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Meanderings
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Thursday, 14 June 2012 11:33 |
In the Warring States Period of ancient China, Xin and Piao are war-orphans in the kingdom of Qin, both with dreams of eventually becoming great warriors. One day, Piao is unexpectedly invited to work at the Royal Court, but after finding himself on the losing side of a palace power struggle, he returns to his village some months later, mortally wounded. Before he dies, he makes one last request of his friend: to travel to a village, known for being a haven for outlaws, where Xin meets someone who bears a striking similarity to his dead friend: Ying Zheng, the king of Qin...
If I could have a few pounds for every series I've seen that was set in the Warring States Period or something analogous to it, I'd be pretty well off by now. The people behind Kingdom seem to have high hopes with it - it's slated for 38 episodes, a longer-than-average run, while Studio Pierrot are handling the production - not exactly a small outfit.
Shame, then, that it looks like crap. Within the first few minutes I was being subjected to horrible 3DCG character animations (see also the dance scenes in AKB0048 for an equally-poor example) that almost had me clicking on the Stop button. But in the interests of giving the show a fair crack of the whip, I carried on through the full (double-length) opening episode. The story is fairly typical for show in this setting - wars between nations, and political intrigue within them, and with Xin being caught up in it when he's unwittingly assigned the role of protector for the apparently-now-deposed king. You could draw a comparison with Moribito there, but that would be unfair on Moribito - it made an effort to be different in its feel and characterisations, while Kingdom appears so far to be very much by-the-numbers.
THE GOOD: Seems to be aiming high, and I'm always a fan of political intrigue, when it's done right.
THE BAD: Not enough to go on yet to decide if it is being done right. Doesn't seem to be doing anything yet to really make it stand out from the crowd, which with it having a fairly long run makes me less inclined to stick with it. Aaargh, 3DCG.
3-episode rule applies, I think - we'll see where the next two episodes go and decide from there. But I'm not overly hopeful.
Kingdom is being simulcast by FUNimation (North America only).
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Backbites 
