Ranking of Kings

Episode 9

Bojji and Kage take another backseat in order to highlight the real star of this episode, Queen Hiling. In a past episode, we saw some of the lengths Hiling went to in order to win over Bojji, but this week really cemented the effort she put in. She learned sign language, coaxed with cake, and proved herself to be a willing playmate for the young prince. We also got to see a bit more of her personality, allowing the woman who once appeared to be a haughty, cold queen to become fully realized.

If I had to describe Hiling, I'd say she's determined, self-assured, while simultaneously being socially awkward. The latter isn't something you expect from a noble lady, and some of it does stem from her natural abrasiveness. She isn't so inconsiderate as to be unlikable, but it is one of her shortcomings. Watching her win over Bojji by joining him in play and then pull Dorshe in was the primary flashback in this episode and it all lead up to her trusted dual-wielding shieldman thwarting a planned assassination attempt. Which leads me to my next point: I'm running out of ways to lavish praise on the animation in this show. The Dorshe fight is so well choreographed between the brutal assault against the beasts to the first-person camera angles that pull you into the action and his own sense of disorientation.

The attack is the final nail in the coffin for Bosse and Hiling's relationship and we see the queen fully embrace her role as a mother to these boys as she's able to sense Daida's cries as he wanders in the darkness of his own consciousness. She laces into Bosse about how he's failed as a father and sullied his own pride. She screams at him that he died and to give her her son back. She almost kills Bosse in her fervor to free Daida and you see the immense anguish in her face and body language as she realizes she can't reach him. That entire scene, with Daida submitting to his emotions and helpless as he cries out for his mom got me. This kid tried to have his brother assassinated and Ranking of Kings got me sniffling on his behalf.

Bosse remains somewhat frustratingly obtuse, as I can't discern entirely whether he is attempting to subvert Miranjo's plots, is an active participant, or has somehow wound up completely over his head. It seems more than likely that he moved Dorshe into his position as Hiling's bodyguard all those years ago for this specific occasion, but when he later questions Dorshe's allegiance, I found myself unsure whether he's betting on Dorshe staying by Hiling or if he was truly challenging him.

Later, Bosse makes romantic allusions to Miranjo who is completely infatuated with the boy-king and I found myself questioning his motivations again. Is he putting on a show to maintain her trust or is he truly infatuated with her as well? That's one of the great things about this show. Everyone has the propensity to surprise you but it's written so tightly that it never feels outside their character to do so. From where I'm standing, Bosse seems exhausted and not truly interested in living out another lifetime. When he assigns Domas and Hokuro to clear out the monsters in the dungeon, he may have actually ordered them to clear out the frozen menagerie while he distracts Miranjo. If she had any dreams of returning to her body once more, instead of her brief escapes into her marionette substitute (where did this come from, it's so creepy) it might not be there.

I want to believe Bosse is not evil, but it also raises the idea that the show doesn't have a real villain, per se. Both Bosse and Miranjo are certainly doing evil things, but I get the sense that there's some mutual manipulation going on between the two.

Rating:

Ranking of Kings is currently streaming on Funimation.