English Dub Review: Ranking of Kings “The Curse of Immortality”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Bojji and Kage encounter Apeas, who warns them to run away. He tells of Miranjo’s dream, which is to rule by King Bosse’s side and destroy whoever gets in her way. But Bojji can’t just abandon his people like that! He and Kage run into Ouken on their way out of the palace, and stop him from killing Zokku the robber chief. Kage and Miranjo watch as the prince faces off with the immortal Ouken—but who will prevail?

Our Take:

This week’s new dubbed episode of Ranking of Kings starts out as a rather meandering montage before throwing viewers into one of the biggest battles so far as the princes face off: Bojji versus Ouken. It’s a marked improvement over last week’s episode for me, and that’s not just because Prince Ouken is one of my favorite antagonists around.

Okay, that’s a big part of it though. With his featureless metal face and his flowing dark hair and his raspy inhuman laughter, the immortal prince is definitely one of the most spine-tingling characters in a show right now. He may have been seemingly vanquished a few weeks ago by that captain of Desha’s guard, but that doesn’t mean we’ve seen the last of him. We’ve been waiting for the moment he meets up with Prince Bojji, and this week that time finally arrives.

Bojji and Kage walk in on Miranjo ordering Ouken to kill Zokku. Though neither one of them knows exactly what is going on (they don’t even know who Miranjo is), Bojji does know that he’s not the kind of guy to let someone be killed needlessly. So even though Zokku isn’t the best of men, and he even tries to kill Bojji with poison (which doesn’t work, since Bojji’s a giant), the young prince vows to protect the robber boss from Ouken’s assassination attempt.

The fight itself is animated beautifully, cutting between unique angles that highlight Bojji’s special fighting skills. Prince Ouken is one of the best battlers around, but if anyone can give him a run for his money, it’s Bojji. He even seems to have won the fight when he breaks Ouken’s blade, but of course, the magical healing abilities come in handy for the demonic prince. Neither Bojji nor Kage know that Ouken is immortal, and when Miranjo casually mentions it to Kage, he changes his tune from cheering Bojji on to telling him to run. But for better or worse, Bojji’s not the kind of kid. At least, not anymore.

That’s the long and short of the episode. It takes time to show brief scenes with Domas and Hokuro, who have completed their underworld mission, and Queen Hiling, who makes it to an abandoned guardhouse before embarking on a new mission of her own. Neither of those storylines have much going on this week. Apart from Bojji’s battle, the most interesting thing is Kage and Miranjo’s conversation as they watch the proceedings. Miranjo seems to have a bit more respect for Kage than humans, as he’s a shadow clan creature. And when he talks about Bojji’s love for others, Miranjo might even see her own mother reflected in the prince’s actions.

The Curse of Immortality isn’t a very surprising episode, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t entertaining. There are some parts that lag a bit, like checking in with some of the side characters such as Domas and Hokuro, or Hiling and her guards. But the big moments of the ep come during Bojji’s battle with Prince Ouken, which is definitely up there with the best animation the show has pulled off so far. It’s an intense fight that doesn’t come to an end by the end of the ep, and that might be because it can never come to an end. I guess we’ll find out next week!