Iaboo, Youaboo, Weallaboo for Anime!

[Bulgakov]

I’m gonna be real. Love Ranking of Kings dearly, but it’s had “terrible politics” from the beginning, just by merit of its entire premise. A modern fairytale about good kings is inherently bad on its own. Monarchies are bad! And this is essentially apologia for autocratic systems.

While I'm no fan of absolute rule in any form, this seems to me to be a pretty nonsensical position. By the same logic the movie Black Panther is problematic because it portrays a functional tribal monarchy (run by a drug addict, no less) that falters, but recovers due to the nobility of its rightful ruler. That misses a lot of what's going on in that film.

Most of history worldwide has involved autocratic rule and as a result many stories are about royalty, some with noble characters. That doesn't make them treatises on monarchy's value. Ranking of Kings has been exploring the positives and negatives of a monarchic system (there are clearly bad rulers, and even nominally good ones can be suspect), so it's doing fine on that front.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

By the same logic the movie Black Panther is problematic because it portrays a functional tribal monarchy

LOL - BP's entire political structure IS mad problematic. The difference is BP does more to acknowledge this than Ranking of Kings does by admitting the moral complexities involved, culminating with T'Challa telling his ancestors off and admitting that Killmonger's ideology was right, only his methods were wrong.

Most of history worldwide has involved autocratic rule and as a result many stories are about royalty, some with noble characters.

This is both true and paradoxically not true at all.

World history and the story of humanity is actually really complex and not at all how you're characterizing it. Generally yes, large central political organizations have historically been autocratic in nature. But the breadth of human history is more than just the story of the 1%. Our species has existed for a good 40k years; organized sedentary civilization is max only 25% of that. The overwhelming trend of human tribal arrangements were more democratic in nature than not. Responsibilities in tribal organizations are most often divided out by group consensus, and leadership positions are typically adhoc/temporary/limited and approved by the tribe as a whole while not remotely guaranteed to be hereditary. Even in the story of organized 'civilization' - you might have an autocrat or a King at the top of the totem pole, but at the local, municipal level, villages across the world usually were self-organized and had much more democratic organization where the role of village leaders or council was more responsive to the community and not remotely guaranteed to be a hereditary position.

And even at the higher levels of organized and sedentary societies, the overwhelming history of the world is still that the people are governed by the consent of the governed. One of the most consistent themes in human history is that of populations rising up to overthrow autocrats when the autocrats in power stop representing the best interests of their governed and let life become untenable (see the long history of peasant revolts and revolutions that litter the margins of history), or simply using passive resistance to undermine a regime that no longer represents them (See: Rome falling due in large part to its people refusing to take up arms to defend it/no longer being invested in the Imperial organization). Even in some of the most autocratic societies on Earth like historical China, their Empires would collapse and rise up based on popular support from the masses - where peasant revolts were often the downfall of one dynasty and the beginning of another.

Your comparison to Black Panther does BP a misjustice. BP's central thematic thrust is about the role of a leader and how responsive they need to be to their people. Killmonger didn't take over illegitimately, he cultivated support democratically by addressing the concerns of many Wakandans that were being ignored by the monarchy and used legitimate legal methods to gain his power. And Killmonger's brief reign doesn't end he's personally defeated but actually instead when his supporters are convinced to stop supporting him and to lay down their arms. BP also isn't as autocratic as you're making it out to be, when the position of King is one that is elected by the tribes, and that challenges to rule can come from anyone during the time to elect a new monarch. Ranking of Kings so far has had almost no discussion at all about the agency of the governed or the monarch's responsibility to their people or their complicated needs. The closest we've had is Miranjo's people looking to democratize the power of the gods and using it to resist their tyranny. But for Bojji & Co, the people are just spectators that jeer and cheer on a whim as an audience rather than a people with agency who have lives, needs, and perspectives of their own that inform their actions.

 

[Bulgakov]

I'm not sure that with what you've written above you've convinced me that Ranking of Kings has "terrible politics" because it is about a king, or that it's an apologia for autocracy because its main character is a prince who's a nice guy.

I'm also puzzled by why you've laid out your vision of tribal cultures and popular uprisings throughout history. Though I can see where I may have been too loose in defining my scope of "history worldwide," all I was intending to say is "There are a lot of stories about royalty because there's a lot of royalty in human history." Are you disputing that?

