English Dub Review: Ranking of Kings “The Footsteps of War”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

A gang of hooligans has been broken out of their prison and has been summoned by Miranjo to Bojji’s kingdom. Led by a robber named Zokku, the gang is a formidable foe to anyone who would cross its path… but for what purpose has Miranjo called them together to the kingdom? Given the freedom to do whatever they like, Kingbo takes the throne and orders Daida put in the dungeon. But when a mysterious armored knight called Ouken challenges him, King doesn’t stand a chance. Meanwhile, Bojji, Domas, and Hiling are all on their way to the palace to fight back against this tyranny.

Our Take:

Today’s release marks the 12th episode of Ranking of Kings. In a typical single season series, this would be the time to wrap everything up and attempt to answer all the final questions left unanswered. But in this case, The Footsteps of War only raises new ones. That’s because we’ve still got plenty of storyline left for the show to explore all of these intriguing new details, and it’s a good thing, too, because there are a lot of them.

The show opens with some lukewarm leftovers from the previous weeks to remind us of what’s come before, but then we get to finally see what’s up with the crime lords and who they are exactly. (Actually, first we get a little scene with Bojji and Kage where they learn that Prince Despa is coming to assist them, but that he’s lagging behind because of a really out of shape horse? It’s an odd little tidbit, but I guess it provided some levity in an otherwise pretty dark ep.) The leader of the gang is named Zokku, and he’s a crafty fellow who knows that there’s got to me more to Miranjo’s game than she’s letting on. Why did she summon all these thugs to her kingdom? It’s unclear until the last minute or so of the episode, when she finally tells everyone that she just wants the kingdom to come to ruin.

Introducing these guys to the area sure seems like a good way to do it. Zokku seems like the smartest of the bunch at first, but not everyone is as they may appear. When the tough one named Kingbo takes the throne from Daida, the suit of armor called Ouken attacks him for it, and uses a magical force to hold the big brute in place while strategic cuts are made to his wrists and ankles. It’s one of the creepiest scenes so far in the show, and instantly made Ouken probably the number one character I’m curious about. The way Ouken just squats down to watch Kingbo suffer was bad ass. Of course, Kingbo might not actually be dead yet, although Bebbin finds his body in the woods and instructs his snakes to bury the man.

It’s going to take a lot of muscle and mind power to take care of this motley crew. Luckily, Bojji and Kage aren’t alone in their quest. Hokuro and Domas are using this opportunity to fulfill Bosse’s wishes by sneaking into the palace to destroy the gate to the underworld. To be technical about it, Hokuro is just playing backup with a giant crossbow, but still. Then there’s Dorshe and Hiling as well, although it remains to be seen how effective they can be against Miranjo and her magical accomplices.

Ranking of Kings has really grown on me over the last few weeks. After a shaky start, it has slowly started winding up the gears and setting things on a path for collision, and this episode only puts the clock hand one second closer to the breaking point. The first few minutes of the ep are just dedicated to recap, which is kind of a bummer. I was worried that the entire episode would be a rehash of what’s come before, but luckily that’s not the case. Still, the episode feels like a placeholder of sorts to keep us interested until the plot kicks into high gear later on. There was plenty of important scene setting, however, and the introduction of Ouken has me excited for sure.