Xin's journey begins when his friend Piao, another war orphan who imparts to Xin the same dream of becoming the Greatest Generals Under the Heavens, is offered a position in court in the capital. He leaves Xin behind to train on his own, and to meet him there one day. One fateful night, Piao returns bloodied and on the brink of death, with his dying words being for Xin to go meet a boy who turns out to look exactly like Piao. But this is no ordinary boy—it's the king of Qin, Ying Zheng! And assassins are hot on his tail!

Kingdom has art and story by Yasuhisa Hara. English translation is done by Nathan A. Collins and lettering by Rina Mapa. Published by Viz Media (November 11, 2025). Rated T+.

Rebecca Silverman
Rating:

I'd like to say that if you like Vinland Saga, you'll like Kingdom, but apart from being historical epics, there's not really that the two titles share. (That said, if you love historical epics, stop reading and go buy this.) Both do chart major events in history, but where Vinland Saga's first omnibus volume already makes it clear that the focus is going to be equally on Thorfin's growth as a character, Yasuhisa Hara's Kingdom is much more about the time and place. That's not to say that either work is strictly about one or the other, but rather that's the tone and feel of the two, even without knowing that Hara's work is based on the Chinese classic Shiji, first published around 91 B.C.E.

Taking place during the Warring States period that would culminate in the foundation of the Qin Dynasty, the story is dense even in just its first (of 76 and counting) volume. Our point of view character is Xin (Viz uses the Chinese spellings, so Xin, not Shin), the requisite headstrong, plucky orphan with big dreams. He aims to become a great general alongside his buddy Piao, but when Piao is taken away as a body double for the young king and is subsequently killed, Xin's dreams are, if not precisely shattered, at least forced onto a different track. While Piao's dying words are to tell Xin that he will now carry Piao's dreams with him, there's an interesting implication in the text that Xin is slowly transferring his loyalties to Piao's double, King Zheng. It's not that he sees Piao in Zheng, but more that he needs someone to help him find purpose, and Zheng is there at the right moment. Like Piao, Zheng is clear-headed and ambitious, so it's not hard to see why he would slip through Xin's defenses, even if the peasant doesn't see any reason to respect the boy who essentially got his best friend killed.

Hara's art is as dense as the story, with panels feeling filled to the brim even if, technically speaking, there's actually a lot of open space being depicted. The images are dark and gritty, almost grimy, and while Hara doesn't go out of his way to show the finer points of the violence that fills almost every page, this is still a remarkably grim and bloody work. Xin is, at this point, a little hard to get behind because there's not much to him beyond his anger and ambition, which doesn't make him particularly endearing, although it is easy to see where he's coming from. And as a bonus, if you've watched the anime, this confirms that it's a pretty faithful adaptation; everything unfolded basically as I remembered from watching the first season. My only complaint is that Viz doesn't provide any Chinese pronunciation guides, but that may be me being spoiled by reading Seven Seas' danmei translations. On the whole, this is a moderately slow start to what is clearly an epic, blood-soaked journey through Chinese history. If that's your jam, I think this will make you very happy.

Kevin Cormack
Rating:

Kingdom is one of those almost legendary Japanese manga and anime series that seems entirely unacknowledged in the West. Season after season of its anime adaptation appears regularly on Crunchyroll, yet I don't think I've ever spoken to anyone who actually watches it. What even is Kingdom? For one, it's a seventy-six-volume historical drama series that's been in continuous publication since 2006, and its author, Yasuhisa Hara, is on record estimating its total length will be one hundred volumes. That's a big commitment for any reader to embark upon. Kingdom isn't only big in terms of volume numbers, its sales speak for themselves, with over 110 million copies in circulation. That's a major success by any standard.

Obviously, its lack of cultural penetration in the west is at least partly due to the lack of legal option for potential readers to access the manga, something that Viz has seen fit to remedy. Considering the strength of this initial volume, there's perhaps a reason for Viz's newfound confidence in the material. Lengthy historical epics like Kazuo Koike's Lone Wolf and Cub, and Takehiko Inoe's Vagabond are big sellers for their respective publishers, with each having received several reprints over the years. Before producing this series, Kingdom's author, Yasuhisa Hara, worked under Inoue as an assistant (presumably on Vagabond), and his influence certainly shows in the detailed, realistic art style.

Rather than 1600s Japan, Kingdom is set during China's Warring States period, over two millennia ago. It follows the fortunes of young war orphan Xin, who is determined to bring his and his deceased friend's dreams of military glory to fruition. In this first volume, he becomes embroiled in a battle for succession between the current 13-year-old king and his ambitious younger brother. Suddenly losing his best friend and home due to political unrest, he reluctantly begins a journey accompanied by two other young men with very different goals.

Xin is an immediately likeable ruffian, and we empathize with his frustration at his disadvantaged lot in life. He plans to elevate his standing through military achievement and trains relentlessly to hone his fighting ability. He's every bit the archetypal shonen protagonist, though he lives in a brutal, bloody period of history. There aren't any easy solutions to his problems, but he continues to power through the dangers and morally ambiguous challenges he faces with steely determination.

At this stage, Hara's art style can't hope to approach the quality of detail and composition of his sensei, yet the spark of brilliance is there. Characters vary wildly in their appearances, from innocent children to sneering nobles to corpulent conspirators. His villains look truly hateful, in marked contrast to the fresh-faced young teenage protagonists. Even in its first volume, Kingdom is a fascinating look into a distant past that I'm almost completely unfamiliar with. Now I need to decide if I'm willing to commit to such a lengthy series… It's looking fairly likely.