Ranking Of Kings is amazing and there’s a million things I want to say about it..
but I wanna start with this heckin scene.
That scene.
WHY,
But like,
in a good way.
You see, we don’t actually know much about Diada’s feelings toward his brother, well, aside from, y’know, the fact that he’s willing to harm and even kill him if doing so is necessary for his ambitions. Eheh.
That sounds straightforward, but the other characters, even other characters who’ve done great harm to Bojji, Domas tried to legit kill him, have become complex enough to indicate we don’t have the full story on Daida either.
Daida has technically said exactly two lines directly toward his brother, “I won’t go easy brother,” & in frustration he shouted out “this isn’t fair brother!” when Bojji kept dodging his attacks.
He has also said exactly two lines betraying any semblence of feelings toward his brother, good or bad (discounting thoughts of what to do about him as a potential threat, which are oddly impersonal for your typical fictional character with family issues)
Once was to Queen Hailing, it’s easy to dismiss his “but I think that would make my brother miserable,” as manipulating the queen into putting Bojji into a vulnerable position. It probably indeed had that ultereor motive.
Then there’s that scene. His outburst towards Domas made NO SENSE, but like, in a good way. Like You’ve Just opened up a puzzle box.
The fact that pretty much every main character close to Bojji has gotten their big flashback development scene except Daida is the most obvious clue that the show’s holding out on something.
Re-watching early episodes helps you fully realize how much ambiguity there is about Daida and Bojji’s relationship.
So, let’s take those cues and overanalyze the f*ck outta this scene.
Ok, so first of all, it’s hella smart for Daida to identify Domas’s decision as a red flag. He’s rightly upset about that on a personal level and strategic level because as King he now has to work with someone he views as untrustworthy.
Yet, anger, pure unadulterated rage was not expeced. The sheer intensity in Daida’s emotions raises a big question. Why?
He threw a f*cking vase at Domas for crying out loud.
The thing is I can’t come up with a reasonable tactical reason for Daida to say any of this to Domas. If he was yelling at him in hopes it would frighten him into obeying his order to kill Bojji, the angle he took could’ve easily backfired. So there’s definitely an alternative reading when combined with knowledge from episodes 5-6.
We got two, very brief, contextless flashbacks. Depicting Bojji either crying or slacking off while Daida was working hard. We also see a dream sequence where a younger looking Daida is terrified, watching his “last glimmer of hope” aka older brother lose a fight.
He wakes up from the dream and immediately demands the mirror to help him become more powerful, all but outright saying he’s terrified of the fact that his weak brother is all he can count on, he’s desperate to become stronger to protect himself.
Combined with the brief flashback to what must be one of Bojji’s few moments of slacking,
really makes you wonder how much Daida’s “ambition” is really just a slightly aged manifestation of lifelong fear.
Perhaps he’s held onto some bitterness in his heart, on how quickly he (feels) he’s been forced into a position of power. The fact that the adults around him are so ready to push him onto the throne that they’d stoop to betrayal struck an old wound.
Emphasis on the old wound part, because he acts like he’s fully accepted his supposed destiny as king. There’s a chance this old wound may be opened again given his desire to “believe in my own potential,” being violently denied by the mirror that’s manipulating him.
On the topic of old wounds and conflicting feelings... there’s also this thing his teacher said. 🤔
Anyways, that’s one reading. It’s also possible that he simply ‘cares about his brother secretly uwu’ & that’s why the betrayal struck a nerve, but that’d be boring. 😂
It’s possible he was just manipulating Domas too, though that’d be boring for different reasons. 🤣
Welp, we’ll see how the nuances turn out.
In general Daida’s already starting to remind me of Azula from Avatar The Last Airbender.
Yet while ATLA waited until the very end to make her complexity known, Ranking Of Kings is making its buildup more clear, & starting way earlier... that has me hyped asf.
I LOVED the concept of Azula’s predicament, and loved her as a character, but was always disappointed in the lack of reasonably apparent emotional nuance and of/c how her tragedy was kind of tacked onto the ending of ATLA.
Daida & Bojji struggling to survive being put into positions of power in what seems to be a brutal world far too young (even Daida admits like ‘yo, mirror, I’m still young, chill’ obv not in those words but) is an overarching conflict I’m loving so far & hyped to see more of.
Oh yeah, full disclaimer, this promo art an artist on the show posted relating to the next episode motivated me to actually write down & post my thoughts. XD Them, happy brothers? At some point in time at least? I knew it.
to be honest, at first I was a little disappointed when it seemed like they might be going down a “becomes a nicer person because they experience pain” type of schtick with Daida.
But. Then episode 11 happened. Holy heck.
Oh my actual god, I legitimately did not expect this show to go this hard, to hit this nail so directly on the head.
Um, CW, for literal eugenics.
So, basically.. um.. what this strongly implies... is... Daida was ok with his brother being assassinated... probably... because... he thought death would be mercy for his brother. That’s what I’m getting from this whole development.
This... is not exactly what I expected, but wow. Wow. This show is not holding anything back. Nada. They’re going all in.
Daida was simultaneously jealous of, yet also pitied his brother, and he faced pressure from all directions to be not just his brother’s guardian, but to be a strong king to protect the weak... the latter he seems to be beginning to internalize only now?
The idea that his brother has a stronger will to be able to go on living is a seed likely planted for later (usually I’d be concerned about this idea becoming problematic, but given the show’s track record so far, especially in how ableism is focused on much more than the disability itself, I’m not too worried.)
Nonetheless, to sum it all up, it’s clear that his feelings towards his brother are complex, nuanced, and changing.
We know he cared enough for his brother to reflect and begin feeling guilty once he realized his mistakes in the mindrealm or whatever it is he’s stuck in...
Yet not everything is explained yet. There’s still a little ambiguity, we don’t know explicitly what his thoughts are on all the ideas he was confronted with during that walk through town. Many seeds were planted, and of/c the story may have a few twists & surprises in-store.
In-fact most of the clues we got way back in episode 1 and 2 have yet to be outright confirmed or expanded on. There’s evidently much, much more to come in the ways of development and flashbacks, likely being saved for later in the story.
For starters, right from the beginning it was evident that
Daida knew Bojji could lip-read.
That one scene when he tried to challenge Bojji? Pay close attention. Although directly addressing Domas, he also had his body and head turned subtly towards Bojji the whole time, even made prolonged eye contact, ensuring Bojji could understand what he’s saying.
Further, he was also completely unsurprised when Bojji responded affirmatively to “I won’t go easy on you brother,” even seemed to expect a response.
Right from the beginning It was clear these two were very close at one point.
Not-to-mention
The story’s avoided confirming whether or not Daida knows Sign Language
The only reason he had to ask what Domas signed one time is his back was pointedly turned to Daida at the time, Daida couldn’t see. Perhaps they’re saving the reveal for an emotional moment?
Nonetheless I am on board af with the hilariously obvious foreshadowing to a future struggle where Daida, despite expecting, even being literally raised to protect his brother, ultimately being the one saved by Bojji.
Yes Daida, your stubborn ass is gonna need to accept help from ur disabled brother.
This is awesome, y’all have no idea. Main reason I liked Kimetsu No Yaiba is I got to laugh at all the times the obliviously stubborn “I must protect my sister!” Tanjirro would be saved by said sister, but for this sort of plot to be intentional? Holding absolutely nothing back in worldbuilding the ablest society, and in setting up the dramatic context for the characters? hell yes.
TBH placing Bojji at the intersection of a fictional disability (being born tiny & without physical strength, despite being part of a physically strong race) & a real-life disability (deafness) is fascinating.
Looking forward to seeing how it turns out, so far the anime’s been awesome!
I wonder if that one brief interaction with Bojji & the realization that they share a pain in losing a loved loved one
is all it took for Hokuro to not just begin paying attention & noticing things about the the deaf prince most others wouldn’t...
but to go out of his way to learn sign language just in case he, as a random soldier stationed in the castle, would ever interact with the prince again.
It’s all too easy to see Bojji as passive. He doesn’t speak, Kage often does the heavy lifting in communication for him, at first glance many of his few actions are reactive rather than proactive.
Disabled ppl are often seen this way in real life, caretakers are communicated to first, and they’re generally seen as weak victims in most situations... unless you pay attention.
Bojji, too, is far more proactive than one would initially believe when you pay enough attention.
Remember that time Bojji was getting attacked by snakes?
Ever wonder WHY that was happening? In some random clearing, where Bojji wasn’t anywhere he wasn’t supposed to be or anything, AND as we would later find out he’s supposed to be FRIENDS with the boss-mama snake?
Also btw in the manga it’s stated that Boji can communicate with animals.
ESPECIALLY after seeing Bojji intentionally and independently train with some birds in episode 7, it’s obvious that Bojji was TRAINING with the snakes.
His dodging skills aren’t some random, innate superpower, it’s a skill that Bojji intentionally honed himself. This changes a lot of what we know about Bojji’s progression as a character in the story.
Consider his big fight against Daida.
In light of recent realizations, I believe Bojji challenging his stronger little brother like he did was premeditated. Sure, Daida was the one to approach, but Bojji knew the opportunity would strike, that the time would come where he’d have to prove himself against the favored prince.
Bojji’s deaf, but he’s not dumb. He knew his father was dying. Tensions were rising. He knew everyone gossiped and mocked him, he knew Daida was the popular one. He knew even the ones he once had warm relations with such as Queen Hailing were turning against him.
This fight is a culmination of what was probably years of training in secret against a backdrop of deteriorating security and trust within the royal family as the king’s health waned. This wasn’t a miracle, it wasn’t a fluke, Bojji planned this, he planned his strategy and fighting style to get around his lack of physical strength. Honing agility was his independent idea.
Yeah,
Of course this makes the disapproval of Bojji’s fighting style sting so much more... but thankfully Bojji had a friend in his corner.
I don’t think it’s an accident that Bojji actually went through with his plan the very same day he had his first big heart-to-heart with Kage on that hill.
Yeah! Go ahead and become king, then make the world a more fun place! I’ll be looking forward to it. Eheh.
- Kage, episode 1
The lil shadow guy unknowingly put the entire plot in motion.
Independence is great, but the necessity for support systems and true friendship also cannot be understated. Ranking Of Kong’s gets that. It’s beautiful.
