Ousama Ranking Episode 4 Discussion

Gween_Gween said:
This episode felt way too disjointed to my liking, the two alternating narratives with the obviously expositive dialogue spoiled all the enjoyment out of it. The journey was way too fast, just building ideas in top of each other without leaving a trace of interesting characterization (Why would they use that flashback in the tomb?). The abuse of backgrounds to provoke a guided emotional reaction is getting out of hand imo. At least the episode left some good interrogatives about what is happening next. The show tries way too hard to do this "gray" characters, by my perspective

mxhunter said:


Yep it's going super fast for sure. Don't think it's the show's fault, this needs to be a 2-cour or something

yasm said:


Particularly, seems most are misunderstanding a few characters:

• Domas: he is a genuinely good guy, but he's also got a very inflexible sense of moral. He truly cares about Bojji, and wishes to protect him and make him stronger, but he's come to believe Bojji is hopelessly weak and destined to suffer. So in his eyes, killing him is a mercy. He believes in direct confrontations and fair fighting, yet he chose to poison Bojji's food - a great betrayal to his sense of fairness. Why? Because that would be quicker and painless. Same for throwing him into the pit - although less ideal, the fires would quickly burn the life out of Bojji, so his suffering wouldn't last long. If you pay attention to Domas' reaction after betraying the boy, he was greatly anguished because that was playing dirty, and because he cared for the boy, but he believed it was necessary and even unavoidable (if he didn't do it, the boy would die some other way). I don't feel sorry for Domas, but I can't hate him for doing what he thought was right.

tsubasalover said:

MiniFreeza said:


10/10

Blue_Maroon said:
A good episode but probably the worst one so far.

It really all comes down to that the pace was too fast. Everything that was shown was well done. From the character writing fleshing out Domas, Daida, and Bojji more, to the extensive worldbuilding with the ranking system and seeing the world during Bojji’s journey. But giving some more time to stay in those new areas to breathe in the atmosphere would have gone a long way to entice increased investment into the series.

I hope it slows down a bit next episode.

-Elevate- said:
lets start spamming 1/10 on this anime otherwise this may surpass fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

em_doubleyou said:


Man, I wanna see it reach 9.30 first before it gets bombed, lol

firstawa said:


For me, only some parts are fast paced, so 5/5 episode

Coollldart said:
This sinple detail has been bugging me. The judge said that "King Bosse must be the ranked 1st King if it's just physical strength alone". But the fact that he is 7th that means strength is not just the basis of ranking. What if Boji is... Just what if.

ZXEAN said:
This was a very wired, Also lots of things happened in this episode. Probably my least favorite episode as of now.

Idk man I am starting to feel that this anime is way too much overrated.

yasm said:
It's interesting to see the reactions of the people that gathered here. So far the story seems extremely predictable and transparent to me, but apparently I'm in the minority here, as seems most folks haven't understood what's going on. This is surprising to me, hence, interesting. It shows how well the show is implementing this narrative.

Particularly, seems most are misunderstanding a few characters:

• Domas: he is a genuinely good guy, but he's also got a very inflexible sense of moral. He truly cares about Bojji, and wishes to protect him and make him stronger, but he's come to believe Bojji is hopelessly weak and destined to suffer. So in his eyes, killing him is a mercy. He believes in direct confrontations and fair fighting, yet he chose to poison Bojji's food - a great betrayal to his sense of fairness. Why? Because that would be quicker and painless. Same for throwing him into the pit - although less ideal, the fires would quickly burn the life out of Bojji, so his suffering wouldn't last long. If you pay attention to Domas' reaction after betraying the boy, he was greatly anguished because that was playing dirty, and because he cared for the boy, but he believed it was necessary and even unavoidable (if he didn't do it, the boy would die some other way). I don't feel sorry for Domas, but I can't hate him for doing what he thought was right.
  
• Bebin: he is also a good guy, but the sort of guy that will do whatever it takes to protect the kingdom, no matter how underhanded. Kind of the opposite of Domas, in a way, but the same in another. He taught Bojji a way to fight, weak as he was, knowing that this style would never earn Bojji respect, but it would keep him alive. He also protected the boy by assigning Kage to keep an eye on him from, err, the shadows. He's probably also lost the fight against Apeas on purpose, though not sure what rescued him (I assume the three-headed snake).
  
• Kage: hope this is obvious to everyone, but he never really left. He's just been hiding, and protecting Bojji from the shadows. He's probably the one that got Bojji's bag back, and he saved the boy by throwing those kunais into the poisoned meat. He might also save him from the pit too, though I suspect that's going to be another character.
  
• Daida: he's not a bad guy, just a misguided boy. That mirror is clearly manipulating him, trying to promote his greed and paranoia, so he drives everyone else away. But the fact that he wants to grow out of his own power shows he's got a sense of moral, and I suspect he wants to become a powerful king to protect the kingdom and his family. He must feel like he must make up for his brother's weaknesses. It's a brutal world, after all, and everyone thinks strength equates a good king.
  
• Apeas: despite his declared desire to protect Bojji, he's probably the least equipped to do so. He's too honest about his intentions, and too naive to understand the forces at play. He will probably seek support from some external kingdom, trigger an invasion and make everything worse. But ultimately, he can be a good ally if guided by a wiser partner. We'll see if Bojji can find such a friend in time.
  
• Hiling: I was pleasantly surprised to learn her backstory. She's actually a fairly good person, kind at heart, and a true mother. She literally jumped out of the window to try and protect Bojji from his fall! Issue is, like Domas, she's got a very narrow sense of how a royal family should be like and what makes a good king, so she's decided to appoint her own son as the next king. She probably thought that was a kindness towards Bojji, as well as a rational choice for the kingdom. But she understands Bojji more than most, and realised how she's become too strict and distant recently. Sensing he wouldn't be safe in the castle, and understanding that the boy wouldn't be happy there, she sent Bojji on the journey he so desired. But she didn't realise how much her, her son, and the kingdom needed Bojji there. She's probably going to be killed soon, as she's the last anchor Daida has on goodness and reason.
  

Don't think there's been a twist to this story yet, though I suppose if you didn't read the signs, some outcomes might come across as surprising. I've seen all this play out already, in one variation of this story or another, but I think they are doing it wonderfully here. A mute/deaf hero is extremely original, and although a bit of a likeability cheat, it's a solid choice for an interesting MC. So far Bojji has demonstrated resourcefulness that befits his status as a trained prince and his condition both, and that's excellent characterisation. In fact, despite cliched motivations and stereotypical personalities, every character has been very well developed - so much most people are misunderstanding them. That's depth and that's great storytelling.

Boijji's strength is clearly his capacity to read people and empathise with them, as well as his undefeatable sense of determination. A true king is not determined by his fighting skills, but by his talent for attracting talented people and inspiring loyalty. And for governing people. Boijji excels at those, he's just a bit too naive yet (but nothing that some sensible allies can't compensate for).