What I am arguing is that your original statement (that Ranking of Kings has had terrible politics from the beginning by virtue of being about monarchy) is simplistic, reductionist, and looks past the content of the story being told. I think you actually did an admirable job of exposing the dangers of that approach. You argued that my intentionally glib interpretation of Black Panther using a one-dimensional reading was wrong. I agree; I was mischaracterizing the film as an example. My point was that reducing that film to a simple premise viewed through the lens of "monarchy is bad" would fail to consider the much more complicated story. I believe the same about Ranking of Kings.

 

[Bongo]

Art that features monarchs is often not commenting on monarchy or any kind of political theory, but rather using it as a metaphor. Modern people experience situations that can be likened to those that we can imagine kings experiencing.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

all I was intending to say is "There are a lot of stories about royalty because there's a lot of royalty in human history." Are you disputing that?

There are a lot of royalty in human history. Know what's there's even more of in human history? Your average joe. The ruling class of any given society, especially in pre-modern times, only ever really accounted for 1-5% of the total population. So why are the stories about 1-5% of people, overwhelmingly dominating the kinds of stories people used to (and hey, still pretty much) tell? Societies are made of multitudes, and it's rather nonsensical to make a story in this day and age almost exclusively about an extremely narrow slice of society at the expense of everyone else. There's a lot of reasons why it's important to both discuss this trend, and to encourage the reversal of it. A lot of society's ills - especially in these trying times - can be directly connected to a bizarre worship of powerful, special individuals who inherited all of their status and abilities.

My point was that reducing that film to a simple premise viewed through the lens of "monarchy is bad" would fail to consider the much more complicated story.

Alright. But my point was never to 'reduce' the show to that simple premise alone, just discussing that aspect of it. I've already given the show profuse praise and outlined how despite this or that problematic issue I'll still be watching it in other posts. I wouldn't do so if there weren't other things of value going on in the show making it worth my time. We can have discussions about specific aspects of broad topics, and we can also have focused criticism about things we otherwise enjoy. In my opinion, having these kinds of discussions about pieces of media with problematic components is a good and imo a responsible thing. Kinda like how having conversations about how depictions of the police in media and if they're being responsible or not is important anytime that's a large aspect of any given show. Having critical discussions is the opposite of being reductive, it's the beginning of having a more full, meaningful dialog about something.

 

[SpoonyBard]

So the Funimation library has begun migrating to Crunchyroll.

I believe if you are currently subbed to Funimation you won't lose anything, but any new episodes of shows that have moved will be only on Crunchyroll.

Many notable absences in that first batch. No Dragon Ball, no One Piece, no Slayers. I won't be signing up just yet, but I probably will eventually.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Well, canceling one subscription now.

 

[conchobhar]

Merging the streaming services was a long time coming, but I was surprised to hear that Sony is phasing out the entire Funimation brand. I can only interpret this as Sony not just redoubling its efforts in the Streaming Wars, but pivoting away from home video releases. Which sucks!

 

[Bulgakov]

So why are the stories about 1-5% of people, overwhelmingly dominating the kinds of stories people used to (and hey, still pretty much) tell? Societies are made of multitudes, and it's rather nonsensical to make a story in this day and age almost exclusively about an extremely narrow slice of society at the expense of everyone else. There's a lot of reasons why it's important to both discuss this trend, and to encourage the reversal of it. A lot of society's ills - especially in these trying times - can be directly connected to a bizarre worship of powerful, special individuals who inherited all of their status and abilities.

I think you're not contesting my statement, then, but instead arguing that narrative (or perhaps anime) needs to actively counterprogram against stories about monarchs. That's fine, but I disagree with your position. While I'm happy to assess the output of an artist or storytelling team, I'm not a big fan of prescriptive criticism as a way to dismantle a specific work, and I think a broad statement like "we shouldn't write stories about princes nowadays because we need to write about common people" is the statement of a manifesto rather than an attempt to examine Ranking of Kings directly. I would instead encourage you to use your prescriptive criteria to seek out or create stories that highlight the narrative structures you want to see and boost them to others, as Ranking of Kings will never be that story.

Alright. But my point was never to 'reduce' the show to that simple premise alone, just discussing that aspect of it. I've already given the show profuse praise and outlined how despite this or that problematic issue I'll still be watching it in other posts. I wouldn't do so if there weren't other things of value going on in the show making it worth my time. We can have discussions about specific aspects of broad topics, and we can also have focused criticism about things we otherwise enjoy. In my opinion, having these kinds of discussions about pieces of media with problematic components is a good and imo a responsible thing. Kinda like how having conversations about how depictions of the police in media and if they're being responsible or not is important anytime that's a large aspect of any given show. Having critical discussions is the opposite of being reductive, it's the beginning of having a more full, meaningful dialog about something.

