How Can Someone Write Characters THIS Smart??

[@FabulousResults]

Kingdom has been done so dirty. A hugely successful mega-hit in Japan which has almost 700 published chapters over more than a decade, and there hasn't even been an attempt at localizing it in English. It's a testament to how dedicated the fans are that there is such a huge effort to translate and preserve Kingdom on a regular schedule to make up for the gap in localization.

[@danielsjohnson]

@FabulousResults Kingdom has an anime that was licensed in English so that's something. But nobody talks about it. Or if they do I haven't seen anyone talking about it.

[@applejuice7847]

@@danielsjohnson yeah cus its another awful attempt at CGI

[@chrislee3601]

Man I loved Kingdom so much but the art took such a drop at the 500 mark that i couldn't go on tbh

[@dewaeryadi7776]

Not to mention that the title is stolen by korean zombie drama which makes it more obscure

[@hathbeenslain]

@@dewaeryadi7776 i mean, i wouldn't say it's "stolen". It's not exactly a super unique word.

[@nastyeggplant]

Those sleepless night reading chapters after chapters were the best days of my life thh

[@zeljkoilic9862]

I know that feeling man, its amazing

[@l0kk016]

Bruh reading until 3 or 4am, waking up 7, reading a few more and going to school.... That was my life for like 3 years of school, perfect tho.

[@micahclark24]

Yep I still stay up all night reading sometimes but now I read a lot of Korean and Chinese light novels/web novels

[@gryphon4150]

Yep, currently reading One Piece and I've gotten to Jaya Island( first island of the Sky Island saga) and I got to say I'm liking what I'm seeing. I don't know how it trumps aot or hxh like other people say, but I'm waiting for that point when One Piece just blows my mind.

[@bobjones2959]

Yep. Love when you find a manga so good you are willing to skip sleep to binge it.

[@freestinje]

It's a masterpiece. The reason why it feels deep is because it's based on real Chinese history

[@Radiokillerpollo1]

@Despair City One character that comes to my mind, everytime i think about Kingdom: Ou Ki God, i love this manga with all my heart.

[@jobnacorconcepcionabad6037]

Easy one of the best manga...

[@raben7049]

@Despair City you might like ravages of time

[@jordinagel1184]

@@Radiokillerpollo1 the Great Bird, may he forever spread his wings

[@oneautumnleaf8707]

what chapter should i start from if i am caught up with anime?

[@NoOne-gg5mc]

1:27 "So it's like when China was fragmented into different kingdoms." Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?

[@cestalia]

China warring state.

[@Eckskalibur]

@@cestalia As a descriptor as the famous era? Again, Ancient China loooved their civil wars.

[@eccentricdio21]

by generously counting all the major era? 4 contender, The Warring states, The three kingdom, Northern-southern dynasty (Unlikely), five dynasty(unlikely), by description "not into three kingdom" tho?, it's very specific narrowed it down to Warring states

[@Dakaork]

@@eccentricdio21 The Warlord states, Taiping Rebellions, Chu-Han contentions, and throughout most of the whole Southern Song dynasty there are technically morethan 3 kingdoms inside of 'China'

[@eccentricdio21]

@@Dakaork you are kinda right, but in my defense, warlord states is in Republic era, Taiping rebellion is in very last chapter of imperial china, usually collectively included in Qing Era, China is full of civil war, but if we talk MAJOR eras, chinese usually agree on that four as the Major civil war. My refrence of major era is by the classic 朝代歌, classic mnemonic for major dynasty era known by common people.

[@KeepingItReal721]

Reading Kingdom was one of the best experience I’ve had reading a manga. I read it in a week and I have no recollection of anything else that happened that week.

[@armandogalindo7412]

Funny. The same thing happened to me the first time I tried crack

[@GoOnRaaj]

@@armandogalindo7412 LMFAOO

[@micahclark24]

I had a similar experience

[@ffls2706]

SAME! just ended yesterday after 8 days of reading everything

[@GoOnRaaj]

@@ffls2706 its that good?

[@Jelsonicc]

Connor: "It's the pawn that matters" Ou Sen: "Write that down! WRITE THAT DOWN!"

[@billymaguire5769]

Man Can you elaborate which character was that ?? I forgot 🤭🤭

[@Jelsonicc]

@@billymaguire5769 Guy with the masked helmet

[@billymaguire5769]

@@Jelsonicc Spear guys father?.

[@Jelsonicc]

@@billymaguire5769 yep

[@stalinsoulz7872]

@@billymaguire5769 Yeah Masked guy sometimes throw his pieces for shin to flip the board kinda like the bandit general did using shin to stop or win a battle. Shin is pretty much there spearhead or a rook in the piece to plow or win a very decisive victory

[@woodsnuth]

I wish Gigguk did a video on Kingdom. If it was more popular in the west we’d have an English release for the manga

[@superfactorial5717]

its already massive in Japan, always matching sales of One Piece and even surpassing it at times. tho i agree it kinda sucks that i can only read it online (kudos to sense scans and turnip farmer scans, the fucking heroes that brought this gem and basically the reason why Kingdom is popular outside japan, or at least in the english speaking countries)

[@scandalfop2093]

@@superfactorial5717 Wait, Kingdom is that big in Japan? I had no idea. also, god damn it's been 7+ since I read Kingdom. Damn, time flies. On the other hand, now I can reread it from the start and I can enjoy it like it's my first time reading it. Big Fucking Brain, 7 years younger me.

