Ranking of Kings

Ranking of Kings looks deceptive on purpose. The art style borrows from European picture books: simple character designs, rounded shapes, soft colors, and backgrounds that look like watercolor paintings. Anyone scrolling past it might assume it’s a show for young children. That assumption falls apart within the first episode.

Bojji is the firstborn prince of the Bosse Kingdom. He’s deaf, communicates through sign language, and is so physically weak that he can’t lift a child’s training sword. In a world where kings are literally ranked by their power and accomplishments, Bojji sits at the bottom of every measure that matters. The show opens with his kingdom openly discussing whether he’s fit to rule, and it builds from there into a sprawling fantasy narrative about power, kindness, and the gap between appearance and reality. WIT Studio adapted Sosuke Toka’s web manga into 23 episodes that aired from October 2021 through March 2022, and the result is one of the most emotionally affecting anime of the decade.

The community response to Ranking of Kings was passionate and somewhat surprised. Viewers who came in expecting something lightweight found themselves blindsided by how hard the show hits. The consensus is clear: this is a show that earns every emotional moment through careful character work and a willingness to take its themes seriously.

The Heart Behind the Fairy Tale

Ranking of Kings excels at making you care about its characters with startling efficiency. Bojji’s journey is the emotional spine of the show, and it works because the series never treats his disabilities as obstacles to be overcome through some magical fix. He’s deaf throughout the entire series. His physical weakness doesn’t disappear. Instead, the show asks what strength looks like when conventional measures of power don’t apply, and the answer it arrives at is deeply moving.

Bojji’s relationship with Kage, a living shadow and member of a nearly extinct race, forms the show’s emotional foundation. Their bond develops naturally, built on mutual recognition of being outcasts in a world that has no use for them. The dynamic between a prince who can’t speak and a shadow who has lost everything creates moments of warmth and humor that anchor even the show’s darkest stretches.

WIT Studio’s animation brings the storybook aesthetic to life with impressive action sequences that hide beneath the simple designs. When fight scenes arrive, they’re choreographed with a fluidity and impact that belies the show’s rounded, seemingly childlike visuals. The contrast between how the show looks and how intensely it delivers action is one of its most effective tricks. Director Yosuke Hatta and his team understand that the art style isn’t a limitation but a deliberate tool for creating tonal surprise.

The show’s approach to its antagonists deserves special recognition. Almost no character in Ranking of Kings is purely evil. Villains have comprehensible motivations. Characters who seem trustworthy reveal hidden agendas, while those who appear villainous turn out to carry their own pain. This layered approach to morality gives the show a richness that simple good-versus-evil narratives can’t match. The story is deeply interested in why people make the choices they do, and it extends genuine empathy to nearly everyone in its cast.

The musical score by MAYUKO enhances every emotional beat without overpowering them. Quiet themes underscore character moments while more expansive compositions accompany the show’s larger revelations. The soundtrack knows when to swell and when to pull back, and that restraint makes its biggest moments land harder.

Where Ranking of Kings Stumbles

The show’s ambition occasionally outpaces its structure, particularly in the second half. The cast expands considerably as political intrigue and backstory revelations multiply, and not every thread receives the attention it deserves. Characters who are introduced with emotional weight sometimes disappear for episodes, only to return for rushed resolutions. The show asks you to track a lot of moving pieces, and a few of them get lost in the shuffle.

Pacing in the final stretch becomes noticeably uneven. Several episodes pile on revelations and character turns at a speed that doesn’t give individual moments room to breathe. The show spends its early episodes building emotional connections with patience and care, then compresses its climax in ways that undercut some of the payoffs it’s been working toward. Key confrontations resolve faster than the buildup suggests they should.

The tonal balance wavers in spots. Ranking of Kings shifts between whimsical fairy-tale humor, brutal violence, and devastating emotional reveals, sometimes within the same episode. When these shifts work, they’re part of the show’s unique charm. When they don’t, they can create a sense of tonal whiplash that breaks immersion. A comedic beat landing right after a traumatic revelation doesn’t always serve the story.

Some viewers also note that the show’s backstory-heavy approach can feel repetitive. Multiple characters receive extended flashback sequences explaining their motivations, and while each individual flashback is well-crafted, the pattern of revealing a character’s tragic past to recontextualize their present actions follows a recognizable formula by the second half.

Kindness as Power

The central idea that makes Ranking of Kings special is its argument that kindness is not weakness. In a genre full of power fantasies where strength solves problems, this show proposes that empathy, persistence, and the ability to connect with people matter more than any sword technique or magical ability. Bojji’s journey is a sustained argument for this idea, and the show commits to it fully rather than treating it as a platitude.

What makes this work is that the show doesn’t shy away from the cost of Bojji’s approach. Being kind in a cruel world means getting hurt. It means being underestimated and betrayed by people you trusted. Ranking of Kings acknowledges all of this and still concludes that choosing kindness in the face of cruelty is the most powerful thing a person can do.

Should You Watch Ranking of Kings?

If you respond to character-driven fantasy with genuine emotional depth, Ranking of Kings belongs near the top of your list. It’s a wonderful entry point for viewers who don’t typically watch anime, thanks to its accessible art style and universal themes. Fans of fairy tales, underdog stories, and morally complex fantasy will find a lot to love here.

Skip it if you’re looking for a tightly plotted narrative that maintains its structural discipline throughout. The show’s heart is always in the right place, but its plotting gets messier as the cast and stakes expand. If emotional storytelling doesn’t move you and you need clean narrative architecture, the second half may frustrate.

The Verdict

Ranking of Kings is a show that uses simplicity as a disguise. Behind its storybook exterior lives a fantasy narrative with emotional intelligence that most anime never achieves. Bojji’s journey from dismissed prince to something greater is one of the most affecting character arcs in recent memory, elevated by WIT Studio’s animation and a supporting cast full of surprising depth. The structural wobbles in its back half are real, but they can’t diminish the power of what this show accomplishes at its best. It’s the kind of anime that reminds you why you watch anime in the first place.