English Dub Review: Ranking of Kings “Immortal vs. Invincible”

Overview (Spoilers Below):

Bojji, Kage, and Despa struggle to recover from their experience on the other side with Miranjo and her master, but eventually they come to and realize they are bleeding out from their Ouken injuries. It looks like all is lost until King Bosse returns in the form of Daida, heals everyone, and seals up Ouken for good. But are they really safe with Bosse back in charge?

Our Take:

Ranking of Kings returns with another dubbed episode on Funimation this week, and this time around, it’s all about the big guy. That’s right, King Bosse is back in a big way, and that makes for a major event… I just wish we could move past this Ouken stuff already.

I still think Ouken can be a really effective antagonist in the show, but after watching Immortal vs. Invincible I’m convinced that it is more than time for a change of scenery. Give me Ouken sneaking around the castle, or fighting him in the town, or something! It just feels like we’ve been battling Ouken in the same old courtyard with the same old moves for a loooooong time now.

King Bosse returns this time, which makes the fight more interesting for sure, but at the same time, it’s still Ouken doing his usual schtick. It’s like we’ve been shown the same fight over and over again, just changing up some of the players from time to time. Having King Bosse step would be more effective if the fight wasn’t kind of shoddily scripted. Basically it just consists of either Bosse or Ouken doing a thing, and then cutting to the healed spectators to have them tell us what just happened. Like, Bosse seals Ouken in the boulder, then the show cuts to Dorshe who helpfully tells us that Bosse has sealed Ouken in the boulder. It’s kind of a pet peeve of mine when shows do this, filling screen time just by having side characters tell us what we’re already watching with our own eyes.

There is some intriguing things to consider that the ep brings up though. For instance, why exactly is Bosse doing what he’s doing and what are his true intentions here? He healed the big four and Bojji, and they thought he may have been on their side when he also defeated Ouken. But afterwards, when he turns back to face them, his expression is anything but kind. I’m definitely curious about how Bosse and Miranjo will treat each other now—the dynamic between them is going to be a major focal point next week I’m sure.

Immortal vs. Invincible felt like a big deal in some ways. King Bosse’s return and Miranjo’s meeting with Bojji’s mother were fun to see. But I wish that Bosse’s match up with Ouken didn’t feel like just another fight in the schoolyard, and that the Big Four didn’t get relegated to a running commentary about things we can already see with our own eyes. All in all, this was an alright episode, but one I would definitely skip on rewatch.