[@superfactorial5717]

@@scandalfop2093 yeah. Kingdom was the 2nd highest selling manga overall in 2020 (8.2 million copies sold), with One Piece at 3rd place (7.7 million), and Demon Slayer at first (82 million, absolute bonkers) Kingdom ranked 3rd in 2019 (7.6 million), One Piece at 2nd (10.1 million) and Demon Slayer at 1st (12 million) Kingdom ranked 6th in 2018 (One Piece at first, its eleventh in a row before getting topped by Demon Slayer for 2 straight years now) Kingdom ranked 3rd in 2017, 3rd also in 2016, 5th and 2015. its kinda solidifying itself as the 'One Piece' of seinen manga in that sense

[@andreitaker3527]

I believe Kingdom had an official french translation.

[@robinthomasson6630]

@@andreitaker3527 it had, after years of patience and passion from scan team. Actually, the team did so well with trad, they participated in the official translation

[@chikasnotmadjustdisappoint6266]

"How Can Someone Write Characters THIS Smart?" I guess they must be smart themselves.

[@ChurchHatesTucker]

The trick is to take a week figuring out what a smarter person would work out in a minute.

[@yous2244]

Well it's not that hard. You don't need to be smart to write smart characters. It's because you have unlimited time to write about them so you can think a lot.

[@yous2244]

Really Reverend Insanity, about the most evil character in the history of that genre. And he's super smart, while everyone else is too.

[@yous2244]

@@ChurchHatesTucker Well, Kingdom is the best, but it isn't really realistic war and battles. If you want more realistic battles; try Shoukoku No Altair

[@kchikwete]

There are 2 approaches to smart people: We just tell the audience they’re smart (by giving them Harvard degrees or make everyone else dumb) eg Every character in an anime with the highest grades in the school Or show it through how they solve problems.eg Sherlock, Kira/L, Gosick, Lupin

[@EMPerror403]

The main difference of a writer from a smart character is (to me at least) writer literally makes up the problem. What I mean is in some problem, you can make up an answer then craft a problem around it.

[@fatemadman9688]

But then again making a problem complex enough and then also solving it that could be hard to solve irl, probably requires a decent amount of talent

[@mobiushelldoctor1423]

and you can take inspiration from history (in this particular case)

[@thabokgwele5268]

Also, even without crafting a problem around its solution, the writer simply has more time to solve the problem. I like that they mentioned George Martin because that's who I'm going to use too. Martin said: "I guess I'm as witty as Tyrion (Lannister) because I think of everything he says. The difference is that I'm not as fast as Tyrion. I can only think of a clever remark two weeks after a conversation has already ended, while Tyrion can come up with it in the moment". It's really speed more than anything else, at least imo so I could be wrong.

[@bobjones2959]

The issue is some writers make up problems and then offer solutions that basically amount to one character having access to some kind of deus ex machina that resolves everything. In order to convincingly write a smart character, the solution has to be something the audience can plausibly believe other characters could have come to, but didn't.

[@kurokun07]

@@bobjones2959 which is why mystery anime mc is so good, for example detective conan, conan arc at it's peak is so unforgettable due to gosho insane writing and build up skills

[@MobyDrip]

Watching Kanki, Ousen, and Riboku try and outwit each other is always such a treat.

[@CampusMMA]

I love Kanki he's so artistically brutal

[@morroc6846]

@@CampusMMA When Ousen made that fucking fort out nowhere I almost cum in my pants, I really love those 3 generals. Kanki, Ousen and Riboku are truly the baddest, especially Kanki with his moves out of nowhere that fuck with other people minds.

[@hridaypratim3247]

@@CampusMMA couldn't agree more

[@porpoise8160]

@@CampusMMA :(

[@rgbarrios0331]

pain-peko.

[@rustygear447]

1:34 Kingdom is about the first unification of China in ~240BCE. The Three Kingdoms period is almost 500 years later. Ei Sei, the king in Kingdom, is historically Qin Shi Huang the first emperor of China who built the Terracotta Warriors (one of the world wonders). The plot is mainly based off of actual history, so if you research the history you pretty much know the outcome of all the battles.

[@nevaladder]

The brilliance of the writing is in how Yasuhisa Hara fills in the dry historical accounts with characters and situations that bring the story to life. I love that some of the narration sometimes says "'X battle in Y plains - General Z perished' was all that was written."

[@ariavachier-lagravech.6910]

Fun fact: Kingdom is the only manga that has persistently rank top 5 in sales for the past decade without anime at all. No, I do not count that abomination as adaptation. If anything that shitty abomination discouraged people reading Kingdom.

[@rjproduction486]

Season 3 of Kingdom is now AWESOME, The Animation was Great Improved! I recommend watching!