Your intent may not have been to reduce the show, but I'm afraid you did by the wording of your original post. You wrote: "A modern fairytale about good kings is inherently bad on its own. Monarchies are bad! And this is essentially apologia for autocratic systems." You closed off debate or exploration by doing so, in the process cutting off "the beginning of having a more full, meaningful dialog" you purport to seek.

I don't think you needed to do that to explore the problematic aspects of monarchy within Ranking of Kings. Simply by discussing content in the show I think obvious questions arise that challenge the idea of monarchy, such as: "What are the positives and negatives of ranking every king by official fiat committee? Is this a good thing for society?", "How does the construction of 'good monarch' relate to being a good person, and what problems do the restrictions of monarchy create in defining these?" and "Is monarchy an inherently corrupt system of government?" All of these come about because there is monarchy in this story. I didn't have to start with the premise "Monarchy is bad, therefore this show is problematic" to ask these questions. Doing so reduces the show to an argument about the value of monarchy, and starting from that point would have encouraged a limited exploration.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

So the Funimation library has begun migrating to Crunchyroll.

I believe if you are currently subbed to Funimation you won't lose anything, but any new episodes of shows that have moved will be only on Crunchyroll.

Many notable absences in that first batch. No Dragon Ball, no One Piece, no Slayers. I won't be signing up just yet, but I probably will eventually.

Merging the streaming services was a long time coming, but I was surprised to hear that Sony is phasing out the entire Funimation brand. I can only interpret this as Sony not just redoubling its efforts in the Streaming Wars, but pivoting away from home video releases. Which sucks!

As a consumer, I'm happy about this transition and it's been a long time in the making. That's one less subscription I need to pay for, and the added convenience from this is a big bonus. Yes, a lot of Funimation's back catalog isn't making the jump quite yet, but I get the feeling that's a licensing issue, and that it'll get cleared up in the future. But even if it didn't, it's not something that personally effects me much, as I usually watch old shows via other methods. I also wouldn't make any assumptions that this is some kind of pivot away from home video either, considering Sony's long entrenched history with media. Rather, I think it's more likely this is just for the purpose of corporate/brand consolidation. Why maintain a separate, independent publishing arm in Funimation when Sony already has other, larger publishing arms that could effortlessly pick up the slack and reduce overhead? Why label things "Funimation" when "Sony" or "Crunchyroll" are more recognizable brands?

Spoiler: Re: Ranking of Kings discussion

@Buylgakov, with the wombo combo of you both repeatedly asking leading questions, and then putting words into my mouth that I never said, I really don't feel that this conversation is either productive, nor being conducted in good faith. Like this:

I think a broad statement like "we shouldn't write stories about princes nowadays because we need to write about common people" is the statement of a manifesto rather than an attempt to examine Ranking of Kings directly.

You put a concept in quotes as if I said this, when in reality I didn't say this or anything like this. In fact, I went out of my way to explain repeatedly that these concerns weren't deal breaking to me but you keep representing them as such. So this is where this conversation ends as far as I'm concerned, because any further engagement would be a waste of my time since this isn't being conducted in good faith.

 

[Kirin]

Merging the streaming services was a long time coming, but I was surprised to hear that Sony is phasing out the entire Funimation brand. I can only interpret this as Sony not just redoubling its efforts in the Streaming Wars, but pivoting away from home video releases. Which sucks!

I'm all for less Balkanization of streaming services, but it will never stop blowing my mind that some fly by night pirate site managed to stumble its way into being the dominant anime delivery vehicle in the west. This reality is very weird.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

So that’s why Crunchyroll got a bunch of new stuff today, including the second season of Megalo Box! Finally!

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Megalobox season two is great and I love that it goes in a very different direction and feel. That end theme always gives me feels.

 

[Bulgakov]

I am very much looking forward to season two of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War myself!

 

[Octopus Prime]

My only real complaint with the move from Funi to Crubchyroll is that a lot of the stuff I was either watching or had on my backlog queue were only moved over as subs, and it’s really hard to use it as background noise that way.

Im assuming the dubs will make the move over as well, before too long but for day one, it’s not great for me personally.

At least Lupin the Third made the move intact

 

[Bulgakov]

I am very much looking forward to season two of Kaguya-Sama: Love is War myself!

And now I'm slightly disappointed that it's dubbed-only. Still a good show, but I preferred the Japanese voice cast!

 

[Johnny Unusual]

You mean English or dubs only? Or am I just confused?

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

My only real complaint with the move from Funi to Crubchyroll is that a lot of the stuff I was either watching or had on my backlog queue were only moved over as subs, and it’s really hard to use it as background noise that way.

