REVIEW: ‘The Kingdoms of Ruin’ Season 1 Doesn’t Reach Its Potential

I praised The Kingdoms of Ruin at the start of its season. The series is a dark mix of futuristic science fiction and high fantasy built on an intriguing premise that pays off in a jarring way from the start of episode one to where it ends up by the season finale. Animated by Yokohama Animation Lab, directed by Keitaro Motonaga, with a series composition by Takamitsu Kuono, The Kingdoms of Ruin started the series off as a hit. Based on the manga of the same name created by mangaka Yoruhashi, it takes place in a world where Witches have blessed the human race, but in return, humans have hunted them.

Witches have saved humans from plague, famine, and war. But with their vast power, the humans became insecure, to the point that fear ran rampant, leading to the hunting down and eradication of every Witch. With the witches running for their lives, the Mighty Redia Empire has used its advanced scientific revolution and its scientific “gear expansion” to push technology to a point where they don’t need Witches anymore and have become the greatest nation. Science versus magic, all in the pursuit of power, is the foundation of the series. To see this, we meet Adonis, a young boy in the care of Chloe, who is the only human able to do magic, albeit through a powerful quill. But when they’re captured by Redia, Chloe is executed, and the hyper violent content begins, and this shonen series quickly becomes a seinen if we’re honest.

This quite violent execution of a witch becomes the set-up of a very capable anti-hero protagonist as the witch hunt propels the story. But when he’s captured and imprisoned for a decade, what emerges is someone with zero sympathy, a flame of vengeance, and a deep yearning for revenge in the name of his old mentor. For Adonis, there is no forgiveness, just a bitter vow to raze humanity to the ground. Even his statue as a witch’s apprentice means nothing when he brings the hands of the empire to the last safe place for witchkind.

The entirety of The Kingdoms of Ruin Season 1 is about Adonis’s thirst for revenge against humanity and the ruthless hunt led against the remaining witches in the world. But he isn’t alone. The witch Doroka is at his side. A powerful witch, Doroka has lived through the concentration camps of the Redia empire and is blessed with love. No, really. Doroka’s magic is a king of forbidden magic is based on crafting a Love Spell to control men’s hearts, bodies, and entire selves. But instead of wielding it with malice to control humankind, she is trying her best to calm all of Adonis’s fire as he rages against the world.

Reluctant partners, Adonis is unable to see past his rage, and as such, he moves from a capable anti-hero to a belligerent protagonist that you just can’t root for wholeheartedly. On the other hand, Doroka is unable to embrace any rage, and instead, she holds no grudges, looking to live for the ones that she lost. This dynamic is compelling and offers a salve for the moments of gore that we see throughout the series in all of its incredibly animated fight scenes. But this relationship doesn’t come to fruition until the season finale, making The Kingdoms of Ruin’s character growth elements stagnant for nearly the entire season. The two have a conflicting journey, but at the same time, they complement each other. When the latter is happening, the series is at its best.

The Kingdoms of Ruin was a fantastic blend of fantasy and futuristic science fiction setting. Then, Doroka became the continuous object of violence for the series, and Adonis refused to me more than rage for ten episodes. It’s a storytelling choice that drastically impacts the pacing and makes the series pass as if nothing happened. The concept behind the series and even the way that Doroka and Adonis exist on two ends of an emotional spectrum should work, but there is just too much left unanswered. Add in Doroka’s eyes the rest of the abuse she faces, being the only way her character is undergrowth, and everything exists with a tinge of emptiness.

The world of Kingdoms of Ruin is a big one, and it’s one that I would like to see more of. In fact, the success of the series hinges on whether or not we get a season 2 in order to see more of Queen Dorothea Grethe and actually make all of the time sent flashing to the Redian Empire worth it. Instead, the Queen of Redia is set up as being the most powerful witch capable of great harm like her husband, but we don’t see anything really in action outside of one episode where she seizes power.

To be honest, mankind is the enemy of the season, and while they have more than enough injustices stacked up as their anti-witch sentiment swells, the lack of a true villain hits you by the end of the series. There is a general that is dispatched, and even the Redia’s cybernetic assassin Shirousagi is spread over three episodes but could have really taken place in one. Because of this, Adonis is just angry all of the time and treats Doroka terribly with no real catalyst other than his unwillingness to let go after watching his beloved teacher die.

The Kingdoms Ruin is more disappointing because of how it fumbles themes that were once handled well. And when I say fumble, I mean exactly that. The series picks up intriguing elements and then just casts them aside. At some point, a lot is going on as mass destruction and carnage ensues, but there isn’t enough grounding to make it all impactful. Doroka is abused constantly, Adonis is petulant, and when the series pays its viewers to develop, it’s in Episode 11. It’s all just a little too late.

That said, The Kingdoms of Ruin Season 1 is fantastically animated by Yokohama Animation Lab. They know how to show graphic violence with impact and keep other moments in shadow, never feeling too shocking…so long as Doroka isn’t involved. As we’ve come to expect from adaptations of Shonen manga, there is a lot of action, and all of it is handled fantastically. The character designs and just about everything visually, from the Wasteland to Redia, are pulled into a cohesive world that just looks fantastic. The magic is gorgeous when rendered, and the dangerous cybernetic technology makes the fights interesting from the beginning of the series to the end.

I don’t think that The Kingdoms of Ruin is lost as a series, but it badly needs Season 2 to bring its themes and its characters to a close. It took too long for Adonis to be someone you root for, and none of that journey feels like it’s paid off—not even his revenge. The pace should have been faster, or there should have been a longer season, but either way, something is missing from The Kingdoms of Ruin Season 1. It’s not bad, but the series is hollow.

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