[@Lucoski77]

And now that it has 3rd season It Will not be in the top 5 😭, this year it's difficult even to be in top 10

[@bobjones2959]

Season 1 was shit with that terrible CGI but seasons 2 and 3 from what I've seen were okay. Wasn't amazing animation or anything, but it didn't have that awful CGI of season 1 so it's at least watchable, and the story is Kingdom so it's good.

[@superfactorial5717]

basically the only non-weekly shonen jump title that always consistently matches One Piece sales and even surpasses it at times (tho Kingdom is also published by jump comics in young jump)

[@yvngyagami]

Man at least this adaptation improved. Can't say the same for Berserk

[@TheYozaryu]

Considering that Kingdom is based on the true character and true events It's gonna take a while for Shin and Sei to unite China

[@ProGamer___]

how much more chapters you think?

[@Ash_Wen-li]

@@ProGamer___ I think the Mangaka is aiming for 100 volumes

[@bobjones2959]

@@ProGamer___ Well considering we're at like 688 chapters and he still hasn't defeated even a single other kingdom yet, and he needs to defeat another 5, we're still probably a long way off.

[@superfactorial5717]

Ei Sei is 26 right now, and he will finally unify china around his mid to late 30s (real life Sei, which will be Qin Shi Huang after he unified china, achieved it when he was 38)

[@superfactorial5717]

kinda a spoiler, but according to history he starts the conquest in 230BC, couquers Zhao 228BC, Yan in 226BC, Wei in 225BC, and finally Chu in 223BC. in the manga Qi seems to ally already with Qin (or i guess in good terms as of now, but might changed in the future) but Qi was annexed in 221BC.

[@moganaperseus7912]

As a Chinese, my textbooks are filled with the names that appeared in this manga. I actually started reading because I'm curious about how Japanese view our ancestors. And it's such a great journey. I'm especially grateful because the author wrote Ei Sei really well. I know for a fact that 99% of Chinese are Qin Shi Huang fans, and I'm no exception.

[@moganaperseus7912]

Oh and I stopped hating my history textbooks after reading Kindom, Lmao.

[@Anonymous-lx7rq]

i want to ask one thing (but dont spoil the manga plz, i've only read up to around 650 chapters) you said that a lot of chinese are a fan of qin shi huang, but from the comment section of where i read kingdom, i've heard that he's depicted as a tyrant in chinese history. What do you think of that?

[@moganaperseus7912]

​@@Anonymous-lx7rq Well, actually our history book described him as "an emperor that only appears once in a thousand years". We were taught about both the good and bad deeds that he did, and finally our history canon book concluded: the good things he had done override the bad things, so he's definetely not a tyrant. Unless you were talking about the history canon like ShiJi (I really have no idea how to translate it into English). But those books were written by the historians who were born after Qin Dynasty, and you've got to understand, those historians were demanded and were more willing to write more good things about their own dynasty. To praise their master, what can be better than slandering the dynasty that were overthrowned? So that's that. But I assure you, Ei Sei is definetly not a tyrant, he never slayed any loyal subject (which is quite unheard of and kind among Chinese emperors) and even the confucian scholars he buried were selected and killed for certain reasons. Anyway, it might be true that Simaqian (the writer of ShiJi) and other historians wrote him as a tyrant in their books, but that dosen't mean it's the truth and definetely dosen't mean we modern Chinese history lovers held any grudge against EiSei.

[@Anonymous-lx7rq]

@@moganaperseus7912 Ah i see. Thanks for the insight!

[@moganaperseus7912]

@@Anonymous-lx7rq No problem~

[@Azurade]

Started reading it like the day after this podcast, now at chap 650 nearly caught up. Over 100 pages a day. It’s good.

[@Verskil1412]

How are you still alive?

[@geetendrakumar2724]

@@Verskil1412 kingdom keeps him alive xd

[@edric2850]

Wow I did the same thing but I'm still at chap 118

[@ajp2206]

Did the same and now am at 280 lol really good manga

[@ghosthand9109]

@@ajp2206 Nice lets hear what yall Guys have to say when yall Catch up

[@Snowy123]

It isn't just the generals playing 5D chess which makes it great it's the attention to detail in combat. There was a scene when army A had to rush army B. Army A had experienced chivalry but infantry was inexperienced as they were farmers drafted. Army B is balanced, also has archers which army A didn't have. The general ordered the chivalry to go first, yes common tactic. When the chivalry goes in they intentionally feint the archer's volleys to dodge another direction. Then when the infantry who follows up saw what happened, did the same thing and managed to engage in melee safely. Now this scene was only 2 pages long but careful detail was put into "How would peasants engage here safely?" The engagement is explicitly explained into the reader so if you're not paying attention you miss details like this.

[@akrambendali8295]

Garnt's enthusiasm is exactly what you feel when you're reading kingdom

[@CLOUDKID11]

haha so true

[@viktorbryce951]

God, I wish that an English Manga Publisher would acquire Kingdom. I'd purchase every volume ASAP uncontested. Manga Publishers if you reading this please for the love of GOD I don't care whom you are one of yall pick up the rights, please!

[@mansourhaddad398]

One of a two years ago a small french publisher bought the rights and started publishing all of it to caught up to the japanese publication it's fucking great

[@viktorbryce951]

@@mansourhaddad398 That sounds lovely, to bad I can't read French

[@wayward4657]

It really sucks how behind English language manga publishers are. Other countries like France and Italy seem to be ahead in just about every series that isn't the most mainstream series. Jojo even is like 3 parts behind in the English versions because American companies are usually slow to produce English copies, unless the series has a successful anime

[@thogro99]

Kingdom is so good, I wish it had an english release....

[@Thenamelessgod-cz9em]

What are you talking about it has an English release🤣

[@notgron8031]

@@Thenamelessgod-cz9em not on physical

[@thogro99]

@@Thenamelessgod-cz9em not on paper....

[@lordbauer5983]

@@thogro99 I don’t have room for 60+ volumes of one series, so I’ll gladly take the digital version that I can read whenever I want on the go.

[@thogro99]

@@lordbauer5983 fair enough, I just want the option.

[@treebush]

every kingdom fan instantly know which arc he is talking about and why its his favourite lol

[@Bioshock6407]

My comics is the next GOAT.

[@encapsulatio]

@@Bioshock6407 Who?

[@alamsyahbatrabatliz9340]

Yeah, the Battle of Kanyou Pass is super fucking good. If i could forget something to enjoy it once more, that arc would be it

[@zera3947]

Coalition army arc was a wild ride lol

[@to_yin3405]

@@alamsyahbatrabatliz9340 This was season 3 of the anime right? Cuz can confirm, watched 23 episodes in 1 day this past week. One of the best binge watches of my life

[@radiospace7071]

Fact of the Day:Kingdom is based on the warring states period of China not the Three Kingdoms Period

[@mob3963]

Binging kingdom is legit the best manga experience ever. Its sooo goood

[@adambuckley2270]

Connor: Doesn't read monthly manga American comics fans: *Sweating*

[@yuuki6712]

I will destroy your 69th like

[@s3studios597]

Those still exist?

[@jeneraljad1179]

@@s3studios597 yeah obviously

[@kchikwete]

I still gotta wait every 4 months for an issue of TMNT: Last Ronin

[@justajobro1266]

Who reads them anymore lol

[@rakeshpanigrahi2005]

Kingdom manga was addictive af. I remember reading it like 3 years ago. I finished like 500 chapters in 5 days. You just can't stop turning pages. I have also read the coalition arc few times. One of my all time favourite arcs.

[@kaleomungin]

Ok, 500 chapter in 5 days is insane. I was an absolute degenerate while reading it but it still took me weeks to catch up

[@BIuezy]

I read 700 in 5 days, I kind of regret it because it dropped my grades but it was a thrilling experience to say the least.

[@dopaminecloud]

@@BIuezy don't you feel like you got a diluted experience spending so little time with each chapter and kinda just drilling through?

[@BIuezy]

@@dopaminecloud I don’t know if my experience was diluted but it was incredibly thrilling non the less and my grades barely dropped so I still did other things.

[@bray999]

@@BIuezy cappppp

[@sirawichsiri601]

I gonna guess garnt's best arc is the Coalition Army Arc, which I think was the longest arc of Kingdom and was insanely good. Never before I feel like my body was pumping adrenaline reading manga until I read that one.

[@menghao4576]

he might probably be also referring to renpa vs mougou

[@melonmusk8924]

I think now the Invasion of Zhao (to be more precise the Siege of Gyou and all the battles that happened at the same time) is a bit longer, because I remember it was over 100 chapters but I don't know how long the Coalition Army arc is.

[@CampusMMA]

Or the Gou invasion where Ousen, Yotanwa, Kanki armies and they almost starved vs Riboku's entire Zhao arsenal maybe except Shibashou. That was long but really worth the read 🔥

[@dorianpompa8409]

Western Zhao invasion arc is ~150ch long, while coalition is just 100ch. Also the author said he wants to pick up the pace after WZI, so I dont expect even the chu invasion to surprass 100ch

[@Anthonycha]

Kingdom is truly an incredible manga. I’ve never cried reading something like I did at the end of the Bayou arc.

[@iguano3153]

Bayou single handedly made me hate archers for a bit, but the the archer bros appeared and I can't hate them, they're just too cool

[@rgbarrios0331]

Oh man I miss him so much☹

[@abhiroopdas3232]

And sei's speech!

[@zera3947]

Ou Ki was fucking epic!!

[@DarkAoiishi]

@@zera3947 I found Ou Ki so fucking weird initially and then the next thing I know, he's the reason I'm fucking crying manly tears. God damn Kingdom is just able to create the best characters along with the best stories combined with amazing art.

[@suguru4901]

I've been reading kingdom for 3 weeks now, It gives me one piece vibes while reading it, it's just pure enjoyment, without a single moment of boredome, everyone needs to read it. I said read it not watch it because the anime is garbage . . . . . . MY best moment in the manga is when The mountain "King" rescued Ei Sei from ROBUKU, it was an epic panel because I didn't see that coming at all I literally cried at that scene.

[@SM-bs9dj]

For real I had chills when that happened.

[@switchbladeponger2373]

Coalition arc was just bonkers, each big moment was a 10/10, one of the best arcs in all of animanga

[@coldkgon5836]

kou, do you believe in miracles....because a miracle really happened

[@blast2686]

Should I read one piece manga or watch it since it is a battle shonen?

[@felviofernandez1225]

I think Connor was referring to Brandon Sanderson's video "How do I write someone who is smarter than I am?". Kinda funny that I also watch BS's videos without habing read any of his books. Don't know if Connor has, but monke knows fellow moke

[@myciemouse9112]

Woah, it's a surprise to se brandon sanderson mentioned here

[@ishaan863]

yeah exactly. Get that video recommended to me a lot. Brilliant guy.

[@felviofernandez1225]

@@ishaan863 Yeah, you truly get a feel that he knows what he's talking about with writing. Will probably get Mistborn for Christmas to get into his work

[@stefan5502]

@@felviofernandez1225 You really should, mistborn rekindled my love for fantasy books, i wpuld love to read it all for yhe first time again, it's a real treat, have fun on your cosmere adventure!

[@myciemouse9112]

@@stefan5502 Yes! Though I read Stormlight before mistborn so that kind of made my expectations really high lmao. Not to say that Mistborn was bad though, I loved it a lot.

[@NoneYaBp]

Poor grant he just wants to talk about Kingdom xddd

[@marocat4749]

He is the good taste in trash taste. And kingdon deserves respect imao.

[@thabokgwele5268]

@@marocat4749 nah, he tried to defend Black Clover

[@zaehelhm3099]

@@thabokgwele5268 Black Clover is great, what are you on lmao

[@thabokgwele5268]

Zaehelhm ! Hell fucking no lol. I picked it up because Garnt said it was good. Forced myself through 75+ episodes, then continued even further and dropped it at 100. I think it's safe to say that BC has easily the shittiest dialogue I have ever seen in anime. The story also just felt uninteresting even though it shares so many similarities to Naruto and Bleach.

[@zaehelhm3099]

@@thabokgwele5268 Let's agree to disagree Personally I love BC. Also, at least it's lead female role isn't useless like a certain someone lol

[@batmankaler]

One piece and Kingdom are the only mangas I literally could read 100 chapters a day and still want to read more. Absolute Goats.

[@layton6202]

Kingdom yeah but one piece that shit was so boring it made me stop reading mangas for a while

[@idirbouchdoug1567]

One piece does have many meh parts that break that feeling, for me at least.

[@isammohammed605]

@@layton6202 aahno seri nna

[@pianoboi4842]

Vinland Saga gives me the same feeling.

[@koinzellascheriit4282]

Try the Dragonball Multiverse Fan Manga.. it's better than super

[@TowAZKi]

One thing I haven't seen anyone talked about Kingdom is its consistency in quality. Throughout hunreds of chapters I haven't even felt bored. Every single arc counts and they're either fine or even better.

[@tingispingis]

1 year later this comment still holds true. The worst arcs of Kingdom are still decent. And the current arc 800 chapters into the manga is really good so far and could potentially be one of the better ones

[@rinjinnoko]

Remembering Sai Arc always gives me goosebumps. Everyone did everything so well. The people of Sai, Sei as the "king", Shin as future great general, and Yotanwa gang as ally who's always got their back. Masterpiece.

[@pdp6839]

Bro, the king's speech to the people of Sai still gives me goosebumps

[@josephnine4353]

Kingdom is the only manga that has given me literal goosepumps with only a speech.

[@realkingofantarctica]

It's like when God wrote Albert Einstein, that was some clever thinking on his part.

[@mr.tiptoe4634]

god a good writer he made some of the best characters

[@felviofernandez1225]

When he wrote the "New Decade" chapter was truly amazing. Definitely on par with The Eclipse on how to do a horrific conclusion to an arc

[@jordinagel1184]

@@felviofernandez1225 what was that again? The name doesn’t ring any bells

[@felviofernandez1225]

@@jordinagel1184 2020

[@mame1127]

@@felviofernandez1225 yea the twists and turns were like.... "OH MY GOD... What can happen after all this?" and then drops another unexpected plot twist

[@daisuke2795]

KINGDOM IS ONE OF THE GREATEST MANGA'S, bruh every chapter is worth it. The characters are so much fun, they have char development they aren't boring. Mfs be training until they puke, I just love it it's deserves so much attention. And for you non manga readers YES it has, they're now at season 3 if I'm correct.

[@encapsulatio]

Only weak area of Kingdom is that they do not really train and go in depth with training regimens. Shin would be so much more powerful if he incorporated Kyoukai's breathing techniques to his already ridiculous genetic potential.

[@wayward4657]

Only thin gI would say is DON'T WATCH THE ANIME. The anime adaptation sucks and people probably won't like it, the manga is a masterpiece though

[@muhammadzikro9406]

@@wayward4657 season 1 is very suck but it get better overtime (season 3 is banger tho )

[@moeedahmed1837]

@@muhammadzikro9406 I'm a non Manga reader... Should I get invested in its anime?

[@sloth8866]

@@moeedahmed1837 I truly wish I had seen this 2 months earlier. Read the manga first, try the anime later. This is like Berserk's shitty anime all over again.

[@animafiaweirdanimeandmanga9731]

So it's like playing chess in no game no life without the moe loli.

[@noopyyyyyyy]

Yes

[@Kazumadesu]

Yes

[@asianpersuasion4901]

and shit ton of violence

[@Jack-h8m6j]

No loli no life

[@thewhatever993]

No moe loli ? Im not reading then

[@damson4211]

Coalition war arc from Kingdom is a better arc than Marineford from One Piece. There, I said it.

[@cosminjohan1497]

True

[@coldkgon5836]

no hiding behind bs superpowers, grounded in logic and no deus ex machina

[@gig7932]

@@coldkgon5836 my favorite character Kyou Kai wasn't even in this arc and I agree with you.

[@yuukistraussable]

100% true

[@nashieboi7496]

Im a solid one piece fan but this statement cant be true enough.

[@kylekgh]

Seeing Garnt's uncontrolled happiness makes me so happy. As i've been reading kingdom since i think it was in the 100-200 chapter range and its been my favourite manga ever. Finally seeing it get recoginition is great outside our small reading communities is great. And if your considering reading it you need to understand.....its epic

[@War_Maker]

That's how I felt with One Piece before reading it last year. Went from "900+ chapters there's way too much" to 2 weeks later after catching up "I need more".

[@amadisdegaula1411]

"Let's us aim for all of china together, my king" - Ou ki (Wang Qi). This manga gave me emotions that I haven't felt while reading a story since I was a teenager. I love Kingdom so so much.

[@SuigaRou]

The story, battle strategies, and characters aside, I think another thing Kingdom has going for it is it's one of those manga that have so many moments of badassery and amazing art to accompany it. There are pannels in that manga that would actually make awesome posters.

[@radical6905]

'How do you write characters this smart?' Thumbnail is a picture of Shin lol

[@shortznig2938]

I was confused as well but I understand the characters their referring to.

[@jordanneshirley6976]

Why diss my boy😂😭😭

[@franciscotorija2672]

I love how with each campaign the new foes aren’t just the newt big bad to beat, they make you feel dread over their presence they make you nervous and seem like an unsormauntable wall and sometimes they are, this manga sets up grand stages so well and it knows how to make a war feel like war it’s chaos and sometimes that big thing shin does amounts to not all that much in the grand scheme of the fight. Also the politics and drama are so nerve wracking and gripping

[@trailvinzyl779]

kingdom is truly a hidden gem. Thanks to the high quality animation for S3, i decided to read the whole manga. It was a blast and i thought close to 700 chapters was too short~!~!

[@jaideepbura1936]

Kingdom is based on real life history of China, its basically the ascension of the Qin dynasty. The main character Shin is also based on a real life general but because there wasn't much history on that person the Mangaka has obviously taken artistic liberties to make him seem more epic. If you're a big into military history you'll love this manga, the battle scenes are very descriptive and do a really good job and trying to accurately depict how war was fought thousands of years ago.

[@vasily3127]

Can't wait to see Sei drinks mercury

[@serioussirius3355]

@@vasily3127 I hope the story end after the empire formation

[@EricChien95]

Li Xin himself is not well known but his descendant are all very important character which includes Lao Tzu the founder of Taoism and are deified as one of its god and Li Guang the Flying General.

[@chaptereight3406]

@@EricChien95 very interesting, wasn't Shin's unit named Flying Arrow?

[@ayami123]

actually it was recorded that his last battle was the fall of qi, then he retired.

[@juanfinanzas7727]

Kingdom is the manga I go back to whenever I feel sick or depressed I will read it from the beggining every time !

[@BL-oj5zn]

The Castle Defense battle at Sai during the coalition arc is, for me, simply the best moment of all manga. The moment when Yotanhwa and the mountain tribes showed up gave a surge in adrenaline.

[@rinjinnoko]

Sai arc was a magnum opus

[@sloth8866]

And the moment when Shin finally kills Houken. I moaned like a bitch in heat when that moment happened.

[@mccasper5721]

I like Kingdom because it's a battle manga with multiple dimensions. In Dragon Ball, for instance, there's pretty much only one way you can be strong, it's called your power level. But in Kingdom there's your physical strength which is useful in duels and carving a way through enemies, there's leadership which affects the morale of your troops, and there's tactics. I love seeing a strong character like Shin getting absolutely outplayed by a master tactician, I love seeing master tacticians having their sound strategies be simply overwhelmed by the morale of the enemy troops. It's amazing how adding a few more dimensions of combat really livens it up.

[@akalitingz5596]

Kingdom is just one of the best things i've ever read

[@yous2244]

Yes it's the best war manga. But you should also try out Shoukoku No Altair, it deals a lot about politics and economy, but the battles are much more realistic. Although not as cool as Kingdom.

[@AB-vd6bu]

I would rush through my work at my internship to get as much time during the day to read kingdom while there.

[@bradyyoung9596]

dude the kankoku pass arc was something else. The highs on that shit were so good and even the lows were enjoyable like it was still super entertaining watching the protagonists get their asses beat. The Sai Defence bit was incredible too.

[@mayafoxwitch]

I’d say in this case, the interest, or passion of you like, gives that “smartness” edge. If a person is very eager to learn about strategies and battles, they will naturally come up with ideas that will seem smart because no one else thought of that. It’s really impressive!

[@giulioemme5452]

Cool to see someone read Kingdom and is spreading the word. That manga definitely deserves more success in the West. Gigguk should def make a video about it, it would spread a not so well known gem that deserves more recognition and an english version paper release.

[@lawrencefrost9063]

Just started reading. 5 chapter in. Wish me luck.

[@TheTsugnawmi2010]

Kingdom is one of those series that upsets you when you run out of chapters to binge.

[@rinjinnoko]

That's exactly why I stopped reading in 2017. Now I have hundreds of chapters to go, and I'm ready to binge again.

[@dorianpompa8409]

​@@rinjinnoko yeah I stopped just now after ch 750 dropped, best manga ever but its definitely not enjoyable unless you can binge it, hell nothing its enjoyable for me if I cant go at my pace

[@Myta385]

"I've never seen a manga depicit warfare like kingdom does" Exactly

[@HusseinAli-jc5pc]

One of the most outstanding features of Kingdom are the generals, usually we have the protagonist strength's and capabilities as the main struggle of the story, like Narroto, bleach, and any battle shonnen manga etc (except HXH) .... However in kingdom you can witness the different level of the generals not just in strength but also in insight, vision and strategy, so it brought a whole deferent level of depth other the protagonist have to punch harder and make a bigger Kamahameha or a bigger Zombakto and there are those group leaders who can make a bigger Chi ball. Like once when I was reading many chapters about some battle for Ousen and nobody knows WTF is going on, not the characters neither the viewers and after many chapters when you know what WTF just happened that was one of the best moments on Screen ever...

[@riverbandit2138]

I’m currently hoping that Kingdom will fill the hole Arcane left for me. Edit: Alright 5 volumes in, I can see why it’s so good. It feels like the battles are so well thought out, the strategies are interesting, and even some of the psychology behind the styles of war is cool. And I think Kingdom has a certain trait most other mangas don’t have, being how the battles and fights make the story.

[@5at5una]

uuoo bet you do my friend... god speed hoo ah

[@IB21066]

This has sold me, Imma start now

[@bLEACHeye]

I literally started reading yesterday and I'm already 108 chapters in. It truly is amazing

[@KaednKing]

My friend and I started Kingdom within a week or so of each other, back when it was only around 480 or so chapters out at the moment and we binged the entirerity of released content within a week. An absolutely binge masterpiece where I had never been so absorbed by a read in my life. I ate breathed and slept Kingdom. One of the most fun times of my anime/manga life. Unreal series

[@malkaons]

Those all nighters were insane

[@rgbarrios0331]

fr fr

[@jabidmorshed7652]

for those that want to know, garnt was talking about the coalition war arc in kingdom. And honestly, I agree, coalition is one of the greatest arcs I have ever read in manga.

[@juanertizer]

literally just started kingdom last week, im halfway done, it sucked me in so hard

[@aniphoenix9474]

Here before "just some guy with a Mustache"

[@jeankirstein410]

I don't think he read kingdom

[@xBo0oDy]

5:31 I believe these were shunshinkun's words Chu's prime minister and chief of military affairs in the coalition arc

[@disaster1919]

I first watch the live action movies with my parents, then suddenly did not notice that it's actually a live action adaptation. It's so good that I even searched it up on Google when the new movie was coming out then suddenly I saw some similar anime characters, after that I found the manga and can't even stop reading it because of how amazing it is.

[@yanniammari1491]

the coalition arc (the shukai plains are also insane) its to me the best arc in all of manga

[@funisanartform]

"Unimaginable" is still GOATED as one of the most incredible manga chapters of all time. My hype could not be contained - and the insane thing is Kingdom DELIVERED on that hype entirely!

[@lemisho8186]

I want an English physical release for Kingdom, but it seems that’s impossible…

[@vastsleep7152]

I'm so glad I started reading Kingdom. Probably the most bingeable manga I've ever read. The manga is just written and illustrated so beautifully. Once I got hooked on it I was shocked at how I've rarely ever heard it even mentioned before. I'm already 400+ chapters into the manga and there's currently only around 760+ chapters as of today. Yasuhisa Hara the mangaka said after volume 40 that he expects to make at least double the amount of content he's already made for the remaining manga. If that's true then Kingdom might go on for maybe even 1200+ chapters. If I were to give advice to anyone new to Kingdom, you 1000% MUST start with the manga. I hadn't previously read much manga in the past but Kingdom's art and storyline are top notch and never cease to entertain you. The first season of the anime is atrocious with the use of CGI and the second season isn't great either. From what I've seen the third and fourth seasons are pretty good though.

[@KenpachiSauga]

I dont see why shueisha couldnt put out a poll to gather intel on how many English readers would want physical print. I can guarentee it would sell like crazy.

[@siilkyjohnson5779]

That feeling they're talking about has literally been me contemplating when to read all of berserk

[@Theo-sn4ch]

Their description of kingdoms battles reminds me a lot of world trigger but on a larger scale, I might have to check it out

[@vinhny2406]

Another manga or Manhwa which also based on Chinese history specifically Three kingdoms period are The Ravage of Time

[@siddk.n8409]

If you like Kingdom, go read Ravages of Time by Chen Mou , Kingdom is a story of warring states period whereas Ravages of Time is a story of Three KIngdom Period, you have to rack your brains more if you try to understand The Ravages of Time, the art is not as good as kingdom but it is still very thrilling read.

