-This contains spoilers for those that have not seen up to ep 16-
Character death is nothing new, it happens quite often in media. At the same time, for as prevalent as it can be, it doesn’t always take away the edge when bearing witness to it.
Seeing how Boji’s mother died got to me. SHITS GOT ME TEARY. Maybe it’s just because as I age my heart grows softer as it is indeed a heart of flesh, but this shit hit hard.
We open and it’s made clear we’re in the midst of battle, to what end and what for I am not sure beyond Miranjo is working to kill these two.
The way she pleads and shelters her dear boy from the arrows of betrayal slung their way. A few of which have hit their mark. The plea to spare her son, ready to surrender her own life because if she must die, so be it, but not the boy. A mother’s sacrifice is again something seen time and time again BUT THIS JUST HITS FOR ME.
Miranjo, of course, cannot be bargained with and gives the call to once again let loose their fire.
I knew it would not end well and my heart sank as I saw the draw of more arrows capable of ending this dear giant mother.
THIS TINY CHILD ENDURING THIS. HE HAS NO CLUE WHY THIS IS HAPPENING AND ONLY KNOWS THAT IT IS. He knows enough to tell that shits gone wrong, his mother is hurt and the danger isn’t over.
It matters not how she begs, this will not be stopped and so the next barrage of arrows sound off their wretched cries as they cut across the sky of an undeserved beauty and ill fit backdrop for the tragedy at hand. The stage will not always necessarily match the scene as those at work will not wait and merely act on opportunity.
This little guy has won a cozy little spot nestled within my heart and seeing him try to make sense of this even as he can’t. Hearing him try to speak anything out to his beloved mother.
He can offer naught but vocal gesticulations of no formative words but his heart is so clear.
The final bid to protect her son is made as she ensures he is as out of harms way as he can possibly be. There is zero assurance he won’t yet die but it matters not. Stay here, stay safe, and the part I cannot capture is where she readies herself to take the arrows she can hear giving their scornful cry while speaking death over her before delivering the ire of another heart afire with ill placed resentment, all the while tearfully pleading a final time for him to survive this.
The way it the frame shakes. These arrows are more as spears made able to take flight, designed to do more than simply pierce, it all tells of horrid brutalization. To be struck would be pain, to remove it would be just as damaging. This is a rather wretched form of hate.
I was losin my damn mind here in this moment. You can see his mother’s body jolt, sway, and move to rhythm created from her flesh being torn asunder. The little one just PRAYING as there is nothing else he can do. He can’t stop this. There are likely a million and one thoughts running through his mind and it all likely sounds as nothing but a chaotic roar of static even as his world is kept silent though not still.
He only ceases when he can feel his mother’s blood pool beneath him.
A moment he is lost in the reality of seeing his reflection within the crimson essence of his mother. Yet it doesn’t hold him, he offers one final gesture to her as he is all too aware of what this means.
This nuzzle of her being as his boots slosh and splash against ground flooded with the draining life of his mother dear.
At last the barrage stops. Though not without cost, yet the one who has paid the greatest price is the most innocent of all involved. Sheena herself nothing but a pawn no matter how much Bosse may have grown to actually care for her. It didn’t change the part she played and what the goal was with her, she gave Bosse the means to attain the power he so desired. It’s hard to tell whether he had a true change of heart as his loyalties seem so skewed. Who does he truly care for most and how much of what he says is just to appease in order to redirect or lead along.
Those are thoughts for another day.
In this moment we close out with Sheena as her body falls from the inability to sustain itself any further. Her life has ceased and her son was indeed spared though now carries this with him. The final moments with his mother were spent ankle deep in her blood.
At times this anime feels a bit scatter shot BUT WHEN IT HITS-
I’m still on episode 9 but Ousama Ranking/ Ranking of Kings have done a great job in discussing how to be a good ruler and what requires to be the most powerful person in the world.
Bojji is a very lovable character and I think his tears are the most powerful thing in the show.
(Every time seeing him cry just gives me teary eyes)
Being brave doesn’t require strong muscle or genius mind.
Being brave is about getting to know your own weaknesses and accepting who you are.
This is the starting point where you can learn to be a better self, improve then evolve.
And Bojji’s tears are the proof of him being brave.
So – looks like Teh Sweetest Fairy Tale Evah with a differently-abled protagonist that quickly morphs into PG-rated Game of Thrones where nobody is who they seem, you have NO clue who is on which side or what the real agendas are, and there’s lots of edge-of-your-seat battle scenes without a lot of plot armor going around. And it – manages to stay wholesome and upbeat in the midst of all that cynical brutality? O-kaaay….
So in my endeavours to watch some newer animes I stumbled upon Ranking of Kings after a friend recommend it to me and it kept popping up here and there, and I decided to give it a shot. It is not at all what I expected but I have zero regrets! It was such a beautiful and powerful anime and I was excited to draw the cast for it!
Hi! I was finally able to finish this drawing! I loved this series so much, it was an emotional journey where I loved and hated characters at the same time and saw different visions and personalities.
I really recommend watching it, it’s very, very good!!!
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Do not repost without my permission (of course you can ask, I don’t bite)
So the voting for Crunchyroll Anime Awards are (still) open, and I must say how disappointed I am for this year AotY. Where is Fruit Basket? or Kobayashi san? Tokyo Revengers? Fumetsu no Anata e?
![[Dark Souls x Ranking of Kings]Solaire of Astora](https://64.media.tumblr.com/ab473ab7df1884f154618922bfe5dccb/747b69602f122882-52/s1280x1920/f36444530a50b6ba5ebb6e634e3c36ea464a7248.png "[Dark Souls x Ranking of Kings]Solaire of Astora")
