Year of Release: 2006-Present
Status: Ongoing (currently 389 chapters)
Story: Hara Yasuhisa
Art: Hara Yasuhisa
Kingdom is a manga series that is set in the Warring States period of ancient China's history. The series focuses mainly on the militaristic aspect of China's states at the time, and the obstacles the armies needed to overcome to achieve their goal of a complete unification of China. While the series takes many liberties with characters and scenarios, it is still based on historical fact. The geographical locations of many of the battles, as well as the tactics used by the armies at this time is also quite valid. Someone certainly did their research.
ART SECTION: 9/10
General Artwork & Backgrounds 3/4: The general artwork and backgrounds are very well done. While the frames often leave quite a bit of blank space, it is still utilized to some degree; Where the artist leaves blank space it is often used as a contrasting technique, since the character shading (see below) is so detailed. I would likely say that because there is so much blank space, it lacks detail in background and/or general artwork, but this is not the case at all - since this is a manga about warfare, you bet your ass there's tons of people dying, being ripped to pieces, and getting their armor shattered into oblivion in the backgrounds.
Character Figures 2/2: While the characters aren't exactly outstanding in terms of detail, the artwork is still done in a way that keeps your eyes glued to each panel. The use of shading by the artist is far more noticeable on characters than on the general artwork or backgrounds.
Frame/Panel Flow 4/4: I initially thought of giving this a 3/4 rating, because sometimes it's a really hard series to follow. But then, I realized that the only reason I'm having trouble following the series is because some of the groups that scan it have retarded staff when it comes to proof reading and quality checking their material. Nothing is worse (in my opinion) than sitting there looking at the same frame for 4 minutes trying to figure out what word was supposed to be there, instead of the one they mistakenly entered in.
STORY SECTION: 7/10
General Scenario 2/2: Love it!
Pacing 2/2: I haven't even once felt that it was rushed, or that the story was progressing too slowly for me. I was a little overwhelmed with the sheer number of chapters when I started reading it a few weeks ago, but once I started reading, I kind of wished I could never catch up, no matter how much I read.
Side Stories/Character Development 2/2: Kyou Kai's side story is my favourite thus far, although there are quite a few side stories mixed in to both the main story and the bonus manga at the end of certain chapters and/or volumes. The character development is astonishingly well done.
Plausibility 1/2: This series is completely believable, with the exception to one thing: some of the characters are just freaking ridiculous. Take for example General Ou Ki, or Hou Ken - while they may have been actual people, or based off of actual people, the fact remains that there is no way in hell that someone that awesome could have existed. They'd have been more on par with say... Duke Hyou, or General Ou Sen Massive exaggeration, while fun and entertaining, nets this a -1 point for plausibility. And yes, I understand that from the protagonist's viewpoint, the enemies probably look far more intimidating than normal, hence the visual of them being like monsters, in a way. But still, this is a reality-based section.
Conclusion 0/2: While I would enjoy giving this a 2/2 for conclusion, I would be quite mistaken in doing so, since the series hasn't finished it's run yet. I will definitely be revisiting this review for updating once the series has completed, but honestly, who can even say when that will be?
VALUE & ENJOYMENT SECTION: 10/10
I'm a pretty easy guy to please. All you have to do is give me an anime or manga that will entertain me for a few hours and I'm good to go. This is one of those. I'll be honest with you - I had heard of the manga before, but wasn't very interested in it at first. It wasn't until someone recommended it that I decided to read it, because it was recommended not by 1 person, but by at least 6 people at the same time. Thank you all for your recommendations, this one was definitely worth it.
VERDICT: 26/30
I sentence this manga to never stop being awesome. Also, you should read it. I tried watching the first few episodes of the anime and it was nowhere near as good as the manga.
SUGGESTION LIST
Threads of Time
Feng Shen Ji
Blood & Steel
Vinland Saga
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