[@bigcig4104]

Have to agree, Ravages of Time focuses on the strategy aspect of the war

[@endless_tragedy7662]

the art does get improve around chapter 120, but it took a while before reaching something like chapter 357 "blood" scene

[@One_Andonly-Zulu.1]

Ravages of time surpasses kingdom by leaps

[@ProgamerMoritz]

@@One_Andonly-Zulu.1 I completely agree. I've been a huge Kingdom fan for a long time but RoT surpasses it in almost every aspect. Kingdom is like the simplified, shonen version of RoT and it focuses more on single battles and campaings instead of the big picture.

[@ThisAlbino]

The art in RoT is incredible though.

[@One_Andonly-Zulu.1]

Ravages of time surpasses kingdom by leaps

[@taiga17]

Chinese history is so interesting, and the fact that it just describes warfare so close is immaculate.

[@bluejay4214]

SEASON FOUR BABY LET"S GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO The arc their talking about is finally getting animated!

[@Sleepy-fs9rg]

Over 1 week I did nothing but read kingdom. I was like this will last me forever until i read all 600 chapters and was craving for more

[@suluhwidyotomo7942]

im not big on history themed stuff but somehow i managed to binge kingdom for a week from the beginning. it was legit 100+ chapters per day

[@trickaho8974]

My only regret reading kingdom was how fast I read it TT_TT. Such an amazing story I can’t wait to see what the mangaka has for us next.

[@tusharyadav4982]

Just caught up with the manga. Thank you cor making this.

[@wilz9388]

Kingdom fans can also try the ravages of time, it flies under the radar but is arguably better. However for people not familiar with the 3 kingdoms period, it may be a harder read.

[@inkandquail]

AAA FINALLY YOU GUYS REVIEW KINGDOM!!! tbh this series needs more love and needs to be talked about more!!!

[@shazzprince944]

I agree with everything Grant said. I was really glad that Kingdom had a lot of chapters.And I finished it realllllly quick. Now i kinda refgret reading it that fast. Now i have to wait for weekly chaptersss😭😭😭😭 I think he's talking about the coalition arc. For me that was the best arc in Kingdom as of now.

[@sayantanmazumdar3]

I once sat down to read kingdom on an uneventful morning. When I left my room to get some food, it was 7 in the evening. It was like 1 hour to me.

[@oriontipuna586]

This is set during a time when China was split into separate kingdoms... Asian historians: *DO YOU KNOW HOW LITTLE THAT NARROWS IT DOWN!?*

[@td1559]

I believe Garnt said that it was before China had ever been unified, so that narrows it down a bit.

[@boshengjones1778]

It narrows down huge. Because China stayed united in a single empire for most of its history. However the period when China was disunited, fragmented were by far the most interesting bits

[@waifung3367]

being a Chinese knowing a bit of history of that time, I have to say that this manga is very well done and mostly accurate to the many main events in real history. even though I know who will win and die for which battle, I still like to read it because the way the author deliver the story. it is my most favourite mange at the moment.

[@cmiller1300]

That feeling about being absorbed in Manga happened to me when I read Real & Vagabond back to back. Still tryna find that feeling again.

[@rinjinnoko]

I stopped reading Kingdom on purpose since 2017, so now i have hundreds of chapters to go. I'm ready to relive those sleepless nights reading this masterpiece.

[@CPTZK11]

I wish I could remove Kingdom from my head then re-read it again. By far the best warfare ever put on paper

[@speedwagon6-e1b]

3:28 Connor: Are we close to finishing it? No, they have to conquer 6 other states and they have yet to even conquer one 💀

[@alexicon2006]

We're getting there 😭

[@Izaro8]

Thechincally they alr got Qi

[@lifeloverNorris]

Coalition army arc top 3 greatest manga arcs of all time easy.

[@Revelrevan]

It’s like when you make a cereal box maze starting from the end. If you know the ending it easier to build up

[@hiimjill3491]

If gigguk love kingdom so much i wonder how he feel like when he read The Ravages Of Time

[@Lacon1x]

Finally kingdom is getting the love and attention it deserves. Not only is it written and depicts battles in an immersive fashion, a lot of characters and plot points are from historical events and people.

[@SackVegasAnime]

Favourite manga of all time. 10/10.

[@GustavoSilva-ny8jc]

0:00 I had the same sensation with Akagi Mahjong, i bet i was watching/reading the same thing for literally an entire year before realizing "JESUS, this doesn't end!!!". I usually like to dive in one story at a time but no matter how brilliant it is you get overwhelmed after a point. That's why pauses, vacations, to see other stuff (hopefully of different genres) are a life saver. I'm getting into some Dorohedoro and JoJo now and i feel revived.

[@archleykevinkharkongor8205]

Ravages of time is a 3 Kingdom love story. And it's fucking beautiful

[@calamatuz]

"some people flip the board and theres nothing you can do" a certain bushin: AAAAAAAAAAAAAA THE HEAVENS AAAA