Oh, the third season of this anime is so brilliant that I have postponed my plans to watch old movies and animated series to another date. There are several disadvantages to this title, but in view of its advantages, they are as insignificant as last year's snow. Especially in the context of the latest season, which is a summary of Ri Boku's activities so far. Or, in other words, all of his actions so far have led to this point. The assassination of Ou Ki, an alliance with the kingdom of Qin (according to the rule - make an alliance with one neighbor, solve the remaining problems and finally deal with the ally), or actions to lull them into vigilance. The third season was entirely devoted to the invasion of the kingdom of China. An invasion that probably involved 8 countries (minus 1 who was offered a large territory in exchange for withdrawing from the coalition). It is such an epic arc that it is impossible to list all its advantages, amazing, touching and emotional scenes, great twists and more. Sheer perfection in the script and exhausted possibilities the comic's creator had. To sum up this paragraph, all of my praise so far for the Invasion in "Hunter x Hunter", or the complexity of the DB and DBZ endings to the Namek saga, are less significant compared to season 3 of "Kingdom". Of course, these are other types of comics, of course DBZ with its cheesy plot has no start to these titles, but so far I have mentioned these two stages when talking about how extensive and planned the arks (for their subject matter). As of today, their place is taken by the title that I am reviewing today. 26 episodes full of action, great plot, twists, brutality in an extremely emotional form.
I do not know if this is my favorite arc in the history of battle-shounen (I know, this title does not fit into this sub-genre, but because of the superhuman heroes, I cannot treat it differently, forgive me), but if someone asked me, could it be stay, then I would answer - of course! If I were to describe how I felt watching Season 3, I would say something like this. Imagine the invasion of Meruema Palace, the fight on the planet Namek or the Sasuke rescue arc (the one before Time-skip), which are even more intense. As if a fanatical fan, he squeezed each of these authors by the balls and made them squeeze as many cliffhangers, fights and epic moments as possible. Each chapter is to be full of these events, let's go! No talking! I am aware that the above steps are not perfect and each of them can be improved. Shorten or speed up, correct the plot, other minor errors etc. If I watched them today, I would probably complain about excessive dragging in each of them (probably the weakest in "Naruto"). I probably wouldn't watch with such emotions either, but then I watched them excellently. In fact, even today I am delighted with some fragments and I still have hair on my back or arms when I watch them. There are many important moments in them, the characters make a big progress, a lot of different things are happening that the fan wants to eat greedily. Generally, each of them represents a clear end to a certain part of the story. Well now, increase your turnover at least twice and we have "Kingdom S3".
Due to the fact that I forgot to finish this text, and therefore I do not remember the beginning of the invasion, I will forgive myself a detailed story. But I remember my emotions and thoughts very well, which looked something like this - "Fuck me, we had an intense war recently, and now we got something that could be even better!". It is hard to think differently when one sees so many armies heading for a bleeding and weakened Qin. I liked the title and its characters so much that their fear of the coalition struck me as well. Like them, I wondered if there was any chance of winning, and if so, what should be done to defend myself. The first decision surprised me a bit - they got rid of the greatest threat by bribing one of the rulers of the coalition. I was sad when they had to give up a large piece of their country, but in such a situation you have to accept it. Better to lose your left hand than your entire arm, from shoulder to hand - something else can be done with the stump, and the land can be recovered, by force or diplomacy. This situation is not the best time to think about such unimportant matters, and being a ruler is not only about pleasures. Or should I say, it's primarily duties, and only partly pleasure. After that, their situation changed a bit - from one with no chance of success to a fucking tough one, but with some hope of success.