Im assuming the dubs will make the move over as well, before too long but for day one, it’s not great for me personally.

At least Lupin the Third made the move intact

Something to consider when using Crunchyroll is how it handles dubs. It isn't typically an option you can choose to enable in the player like when you're watching a dvd or using netflix. You it's treated like an entirely different season of the show and labeled as the dub often.

 

[Octopus Prime]

Helpful advice thanks; some of the stuff I was watching apparently just doesn’t exist in dubbed form on the service as of yet, but I trust it’ll get there sooner or later

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Note that there are shows that were also straight up never dubbed. Usually smaller shows.

 

[Bulgakov]

You mean English or dubs only? Or am I just confused?

Nah, I mistyped. I am sad that there is only an English Dub of Kaguya-Sama season 2 (so far)....I generally prefer subs.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

Weird. If it's either/or it's usually subs. I bet the sub will come in before too long.

Hopefully before season 3 starts in April.

 

[JBear]

I can confirm that I watched Kaguya season 2 subbed on Funimation, so it's an odd omission given that they brought over season 2 dubbed in 3 other languages.

 

[ThornGhost]

I would like to point out that if you are now looking at Crunchyroll premium membership, the cheapest way to get it is to buy a year's subscription giftcard in the Crunchyroll store and apply it to your own account. It knocks a little over a dollar off the per-month price and puts it closer in line to the basic Funimation account.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I think Ranking of Kings had it’s Demon Slayer episode 19 moment. Just too to bottom a great episode.

Megalo Box: Nomad got there late, but it is already up there with Ranking of Kings and Oddtaxi in Best Show of 2021 category after just four episodes. The plight of Chief and the other refugees is not something I’ve really seen before in anime, especially for a genre like sports/martial arts that sometimes has a nationalist streak. What a move to give a different person the Ashita no Joe ending, and force our Joe to continue going on and try to rebuild his life.

 

[Johnny Unusual]

The various Dragonballs are on Crunchyroll now! After Kaiji, I might be watching original flavour.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

Yeah, after the first wave of stuff you guys reported on two weeks ago, they've been continually adding more and more Funimation shows to Crunchy. Which is about what I was expecting. So far they're about 30+ more in the two additional waves that have come over in the last two weeks. I imagine we'll be seeing even more as time goes on.

 

[WisteriaHysteria]

What a cathartic episode of Ranking of Kings. And Daida, u weird bro.

 

[R.R. Bigman]

I…don’t understand the levels of forgiveness anime has for it’s villains. Is it some kind of cultural or religious difference? A fair number of bad guys in western stories have tragic pasts, or even fairly justifiable reasons for at least some of their actions, but they never get absolved of their crimes so absolutely upon defeat.

Agreed on Daida being weird, but he’s an adolescent boy with mommy issues.

 

[Vaeran]

Code Goose update:

I finished the first season a few days ago and am not sure if I'll be continuing, as despite its potential-laden premise it never became the show I wanted it to be. I had envisioned Lelouch spinning wheels-within-wheels schemes of manipulation and wacky Geass tricks, but that never really came to pass. Most of his plans seem to succeed on the basis of his enemies being idiots (Mao particularly comes to mind here), and by the end they were revealing that he had secretly Geass'd Britannian generals offscreen without bothering to explain how, where or when. It just feels like lazy writing. The high school antics continued to be an absolute flatline, and while the mecha combat is well-choreographed and animated, I tend to disfavor overly acrobatic, weightless-feeling mech movement as a matter of taste. Give me a chonky, stomping Gundam any day.

I will award partial credit for the absolute howler of a plot twist late in the season when Lelouch accidentally switches sweet Euphy's brain to Genocide Mode for literally no reason. I'm sure the writers intended it as a shocking and heartbreaking moment but I couldn't stop laughing at the absurdity of it. If only the rest of the series had either been a) good, or b) this level of bananas all along.

The season-ending cliffhanger is predicated on a situation where Lelouch and Suzaku are pointing guns at each other, then the screen cuts to black and we hear a gunshot, leaving us to wonder what happened. But surely by the show's own rules, Suzaku couldn't have fired. Lelouch's Geass command to him was simply to live, and in this final standoff Lelouch claims to have a device that will detonate and kill them all if his heart stops, so Suzaku can't shoot him and thereby knowingly endanger his own life. I guess maybe he just didn't believe Lelouch? Whatever.

In brighter news, Kallen, Suzaku and Lelouch continue to be absolute beasts in SRW30, so maybe I'd better stop watching here before I develop an antipathy towards them.