Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage

Episodes 7-8

Welcome back to the side stories of Ranking of Kings! These past two episodes were exemplary on a technical level, even if the narrative was light. "The Snake Charmer with the Crooked Smile" focuses on Bebin's journey to accepting that his path isn't what he expected, drawing parallels to Bojji's journey in the first season. The episode's second half gives insight into the Big Four's interpersonal dynamic. While episode seven's narrative was light, episode eight was practically up in the clouds with the addendum of some interesting art direction and an attempt to frame Bosse in a positive light.

Bebin's storyline fills out the smallest of story details: how did he know to send Bojji to Despa to train? The audience finds out that he did the same thing after a much-expended effort to overcome his rival, the spear-wielding Apeas. It was interesting to see Apeas as formidable since he spent most of his screen time last season unable to diverge from Miranjo's plotting. Bebin cannot best him, but, like Bojji, his approach ignored his natural strengths. We get a few humorous interactions between Despa and Bebin here (that smile will haunt my nightmares), but otherwise, there's little to expound upon in this first half.

The second half also isn't that deep, but the animation is worth watching on its own. The Big Four snipe at one another after they're assigned a building project in the kingdom. This is another "aftermath" episode following Daida's tour of the village and his decision to build a school. Concerned about their inability to work together, Daida tasks Hokuro with bringing them together. Hokuro's big idea takes a page from modern Japanese business practices: he takes them out drinking. He also plans a friendly competition with a local arm wrestling champ to unite them as a team. However, the plot goes awry when they each continue to offer the wrestler more money if they lose...and the pot grows well beyond what Hokura offered to pay him to throw the match.

Regardless of your attachment to the characters, this segment is an animation feast for the eyes. The segment was storyboarded and directed by Yoshimichi Kameda, with animation direction by Hiromi Niwa. Kameda has a litany of impressive animation cuts under his belt, having previously worked on the first season of One-Punch Man, Space Dandy, Fullmetal Alchemist, all three seasons of Mob Psycho 100, and most recently was the chief animation director Masaaki Yuasa's INU-OH. It's hard to pick what moment in this segment is the best example; there's interesting camera placement, fantastic facial expressions, and fluidity throughout. It really ups the excitement of what is a series of arm wrestling matches.

Episode eight is ho-hum, as much as I enjoyed tiny Kage and his mom. The longer segment begins with Bosse's proposal to Shiina and has a saccharine tone that is, admittedly, confusing. The giant is playing a long con to sap strength from his future son and build a kingdom, but there are intermittent moments about how he's not all bad and isn't interested in being the #1 king. Side-eye goes here. It's long been Ranking of King's ethos that there is good in everyone, even the seemingly villainous characters. This approach works in cases like King Desha but less so with the likes of Bosse and Miranjo. Their selfish machinations caused permanent damage to every character in this show; I'm not exaggerating.

If we focus on the animation, the "Great Mother" segment is an exciting experiment. The official website only credits the segment's director, Ryōya Kaga. Kaga doesn't work in anime in what fans would typically picture; his animation style utilizes kirigami papercraft, and he has primarily produced segments for NHK's Minna no Uta program. He directed The Ranking of King's second ending sequence and provided key animation for this season's OP. I really like when alternative animation processes are used like this. I hope Kaga continues to contribute to anime, and likewise, I hope we continue to see Miyo Sato popping up in places after her excellent paint-on-glass work for Mob Psycho 100.

If you've skipped out on this side quest for Ranking of Kings, you're missing out on some fantastic animation this season.

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Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

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