It feels like someone just hit the accelerator on the story here. I don’t think anyone can accuse Ranking of Kings of slow pacing after what episode 3 just gave us. It’s a little worrisome considering how everything went. If the anime decides to keep up this pace, then there are going to be a lot of issues going forward. Does this kill the episode though? Let’s take a look.
Ranking of Kings Episode 2 Review
Where can I watch Ranking of Kings episode 3?
If you want to give this anime a try, you’ll have to go over to Funimation. It isn’t on Crunchyroll. You also won’t find it at Netflix. Funimation is the place that has the rights to air the tale of the little deaf prince who’s trying to make his way in the world. That means that if you want to watch Bojji you’ll have to get a subscription at Funimation. As of right now the episodes are not available for free.
Watch Ranking of Kings Episode 3 at Funimation
How was the story in Ranking of Kings episode 3?
There’s a lot that goes on. I’ve already mentioned that the story picked up speed pretty quickly. So many different events happen in episode 3 that it’s hard to organize them to make sense. If this review seems to be going all over the place that’s why. There are also some character interactions that don’t really make sense at the time. Hopefully, things will all come together.
We’re going to start with where Ranking of Kings left off. If you remember, Bojji was nearly beaten to death by his brother Daida in a duel. This appears to be a pretense to show us that magic does exist in this world. Bojji’s stepmother, Queen Hilling, heals him. This is the first in a series of events that make you think that some characters are actually in support of Bojji becoming king. I know Hilling organized the plot to install her son as king, but I think that’s going to change.
Everyone’s been behind Daida though. Why would they support Bojji now?
Daida is shown to demonstrate more and more his ruthless side. I actually appreciate that he’s being made out to be a shrewd and calculating monarch. Daida is consolidating his power by “getting rid of” those who supported Bojji becoming king. I suspect that he also wants to kill his brother. It’s what you’d expect from a contested ascension to the throne. I wonder how far down this dark path Daida will go.
With Daida purging Bojji’s supporters, we get scenes that you’d expect. Apeas fights with Bebin. Hilling talks with Daida and realizes her son is cold and ruthless. Bojji attempts to escape the castle, seemingly with his life on the line. I suspect that Bojji knows that he can’t stay there and be safe even though his pretense for leaving is to go find Kage. You know, all stuff that makes sense in the situation.
With all of this going on, even some of those that support Daida are shown to be hesitant in some of the decisions he’s making. Hilling is the most obvious person. We’re shown a flashback of when she first became queen after Bojji’s father married her. She tried her best to connect with Bojji and finally succeeded. Despite her harsh treatment of him in the prior two episodes, Hilling still sees Bojji as a son. She comes across as the overly protective parent.
Bebin is the other character that I think is turning to Bojji’s side. Yes, he did vote for Daida to become king, but he also is no fan of the magic mirror that’s been advising the new king. You see in his interaction with Daida that he’s not a fan of eliminating Apeas. He still attempts to go through with it, but he would prefer not to.
All of this political posturing sounds interesting. Why did you say the story is going really fast?
Of all of the events I’ve mentioned, there are still a lot more that I haven’t discussed. There’s the massive three headed snake (with one head missing), Kage and Bebin’s interaction, the results of Bebin and Apeas’s fight, the demon that emerged from King Bosse and a few other things. You barely get to digest one moment before something new is thrust into your face. How about a little exposition on that demon? Possibly a little more time on the mission that Bebin sent Kage on?
Frankly, by the end of Ranking of Kings episode 3 I had forgotten about some of the things that had happened at the beginning of the episode. That’s not a good thing. That makes me feel like elements are being added to the story just to get a cheap pop from the audience. It makes me wonder if we’ll ever get an answer for why they’re there. Maybe I’ve spent too much time watching Crunchyroll originals. I’m afraid that stories will go way off the rails once they start to head down that path.
What did Ranking of Kings episode 3 get right?
Even though events moved quickly, I think the political posturing in episode 3 was done really well. Daida came across as a shrewd and cutthroat leader. When you look at him you come away with the impression that he could be any powerful leader in history. History is flushed with people who were willing to do anything to secure their spot at the top. Daida comes across as someone with the same type of willingness and drive.
I also appreciated that while magic was introduced in episode 3, it wasn’t easy to use. Queen Hilling has the ability to heal others with her magic. Right away the question you’d have is “why doesn’t she go around healing everyone of all of their sickness and injuries?” That’s because it takes so much out of her to heal one person that she can’t continue. It’s like Queen Hilling is the mage character at the beginning of an RPG. After only a couple of spells they’re done.
I’m glad that she doesn’t have an endless supply of magic. Often times in all of the different forms of entertainment, it feels like magic comes so naturally to the main characters that it’s like breathing. Yes, there may be some schooling or practicing of spells, but it’s never really a struggle to bring out the magic itself. Watching Queen Hilling here gives the impression that she’s doing something that’s bending the rules of the world. When you think about it, that’s what magic truly is. I like it.
What did Ranking of Kings episode 3 get wrong?
I’ve already said it in the discussion about the story but I think it needs to be said again here, episode 3 moves too fast. Because of that fast pace, we get moments in the story that feel like they happen “just because.” Either that, or different parts of the story are lost to memory due to so much more happening later. MyAnimeList has this anime down for 23 episodes. Slow down and make everything tie in!
There is something else that bothered me once it was pointed out. Initially, I appreciated Bojji’s grunts and groans. He is deaf after all. My experience with people who are deaf is that they have varying degrees of ability to talk. That typically corresponds to just how much hearing they have or don’t have. In Bojji’s case, he can’t speak any words because he’s fully deaf. After a while, Bojji’s speech can get pretty grating on the ears.
This was pointed out to me by my wife as she sat next to me doing work while I watched Ranking of Kings episode 3. She’s not an anime fan and has no idea about what’s going on in this one. All she knew is that she was hearing some random noise coming from my computer. It was high pitch enough to get on her nerves. I explained what was going on, but from that moment on I started to get bothered by Bojji’s voice. I can definitely see how this might turn off viewers, despite it being a fairly accurate depiction of speech from someone who’s completely deaf.
Is Ranking of Kings episode 3 worth watching?
I’m going to say yes. Ranking of Kings episode 3 is worth watching even though it’s speeding along at 100 MPH. If this pace keeps up then it will have serious negative repercussions for the story as a whole. Now that Bojji’s out of the castle hopefully the story will get more focused. I guess we’ll just have to wait until next week to find out!
Now go watch some anime!
