The Kingdoms of Ruin: A Duet of Revenge and Redemption
I recently finished watching The Kingdoms of Ruin and wanted to share my thoughts with everyone.
This anime, which aired in October 2023, tells the story of Adonis, a prince of the Witches, and Doroka, the second princess of the human kingdom. The opening scene shows the human kingdom celebrating the "extermination of the Witches," only for a mushroom cloud of black smoke to swallow the capital the very next second. Watching his kin being used as "batteries," Adonis draws the broken horn left behind by his mentor and vows to destroy the human race.
What fascinates me most is the tension between the male and female leads. Adonis initially wanted to drag all of humanity to their graves, but a single line from Doroka—"Humans cry too, you know?"—caused this revenge machine to stall for the first time. They are separated by a sea of blood and hatred, yet they ride the same scrawny horse on their journey—the reins held by hatred, but the space between them filled with the rhythm of their heartbeats.
The most unique aspect of this series is that there is no absolute good or evil. The King treats his own daughter as an experiment, yet he suffers from insomnia after she leaves; the Captain of the Knights slaughters Witches without blinking, yet secretly leaves bread for Witch children. Hatred acts like a virus, infecting even the audience.
The ending theme, "VILLAIN" by the popular band WHO, features the lyrics: "I am a villain, yet I still want to embrace the light." I had this song on loop until the early hours of the morning, and suddenly I understood: it is not the kingdoms that are ruined, but prejudice; it is not the capital that is being rebuilt, but the heart.
Has anyone else watched this? What did you think? Feel free to discuss~
This anime, which aired in October 2023, tells the story of Adonis, a prince of the Witches, and Doroka, the second princess of the human kingdom. The opening scene shows the human kingdom celebrating the "extermination of the Witches," only for a mushroom cloud of black smoke to swallow the capital the very next second. Watching his kin being used as "batteries," Adonis draws the broken horn left behind by his mentor and vows to destroy the human race.
What fascinates me most is the tension between the male and female leads. Adonis initially wanted to drag all of humanity to their graves, but a single line from Doroka—"Humans cry too, you know?"—caused this revenge machine to stall for the first time. They are separated by a sea of blood and hatred, yet they ride the same scrawny horse on their journey—the reins held by hatred, but the space between them filled with the rhythm of their heartbeats.
The most unique aspect of this series is that there is no absolute good or evil. The King treats his own daughter as an experiment, yet he suffers from insomnia after she leaves; the Captain of the Knights slaughters Witches without blinking, yet secretly leaves bread for Witch children. Hatred acts like a virus, infecting even the audience.
The ending theme, "VILLAIN" by the popular band WHO, features the lyrics: "I am a villain, yet I still want to embrace the light." I had this song on loop until the early hours of the morning, and suddenly I understood: it is not the kingdoms that are ruined, but prejudice; it is not the capital that is being rebuilt, but the heart.
Has anyone else watched this? What did you think? Feel free to discuss~
