Ranking of Kings released episode 17, and we saw an exciting showcase of Bojji’s newfound strength, as well as an explanation for the mystery behind Ouken’s immortality and powers. The episode started with the story of Satun, the king of the underworld and one of the gods who were going extinct. He was a ruthless king aiming for immortality, and he sacrificed a great amount of his people towards that goal. He had 3 sons: Desha, Despa and Ouken. Desha was the eldest son, and he inherited his father’s supernatural abilities. Despa, the middle son, inherited only a little bit of the powers and was mostly a regular human. Ouken had no supernatural powers as the youngest son, but he had great physical abilities.
© SousukeTOKA, KADOKAWA / Ranking of Kings animation film partners
The three brothers defeated their father, who failed to attain immortality. However, Ouken acquired it suddenly after turning 25, and we saw him afraid of losing himself. That seems to be exactly what happened, as the next scenes were of him in his armor as we know him, fighting Desha and losing. That’s when he got imprisoned as a criminal, where he continued to lose his mind until Miranjo came for him.
Bojji’s Growth
While we already knew about it, this episode highlighted just how strong Bojji has become. The first time we saw it was when Bojji and Kage got to Apeas. The man told them about Miranjo, and was ready to fight Bojji. Then he saw a threatening aura, which we saw as a giant shadow of Bojji towering over him. This is when he gave up and told Bojji to do what he wants, saying to himself that the young prince might just be the kingdom’s hope.
The second time we saw him was when Zokku was about to fight him. While running away from Ouken, Bojji stood in his way, and he immediately recognized the danger Bojji presented. He said he’s also bad news, and tried to trick him like he did Apeas before. He didn’t expect Bojji to be immune to poison though, and he got defeated relatively easily.
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© SousukeTOKA, KADOKAWA / Ranking of Kings animation film partners
Miranjo’s Character
While we’ve seen Miranjo presented as the antagonist, it’s clear she holds a grudge against the kingdom and that she was probably kind before whatever happened to her. This time we saw her with what appeared to be her mother, who she remembered after Kage said that Bojji is just trying to save everyone without thinking about himself. We also saw a rat she seemed to be controlling lead Hiling to where Apeas is (possibly to save him), and she also ‘accidentally’ gave Kage advice to save Bojji. While she’s still determined to go through with her plan, there might be more to it and she might just end up not being evil at the end of it. There’s also a version of her with Daida, and we’ll see why King Bosse also can’t say no to her. One thing’s for sure though, her backstory is going to be tragic.
Ranking of Kings episode 17 is available on both Funimation and Crunchyroll, and you can vote for it as the best of week 5 if you enjoyed it!. Episode 18 will release next Thursday on February 17, 2022.
Ranking of Kings official website: osama-ranking.com
Ranking of Kings official Twitter: @osama_ranking
© SousukeTOKA, KADOKAWA / Ranking of Kings animation film partners