As I wrote before, this arc is full of epic scenes. Generals and lower-ranking commanders often had to make decisions that were burdened with the dictatorship of time (i.e. had to be made here and now, based on the dynamically changing situation on the battlefield). In addition, they did not have the same capabilities as the opponents, who had more resources and the number of troops. Of course, the kingdom of Qin did have a little bit of ease in planning your strategy - it's easier to plan your defenses outside than in the open. On the other hand, however, the coalition had much more time to prepare the strategy, and they also had more resources (at least in some respects). In terms of tactics, both sides had their own abilities and opportunities, but in my opinion, the Qin defenders did better. Hyou's actions were the most epic for me, he showed that he has great intuition + great approach to soldiers and his commanders. Not to mention an excellent speech in which he mentally smashed his opponent and strengthened the morale of his warriors. I was most impressed by the tactic of Ou Sen, who deliberately left his position in order to trap his opponents and then massacre them. An equally impressive idea was to destroy one of the mobile siege towers and then lightning fast attack on your opponents. Great surprise effect, even though I expected a similar movement, it still made a strong impression on me. I would put Ri Boku in third place (Hyou is 4th in my personal best moment ranking this season), although he disappointed me a bit in the 1st stage of the fight, but he made up for in the siege of the city. Gradually, he was bleeding out his opponents and controlling the battlefield, taking away their hope of victory. Were it not for two details that he did not take into account in his planning, he would be celebrating with the King's head under his feet. If things are only better in this respect, then "Kingdom" broke into my top 5 of the best battle-shounen, like an Austrian painter, in many European countries during a rally around Europe.
Continuing the anime references, I felt like I was watching season 4 of "Full Metal Panic" but harder. Of course, not because the anime from Pierrot studio is equal to FMP, because it is not so in any respect, although the quality of the content does not stand out too far from it. This is due to the quantity. If I had to list all the scenes, texts or cliffhangers that I liked (and then explain it briefly, but succinctly), a long text could come out of it. This whole arc was such one long epic moment. When I heard that a coalition composed of several countries was going to be the main heroes, I did not even know what to expect. I had a few plans in mind, but none of them assumed it would be such a fast and good ride! Correct me if I am wrong - but was there not a single fully-talked episode by the end of the war? I might overdo it since I love the pacing and momentum of this season, but I don't recall it being so. The only thing that bothered me was a bad thread at the end. Or otherwise, I take back the earlier words - maybe it was cool, but since I don't like these elements in "Kingdom" (although they are not bad btw), I did not enjoy it. Especially after the show I had a moment ago.
I'll start with my favorite character, or should I say - a favorite from this pool, which we haven't got to know very well in the anime yet. Ou Sen is a hero shrouded in mystery, apart from the marvelous gear that fits perfectly with his menacing, piercing eyes, we know very little about him. His goal is to become king, and his maxim - I am not in a battle that I am unable to win. In addition, we are presented with him as a character (through the words of another character) who cares more about his own life than his own people. I liked him from the very first scene he showed, but he got my full recognition this season when he cynically left his position. He was so convincing that even his own allies believed that he had betrayed them. I love the scene where his opponent's best troops came from behind and ordered them to be murdered - "shoot them, they are like animals stuck to a situation with no way out - you can shoot them like for shields". Each of his successful actions was extremely motherfucker, but this is how war works - you absolutely have to use your opponent's mistakes against him. I wonder if he is trying to seize the throne because there is currently no possibility of a successful coup d'état, or is he honorable after all and has he promised it to his superior? Don't reveal what it is like in the manga - I want to see for myself if I was right. And if so, in which aspect.
Actually, I can say the same about the second Mou Gou treasure. We don't know much (yet) about him. Besides the fact that he is a thief who also serves his Lord and together with Ou Sen, they are his secret weapon, solving all the problems of the old general. So far, he has earned my appreciation for efficiency, insolence and style. It's nice to see a master of a different trade than a fighter when he uses the same tricks (but acquired in a completely different way), but because of a different mentality, he does it completely differently. Due to other experiences, he also has the know-how that ordinary soldiers do not have - he knows how to effectively break in and quickly penetrate an important place in the enemy camp. He sees an opportunity where others do not see it or do not know how to use it. He is a tactic master, apparently even better than Ri Boku. He is even more audacious and unconventional + is more prone to risk than Ou Sen, which can be seen from his tactics - in season 2 he beautifully entered the enemy camp, and in season 3 he successfully blocked an attempt to break through the walls with a movable tower, completely ignoring the reaction of his allies. He is also the opposite of Ou Sen - he finds himself better at chaos and makes better decisions more often than his opponents. Ou Sen, on the other hand, does not start a battle if he has not prepared an effective plan (in case something does not go his way). Supposedly, in Season 4 or the beginning of Season 5, he is set to show his best battle. I hope I won't be disappointed, this thief has enormous potential to become the most effective commander in this series!
