We learned back in December 2019 about another manga property being lined up for an anime adaptation with Osama Ranking. Back in November 2020, the series was confirmed for the October 2021 period as part of the noitaminA block when it arrives on Fuji TV. Earlier this week, the folks at Funimation have announced their pickup of it for the fall season as Ranking of Kings. Now, the Japanese side has dropped a new promotional video and has set an October 14th, 2021 debut for the show that will run for two cour without a break between them. Check out the new key visual below as well.
The Japanese cast includes Minami Hinata as Bojji, Ayumu Murase as Kage, Yuuki Kaji as Daida, Bojji’s half-brother, Rina Satou as Hilling, Daida’s mother, Takuya Eguchi as Domas, Bojji’s swordmaster, Yōji Ueda as Bebin, Daida’s swordmaster, Hiroki Yasumoto as Apis, “the king’s spear” and loyal man-at-arms, Hinata Tadokoro as Drusi, Hilling’s bodyguard and shieldbearer, Daiki Yamashita as Hokuro, a footman that looks up to Bojji, Kenta Miyake as Boss, the ruler of the Boss Kingdom, and Bojji and Daida’s father, Takako Honda as Shiina, Bojji’s late mother and the former queen, Maaya Sakamoto as the Magic Mirror who secretly advises Daida, Yoshimitsu Shimoyama as Death-har, the king of the afterlife, and Takahiro Sakurai as Death-par, Death-har’s little brother.
The series is directed by Yousuke Hatta based on the scripts overseen by Taku Kishimoto. Arifumi Imai is the assistant director with Atsuko Nozaki handling the character designs and WIT Studio handling the animation production.
The series comes from Sosuke Toka which began in 2017. It’s serialized in Comic Beam magazine with eight volumes out as of the announcement.
Check out the official site and Twitter.
Plot Concept: The story focuses on Bojji, a deaf, powerless prince who cannot even wield a children’s sword. As the firstborn son, he strives hard and dreams of becoming the world’s greatest king. However, people mutter about him behind his back as “a good-for-nothing prince” and “no way he can be king.”
Bojji is able to make his first-ever friend, “Kage” (shadow) — a literal shadow on the ground who somehow understands Bojji well. (Kage is a survivor of the Kage assassin clan that was all but wiped out. No longer a killer, Kage now makes ends meet by stealing.) The story follows Bojji’s coming-of-age as he meets various people in his life, starting with his fateful encounter with Kage.
Previous promos:
