0
0
Year: 2012-2015
Genre: Action, Mystery, Superpower, Supernatural
Episodes: 26 and a movie
Rating: 4.25 out of 5
What does it mean to be a king? You could have tremendous power to rule over all, yet with great wealth and power comes a heavy toll. As the line from the famous Shakespeare play, Henry IV, “uneasy is the head that wears a crown.” It must be really tough wearing the crown as you have a difficult time to relax.
In the story of Damocles, Damocles was pandering to his king, Dionysius, exclaiming that Dionysius was truly fortunate as a great man of power and authority, surrounded by magnificence. Intrigued by the statement, the king states that they can switch places for one day so Damocles could get firsthand knowledge of what it is like to be a king. Damocles jumps at the chance to be a king and accepts the proposal. Damocles takes his place on the throne while being surrounded by all the luxuries he has ever desired. On the other hand, Dionysius made many enemies as a king and arranges that a sword is hanged above the throne and to be only held by a single hair of a horse’s tail to evoke the sense of what it is like to be king. Though having much fortune, always having to watch in fear and anxiety against dangers that might try to overtake him. Damocles, with fear, couldn’t take it and was like NOPE! This is what it means to wear a crown and be a king or queen.
Overview:
K should be short for Kings. The world of Japan is an Economic powerhouse in the world. In one of the cities, seven clans rule the city, with each of them having a special ability and a king who leads them. The clans are silver, gold, blue, green, red, blue, and grey. The king can recruit others and protect the lives and honor of their clan.
The anime begins when a videotape depicting the murder of a Red Clansman spreads all over the internet. In the video, the student who shot the student was none other than Yashiro Isana. The only problem is Yashiro has no idea what happened and states that he can’t be the person because he was at school the whole time. Now a manhunt ensues as the infamous “Black Dog” Kurou Yatogami comes in contact with him to follow the wishes of his late master, the Seventh King. To make matters worse, the Red Clan want their revenge. With his memory gone and the Red Clan after him, Yashiro must find a way to clear his name before the wrath of all clans falls upon him.
Review:
I absolutely love this anime. I remember the first time seeing it, and I was hooked after three episodes, and I was happy when there was a movie and a second season. Now season one starts off with a major mystery as we see the main character, Shiro, shoot someone. It sets off a series of events on if Shiro did shoot the person or not. What is great about this season is that we are not bombarded by the different types of clans. We know that there are seven clans, but we only see four clans: Blue, Red, Gold, and Colorless. Each clan uses a specific ability like the red clan is fire and the blue clan is water, but each clan has its own unique identity about them. Red Clan is called Homura, and they straight thugs, while Blue Clan is called Scepter 4 and acts as the police force. The main focus of the whole season is Shiro trying to figure out if he killed the Red Clan member. In contrast, the Red Clan tries to track Shiro down and exact their revenge while Blue Clan tries to figure out what is going on. One of the issues is that Shiro isn’t really who you think he is and that the Colorless King did something to him, along with Neko having a very unique ability. In thirteen episodes, there was a lot of information thrown your way, and it is excellent. The first season is full of fighting and action and just all the goodness you love in an anime.
One section of the anime that I think is amazing is the idea and theory of using the story of Damocles. I found it interesting that the kings have a sword hanging over their heads when they fight. When they get pushed to their limits, that the sword falls from the sky and causes destruction. I find this so interesting because no one really knows how to be a king, and this shows that no matter what, there is an extreme danger to their role.
Now, to get the full scope of this fantastic anime, you MUST watch the movie K: Missing Kings. It is a great bridge between season one and season two of the anime. The reason this movie is excellent because it starts off one year after season one along with introducing the main antagonist, Jungle, the Green Clan. Let me tell you, the Green Clan takes it up a notch and has a way of bringing the country under their control with everything playing a game to gain points. Also, we get a new Red King, and she is a total badass. The HIGHLIGHT of this season is the fight between Kuroh and Yukari Mishakuji. You want to see some of the most beautiful sword fighting, then this is it. You had glowing swords and just pure style.
Season two picks up right after the film. It doesn’t hold back as the Green Clan, Jungle, devises a plan to steal the plates that give the kings and clans their power and spread it throughout the world to further the evolution of humanity. The season does a nice job of bringing everything full circle. Honestly, the green clan could’ve gone beast mode if they really wanted to because they had some true warriors on that squad. The season just kept the tempo up and made sure that the fighting was at the max.