I am so delighted with these two that I forgot whoever aroused my greatest sympathy. Duke Hyou ... I didn't like him at first, I thought he would be gone as quickly as he came (yes, I know, we saw him before Season 3), but with each episode, my feelings for him grew much warmer. Mainly because he is such a combination of Ou Ki and Lin Pao, or at least that's how I see him. It has a rather loose character and, like the Holocaust Lips, treats its warriors more like colleagues + has a good understanding of the battlefield. What he has with Lin Pao is his paternal attitude. He is not as honest and direct in this as the commander of the opponents of Qin, he did not treat Shin as his son, but watching the relationship develop between them, in my humble opinion there is a good chance that this would be the case after the victory. The old commander, like Mou Gou before and before Ou Ki, trusted the young man even though he risked a lot. Losing soldiers in such a situation would be particularly irresponsible. He probably also had the ability to select allies (like the aforementioned commanders, as it was explicitly stated), which additionally proves it well. This is also evident in his successful attacks. Fact, it was largely due to his emotional approach to combat, which ultimately paid for with his life, but who knows? Maybe his sacrifice contributed more to the victory? Maybe if he hadn't hurt Hou Ken with his words and strengthened the fighting spirit of his warriors, Qin would not have won? Maybe he wouldn't be able to squeeze anything more out of them, and thanks to that they could break their limits? We won't find out anymore, but we know how great a man Duke Hyou was. I'm glad that Shin will be holding his shield once he becomes a general himself (as we know from chapter 1 of the manga). It was an important figure in his life, something his father probably never met or forgot about him. Together with Ou Ki, they are a model for him.
As several characters have rightly pointed out, generals generally fall into two groups - those who command from a safe position, seeing the full spectrum of the battlefield, and those who command from the first, second or third front lines, sometimes actively participating in it. Kind of like studying psychology - a long time ago my colleague noticed that basically two groups of people go to this department - those who want to help others or solve their own problems. There are also mixes of both groups and such a character is Ri Boku. While the commanders (tactics, strategists, warriors) are better in certain aspects than him, according to my colleague Rafał, Ri Boku is the best when it comes to these three aspects together. I have no reason to disagree with it, his plan was perfect and as I mentioned in this text, all his actions so far have led to this point. He made an alliance (and made some concessions and actively supported Qin), thanks to which they ignored him, considering that he was not a threat to them. He then allowed them to bleed out in the conflict, thereby weakening their army's strength, economy, stability, and depleting financial resources and food. Each of these aspects has a greater or lesser impact on the morale of the army, the strength of the state - especially money and food. You can survive with a weaker economy or a lack of stabilization (if the rulers and their people control key areas of their territory), but starving soldiers without pay are a more difficult topic. His miraculous plan did not take into account just a few things, he estimated them relatively badly - eminently talented and charismatic commanders who used their abilities to the best of their abilities and perfectly implemented the plan to defend Qin, the enormous morale of the warriors, their sacrifice, brave lower-level commanders and the participation of the king himself who impressed of all defenders of his kingdom, 120% of their combat power. It was literally a struggle to exhaustion, each side used all its possibilities.
As for Ri Boku himself, we haven't gotten to know him very well yet. Sure, we know more about him than about the Shanks from "One Piece" (probably the best example that came to my mind), but that's too little for me to be able to honestly judge him. I liked him for his wisdom, cleverness and controlled arrogance - he is self-confident, knows that sometimes you have to be cruel and decisive, but at the same time he is not audacious. I really enjoyed the fight between him and Shin (or rather the introduction to it) and wondered if he would actually tell the protagonist about his plan and let him go free in case of defeat. I will be glad to see him in the next events.
