I really wanted Ousama Ranking to be the next Odd Taxi. Both started out fairly similar – neither had very much pre-season hype (Odd Taxi premise wasn’t even released till the first episode, and Ousama Ranking’s first episode aired after the rest of the season started). If it had turned out to be a hidden classic, I would be two for two and my anime ego would grow uncontrollably. But Ousama Ranking turned out to be more blockbuster than cult classic, with quite a few flaws along the way. Let’s take a look!
The Good
The positives!
| Visuals | +50% | I have never awarded 50 points for a single category before, but Ousama Ranking deserves it. You can say anything else about this show, but when it came to visual supremacy (especially in fights), Ousama Ranking is in a class of its own. Simply superb – absolutely full marks. |
| Opening | +20% | This is one of the best openings I have ever seen. In fact, it’s probably my favorite anime opening ever. For that reason, I’m giving Ousama Ranking more than it’s allowed 50% – that opening earns it. If, for some strange reason, you haven’t seen it – take a look below.
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The Good: +70%
The Neutral
What parts of Ousama Ranking were neither good enough to win points, but not bad enough to be penalized?
| Characters | +0 | Characters in Ousama Ranking were a mixed bag for me. First of all, I think there were too many. Tons of side characters wandered in and left (what even happened to the leader of the bandits? I forget). The main characters, and Hiling especially, were well done, but fought each other for screen time. I can’t penalize Ousama Ranking for what they did here, but I really can’t praise them overly either. |
Neutral: +0
The Bad
What did Ousama Ranking do poorly to lose points?
| Plot | -10% | If you take away the amazing visuals (which you shouldn’t), Ousama Ranking has a plot that’s a bit of a mess. As I mentioned, we have far too many characters (and strong, nuanced characters at that). Worse though, the story wanders between far too many locales and explains very important facts only in the final episode – for no reason. We could have known the backstories way earlier and the emotional impact would have been exactly the same. |
| Failing to stay on message | -25% | This is the largest mark against Ousama Ranking. When Ousama Ranking started, it was a semi-Helen Keller hero fantasy story. As the story progressed, Bojji’s disabilities subsided (and were attempted to be explained away in the finale about how he can read lips). However, several major plot holes were caused by this – knowing Miranjo was responsible for his mother’s death for example (can’t read lips you can’t see). I get it – make it an inspiring hero. But you have to stay consistent or reduce the scope of the disability (which would have been perfectly fine – a mute, weak hero aspiring to be a king is a plenty good story). Plus, the introductions of lost limbs for most side characters felt forced – especially since only one character died the entire show (during the present time of the show that is). It felt like the show wanted the impact of losing limbs or overcoming hardships but wasn’t willing to commit to the full killing. Which is a shame, as a slimmed down cast and consistent message makes this an all-time great for me. |
| Character Designs | -2% | Small personal gripe: I don’t like the character designs. They have weirdly pronounced noses and all look very cookie-cutter to me. And have unnecessarily large, costumed waists. For a show with such amazing visuals, the contrast with the children’s book character designs is very striking – not in a good way. |
Bad: -37%
Final Thoughts
Based on visuals alone, Ousama Ranking could never be a “bad” show. Unfortunately, a few plot and messaging issues really held it back from the echelons of greatness. I think I definitely will watch more seasons if (when) they come along, but I won’t pine for them if they never materialize. So is Ousama Ranking a good show? Of course – how good it looks can never be taken for granted. Is it a great show? Not quite for me, personally, but I’m sure plenty of people would disagree with me. Let me know what you think and if my ranking is too hot, too cold, or just right! Until next time, thanks for joining my sporadic musings.
Total: 83/100 (EXCELLENT)
(Note: if 70/100 was average, the score would have been 90%)
I still say the designs are not bad and honestly I prefer them over most mainstream anime designs.
I know it’s just a personal preference – that’s why I didn’t penalize too harshly. Just the noses are so exaggerated. I don’t disagree that having more variation in characters is a good thing – Sonny Boy too had fairly different character designs, so maybe we’ll start seeing more variety.
Vision of Escaflowne had characters with pretty prominent noses as well.
True – but Escaflowne had hooked noses (I thought it was slightly different, so I had to double check), while Ousama Ranking is just a straight-line honker. Small difference but the hooked noses feel a bit more organic to me, while Ousama Ranking is just Pinocchio-ing it.
I didn’t realize I was so opinionated on noses until today.
Too many heel-to-face turns made it difficult to follow who is who. Also, Bosse’s waifu timeline (giant wife, Miranjo, pointy-nose – was it in that order?) was very unclear to me.
I feel like Miranjo is more of a daughter, since Bosse felt bad about killing her father and letting her mom get killed. Definitely a bit murky though.