world so far, even though it appears to also have those sorts of elements. It's not bad, but its rather straightforward in its approach, so I don't get excited about it.

Speaking of DQ, was that any good? I remember watching the first 3~4 eps and was interested in it, but subs were super scarce to find and eventually just gave up trying to find any.

Ohh yeah, then perhaps you haven't really watched that many stories of this genre. Definitely would suggest LotR. It is known as a shaper of modern fantasy for good reason, definitely.

Narous are basically people who were influenced by anime and those stuff, but haven't had the experience to actually be an author. That's why they are "Narou", not "Natta"
These amateurs use fantasy worlds only as a way to create a convenient world whose rules bend down to them. They can do anything they want, because it is "fantasy".
They aren't out to make an incredibly, memorizing world for the audience.
That's my take on them, anyways.

DQ is a fine adaption, I believe. If you liked the books, I think you will like the anime. There are some changes, of course, and a bit of anime-original stuff.
Also the characters are (obviously) more anime-nized, so Jasmine is a good waifu now.