The Kingdoms of Ruin (Season One) – Hametsu no Oukoku
Witches have watched over humanity for aeons, but now mankind wants to go it alone. Determined to push forward, they hunt down and kill every witch they can find, including Chloe and her human apprentice, Adonis.
The Kingdoms of Ruin (Season One) – Hametsu no Oukoku
What did you watch?
I had not planned on watching this series at all. I don’t think it was even on the shortlist, but then I had a bit of time to kill and spotted The Kingdoms of Ruin while scanning the new seasonal releases. Something about it grabbed me and I ended up watching the first episode. Now, the episode description gave away pretty much everything that happened in the first episode, but even knowing that it’s hard to prepare for what you experience. So, without any further teasing, let’s get into the review.
What happened?
Chloe was a powerful witch who could control ice. However, when the humans began to hunt down the witches, she ran with her human apprentice, Adonis. Since he was human, he couldn’t use magic the same way she could. This was why she created his magic quill which enabled him to write spells into the air and see them materialise before him. He was getting really good at it too. Their path to safety took them across the desert, however, they were tracked down and attacked by the humans. Chloe fought them off, but they were merely a distraction. A beam of light landed on them from the sky and teleported them to the capital, New Nightmare.
They arrived on a platform in front of the palace with the Emperor standing before them. Chloe tried to use her magic, but something was nullifying it. The Emperor casually strolled onto the platform which was surrounded by an angry mob all calling for Chloe’s execution. A wave of smartphones, all pointed in Chloe’s direction, recorded the moment. The Emperor hit her and then ripped her clothes off, further exciting the crowd. Adonis tried to fight back but was held down by the guards. Chloe begged for his life as the Emperor strode towards her. He pulled a gun and shot her in the head before she could finish telling Adonis how much she loved him. Chloe was then fired on by a group of guards. As if that wasn’t enough, an executioner walked onto the platform and beheaded her mangled corpse. Adonis could only watch in horror!
What did you think?
The description above pretty much covers what happened in the first episode. It was brutal and horrific, but it was effective. It set the stage for what would be an epic tale of revenge – the story of how the witch’s apprentice would destroy all of humanity to get even for what they did to Chloe. At least, that’s what I thought. The first five episodes were relentless, each episode ending with a cliffhanger that was almost as horrific as the previous one. Honestly, it got a little exhausting and the shock factor faded away. Then, things got a bit ridiculous for a couple of episodes before the final arc which was horrific and really dumb. It’s as if they weren’t sure what kind of story they wanted to do so they just went for over-the-top gore and over-the-top goofy comedy all at the same time.
What was your favourite moment?
In episode nine, Adonis and Doroka found their way to the Kingdom of Mamuta which appeared to have been abandoned. Then, they encountered a girl in the street. She was naked and appeared to be running from something. However, when they got closer, they realised it was a robot – a sex robot. The Kingdom of Mamuta had fallen and only the sexbots remained. With their programming intact, they continued to do what they were programmed for… I did not have sexbots screwing corpses and questioning their existence on my bingo card! Now, the idea is absolutely horrific, but I think that’s the point. It showed how messed up this world was. It was actually one of the more insightful and memorable moments in the show.
However, it wasn’t without some glaring flaws though. Apparently, the people of Mamuta had sold all of their women to New Nightmare as slaves so that they could pay for the army of sexbots. They did this with no plan on how to sustain the economy or the kingdom. Also, it was Adonis who somehow worked this all out while he was in solitary confinement for ten years. He had no way of knowing any of this. He was a child when he was locked up. If my favourite moment was as badly tainted as this just imagine what the rest was like.
What was your least favourite moment?
No need to imagine. I’m going to give you a brief rundown of some of the most bizarre things in this series. Firstly, and most importantly, Adonis was told by the head witch that he could make anything happen with his magic quill. Wow! That’s a lot of power. So, why was he using it to make bullets grow or create giant slow-moving golems that were easy targets for tanks? He had ten years to plan for this and that’s the best he could do! So, obviously, they quickly pulled back his powers until the final act where he was fighting a cyborg and he couldn’t do anything to him, even though he successfully hid in an abandoned building as he burned Doroka’s eyelids shut. Nothing made any sense and there was no consistency, which was incredibly infuriating.
Who was your favourite character?
There were basically no characters with redeeming qualities in this show. The only exception was Chloe and she was brutally murdered in the first episode. There was also Punch, but given how he managed to make Adonis think that Doroka was being manhandled by a group of bikers, he’s not as perfect as he may have appeared. At least, he can blame the writers for that… Chloe was a great character who had a tragic life. She was cast out of the witches’ society for taking Adonis on as her apprentice. That meant that they had nowhere to run. As such, Chloe’s body was bruised from constantly fighting and running. All the while, she tried to remain strong for Adonis. And then, when Adonis had the chance to bring her back, he didn’t.
Who was your least favourite character?
There were several. The Emperor instantly comes to mind, however, given the final act of the season, my lasting impression is that Shirousagi was the biggest pile of crap in the show. Honestly, there was no way he should have been able to beat Adonis for so long. Sure, his speed might have been an issue in the beginning, but the fight was drawn out and Adonis had plenty of time to come up with something truly insane to kill him. Of course, by not doing that we had to watch Shirousagi gouge out Doroka’s eyeballs, swing them around on the nerve endings, and then squash them in his fist. If that had happened any earlier than episode eleven, I would probably have walked away. At least now, I finished it and can honestly say that this was awful.
Would you like some more?
No. Absolutely not. While there were some interesting ideas which mainly seemed to follow Adonis and Doroka as they explored the wastelands outside of New Nightmare, I don’t want to see these characters again. I can’t put up with the inconsistent power levels and broken logic that this series did over and over again. Finally, the gore was ridiculous. At one point, the witches’ dismembered bodies were floating in a lake of blood. It was too much and every time they did anything else, they seemed to have to outdo the last time. All we needed was the first episode to show how horrible this world was. We got it. Now, how about a story that makes sense?
What have you learned?
When you start a series, the beginning should make a promise to the audience. It should show us what we’re in for and then it should follow through with that. Had this series been a pure revenge flick which just had Adonis going crazy as he hunted down everyone who wronged him and Chloe, I would have been fine with it. Had it just been a story about Adonis being unable to satisfy his need for revenge because the world had already destroyed itself while he was imprisoned, then I would have loved it. This series broke the promises it made at the beginning and continued to make stuff up as it went along. We were shown hints of things to come and none of them were followed up on. I’m going to be a little more careful with what I start to review in the future because I don’t want to do this to myself again.
Other Posts in the Series
- Season One
- Episode 1 – And So, Our Story Begins
- Episode 2 – Heavenly Fire
- Episode 3 – A Gentle Death
- Episode 4 – The Nation of Witches
- Episode 5 – Joy to the World
- Episode 6 – The Witch Doroka
- Episode 7 – Stand by him. Stand by her.
- Episode 8 – Coronation
- Episode 9 – The Ruined Kingdom of Mamuta
- Episode 10 – The Eyes That Were Lost
- Episode 11 – Knightfall
- Episode 12 – Love and Revenge
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