I want to talk about the music of this anime. It is so good. I rarely notice music in an anime, and if I do, it hits me hard or really catches my attention. This anime has some freaking good music to it. The first song and the one that I always love to hear is Suoh Mikoto. I don’t know what it is about this song, but it just seems relaxing and calm. The whole beat just has that perfect vibe to it. The second song that I love is Namida No ShizuKu. When that piano started playing, I was hooked, and the whole melody was just simple and soft. The song Ikari is a club banger and plays when the characters fight, and it is also one of the best songs in the anime. It is just intense and hits all the right notes. Honestly, the whole soundtrack for both seasons is excellent. The only thing I wasn’t a fan of was the first opening and ending theme songs. “KINGS” by Angela just felt too forced in the show to be an opening song. I did like the title of the song but not the melody. The ending theme song is “Tsumetai Heya, Hitori,” which was okay also. I wasn’t really impressed by it and wished it was somewhat more upbeat.
The animation is a MAJOR highlight of this series. It is one of the best I have seen in a while. I love how each clan is distinctly drawn and colored with a specific element dedicated to them. Since there are seven clans, each one has a color dedicated to them. The red and blue clans stand out the most because we see them the most in each season. The blue clan characters either wear blue or have something blue associated with them. The red clan is drawn the same way as the main leader’s hair is red or many of the characters wear red along with using fire. I love how the swords are drawn because each one is the same but a different color, but when a king is pushed too hard, you can see the sword is drawn in a way to show it crumbling. When a king uses their powers, the anime holds nothing back on showing their strength. When Mikoto uses his fire powers, he looks like a raging fire. When Reisi uses his water powers, they are fluent like waves.
When they fight, the scenes are so crisp and well-drawn. Nothing seemed out of place and so fluent to watch. When Misaki fights against Fushimi, that is a nice fight scene to watch. To see Misaki fight with a skateboard as his fires erupt from them, along with Fushimi being able to dual wield elements, is also something to see. All the fight scenes are superb.
Another aspect of the animation is the subtle use of colors in specific environments. They are so well done that you almost miss them when you are not looking or paying attention. An example is when Seri Awashima walks into HOMRA headquarters, her appearance completely changes. You know she has blonde hair and blue eyes, but inside the bar, she has a pink appearance to her. Her hair, skin, and eyes turn pink. Also, the animation of when the Gold King uses his powers is quite impressive. It is set in the stars, and his weapons are the very planets themselves.
There are so many characters to talk about in this anime. You have seven kings and all their crew members. It wasn’t too bad as many of the characters are amazing. All the main characters were great. First, Yashiro Isana is the Silver King, and he is actually someone you would want to be around. Even with his body switched, the dude has a kind soul and heart. As the original person to find the slates and learn about them, he has vast knowledge along with being old. The dude is actually German, the oldest person out of everyone, and had a BEAUTIFUL sister. The second character is Kuroh Yatogami. Kuroh is known as the Black Dog and is an extraordinary swordsman who starts the story looking for the person who killed his master and stopping the Colorless King. Kuroh is cool but sometimes a little strange as he carries around a tape recorder with many of his master’s wishes. A character that is somewhat off to me is Neko. The girl is beautiful and is a Strain with heterochromia eyes. Homegirl can even turn into a cat. She is the exact opposite of Kuroh and brings that comedy to the anime.
Mikoto Suoh is one of the characters that you honestly need to love and appreciate. Not for his power but his calm leadership and just being a chill person. Mikoto is the Red King and former leader of Homra. He believes that clan is thicker than blood. He is insecure about his powers because he wants to help protect rather than destroy. He is heavily featured in season one, but in season two, he appears as flashbacks. Another king that must be talked about is Reisi Munakata, The Blue King and Head of the Special Task Force Unit Scepter 4, the Fourth King. He should be called the Slap King because he delivered a slap like no other. Reisi has a calm and elegant demeanor with a very caring heart. Even though he is enemies with Mikoto, he worries about his safety. The dude is an absolute beast as a king. The one king that is an absolute BEAST is Nagare Hisui, the Green King and Jungle leader, the Fifth King, who is wheelchair-bound. The dude is so powerful that he went toe-to-toe with the Gold King and almost won. His powers are insane!
I could talk about so many other characters like Anna, who is a boss in the Red Clan, or how about Misaki Yata, the skateboard riding third in command of the Red Clan. On the Blue Clan side, you have Seri Awashima, the only woman in Specter 4. I want to say this really quick, why is it in season two of an anime, the creators or animators start showing all the women as big-breasted and revealing. It somewhat brings the anime down. Saruhiko Fushimi is also a boss as the #3-man Specter 4 and the genius of the group. Out of all the side characters, Yukari Mishakuji is a boss! The dude knows how to use a sword with extreme skill. He is Kuroh senior. The only thing I don’t like about him is he is very narcissistic.
I love this anime and think everything about it is good. The story is interesting, and the characters are quite interesting also. Is it an all-time great anime? Nope, but it does use some Greek Mythology to make the story go. Who wouldn’t want to be a king? Hope you watch and enjoy this anime.
