Ranking of Kings,otherwise known asOusama Ranking,is one of the many anime releasing this fall 2021 season. Almost immediately, it was recognized by the majority of the anime community as a masterclass sort of series.
There are a multitude of reasons for this show’s stellar reception, but a large majority of them come from all the thingsRanking of Kingsdoes differently from other modern anime. With that in mind, let’s go over some of these major distinctions, why they work forRanking of Kings,and how they contribute to its high quality and massive acclaim.
Updated Jul 26, 2025, by Jacob Buchalter:WithRanking of Kingsnearing the end of its first season and already getting a second one confirmed (just like another beloved fantasy show about magic), there’s more evidence now than ever before that this anime truly is something different. Whether its stylistically, narratively, or just in the writing of the characters, it’s the perfect time to talk a bit more about what exactly it is that makesRanking of Kingsfeel so unique compared to everything else.
10The Art Style
The visual style ofRanking of Kingsis like almost nothing else nowadays. Modern anime certainly has a stereotypical “style” that a lot of it adheres to, for better or worse. By contrast,Ranking of King’sart style is both an homageto the style of the original manga, while also incorporating some more modern aesthetics. On top of all that, it manages to capture a sort of “classic” anime aestheticseen in iconic shows and movies from the 80s and 90ssuch asMy Neighbor Totoro, Howl’s Moving Castle, orPrincess Mononoke.
It’s not just the style of the show that sets it apart, but the animation as well. Not only does this show put such an incredible amount of work into each of its important battles, the way it confronts them is entirely different as well. Just take the confrontation between Bojji and his opponent in episode twenty-one. They could have just approached that fight for what it was at face value, but instead, they decided to exaggerate it as if Bojji was fighting his opponent in his true form, which made the battle twice as visually stunning.
9The Wonder & Fantasy Of The Setting
The setting ofRanking of Kingsis quite storybook or video game-esquein its world building. Magic exists, animals talk, demons are ever-present, and apparently the world used to be ruled by the Gods themselves. Anything can happen inRanking of Kings,yet nothing breaks the viewer’s suspension of disbelief. The show gives just enough explanation to make it seem like anything is possible in this world. Queen Hilling can heal almost any injury, but it takes a lot out of her, and it doesn’t “restore” what was already lost, such as an eye or a leg. In most settings that attempt this sort of “children’s book” atmosphere, this sort of healing magic would be left unexplained or would be all-powerful, but that isn’t the case here.
Despite this,RoKcan be quite brutal as well. There are a lot of dark and violent moments in this show, which intentionally contrast with its art style,some of which take a bit too much from actual history and have been pretty polarizing overall.
8Constant Stereotype Defiance
Now that more episodes ofRoKhave come out, this is only becoming more and more true.Ranking of Kingsseems stereotypical or “cliché” at first, but upon further inspection, it is anything but either of these. The original author of this series, Sosuke Toka, must be familiar with every common character and story trope out there, because he expertly avoids them all so well within his narrative.Being “generic” is not necessarily a bad thing,butRoKbenefits from avoiding it.
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It’s hard to describe this aspect of the series in concrete terms. In short, the way that a character would typically act, or a solution would typically be found in these types of stories, is never they way they act or are found inRanking of Kings.In any other story, Queen Hilling would only care about ascending Daida to the throne; Daida would commit evil deeds from pure jealousy of Bojji; even Prince Despa would betray Bojji in some sense at some point in the story. But instead, all three of these characters — who seem predictable at first — constantly make the audience guess at what they’ll do next.
7Nothing Is “Just” Black & White
To dive a bit more into the point that the characters ofRanking of Kingsare top-notch, not a single one of them (in the main cast) is pure good or evil. King Bosse, for example, has had more and more of his troubled past revealed over the course of the season, and is no longer the sparkly-clean invincible King he once appeared to be.
Meanwhile, someone like Ouken,an immortal psychopath who gives off some Orichimaru vibes, actually has a tragic backstory that makes his current situation and personaltiy all the more heartbreaking. Every character inRanking of Kingsis entirely three-dimensional, and it makes it very easy to root for just about everyone on screen at all times.
6Character Development Takes Precedence Over Action
Surprisingly,RoKhas a fair amount of action, though the first episode of the show might cause viewers to think the opposite. Even if Bojji doesn’t get into many fights, he’s not the only character an episode will focus on. But while these action-oriented moments are animated beautifully, they never feel like the core of the show; that lies in the real emotional moments. It’s clear that the fights and action sequences are a way to keep the story movie and viewers interested, where the character moments and conversations are the real focus.
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For example, during one moment, a character is told to drink an elixir to gain immense power, and by all accounts, he seems like the character to do so. However, he doesn’t, and instead has to fight off people trying to force-feed it to him. This fight is animated beautifully, but most viewers will be far more enamored with the character’s actions, and how they show he is actually much deeper than they first assumed.
5The Little Moments Are The Most Important
Ranking of Kingsputs an absurd amount of work and importance into the smallest moments, both in terms of animation and continuity. These moments range from the painstaking animation work behind a simple spin of a weapon, or even just the variety of muscle movements a character’s face makes as their eyes well up with tears.
One of the best examples is the ongoing pattern in which, if a character is talking to Bojji but is not looking directly at him, Kage translates or Bojji looks confused. This applies to Miranjo talking to him from inside the mirror, the Order of the Underworld Captain with his mouth obscured, or just any character talking to him with their back turned. It’s such a minor factor, but it’s the constant stacking of these little factors that adds to the viewer experience overall.
4There Is Zero Fanservice
This is a big one for those who are looking for more anime to recommend to their friends. These days, it can be difficult to tell friends about a lot of anime due to the sheer amount of fanservice found in each one. For example,Dress Up Darlingis a fantastic anime, but it has a lot of moments that would make it a bit uncomfortable to watch with friends. It’s a shame, because these shows, more often than not, are fantastic in every other aspect and nine times out of ten those awkward moments don’t even add much to the overall narrative.
Luckily,Ranking of Kingsseems to have absolutely zero fanservice so far, outside of maybe a bit of Hilling’s shoulder’s showing when she goes beast-mode to heal Bojji. What’s more it doesn’t seem like the type of show to suddenly include a bunch way down the line, meaning it’s completely safe to recommend to anyone — and accessible for plenty of people to enjoy.
3The Pompous Brother Isn’t Just Evil For Evil’s Sake
This ties into the “characters are more than just their stereotype” aspect of the show, but Bojji’s brother, Daida, deserves some special recognition for his character. Prince Daida, for all both visually and in terms of personality, first seems likethe overly-pompous and jealous younger step-brother with a Disney Villain-esque evil plot. And, for a time, he does encapsulate that archetype a bit.
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But very quickly, it becomes clear that this kid isn’t the two-dimensional archetype he first appeared to be, and there’s a lot more to his story that’s worth watching. To avoid major spoilers, Daida is more of a sympathetic character than he first appears to be,and that’s a hard thing to pull off.And, now that more episodes of the season are out, Daida has only become more of a three-dimensional character, not less.
2Young Characters Aren’t Annoying
Speaking of the two Princes, this show’s cast of young characters deserve some discussion. The main character for this show is a literal child, one who sadly can’t even speak. Prince Bojji is a child, Kage is a child, Prince Daida is a child — yet all of them are fantastic in terms of their decision-making and overall writing.
So often in anime and other types of media, child characters are plagued with being poorly written and the worst parts of their respective series. More often than not, they’re the ones making the awful decision that leadsto characters getting killed way too early,getting horribly maimed, or just put in a bad position in general. But inRanking of Kings, the children are a delight and most times are making more intelligent decisions than even the adults. And, funnily enough, as the show goes on, more of the adult characters are becoming more childlike as well, such as Domas or even Miranjo.
1There’s A Lot Of “Show Don’t Tell”
Finally,Ranking of Kingsis not the type of show to explain everything. Sure, a lot of the smaller stuff is explained to the viewer, but the writing adage “Show Don’t Tell” is exemplified in this anime.Ranking of Kingshas a bit more faith in the intelligence and observational skills of its viewers than a lot of other modern anime seem to have nowadays.
For example, viewers aren’t told that Domas is frustrated with Bojji’s lack of growth; instead, they can see it in all his minute facial expressions. Fans aren’t told how all the high-ranking officials feel about making Daida king instead of Bojji, but it’s clear from their body language and actions. Whenever Kage isn’t around, the viewer isn’t told, but rather shown, how Bojji feels about a certain situation or what he’s thinking. There are dozens more examples, and it’s this trust in the viewersthat makesRanking of Kingsone of the best anime on Crunchyroll.
