REVIEW: ‘The Kingdoms of Ruin’ Episode 6 — “The Witch Doroka”

Last episode, The Kingdoms of Ruin showed the witches of Lunamilia suffering at the hands of humans and Adonis’s indifference to their danger. Having resurrected Doroka instead of the Ice Witch Chloe, his mentor, Adonis, makes it clear that he and he alone will find and punish the humans. Now, in The Kingdoms of Ruin Episode 6, “The Witch Doroka,” everything just gets worse for witches as the violence and the narrative expands.

It picks up immediately after the last episode with Adonis fighting the Redia Empire’s Senior Director Yamato in a sea of blood. Saving Adonis’s life from a fatal blow, Doroka shows her power and it’s love. With Mandragora, her love spell, Doroka can freeze the soldiers in their tracks. She convinces them to lay down their arms and nearly leave. But by allowing them to leave, Doroka allows them to live. She wants to end the violence, not contribute to it. This non-violent stance is also what gets her hurt as Yamato breaks free physically and pummels her into the ground. Hit after hit, Doroka doesn’t shake, ultimately convincing Yamato to leave. Then, Adonis kills him and the rest of the soldiers.

The stark difference between Doroka and Adonis is weighty for the narrative. The Kingdoms of Ruin Episode 6 continues our unlikable protagonist’s rage, and the body count that lies at the feet of his revenge is extremely high, and he doesn’t care. Doroka, on the other side, cares deeply and just wants peace. The two characters that we are clearly about to follow are opposites in every way, and it sets up the balance to the story that isn’t focused on creating something romantic, even with a Love Spell in play. Instead, it builds tension between the two.

At the same time, Doroka isn’t the only person to cast the Love Spell this season. We meet the queen of the Redia Empire, Dorothea, the Witch of the Unknown. She is absolutely terrifying. Where Doroka shows how the Love Spell can be used compassionately, Dorothea shows its ruthlessness. Two sides of the same coin, The Kingdoms of Ruin Episode 6 develops its lore more, expanding the push to kill the witches: it’s coming from a fellow witch. Throughout the season, we’ve seen her standing by Emporer Goethe’s side, an opaque veil over her face, her age seemingly unchanged, and now we know why.

The series itself has been a fast-paced and ever-changing story, which, at times, can be hard to keep up with. Additionally, with Adonis’s status as a man filled with rage and revenge, there isn’t much time to care for anyone if you view the series through his eyes. However, as Ophelia mentions, Adonis is a demon, a human like every other, and reaping as much violence as those he hates.

The Kingdoms of Ruin continues to accelerate in Episode 6, and with that, I can say firmly that I don’t know where it’s going. Adonis has been shown to have a disturbing capability for violence, literally wearing Yamato’s face to convince Redia to transport him to their location. Adonis is terrible, and Doroka, despite her strength, is useless.

As a whole, The Kingdoms of Ruin is teetering on the edge of “doing too much.” As of right now, everything is working even when it unsettles the audience. It’s interesting and quick, and the violence is actually beautifully rendered. Instead of showcasing every single brutal moment, the animation’s choice to use a bright red background with a stark black silhouette on top to show the grittier moments works perfectly to keep the series from going into hyperviolence territory. This allows the series’ shocking moments to not lose their impact.

The Kingdoms of Ruin Season 1 is streaming now on Crunchyroll.