Quick Answer
Yes — it looks like a children's storybook and hits like a genuine emotional gut-punch, and the manga is already well ahead of what the anime has covered.
Quick Verdict
“One of the gentlest, saddest, and most purely well-drawn fantasy manga running right now.”
Best for: Readers who want emotionally sincere fantasy with a genuinely kind-hearted lead.
Not for: Readers who need conventional fantasy art or fast-paced, high-octane action throughout.
| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Format | Manga (shōnen) |
| Run | 2017–present · ongoing |
| Community score | AniList 7.7 |
| Content | Violence, emotional themes |
| Where to read | BookWalker Global — official |
Bojji is the eldest son of the king of Bosse, and by most standards, an unlikely heir. He's small, can't hear, can barely speak, and everyone assumes his younger half-brother Daida will take the throne instead. But Bojji has a kindness and a quiet determination that nobody around him expects, and when he befriends Kage, a shadow-being with a dark past of his own, the story quietly turns into a much bigger, sadder, and more hopeful thing than its premise suggests.
Bojji is the reason this works as well as it does. Deaf, small, and physically outmatched by nearly everyone around him, he could easily have been written as a pity case or a joke — instead, his kindness and refusal to give up are treated with total sincerity, and it makes him one of the most quietly lovable protagonists in recent fantasy manga.
The art style is a big part of that. It's simple and almost storybook-like at first glance, but that simplicity is doing real work — silence, small gestures, and expressive faces carry entire emotional beats without needing a word of dialogue, and it hits harder because of how unassuming it looks.
The supporting cast backs this up. Kage, Daida, Miranjo, and the rest all get real motivations instead of falling into clean hero-and-villain roles, and the political maneuvering around the throne of Bosse gives the story real stakes beyond Bojji's personal journey. When the story reaches for a gut-punch, it's earned — the groundwork is always there first.
The art style is genuinely a hurdle for some readers. It's unconventional enough, closer to a children's storybook than typical fantasy manga, that it takes real adjustment if you're expecting more traditional character designs or action choreography.
Some arcs also slow down considerably to handle worldbuilding and court politics, and that pacing shift can test your patience if you came in purely for Bojji and Kage's story rather than the wider kingdom drama around them.
One of the gentlest, saddest, and most purely well-drawn fantasy manga running right now. Its unconventional art style and occasional detours into political worldbuilding ask a little patience, but Bojji's story is sincere enough, and earns its emotional moments honestly enough, to make Ranking of Kings worth the read.
Strengths
Weaknesses
Another deceptively cute art style hiding genuinely devastating emotional stakes.
A similarly gentle, patient fantasy more interested in quiet emotional truth than constant action.
| Platform | Format | Pricing | Region notes | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BookWalker Global | Digital chapters | Digital volumes | Paid | Region availability varies | Open |
No, it's still ongoing in Japan, and the story has progressed well past what the first anime season adapted.
No — the manga is the original source and has gone further than the anime has covered so far, so you can start with either.
It's unconventional, simple, almost storybook-like linework, but it's used with a lot of intention, especially in the story's quieter, more emotional scenes.
