Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage
王様ランキング 勇気の宝箱 (Ousama Ranking: Yuuki no Takarabako)
- Adventure
- Fantasy
- Iyashikei
- Episodes
- 10
- Duration
- 22 min per ep
- Aired
- Apr 14, 2023 to Jun 16, 2023
- Status
- Finished Airing
Synopsis
*Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage* presents a set of short stories that revisit the world of *Ousama Ranking*. Rather than continuing a single plotline, it opens a “treasure chest” of quieter moments that had gone unspoken.
Across these vignettes, familiar characters are shown in earlier instances of bravery and the small steps of personal growth that shaped them.
Otaku Consensus
Ranking of Kings: The Treasure Chest of Courage lands as a warmly received companion piece rather than a full successor, with its 7.41 MAL score and 74/100 AniList rating reflecting appreciation for Wit Studio’s delicate direction, expressive character acting, and anthology pacing. Its strongest appeal is the way Yousuke Hatta and Taku Kishimoto use short, achronological episodes to deepen the ensemble without forcing a new crisis. The recurring criticism is just as clear: viewers expecting forward narrative momentum or a true second season often find the vignettes too low-stakes and structurally slight.
Why You Should Watch
Watch The Treasure Chest of Courage if you want more Ranking of Kings as emotional texture, not as a new campaign map. It is best suited to viewers who loved the original for Bojji’s vulnerability, Kage’s loyalty, and the storybook moral shading, but who do not need every episode to escalate the throne politics. The format scratches a similar itch to Natsume’s Book of Friends in its gentler, restorative attention to small acts of kindness, while keeping the medieval-fairy-tale theatricality that made Ousama Ranking stand apart from standard fantasy anime. Wit Studio’s character animation remains the selling point: tiny hesitations, glances, and body language carry more weight than exposition. If the first series left you wanting time with the cast between the major turns, this is built for that exact appetite.
Key Characters
- BBojji(VA: Minami Hinata)
Bojji remains compelling because the series treats courage as communication, letting his physical expressiveness and silent resolve carry scenes that other fantasy anime would solve with speeches.
- KKage(VA: Ayumu Murase)
Kage is the emotional counterweight fans latch onto: a rough-edged companion whose blunt reactions make the show’s kindness feel earned rather than sentimental.
- DDaida(VA: Yuki Kaji)
Daida’s appeal comes from watching royal pride reframed as insecurity, giving the anthology room to examine him outside the pressure of being a rival or heir.
- HHiling(VA: Rina Sato)
Hiling stands out because her sternness and maternal protectiveness are allowed to coexist, making her one of the franchise’s best examples of character writing through contradiction.
What Makes It Stand Out
- 1
The season is deliberately achronological and episodic, a structure reflected in AniList’s high tags for Achronological Order and Episodic; it functions as character archaeology rather than a linear sequel.
- 2
Wit Studio returns for all 10 episodes, preserving the franchise’s storybook silhouettes and elastic acting style instead of pushing the fantasy toward glossier action spectacle.
- 3
Director Yousuke Hatta and series composer Taku Kishimoto remain key creative anchors, giving the anthology continuity with the original adaptation’s tone while allowing individual episodes to operate as self-contained emotional beats.
- 4
The production keeps Atsuko Nozaki’s character designs at the center of its appeal, with main animators Kanako Yoshida, Shin Ogasawara, Masaru Ooshiro, and Nozomi Fujii supporting the show’s emphasis on gesture and facial nuance.
- 5
Its genre labeling is unusually revealing: alongside Adventure and Fantasy, the Iyashikei theme signals that the season’s value lies in recovery, tenderness, and reflection more than conquest or plot acceleration.
Fun Facts & Trivia
- Fun fact 1
- The anime aired in a compact spring 2023 run from April 14 to June 16, finishing at 10 episodes rather than the more common 12 or 13-episode TV cour length.
- Fun fact 2
- Sousuke Touka is credited as the original creator, while the anime’s core adaptation voice is shaped by Yousuke Hatta as director and Taku Kishimoto on series composition.
- Fun fact 3
- AniList’s tag profile is unusually specific for a fantasy title: Ensemble Cast at 93%, Disability at 80%, Language Barrier at 78%, and Fairy Tale at 73%, which neatly captures what differentiates the series from combat-first medieval anime.
- Fun fact 4
- Despite being a side-story anthology, it drew a large enough response to sit at 49,279 MAL votes with a 7.41 average, showing a substantial post-original audience rather than a niche extra.
- Fun fact 5
- The title’s Japanese name, Ousama Ranking: Yuuki no Takarabako, literally frames the season as a treasure chest of courage, matching its format of collected character-focused stories instead of a single sequel arc.
Studios
- Wit Studio
