Kingdom Review

"There is no avoiding war; it can only be postponed to the advantage of others."
 ~Niccolo Machiavelli

One of Japan’s most popular mangas, Kingdom is ironically nearly unheard of in much of the West. Based off of the Warring States Period in Chinese history, a time period characterized by constant wars between bordering states which followed the collapse of the Zhou Dynasty in 475 BC and ended with the unification of China under the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, Yasuhisa Hara’s manga has run for a constant 9 years after its first publication in 2006 and has grown in global popularity since. With a current sum of 37 manga volumes, an ongoing (but dodgy) animated series, and a video-game spinoff, Kingdom is arguably one of the manga industry’s best kept secrets.

Shin and Hyou (respectively) as
children

Kingdom follows the story of Shin, a young, orphan of war in the Chinese state of Qin that is

The future king of Qin,
Sei makes it clear his
dream is to unify China.

adopted and put to farm work along with a fellow orphan of war, Hyou, who accompanies him in training daily with wooden swords and sharing with Shin the dream of becoming the World’s Greatest General (except he puts it into much flashier terms). However, before the two can march off to war together Hyou is recruited to serve the youthful king as a body double, although Shin doesn’t know this specific aspect of his servitude. Late one night Shin wakes up to find a bloodied Hyou at his shack’s door and is told by Hyou to go off to a shack in a neighboring town, and makes sure to tell the shocked and grieving Shin to fulfill this duty and his dream of becoming a Great General. Upon making his way to the location afore mentioned, Shin meets the young king-to-be, Ei Sei and is confronted by an assassin that claims to have been the one to kill Hyou. Driven by rage and grievance, Shin singlehandedly cuts down the assassin and, instead of delivering the finishing blow out of pity, is assisted by the king himself in killing the man. Although hesitant to assist the man that was the cause of Hyou’s demise, Shin pledges to serve Sei and proceeds to escape the town with the help of a young child by the name of Ten and proceeds to move along his path towards his dream. Following

A master of the sword and
(eventually) the glaive, Shin
makes a powerful warrior.

this exposition, Shin slowly and steadily begins making a name for himself in his multiple campaigns by taking the heads of commanders and leading daring and pivotal charges in the battles he partakes of. A prodigy in warfare and instinctual fighting, Shin becomes a powerful and charismatic leader of his men who grow in number after each battle. While fighting on the frontlines and working his way up step-by-step to becoming a general, on the home front the soon to be king Sei feuds with his appointed and powerful Chancellor of State Ryo Fui who leads an opposing faction to try and take the king’s power away from him.

Due to these two different aspects of the story, political and militaristic, the plot in Kingdom is split but at the same time not, due to the fact that both plots are connected heavily while at the same time taking place on their own accords. It may not make much sense when worded like this, but just know that Kingdom is by no means a confusing story. In fact, it rarely is due to the well described yet not boring explanations of military tactics and war strategy that the story centers around. Kingdom’s war arcs are the main bulk of the series, obviously, and generally centers around two different aspects: the first being the actual frontline action that occurs (in all gory detail), and the second being the tactical side that explains the brains behind such large scale warfare. The first is delivered in horrifyingly beautiful detail, with dismemberment aplenty and well-drawn fight scenes that fully describe just what exactly is occurring in the scene, and for a manga that is heavily centered around the exploits of Shin (a frontline warrior that cuts through defenses), this is seen often and in stunning displays. The second is done exceptionally as well, being that much of the fights in Kingdom occur on large scales (generally tens of thousands of soldiers) with multiple generals, explanations are necessary to fully understand the scope of the action and in this aspect Kingdom delivers perfectly. By charting out tactics, troop movements, and the ideas of generals Kingdom provides the reader with a clear sense of understanding of the universe and its warfare in general.

One of Shin's closest allies, Ten
is a main source of the series's
comic relief (second to Shin himself).

Another offshoot of Kingdom’s story is its perfectly executed characters (the main ones being Shin, Ei Sei, Ten, and Shin's lieutenant Kyoukai), all of whom are given a sufficient exposition and background that fully explains their intentions. By encompassing the world’s largest and most
powerful region of its time period, Kingdom explains each state of China in depth as it does its characters, showing the regional differences amongst civilians as well as political bodies. For any history buffs, just this alone is enough to make them read this series, but for those interested in character development the manga delivers as well. Due to it covering a period of several years, it’s blatantly obvious that the characters will develop, with the main culprits being Shin and Ten, both of whom develop new skills over time that serve to manipulate the entire course of the series. Featuring a constantly changing world that’s reminiscent of the time period it occurs in, Kingdom provides a sense of immense interest simply from the characters alone.

Thematically, Kingdom also delivers beautifully by speaking out about camaraderie by explaining the lengths at which one strives for a goal, the people sacrificed for it, and the strength required to push
on after experiencing such pressure and torment. Furthermore, and arguably most importantly,

The Qin state's highest ranked general,
Great General Ouki is Shin's first
and most influential mentor.

Kingdom explains the extent of leadership and the importance of being designated as a leader. As an aspiring general, Shin is mentored by multiple generals throughout his campaigns, most notably General Ouki and General Duke Hyou, who teach him the aspects of a good general and the strength one needs to be able to lead a group of over ten thousand men as a single body, and the importance of his own success as a leader for the hopes of those he leads. Commenting on these persisting ideas and even modern issues, Kingdom serves as somewhat of a social commentary on true leadership and the assistance of others in the world.

As for the technical aspects of the series, Kingdom’s artwork is exemplary to say the least. The action is gory, but not too gory to turn away a light-hearted reader (or

The Qin's greatest "instinctual" general
and Shin's second mentor, Duke Hyou
is a legendary figure that teaches Shin
much about leadership and instinct.

it is and I’m just accustomed to it by now). The story itself is consistently improving, unlike many series as long as it is that get overdone or spread thin over time, which will eventually culminate in the conquest of the Chinese states under the rule of Ei Sei (as is following Chinese history), and as an ongoing series this improvement will only continue. Free of most generic clichés and providing a historical backbone, Kingdom provides a fresh and exciting manga to an industry so flooded with generic characters and storylines.

With relevant themes, beautifully gruesome action scenes, and comedic post-war narratives (to put it simply, Kingdom is not shy with its comic relief), Kingdom provides an ever-evolving series that fits an ever-evolving protagonist like Shin perfectly. Characterized by an already interesting and underrated period of world history, Kingdom develops upon its background with an exceptional story that makes the reader want to keep reading until they’re forced to wait for a chapter each week.

Pros:
+Amazing story
+Gorgeous artwork
+Riveting characters

Neutral:
+/-N/A

Cons:
-N/A

OVERALL: 10/10* MY FAVORITE MANGA AND PERFECT FOR ANY HISTORY OR ACTION FAN

*(Not even being biased here, it's just that good. I also regret not going into more depth of all of the characters, but this would turn into something of a college thesis if I did that.)