A break from the males, now I will write about the female. One. But what a whore! She has a 6-pack instead of her normal belly (as she has a tighter skin), biceps, triceps and other muscles larger than many men, her height is about 2 meters, maybe even more. Continuing with the Game of Thrones references, this is a fucking Tarth Brienne (as the Hound used to say) after taking the same steroids as The Mountain. Men tremble with fear when they see her or how she deals with soldiers unaware of her complexes. Ka Rin does not like when someone talks about her non-female body and can brutally punish for it, as in the case of insubordination. I don't know about tactical skills, but the strategist is pretty good at her. Or else, it appears to be - her real attack was ingenious. I was expecting it, but it was one of the scenarios beyond the top-5 moves I was expecting, so I was partially surprised. The securing of this movement looked perfect. It was several layers of illusion; she deliberately cheated during the 1st match, gave her opponents cause for fear, took battle elephants with her, which increased the effect, and then made a good appearance. Anyway, I'd like to see her more often, I hope she doesn't die too soon and we'll see her in a few battles. I liked her for her ruthlessness, we quickly realized that the opinion of one of the soldiers turned out to be true. As he more or less said - "During a battle, not only its opponents suffer - sometimes they are even allies." It's such a real, full-blooded strong-woman. Not only in terms of muscles, but also character - Ka Rin is ruthlessly committed to the implementation of his plans.
The scenes with the king were epic, more or less, but I liked each one where he cheered on his warriors to fight. It is worth adding here for those who do not know the culture of China and Japan - their Emperors and rulers were even more adored by the people than European kings. You could even say that they were Gods for them, and their word was as sacred as if God himself had spoken to European Christians. Whatever the ruler does not say, his servant or resident will humbly listen to it and then carry it out. Ei Sei has developed his character a lot and has gained in my eyes this season. I had thought of him as a good ruler before, but now I was delighted with him. More or less the same as the warriors who, thanks to his presence, fought like lions and gave more than 120% when defending the fortress.
One of my favorite scenes was a short conversation between the king's brother and the prime minister. Did I say the conversation? I apologize for this blatant understatement, after the prime minister planned an assassination attempt on the prince (to hand over the castle without bloodshed, along with the king's head), and he failed because the prime minister's adviser ordered the king to flee (or - he recommended helping his soldiers), instead of to sit in a palace where it would be easier to kill him. On the other hand, the prime minister wanted to behead his adviser (almost sitting on the throne), but someone interrupted him. Well, on the way back, the young man explained to him why he had nothing to say more or less like this. "Hola Hola! Where are you going you dirty pig? You must have fucked up something in that stupid head. Your place is elsewhere, you fucking pig. Get the fuck out!" Of course, it was not like that, but since I am fresh from "Ślepnąc od Light" (I recommend, great Polish series), this is exactly what I heard during that scene. xD If it weren't for royal etiquette, if it had been a conversation between a lord and some greedy handy clerk, it would have been exactly like that.
And at the end of the character segment, a few words about the only character I didn't like - Hou Ken. Not because he is the Hulk in Ri Side's service, nor because he is IMO too one-dimensional creation. I don't blame him for killing Ou Ki either, someone had to do it, and Shin at least has an incentive to kick his ass. He's just fucking boring, and his plot armor is the most impossible in this comic book. Fuck, the guy walked straight ahead so many times, begging himself to be turned into a hedgehog with arrows, and no one attacked him! I ignore swords, halberds (albeit without exaggeration, it's impossible to get out of such situations without wounds!) And the fact that he murdered people, just like a large combine harvests its crops and no one even fucking scratched him. He is not so insolent with anyone else, and since he did not give me a single reason to be happy for 3 seasons (I do not count Ou Ki's fury), it is difficult for me to cheer him on. May he die quickly.
There will be little about the graphics, so I will combine this paragraph with the ending. As I wrote in the review of the 2nd season - it is better, sometimes much better, but still you can see savings and worse performance on the 2nd and 3rd sets. There is no more tragedy, it is relatively good. If the S4 is slightly better, then I should have no reason to complain. All I need is better animation of less important characters and a little more care when creating them, because sometimes they look funny when too much attention is paid to them. Opening was ... Well, the previous one was better. The endings turned out poorly, however. To sum up ... As this text shows, I am generally very pleased! I'm waiting for the next seasons of "Kingdom" as much as I am waiting for "Legend of the Galactic Heroes". I knew six months ago that I was in for a rather pleasant screening, but the latest season was much better than I expected. I had a wonderful time and I will definitely watch it again sometime. The rating is strong 8.5 / 10, in the past I would have given 9/10. Rarely do I watch titles that would make me feel like a child, and Kingdom did it to great effect!
Thank you for help to Rafał and for the expertise and proofreading to Karol.